Up and away

The new GA10 offers a great deal of its heritage to its forerunner, the GA8 Airvan. In its own right the GA8 has established an international reputation and clientele that is the envy of many, surpassing the Nomad as the most prolific Australian designed and built commercial aircraft with more than 175 airframes around the globe.

So, it was of no surprise when GippsAERO decided to take the Airvan’s successful formula and build upon it.

Although somewhat longer, at a distance the lines of the GA10 may initially seem indiscernible from its piston-powered predecessor. Not surprising, as the GA10 has about 80 per cent airframe parts commonality with the GA8. Its tail section is common to the GA8 and it has the same wing, albeit with a stronger skin and greater fuel capacity.

Sharing such a high percentage of manufactured parts makes sound economic sense and provides a known base from which to develop the new aircraft type. However, while the GA10 may have common components and a shared philosophy of simplicity and cost-effectiveness, it is a notably different aeroplane from the GA8.

GippsAERO saw a market for a single-engined turbo-prop that slid in beneath the larger competitors like the Cessna 208 Caravan and PAC750 with their 750 horsepower turbines.

Using a 450hp, Rolls Royce 250 B-17F turbine engine and Hartzell propeller, the GA10’s operating costs are set to be substantially lower than the larger single-engined turbo-props because of its lower fuel burn and lighter airframe.

The GA10 will be a 10-seat, 150 knot/750 nautical mile aeroplane, capable of lifting a total weight of about 2,000kg. As such, it stands to place a turboprop within the reach of piston-engine operators who previously could only watch on with envy.

The long road

The certification of a new aircraft type is a major undertaking involving an intensive program of static and flight testing to ultimately CASA Type Certificate Approval. And even though the GA10 shares many parts and processes with the GA8, it must be approved and certified in every way as a new type — a painstaking process.

As a totally new design, the it also has to comply with the rigid requirements of Federal Aviation Regulations, FAR Part 23, which calls for compliance on all manner of design aspects to ensure airworthiness in areas such as structural loads, airframe and performance, stability, controllability, seat construction, fire prevention, escape hatches — the list goes on. Even many new aircraft in our skies today whose heritage pre-dates the requirements do not conform to FAR 23. In fact, the GA10 will be the first single-engine turbine certification program in Australia to the new FAR 23 Amendment 26 requirements.

The initial flight test phase began in May at Latrobe Valley Airport, where all flight testing will be done except for the ‘hot and high’ performance trials and spin and flutter testing.

Incorporating the recommendations from those first flights in May, developmental flying is set to continue this month with the next phase including a flight handling assessment and detailed flight surveys of the Rolls Royce 250 engine. The FAR 23 compliance flight testing begins in October, culminating in an intensive spin and flutter clearance program early in 2013.

Overall, the flight test program will involve more than 150 hours flight time and certify everything from the airframe and engine to the avionics. The program will use the experimental prototype that first flew in May as well as the first production airframes. The flight test crew will include contracted experimental test pilots from outside GippsAERO as well as company pilots and flight test engineers.

Through every moment and every manoeuvre, the GA10 prototype’s performance will be monitored by a modern state-of-the-art digital flight test acquisition system capable of recording more than 300 parameters during flight. On completion, CASA type inspection flight testing will then be done, aiming at the final goal of CASA Type Approval by mid-2013.

First impressions

First flights at Toulouse or Boeing Field are generally met with a degree of fanfare and celebration as their widebody jets leave the earth for the first time. For GippsAero, the first flight of the GA10 prototype on May 1 was a far more low-key, recognising that it was the first step along that long road of flight-testing and certification.

As I have witnessed previously, this no-fuss, straightforward approach emanates from everything that emerges from the Latrobe Valley factory.

On that day test pilot Tony Morris and GippsAERO flight test engineer Gerhard Jordan took the GA10 aloft and circled the airfield several times at 3,500 feet. The sortie included slow- speed flight, a low approach and a go-around in a flight that lasted a little under half an hour.

The crew were very pleased, Gerhard saying: “The first flight was a great success, as it showed that the GA10 retained the inherent stability and docile flying qualities of the successful GA8.”

To date, the aeroplane has met its expectations and the bar is set to be raised again when it enters the next phase of flight testing in August. Overall, it is apparent the rigorous program will maintain the pace until CASA Type Approval is forthcoming next year. Even following that major milestone the development flight testing will continue for options such as a new cargo pod.

Wider markets

GippsAERO is now set to expand its family of well-conceived, STOL capable utility aircraft. Increased payload and seating options compared with the GA8 means the potential marketplace will range from outback operators and skydiving groups to air charter and law enforcement.

The GA10 carries with it the sound heritage of the GA8 Airvan enhanced by the increased performance and options offered by a turboprop. It is still a long road to certification but given GippsAERO’s record thus far and its tremendous team at Latrobe Valley, the aircraft is set to become a real contender on the world stage.