aerokurier 8/2002
 Editiorial Catch 22 nightmare / Feature Stampe
team / Pilot
Report DA40 TDI / Business
Aviation Superlight business jets / Magazine Questions on the
new European pilot’s licences (motor gliders), PFA Rally 2002, German Aerobatic
Championships, 78 Cubs above Wels, Rally around Egelsbach, In the cockpit with Klaus
Schrodt / Travel Scottish
weather / Flying Flying
a light helicopter / Practice What
to do when one becomes disorientated, Minimum altitudes, SkyView: a new kind of weather
forecast, Accident analysis: flying with open cockpit at night / Ultralight P92
Echo 2000 S, Impulse Aircraft: new start-up in Halle-Oppin / Gliding Rolladen
Schneider LS8-t with self-sustainer, Peschges Moving Map, ESW-2B electric winch, Alpine
flying school in Samedan, Countdown to the 2nd Club Class World Championships, Racing
Class SPECIAL, Filser LX5000 Version 10
EDITORIAL
Catch 22 nightmare
"No work, no papers. No papers, no work." An airfield information controller in
north Germany found himself in a Catch 22 situation similar to the one faced by the
central figure in Zuckmayer’s famous play, "The Captain of Köpenick". As
the holder of a PPL, he had applied for a job as airfield information controller and was
accepted. The service regulations for airfield information controllers require that those
performing this role should have at least a private pilot’s licence as "proof of
the necessary competence", and accordingly this was a requirement for this particular
job.
The airfield information controller naturally now wanted to get
his tax office to recognise the costs of keeping his PPL current as a tax-deductible
expense. But the tax office was only prepared to do this if the employer would confirm
that a PPL was actually required in order to get the job. The employer suddenly scented
danger. If it provided the employee with written confirmation that he must have a PPL in
order to qualify for the job then the argument might be put forward that the employer
should bear the costs of maintaining his PPL status. This it was unwilling to do. The
employee therefore did not get the written confirmation. Yet without such confirmation he
cannot deduct the expenses.
If the legislator is in favour of having airfield information managers,
then one would hope it would want these to be qualified pilots. This is not a job that can
be performed by a hangar pilot who has never sat at the controls himself. And employers
who will not provide their flying airfield information controller with the documentation
required by the tax authorities are endangering air safety because they are preventing
airfield information controllers from fulfilling their proper role.
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FEATURE
Stampe team
A collection of six Stampe SV.4C’s has been assembled in Nordhorn-Lingen, motivated
by love of old planes, and especially of this historical military and civil trainer.
Stampe formation flying displays are very popular at air shows. The team invests a lot of
effort on flying training on this aircraft, but fun is also important here. On holiday
trips and ordinary local flights pilots can experience something of what flying had to
offer in the early days of aviation.
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PILOT REPORT
DA40 TDI
The DA40 TDI is expected to be certified this September. We took a flight in the first
prototype (OE-KPP) and were able to gain an in-depth impression of the flying performance
of this new plane.
During the take-off run, there is virtually no difference between the
180hp Diamond Star and the DA40 TDI, despite the latter producing only 135hp. About 20
seconds after take-off the nose of the Diamond Star was one or two metres ahead at the
most. Again, there are no significant differences on the initial climb: both aircraft
climb at about 800ft/min. However, from 3,000ft the new diesel version is clearly in the
lead, thanks to turbocharging.
During the cruise it can manage 130KIAS at full throttle, rising to
over 150KTAS at 10,000ft. Fuel consumption is 27l/h. You can find out all about how the
DA40 TDI performs in the August edition of aerokurier.
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BUSINESS AVIATION
Superlight business jets
The competition is thinning out: the next months will show which of the superlight
business jets can reach the finishing line and get certified the first. At present the
Eclipse 500 and the Safire S-26 appear to be in the lead.
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MAGAZINE
Questions on the new European pilot’s licences (motor gliders)
The introduction of the European pilot’s licence in Germany is moving closer. It is
expected that the JAR-FCL regulations will come into force in Germany in the spring of
2003. There are still many unanswered questions. In this series of articles we examine the
most burning issues, and this month’s article looks at the motor glider licence.
PFA Rally 2002
The name Cranfield acts as a magnet to British recreational pilots. A mega-fly-in is held
here every year. And more and more Europeans from the Continent are succumbing to the
charms of this very English event.
This time some 1,500 aircraft flew in to Cranfield, which is about an
hour’s drive to the north of London. The Popular Flying Association (PFA) Annual
Rally is not just a fly-in, but it is also a trade fair devoted entirely to the needs of
pilots of light aircraft and vintage aircraft. The flea market offers everything from
scrap metal to bargains. And some new products were also on show in Cranfield. All this
and the special atmosphere which makes Cranfield so unique are described in our report in
the latest issue of aerokurier.
German Aerobatic Championships
Following on from his success last year, Klaus Schrodt has once again won the German
Aerobatic Championships in the Unlimited class. But the 42 contestants in the other three
scoring classes also put in creditable performances at Grossenhain between 26 and 30 June.
For the first time they included guest pilots from the Czech Republic. In the Advanced and
Intermediate classes they were right up among the leaders.
78 Cubs above Wels
It was the premiere event for Austria and at the same time it attracted a record
attendance. 78 Cubs, Super Cubs and J-3C’s with their pilots took up the invitation
to the 19th International Piper-PA-18/J-3C convention at Wels airfield in Upper Austria,
some 20km to the south-west of Linz.
Rally around Egelsbach
The wind was very prominent at the "Rund um Egelsbach" friendship rally, the
45th to have been held in succession. The wind could not dampen the good spirits of the 23
teams, although it did result in many additional penalty points in the precision landings.
The most experienced pilots had little trouble with this: they touched down only once,
exactly at the finishing line.
In the cockpit with Klaus Schrodt
In his main occupation he flies an A340 and, as captain, he is responsible for over 200
passengers. But when Klaus Schrodt starts an aerobatic sequence in the sky, performing
rolls and loops or going into a tailspin, then he and his red Extra 300 are in another
world. In the world of powered aerobatics, he leads the Grand Prix of the twelve best
pilots in the world and he is also the reigning world Freestyle Champion and German
Aerobatics Champion.
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TRAVEL
Scottish weather
Anyone seeking to fly to Scotland VFR either needs a lot of luck with the weather or else
must be in a position to change his plans at short notice. Gerd Obernosterer and his three
companions on board a Cessna 182 had to re-plan their route from Nuremberg to Edinburgh
and Inverness a number of times.
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FLYING
Flying a light helicopter
Helicopter flying is expensive, difficult and requires a lot of maintenance work.
"Not true!" says one who ought to know – Hansi Bader of Heubach, who
realised his dream of helicopter flying with a small, but refined CH-7 Angel.
In fact Bader refutes the argument that helicopter flying has to be
expensive. And as for helicopters being difficult to fly, having felt at home for many
years on a range of air vehicles, Bader feels this is a load of cobblers as well.
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PRACTICE
What to do when one becomes disorientated
Structured route planning not only reduces in-flight workload, but it also lowers the
risk of making incorrect decisions in critical situations. Moreover, although a GPS
receiver is a valuable aid to terrestrial navigation, nevertheless it is no substitute for
careful planning.
Minimum altitudes
Reckless low-altitude flying motivated out of the desire to impress often ends fatally.
That is why minimum safe heights are not just arbitrary figures conjured up by
bureaucrats, but they have a reserve built in to them to cover emergency situations. In
this month’s issue of aerokurier we explain the rules, show how rapidly mistakes can
creep into flying practice and describe their consequences.
SkyView: a new kind of weather forecast
Detailed meteorological information covering the whole of Europe is now available in the
form of a compact summary from the German Meteorological Service (DWD) with its internet
SkyView service. The full range of services is described in detail.
Accident analysis: flying with open cockpit at night
The weather had taken a turn for the worse and night was falling when the pilot of a
Cessna flying in the vicinity of Rechlin-Lärz was confronted with a problem that normally
occurs only very seldom, a broken windscreen. For a short time the Cessna flew with an
open cockpit. The temperature was -8ºC, the instruments were no longer legible and the
pilot became disorientated. He and his passenger did not have a chance. The aircraft
collided with trees and was dashed to pieces. In the subsequent accident analysis, it
turned out that the detergent used to clean the windscreen over a long period of time had
had the effect of altering the viscosity of the windscreen so that it broke.
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ULTRALIGHT
P92 Echo 2000 S
The Tecnam P92 Echo has been a best-seller for years. It is regarded as sturdy and
easy to fly. In the new top-of-the range 2000 S version, the Italian manufacturer has
produced a more mature version of his successful model. Less wing surface and a slightly
longer fuselage are only two of the many changes. Major enhancements have been made both
to the aerodynamics of the aircraft and to the airframe.
It was clear by the time of our test flight, if not before, that the
P92 Echo 2000 S has moved the ultralight class still closer to normal powered aircraft
than its sister models.
Impulse Aircraft: new start-up in Halle-Oppin
The young Impulse Aircraft company underwent a period of turbulence last year. Now it
seems that the new start-up in Halle-Oppin is finding its feet. We visited the site to
have a look around. The preconditions for long-lasting success of the new company appear
good. The chief partner, Philipp Steinbach, has big hopes of the new version of the
Impulse with tail-wheel landing gear and the Jabiru six-cylinder 3300A. We report on the
current state of affairs at the young company and its prospects for the future.
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GLIDING
Rolladen Schneider LS8-t with self-sustainer
The powered version of the LS8-t is not yet in series production. More time is needed
before the engine unit can be certified, even if the required number of hours of engine
trials was almost complete at the end of June, with 50 flying hours clocked up. However,
the LS8-b, whose airframe is already suitable for motorisation, has been certified since
the middle of May.
The LS8-b has not put on any weight compared with its sister
aircraft, the LS8-a. The additional mass entailed by the structural modifications has been
offset by building the tail boom out of carbon fibre reinforced plastic instead of
glass-fibre reinforced plastic. The motor glider weighs a mere 35kg more than the glider
version, despite engine, tank and additional controls.
The drive concept itself is somewhat unusual. Engine and
propellers are held in the operating position using hydraulics instead of an electric
jackscrew actuator. This has the advantage that no batteries are needed either for
extension or retraction, making it possible to dispense with the weight of an extra
battery and generator.
Peschges Moving Map
The Peschges Moving Map (PMM) navigation programme, which runs on the Compaq iPAQ, enables
one to be accurately informed of one’s position at all times thanks to
superimposition of this information onto an ICAO map.
Exact GPS documentation has made equally accurate GPS navigation
necessary, and with the PMM, position information is easy to assimilate. Aachen-based
Peschges Variometer GmbH (www.peschges.com) offers this with the Peschges Moving Map (PMM)
navigation programme, using the VP8 flight recorder or another GPS receiver and the
handheld Compaq iPAQ computer. We report.
ESW-2B electric winch
An electric winch without its own power substation which does not require enormously
expensive, ultra-thick cables running right along the airfield – is that possible?
The ESW-2B electric winch from Jürgen Volck (Ulbrich Industrieelektronik GmbH, Weinbach)
manages just with batteries. The first electric winch from industrial series production is
in service in Bad Neuenahr. Its power, simple operation and low maintenance requirements
make it very attractive.
Even heavy two-seaters can be handled by the dual drum winch. The
launch unit is fitted with a 90kW three-phase AC current standard motor with a peak output
of 210kW and is designed and certified for aircraft weighing up to 850 kg.
So has Jürgen Volck come up with the ideal winch? In principle
an electric winch is almost the ideal launch winch. The electric motor is virtually
maintenance-free, wear and tear is negligible and the poor cold start performance that is
only too familiar on combustion engines is not a worry here – the unit is fully
operational immediately. It is also light and does not give off any exhaust fumes. Nor
does the electric winch have a vulnerable torque converter transmission, something which
on conventional launch winches has to make up for shortcomings forced onto the design by
the regulations, while at the same time swallowing up 30% of the power output. In the
electric winch, the electronic controls ensure that the glider is pulled with the correct
cable force, while at the same time this makes operation very simple.
Alpine flying school in Samedan
Flying and learning with enjoyment was the catchphrase at the basic "Introduction to
Alpine gliding" course held in Samedan in Oberengadin.
The word has got around that the introductory course on mountain
gliding organised jointly by the Swiss Gliding Association and the Deutscher Aero Club is
an exceptionally worthwhile way of expanding the horizons of all glider pilots seeking to
familiarise themselves with Alpine gliding. The aim of the course is to teach participants
safe mountain gliding and an appreciation of the beauty of Alpine gliding through a
combination of theory and practice. The course is aimed at pilots with little flying
experience, either in mountain gliding or gliding generally. Weather conditions in the
first half of June were excellent.
Countdown to the 2nd Club Class World Championships
The 2nd Club Class World Championships begin on 10 August in Musbach in the Black Forest.
66 pilots from 24 nations have entered. The ground crew at Freudenstadt are fully
prepared.
Following the German Club Class Championships in Oerlinghausen in May, the
German team for Musbach has now been selected: the team members include the German
Champion, Andreas Lange (ASW 19B WL), Manny Gersmaier (LS1-f) and Matthias Sturm (Hornet),
while the team captain is Rainer Wienzek.
Racing Class SPECIAL
With an entry of 22, the competition inaugurated last year at Burg Feuerstein is set to
become a fixture in the competition calendar. Of course, a certain amount of good fortune
is needed in relation to the weather, and the second Racing Class SPECIAL at Burg
Feuerstein was lucky in this respect in a spring which otherwise was not very favourable
for long-distance flying. There were five scoring days in the first week of June. This was
pretty good when one recalls that the two-week long German Championships in
Aalen-Elchingen had only scraped the four days’ minimum required.
Immo Raithel of Aero-Club Walldorf was the winner once again,
establishing a lead on the first day and maintaining it through to the end. However, in
second place was a newcomer, Christian Bentz of Luftsportring Aalen, who performed well
right from the start. Rainer Cronjäger of Luftsportverein Bad Neuenahr, who up to now has
flown in the Club Class, came in third.
Filser LX5000 Version 10
Filser Electronic is offering new firmware and a new, high-resolution display. Ralf
Fischer gained the opportunity to take a closer look at the prototype. |
