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aerokurier 7/1997
The "noise hammer": minus 8 dB(A) beginning in 2000 After five years, the German ministry of transport (BMV) and the ministry of the environment (BMU) have agreed on the new noise emission regulations for airports. The Upper House of the German parliament had urged the government already in 1992 to revise the regulations. However, the name of the draft "Airport noise protection regulations" is characteristic for its contents. The essence of the new regulations is as follows: 1.) Take-offs of piston-engine aircraft from airports with more than 20000 movements per year (take-offs and landings) are subject to time restrictions. 2.) During quiet times, even aircraft with noise certification can only take off for cross country flights if they return no earlier than 60 minutes after taking off. 3.) Aircraft with noise certification are excluded from the restrictions. 4.) The criteria for getting a noise certification will become dramatically more difficult for aircraft being registered after December 31, 1999. From that point on, only aircraft with 8 dB(A) below the German noise limitations will be able to get a noise certification. PILOT REPORT PZL M-20 Mewa: Still a rare aircraft in the West The M-20 Mewa (Seagull) of the Polish aircraft manufacturer PZL Mielec is still a rare aircraft in the Western aviation community. It is not accidental that the light twin-engine aircraft looks very much like a Piper Seneca. From 1977 to 1985, the M-20 was built as a Seneca II licence under a cooperation contract with Piper. Already before the contract ran out, PZL continued to developed the six-seat Mewa as an independent product with its own certification. The current version is offered with systems and engines (two Teledyne Continental L/TSIO-360 KB turbocharged engines rated at 220 hp take-off power) of the Seneca III, including a complete line of Bendix/King avionics. Since the Mewa was supposed to fly in the Polish ambulance flight service from the beginning, often operating from unprepared strips, the Seneca II fuselage, mainly in respect to the fuselage frames and the stabilizer rips, was enforced. Furthermore, the landing gear box and the gear struts were modified for this kind of operation. In the air, the Mewa shows the same balanced flight characteristics as the American original. With a price short of DM500000 (including VAT and a good equipment with deicing), the Mewa is an alternative to light, four-seat non-turbo-charged twins. Buxtehude-based Hummelbrunner Werksvertretungen is representing PZL Mielec in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and UK. Euro licence: What will change? (Part II) The European regulatory work for flight crew licensing, the JAR-FCL, is also regulating the training for an instrument rating. At least a private pilot’s licence for aircraft or helicopters with night rating or a commercial licence are required to start with the IR training. The potential IFR pilot must have at least 50 hours cross country time as pilot in-command and must also prove the command of the English language. According to JAR-FCL, the theoretical training must include at least 200 hours of instruction and must be completed within 18 months. The theoretical test includes seven areas which will be examined in eight hours and 45 minutes. The practical training requires a minimum time of 50 hours (single-engine) or 55 hours (multi-engine). 20 hours (25 for multi-engine IR) can be accomplished in a flight training device and 35 (40 for multi-engine IR) in a flight simulator. The practical test will be called a skill test in the future and should last at least one hour. The JAR-FCL is supposed to be implemented by July 1999. The main question for each pilot is if the existing licence can be changed into a Euro licence without problems. The projected procedures for changing a national licence into a Euro licence have not been implemented into national law yet. Due to this, the details are not yet finalized. The German ministry of transport told the aerokurier that it is currently in a phase of translating the JAR-FCL and will also find a consensus with the other German-speaking countries, Austria and Switzerland. Reportedly, the associations and authorities will come together for a meeting in the spring of 1998 to discuss the issue. Only then will questions be answered in detail. First IGM at the Baden Airport with problems Söllingen: The 33rd international fair for new and used aircraft (IGM) closed its doors on 8 June, leaving the organizers with mixed feelings. The show, which had been held at the airport Baden-Baden in the previous years, was hosted for the first time at the former Canadian air base Söllingen which is now being used as a regional airport. Many of the 500 visiting aircraft were delayed in their approaches. Not just a few 50-minute holdings were ordered by the control tower. In the preparation phase of the trade fair, the organizers had to fight a flood of nonsensical environmental and safety regulations. Still, the 80 exhibitors noticed only little of these problems. All together, 180 aircraft were for sale, 20 were sold during the four-day event. It is questionable however, if the IGM ’98 will be held again at the Baden Airport. New projects from Avions Robin in Dijon The idling times at Avions Robins seem to be history. The company wants to meet the future with new projects. A new version of the DR400 is to be presented soon. It is named DR400/200i and is powered by a Lycoming engine with injection, designated as IO-360A1B6. The aircraft will feature a cabin, which is ten centimeters wider in the front, and a constant speed prop. The fuel capacity will also be increased. The President will be IFR equipped as a standard. The price will be announced soon. A 125-hp Continental engine with injection and a constant speed prop will be offered for the Dauphin family. This engine could also be an option for the R2160. A military trainer version is now available from this aircraft (R2160M) which is participating in the trainer bid of the Royal Air Force. This order includes 35 aircraft. In the case that sufficient orders come in, the all-metal HR100/250 might also be back in production. Furthermore, an aerobatic two-seater, called G-222, is currently being worked on in Dijon. The aircraft is based on the American experimental aerobatic aircraft Giles G-202 and will reportedly be certified according to JAR 23. Formally, the company Akrotech signs responsible for the development of the G-222. Akrotech, like Avions Robin and Centrair, belongs to Aéronautique Service which, just recently, took over Bernay-based Avions Mudry. This company also manufactures aerobatic aircraft. Deutschlandflug ’97: A competition of the superlative 95 crews participated in the rallye event of the year. The Deutschlandflug 1997 covered 1240 kilometers and was interlarded with secret time checks, precision point landings and photo indentifying tasks. Competition organizer Dieter Stephan had chosen a rally route, starting from Strausberg which is located northeast of Berlin, via the stage stop-overs Stendal, Laucha, Speichersdorf and Giebelstadt. Bad Ganderheim was the final destination. The first prize was won by the experienced team Edith Neuer/Gunter Nieschler. The first prize of the first-time participants class was achieved by the aerokurier-team Christopher Hess/Heiko Müller. German helicopter championships in Mainbullau 29 teams competed for the title German helicopter champion during Whitsun-weekend at the airport Mainbullau. The good performance of the crews, both of the seniors and the juniors (less than 250 hours as PIC on helicopters), resulted in a challenging and interesting competition with navigation, timed arrival and slalom tasks. The 1997 title was won by Holger Hoven/Michael Schauff on Schweizer 300. The junior’s title was achieved for the third time by Petra Olthoff. This time, she succeeded with her father Volker Grasberger as copilot on a Bell 47G. Select and win in our anniversary contest Select the best from 81 different aircraft of their category and best handheld GPS. We are giving away prizes worth DM 20000 in total. The first prize will be an aerokurier trip to Oshkosh. You can also win free flights with Condor, a valuable Fortis chronograph or a handheld GPS. New GPS coordinate interpolator makes position fixing easy The planning of GPS flight routes is easy and comfortable. A new coordinate interpolator is a helpful tool in determining the exact turnpoint coordinates. All modern GPS receivers offer the capability to define and store 250 or more user waypoints. It is best to determine the coordinates on the map which will later on be used for navigation. Still, map distortions often lead to inaccurate coordinates. The new coordinate interpolator is the right tool to find correct coordinates between the circles of longitude and latitude. The interpolator is made of a clear plastic foil with just one interpolation scale. The scale is bigger than the distance between the circles of latitude and longitude on the map. The coordinate interpolator, which was developed by qualified engineer Ulrich Henke, is available through the aerokurier special mail order. Accident analysis: Flight into fog In spite of a weather warning, the pilot of a DR 400 took off for a VFR flight from Hof to Landshut. According to the weather briefing, which he had received by phone, the major part of the route could not have been flown under visual flight conditions. Furthermore, fog was forecasted for the destination. In the Oberpfalz, the single-engine low-wing aircraft flew into the predicted fog. The accident investigation team of the German aviation administration LBA found out that the aircraft had almost vertically impacted in the vicinity of a pine tree forest. The team excluded a technical reason for the accident. The pilot did not have a chance to survive due to the high impact energy (calculated impact speed 247 km/h). Landing for free The aerokurier action to increase the flight safety enters the fifth round in July. This time, four airports in the north of the country offer free training landings: Borkum, Peenemünde, Waren-Vielist, and Cochstedt. We think, that we have once again chosen four destinations which are worth it to fly to, and all of which either offer good training conditions or are touristically attractive. Swing: New ultralight from Czechia The Swing is a modern composite ultralight from Czechia which will now be certified in Germany. The two-seater receives good grades in respect to the building quality and the cabin comfort. Performancewise, the Swing is the upper field of its class also. Only the aerodynamical fine tuning of the preproduction aircraft seems to need some improvement. Still, the Swing has the potential to become an attractive competitor on the ultralight market. Pilot Report: Super Ximango AMT-200 The not so small scale of touring motor gliders in Germany is added to by one more facet. Alfred Mathes in Harxheim is importing the low-priced ($103000) Super Ximango AMT-200 of the Brazilian Grupo Aeromot. The glass-fibre/carbon fibre two-seater with Rotax engine (80 hp) is standard equipped with folding wings and a retractable landing gear. In short: The AMT-200 has presented itself as a touring motor glider which not only allows comfortable traveling but also offers the pleasure of gliding without putting to much demand on the pilot. The next Ximango version will be equipped with a turbo Rotax 914 (115 hp) and will reportedly be certified for glider tow flights. The Brazilian certification is expected for this summer. According to Alfred Mathes, the German certification is also pending. The technical service in Germany will be provided by FBW Flugzeugservice, Ernst Schönwald, at the Dinkelsbühl airport. Caproni Calif A-21S: Flying for two The origin of the metal-construction Calif A-21S goes back more than 25 years. Still, the performance two-seater, by far, does not belong to the scrap-heap. As a true alternative for two-seat flying, the Calif is currently being small-series produced (6 aircraft) at the Gomolzig Flugzeug- und Maschinenbau. The Calif really offers a new quality for joint gliding, the pilots sitting side-by-side, shoulder by shoulder. The Italian construction offers good performance (comparable to Janus C) and good flying characteristics, giving the aircraft a broad range of applications reaching from advanced training and guest flights up to performance flights. Only for competition flights in the double-seater class, it is exceeding the 20-meter definition by a few centimeters. The Calif is a real alternative in the performance two-seater class, giving joint flying a new quality. Also, the aircraft offers an attractive price. The A-21S costs approximately 20000 Marks less than a Duo Discus. The demonstration aircraft is being offered for DM14000, including VAT and with a very good instrumentation (Peschges VP7). Hockenheim’97: A rainy event With five flying days, but not that many competition days, the 19th International Hockenheim competition at the beginning of May became a rainy event. 83 pilots from six nations were competing in four classes. Results under airSPORT. 5th Klix gliding competition With the "Pokal der alten Langohren" the competition season starts in Klix. This event is characterized by a relaxed, still challenging and fair atmosphere, attracting many pilots at this year’s event at the beginning of May: 96 glider pilots competed in four classes and found reasonable weather conditions. Results under airSPORT. Practical Meteorology Nötsch in Kärnten is a proven site for the flight-meteorological seminars of the OSTIV. In this spring, a meeting of the flying meteorologists was, again, on the agenda. The meeting under the lead of Dr. Hermann Trimmel, chairman of the OSTIV meteorology panel, not just focused on the practical flying. Among the specific working areas were the German translation of the "handbook of meteorological forecasting for soaring flight", the documentation of meteorological data in gliders, and the presentation of flight-relevant weather information. With optimized teams to a success in the European championships The women’s national gliding team was lucky in having picked Prievidza/Slovakia as the venue for their training camp for the European championships in July. While everywhere else in Europe lows were hindering flying, flying was possible every day in Prievidza. The wide valley around Prievidza has its own favorable micro climate. The first flying day had already shown the female pilots that flying in Slovakia is a challenge. A day’s task may include flatland, as well as, medium and high terrain flights, meaning a significant adaptation for some of the pilots. The team chief says that even though the team wants to defend the European championship title, it is not coming to Prievidza as the favourite. For him, it is most important to establish optimum two-"man" teams or, if this is not possible, well functioning information teams within the classes. The pilots of the women’s team are presented in detail under airSPORT. |
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Last updated June 24, 1997
