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aerokurier
11/1997
Excellent performance On 16 October, Motor-Presse Stuttgart’s two aerospace publications, aerokurier and FLUG REVUE, awarded the aerospace trophy for the fourth time. This year, the publisher honored aircrews for their engagement in the Oderbruch, eastern Germany, floodings this summer. Representing all crews who were employed in these missions, aerokurier and FLUG REVUE honored one crew from each the army, the border patrol, the air force, and the navy. The effect of the Oderbruch missions goes far beyond the direct fighting of the floodings. Controlling the disaster highly contributed to the growing together of Germany East and Germany West. Furthermore, the cooperation with Poland has brought new life into the relation with the neighboring country. Not least, the aircrews, with their successful engagement, were sympathetic figures for the entire aviation community. The excellent performance of all crews was honored with the award of the aerospace trophy 1997. On tour with the de Havilland Beaver It takes a lot of enthusiasm to keep an oldtimer aircraft flying, not to mention the money. Ivan Aeberli from Switzerland has both. It is his achievement that there is a beautifully restored DHC-2 Beaver Mk 1 on floats here in Europe. Horst von Saurma, also an aviation enthusiast and in "normal life" a journalist specialized on sports and racing cars, had the rare opportunity for a flight in Aeberli’s Beaver. He describes how it feels to cross the Alps in this workhorse, that spent part of its life in the Vietnam war, and to land it on its huge floats on the Comer lake. Bell 407 Forth Worth, Texas, based Bell Helicopter Textron is one of the world’s largest helicopter manufacturers. The two single-engine turbine helicopters Bell 206 B and L (JetRanger and LongRanger) are best-sellers. The new Bell 407, which is produced at the BHT plant in Mirabel, Canada, will sooner or later follow in the footsteps of the 206 models. The new helicopter is similar in design to the LongRanger but, the cabin is wider and longer. Also, the Bell 407 has a four-blade rotor, making the flight with the new helicopter a smooth one. It is the first model in the history of this manufacturer that has such a rotor design. Aerokurier test-pilot Eduard Kus flew the Bell 407 at Teuto Air in Paderborn/Lippstadt. 50 years NBAA: Golden Anniversary Only seldom has mood at an airshow been as good as during this year’s NBAA in Dallas. The National Business Aviation Association celebrated its 50th anniversary, as did the business aircraft manufacturers their full order books. The continued good economic situation in the USA is generating a demand for business aircraft that has seldom been that high. While the good economical situation is particularly moving new customers to buy business aircraft, it is the newly developed aircraft that are convincing existing operators to replace their old equipment with a new and more efficient jet. AlliedSignal’s annual forecast is even exceeding last year’s prognosis. AlliedSignal sees a worldwide need for 2300 new business jets between 1997 and 2001. For the ten-year period between 1998 and 2007, the forecast even sees a potential for 5300 business jets, worth approximately $60 billion. Other top news from the NBAA: - Dassault is studying the market potential for a supersonic business jet - Cessna now offers the Caravan with a 675 shp turbine - Learjet 45 receives FAA certification - SJ30-2 certification is delayed - Jet Squalus is revitalized from Albert Aerospace - Single-jet VisionAire Vantage seen in flight for the first time - Piper builds turboprop-single Meridian on Malibu basis Around the world with a single-engine aircraft He had to turn 73 years old to fulfill his own dream of flying: to fly around the world with a single-engine aircraft. Dieter Schmitt has flown as many as 323 aircraft types, has crossed the Atlantic 353 times, and has accumulated an accident free 23400 flight hours. One should think that a flight around the world would be easy for him. But wrong. There were a lot of obstacles to be overcome before the flight could take-off. At the beginning there was a more than bold dream: In the mid-eighties, Dieter Schmitt convinced Daimler-Benz to build the engine for a high-altitude research aircraft (DS-1) designed by him. The all-carbon aircraft was equipped with a special Diesel engine with four turbochargers, generating 680 hp. The test runs with the engine, giving the aircraft a speed of 240 kts and a range of 50000 kilometers, were completed. However, following the sale of Daimler’s Dornier share, the project was canceled. Still, Schmitt was pursuing his idea of flying around the world in a record time. After three onsets, he succeeded in 1997 to fly from Mannheim to Mannheim, with stopovers in Santa Maria, Bangor, Wichita, Long Beach, Honolulu, Majuro atoll, Guam, Balikpapan, Medan, Colombo, Bahrain, and Malta. He covered 42700 kilometers in 144 hours and 47 minutes of flying time. Subject to confirmation by the FAI, he set 15 new speed world records. World Air Games and aerobatic European championships: Patrick Paris defends the champion’s title The motor aerobatic pilots were competing for the European championships at the World Air Games in September. In Antalya, Turkey, the French Patrick Paris defended his champion’s title. The outcome was clear after only two flights. It was partially due to the bad organization of the event that not more flights were possible. As was expected by insiders already before the Games, only Russian and French pilots came into the medal ranks at the end of this 11th aerobatic European championships. Patrick Paris beat the Russian Nicolay Timofeew and the French newcomer hope Eddy Dussau into their places. In the women’s competition, the Russian Svetlana Kapanina came in first, in front of her team pilots Elena Klimovich and Svetlana Lupanova. The German team did not have much to do with the outcome of the European championships. German champion Klaus Schrodt came in at rank 16, followed by Ulrich Pade (21), Heiner Prehn (26), and Ludwig Hoffmann (29). The chaotic organization of these European championships will probably be discussed by the CIVA (Commission Internationale Voltige Aérienne). As of now, the next European championships will be flown at Salamanca in Spain in 1999. CIVA had planned to make a decision on that in November. Neubiberg pilots can fly on Sundays In October, the Bavarian higher administrative court had opposed an unlimited operating permit for the airfield Neubiberg. But, the court also stated that many of the current operating limits are not legal. The current operating permit of the airfield is expiring on 31 December. However, there is no alternative, no other airfield to Neubiberg. That’s why the Flying Club Munich is doing everything to keep flying from Neubiberg. Based on the decision by the higher court, the permitting administration must now take back some of the limitations for Neubiberg: The prohibition to fly on Sundays, the limitation of the Saturday afternoon operations to two take-offs and landings, and the limitation of movements with non-Neubiberg home based aircraft. Virtual Wings: simulator for Power Macintosh The TB 20 from CAT III Systems is very real. The PC based simulator for VFR and IFR training is following the original in instrumentation and flight characteristics in detail. There are numerous PC based IFR procedure trainers on the market. However, Virtual Wings is more than just another of these trainers for Macintosh computers. With Virtual Wings, CAT III Systems, based in Ottobrunn close to Munich, has concentrated on the high-end single TB 20 with constant speed propeller, retractable landing gear, HSI, and a two-axis autopilot (King KAP 150). This PC single-engine aircraft is setting a new standard in reassembling the hardware (panel) and the flight characteristics. If a 3D graphics card is used, the TB 20 panel and the landscape is presented in a highly detailed 3D view. Coming out of the clouds on an ILS approach, one is really experiencing the selected world with 3 kilometers visibility in misty conditions – like in reality. As compared to the performance of similar simulators, Virtual Wings with price of 249 Marks is an affordable alternative (Cat III Systems, Tel.: +49 (0) 89-62989440). Whomever wants to get to know Virtual Wings, can download a timewise limited demo version (1.0) from Cat III Systems’ homepage (http://www.cat3.com). Weather: How air turns into wind Wind has a significant impact on flight planning. Using wind for the own purpose gets you either faster to the destination or extends the possible range of the aircraft. Manfred Kreipl explains how the airflow in the atmosphere are generated. Stress prevention With all systems (the technical and the human) working, enough fuel on board and good weather Enroute, experienced pilots are not overly challenged. However, once one or more systems fail, the individual stress level is playing an important role in solving the problem. Helga Kleisny explains what to do against stress. Grounded: How to get a medical again Being grounded for medical reasons is not necessarily the end of a pilot’s career. A solid distrust in the medical certificate is a good start to get the medical back, says our author Dr. jur. Derk Eckart Janßen, lawyer in Hannover. Accident analysis: Phantom rams ultralight In the vicinity of the military airfield Hopsten, an Aviasud AE-209 collided with a German air force fighter. While the crew of the severely damaged F-4F Phantom managed to emergency land the jet in Hopsten, the ultralight pilot did not have the slightest chance to survive the accident. The left wing of the fighter cut right through the cockpit area. At the time of the accident, both aircraft were flying at 2500 feet MSL. The ultralight pilot flew a heading of 035 degrees and the Phantom a course of 010 degrees, closing in on the ultralight at high speed and in a dead angle for the ultralight pilot (155 degrees aspect). Since the view from the Phantom’s front cockpit seat is limited by the aircraft structure and the crew-member in the back seat has no visibility on the airspace in front of the jet at all, the German air transport safety board assesses that the two F-4 pilots did not see the ultralight. Immediately after the impact on the left side of the aircraft, the pilot in command of the F-4 declared an emergency because of bird strike. EV 97 Eurostar: Star or starlet The Eurostar EV 97 is a sportive ultralight with good all-round characteristics. The Czechian all-metal low-wing aircraft offers the performance of a VLA. Following the certification in the ultralight class, the aircraft is supposed to be certified in the very light aircraft category also. We flew the prototype which already makes a good and fully developed impression. The aircraft is a derivative of the Pottier P220. Eurostar manufacturer Aerotechnik in Kunovice used to build the kits for the French aircraft and has eliminated the weak points of the design. Our opinion: The Eurostar is rather a star than a starlet. The manufacturer expects the aircraft to have received German ultralight certification by the end of the year. First flight: Remos G-3 Mirage The G-3 Mirage, the successor of the Remos Gemini, has entered the flight test phase. The new composite ultralight took off for its first flight on 20 September in Manching. After the first flights, testpilot Bernhard Greil was already excited about the handling of the new ultralight. Since the proof flights are almost completed, Remos Aircraft hopes for a possible certification of the G-3 Mirage in November of this year. Ultralights at the World Air Games: Heinz Korella and Jan Altenkirch were the winners in the ultralight two-seater class at the World Air Games in September. In Aydin, Turkey, they won the gold medal in difficult conditions. The two Germans did not have a good start into the competition. In order to avoid a disqualification, they had to reduce the weight of their Ikarus C-42 to championships limits. After that, they continuously flew in the top group. The other German participants were not as lucky. Herman Jacob came in fourth. The only trike team was the competition experienced Robert Mair/Dietmar Spekking, coming in 8th place in the end. Opportunity: With a Stemme S10-VT into the Himalayas A research expedition at the end of this year will take a Stemme S10-VT into the Himalayas, one of the world’s most impressive alpine regions. The special equipped motor glider will be used in Nepal for pollution level measurements in altitudes up to 10000 meters. The S10-VT is designed as a modern composite construction and has an empty weight of 645 kg. The maximum take-off weight (motor gliders are normally limited to 850 kg) of this special equipped S10-VT is 980 kg. The aircraft can carry two external containers underneath each of its wings. These containers house the extensive sensor equipment for the air measurements. The flights can be documented with microcams which are installed in the empenage. The aircraft will be ferried in the fall of this year from Berlin to Katmandu. The S10-VT will cover a distance of 8600 kilometers on this flight, accumulating approximately 38 hours of flight time. During the expedition, not only professional research pilots will have a chance for a trip on top of the roof of the world. It is planned that guest pilots can participate in the research work. Along with being on board during research flights, it will be possible to conduct self-planned flights to research the undiscovered gliding potential of the Himalayas. Further information is available from Stemme (Tel.: +49 (0) 3341-36120, Fax: -311173). Pilot Report 304CZ: The "Glasflügel 304" is back in production Seventeen years ago, the Glasflügel 304 took off for its first flight. Now, the racing class aircraft can be ordered again: from HPH in Kutna Hora/Czechia. Seventeen years is a long period of time in glider development. However, the Glasflügel 304, when succeeding the Mosquito on the market in 1980, already was a far advanced development in many points. This advantage is still a strong point of the aircraft, the 304 not having lost much of its topicality. She is still a racing class glider that doesn’t leave many wishes open. It is not totally out of place that the aircraft is now in production again at HPH in Kutna Hora, located approximately 80 kilometers southeast of Prague. Our test shows: The 304 CZ from HPH is the familiar, still young Glasflügel 304. With the 304 CZ, the customer gets an affordable new aircraft for a factory price of DM64500. 1st world championships of the world class: Newcomers better than the aces The weather conditions during the 1st world championships of the world class in mid-September in Turkey were not as favorable as they could have been. Still, the mono-type world championships with the PW-5 got good grades among the participants. At the end of the competition, these pilots won who had prepared for more than one season for the specific requirements of a competition with just one type of aircraft: the French pilots. The title and the prize, a new PW-5, went to Frederic Hoyeau (36) from the AC Chartres, in his professional life an airline pilot. Second was Julien Henry (37), the French champion from 1995, who had already missed only just an international title: at the European championships of the club class in Landau. Jesper Engstrom from Sweden came in third place. Diether Memmert was the best German participant (6th place). Bruno Gantenbrink came in 14th place, and Gudrun Haas, handicapped by her health and technical problems, finished the event on rank 42. Test competition in Marpingen The Marpingen glider week of the Aero Club Saar at the end of July was an event especially tailored to newcomers in competition gliding. The newcomers, for some of whom the event was also the entry into route flying, appreciated the event. Many of them want to participate in future competitions and state championships. Second Stahringen comparison flying It really works: Route and comparison flying can fit in together with a family vacation. This was recently proved by the second Stahringen comparison flying with self-start capable gliders. It was possible to fly on all of the competition days. Even the planned route around the Bodensee worked out. In spite of the many and challenging flights, the joint actions with the non-flyers did not stand behind. The interesting supporting program, along with the nice summer weather and the independence of the self-starters turned the Stahringen week into an event to be remembered by all participants. Information about the 3rd Stahringen comparison flying is available from Klaus Hinkel, Tel.: +49 (0) 7032-24982, or Hubert Lehr, Tel.: +49 (0) 7732-52383, Fax: -52311. Lower Saxony: Race around Rotenburg/Wümme Everything could be expected for these Lower Saxony championships in the club, standard, and racing classes mid-August in Rotenburg/Wümme – everything, except for nine beautiful flying days during a season that is already part of early fall. With average speeds, which were above 100 km/h on almost all of the days, routes between 200 and 450 kilometers were no problem for the participants. 65 pilots experienced a truly noteworthy competition in Rotenburg/Wümme, located only 70 kilometers away from the North Sea. Also, the new four-drum winch from Augsburg based Hoeck passed its first major test during the nine flying days. Block championships Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland The block championships Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland at the Mönchsheide in mid-August held ten exiting competition days. 33 pilots were competing in the three classes (club, standard, racing). The double-seaters were grouped into the standard class. The majority of the participants (12 aircraft) were competing in the racing class. In the club class, routes of 212 kilometers in average were flown, the tasks ranging from 133 to 298,8 kilometers. The standard class covered 224,8 kilometers in average during the ten days, ranging from 172 to 335 kilometers. The racing class was challenged with routes from 177 to 355 kilometers (275 in average). Even the mini-tasks were so demanding that they were not fulfilled by all of the pilots. Further gliding news, for example concerning the European championships of the women and the German championships of the juniors, can be found under airSPORT. Editorial: Charter companies are investing again Our annual survey of executive charter companies reveals that Business Aviation assesses its future as only neutral. 43,5 percent of the companies, who answered the survey, answered the question concerning the future outlook with a "positive". This number was 10 percent higher in last year’s survey. 40,5 percent of the companies assess their future as neutral. Since 65 percent of the companies, who answered the questionnaire, are planning to increase their fleet, there is some willingness to invest in spite of the only moderate assessment. Last year, only 45 percent of the companies had stated plans of expanding their fleet. Business Aviation is more than just a transport means The list is long, prominent and, by far, not complete: BASF, Bertelsmann, BMW, Burda, Deutsche Telekom, Duscholux, Flowtex, Krupp, Lego, Preussag, Quelle, Schöller, Viessmann, Vobis, and Volkswagen are just some of the companies that either operate one or more business aircraft themselves or, are regular users of Business Aviation. The utilization of the business aircraft goes far beyond just being a means of transport. Only the personal aircraft allows one to fly on an individual flight plan both, fast and safe. Business travelers who must visit several spread out locations on one day can do so only with the help of their personal aircraft. A business aircraft saves costs, even if the procurement costs for a new aircraft can rapidly exceed the magic one million dollar limit. Often, business aircraft can carry their passengers or freight closer to the final destination than airlines can. In Europe, approximately 2000 airfields are usable for business aircraft, while only 200 airports are served by the airlines. Many business aircraft can operate from runways that are shorter than 1200 meters. This was especially clear after the reunification of Germany. The ground-based traffic infrastructure was in a desolate condition. The aircraft, on the other hand, only needed an airstrip – even though it often did not reach international standards. Tax classification of business aircraft Before buying a business aircraft, companies must not just think about operational aspects but, also about legal factors and the tax classification. Dr. Heinz Schäfer explains the various options. Advanced AIS: More service from the German Air Navigation Services Flight plannings, especially the ones leading to destinations outside of Europe, can take a lot of time. All the questions concerning the details of the flight can often only be answered by professionals within a more adequate time frame. One way to avoid these complications is to delegate the planning to one of the companies that are specialized on flight planning. The number of these companies has increased. At the Munich airport’s General Aviation terminal, the German Air Navigation Services (DFS) has set up a so called Advanced AIS service, being able to accomplish flight planning tasks of all kinds. The costs for this service are within reasonable limits. The advantage of this specialized service is that the staff has a lot of experience and connections all over the world from its normal AIS work. The AAIS can be reached by phone under the number +49 (0) 89-9780-471 and -472. There is also a fax number and an email address available. Advanced AIS: More service from the German Air Navigation Services, Successful duo: Travel agency and charter company The combination of travel agency and charter company, offered by the Lufthansa City Center in Mannheim, is unique. Many travel agencies and company travel departments are excluding their customers from one important means of transportation. Since these offices often don’t have the knowledge about executive charter companies, they frequently forget to suggest the utilization of a business aircraft to their customers, even though it might be advantagous for the individual traveler. Werner Rettig, who owns the Globus Reisedienst GmbH together with another partner, saw a missing service in Mannheim. No charter company was offering jet charter services from Mannheim. Rettig, a pilot himself, had the idea of setting up a charter company to supplement his travel agency. He looked for a suitable aircraft and found a used Cessna Citation II in good condition. The employees of the travel agency had to be trained in order to be able to offer the new service appropriately to the customers. The agency has a flight planning software on their computers, allowing to precalculate estimated flight times to the desired destinations. The customer then gets a price estimate that includes all fees (landing, parking, airway). Airliner as business jets: Noblesse oblige Whomever thinks that the super business jets Global Express and Gulfstream GV are not "super" enough, should consider the new corporate Versions Boeing 737 and Airbus A319. Borge Boeskov, president of the newly founded Boeing Business Jets, estimates the market potential for BBJ to be approximately 600 aircraft for the next ten years. Airbus, with its A319CJ (Corporate Jet) is also looking for a good part of this market. Having some disadvantages in speed and range, as compared to GV and GEX, the A319CJ and BBJ will market their strong points, especially the cabin size. Supposedly, the operating costs of the corporate airliners are not much higher than those of the business jets. Boeing and Airbus are offering the super business jets for $32 and $35 respectively (green aircraft). The completion of the individual interiors will cost another six to ten million dollars. Part of these interior works are done at the Lufthansa Technik AG in Hamburg. Their experts are experienced with these contracts from their works for customers from the Middle East and will furnish both the business airliners from Airbus and Boeing. Satellite communication: Office on top Making phone calls, sending faxes, exchanging data via Internet: satellite communication turns a business jet into a flying office. The times are history when business travelers could not be reached once they have boarded an aircraft. The new Inmarsat Aero-I-System now opens the world of satellite communication for light and medium business jets. As compared to the former Aero-H standard, it is now possible to use lighter equipment and antennae. The market leaders Rockwell Collins and Honeywell/Racal, with their new generation of equipment, has already adjusted to the new standard which, supposedly, will be certified in spring of 1998. |
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Copyright 1997 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved.
Last updated October 27, 1997
