           |
|
aerokurier 5/1999
Accident investigation – cause unknown The German accident investigation authority BFU presented the balance for 1998: Last year accounted for 314 accidents, 59 people died in aircraft crashes. The accident rates are showing a decreasing trend. However, there is no guarantee that this will continue. As part of the recent restructuring of the BFU, accidents which involve motor aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 2 tons, touring gliders or gliders only have to be investigated if the investigation promises new insights to the safety of aviation. Accident investigation work and preventative measures to avoid similar accidents will become a guess work. Flying adventure in Namibia: Extreme trip through the desert Fascinating and hostile: The Namib is said to be the world’s oldest desert. The conditions for flying are extreme. The aerokurier flew in this desert with a STOL CH 701. In this fascinating feature you can read about the great landscapes, the people and especially abut the challenge that flying in the desert holds for man and machine. Jetprop DLX Many Malibu or Mirage pilots probably have already dreamed of having a turbine engine in their aircraft. This dream can now become a reality. One does not have to wait until Piper delivers its first 400-hp production Meridian in mid-2000. The here-and-now alternative is called Jetprop DLX. It is a turbine-conversion of the Malibu or Mirage piston aircraft. The FAA-certified conversion with a 560 shp PT6A-34 does not leave much open for desire. READER CONTEST: THE BEST AIRCRAFT Aircraft 2000 In the aerokurier issues 5/99 (on the market on 28 April) and 6/99 (publication date 26 May), we present an up-to-date market survey in the categories motor aircraft, very light aircraft, ultralights, kitplanes, touring gliders and gliders. The participants have to select their favorites in each category and fill out the postcard in the middle of the issue. The deadline for sending it to our office is July 2, 1999. We will be drawing top prizes worth 15000 Marks among all of the participants: 1st prize: A Tutima flight watch TLG worth 9800 Marks. The casing and the button of this watch are made of pure Titan, the rotating ring is made of 18 karat Gold. The scratch resistant sapphire glass is non-glare on both sides and the watch is waterproofed to 20 bar. 2nd prize: A Porsche mountain bike The Porsche mountain bike is worth 3490 Marks and comes with Shimano gear and Magura hydraulic brakes. 3rd to 5th prize: Each a PC flight simulator The winner of the 3rd to 5th prize have the choice between the brand new PC flight simulator program Flight Unlimited III or the Sierra Pro Pilot 99. 6th to 20th prize: Each a Mag-Lite with accessories Motor-Presse Stuttgart employees and their dependents are excluded from the contest. The prizes are not interchangeable, it is not possible to get money instead of the actual prize. The judge’s decision will be final. 8,33 kHz frequency spacing Since suppliers and aircraft operators did not expect an on-time implementation of the 8,33 kHz frequency spacing, the situation now is chaotic. The new COM equipment is mandatory for flights above FL 245. The original implementation date was moved from January 1, 1998, to January of this year. But half a year before the date it had already become clear that the deadline had to be moved again since not enough operators were going to have the equipment installed in time. The new date is October 7, 1999. You can find further information about the 8,33 kHz issue in the Internet: http://144.194.16.11/8.33/what_after.htm 8,33 kHz frequency spacing, World Grand Prix of Aerobatics Klaus Schrodt currently is Germany’s best motor aerobatic pilot. Together with the world elite, he and his Extra 330S participated in the World Grand Prix of Aeronautics which was partially conducted in China and Japan. The ecstatic but undisciplined Chinese fans stormed the runway, making the execution of the competition very difficult in the end. Still, Schrodt came home with a good sixth place. In five days around the Mediterranean Sea Two pilots wanted to make good use of the necessary solo flight time for their ATPL. Together with an experienced flight instructor they flew in a Cessna 182 in five days around the Mediterranean Sea. The trip took off from Landshut, routing via Gerona, Ibiza, Cagliaria, Tunis, Malta and Mali Linj in Croatia. One of the last stops of the 3000 nautical mile trip was Siofok on the Plattensee.
A very special Harvard T-6 Dietmar Eger has stationed a T-6 at the Rottweil airfield. While normal T-6s are powered by a 550-hp radial engine, Eger’s aircraft has 800 hp available. The aircraft does not need full power. Another unique feature of this special T-6: its wingspan is 1,5 meters smaller than other aircraft of that type. The modification goes back to 1981. One of the preowners of this aircraft was the legendary Chuck Yeager. Training: recovery from unusual attitudes The scenario is always the same: bad weather, poor visibility, distraction and/or spatial disorientation. This quickly leads to a situation where the basic flying instruments give the pilot diverging information. For example: almost no airspeed, nose above the horizon and the aircraft banked. Or: airspeed at the red line, high sinkrate and in a turn. What to do? aerokurier writer Thomas Dietrich has looked into the problem. He describes these two typical situations and how to get out of them safely. A really useful brush-up of your basic flying skills. Airspace: Crossing airspace Delta Since 25 March of this year, several German airports have an airspace D (not control zones) around them. We look at the airport Münster/Osnabrück as an example of how the new airspace structure effects the flying practice of private pilots. Navigation: FliteStar for an easy flight planning FliteStar, the professional flight planning tool, is now available in a cheaper VFR version. Even extensive flight planning can be accomplished comfortably via PC. With Jeppesen’s FliteStar VFR, which runs under Windows, the selection of the waypoints is based easy to make selection from the Jeppesen navigation data base. The program computes all of the route and flight calculations automatically. We describe this computer tool by planning an example flight. Action: Landing for free Once again: "Landing for free" is going into the third season. With our action, you can land at the participating airfields for free. The May issue has the coupons for landings in Aschaffenburg-Großostheim, Breitscheid and Görlitz. If you would like to present your airfield in the frame of our action, please contact the aerokurier editorial office: +49-228-9565-222 (phone), -246 (fax). Accident analysis: Switch at the wrong place The American country singer John Denver died in the crash of his experimental aircraft Long EZ. Immediately after the accident there had been speculations about a possible suicide of the singer who did not have a valid medical at the time of the crash. The NTSB investigation now revealed that a difficult to reach and not clearly adjustable tank selection switch was responsible for the accident. Pilot Report: UFM 11 Lambada The Czechian Lambada’s strong point is its excellent finish. We checked out the first German aircraft of this composite mid-wing ultralight before its certification. Our comprehensive pilot report shows the other strong and also the weak points of the new aircraft. Wave gliding: Adventure in the Argentinean Alps Klaus Ohlmann has discovered the Argentinean Alps for gliding. A first expedition has evaluated the potential of this area. The long-distance expert says that there is a good potential for 2000-kilometer flights. However, he says one has to fight for them. Klaus Ohlmann is describing the pleasure of racing in altitudes of 8000 meters along with the stress and the lows. Flight report: DG-800S The S class from DG-Flugzeugbau is now available in a special competition version with new winglets. So far the DG-800S has had to be bought as an 18-meter aircraft for which one had to buy the extra tip strip. For pure racing class competition pilots that meant that they had to buy an "excess" 3 meter wingspan. This has changed, the S is now available from the factory as a 15-meter aircraft. The price advantage is more than 10000 DM. World Gliding Championships 1999: 22 nations will compete in Bayreuth Bayreuth is booked out: At the end of March was the deadline for the 26th WGC. The pilot list now shows 126 participants from 22 countries, the maximum that the airfield Bindlacher-Berg can cope with. The list is available on the WGC homepage. Gliding in Jamaica: Cool Runnings If an Olympic bob slide team is not special for the Caribbean island of Jamaica why not a gliding club? Hannes Zimmermann is one of the founders of the island’s first gliding club. As it was true in the movie "Cool Runnings" that four coloured Jamaicans are participating in the Olympic bob slide competition, it is a fact that at the end of January a group of Westeuropeans traveled to Jamaica to start a similar remarkable project – the foundation of the first gliding club. Majewska medal Since 1989 the international airsport federation FAI has been awarding every year the Pelagia-Majewska medal along with the Lilienthal medal. The prize is honoring an outstanding pilot which had a major influence on the women’s’ gliding. A portrait. Further gliding news, for example concerning the European championships of the women and the German championships of the juniors, can be found under airSPORT and NEWS Gliding. Top of Page |
NEWS | SPOTS | airSPORT | FACTS | MAGAZINE | SPECIAL | aeroACTION | LINKS | SHOP | PROFILE | HOME
Copyright 1999 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved.
Last updated April 27, 1999