Newsdesk – General Aviation

The Eagle wing modifications to a standard Cessna Citation have given the jet the following improvements: range increased by 50%; a 30% reduction in balanced field length; a 7kt reduction in reference landing speed; a 20% reduction in time to 35,000ft; a 15% improvement in fuel mileage; improved density altitude performance (plus 1,500lbs): improved low-speed handling characteristics; increase in MTOW from 11,850bs to 12,500lbs; 847lbs additional fuel.

The Eagle can fly between Cairns and Perth in five hours and reach Tokyo in just over nine hours. Its non-stop range includes Guam, Ball and Nadi.

 Cost Recovery Targeted for 93% Return This Year:

The Federal Government has accelerated its Cost Recovery plan and now expects to recover around 93% of DotA expenditures this financial year. To do this the Department has increased ANCS (where still applicable) by 17% and while they had not been increased since 1982 various fuel excise and sales tax increases in that period had increased by a massive 350%. The latest figures handed down by the Department in June are as follows: As a per landing Commonwealth Airport ALOP airport $2. 00, terminal nav charge $2. 30 and RFFS fee $1. 50.

For GA it is interesting to note that there is still no belief within the Department that there actually exists two divisions of the GA community. Those who earn their living from GA and those who are merely private or sport pilots. That the latter now have to pay for the former, and moreover the RPT operators, is something th g that many private plants are actively questioning.

The present plan will track your flying activities from the lodgement of a flight plan. You have to do this when operating from a primary control zone but it is not necessary from a secondary control zone under certain conditions. Therefore, while the Department waxes lyrical about its great contribution to tion to safety, it will in effect be tempting every y private VFR pilot not to file a fight plan and to fly deliberately NOSAR in an effort not to be driven out the sky by yet another governmental tax impost.

Another frightening offshoot of this is that pilots will most probably over a period of time consult the Met Report less frequently as they gradually divorce themselves from dealing with the Department briefing officers. This in itself could result in a far greater incidence of VFR pilots coming to grief through not being fully aware of the weather conditions en route or at their destination.

Meanwhile, the AOPA suggestion, which they first flew back in 1982, that fuel be taxed at a rate that would basically reap the same amount per kilometre that applies to a light training aircraft as a large RPT jet, is get- ting more credence Departments nowadays. Presently the NT is looking to hire more people (yet is another empire is spawned) to monitor and document the various aircraft movements via ATC flight strips. This is not only an operation in terms of my expensive manpower but is open to all sorts of complications where a flight plan is amended and human error in the tabulation and monitoring environment is considered. GAA and the various other aviation bodies are fighting to have this system overturned as few within the aviation industry believe it to be fair, manageable, efficient or practical in real terms as it would cost so much to operate when compared to a fuel levy that could be collected by the all companies with a minimum of on- costs.

The battle rages onwards and in the meantime, we can all look forward to some exciting stories in the Air Safety Digest as the private pilot is forced away from the very safety net that the Department has been telling us for so many years is one of its reasons for being!

Beechjet Demonstrator for Australia

Hawker Pacific are hoping to have a Beechjet demonstrator in the country by early next year. The US$3. 6m aircraft offers purchasers the opportunity of commencing jet operations at a realistic price claim Hawkers.

The maximum speed of the Beechjet is 461kts, some 50kts faster than its nearest direct competitor, cesling is 41,000ft and with a maximum payload of 2,545ibs the aircraft can operate out of 4,000ft fields at sea level Power is supplied by two 2,900b thrust Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5 turbofans. Hawker Pacific hope to sell two to three Beechjets a year though ironically their strongest competitor will eventually come from their own Starship which will be available locally from 1989.

Cessna Freeze Production of Piston-Engined Aircraft:

Cessna, the world’s largest manufacturer of GA aircraft, has suspended production of all remaining piston-engined aircraft till at least September 1987.

The move follows a san appalling first-half sales record for all US GA manufacturers for 1986 and follows the cessation of production of Cessna’s piston-engined 1985. Instead the Wichita-based man will concentrate on its Conquest Caravan utility aircraft and Citation family jets. It is believed that most redundancies will be transferred to Cessna’s parent, General Dynamics, for which Cessna is now manufacturing selected components.

Hawker Pacific Sells Another Falcon:

Hawker Pacific are certainly pleased with their Falcon Jet marketing effort these past two years. The latest sale is to a group of New Zealand industrialists (the Goodman Group) who will operate a Falcon 200 under the livery of Moana Airlines.

Moana is a teaming of several major NZ companies who will operate the aircraft in a similar fashion to the Gulfstreams of Australia’s Associated Arines The Falcon, which is the first resident corporate jet to grace the NZ Register, will be used to fly between Nelson and Wellington and Sydney and Melbourne. Andre The local Falcon fleet presently stands at 11 aircraft. Castlemaine Tooheys operate a 200 and have a 900 on order, Ric Stowe has one 50, Draytons and Australian Jet Charter each operate a 10, the the RAAF has three Mysteres while Intex, AJC, Fightways, Mt. Newman and Hawker Pacific each operate 20s. While aviation observers are generally surprised at the extent of success achieved by marketers of of heavy me metal corporate jets in Australia these past years, particularly considering the penis of the dollar, most agree that the surge in interest in larger, able jets is as a result of deregulating the banking industry in 1984. This has freed up massive amounts of capital and many smaller firms have participated in corporate takeovers that have suddenly netted them new and vibrant sources of income and collateral.

Additionally, a number of local charter organisations moved up to large jet operations thereby exposing their customers to the benefits of the the medium sized business jet. Both British Aerospace and Hawker Pacific Pacific have netted many more sales since actually having examples of their aircraft on line in this country. For 1987 Hawkers will be delivering the second Castlemaine Tooheys Falcon, a 900 and hope to notch sales against at least three additional aircraft. The Moana 200 will be delivered this coming January while the Hawker Pacificdemonstrator (N-876SC) which has been flying Moana’s route profile since May will return to Australia for possible sale.

New Rulings Aim to Limit Product Liability Payouts:

New laws which are currently being debated before the US House of Representatives and the Congress for a restructuring of the much-abused Tort laws regarding product will hopefully be passed into law before the end of this year. US General Aviation activity has all but been decimated by the product liability insurance problem (refer p63 Jan 86 AA) which now sees only Piper manufacturing light piston engined aircraft. Beech and Cessna now concentrate solely on their high ticket aircraft while Beech estimates that potential claims before it our recently exceed $41. 5bn in value. Piper is spending more per annum on insurance than it is on payrol while the insurance burden per new airframe for Cessna is $A130,000 and $A120,000 for Beech and Piper.

The new rules will seek to limit liability to a reasonable period of ownership, will require the claimant to show proper cause for initiating a claim in the first place, will ensure that proof of negligence is valid and to limit the liability financially to a reasonable figure. The US AOPA and GAMA fully support the new legisla tion on the basis that without it there will be no US GA industry by the end of the decade.

Australian Jet Charter Expands:

The highly successful Australian Jet Charter are to build a specialist support facility at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. The new 1300-square-metre building will include a comprehensive engineering and maintenance facility in addition to a VIP lounge. AJC presently operate a Falcon 20 and a 10 and manages two Learjets for clients for clients.

Vin a KSA is now home to five such FBOs. The original Pacific Aviation-owned Fight Facilities, Cantas’ GAS lounge alongside their jet base and the new facilities of Hawker Pacific, Aeromil and AJC are al turning KSA into a charter haven at a time when many within the industry expected a decline in non-RPT operations at Australia’s largest airport.

Embraer Release Additional Information on Their Bandeirante Successor:

Embraer have now defined the EMB-123 (refer p7 July AA) as a pressurised type of even more radical construction than was formerly admitted. The as-yet un-named aircraft is an advanced turboprop that will feature unorthodox aerodynamic concepts for an aircraft in the third-level RPT and corporate category and will make extensive use of composite materials in its construction.

The EMB-123 will have a canard in the front fuselage section, a supercritical wing, pusher engines installed in pods in the aft fuselage and a T-tail This configuration will result in an aerodynamically clean aircraft that will profit from the powerplant location to provide the passenger with a much quieter cabin environment. Embraer estimates the EMB-123 will cruise at 350kts at an operating ceiling of over 35,000ft. The commuter version will have a range of 600mm while the corporate model will be optimised for 2000mm stages.

Embraer are teaming with Argentina’s FMA to invest more than $US300m in the new project which will aim at FAA certification by 1991.

Public Heliport for Fremantle:

The Barrack House Group have announced plans to develop and operate a fully serviced Heliport at North Fremantle.

To be called the Fremantle Heliport it will be Australia’s full facility public heliport built to Authorised Landing Area specifications.

Situated on 2. 5 hectares of land leased from the Fremantle Port Authority on Port Beach Road, the Heliport will be operated by Wasp Aviation Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Barrack House. It will commence operations in October 1986 The Heliport will operate 24 hours a day and will provide a comprehensive range of services including refuelling, servicing and maintenance, parking and passenger services.

In addition to permanent helicopter parking for 20 helicopters, the facility will have two maintenance hangars and a fully serviced passenger lounge. The Heliport will be fully it for night flying and will contain necessary navigation aids and security services.

Wasp Aviation will also operate, under lease, the media helipad situated at the America’s Cup Media Centre. The media helipad and the Fremantle Heliport are some 60 seconds flying time away and will remove the necessity for operators to deploy to Jandakot for refuelling or whilst awaiting further flight instructions.

The DotA during the Cup period will be providing the Heliport with a Flight Information Officer to facilitate flight planning, meteorological services and briefing procedures.

Research indicates that there will be at least forty helicopters in Perth during the period October 1986 to February 1987. It is expected that the majority of these will use the Heliport either on a permanent or ad hoc basis.

Skywest Coastwatch Operation an Example of How GA Can Save the Government Money:

With nearly three years of successful Coastwatch operations behind them, Skywest Airlines are leading the way in demonstrating just how General Aviation can save the taxpayer money. The Perth based company, which with 284 staff including 95 pilots, is the largest GA operator in Australia and presently flies Coastwatch Ittoral surveillance missions on behalf of the Dept of Transport.

Skywest operates 17 Shrikes and 2 Searchmasters in support of the DOT and Customs requirement which covers a patrol zone of one mile inshore and three miles offshore extending from the Monte Bello Islands in the West to Bundaberg in the East. Dispatch reliability is an excellent 99% while Skywest now has dedicated maintenance and crew bases at Townsville, Caims, Bamagan, Gove, Darwin, Broome and Port Hedland.

What the operation does prove though is that GA can, and does, save the government money when utilised appropriately. Pacific Aviation’s Learjet target towing operations on behalf of the Navy and RAAF over the years (which are now operated by Lloyds) have saved the services millions of dollars in not having to provide expensive specialised aircraft and crew for these missions.

In their submission to the Bosch Cost Recovery Enquiry of 1984 (refer to Recce this issue) Skywest claimed that they could provide their littoral surveillance operation for about one-tenth the cost of using the RAAF. That this is true has been amply proven by deeds not words since that submission was tabled more than two years ago.

Skywest also estimated that it could justify the needs of the DofA’s Flying Unit under contract a lot more cost efficiently than is presently the case The Bosch Enquiry tended to agree, though to date the Department refuses to comment on such matters. Skywest felt, and there are several other GA operators also suitable for the task, that they could more than halve the cost of providing the services undertaken by the existing DotA Flying Unit while getting better overall fleet utilisation and spares rationalisation than is presently the case.

In watching a Departmental F28 perform an ILS approach at Canberra recently I remember red how Qantas, one of the world’s most respected airlines, used their diminutive 125’s at Avalon for similar crew training right up till the early eighties when simulators finally took over the role. If the small 125 was good enough to convert 747 pilots then why are the large F285 required at all? The defence forces have taken the capabilities of GA and used them to their own benefit in terms of both cost and efficiency. Perhaps it is now time for the DotA to begin examining this alternative with a little more enthusiasm than it has in the past. For we, who have to finance the Department, the news could only be good.

Air Prop Expands

Air Prop Services, the specialist propeller maintenance and spares organisation based at Moorabbin Ar port, are diversifying into aircraft hydraulic services A Greer governor test bench has been installed which, apart from regular testing of governors, provides a facility for simulation of tight conditions thus enabling surging and hunting problems to be detected and rectified.

A test ng has been built for testing of hydraulic pumps, fuel pumps and vacuum pumps. Other facilities include hydraulic hose manufacture and testing, oleo servicing and accumulator servicing. A large spares holding is being developed to support the hydraulic shop.

Calendar of Aviation Events:

(Courtesy of AOPA) September 13: Royal Victorian Aero Club Jubilee Year ‘Dawn Patrol”.

Contact Garnet Robinson BH (03) 268 5333, AH (03) 509 0874.

September 13: Night Air Race. CAL-CG- TWB-CAL. Caloundra Aero Club, PO Box 377, Caloundra 4551 (071) 91 1988.

September 14: Gratton Air Show, Grafton District Airport. Contact Mr Kerry Skyring (066) 42 1691 or Mrs Jean Cartwright (066) 425515. September 20-21: Airtourer Association President’s Fly-in, “Yarrandale’, West Wya- long Contact Secretary Stan Wright (069) 72 3703.

September 27: Kanga-Hop 1986. BK-PMQ. Contact Mr D Hughes, 36 Tavistock St, Homebush West 2140. BH (02) 764 1297, AH (02) 529 6887.

October 4: Kempsey Flying Club-Air Show “86. Contact M Riggs (065) 62 0233.

October 4: Scone Aero Club will be holding Scone Air Show Theme Warbirds on Parade. Contact G F Rutter, President.

October 4-6: Interclub Competition Challenge State Tiles, Central Coast Aero Club, Warnervale. Contact Rob Britten (02) 550 1155.

October 6: Navy Air Day 86 at HMAS Albatross Nowra as part of 75th anniversary celebrations. Displays by Harriers, Navy helicopters, F18 Homets, Warbirds, Roulettes October 11: Pilot Awareness Seminar, Royal Newcastle Aero Club. Contact RNAC (049) 32 8888 October 16-18: Aviation Law Association National Conference at Noahs Hotel, Melbourne. Eminent speakers include Mr lan Awford (UK) on Product Liability, Mr Harold Caplan (UK) on Aviation Insurance, Mr Geoff Masel of Professional Negligence of Pilots, the Minister for Aviation, the Hon. Mr Peter Morris, Mr Alan Rainbird of the DotA and Mr Peter Patroni, AOPA. Contact Mr Peter Rose (03) 808 7888.

October 18-19: Great Tiger Moth Air Race, Maitland. Contact Bill Hitchcock (049) 49 8189. November 1: Interclub Competition Challenge, Griffith. Contact Rob Britten (02) 1156.

580 11 November 22-23: Air Tourer Association, Vic/Tas Region. Crayfish Gourmet Fly-in, King Island. Contact John Treble (03) 336 2066. April 22 1987: Australian Women Pilots’ Association Conference, Darwin, NT. Contact The Secretary, PO Box 37359, Winnellie, NT 5789.

New Corporate Aviation Body Formed:

A new Australian association has been formed to operate along the lines of the highly successful NBAA in the USA, Known as the Australian Business Aircraft Association, the new group will be primarily involved with lobbying for a better deal for corporate aircraft users, particularly in terms of ATC clearances. The ABAA will be officially launched in October and includes amongst its star-studded membership the Westfield Group, Flight Safety International, Auto brake, BHP and CRA, Coles Myer, Comalco, Bougainville Copper, ANL Australian Jet Charter, Pacific Aviation, BAe, Global Systems, Drayton Investments, Consolidated Press and Ric Stowe’s Griffin Industries.

Corporate operators and their associates may gain additional information on the ABAA by writing direct to PO Box 266, Niddrie, 3042.

Industry Succeeds in Sales Tax Fight but Aero Clubs Miss Out:

The Commissioner for Sales Tax has handed down a ruling regarding the contentious issue of sales taxon GA aircraft and spares. Virtually all aircraft used for business or commercial operations will now not have to pay the 20% in most cases spares required for their maintenance are also tax-free. However, again on the distributor to obtain a sales tax; in the tax exemption certificate from the end user to verify use, or otherwise the distributor is liable for payment of the sales tax.

Operations deemed as tax exempt are: air-line operations, business aircraft, pastoral, ag and mustering operations, joy ride organisations, commercial fight training schools for PPL and CPL, private hire and charter operators. Inexplicably the large Aero Club movement has again missed the boat, which is odd considering that the majority of flight training in Australia is still undertaken by such organisations The reason.

Eason Aero Clubs are still to be taxed is we believe, a totally out of touch belief within the Tax Commission that Aero Clubs are the province of the well-to-do and their expensive flying toys. As you and I know, that belief could not be further from the truth. Aero Clubs are all battling the economic problems that are be- setting us as a nation while the new 20% tax and the ever falling Australian dollar spell a difficult ride ahead for the for the majority. Most are kept alive by enthusiastic and I hard-working volunteers in an environment that via their ty ins and interclub comps only serves to to encourage flying professionalism and enhance air safety in a manner that the Departments of s of Aut ation and Taxation could never envisage. Meanwhile, the RFACA is ACA is fighting back and has sought legal opinion which supports its cause. The base will now be to get the Taxation Department, with hopefully some support from the Minister of Aviation, Mr Peter Morris, who is himself learning to fly with an aero club, to review the ruling that could spell ruination for many small clubs that contribute so much to Australian aviation.

Voyager Sets Endurance Record in Test Flight:

The Bert Rutan-designed Voyager ultra-long-range aircraft set a world endurance record in July in preparation for its around-the-world fight which is scheduled to occur, and overfly Australia, during the course of this issue.

Piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the twin-engined Voyager stayed aloft for 111 hours flying a racetrack pattern off the Californian coast that during the test fight achieved a new unrefuelled distance record of 11,601 miles. This had previously been in the Ownership of the USAF when, almost a quarter century ago, they flew a modified B-52H bomber for 11,337 miles without refuelling.

The big test is to come through as Voyager takes on its 11-day around-the-world flight which is scheduled to cover some 25,500 miles at an average speed of a mere 60kts. Though it has the wing span of a 727, Voyager is powered by only two 130bhp Teledyne Continental engines, one one of which will be shut down after two days when some of the 8,934bs of avgas has been burnt off. The remaining engine is also one of the new water cooled units (refer p. 48 Nov 85 AA) that burns around 10-15% less fuel than conventional air-cooled units.

Videos

Historic Airpower – Target for Today:

AVI Another excellent value warbirds tape from AVI. Target For Today is the story of the USAAF daylight raids against Anklam, Marienberg, Danzig and Gdynia filmed as it happened. Bomber groups from all over England are coordinated for this maximum-effort mission. Follow the crews through a 3am wakeup, briefings, takeoff and join up. You then literally f with them on the raids and see the bombs fall on the German factories and airfields.

This is really an excellent tape as it enables the viewer to share the emotions of the raid as expressed by the chief of operations down to the groundcrew. The entire intricate procedure of making such a large scale raid happen is examined in detail in documentary fashion From the initial selection of targets to the numbers and types of aircraft used. Within this there is the need to operates second level spoof- ing and diversionary bombing raids with B-25 and B-26 aircraft, to coordinate fighter cover from UK based Spitfire, P-47 and P-38 fighter groups and finally to interweave the mass of several hundred B-24 and B-17 bombers approaching their primary targets from different directions.

rin An added bonus following the conclusion of the bomber mission is the inclusion of a special documentary on the on the use of tactical airpower the latter years of the European conflict. In many ways this initiated the coming of age of what later bacame the USAF Tactical Air Command. This portion of the tape includes a considerable amount of extremely rare and valuable Luftwaffe gun film footage in addition to many day-to-day film sequences taken at operational Luftwaffe bases. The two subjects together make this 1 hour 32 minute tape one of the best value videos we have seen. Certainly an excellent addition to any library.

Available from Aviation Video International, PO Box 384, Willoughby, 2068 for only $34. 95. (refer advertisement on p96 of our July edition and please allow three weeks for processing)