Newsdesk – General Aviation

Cessna Going for New Sales With Rebate Scheme:

Cessna are fighting back against a depressed GA market with an interesting rebate scheme designed to stimulate new aircraft sales. Local agents, Rex Aviation, stated that the scheme runs till 30th September 1984 and ranges from a rebate of $US2000 on a 152 right through to SUS40,000 on a 414-421. The full details of the rebate scheme are 152 $2000, 172 $4000, RG172 $6000, 182-185 $8000, RG182-206 $10,000, 207$10,000, 210$12,000, P210$14,000, T303 $25,000, 340-402 $30,000 and the 414-421 at $40,000. As these amounts are refunded directly from Wichita in US dollars, the actual amounts are ten or more per cent higher than listed in real terms.

Beech Complete Stage One of Star- Ship Development Programme:

Flight testing using the 85% scale flying Starship development aircraft has now formally completed its 280 flight hour development programme Flying qualities and short-field capabilities have been thoroughly established while measured performance has exceeded design parameters in all flight regimes. In addition, the aircraft has proven to provide natural stall limiting in all configurations while extensive engine-out handling tests have verified the company’s originally estimated goals of superior handling and docility even in these regimes. Certification has been put back one year though (as has the 38P Lightning) to late 1986 while customer deliveries will begin during early 1987 Work on the first full-size certification model is progressing well with a first flight tagged for late 1985 while six aircraft will be involved in the certification programme – three for flight testing and three for static, fatigue and cycle testing.

New Long-Life Engine Treatment Gains Dota Approval.

Microlon. a US- developed anti-wear engine treatment suitable for aviation use, has achieved DotA use approval. Microlon is an engine oil improver that rather than merely displacing oil, actually mixes with the base oil to burnish itself into the pores, or matrix of the metal. This way a typical treatment will last the life of a GA piston engine till next major overhaul regardless of the number of oil changes that occur in the meantime Microlon claim that by reducing parts friction they not only greatly reduce engine wear but also decrease fuel consumption by as much as ten per cent.

Hawker de Havilland Supports Arriel:

Hawker de Havilland has received an order from the Australian Government for the provision of infrastructure for ongoing support of the engine and transmission. This support function is part of the offset program relative to the RAAF/RAN Squirrel order civil operators of Aerospatiale helicopters fitted with the Arriel engine. Servicing Director, Ken Odbert, expects the first engine from the RAAF/RAN purchase of 24 Squirrels to be overhauled in July 1985. ‘To enable us in the meantime to provide support for the armed forces and civil operators, we have invested in two Arriel engines from Turbomeca with some spare modules and other component spares. ‘These engines are available off the shelf now on an exchange basis,’ he said. “We are also involved in another part of this offset program through Perth subsidiary which has an order 75 ship sets of Dauphin aluminium doors.

GA Gets a Say on Airports Committee:

General Aviation Association President, David Irons, has been invited by the Minister, Kim Beazley, to join the National Airports Consultative Council. As the only general aviation representative, David will be part of the body that will provide the Minister for Aviation with advice on aspects relating to the establishment of a National Airports Authority.

Sydney Westpac Rescue Helicopter Notches up Impressive Results:

Entering their twelfth year of operation, the Sydney-based Surf Life Saving Association Helicopter Rescue Service has certainly recorded some impressive operating results. Since their inception the service, using only one helo at a time, has performed over 3000 missions spread over 400 rescues, 1200 medical evacuations and 1400 other sorties relating to SAR and support Based at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital. the service currently is equipped with an Aerospatiale AS350 Squirrel helicopter.

Cessna Delivered 1200th Citation Jet:

Cessna delivered its 1200th Citation executive jet last June. The model, a Citation Ill. went to a US company and is the 37th Citation Cessna have delivered this year. The total Citation fleet has now flown more than 22 million hours or about one billion miles under the flagship of 1100 companies in 42 countries. As at June 1 production ofthe various marques ran at: Citation III 41, Citation II 483, Citation 1327 and 349 of the original Citation About a third of the total fleet is operated outside North America and about adozen Citations operate in Australia.

Afts Bankstown for Sale:

Well-known Sydney GA identity, Barney Fernandes, is selling his Bankstown-based Australian Flying Training School to concentrate on the school’s larger operations in Adelaide. Situated aside the South Australian Institute of Technology,AFTS Adelaide hopes to be able to specialise in a unique Associate Diploma in Civil Aviation The Diplomacoursewouldbe of 18 months duration and cover tertiary level courses in electronics. computer studies and environmental physics and has been endorsed by our four major carriers Meanwhile. Flight Safety Products will remain based at Bankstown. Flight Safety has so far sold three Trinidad and five Tobagos while the AFTS Tobagos, with full IFR Kit, are available for around $45,000 each as they will ultimately be replaced with Taralga two-seat trainers

Air Show News:

Two relatively big air shows are occurring this Spring in the Sydney region. On Sunday 30th September, SconeAero Club will host a Warbirds special, at which it is planned to debut Col Pay’s immaculate Mk 8 Spitfire Also present will be three P-51 Mustangs, three Harvards, one to three, a Fairey Firefly, the B-25 Mitchell and a variety of Tigers The RAAF will also be present with a UH-1B Iroquois, a FAC Winjeel, possibly a Caribou and hopefully the CA-27 Sabre Mean- while the Autistic Children’s Association of NSW will hold their annual Airshow this year at Hoxton Park on Sunday 28th October. This airshow is certainly for a good cause and will also attract a number of Warbirds including a confirmed appearance of the RAAF Sabre Additional air show news is in this issue’s Warbirds feature on page 60.

British Aerospace and pacific Aviation Doing Well With New Jets:

It has certainly been a golden year for British Aerospace in Australia. In addition to the Skywest Jetstream 31 sales the company has broken into the market in no uncertain manner with their quality 125 corporate jet Pacific Aviation, who handle the technical support for the jet are also getting above average utilisation for their own 125-700 and at a lower than budgeted operating cost that they hope soon to be able to bring their charter rates down to that comparable to a Learjet, BAe will have five 125son the Register by year-end Arnold Glass has recently refer banished his ex-DCA-300 while Shell have a-700, which is flying nearly 700 hours per annum, while Westfield and the Queensland Government will take delivery of their new aircraft this November and December respectively Westfield’s aircraft is a -700 with -800 interior and EFIS while the Queensland Government aircraft is a straight -800. Pacific Aviation will most probably extend the lease on their own 700 or opt for anew-800 demonstrator to operate in conjunction with BAe who are planning a 125-800 demonstrator tour later this year.

Piper Close Their Lock Haven Facilities:

In what was a fairly unsurprising decision, the board of Lear Siegler, who recently acquired Piper Aircraft Corporation, has decided to close the Lock Haven and Piper, Pennsylvania plants Approximately 650 people are employed at Lock Haven where the Cheyenne lA and IIXL. Mojave and T1040 commuter aircraft are produced. The Piper plant (which was named after the aircraft) employs around 200 people largely involved in metal fabrication work All work will now be consolidated at Piper’s Florida facilities, Vero Beach and Lakeland

Aerospatiale to Develop Lama Replacement:

Long considered an excellent hot-and-high heavy lift helicopter, the Aerospatiale Lama is to be replaced by an all-new type designated AS351. A production go-ahead later this year would see the new helicopter certificate 1990 Nearly 400 Lamashavebeen built and the type is widely respected as a unique heavy lift light helicopter worldwide.

Performance Increases for Dornier 228:

Dornier have announced that minor modifications to their 228-100 and 200 have raised the maximum takeoff weight from 5700kg to 5980 kg, effectively increasing range for each version by a full 400 km. The new models are designated 101 and 201 respectively Dornier have also increased their airframe life guarantees for the 228 from 30,000 flights or 24,000 hours to 62.000 flights or 50,000 hours following stress testing which saw a 228 exceed 214,000 simulated flights of 50 minutes duration without reaching the end of its fatigue life Sales now exceed 60 aircraft with options on a further 36 units while India will be proceeding shortly on building the first of 150 228s to meet their regional commuter requirements.

Record-Setting Pipers:

Two different Piper aircraft, a Malibu and a Cheyenne, set independent trans-Atlantic records during late May The single-engined Malibu crossed the North Atlantic travelling west to east from Tampa in Florida via Gander, Newfoundland, to Munich, West Germany, beating the record previously held by a Beech Bonanza by one hour thirty minutes The Malibu’s best sector was to Gander where the 1802 nautical miles were covered in eight hours 27 minutes for an average ground speed of 213 knots. Maximum speed of the Malibu is booked at 134 knots, 75% cruise is an impressive 215 knots while 65% economy cruise Is 205 knots The second record was set by a Cheyenne IIIA which shattered the world speed record, averaging nearly 330 mph between Boston and Paris Block speed for the record-setting flight, which included a fuel stop at Gander, was 286 knots. The Cheyenne A is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-61 turboprops, each flat rated to 720 shp, though this marque has a higher thermodynamic rating than those used on the standard Cheyenne III which increases horsepower at altitudes muchas21%. The maximum cruise speed for the IIIA is 305 knots at 22,000 feet, while the aircraft can reach its certificated ceiling of 35,000 feet without the need for step climb procedures.

Lear Fan Goes Into Hibernation:

Owing to further delays in obtaining FAA Certification for the Learfan 2100, Lear Fan Ltd has decided to lay off the bulk of their Northern Ireland workforce About 30 of the 360 workers will be retained for general maintenance duties At time of going to press it was hoped that full FAA Certification would be achieved no later than February 1985. A third failure, in April, of a composite structure has been the catalyst for the major plant closure while Lear Fan executives hope to be able to begin recalling their around December in order to meet initial production deliveries in 1985.

Aquatic Airways Looks at Nomad Floatplanes:

Palm Beach, Sydney-based Aquatic Airwaysis hoping to expand its services using Nomad floatplanes. During June, Aquatic operated a “borrowed’ Nomad from Barrier Reef Airways on their RPT routes and found the aircraft highly desirable. Aquatic presently operate what must be Australia’s shortest RPT route Sydney’s Rose Bay to Palm Beach service takes all of ten leisurely minutes in one of Aquatic’s two seven-seat Beavers. Aquatic also operate a Gosford to Rose Bay service and reports strong traffic on both sectors which caters for both business and leisure markets at different times of the day Aquatic Airways operations are more fully described in this edition’s Regional Airline Directory.

Usga Sales Still Depressed:

Figures recently released by GAMA indicate that the sales recession in General Aviation has not ended. For the calendar year till May there had been a total of 906 GA aircraft produced as against 1116 for the same period last year. Exports during the period ran at 132 as compared with 257 for last year, though the month of April recorded a considerable gain with 36 shipments as against 28 for April 1983. The fact that twins are moving faster than singles is mirrored in the higher total billings for the respective periods. Star seller from Cessna was the ubiquitous 172with 64beingproduced Cessna’s Centurion family also performed well with 52 aircraft being produced. In all, Cessna produced a total of 326 aircraft comprising 79 twins and 247 singles valued at $51.7 million Beech led their sales with the Bonanza with 81 produced, while both the Baron and King Air fared well with 38 produced apiece In all Beech have produced 177 aircraft valued at $25 million which does not take into account their commencement of the large C-12 order which has seen 14 aircraft delivered to date Piper produced 176 singles and 99 twins with the Warrior being the best seller. The new Malibu sold 33 examples, the Mojave 12, the Seneca 36 and 11 Cheyennes were produced for a gross value of $13.5 million Gulfstream produced 19 aircraft, all but four of which were the perennial Ill while Gates Learjet produced only eight civil sales and 12C-21A aircraft for the USAF lease programme Mooney produced31 201sand 18231swhile Fairchild rolled out eight aircraft split evenly between Merlins and Metros.

Robinson Sales Booming:

Robinson Helicopters of Torrance, California certainly hooked onto a winner when they decided to develop the small, two-place, piston-engined R 22back in the late seventies Indeed, developing an aircraft in an almost new category is a welcome change from the modern day trend towards somebody discovering a new market niche than a dozen manufacturers all fighting for market share The current super commuter and military primary trainer markets are class examples of the latter. The little R 22 however is in a world of its own and is proving an excellent choice in Australia where the type is principally employed as a flighttrainer and cattle mustering aircraft. Robinson meanwhile reported that their May deliveries were up 50% on the same month last year and that 1984 production is slated to exceed 130 units as against 64 sales for 1983.

Beech Announces Price Rollback on 1985 Bonanza F33a:

Beech has announced a significant price rollback with the introduction of the 1985 Beechcraft Bonanza F33A. By taking the popular standard aircraft, adding the most requested options from past years, and installing a complete King radio package, Beech is able to offer a fully IFR-equipped Bonanza at savings of more than $US13,000 over a comparably- equipped 1984 model. Price of the 1985 F33A is $US167,725.66. as compared with SUS181,069 00 last year. Powered by a 285-horsepower Continental 10-520-BB fuel-injected engine, the Beechcraft Bonanza F33A boasts a top speed of 182 knots (209 mph), and a maximum economy range of 889 nautical miles (1023 statute miles) The F33A can carry four-to-five passengers to a service ceiling of 17,858 feet Like all Bonanzas, it is licensed in the utility category at maximum takeoff weight The first Beechcraft Bonanzarolled off the line at Beech in 1947. Today, 38 years, and more than 15,000 Bonanzas, later, the Beechcraft Bonanza F33A continues to set the pace as a leader in single-engine business and personal air transportation.

Optica for New Zealand:

The Optica three-seat observation aircraft is to be distributed in New Zealand by the local firm Airwork (New Zealand) Ltd. Airwork recently announced a contract for two aircraft to be delivered early next year and a further eight aircraft in 1985 and 1986. The Optica order book now stands at a total of 39 aircraft The Optica, with its ‘insect eye’ flight deck, is claimed to be one of the world’s quietest aircraft and is ideal for carrying out a variety of duties from aerial photography to frontier patrol and including aerial security patrols, agricultural observation, traffic watch, oil and gas pipeline inspection, forestry inspection, electric power line inspection, geological surveying, police duties and game spotting.

Endeavour 84 Not Only Novel; Technologically It’s a Marvel:

This November, from a launching site in Perth. renowned British balloonist Julian Nott and an Australian co-pilot will soar aloft in a balloon that will be nothing short of a technological marvel Its mission the first non-stop circumnavigation of the earth by balloon. The ENDEAVOUR Will pack gear straight out of the world’s latest high-tech catalogue It will need to Because to circumnavigate the globe, a feat yet to be accomplished by any aircraft within the earth’s atmosphere, you need a rather sophisticated balloon Project Manager Tim Woodbridge says it is, in fact, of revolutionary design.

It will feature a pressurised cabin capable of travelling at 38,000 feet through the jet stream where the average temperature is minus 55 or 60 degrees Celsius. The unique ‘pumpkin-shaped balloon will have a diameter of 70 feet and develop a volume of 150,000 cubic feet. The main loads are borne by a network of Kevlar ropes around a specially formulated nylon fabric skin. The balloon will be filled with non-inflammable helium gas.

‘No other project has had the technical backing that we have got We have the support and assistance of so many prestigious and qualified organisations around the world,” Woodbridge said.

These include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States, which is supplying technical advice, multinational chemical group Dupont, which has donated Kevlar and other materials for the effort, meteorological agencies in Australia, the United States and Great Britain, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, which has offered the Air & Space Museum as a 24-hour Operations Centre through which all communications will pass

Much of that communication will pass through equipment donated by three Australian firms Communication equipment has been donated by Rockwell International, Pacific Aviation and Air Communications.

Bruce Pearson, Regional Manager of Rock- well’s Colins GeneralAviationDivision, said the firm will be providing a Collins HF200 radio system. At many points during the flight, such as over the middle of Australia or over the oceans, it will provide the only voice link to the control centre

From Pacific Aviation’s Essendon facility wit come a Litton LTN 3000 Omega navigation aid. a fully computerised system Avionics Manager Barney Jones said it will provide critical information as to speed, direction and location. Air Communications of Moorabbin will bring aboard a King KY92 VHF communications transceiver, which will permit Nott and his co-pilot to tune in to as many as 720 channels ACollins TDR950 traffic control transponder will permit the ENDEAVOUR to be tracked by radar andaCollins VIR 351 VHF navigation system is also being contributed by the firm.

Pilot Nott, who holds the world altitude record at 56,000 feet for hot air ballooning, will have a chance to test the equipment during a record-setting cross Australia flight by a more traditional craft in mid-August and a similar distance trip across America aboard the ENDEAVOUR shortly after

‘This balloon to fly around the world is entirely different in profound ways from any other that has been built,’ says Project Manager Woodbridge