Newsdesk – General Aviation

Stillwell Airlines was instrumental in introducing the 19-seat Swearingen Metroliner to Western Australian skies and has even more ambitious plans for the future.

The company now operates three of the $1. 3 million turbo-prop airliners which have revolutionised intra-state flying in the biggest state in the nation.

In their first year, the Metros have amassed 5000 flying hours over 2,881,124 kilometres.

The aircraft are operated in a 15-passenger configuration so they can carry a big cargo payload to the major country centres of Albany, Esperance, Norseman, Telfer and Meekatharra.

In the past year, they’ve carried 27,000 passengers and uplifted 350,000 kilograms of cargo.

ROCKWELL DITCHES ITS SINGLES: Rockwell has decided to cease production of its range of single-engined light aircraft. Over the past few years, it seems that the company has always gained more joy from marketing its more specialised prop-jet twins than the smaller singles. A number of unsold (at the time of writing) Gran Turisimo and Alpine Commanders are still available and no doubt these will be snapped up by Rockwell enthusiasts in short time. We tested the previous model 114 prior to the production halt and so we present the Airiest of Rockwell’s 114 in this edition of AADR as a tribute to what was one of the most pleasant to fly light aircraft ever built.

PT-6 SUCCESSOR ANNOUNCED: Pratt & Whitney’s PT-6 turbine will certainly go down in history as a rival to the RR Dart in popularity. Both engines are online for replacements in the next decade and Pratts have already moved ahead to capture a large share of the commuter market with their recently-announced PT-7A-1. This new engine is the production prototype of the ADS604 demonstrator engine mentioned in the September Newsdesk. Rated at between 1500 and 2500shp the new engine will feature electronic fuel control, have an in­ built condition monitoring capability and a high technology centrifugal compressor which will greatly reduce fuel consumption compared with the PT-6 family. There are more than 14,000 PT-6 engines in operation which have to date logged in excess of 38 million flying hours. A current PT-6 user, Embraer, has ordered the PT-7 for its new 30-seat commuter aircraft.

HOW BIG IS GA?: According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) General Aviation accounts for 96 per cent of the western world’s civil aircraft, 96 per cent of its civil pilots and 80 per cent of all civilian flight hours. There are nearly 300,000 GA aircraft internationally as against 180,000 10 years ago. Of these, more than three-quarters are based in the USA. Internationally the percentage breakdown of types indicates that 85 per cent are single-engined, 12 per cent are twins and the remaining 3 per cent are helicopters. In rounded-off figures, there are 250,000 piston singles, 30,000 piston twins, 4500 turboprops and 3500 jets. Of the 8000 helicopters, 6000 are powered by piston engines and 1600 are single turbine, about 400 others are powered by twin-turbine powerplants. The biggest source of GA aeroplanes is the USA with the dozen US manufacturers producing 18,000 units in 1978 as against 13,700 in 1968 and a mere 6400 in 1958. Such is the boom in General Aviation.

NEW CESSNA TURBOPROPS?: Reports emanating from Wichita indicate a strengthened interest in the use of turbines in light aircraft. Our intelligence indicates the use of an Allison 250 in the Cessna 21OP which could be a very potent match for this high-performance single. Another project is the Cessna 425 powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-112 engines.

WINGS OF PROFIT: The influential US business magazine, Fortune, reports that of the top 1000 US-based companies, 514 operate their own aircraft. This fleet covers 1800 aircraft of which more than 500 are jets. Fortune revealed that only five of the top 100 do not operate their own aircraft while the “flyers” account for 84 per cent of the top 1000 profits, 86 per cent of total sales and 85 per cent of total assets. With executive time at a premium, many companies are finding that a corporate aircraft is able to greatly enhance their executive efficiency and create higher levels of overall efficiency.

NEW AUSTRALIAN HELICOPTER: VTOL Aircraft of Newcastle has reached the certification stage with their Phillicopter helo. The two-man helicopter will sell for around $46,000, roughly half the cost of imported rival piston-engined helos. Powered by a single 150hp Continental or Lycoming engine the Phillicopter will have a maximum speed of 75kts with an effective cruising range in excess of 150 miles. The new helo should have a considerable rural application, particularly for use in mustering cattle and stock control.

NO QUICK ALTERNATIVE TO PISTONS: In these avgas-short days it Is easy to look to turbines as the powerplant of the future. Unfortunately, there are a number of significant reasons why turbines will by and large not make a great impact on future general aviation.

The primary reason of course is one of cost. While turbines do consume after, and Avtur is cheaper than avgas, turbines will always be able to refuel due to the physical influence of the airlines, then the real cost of the turbine comes in its initial cost.

An Allison 250 costs around $100,000, enough to double the cost of an aircraft such as the Cessna P210 equipped with the Allison unit. Therefore just to go turbine in this aircraft you virtually have to double the retail price. Advantages against the turbocharged P21O are for instance minimal, lower fuel costs, guaranteed availability of avtur, higher cruise speed and slightly longer range. Two Allison 250s on the popular Partenavia P. 68 Victor would take the flyaway cost from around $130,000 to well over $300,000 with only a relatively moderate performance gain.

Another problem with turbines is that the current GA single-engined airframes are unsuitable for conversion from piston engines to lightweight turbines. As the Allison 250, for instance, is of similar weight and dimensions to most 150hp four-cylinder piston engines then a centre-of-gravity problem would be introduced where this 420hp engine replaces a similarly powerful piston unit. This is why the Pilatus Turbo Porter has such an exaggerated nose, to move the engine weight as forward as possible to balance out the aircraft.

Again on costs, it is difficult in the commuter role to beat a brand new Navajo Chieftain for around $290,000 when you pay more than twice that figure for a Nomad with one or two more seats. This Is why the Navajo is Piper’s number one bread-and-butter aeroplane.

So there you have it. Don’t start looking for the turbine under every cowling. When the change does start to take effect it will probably be in the form of simplified fuels and perhaps turbocharged diesel engines.

HELICOPTERS EAT INTO NEW MARKET: Four new twin-engined helicopters, designed from the rotor down, for the business market, are going after a slice of the booming corporate market. Business Week estimates that this market could stretch out to as many as 5000 executive-configured helicopters at an average cost of one million dollars each over the next 15 years. The helicopters in the front line are the Bell 222, Sikorsky S-76, Aerospatiale Dauphin 2 and Aguste’s 109A which is similar to the Bell 222. As an example of capability, the S-76 Spirit can carry 12 passengers up to 460 miles at around 150kts. While helicopters cost a lot more per hour to operate than similar-sized fixed-wing aircraft, their main benefit is that their VTOL capability allows them to fly point-to-point more effectively than most other aircraft.

RAYTHEON/BEECH AIRCRAFT MERGE: Raytheon Company and Beech Aircraft Corporation have jointly announced an agreement in principle to merge.

Raytheon is a diversified international technology-based company which employs nearly 65,000 men and women, with worldwide sales running at an annual rate of approximately $3. 5 billion.

Beech is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft. Its product line includes single and twin-engine aircraft and turboprop aircraft for the commercial and armed forces markets, both domestic and foreign. Beech employs in excess of 10,000 men and women and has annual sales of approximately $600 million.

BELLANCA PRODUCTION UP, LOSS DIMINISHES: While Bellanca’s financial health has improved considerably over the past two years, Bellanca Is not yet operating profitably. Management feels that operating losses will continue until production of the Aries T-250 reaches a sufficient volume to allow Bellanca to operate at a profit.

Production of Bellanca’s Viking and Champion lines increased to 328 aircraft for the nine months ended June 30, 1979. This compares with 231 aircraft In fiscal 1977 and 337 aircraft In fiscal 1978.

RECORD SALES, EARNINGS REPORTED BY BEECH AIRCRAFT FOR SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR: Beech Aircraft Corporation has reported record sales and earnings for the seventh consecutive year.

In a preliminary report covering the financial year ended September 30, 1979, President, Frank E. Hedrick, announced that sales would be in excess of $607,000,000 compared with $527,510,511 in 1978.

Total estimated commercial sales increased by 24 per cent to $515,000,000, of which $393,000,000 were domestic sales and $122,000,000 were international. The record international sales show a 9 per cent increase over 1978 sales and was the second year in succession international sales topped the $100,000,000 mark. Def­ence aerospace sales reached $92,000,000, down from last year’s $112,818,291 due to a change in configuration of Army C-12A transports which delayed delivery dates and a gap in production of T-34C Navy primary trainer aircraft.

CESSNA RETURNS CONQUEST PROPJET TO SERVICE: Cessna’s Conquest propjet has been fully certificated by the FAA and the return to service program for customer airplanes will begin immediately.

Cessna and the FAA announced a precautionary grounding of the Conquest on May 25, following a mechanical failure in the trim tab actuator system of a demonstrator aircraft.

A series of test programs led to a decision by Cessna to provide all Conquest owners with a complete, redesigned horizontal tail assembly. It Includes a new horizontal stabiliser with a redesigned leading edge, new elevators, heavy-duty trim tab actuators, and an improved aft fairing.

The three month test program included millions of cycles of laboratory fatigue testing and about 350 hours of severe flight testing through all maximum performance conditions of the airplane, to prove the new actuator and horizontal tail design.

CESSNA SETS RECORDS: Cessna Aircraft Company delivered 1002 aircraft in August, the second-highest monthly delivery total in its history. The all-time high of 1076 deliveries was recorded in August 1978. Cessna has averaged at least a 50 per cent annual market share since 1965. The company has delivered 5570 aircraft through August of calendar 1979, including 90 Citation business jets.

BOLT INSPECTION FOR SKIPPERS: Beech Model 77 Skipper aircraft were subject to US Federal Aviation Administration safety inspections during October when a defect in the main spar attachment bolts was discovered on several Skipper aircraft. Beech and the FAA jointly notified all Skipper operators to remove and check the four attachment bolts for stripped threads and other damage. The situation was caused by Improper installation of the bolts and the resultant loss of Integrity of the bolt Installation.

BELLANCA APPOINTS AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Bellanca Aircraft Corporation has announced the appointment of the Civil Flying Service of Victoria as its distributor for Australia.

The Australian distributor is a subsidiary of BS Stillwell Aviation (Holdings) Pty Ltd, with sales and service operations also in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Perth.

The Bellanca line of aircraft will also be marketed through Sportalr in Bankstown, near Sydney, a company specialising in flight school training and aerobatics, under a joint agreement with the Civil Flying Service.

Civil Flying Service was formed in 1962 by Mr B. S. Stillwell and is itself a multi-million dollar corporation employing 50 people.