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| Handshakes and Thumbs Up from EAA, AOPA | back to top |  |
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EAA And AOPA Make Their Collaboration Official
The leaders of EAA and AOPA -- Tom Poberezny and Craig Fuller -- met on Aeroshell Square at Oshkosh on Wednesday morning, under the nose of the huge A380, and signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding vowing to work together to advance the cause of general aviation. "We are extremely excited about this," said Poberezny. "Our members expect us to work together to address the issues of concern to them." Those issues, as spelled out in the MOU, are to protect GA, to promote safety, and to grow the GA community. As part of the agreement, AOPA will support EAA's Young Eagles program and EAA will support AOPA's GA Serves America project, and the two groups -- which are the two largest GA member groups in the world -- will collaborate on legislative and safety issues. "Tom and I enjoy working together," Fuller said. "I'm a long-term member of EAA. ... This is a very important coming-together."
The two groups had unveiled their new agenda earlier this year, but Wednesday's signing ceremony made it official. EAA said Poberezny will join Fuller at the AOPA Aviation Summit in Tampa, Fla., on November 5, and EAA will play a role in several forums and events. Also, the two groups will host a GA roundtable discussion with other industry stakeholders early in 2010, to "Protect and Grow General Aviation." |
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and take a look at our trade-up program. Your dealer will give you a demo, and we always make sure they have plenty in stock.
| Bonanza Boasts "Digital Parachute" Among Features | back to top | |
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Fly-By-Wire Autoland Bonanza Tested
The system is being billed as a safety feature and perhaps a glimpse of flying's future. "This project with Hawker Beechcraft shows what is possible by leveraging our [unmanned aerial systems] technology to potentially serve as a digital parachute in emergency situations," said Vos. "While we are still in a demonstration phase, we're excited about our continued work with Hawker Beechcraft as we look for opportunities to further enhance safety in a future airspace where manned, unmanned and optionally manned aircraft can coexist." |
Just when you might have thought that engineers were running out of wonder boxes to put in light aircraft comes word from Hawker Beechcraft and Rockwell Collins that they've flown a fly-by-wire
Bonanza A36 with an autoland system. Rockwell Collins spokesman David Vos called it a "digital parachute." The Bonanza did a series of hands-off landings at Hawker Beech's Wichita headquarters. The
system is based on Rockwell Collins' Athena system, which is used to maneuver unmanned aerial vehicles. Hawker Beechcraft came up with the fly-by-wire system and did the integration.
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| The Old & the New Make Waves at Oshkosh | back to top | |
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P-750 XSTOL, PAC Is Back
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-powered PAC-750XL plane designed primarily to haul and dump 16 skydivers is now the P-750 XSTOL and it's being marketed by Pacific Aerospace Limited (PAL) as the "ultimate" air utility vehicle. The specifications behind that drive include the airplane's ability to operate at weights in excess of 1.5 tons in and out of 800-foot strips, its ability to be outfitted to carry a nearly 4,900-pound load (in ag-sprayer form) and climb at 1500 feet per minute at 7500 pounds gross weight, according to the company. One XSTOL (short for "extreme" short take off and landing) was fitted with a ferry tank and flown from Kona, Hawaii, to California landing "with enough fuel to make it to Denver," according to company representatives. It departed at 11,000 pounds (well over gross) and managed a climb of 400 fpm, according to PAL. At AirVenture, company representatives said the low-wing aircraft will stall at 40 knots, presumably when empty (the company's literature lists that number at 58 and cruise at 140). Panel packages can include Garmin 430/530 avionics, and aircraft configurations (application, aerial survey, jump operations) can set the cost anywhere from about $1.5 to $1.75 million.
The company clearly promotes the aircraft for rough-field use, although the fact that it carries fuel in its low wing may deter some from testing the extent of its abilities in that regime. PAL says the aircraft has been in use in most warm climates around the world -- it is not certified for known ice -- and has operated at airfield up to 9,000 ft AGL. To date, 12 have been imported to the U.S. for skydiving use.
Hybrid Engine Concept From Flight Design
Aside from lowering emissions per horsepower, the power of the electric motor alone "is enough to supplant a stopped engine," but only well enough to extend a glide and provide more options to a pilot in emergency. A proof of concept Hybrid Power Engine has been built and bench tests are ongoing. So far, says Flight Design, those tests "have underlined the correctness of all assumptions." Flight Design is a 23-year-old company based in Germany. It has produced more than 1,300 aircraft that are flying in 25 countries, including the very popular CT LSA.
Red Tail Lands In Oshkosh
Arriving with a fully restored and flying P-51C at AeroShell Square, Oshkosh, after the May 2005 fatal crash that killed program leader Don Hinz and destroyed the aircraft, may be nothing less than fully consistent with the Red Tail Project's mission of rising above and affecting positive change. The monumental restoration project began with the 40 percent of parts salvageable from the wreckage. It was infused with donations from more than 25,000 contributors from all over the globe and reformed by volunteers. That Phase of the effort ended last Wednesday with first flight. The resulting P-51C, dubbed Tuskegee Airmen, makes manifest the "never quit, believe in yourself, use your brain and expect to win" motives the Red Tail Project promotes to youngsters and clearly lives by. In Phase 2, the Red Tail Project will be touring to educate, motivate and inspire at locations across the country. At AirVenture Wednesday, the aircraft was introduced by Steve Brown, president of the Commemorative Air Force who remembered his friend, Don Hinz, saying, "If he'd been there after the accident, he would have said, 'Get to work.'" Because Brown and so many others have done just that, the aircraft will eventually be doing the same, spreading the heritage and lessons of its near and distant history, maybe as soon as next year.
Among those who joined Brown at the official showcase, Wednesday, was Col. Charles McGee, himself a Tuskegee Airman, and others who remembered Hinz' influence, the Tuskegee legacy, the aircraft's heritage and its new mission. "Don Hinz started something we're proud to be a part of," said McGee. McGee flew his P-51C "Kitten" late in the war and stayed with the service. He went on to set the record for highest three-war total for fighter combat missions flown by any pilot in the history of the Air Force. Brad Lang also spoke. Lang's father was a Tuskegee Airman and the younger, who is now 50 years of age and a Captain for Delta, has also now flown the P-51C and shares that much more with his father. Max Haynes, a project supporter and aviation photographer was also there and has photos of the project aircraft online at MaxAir2Air.com. Immediately after the show, the aircraft will be headed to its home in St. Paul, Minn., for its official homecoming to the CAF Wing there. |
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| Counting Heads—At LSA Tents and in the Air Shows | back to top | |
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LSA Industry Holding Its Own
Many of those smaller companies are lean, operating without a lot of overhead, Johnson said, which makes it easier for them to weather the economy's ups and downs. He added that there seems to be a shift in the LSA market from older buyers who are looking for a smaller or more efficient alternative to their previous airplanes, to more flight schools and more buyers who are new to aviation. He noted that there is no hard data on that, but that is based on his anecdotal experience.
Where's Sean Tucker? He's On His Way
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The last year has been a tough one for GA, but Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers
Association, said at AirVenture Oshkosh on Wednesday that most of the LSA manufacturers have been weathering the storm. "Our sales numbers are down about 25 percent compared to a year ago, but the
GAMA numbers [reported by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association] were down about 50 percent," he said. There are now 99 different LSA designs that have met ASTM certification standards, and
Johnson said he expects Number 100 soon. "But people are asking, where's the shakeout?" he said -- are 100 models too many for the market to support? "The fact is, the top 10 manufacturers account for
about 75 percent of sales, and the top 20 are about 90 percent, and many of the others are smaller, niche companies," Johnson said. In effect, the shakeout has already taken place.
The afternoon airshows at AirVenture Oshkosh are one of the event's annual highlights, with the world's greatest aerial
performers -- but Sean Tucker, whose red Oracle biplane is an annual highlight of that show, has so far been missing. "I will be there on Thursday," he told AVweb on the phone from Milwaukee,
where he has been busy for a few days working on his airplane. "I had a new engine FedExed out from California, and the FedEx airplane broke down," he said. But as of Wednesday, the engine had arrived
and it was installed, and Tucker was test flying it. Meanwhile, the Monday afternoon airshow was canceled due to rain, but on Tuesday, huge crowds filled the Oshkosh grounds to see fly-bys by
WhiteKnightTwo and the Airbus A380, which were followed by acts as varied as the Red Bull helicopter, Matt Younkin's Twin Beech, and Bill Stein's aerobatic Edge.
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| Sights and Sounds of Oshkosh | back to top | |
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This Week, Live from Oshkosh: The AVwebCam (Live Video Feed)
EAA AirVenture 2009 Galleries: Day Four
We were wondered where AVweb intern Adam Cutler disappeared to yesterday. Apparently he got some time aboard the A380 and worked his way down to the seaplane base. Meanwhile, contributing photographer Mariano Rosales has been snapping photos like crazy and creating some amazing panoramic photos we'll be sharing with you in upcoming galleries. |
Watch for live video coverage of EAA AirVenture throughout the web, via our AVwebCam. We'll be broadcasting
live from 9am to 6pm local (Oshkosh) time each day of the show. Look for the webcam player on our home page to enjoy the sights and sounds of the show — and maybe catch a glimpse of the
AVweb team in action.
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or call (888) 221-6442 for a quote.
| AVweb Audio —? Are You Listening? | back to top | |
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EAA AirVenture 2009 Podcast Series: Garmin's New GAD43File Size 4.6 MB / Running Time 5:02
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
Owners who equip their aircraft with Garmin's G600 glass panel have been sometimes surprised to learn they still need to retain their old iron gyros to give the autopilot attitude pickoff information. Garmin has addressed this with a new product called the GAD43, which allows the G600's digital attitude information to talk directly to autopilots. In this podcast, Garmin's Jim Alpiser explains how it works.
This podcast is brought to you by WxWorx XM WX
Satellite Weather
EAA AirVenture 2009 Podcast Series: Satellite Tracking Goes (Pretty Much) Real-Time with SpidertracksFile Size 2.9 MB / Running Time 4:17
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
GPS technology has improved life for pilots and their friends on the ground over the last decade. Now New Zealand company Spidertracks (booth 3062 at AirVenture) is leveraging the power of the Iridium satellite network to service pilots and their ground-bound friends in all sorts of interesting ways — by logging their flight paths and allowing anyone to check their location and progress online. Engineering director James McCarthy gave us the lowdown at Oshkosh.
This podcast is brought to you by Lightspeed
Aviation.
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| AVweb Media: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn | back to top | |
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EAA AirVenture 2009 Video Series: Bendix/King's New AV8OR ACE
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Bendix/King has introduced a new follow-up product to its AV8OR touchscreen navigator. It's called the ACE and can display geo-referenced charts and plates. AVweb took the new product for a spin at AirVenture this week. This video is brought to you by WxWorx XM WX
Satellite Weather
EAA AirVenture 2009 Video Series: In the Pattern Over OshkoshOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Sitting in front of your computer thinking how awesome it would be if you could at least get up in the air for a few minutes and fly around the patch at Oshkosh? We feel ya — and that's why we strapped on some cameras for this bonus video, which gives you an aerial tour of the EAA AirVenture grounds.
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | back to top | |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
How Do You Like That Glass Panel? Take Aviation Consumer's User Survey
Click here to take the survey.
(The results will appear in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. For subscription information, click here.) |
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
via email to 
Virtually every new airplane these days has an electronic flight display system of some kind. Our sister publication
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| Your Favorite FBOs | back to top | |
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FBO of the Week: TAC Air (KTXK, Texarkana, AR)
Nominate an FBO | Rules | Tips | Questions | Winning FBOs
AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to the TAC Air location at KTXK in Texarkana, Arkansas.
Whether you're one of those folks who consider Texarkana a Southern city or one of those who consider it part of the West, AVweb reader Craig Gill reminds us that the real issue is whether that famed hospitality extends to traveling pilots. As it turns out, it does.
Craig writes:
I have a Lancair IVPGarrett turbine. It requires some special handling for towing and fueling, [and] the line guys were awesome. There was fresh iced tea and cookies in the lounge. The facilities are really nice, and the flight planning area is very well-equipped.
Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.
AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday! |
| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
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Meet the AVwebFlash TeamAVwebFlash is a weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.
The AVwebFlash team is:
Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)
Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.
Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.
If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.
Aviate. Navigate. Communicate. |
