Register review

Falcomposite was established in 2005 and presently has three Furios flying in New Zealand, one in the US and now one soon to fly in Australia. As well as producing the Furio Falcomposite specialise in all composite repairs and supplying and manufacturing close tolerance machined aircraft parts. The company can also reverse engineer parts for vintage and classic aircraft.

Brett and Coralee Patton are the Australian agents for Just Aircraft and they have recently brought the first SuperSTOL XL into the country. It arrived during December last year and it is expected to make its first flight during the life of this issue. Now registered OBP the aircraft is painted blue and silver and is fitted with a 160hp Lycoming O-320 engine. It is also fitted with 29” Alaskan Bush wheels, leading edge slats and aileron spoilers. It will replace an earlier standard SuperSTOL as the company demonstrator.

Just Aircraft was founded in 2002 by Troy Woodland in Walhalla, South Carolina, USA, and he collaborated with British company Escapade Aircraft to develop the Just Escapade. Woodland then designed the Highlander which was a development of the Escapade incorporating a larger wing with high lift devices, a larger fin and elevators and a strengthened tailwheel undercarriage. Next came the SuperSTOL with the emphasis on STOL performance into unprepared strips and finally the SuperSTOL XL which is a stretched version of the SuperSTOL in order to accommodate a larger power plant. By adding 60cm to the aft and 15cm to the forward fuselage the aircraft can handle the 150/160hp Lycoming and the UL Power 520 engines. Appropriate engine mounts and redesigned cowlings are also available to fit other engines up to 143kg. The XL’s rate of climb is reported to be 3,000 fpm. It will cruise at 177kph at 2,600 rpm and its landing speed is around 50kph.

There are currently five Just Aircraft, of differing models, on the CASA register with seven on the RA-Aus register and ten in New Zealand.

David Jurica’s hot air balloon DVY is the fourth Kubicek to find its way to Australia, all different sizes and models, with a further three flying in New Zealand. DVY is a BB26E model with a 2,600 cu/m (90,000 cu.ft) envelope and 12 gore construction. Its basic spherical shape gives it good rigidity and stability in flight and is therefore ideal for beginners. It can carry a pilot and two passengers and is fitted with a two unit burner.

Kubicek produce hot air balloons and airships in the Czech Republic and are one of the smaller balloons manufacturers in Europe but with an interesting history. Ales Kubicek along with a group of enthusiasts formed the Aviatik Club of Brno and began making models and then full sized balloons during the early 1980s. In 1988 the first passenger carrying balloon was built with a 5,000 cu/m envelope and by 1989 Kubicek had produced around 30 hot air balloons under the name of Aerotechnik. In 1989, after the Velvet Revolution when the communist regime collapsed, it became possible to set up private companies and Kubicek established Kubicek Balloons to manufacture hot air balloons and cold air and helium filled inflatable airships in an old condominium building in the centre of Brno. From the beginning Kubicek has produced its own polyester envelope fabric, baskets and burners so as not to have to rely on outside suppliers. The old factory soon been too small and in January 2005 Kubicek moved into a new purpose built building on the edge of the city which also includes its own launch site alongside the building where each balloon is inflated before delivery. In an interesting innovation hanging in the main entrance hall is a bell that rings each time a new sale is confirmed.

Heli-Aust Whitsundays have added two brand new Airbus EC135P3 (CPDS) helicopters to their extensive fleet. ZGH and ZGP are fitted with two Pratt and Whitney 528kw (708shp) PW206B3 engines and the Centre Panel Display System (CPDS). With this system the pilot’s and co-pilot’s displays are shown on the same screen enabling instrument comparison values to be make easier.

A recent e-mail from Philip Jones has added some new information about his Javron DPJ which was featured in last month’s Register Review. Phil works on an oil rig off north Australia so does not get much time to work on his Javron project, however, the recent sale of his original Piper Cub KLI has provided much needed dollars and more time to work on his new steed. He elected to have the wings built at the factory to save time and effort and also had the fuselage pre-welded and powder coated. Even so he has been working on and off for about four years on the Javron.

Phil has recently acquired a low hour, 200hp Lycoming IO-360-A1A engine from a ground damaged Mooney and is planning on fitting a SkyDymanics magnesium sump, a cold air induction system with a Verrerman exhaust to complement the other modifications. Instrumentation will be a Dynon Skyview along with a Tru-Trac auto pilot, PAR200A audio/com and a Garmin Aera 500 to drive the auto pilot and provide GPS backup.

The only Aircraft Returning to the Register this issue is Martin Rule’s Schemmp-Hirth glider after only six days off the register. Apparently a paperwork delay caused CASA to revoke the registration on 14/3/17 after the glider changed hands from Morgy’s Glider Works to Martin Rule. It was returned to the register six days later on 20/3/17.

Twenty one aircraft make up the Deletions section this month with about half of these being exports. After almost 30 years of service with Ansett, Skywest and Virgin two Fokker 50, FNA and FNI along with FSL which was imported later and went direct to Skywest, have been sold in Kenya and are expected to join the Fanjet Express fleet along with FNB, FND, FNE, FNH and FNF which is already flying with Fanjet Express as 5Y-FJE. FNE, FNI and FSL were moved to Alice Springs, NT, mid last year for storage before sale in Kenya.

Three aircraft are now in America including Eurocopter Super Puma LYP which is now flying as N5893Y and is owned by a trustee of the Aircraft Guaranty Corporation at Onalaska, Texas, and Bell JetRanger ZZY with is reserved as N817QA. Cessna 172P is now in Indonesia, Bell 412 NSP is flying in Germany and Bell 407GX in now active in India.

Two aircraft have been deleted due to accident damage, Molino Pik Glider GTV and Robinson R44 NFL. The Robinson suffered a hard landing at Jandakot, WA, on February 13 whilst practicing auto rotational landings with the main rotor blades severing the tail boom. Of the two people on board thankfully only one suffered minor injuries.