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| AVflash! Accident Mars Tuesday Festivities | back to top |  |
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Jack Roush Injured In AirVenture Crash
NASCAR team owner and veteran pilot and aircraft collector Jack Roush, 68, is in serious but stable condition after his Beechcraft Premier pancaked on the airport and slid across the grass at Wittman Regional Airport. His passenger Brenda Strickland, 61, was also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. EAA is calling it a "landing accident" but a pilot who witnessed the accident said it appeared Roush was initiating an aborted landing when a wing dropped and the aircraft hit the ground. The NTSB is leading the investigation.
Winds were a little gusty at the time of the incident. The impact caught the attention of those still on the grounds at AirVenture as a loud bang reverberated through the grounds. The crash occurred as the aircraft was attempting to land on Runway 18. More details as they become available.
Audio posted to LiveATC.net may include the exchange between OSH controllers and Roush. If accurate, the jet is misidentified in the exchange as "six sierra" and accurately as "premier." This audio is not "real time," we've edited out the blank space on the recording. Click here to listen. |
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| Fuel Fracas Hits the AirVenture Forums | back to top | |
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EPA On Lead In Fuel: No Immediate Deadline
The Environmental Protection Agency told GA's Avgas Coalition that the agency "has not established or proposed any date by which lead emissions from aircraft operating on leaded avgas would need to be reduced. In fact, the EPA does not have authority to control aviation fuels." The EPA's statement came in a response to a request for a clarification on the EPA's position on the future of lead regulation and clean air standards.
The EPA's Margo Tsirigotis Oge said the EPA's job is to determine which chemical or physical properties of a fuel or additive might endanger public health. But she also noted that only the FAA has the authority to regulate which fuels aircraft are allowed to burn. AOPA said Tuesday that the EPA assured the avgas coalition that it recognizes the value of general aviation, especially piston-powered general aviation, to the nation and the national economy.
Industry Leaders: Don't Panic On Avgas
In an effort to calm rising fears over the apparent lack of discernible progress on finding a replacement for 100LL, leaders of all the major alphabets held a fuel forum at AirVenture on Tuesday that produced this overarching message: Aircraft owners and operators shouldn't panic about the future lack of a 100LL replacement just yet, but they reiterated that the challenge of finding an avgas replacement is complex and won't be solved quickly. Jim Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association, told the group of reporters, manufacturers and industry representatives that the simple truth is that political and regulatory issues impact the availability of fuel across all markets and aviation is tiny speck of the big picture. "This is not the time for us to panic," Coyne said, "but we also can't stick our heads the sand, either." Coyne owns a Baron with a pair of IO-520s and says he's fully confident fuel will be available for his aircraft and that he wouldn't hesitate to invest in the overhauls.
On the other hand, the panel heard direct concerns from people who don't share Coyne's sanguine view of future fuel availability. Although members of the industry's future fuel committee continue to insist that octane is only one consideration in the development of a new fuel, owners and operators show signs of believing it's the most important consideration. Curt Sanford, a member of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association, bluntly told the panel that 94-octane is simply too low and the fact that it has even been under consideration has created "a lot of anxiety" in the market. More push came from Jon Sisk, a member of the Clean 100-Octane Coalition, a recently formed group that's buttonholing the alphabets and FAA to at least agree that 100-octane or the equivalent performance ought to at least be the stated goal.
AOPA's Craig Fuller, who has recently taken a more visible role in talking about avgas, said although the association hasn't necessarily reported in detail about its activities in massaging the regulatory process, it is pushing on smoothing the regulatory barriers stacked against approving new fuels, including an STC application that General Aviation Modifications Inc. has requested for its developmental G100UL. "Let's go forward with that and let's see what we can learn from the process," Fuller said.
Lycoming's Mike Kraft: Stop Loving The Avgas Problem And Fix It
Lycoming Engine general manager Michael Kraft continued to speak on the 100LL fuel replacement issue by urging pilots and owners to do a little speaking themselves: to their elected representatives and especially to the alphabets -- AOPA, EAA and NBAA. As he has in past weeks, Kraft continued an aggressive narrative on the avgas replacement effort at a forum at EAA AirVenture. Kraft told the audience that anything less than a 100-octane replacement or at least the equivalent performance will be at minimum a $2 billion mistake and "it doesn't take more than one line on the back of an envelope to figure that out." Kraft said it's time to "stop loving the problem" and develop a clear, sure-footed approach to finding a replacement fuel.
Kraft outlined Lycoming's 10-point action plan, the two most important of which were putting pressure on the consensus-based ASTM International to address fuel approvals more quickly and for owners to insist that owner groups and alphabets get more aggressive in removing barriers to new fuel development. Further, the industry shouldn't waste its time trying to fight EPA efforts that will eventually regulate lead out of existence as an octane additive. In a sentiment we've heard several times here at AirVenture, Kraft said the problem is not technical, but political and procedural.
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| You Want Alternative Fuels? How About This? | back to top | |
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Dragonfly Helicopter: Low-Tech/High-Concept
To start up the hydrogen-peroxide-powered single-seat Dragonfly helicopter, the pilot pushes a few times on a fuel-pump crank handle, the fuel climbs up to the rotor hub and travels out to a tiny combustion chamber in the rotor tips, then it's vaporized and ejected, creating thrust. "The only emission is water vapor," says Ricardo Cavalcanti, CEO of Avimech, a Tucson-based company that is selling copies of the little aircraft. Options include a crop-dusting kit, and extra fuel tanks that would boost endurance to one and a half hours. The Dragonfly weighs just 250 pounds and can fly as fast as 100 knots. "Two guys can lift it onto a trailer and take it anywhere," says Cavalcanti. The hydrogen peroxide fuel is readily available, he said, and burns at the rate of 11 gallons per hour.
Once the main rotor starts turning, a driveshaft turns the tail rotor and centrifugal force keeps the fuel flowing. The aircraft is FAA certified and sells for $120,000, Cavalcanti said, although he was offering a show special of $84,000 to the first five takers. An electronic flight instrument system is included as standard equipment. From purchase to delivery is about four months. |
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| Light Aircraft, Heavy Ambitions | back to top | |
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Perlan Project Aims To Glide To 90,000 Feet
A group called The Perlan Project plans to launch a glider to 90,000 feet in July 2012, riding lift generated by the southern polar vortex and the Andes Mountains. The group currently holds the altitude record for sailplanes, set in 2006 by Einar Enevoldson and the late Steve Fossett, at 50,671 feet. For the new effort, Greg Cole, of Windward Performance, is designing an all-new carbon-fiber two-seat aircraft with an 84-foot wingspan, now under construction in Bend, Ore. Ed Warnock, CEO of the Perlan Project, said at EAA AirVenture this week that the project is well-funded and proceeding on schedule.
Among those participating and contributing support is Dennis Tito, who became the first paying space tourist when he traveled to the International Space Station in 2001.
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The "Ultralight" Heli Pilot Who Flew From France
Matthieu de Quillacq told us Monday at Oshkosh that he is "a lucky man" and not because he survived his trip to Oshkosh from the south of France in his Italian-made Kompress CH-7 very light helicopter. Long before the weeklong trip that brought Quillacq to AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, Quillacq won a timed point-to-point navigation contest (no GPS allowed) when he flew the CH-7 against big-name turbine-driven competitors. Before working for Kompress, Quillacq competed in hang gliders and also flew paragliders, honing his airmanship and eyesight navigation. For Kompress customers, he's delivered (flown) a helicopter to Africa and he's flown another over China's Great Wall. On his trip to Oshkosh, Quillacq spent some long lonely hours over cold open water. He described the early, long overwater leg between Faroe Island and Iceland: "It's funny because your head starts to think differently ... you feel you are nothing and you try to find God everywhere."
Quillacq's nearly 5,000-mile trip from Barcelonnette, France, to Oshkosh, Wis., took him about eight days, aided by longer daylight hours in the far north. His route took him through the UK, Iceland, Greenland, Baffin Island and through Canada across the cold Labrador Sea. He hopes to continue on through the U.S. and Canada, through Russia and on home. The Kompress CH-7, as tiny as it is, is a two-place helicopter, but isn't built for such long trips. Quillacq fitted the back seat with a 40-ish gallon fuel tank he fabricated from carbon fiber. The tank gave Quillacq a range of more than 900 miles. And the Rotax 914 turbocharged engine gave him the flexibility of using unleaded fuel supplied by any outpost he could find along the way. He was performing routine maintenance on the helicopter when we found him at Oshkosh.
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| Everbody Loves Fifi; Why Don't You Go See Her? | back to top | |
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CAF's B-29 "FIFI" Is Touring, Rides Offered
The Commemorative Air Force's (CAF's) B-29, FIFI, has been fully restored to reclaim its title as the world's only flying B-29. The CAF says it's about to go on tour, and they're selling rides. The "Red, White & Loud Tour" begins on Aug. 28 & 29 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Denver and will open the aircraft to guided tours and rides. You may have to purchase your tickets in advance, but the story (announced Tuesday at AirVenture Oshkosh) was so new at the time we went to press that the CAF had not yet listed tour dates or locations on its website. But, if you're interested in meeting FIFI at a city near you, we do have some advice.
To keep tabs on the historic aircraft, bookmark this web page and check back frequently. Otherwise, click on this link and call the contact numbers you'll find there. This story, and the aircraft itself, would not be complete without mention of Jim Cavanaugh, founder of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. Cavanaugh's generosity played a large part in seeing FIFI re-engined and returned to the sky. |
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| Bite-Size Bits from OSH | back to top | |
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Adept Airmotive's New V-6 Takes Flight
Adept Airmotive reports that its new V-6 aircraft engine took its maiden flight last week in South Africa in a Ravin 500 experimental aircraft. In a podcast earlier this year, Adept's Richard Schulz gave us a detailed rundown on the engine, a sophisticated 120-degree V-6 design with electronic controls and exceptionally light weight.
Although the aircraft and engine aren't on display at AirVenture this week, Schulz is in Oshkosh promoting the engine and will hold a forum in Pavilion 2 at 5:30pm on Wednesday.
AVweb Insider Blog: AirVenture 2010 — OSH Mini-Blogs
Gotta hand it to Bose, says Paul Bertorell on the AVweb Insider blog. They've been at this noise-cancelling thing for more than 20 years, and the new A20 shows that experience. After you check out the A20, walk right across the street to Lycoming and sniff around at that company's new technology. They're definitely moving forward.
Catch up with Paul's quick thoughts on the show in his latest blog post. |
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| Video Reports: Things You Just Don't See Every Day | back to top | |
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A Rare and Beautiful DC-3
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Take a tour of a beautiful corporate-owned DC-3. It's never been restored, but you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer one than Esther Mae.
This video is brought to you by Bose
Corporation
Matthieu de Quillacq: He Flew a Single-Seat Helicopter from France to Oshkosh
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Matthieu de Quillacq flew his lightweight Kompress CH-7 kit helicopter from southern France to Oshkosh, and he hopes to continue right around the world. AVweb's Glenn Pew caught up with him at AirVenture to find out more.
This video is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips |
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| AVweb Audio — Are You Listening? | back to top | |
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Lycoming Chief Keeps Up Fuel PressureFile Size 7.6 MB / Running Time 7:24
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
The disappearance of 100-octane fuel is the single biggest threat to general aviation, and it's a drum Lycoming's Mike Kraft refuses to stop beating. He speaks with AVweb's Paul Bertorelli about progress in the fight so far.
This podcast is brought to you by Lightspeed
Aviation
Ed Warnock of the Perlan ProjectFile Size 5.9 MB / Running Time 5:44
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
The Perlan Project holds the world record for altitude in a glider, set at 50,671 feet by Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson in 2006. The group now is building a new pressurized glider with plans to reach 90,000 feet above the Andes in 2012, riding uplift from the southern polar vortex. AVweb's Mary Grady talked with Ed Warnock, CEO of the project, at EAA AirVenture.
This podcast is brought to you by WxWorx XM WX
Satellite Weather
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| Photo Galleries | back to top | |
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Photos from EAA AirVenture 2010: Ultralights!
It takes a couple of days to shake off the jetlag from all the packing and and checkpoints of getting to Oshkosh by commercial flights. Fortunately, Mariano Rosales knows just how to shake the dirt off his boots and get into the spirit of AirVenture — with a trip to check out the ultralights.
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | back to top | |
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Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
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