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aerokurier 8/1999
Jealousy tax from the transport ministry? The German government has no money and is turning every stone to find some. Again, the supposedly rich private pilots are the ones to suffer. The German ministry of transport (BMV) has shown yet another creative way to endanger General Aviation in Germany. The BMV just came up with the plan to issue stickers or vignettes for VFR aircraft. According to ideas of some government officials, each German-registered aircraft will have to buy a vignette for VFR flights which must be renewed annually. The cost per year: 7000 Mark! This regulation would also apply to ultralight aircraft and gliders. In the arena of the World Gliding Aerobatic Championships 1999 An aerobatic gliding competition puts a lot of pressure on the participating pilots who must show their performance in a short time of only three minutes. Just one decisive mistake in a figure can spoil the most perfectly tuned program. There is no second chance, everything has to come together in the three minutes. This is the most that the available 1000 meters of altitude yield the aerobatic glider pilots for their show. The aerokurier visited the training of the German national team in the arena of the world gliding aerobatics championships 1999 in Niederöblarn. EAC Explorer 350R: The different Caravan In Western Australia the flight test phase of a Caravan-like utility single-engine aircraft has started which is promising excellent performance data and balanced handling characteristics. The Explorer 350R highwing aircraft is the first of a family of three versions and seats seven passengers. The aircraft’s maximum cruise speed is at 145 kts, it has a range of approximately 2000 kilometres. The Explorer 350R is powered by a Continental TSIO-550-E313 with 350 hp. One big difference to Cessna’s Caravan is that the Explorer has a retractable landing gear. The aircraft has an empty weight of 1360 kg and offers a potential for various missions. The cabin can be loaded via a large freight door. The generous window space should be appreciated by both passengers and surveillance personnel. Since the aft rudder connections are routed underneath the left cabin floor, the floor center is available for openings for cameras and measuring equipment. The manufacturer currently does not give estimates for the aircraft’s certification in Australia and the USA. Still, the flight test program is progressing well. 43rd Aérosalon in Paris The Ačrosalon in Le Bourget is the most important aerospace trade show in the world. While the news were limited this year, the aerospace industry was booking orders in a record high. All together, orders worth 25 billion Dollar were announced at the show. General Aviation always stands in the shadow of the large industry, even though the Business Aviation is taking an increasing part of the trade show activities. All manufacturers of Business Jets were represented in Paris and were showing the scale of their products. Wichita-based Raytheon Aircraft logged the largest single order when Executive Jet signed for 50 Hawker Horizon along with options for another 50 aircraft. Just this order alone has a value of two billion Dollar. Bombardier Aerospace announced the program launch of the Continental which is a direct competitor to the Horizon. The Continental jet is powered by two AlliedSignal-AS907 turbofans, each generating 28,9 kN of take-off thrust. The aircraft is supposed to have a range of 3100 NM at a cruise speed of Mach 0.82. For Socata, the Paris Airshow was a home game. The manufacturer used this opportunity to present the new generation of its TB-series aircraft. World-wide, there are 1900 single-engine TB-aircraft flying. Now, there is a new generation of TB aircraft. The first aircraft of the TB Nouvelle Génération (NG), a TB 20, was shown the Le Bourget exhibit area. Helicopter for the next millennium Bell Agusta Aerospace Company, a joint venture of Bell Helicopter Textron (Texas) and Agusta (Italy), will be producing and marketing the new AB 139 helicopter of the six-ton class. In Le Bourget, Bell Agusta for the first time presented the mock-up of the AB 139. The spacious multi-purpose helicopter joins traditional helicopter manufacture with the application of innovative technologies. The Honeywell glass cockpit is one of the most modern in aviation. The AB 139 will supposedly be available beginning in 2002, at the same time when the Bell Agusta civil tilt-rotor aircraft BA 609 is going to be introduced into the market. New aircraft engines While over the past decades new developments from the classic aircraft piston engine manufacturers Textron Lycoming and Teledyne Continental have been very limited, there is a scale of new engines available today for experimental, ultralight and touring motor gliders. Finally there are new technologies available for aviation which have been known in the automobile sector for years. The August issue explains which of the engines are new and what they have to offer. 10th Helicopter world championships in Nördlingen The old town Nördlingen im Ries will be the site for the 10th Helicopter world championships from 19 to 22 August. 59 crews (each consisting of a pilot and a copilot) from eleven nations have signed in for the competition. Germany is participating with ten male and two pure women’s crews. The traditionally strong Russian teams are the favourites for the first places. Still, the Austrian crews have good chances too. They are participating for the first time in world championships and showed a convincing performance at the event’s dress rehearsal in 1998 in Nördlingen. VFR to Israel Some pilots from Aachen wanted to escape the bad weather in Germany. They picked Israel as destination for their VFR flight. Getting the necessary permits for the two aircraft was no problem, neither was the trip to Eilat at the Red Sea. However, after that there were some technical problems which would have almost gotten one of the crews wet feet. Tightrope walk: Banner tow A circus does not necessarily have to play under a tent. Circus can also mean a tightrope walk in 2000 ft over the skyscrapers of Frankfurt, Germany. Kim Dillon with her ageing Morane aircraft is towing a huge banner for the circus FlicFlac. The banner says "It’s just a question of nerves". And that is pretty much what is important when doing banner tow flights. Refresher: "Stay at altitude" Summer time has its hidden dangers. High temperatures, maybe even combined with high humidity and a runway at high elevation, can increase the take-off distance of aircraft considerably. In his article, aerokurier author Roland Straub is brushing up on the basic considerations of this topic. Who takes them into account has good chances not to get into a situation where the end of the runway is coming closer quickly without having reached the required lift-off speed. Meteorology: The correct interpretation of radar pictures Thanks to modern data transfer technologies, the available information from the weather service is always up to date. This is especially useful for the transmission of radar pictures which allow an optimized flight planning in critical conditions. However, in order to use the information content of radar pictures to the best extent, one requires an in depth understanding of the physical conditions which also helps in avoiding dangerous misinterpretations. Solar eclipse Whomever is flying on August 11 at noon in the area of Stuttgart should be prepared for a night flight. There will be a total solar eclipse which will darken the sky in a band of 110 kilometres in width, running from West to East for more than two minutes. Accident analysis: Neglect of the pressure altitude A Swiss pilot and his three passengers wanted to take off in his Zlin 143 from the high altitude airfield Reutte, in Tirol in the Alps. However, he did not consider the change of his aircraft’s performance due to the high pressure altitude. The engine did not generate the required take-off performance, the aircraft was unable to gain altitude after lift-off and crashed in trees in the departure sector of the runway. Jabiru engines: From an idea to series production Rodney Stiff was actually looking for an engine for his homebuilt aircraft. Today, the Australian is producing his four and six-cylinder engines for experimental and ultralight aircraft all over the world. In Downunder there has developed a considerable engine production which is different to other suppliers not just in a few details. We took a closer look at the engine manufacturer which is located in Bundaberg, Australia. 14th German ultralight championships 25 teams were competing in June in Ballenstedt for the German ultralight champions title. The event was also the qualifying for the world championships in Hungary. The crew Korella/Altenkirch (Ikarus C-42) won the title in the double-seater category with a clear lead. In the other categories, the competition was much closer. Silent AE-1: An ultralight for lots of gliding fun Aachen-based AIR ENERGY has the first series production electric motor glider. Pilots who want to fly the Silent AE-1 need an ultralight pilot’s license. The aircraft gets refueled from a power socket. Connected to a 380-Volt socket and the Silent AE-1’s twelve batteries (a total of 1.4 kWh capacity) are recharged within 25 minutes. For a 220-Volt connection one must expect around 45 minutes for "refueling". The Silent AE-1 is the first motor glider in series production which can leave out the smell of fuel. The electric propulsion is a perfect match for a motor glider. Watching the aircraft taking off, one can’t hear it anymore after only a few meters of take-off roll. This actually was a problem for the noise measurements in the frame of the certification: The measuring flights had to be done at times where the surrounding noise level was low enough so that the instruments could sense the aircraft’s noise emissions. In the end, the aircraft was certified with 43 dB(A), which is 17 dB (!) below the noise limit for ultralights. The Silent AE-1 is an ultralight aircraft mainly for certification purposes. It really is a selfstart capable glider with a modern engine, offering lots of gliding fun. World Class: The solution for the gliding club The World Class was originally set up as a competition category. So far, its value for club flying and for the development of the gliding as an airsport was undervalued. In his plea for the PW-5 and its two-seat sister PW-6, Fred Weinholtz reveals some of the real benefits of this glider class. Berlin International ’99 The 72 participants of the Berlin International ’99 from 24 May to 6 June in Lüsse had lots of opportunity to explore the good thermal conditions in the state of Brandenburg and in western Poland. We have a competition report and interviews with the winners. 34th Hahnweide competition: Luckily there was the Jura The 34th Hahnweide competition had a good start with tasks in the 500 kilometer category. In the end the Jura saved the event. A competition report. Klix: Competition in the Lausitz Klix has become a known event in the competition calendar. The competition in the Lausitz can regularly be measured in the high number of participants of more than 100 pilots. A competition report. World Gliding Championships in Bayreuth: The countdown is almost done. On 31 July the world gliding champions will take off in Bayreuth. The German team is well prepared. Only a few weeks before the WGC the German national team had gathered at the gliding airfield Zell-Haidberg, only a few kilometres away from the WGC site at the Bindlacher Berg, for an official training. Vintage Glider Rally With over 80 registered old-timers, the 27th International Vintage Glider Rally at the beginning of August will turn the gliding field Aventoft into the largest mobile glider museum. More than 300 pilots and companions with 83 aircraft have signed in for the world assembly of old-timer gliders from 30 July to 8 August which will take place in Germany’s most northern glider field. The participants are coming from twelve nations. There is a strong participation from German old-timer fans (42 aircraft) and other European neighbours. Jeff Byard probably travelled the farthest. He came from the USA with his Schweizer I-26. Gliding as message Once in a while gliding gets attention in TV: in the advertisement. There is currently a Volvo commercial which features a car tow. The clip is called Lift Off and is used by Volvo to advertise the highlights of the Volvo V40 T4. The clip features a rather unusual take-off via car tow. The short film was recorded at the plateau over the Fish River Canyon in Namibia in the southern Africa. Engine monitoring systems Integrated avionics are making their way into General Aviation aircraft. There are already several systems available for experimental aircraft which will probably found in production aircraft not too long from now. In the aerokurier 8/99’s Avionics Special, the editorial staff took a closer look a some of these new systems. Revolutionary ATC concept with ADS-B transponder General Aviation will be saving considerably once ADS-B transponder technology is introduced. ADS-B makes Mode-S transponder and TCAS, the implementation of which is pending, superfluous. Air traffic in Europe is continuously growing. In 1998, the ATC controllers of the German Air Navigation Services controlled more than 2.3 million flights, that’s an average of 6300 flights per day. In peak times sectors reached their maximum capacity. One way of controlling this growth rate is by expanding the capacity limits. This requires frequencies which are created by introducing radios with a frequency spacing of 8.33 kHz. The collision avoidance system TCAS is another (expensive) system which seems to be necessary to maintain the current safety level in the existing air traffic concept. However, there is one problem: The introduction of these systems does not solve the problems but only pushes back the time when a solution must be found. There is one approach which has the potential to solve the capacity problems and the corresponding technical problems.. The system, ADS-B transponder and periphery units, already exist since 1983 and could revolutionise today’s air traffic. We explain how ADS-B works and which other benefits it has. Joker: A new flight time accounting system The chipcard is on the advance as a means of payment. With Joker, there is now a system which uses the chipcard in a specific way for accounting flight times. Technology: Control-by-light A low weight and a high degree of safety are decisive factors in aircraft design. Raytheon is now using glass fibre cables to make the data transfer in aircraft more safe and lighter. As one of the first applications of the control-by-light concept, Raytheon has developed a new flight data recorder system and a fuel quantity probe for aircraft fuel tanks. Top of Page |
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Last updated July 29, 1999