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aerokurier 6/1999
Berlin high flyers The Airport Company of the German capital Berlin requires glider aircraft to have a noise emission certification. Unbelievable but true. In Berlin, gliders without a noise certification have to pay the same landing fee as aircraft with a take-off mass of twelve tons. The 20-year old glider pilot Robert Jandel had the idea of landing with his glider at the Berlin Tempelhof airport to generate some good publicity for gliding. The airport’s authorities were opposed to that endeavor from the beginning. The airport holding only granted the planned landing after its chairman, Eberhard Diepgen, to whom the young pilot had written a letter, signed it. On 20 April of 1999, Robert Jandel landed at Tempelhof and the airport company took revenge at the young pilot. After being already "deprived" with an enormous fee of 102 Mark (the minimum landing fee for motor aircraft at Tempelhof), Jandel receives a further invoice in the amount of 174 Mark with the mail. The reason (quote): "The landing fee is set at 174 Mark since the aircraft did not have a noise certification." The Berlin airport company really demands a noise certification from gliders! This case is really the peak of incompetence, arrogance and ridiculousness. Mustang mania: Mega-meeting in Kissimmee Originally, Lee Lauderback had planned a private Fly-in for Mustang owners in April. In the end, he found himself organizing the largest civil Mustang meeting in Florida since World War II. More than 60 aircraft, mainly P-51Ds, were coming to Florida during the four-day seminar. Active Mustang owners and pilots were meeting former Mustang jockeys, many of whom have become flying legends. Among them were Frank Borman, Bill Anderson, Bob Hoover and Chuck Yeager. Brditschka HB-207 Alfa There are about 1000 work hours between unpacking the components of the HB-207 kit and the first flight. We took a closer look at the final product, an Alfa with a fixed landing gear. There are currently twelve aircraft under assembly in Germany, two more have already been registered by the German experimental aircraft association OUV, and two have already accomplished there first flights. All together, the Haid, Austria based HB Flugtechnik has sold 50 HB-207 kits up until today. AERO’99: Further growth The AERO is the leading fair for the General Aviation in Europe. This was again proven with the 13th show from 21 to 25 April in Friedrichshafen. While the number of visitors did not reach the peak from the AERO in 1997, the quality of visitors was high as ever. An independent institute’s survey showed that more than 50 percent of the visitors have a pilot licence. The exhibitors were satisfied with the results of the show. A total of 443 exhibitors from 22 countries came to Friedrichshafen, this year’s AERO reaching a number of exhibitors similar to the ILA 1990 in Hannover. Since the first AERO in 1977, the number of exhibitors had continuously grown, a tradition that was not broken this year. Motor aircraft at the AERO While the established aircraft manufacturers continue to focus their marketing efforts on the mature state of their products, several young companies try to get established in the market with new ideas. Almost all were present at the AERO. During a walkaround through the exhibition halls of the AERO, Ian Bentley, Director of Sales Support for Cirrus Design, was quite impressed: "I thought that General Aviation in Europe is dead. This is not the case! Here are more innovations in some areas than in the USA", the Englishman who works in the US said. Bentley is right. While the situation of General Aviation in Europe is characterized by limitations, these are pushing innovative ideas at the same time. READER CONTEST: THE BEST AIRCRAFT aerokurier reader election Participating and winning: Elect the aircraft of the year 2000! The current aerokurier issue offers our readers the second and final chance to
participate in the election of the aircraft 2000. In order to participate, one must simply
choose his or her favorite out of six categories (motor aircraft, VLA, ultralight,
kitplanes, touring gliders and gliders) and send the attached postcard. Deadline is July
2, 1999. Among all participants we are drawing 20 top prizes worth 15000 Mark. Flying on the Balearic Islands: Affordable charter at Majorca At Majorca the season lasts all year. This is also true for pilots who charter aircraft on this Balearic island. We give tips which shall help you preparing flights to and on the Balearic islands. Flying in this vacation paradise is not only fascinating but also possible for reasonable prices Airfield birthday in Baden-Baden/Oos In 1909 the authorities of Baden-Baden were farsighted and decided to built of the town’s own airfield near the town part Oos. The airfield at the edge of the Black Forest is the oldest airfield in the German state of Baden Württemberg and first hosted the large airships, was later the training site for cargo glider pilots and finally the base for a French Army aviation unit. With its birthday, which will be celebrated in June with a major event, the airfield is one step closer to its closure for General Aviation. In the future, only gliders and the 15 Oos based motor aircraft will be allowed to take off and land from the airfield. All others must use Söllingen airport which is located 8 kilometers away. Flying clubs: Is the future with leisure time service organizations? Rarely did an editorial generate such an emotional and engaged response from our readers as aerokurier’s April issue comment "Flying best in the club?". With his editorial, aerokurier editor in-chief, Volker K. Thomalla, has initiated a major discussion over the future of flying clubs. He said that the club of the future will be a total leisure time provider offering various activities and with different levels of required participation and engagement. However, this vision would require a new club concept. Thomalla said that only those clubs who manage to make this step will be able to survive in the long term. This would also require a professional club management (professional not necessarily meaning paid and full-time but rather efficient and success oriented). Up North While there was the most beautiful vacation weather in southern Europe, Andrea Kampf and her husband along with two friends took their Piper PA-28 to the North. Their destination was the Finnish islands. On the island of Åland they spent cool but relaxing vacation days Globe Swift: Comeback after 50 years? Two aircraft manufacturers want to bring the Globe Swift back on the market. Roy LoPresti attracted a lot of attention in 1989. He showed a SwiftFury at the Sun’n Fun show in Lakeland and announced his plans to produce the all-metal two-seater again. However, he had to shelf his plans back then. Now, LoPresti alone owns all rights to the design and appeared again at Sun’n Fun in Florida. He is pushing the certification of the SwiftFury and is looking for a suitable location for the production. This is a remarkable comeback since the design of the Swift dates back 50 years. Even more remarkable is that another company is currently striving for a revival of the Swift under the name of Millennium Swift. Navigation refresher: The way is the goal The summer flying season has finally begun and many VFR pilots are just waiting for a nice cross-country flight. aerokurier author Karl-Heinz Apel has summarized the important points to remember for the season’s first cross-country flights to be fun. RESI: Aircraft reservation via Internet The Fliegerfreunde Saarbrücken have developed RESI (reservation system via Internet) for the booking of their club’s motor aircraft. The club members can book their aircraft by using a specific code, there is no need for a reservation at the airfield. The system immediately displays overlapping bookings. The good experiences with RESI (by maximizing the aircraft usage) has driven the Fliegerfreunde to offer the software to other clubs. Accident analysis: Pilot poisoned by emissions In the vicinity of Schwenningen a Cessna 185 crashed into a forest and burned. All three persons on board, the pilot and two parachutists, died. The forensic tests of the pilot revealed a high concentration of carbon monoxide. Based on this result, the aircraft wreckage was checked for a defect of the muffler and heating system. The investigators found vibration cracks in the muffler system, allowing the engine emissions continuously to enter the cabin via the heating system. aerokurier Action: Landing for free The North Sea, the highlands and the foothills of the Alps: The June round of our action for more flight safety offers something for every touristic preference. This time you can find coupons for free landings at the airfields Wilhelmshaven-Mariensiel, Kempten Durach and Meschede-Schüren, along with comprehensive information of what to expect at these airfields. If you are planning to participate with your airfield in future actions, call Heiko Müller in our editorial office: +49-228-9565-129 or -222. Ultralights at the AERO The competition for market shares of the ultralight branch is in full progress. This is one result of the branch’s professionalization which was obvious at the show. The branch is also undergoing a concentration process. The small suppliers are disappearing from the market. At the same time more ultralight aircraft are being sold than ever before. The exhibitors at the AERO showed several new products. The brand-new composite Fascination, the low-wing Breezer and with improved models of the established manufacturers are just a few examples. ATEC Zephyr: New UL from Czechia More and more ultralights out of Czechian production are pushing into the German market. The ATEC Zephyr is one of them. The design is short of its certification. We took a closer look at the first German-registered aircraft in Mosbach-Lohrbach. The unique design of the Zephyr combines a composite fuselage with wings in wood. The aircraft is currently listed for an introductory price of 100,000 Mark. Transponder for gliders At the AERO in Friedrichshafen, three suppliers offered transponders which are designed to fit in the tight cockpits of gliders. Unlike transponder systems for motor aircraft, those for gliders must be trimmed for minimum power usage in order to operate them over long periods of time just with the battery. None of the three presented systems is certified yet. The XPR 250 from Radiocommunications REMF Avionique in Beauzelle, France, comes closest to the requirements of gliding. The AIRplus Engineering GmbH from Kaufbeuren, Germany, is offering its GTX320-AP10 as a gliding version of the Garmin transponder GTX320, a system that is already certified in Germany for the use in motor aircraft. Silent IN: An ultralight for glider pilots Originally, the Silent was designed as an ultralight glider (that’s where the name comes from). Meanwhile the aircraft is equipped with a folding propulsion system and has become an ultralight aircraft. As a matter of fact, the aircraft is now a motorized glider. The single-blade propeller by Albastar is unique. Silent IN’s engine is a Zanzottera with 28 hp. The two-cycle engine is very compact and does not generate much drag even in the folded-out position. The aircraft leaves a good impression. Flight Report DG-505MB: Duo with Solo With the self-start capable DG-505MB, DG-Flugzeugbau is offering an entry into the autonomous double-seat flying. The new B version is powered by a modern 64 hp Solo 2625 engine. The touring glider is available with a four-part 22-meter wing or a 20 meter wingspan wing with winglets. Higher performance with Winggrids The French experimental and ultralight aircraft manufacturer Dyn Aéro from Dijon-Darois is developing a motor glider which is based on the ultralight/experimental aircraft MCR 01. The gliding part of the design is to be added by a "simple" trick: with short wingtips in the new winggrid technology. Like a rake, this design features several small wings and is supposed to improve the efficiency of the wing. The aircraft (fixed gear) will reportedly have a cruise speed of 240 km/h (at 75 percent power with an 80-hp Rotax 912 at flight level 80), at the same time having a glide number of 30 at a speed of 120 km/h in spite of its short 10-meter wingspan. Samburo with Turbo Rotax At the AERO, Nitsche Flugzeugbau from Unterwössen presented the Avo 68 which is powered with the Turbo Rotax 914 F3 and a Hoffmann propeller. With the Rotax 914, the Samburo did not only get a more powerful engine, but the entire aircraft was modified. The fuselage became 10 centimeters wider in the cockpit area and, by relocating the fire bulkhead, the cockpit also is now 7 cm longer. The cockpit layout was upgraded also. The calculated data for the 115 hp version are promising a best climb of 4,6 m/s, a take-off roll of 78 m on concrete. This performance plus should be a great benefit for glider tow flights. Fourth World Gliding Championships in Germany The 26th WGC from 31 July to 15 August in Bayreuth will be the fourth in Germany. The first took place 62 years ago at the Wasserkuppe. Back then the routes were already up to 300 kilometers long. The winning pilots flew with average speeds up to 200 km/h! A review of the development of competition gliding with the example of the world championships in Germany. New concept for final approach calculators Dr. Herbert Pirker has developed a new concept for final approach computers. The system generates a very clear picture of the relevant data without much extra work for the pilot. The new concept is already integrated in the PrintTechnik Logger GR1000. As primary reference data, Pirker’s final approach calculator is mainly relying on the desired glide number which only depends on the distance, the altitude and the arrival height. With this, the Pirker system works independently of the aircraft type and of the prevailing weather conditions. 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 |
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Last updated May 27, 1999