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aerokurier 11/1999
Flying safely A study by the European Transport Safety Councils (ETSC) shows the number of fatalities per 100 million person kilometers in the European Union for the different means of transportation. According to the study, the motorcycle, with 16 fatalities per 100 million person kilometers, is the most risky way to of all transport means. Second most dangerous is walking by foot, then the bicycle and the driving in a car. Aviation is at the second last position of the list with only 0,08 fatalities per 100 million passenger kilometers. Great. But can we really relax because statistics confirm that the most dangerous thing about flying is the drive to the airport? In my opinion the answer is a clear No. Statistics are only a very limited means of describing the level of safety. Safety should not become routine. And, aviation should not lull to sleep because of a comparison with other transport means. Only because flying is just a little safer than riding a bicycle, it does not automatically mean that we should relax our striving for flight safety. Helicopter for mildew fighting The helicopter has become an established tool for modern agriculture. Vineries along the river Mosel are using the rotary aircraft to fight mildew. For this feature, we visited Pölich and Klüsserath where Volker Grasberger (Grasberger Helikopter) has been flying spray missions for many years with a Hiller UH-12E. Diamond Katana 100 Diamond makes a virtue of necessity. Starting with aircraft from the DV20 series, returned leasing aircraft are equipped in Wiener Neustadt with a new 100-hp Rotax engine. The quasi new aircraft are offered for an attractive price. Two Katana 100, powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912S, are already flying in Austria. Ten orders have been logged from German customers. Austro Control has certified the performance increase on 15 July. In average, the used DV20 airframes had accumulated a maximum of 1500 flying hours, giving the aircraft quite some time until the first major airframe inspection is due at 6000 hrs. The 100-hp engine can be easily identified by the green valve cover, the 80-hp version’s is black. 25 percent more power promises a noticeable performance increase. We flew a Katana 100 (OE-DD) and a DA20 (D-ETRY) to Mainz-Finthen for a comparison test. Please read the details of this comprehensive test in our November issue. JAR-FCL: Good times for PPL students? The European training rules JAR-FCL are changing the scenario of the PPL training. Will free-lance instructors compete with established flying schools in the future? This would be allowed according to the European regulations. The only question is if these rules will be implemented to a hundred percent in Germany. New TBO regulation The German aviation administration LBA has nullified the installation of fixed times between overhauls for engines, propellers and tubes in private aircraft. Pilots, clubs, maintenance shops and insurance companies are confused. Mission Timbuktu Part 2 With a Cessna 172, the pilots Karl-Heinz Maxwitat and Dr. Franz Stadtbäumer followed the trail of Elly Beinhorn to Timbuktu. They almost faced the same fate as Elly Beinhorn. When the engine started to vibrate, they were over the deserted western Sahara where the aviation pioneer was forced to emergency land in 1931. Photogrammetrics The photogrammetrics is a very special branch of aviation. Aviation photography for maps of all kind must be especially precise. This requires a special equipment on board of the aircraft. Brian Maginnity portrays the work of Münster, Germany based Hansa Luftbild which is the largest German photogrammetrics company. Navigation: VFR on top The freedom above the clouds is not as unlimited as one may think. Karl-Heinz Apel describes the important points to remember when flying VFR on top. What to do when there is no way to get back down underneath the clouds in VFR? VFR through the clouds is an emergency which not many VFR pilots have survived. Only an IFR rating and sufficient practice allows a safe flight through clouds. For the case that there really is not other choice, this article describes the most important points for an emergency descent through the clouds. Meteorology: Radiation and high fog Fall is fog season. It is very important to know for the flight planning if conditions prevail that could lead to the formation of fog. In the most unfavorable case, fog already prevents the aircraft from being able to take off. In the form of expansive fog and high fog areas, these condition can be hazardous during flight. Unlike other flights above the clouds with a sufficient cloud base, fog does not allow an emergency landing in visual conditions. A reliable weather forecast for the development and dispersal of fog at the planned destination is especially important for a longer flight. Unintended nightflight It should not happen, but it can happen: unintended nightflight. Whomever gets himself into this situation can do many things for this not to develop into a real emergency. Accident analysis: dive out of the clouds The pilot of Piper PA-28 had planned a VFR flight to the Lake Geneva. The pilot’s wife also was on board of the IFR equipped aircraft. Due to a bad weather zone over central Switzerland, the Piper climbed to Flight Level 181 with approval of air traffic control. The oxygen system, which would have been vital for the two occupants, had been left behind at the departure airfield Eggenfelden. In the north of lake Thun the aircraft entered an uncontrolled dive and crashed into the ground. The examination of the two bodies revealed that both suffered from oxygen starvation just before the accident. Eurofox Space It’s not new but thoroughly updated. Ikarusflug is offering the Eurofox now in a Version designated Space. The flying characteristics of the allrounder are unchanged. In its updated version, the two-seater comes with an appealing design and a roomy cabin. Ultralight trip: Germany in four days Anja Wagner and Markus Göhler accomplished a very special short trip around Germany. On their ultralight flight through the country they almost exclusively landed on military airfields. Flying like in ancient times Once a year the time machine of the Vintage Glider Club is running. Then, the club’s member with their carefully restored and maintained flying machines from the beginning and history of gliding meet for the International Vintage Glider Rally. The owners of the ancient machines are not content with just displaying their gliders on the ground. They are being flown, and there is a always a possibility to catch a flight. German championships of the juniors in Roitzschjora Joachim Treier is the new German champion of the Standard Class. The pilot from Freudenstadt won the title with constantly good daily performances. Matthias Sturm from the LSV Scharzwald became the champion in the Club Class. Silver in the Standard Class went to Michael Ziegler from Ingersheim, followed by Sebastian Huhmann from Boberg. In the Club Class, Jens Ammerlahn from Geretsried came in second, followed by Andreas Nagel from Gingen. Place four in the Standard Class went to the only female pilot of these championships: Stefanie Mühl from Neu-Ulm. The 23 year old medical student has gained a lot of experience as sports soldier in the German forces. So far, she is the only female gliding pilot who benefited from the establishment of the German forces’ sports support group Gliding. The unpredictable weather in the second half of August presented rather difficult conditions for the 75 participating juniors. All together there were 198 outside landings Lower Saxony state championships The last week in July and first week in August presented a gliding summer like in Australia for the Lower Saxony state championships in Braunschweig. The average speeds were very high. Even with 120 km/h one could end up at the end of the field. The average speed of the daily winners of the 11 scoring days was 115 km/h, the tasks averaged 450 km. The winner of the Standard Class, Hans Martin Tronnier, came from the hosting Aero Club Braunschweig. Normally flying an ASW 27, he flew his club’s LS8 during the competition. In the Two-seater category, Jörg Meier and Olaf Peter, both from Braunschweig, won the first place. Dream flight: 1078 kilometers with a Libelle To a dream flight in an upwind mix. It’s crazy: After three hours Peter Preisegger has covered 150 kilometers and still flew more than 1000 kilometers with his Standard Libelle, averaging 95 km/h. Peter Preisegger tells the story about his preparations and the exciting course of his dream flight. Test of the rescue system Grabenstetten: The rescue system from Glasfaser-Flugzeug-Service in Grabenstetten has passed further tests in free flight. Company head Hansjörg Streifeneder himself flew the trials with a modified Discus. In the second test series for the system certification, the system was activated during spins, once just after initiating a spin and once after a full turn. The activation took place with a 60 degree bank angle and a 2 g acceleration. High speed tests up to 300 km/h are planned for the end of October. Turbo for the Duo Discus Kirchheim/Teck: The two-seater Duo Discus from Schempp-Hirth is now available in a motor glider version that is not self-launch capable: The Turbo Duo Discus has been in flight test since the end of July. The renown Turbo principle from Professor Claus Oehler, which is available for all Schempp-Hirth model series, has been improved for the Duo. The five-blade prop (diameter: 1,1 meters) is fitted with unsymmetrical blades of different lengths and is supposedly much more silent than its predecessors. The prop is turned by a SOLO 2350 engine, generating 22 kW (30 hp) at 6200 rpm. The transmission has a relation of 1:1,57.
The idea is very American and has significantly vitalized Business Aviation in the USA. Slowly the concept of fractional ownerships is finding more acknowledgment in Europe too, however in a somewhat modified form. The fractional ownership of business aircraft is booming in the USA. In the States, one can buy shares of any kind of business aircraft, such buying the solution for his transport problems. The customer buys a share of an aircraft, such acquiring the right to utilize a specific number of flight hours. In order to use the aircraft, the customer must call six to twelve hours before his desired departure time. The jet will be ready in time and fly the customer to his destination. The main difference between owning, chartering and fractional ownership is the guaranteed availability of an aircraft. The customer does not have to consider aircraft maintenance or the vacation of the crew. The American company Executive Jet was the pioneer of the fractional ownership principle in Europe, starting its NetJets Europe program in June of 1996. The European program began with a Cessna Citation S/II. Meanwhile NetJets Europe is operating a fleet of 18 aircraft. In 1999 Flexjet, a subsidiary of the Bombardier concern, started to prepare the program launch of Flexjet Europe. In the US, Flexjet is currently operating 75 jets. Flexjet Europe started flight operations in May of 1999. There is an interview with Mark A. Self, Flexjet Europe’s managing director, in the Business Aviation Special. Raytheon is the third largest company with a jet-sharing division, offering its Travel-Air program in the US. Buying and operating an aircraft The acquisition of a business aircraft is a major investment. Practical experience shows that mistakes that are made in the process of buying or operating the aircraft can be avoided. Dr. Heinz Schäfer, a lawyer, explains the common mistakes such as a missing requirement analysis, budget planning, pre-purchase inspection, tax planning, wrong insurance, no risk optimization, saving in pilot training, changes in the utilization requirements, neglect of saving potentials. A structured approach to the acquisition can help to avoid these mistakes. Turbofans: Modern engines for business jets The new business jets perform much better than any of their predecessors. The key to this success is for a good part due to a new generation of turbofans which are compact, economical, reliable and have a low noise emission. This Business Aviation Special lists all the modern turbofans with their data. Software: Airfield administration made easy There is software available that facilitates the administration of airfields. One of them is the new Airport V2. which has been developed by a Munich based system developer together with the airfields of Straubing and Eggenfelden. Executive charter for the Formula 1 Fast racing cars is not the only thing that Hill, Barichello, Salo and Alesi have in common. All of them are using executive aircraft to reach the race tracks without stress. For business aviation service companies at the airports, this means good business, especially if times get busy like at the airport Cologne/Bonn during the European Grand Prix on the Nürburgring. 34 business aircraft and 150 helicopters were operating in the area at the day of the race. Both, visitors and Formula 1 drivers utilized the shuttle service between the airports Hahn, Cologne/Bonn, Koblenz and the race track in the Eifel highlands. Top of Page |
Fractional Ownership: The European
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Last updated October 27, 1999