Newsdesk – General Aviation

An important innovation in the new range of 172s (and the 182) will be the use of low compression ratio engines which can run on low octane unleaded fuel (82UL) as well as the usual 100 octane low lead (100LL) avgas. Fuel supplier Phillips 66 Aviation and Cessna are now working on a suitable 82UL fuel which will be based on motor gasoline (mogas).

Cessna had a big day on April 19, also flying the first Citation Bravo business jet, a development of the best-selling Citation II. Certification of the Bravo is scheduled for April next year.

Bombardier Jet Share Venture

Corporate jet timeshare schemes seem to be the coming thing in business flying, and Canadian manufacturer Bombardier (owner of Canadair and Learjet) has become the first bizjet builder to become directly involved in such a scheme. Bombardier has teamed with US fixed-base operator AMR Combs in the new fractional ownership business, called Business Jet Solutions. Business Jet Solutions is offering its ‘Flexjet’ aircraft timeshare programme and ‘AlliancePlus’ schemes in which aircraft owners can reduce expenses by chartering otherwise unused flying hours.

Bombardier’s involvement is mainly the supply of aircraft, with two Canadair Challengers, six Learjet 31As, and six Learjet 60s initially available. Eighth (100 hours per year) and quarter (200 hours) shares in the aircraft will also be offered, and customers are guaranteed the availability of an aircraft within four hours. Shareholders sign a five-year management agreement, pay a monthly management fee, and hourly flight fees.

Meanwhile, the pioneer of corporate jet timeshare schemes, Executive Jet Aviation (EJA), is set to expand its NetJets fleet. It already operates 25 Citation SIIs and 13 Hawker 1000s and has seven more Hawkers and 25 Citation Ultras on order. Its biggest order—placed earlier this year—covers orders and options on 20 Gulfstream IV-SPs and two examples of the forthcoming very long range Gulfstream V.

Deliveries reached 207 aircraft (up 14%) while revenue from these sales reached $US595m, a 33% increase. Turboprop deliveries increased by 40% to 52 aircraft including 12 Beechcraft King Airs, three Starships, one Fairchild Metro 23 (plus five C-26As to the USAF) and 20 Cessna Caravan Is.

One area of decline was in the business jet sector, where overall deliveries were down by 10% to 47, mainly due to a smaller number shipped by Cessna. The company delivered 10 CitationJets only during the period in question, the Citation II and VI no longer being in production and scheduled to be replaced by new models next year. Learjet delivered 11 Model 60s and three Model 31As, Raytheon shipped six Hawker 800s and three Beechjets, and Gulfstream delivered five GIVs.

Piston-engined aircraft deliveries increased by 17% to 107 aircraft led by Piper (36 aircraft) and then Maule and Mooney (18 each), Beechcraft (13), American Champion (12), and Commander (10). Raytheon Beechcraft was the only piston-engined manufacturer to suffer a decline, its figure being just under half that achieved in the 1994 first quarter. Despite this—and thanks to its jet and turboprop deliveries—the company recorded commercial dollar sales of $US222m during the three-month period,$US85m or a whopping 62% more than the same period of 1993.

Starships For NASA

Raytheon Beechcraft has donated two of its Starship corporate turboprops to NASA for studies as part of the US Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) programme.

Raytheon is a major participant in the programme, which is intended to develop new technologies which could be applied to general aviation. The pusher, all-composite, and canard configuration Starships will be used by the NASA Langley Research Centre as testbeds for some of the technologies developed under the AGATE programme.

Production of the Starship has ended at 50 aircraft, and 17 aircraft still have to find buyers. Five have been moved so far this year.

Henry Power For Fletcher

New Zealand agricultural operator Super Air has developed a version of the Fletcher FU-24 aircraft powered by a heavily modified Ford V8 car engine. Test flying of the first conversion was due as this issue went to press.

The 10.5-litre liquid-cooled engine is based on the Ford 460-cubic-inch engine but with increased capacity. Construction is of aluminium alloy and the engine produces 550 hp (410 kW) driving through a three-bladed reversible-pitch Hartzell propeller. Most piston-engined FU-24s are powered by a 400 hp (300 kW) Lycoming IO-720 eight-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed engine.

Super Air intends gaining a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the conversion so it can operate its own fleet of 14 FU-24s in the new configuration. The company will eventually try to win full type certification for the conversion.

Pylon Racing Association Formed

With sky racing growing in popularity in Australia, the formation of an association to standardise rules, racing classes, and pilot training and qualification is a good idea.

This will happen from October with the formation of the Pylon Racing Association, which will provide event organisers and pilots with a complete manual on all.

The official formation of the association will take place at a meeting in Melbourne on October 8. Anyone who wishes to attend or requires further information should contact Margaret Mulholland on (004) 27 9777.

New South Wales Plans Ahead For Aerial Fire Fighting

The NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service is developing a fire management plan that will incorporate the wider use of aircraft in countering the seasonal threat of wildfire, Julian Green reports.

Buoyed by successes in trial aerial operations over the past summer season, the NPWS will institute its new plan in time for the coming summer season. Expertise has been provided by Victoria’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (CNR) in the areas of aircraft operations and training. Following the CNR’s effective use of smaller aircraft, the NPWS will similarly utilise smaller agricultural aircraft that can operate close to the fire scene from unprepared strips with minimal ground support. Light and medium helicopters will also be a feature of the management plan.

The deployment of aircraft in fire situations was spurred by the success of aerial operations during the Sydney fires in January 1994. Jim Burrell, Fire Management Co-ordinator for the NPWS, said, “During the January fires of 1994, aircraft played a vital role in identifying and combating fires in urban and rural areas.”

Minimising the threat to life and property is the aim of every fire management strategy, and the use of aircraft has been demonstrated as an effective means of fighting wildfires,” he said. “The NPWS is responsible for managing many of the most remote and rugged areas of NSW, making the use of aircraft indispensable.”

Once operational, the plan will allow for the aircraft to be shared between the National Parks & Wildlife Service and the Department of Bush Fire Services, optimising utilisation of crew and aircraft resources.

14 Australian Aviation July 1995

Caboolture Air Spectacular

Those looking for some aviation entertainment might consider heading for Queensland over the weekend of August 26-27 for the Caboolture Aero Club’s ‘Air Spectacular’ at Caboolture airfield midway between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

A good selection of warbirds will be in attendance including a Spitfire, Boomerang, Fiat G.59, P-51 Mustang and Sea Fury. There will also be aerobatics, gliders, model aircraft, commercial aircraft and aircraft from the Australian Army Aviation Museum. On the ground there will be vintage and veteran cars, vintage military vehicles, trade displays plus entertainment in the form of country and western music, buskers, clowns and amusements.

Rockwell’s Collins Commercial Avionics subsidiary has developed a new liquid crystal display (LCD) based integrated avionics system for corporate jets and regional airliners. Apart from LCDs, the system features Collins’ AVSAT satellite based communications and navigation system, multiple altitude/heading sources ranging from Fibre Optic Gyro through to inertial reference systems, and an advanced flight control system. The avionics package is the first all LCD system to be offered for corporate aircraft and regional airliners. (Rockwell)

Pilots wishing to fly in are welcome and there are no landing fees. Avgas and camping facilities are available on site.

For information call Bill Comiskey on (074) 95 5003.

Cessna Parts Traceability

In a move which will help overcome the problem of bogus spare parts, Cessna has taken a major step in the documentation and traceability of spares through incorporation of a single document – a kind of ‘birth certificate’ which will accompany each part the company ships.

Ahead of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plans to increase surveillance of approved parts, Cessna is attaching the FAA’s Form 8130 to verify conformity and traceability. The documents will be provided for all parts shipped from Cessna directly to all Citation operators as well as to all Citation and propeller aircraft service centres.

They will be attached to every individual part, the only exception to this being with items which are shipped in a predetermined standard package quantity.

Seaview Enquiry Extended

The judicial enquiry into the Seaview Air crash and Seaview’s relationship with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been extended to December 22 this year and its terms of reference have been widened.

Minister for Transport, Laurie Brereton, ordered the extension of the enquiry in order that a number of public safety matters which have been raised be properly examined.

Many of those issues have been raised by CAA/CASA employees, often through well placed leaks to the news media. The chief of the new Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Leroy Keith, has issued a directive to staff that only he or his nominee can speak to the press. This timely move is designed to prevent employees ‘spilling the beans’ to the press and failing to take any information they might have through the proper channels. The result is often ‘disinformation’ which further damages the CAA/CASA and its credibility, claims the Authority.

Pacific Aviation In Administration

A shortage of working capital has forced the directors of Pacific Aviation (A’Asia) Ltd to appoint independent voluntary administrators to assess the company’s financial position and its ongoing viability.

Messrs Ian Ferrier and Brian Silvia from the accountancy firm Ferrier Hodgson (the company that handled the Compass 2 liquidation) were appointed to the job on May 18, their initial assessment being that business should continue over an assessment period of 30 to 60 days. The immediate impact of the appointment was to temporarily freeze existing claims of creditors. The administrators have noted that while Pacific Aviation’s cashflow situation is dire and the company has been incurring trading losses, they are encouraged by the fact that its assets are greater than its liabilities.

Citation X Proves Speed

Cessna’s new corporate jet, the Citation X, has lived up to its maker’s claims that it is the world’s fastest bizjet by setting new class transcontinental US speed records.

The aircraft recently flew from Teterboro, New Jersey to Van Nuys, California in 4hr 49min against strong prevailing headwinds, an average speed of 448kt (830km/h). The return flight (from Van Nuys to Westchester County Airport, New York) took 4hr 10min, an average of 525kt (972km/h).

Indicated airspeeds of between Mach 0.87 and 0.89 were achieved on the outbound flight, while the return leg saw the Citation rocketing along at Mach 0.90 at 39,000ft or 516kt (956km/h) true airspeed. Thanks to a tailwind, its speed over the ground at one stage reached 568kt (1052km/h).

Raytheon Aircraft has delivered the first corporate shuttle configured Beech 1900D to Ashanti Goldfields, of the western African nation of Ghana. The Beech is fitted with eight airline style seats in the forward half of the cabin and six club seating seats behind them, plus a refreshments galley and toilet. (Raytheon)

New Training Programme

A new training programme for pilots being jointly offered by the Moorabbin based Australian College of Aviation and the Barton College of TAFE is designed to develop a new breed of employees for small aviation companies.

The intensive 16 month Associate Diploma of Aviation course trains students for a Commercial Pilots Licence as well as providing the theory component of the Air Transport Licence. The course also provides graduates with a range of business, marketing and leadership skills. These are designed to give graduates a variety of skills which will make them more attractive to potential employers in the general aviation industry, where staff are expected to perform several roles other than just flying.

The first Associate Diploma of Aviation course gets underway in September this year with new student intakes every six months.

Merimbula based Search & Rescue has tendered for the CAA/CASA’s requirement for the supply of a search and rescue equipment delivery system with its unique air deliverable PADS storpedo. The 65cm long and 22cm diameter storpedo is buoyant and can be used to deliver a range of emergency supplies and equipment, such as food, water, first aid kit and navigational aids, over land or water.