Newsdesk – General Aviation

WA Merger Creates GA’s ‘Biggest’:

Australia’s biggest general aviation organisation has resulted from the merger of Skywest Airlines and Transwest Airlines in Western Australia. The combined group has 36 aircraft including three jets and 14 prop jets. Turnover of the two companies last year was over $18 million.

The new company has major bases in Perth, Jandakot, Kalgoorlie, Port Hedland, Karratha and Derby and a staff of over 200. It will be run by joint managing directors, Dennis Howe and Bill Meeke. No name has been selected yet for the combined company. Besides the obvious cost savings in the merger, another key factor is the WA Government’s current review of air services throughout the State. The recommendations of the review are expected to be announced soon and the hot tip is they could provide the new combined company with greatly expanded opportunities.

New Idea From an Old Company:

Curtiss Wright, a famous name in aviation’s hall of fame, is in the final stages of a multiyear R&D effort into alternative light to medium GA-type aircraft engines. The bulk of their research has centred on a turbocharged derivative of an NSU Wankel engine which produces between 470 bhp and 600 bhp and can be run on a number of fuel types including avgas, mogas, avtur and more importantly diesel fuel. Designated the RC2-75, the lightweight rotary engine features stratified-charge combustion which enhances the fuel burn providing greater fuel efficiency and extremely smooth engine operation. Tests are continuing and Curtiss Wright plans to test-fly the engine in 1982.

US GA Production:

According to figures released by GAMA covering the January to November period of 1981, 8,748 GA category aircraft were produced in US factories as against 11,048 for the same period in 1980. The top seller was Cessna’s 172 family with no less than 1,008 being produced including 881 of the base Skyhawk model. Cessna also scooped the light training market with sales of 673 units of the 152 class. Other Cessna figures of significance were 460 for the Stationair 6 and 8, 442 for the Centurion including 95 sales of the Pressurised version, 119 Citation lls, 61 Citation Is, 60 Conquest, 90 Corsair, 111 402 commuters and 215 182 Skylanes. Gates Learjet produced 118 aircraft including 81 Model 35A and 22 Model 250 aircraft. Beech was still smiling with a total of 358 sales in the King Air family including 216 of the 200 Super King Air. Barons accounted for 229 sales while 315 Bonanzas contributed to Beech’s total production of 1,126 units for the period. Piper had the most popular twin in its class with 329 units produced by the Seneca family. The Navajo were close behind with 214 and the propjet Cheyenne recorded 147, 43 of which were the new Cheyenne Ill. Piper also turned out 236 Tomahawks, 34 Seminoles, 235 Archer IIs and 271 Warriors. Mooney, who are consistently increasing sales turned out 303 aircraft in the period including 162 201s and 141 231s. Probably the most telling figure however is that for the period in 1981, the US GA manufacturers exported only $2,165m worth of aircraft as against $3,323m for the same period in 1980.

Gulfstream III Establishes New Around-The-World Flight Record:

Covering over 23,000 statute miles in less than two days was the world record objective of the new “Spirit of America” Gulfstream Ill business jet which will set out on an around the-world flight January 8, 1982.

The flight was made in the first production model Gulfstream III, serial number 301. The jet departed from Teterboro Airport, NJ at 0600 hours and refuelled at five cities en route, the aircraft returned to Teterboro at or before 0600 hours, on January 10.

Sanctioned by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and the Federal Aeronautique International (FAI), the flight eclipsed earlier business jet world flight records established by Arthur Godfrey, in 1966, flying a Jet Commander and by Arnold Palmer, in 1976, flying a Learjet. These two flights set world records of 86 and 57 hours, respectively.

New Mooney:

Mooney is well down the line in the assembly of the prototype of their new six-place single. Designated the M30 the new aircraft will feature an aft-swept tail and a cabin with as much space as a Cessna 340. Powered by a single Lycoming of 350 hp the M30 will test fly in June 1982 and will be available for customer delivery by 1985. Mooney are all smiles as their 1981 sales have topped 1980 figures, quite an achievement in this era of GA depression and one that is purely attributable to the equation of fuel efficiency and high cruise speeds so long a hallmark of Mooney designs.

By Piper to Farnborough:

Ansell General Aviation has come up with a novel idea that makes pleasant news for anyone contemplating a GA purchase in the months ahead. Buy a new Piper aircraft between now and August and you can fly with AGA’s compliments to the 1982 Farnborough Air Show with British Airways. AGA have just sold their second Cheyenne Ill which now marks five Cheyenne sales in the past five months. Both Cheyenne Ills have gone to Queensland with Statewide Air Charter and Wesco Air Charter each operating one of the type.

Turboprop Centurion:

Riley Aircraft of the USA, a firm specialising in the conversion of piston aircraft to turbine power, have recently released their first turboprop-powered Cessna P210 Centurion. The usual 300 hp six-cylinder Continental has been replaced by a Pratt & Whitney PT6 flat rated to 400 shp allowing the pressurised Centurion a range cruise speed of 260 kts at 23,000 ft. Wingtip extensions are added as standard increasing fuel capacity by 16 gallons to a total of 120 taking the turboprop Centurion a full 1,000 miles with IFR reserves. The cost of the conversion is not cheap at almost $250,000 above the cost of the existing aircraft though Riley feels there is a big market for this class of aircraft and has already fifteen firm orders against a 1982 anticipated production of between forty and fifty aircraft.

Wings Across Australia:

Jet Charterer’s Nominees, the people who operate all those TNT Westwinds have a new name and a new image. Known from January onwards as Wings Australia, the rapidly expanding GA company is now the owner/­ operator of Masling Airlines and Clubair in addition to being the official distributor for Dornier (see Update, this issue) and local support representative for Garrett AiResearch. Wings Australia will be introducing the new Dornier 228-200 nineteen-seat commuter airliner to the NSW regional network later this year with additional types to enter service through 1982 and ’83. The plan is for the Dornier to ultimately replace the Bandeirantes on the current Masling route structure with the Bandeirantes then replace the Nomads on the Sydney/­ Maitland routes formerly operated by Clubair. The Shorts 330 will be used on the high-density Sydney/Maitland and Sydney/Williamtown routes. The two N24 Nomads will go to South Australia for service with the recently acquired O’Connor Airways. Wings Australia has also signed an order with Jet Corp (formerly Schutt Aviation) for four 1124 Westwinds to augment their TNT night parcel service. As of early 1982, the Wings Australia inventory included 4 Westwinds, 2 Lear 35s, 1 Citation 11, 4 Bandeirante P.2s, 2 N24 Nomads, 1 Kingair 200, 4 Shorts 330, 1 Aerostar 601P, 1 Cessna 421, 1 Aztec, 2 Partenavias and one Baron.

Tobago Breakthrough:

The Aerospatiale Tobago four-place light single has made the necessary major breakthrough into the Australian GA marketplace. In December the successful Australian Flying Training School at Bankstown ordered a total of ten Tobagos for bulk delivery in early March 1982.

Barney Fernandes, managing director of AFTS told Australian Aviation that one of the greatest assets of the Tobago was that it had a constant prop rather than the fixed unit on the present fleet of 3 Piper Warriors and 5 Cruisers. The Pipers will be transferred to the new AFTS operations based at Parafield airport near Adelaide while the 3 Cessna 152s will be retained for use by AFTS’s new private pilots school based at Bankstown.

Non-stop Global Flights Ready to Go:

Two different aircraft are about to set out on the first global non-stop flight not involving air-refuelling. Quickie Aircraft Corporation, known internationally for their successful homebuilt, has designed a single-place 52-foot wingspan aircraft resembling a powered glider that has a capacity of 550 gallons of avgas. The Quickie aircraft, dubbed Big Bird, is constructed from bonded aluminium and is powered by a single 130 hp Pezetel/Franklin motor. The aircraft avionics include an LTN-3000 Omega VLF nav system and a.,.complete Bendix fir for navigation and communication. J. Thomas Jewett, president of Quickie will fly the aircraft, probably in April on a route that will depart the US, cross the Atlantic to Egypt, onto India, China, and the Pacific and finally land at the port of departure which at the time of writing had not been selected. Estimated cruise speed will be between 175 and 220 mph at 24,000 ft while ten-hour sleep periods will be taken with the aircraft under autopilot command. An alarm will ring if a situation should develop beyond the capability of the autopilot to handle. The second aircraft, from Burt Rutan, concerns a dual boom 100 ft wingspan aircraft that carries 1,400 gallons of fuel for a maximum range of 28,000 statute miles. The route profile will be similar to that of the Quickie expedition.

GA Success With Coastal Surveillance:

The general aviation industry has won an extension of its contracts for coastal surveillance and earned a Government ‘well done’ as well. Transport Minister Ralph Hunt announced last month that aerial surveillance was the only practical way of providing an effective surveillance capability for Australia’s remote northern coastline He said the program would continue to be carried out by GA aircraft and crews provided to the Commonwealth under contract. This system had the chief advantage of being able to use the expertise possessed by Australia’s GA industry, he added.

Policy Change on Commuter Operators:

DoT has opened up Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport to extra commuter operators provided they fly aircraft carrying ten or more passengers and operate with two pilot crews. Smaller commuter operators will be limited to nearby Essendon Airport (except those already established at Tullamarine). The first beneficiary of the new policy is Kendell Airlines, by mutual agreement, has taken over Northwest Airlines’ commuter services to Warrnambool and Portland. Northwest is keeping a few smaller commuter runs and is expanding its Australia-wide ‘time-critical’ courier service into all Victorian country centres.

GA in Doldrums:

The US General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has reported a decline in sales of GA category aircraft for the third year running. GAMA report that in 1980 there were 11,877 GA aircraft produced valued at $2,480 m. In 1981 sales were a mere 9,300 units worth a collective $2,850 m while the forecast for 1982 stands at 8,500 aircraft worth $3,000 m. The dollars are then year dollars and reflect a decrease of 21% in less than three years. From 1978 till 1980 there was rapid growth m the turbine and turbofan category at the expense of smaller piston-engined aircraft. GAMA claim that the low end of the single piston market is still depressed largely owing to the relative scarcity of avgas in many parts of the world, its high price and most importantly the effect high interest rates and tight finance are having on sales of new aircraft valued at under $100,000. Recent reports from the US indicate that a large number of corporate jets and turboprops are coming onto the market as the US enters a recession and cash flow is required for day-to-day operations owing to the reduction in availability of borrowed capital. In Australia, the piston area is still depressed though sales are still being consistently recorded for aircraft in the up-market category for corporate use.

Garrett Develop New Turboprops:

Garrett has commenced flight tests of two new turboprop engines designated the TPE331-14 and -15. The former engine produces 1,250 shp and the latter 1,650 shp, making both marks competitive with the General Electric CT7-5 and Pratt & Whitney’s PW115. Despite the increased power early indications are that the new engines will consume between five and seven per cent less fuel than the current TPE331-11

Commuter Industry Is Marginal:

Commuter airline figures released in late 1981 by DoT show the marginal financial nature of the industry overall. Although commuter operations have grown spectacularly in recent years, passenger and weight load factors for the industry are only around the 50% mark. Unfortunately, the DoT figures are well out of date – being for the calendar year 1979. However, they are the latest available and give a good overall picture of the commuter industry.

The figures, which cover more than 95% of the industry, show that passengers carried in the five-year period 1975 to 1979 soared by 115% to 660,396; revenue tonne-kilometres were up to 142%, while hours and kilometres flown by the 60 operators both nearly doubled. However, the industry revenue passenger load factor in 1979 dropped to 51.3% while the revenue weight load factor dipped even further to 49.9% – more than 10 percentage points lower than it was in 1978. (Some operators of course achieved high passenger and weight load factors – South Australian operator Emu Air Charter was a good example with a 77.5% PLF and a WLF of 65.4).

The big three of the commuter industry in 1979 were Bush Pilots (107,170 passengers); Aero Pelican (94,163); and Masling (75,374). Commuter flights between Sydney and the two Newcastle airports (Belmont and Williamtown) dominated the market with Belmont-Sydney 43,360 passengers. The next busiest route was Townsville/Palm Island with 21,719 passengers.

Mighty Mangalore:

Easter this year see a mammoth Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA) fly-in at the Mangalore, Victorian airstrip. Based along the lines of a similar, albeit larger, gathering by the faithful at Oshkosk each year, the Mangalore gathering will feature warbirds, gliders, ultralights, GA in general, helicopters and parachutists in an attempt to bring together every element of this vast sport. Further details can be gained by contacting the SAAA directly at 36 Evelyn Road, Ringwood, 3134.

Clayton Returns:

Mike Clayton has returned, which no doubt will be good news to the large number of aviation enthusiasts who enjoyed visiting his unique bookshop prior to its closing early last year. Mike will be opening an entirely new shop late in March at 452 Princes Highway, Rockdale, 2216 (Ph.: 599 4022) to deal with a wider variety of books, magazines and pilot accessories than is currently available anywhere in Sydney.