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aerokurier
9/2003
 Editiorial Away
with nuclear ED-Rs! / Feature AirVenture
2003, Oshkosh / Pilot
Report Pilot Report Aero AT-3 R100 / Business
Aviation The danger of taxiing accidents
/ Magazine 22nd World
Aerobatic Championships in Lakeland, RSA Fly-in 2003
/ 100 years of powerd flight
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
/ Flying Mini-Oshkosh
in Denmark / Practice Twice
as safe with two engines?, Wind calculation, Accident analysis: crash
due to head-on impact / Ultralight Flight
report: TL 96 Sting, "Tannkosh" surpasses itself
/ Gliding Holger Karow regains
world title, Third Junior World Championships, Tour de France in
Switzerland, Success by pair flying, Racing Class SPECIAL: six days of
racing, New: Discus 2c with 18m wingspan, German Club Class
Championships, 10th Glider Aerobatic World Championships, Future of
the LS brand at DG-Flugzeugbau / Helicopter
Special
EDITORIAL
Away with nuclear ED-Rs!
The number of flight restriction areas for VFR pilots is set to
increase dramatically on 18 September 2003, when the "Definition
of areas with flight restrictions" published in NOTAM 159/03
takes effect. Suddenly, a number of mini-prohibited areas are to be
introduced around German nuclear power stations and nuclear research
facilities. The nuclear ED-Rs generally extend up to an altitude of
2000ft and have a radius of 0.8nm. Neckarwestheim, Obrigheim,
Unterweser, Isar, Grundremmingen, Biblis and Brokdorf have the
"good fortune" to have been assigned only ED-R status.
The NOTAM attempts to explain the intention of the
new measures with the words that these are "areas which serve to
protect ground installations". Seldom have I come across such a
ridiculous idea before. Now the Federal Ministry of Transport,
Building and Housing is imitating the nonsense of the Temporary Flight
Restriction areas that the US Department of Homeland Security has
established in the USA.
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FEATURE
AirVenture 2003, Oshkosh
Oshkosh is one of those events that all pilots should attend at
least once in their life. The annual meeting of the Experimental
Aircraft Association (EAA) is quite a special experience for pilots
and aviation enthusiasts alike. Nowhere else in the world does one
experience a gathering of so many aircraft at once; no other event is
attended by more pilots than AirVenture. This year’s AirVenture ran
from 29 July to 4 August, and (naturally) the catchword was "100
years of powered flight".
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PILOT REPORT
Pilot Report Aero AT-3 R100
New developments in VLA aircraft: a new offering from Poland not
only has very respectable flying characteristics, but also comes with
an attractive price tag of only €79,000 plus tax. The 100hp
two-seater, designated the AT-3, is also available as a fast build kit
for a mere €26,000 plus tax. Admittedly, it then falls in the
Experimental class.
Whereas the two prototypes and the first four
serial aircraft were still equipped with an 100hp (73kW) Limbach-Motor
L2400 DF1 engine, a Rotax 912S, also with an output of 100hp, has now
made its way into the engine compartment.
Aerokurier went on a test flight in factory
aircraft 5. This represents a production standard which offers
virtually everything a prospective purchaser could want. The only
additional expenses required to fly the plane in Germany are a
transponder and an ELT. Otherwise it is fully kitted out, including an
electrically operated artificial horizon designated the GH-12
(originally a Russian product) and an Intercom SPA 400 from
Sigtronics. You can find out what the AT-3 has to offer pilots in the
September issue of aerokurier.
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BUSINESS AVIATION
The danger of taxiing accidents
Even when an aircraft is still taxiing on the airport taxiways,
accidents with catastrophic consequences are still a risk. Honeywell
utilises existing EGPWS technology to counteract this danger.
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MAGAZINE
22nd World Aerobatic Championships in Lakeland
The 22nd World Aerobatic Championships will go down in history as
one of the best organised World Championships.
RSA Fly-in 2003
The 56th annual meeting of the French association of experimental
pilots (RSA) was held, for the third time, at the former US military
airbase of Chambley, to the southwest of Metz. 463 aircraft, over 300
of them from Germany, flew in to this year’s convention. Among the
new products was the Lucas L 9, a 200hp metal four-seater with
retractable landing gear and adjustable propeller. Several examples of
the L 9 with different engines are already flying. There is also a
tail wheel version.
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100 YEARS OF POWERED
FLIGHT
In their day, the pioneers of powered flight were ridiculed, mocked
and envied, but they would not be deterred by setbacks. In this series
we introduce some of the pilots who, as pioneers of powered flight,
firmly left their mark on the history of aviation.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The French pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry may only
have written a work of world literature in "The Little
Prince", but this is keeping memories of him alive. It recalls
the era of the air mail pilots in western Africa, where Saint-Exupéry
was a pioneer and left his distinctive mark. All his books are on the
subject of flying. In July 1944, Saint-Exupéry flew out on a
reconnaissance mission with the Lightning, from which he never
returned.
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FLYING
Mini-Oshkosh in Denmark
Marvels in Stauning: every year the coastal airfield to the west
of "Lego town" Billund celebrates the history of Danish
aircraft construction and shows what amateur aircraft constructors can
achieve.
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PRACTICE
Twice as safe with two engines?
For many pilots, a twin-engine rating is an attractive option.
Before deciding to go for this, one needs to be clear of the
possibilities and limitations of twin-engined aircraft.
Wind calculation
Simple –and, even today, extremely useful – rules of thumb for
calculating the drift angle, the longitudinal wind component, are
rapidly sinking into oblivion in the age of GPS.
Rules of thumb enable one to adopt new headings
just that little bit more professionally. Until the GPS indicates that
bearing and track coincide, it is possible to choose one’s heading
quite accurately, no longer relying on trial and error.
Accident analysis: crash due to head-on impact
A vehicle on the runway caused the pilot of a Pitts S-2B to
overshoot on the approach to the Swiss airfield of Ambri. During this
manoeuvre, the aerobatic biplane entered an uncontrolled flight
attitude and crashed. Two pilots were killed. The overshoot manoeuvre
was almost certainly induced by the presence of the vehicle on the
runway; however, other factors caused the Pitts to crash.
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ULTRALIGHT
Flight report: TL 96 Sting
The successor to the TL 96 Star will bring a lot of ultralight
flying pleasure. More performance and better aerodynamics distinguish
it from its predecessor. The most significant change is the
trapezoidal wings, whose only feature in common with the old wings is
their profile. With a surface area of 10.1m2, they are 2.5m2
smaller than the GRP rectangular wings of the Star and also lighter,
thanks to the use of carbon fibre. The ailerons are strikingly small,
whereas the split flaps, which replace the flaps on the Star and are
intended to compensate for the smaller amount of aerofoil surface, are
a generous size. If the Star already had a solid engine in the Rotax
912, the 100hp/74kW 912 S now delivers a superlative performance.
"Tannkosh" surpasses itself
The Tannheimer UL fly-in surpassed itself with a record number of
visitors: organisers Verena and Matthias Dolderer counted no less than
551 aircraft ranging from ultralights through to motor gliders and
powered aircraft. Aerobatics World Champion Klaus Schrodt performed an
aerobatic sequence in an Extra 330XS, UL designer Wolfgang Dallach
demonstrated his skill as an aerobatic pilot in a Diabolo and the
host, Matthias Dolderer gave an impressive performance in an Extra
300.
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GLIDING
Holger Karow regains world title
Holger Karow took the Open Class title for the second time since
1999, finishing a convincing margin ahead of runner-up Janusz Centka,
the World Champion of 1991 and 1993, who was flying a Supervogel ETA.
None of the other pilots in the German team succeeded in
gaining a place on the winners’ podium in any of the other classes.
However, earlier on in the Championships things had appeared somewhat
more promising: at the half-way point, Germans were leading in both
the Racing and Standard Classes.
Third Junior World Championships
In eleven exciting contest days, Michael Streit of Erlangen
succeeded in taking the Club Class title in Nitra, Slovakia. Stephan
Zemmel from Walldürn finished in third place. And in the Standard
Class, Achim Besser from Ketsch secured the bronze medal after ten
contest days.
The major success for the German team was
their tight team flying performance, which gained them eight day wins.
Only in the Standard Class were they outshone by the highly successful
British team. The German Club Class champion, Till Huesgen of
Freiburg, unfortunately had his hopes of victory dashed due to
technical problems. Thomas Wettemann of Wolfegg had already blown his
chances of a place in the rankings after an unlucky day early on in
the championships, following which he devoted his efforts to the
service of the team. Huesgen and Wettemann did not even finish in the
top ten.
37 pilots from 15 countries entered in the Club
Class and 35 pilots from 17 nations in the Standard Class.
Organisation of the world Championships was immaculate right from the
first day through to the last.
Tour de France in Switzerland
The Swiss Championships 2003 took contestants up into the high
mountains, through the lowland and into the low-mountain region. As in
the Tour de France, pilots in all categories underwent a gruelling
test. Frank Weiblen attended the event and reports his impressions.
Success by pair flying
Pair flying flying has its advantages not just in fixed location
competitions. Armin Behrendt and Matthias Schunk have been flying
together for the aerokurier Online Contest and the German Distance
Gliding Championships, almost practising formation flying. In June
they achieved a German best performance in this way.
Racing Class SPECIAL: six days of racing
"Racing Class Experimental" was the theme this year at
Burg Feuerstein, where the 25 participants enjoyed six contest days
over the course of a week. The SPECIAL competition for first
generation Racing Class aircraft has grown significantly in stature.
Around one-third of entrants this year were old hands from the
competition scene. They set the standard to follow and naturally were
up at the front of the pack.
New: Discus 2c with 18m wingspan
Schempp-Hirth is another manufacturer to be now stretching the
wings in the Standard Class. The Discus 2 is to be available in future
in a combination version with both 15m and 18m wingspan. Work is set
to start on building the first wing after the summer closedown. The
maiden flight is expected to take place in the spring of 2004.
The wing contour of the new Discus 2c has been
optimised for both wingspan versions. As a result, the separation
point is located further inboard (as on the Ventus 2), at the point
where the flaperon is presently split on the Discus 2a/b. Although
there is no change in layout compared with the Discus 2a/b, with short
tip extensions featuring once again, the layout of the large outboard
wing section for the 18m version resembles the Duo Discus, with
swept-back trailing edge.
German Club Class Championships
Michael Streit, who only in July flew his way to the title in the
Club Class in Nitra, Slovakia, followed up this success at the
beginning of August by winning the German Club Class Championships in
Weissenburg (26 July to 7 August), ahead of 45 other pilots. Two day
wins in Area Assigned Tasks, which were set three times – and one
day win with an average speed of 119.6km/h over a 389km distance)
clinched the title after nine contest days. Andreas Nagel was the
runner-up, with Christoph Nacke in third place, Axel Reich in fourth
place and Helge Lieberz fifth.
10th Glider Aerobatic World Championships
The perfectly organised Glider Aerobatics World Championships were
staged at the beginning of August in Györ-Per, Hungary. The weather
was fantastic, albeit perhaps too hot, allowing all the programme
sequences to be completed, including two "unknown"
compulsory sequences. The title was taken by Ferenc Toth, a member of
the host team, who finished ahead of the several times World Champion
Jerzy Makula (Poland) and Georgiy Kaminskiy (Russia). The best
performing German was the present German Gliding Aerobatics champion,
Gregor Willke, who scored only 3.38 percent fewer of the possible
points than the title-holder. The other members of the DaeC finished
with a spread of scores in the 55 participant entry: Olaf Schmidt
(12th), Eugen Schaal (13th), Michael Rottland (16th), Dirk Lohmann
(25th) and Martin Krämer (40th).
Future of the LS brand at
DG-Flugzeugbau
Following preliminary reports that DG-Flugzeugbau has taken
over the rights and commitments associated with the Rolladen-Schneider
LS range of aircraft (aerokurier 8/03), the tongues are wagging as to
the future of the individual LS types. aerokurier discussed some of
the issues with DG CEO Friedel Weber at the beginning of August.
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HELICOPTER SPECIAL
Our 32-page SPECIAL is packed with news and interesting features on
the industry and contains a major market survey of helicopter
companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Other subjects covered
include a successful owner of a printworks who uses his EC 120 as a
time machine, modern helicopter engines that help reduce costs and
extend maintenance intervals, opportunities for chartering the most
popular helicopter types, the Safari kit helicopter, which has
received its Provisional Airworthiness Certification in Germany, and
the mission spectrum of the air rescue services with their yellow and
other coloured angels.
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