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aerokurier 2/2002 Keep encouraging the young At the beginning of January a 15-year-old student pilot in Tampa, Florida deliberately
flew a Cessna 172 that was barely a year old into a bank building. The youth did not
survive his spectacular suicide attempt. A small amount of damage to property occurred,
but no one else was injured. In the light of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001,
his suicide has triggered a discussion as to how sensible it is to allow young people to
learn to fly. Desert experience: wind, sand and stars Namibia adventure: across the oldest desert on the earth in an open biplane. An experience of quite unusual flying freedoms. EC130: impressively quiet Extremely stable in flight and particularly quiet – this is the impression one gains of the EC130B4. Eduard Kus tested the new eight-seater helicopter from Eurocopter for us, and in so doing he rediscovered much that was "well-known": the EC130, which is positioned above the successful AS350 Ecureuil, contains a number of tried and tested elements from other Eurocopter types, such as the EC135, the EC120 or the already mentioned AS350. The "new" helicopter is being built in southern France and is primarily aimed at the passenger transportation market. NBAA Convention 2001 The Business Aviation sector was awash with optimism at its biggest gathering of the year. Market analyses are predicting healthy sales in the longer term. Calmness was evidently the predominant mood at the 2001 NBAA Convention in pre-Christmas New Orleans. Those familiar with the biggest Business Aviation show in the world experienced once again the friendly ambience and the well established programme, even if it was a smaller event than planned. Originally scheduled for the third week in September 2001, the NBAA had cancelled the exhibition in the wake of the shockwave caused by the terrorist attacks in the USA and the drastic impact on aviation. After extensive consultation it took the decision not to leave it at that, but to go ahead with the industry convention in December despite scepticism in some quarters. Extra Flugzeugbau: crisis under control? For some months nothing but gloomy news, unofficial of course, has emerged from
Dinslaken-Schwarze Heide, headquarters of Extra Flugzeugbau. According to the rumours, the
company was in dire straits. It had run out of cash, and at times it even seemed that the
jobs of the 180 staff were on the line. Rotax six-cylinder 936 Development of the Rotax 6-cylinder 936 is progressing well. Flight trials will shortly
begin in a Piper Arrow. Remarkable progress in an engine that does not really exist, if
one asks Rotax. The Rotax engineers have already been working for several years on
development of this aero engine. FlightPlanner enhancement It is now possible to plan the weather using the FlightPlanner 5.0 flight planning
program. German airfield data (AIP sheets) is available as an option. In the cockpit with Gregor Gysi According to his public image, the prominent PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism)
politician is clever, eloquent, dynamic, self-assured, aggressive, effervescent, at times
jittery. And as a pilot? "Peace and quiet are important to me," says the 53
year-old. He would not like to be at the aircraft controls when under time pressure as he
moves from one pre-election meeting to another. Bonn/Hangelar: location factor for the region For many years Bonn/Hangelar was surrounded by controversy. But things have quietened
down at last. Today no one doubts any more the importance of the airfield to the economic
region of Bonn. The Museo G. Caproni in Trent Sometimes a really good destination for a possible outing will turn out to be quite
close at hand – at least right next to one’s travel route. The G. Caproni museum
at Trent airport in northern Italy is just such a destination. All around Phoenix Holiday in the USA combined with flying day excursions. Helga Kleisny discovered this kind of travelling for herself. All around Phoenix, Arizona, she flew to numerous interesting airfields in a chartered Cessna. There she experienced much in the way of culture and curiosities as well as a wealth of flying impressions. Cessna 195 Two Cessna 195’s on a small airfield, and a touch of rivalry is bound to creep in:
which owner has restored his aircraft the better, or which pilot flies the more beautiful
aircraft? Workshop test flight Something that practically never occurs today used to be commonplace in MOT tests on
cars: the examiner would drive a standard distance with the vehicle to gain an additional
impression of its operational reliability. With aircraft it is different. Here the test
flight, known informally also as the workshop test flight, is in many cases a fixed part
of the programme. VASI and PAPI Anyone who relies solely on his eyes during the final approach will soon end up wide of the mark: the plane will be too high or it will practically shave the treetops on the edge of the airfield. Especially for landings in unfamiliar airfields, PAPI and VASI are invaluable indicators of the safe angle of approach to the touch-down zone. Preparing for one’s first solo flight Preparing for exceptional situations in the circuit and during landing is part of basic training. After that nothing more stands in the way of the first solo flight. Things are looking up When one is shutting down a helicopter turbine engine, why does one always have to wait so long before one can switch the engine completely off? An engine specialist answered this question for us and we have turned this into a practical contribution. Accident analysis: approaching the pass at too low an altitude Although the weather forecast was bad, the pilot took off in a Cessna in the vicinity of Zurich, heading towards Locarno (Lago Maggiore). On the way he changed his course, landed in a different airfield and then continued his flight towards St. Gotthard. In the Reuss Valley he flew much too low, and moreover the aircraft appears to have been dragged ever lower due to strong gusts of wind. The pilot realised too late that he had a problem, but the engine was not powerful enough for a climb, and when he turned round he found himself in the narrow valley. The dead body of the pilot was later recovered. Weller Sprint: fabric and steel The Sprint from Weller Flugzeugbau has a niche in the ultralight market. The two-seater
is not only available as a retrodesign. Its structure is also based on a 1930s type of
construction. New home for B & F at Speyer airfield The first turf is expected to be dug for B & F’s new home before the month is out. The manufacturer of the FK family of aircraft plans to move into the new complex at Speyer airfield as early as the spring. It will then have around 900 m2 of space available. Werner Meuser wins World Champion title again! On the tenth and last scoring day of the 27th Gliding World Championships in Mafikeng,
South Africa, Werner Meuser once again finished in first place in the Racing Class, flying
a Ventus 2ax. After a difficult start, the 49 year-old former World Champion of 1997 took
the title for the second time. On one’s own: gliding safari to Lapland / Part II A German team of three surveyed the thermals far to the north of the Arctic Circle this summer. Using self-launching gliders, they flew across Sweden to Ivalo in the far north. In Part II of this travelogue the three team members describe the return flight across Finland. Ultralight tow: crash shortly after take-off Now that ultralight aircraft are allowed to tow gliders, a new risk must be borne in mind for this type of take-off. Light ultralights generally lift off earlier than gliders, and in fact a lot earlier if the glider is a heavy one with a rigid aerofoil profile. Ultralight planes (like powered gliders) can then find themselves transitioning into the climb when the glider has only reached minimum speed. Sports sponsorship by the Bundeswehr A lot of top pilots, members of national teams and German Champions around today have
something in common, namely they were sportsmen in the armed forces. They gained their
first successes with the Bundeswehr. German-French youth camp Whether it goes by the name of "vol à voile" or "Segelfliegen", the important thing is the shared experiences in the air and on the ground at the German-French youth distance flying camp at Klippeneck. And these were extremely positive. Opinion: German Distance Gliding Championships to be split into two Our popular sport is following an unusual route. The German Distance Gliding
Championships are to be split up into a German Championship and a European competition.
But the logic that determines which flights are to count for the German Championships is a
little odd, to say the least. Thus we are told that only the start or finish location or
one turning point need be in Germany, so that apart from one of the turning points the
entire flight can take place in a neighbouring country. SparrowHawk for UL gliders A new all-carbon ultralight glider, the SparrowHawk, is being built by Windward
Performance in Oregon, USA. The prototype, built entirely as a carbonfibre pre-preg
construction, appeared without finish but entirely in black at its roll-out at the end of
last year. |
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