Manufacturer announces new name, new plane
Under its new company name, The Lancair Company has officially announced the development of its next airplane, the Columbia 400. The new plane will be powered by a twin-turbocharged, twin-intercooled Continental TSIO-550 engine and will retain the same fixed-gear configuration as the certified Columbia 300. Performance figures for the new 310-hp aircraft have not been released, but company officials said that "it will blow your socks off." Deliveries of the Columbia 400 are expected to begin in about 12 months.
The company also announced that it has changed its name to The Lancair Company from Pacific Aviation Composites. "This company name change has been planned for quite some time. It capitalizes on the strong identity the name Lancair has earned over the last 15 years with regard to quality, style, and performance," said Lance Neibauer, Lancair president and CEO.
Coupled with a multimillion-dollar investment, Lancair is adding staff to all manufacturing areas to handle production of the new airplane.
Aerobatic pilot dies in midair crash
Former U.S. Aerobatic Team member and aeronautical engineer John Lillberg, 57, died on June 23 while apparently trying to avoid a midair collision with a Learjet over Boca Raton, Florida.
After giving flight instruction at Pompano Beach, Lillberg was headed in an Extra 300 to the Willis Gliderport, a private airstrip near where he lived, The Miami Herald reported. The Lear 55, owned by the charter company Universal Jet Aviation, took off from the nontowered Boca Raton Airport shortly before 11:40 a.m. and was headed to Fort Pierce for paint work. The jet was climbing as Lillberg approached at what eyewitnesses believed was below 2,500 feet. The Extra 300 tried to avoid the climbing jet by turning and descending, but it was too late, the newspaper reported.
The three men on the Learjet - Capt. Richard Smith, 40, first officer Kevin Reyer, 35, and pilot/observer Brad Moncrief, 29 - along with Lillberg, died in the crash. The wreckage was scattered over a gated community in West Boca, but no injuries were reported on the ground. NTSB officials were to examine the Lear's cockpit voice recorder. Lillberg made the U.S. Aerobatic Team in 1992 and 1996, and had retired recently from Pratt & Whitney where he had helped to design the engine for the Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter.
Jepp merger completed
A merger between the Tribune Company - owner of the Chicago Tribune - and The Times Mirror Company has been completed following the approval of the deal by Tribune stockholders. A Tribune spokeswoman said her company would sell Jeppesen Sanderson, formerly owned by Times Mirror, and Tribune Education, publisher of supplemental education materials. The spokeswoman, Katherine Sopranos, said she could not reveal the bidders for Jeppesen. The sale is expected later this year. - Alton K. Marsh
Magazine arrives nearly 20 years late
When Jack Gerbl of San Jacinto, California, recently received his copy of AOPA Pilot magazine, there was something peculiar - the date read October 1982. It took more than 17 years for it to arrive in his mailbox.
The U.S. Postal Service was confused and didn't have any answers as to why it took the agency so long to deliver it. A postal official told The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise that he had never heard of a magazine being delivered that long after it was mailed. "It was in pristine condition. I know it was sitting in the bag somewhere," Gerbl told the newspaper.
Aviation pioneer dies after battling disease
Ernest Schweizer, aviation pioneer and cofounder of the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation, died on June 11 in his sleep after suffering from Parkinson's disease and cancer. He was 88.
Schweizer is widely remembered for his contribution to the sport of soaring. The three Schweizer brothers and their friends combined their budding enthusiasm for aviation, their lunch money, and Ernie Schweizer's innate engineering talents to construct a primary glider that first flew in 1930.
Schweizer later earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from New York University and served as the president and chief engineer of the company, which remains in family ownership. He was a key player in all of the 5,700 sailplanes, agricultural and reconnaissance airplanes, and light helicopters that the company produced. At a celebration of the company's sixtieth anniversary Schweizer was asked how he felt about his life's work. "I'm satisfied we accomplished something. Particularly when I get letters and comments from people who thank me for saving their lives. I'm happy I designed crash-resistant structures," he said.
Schweizer is survived by his wife, Eileen; daughters Susan Evans, Sally Lese, and Julie Shepherd; son Leslie; and brothers Paul A. and William.
A memorial service took place June 15 in Horseheads, New York.
Cirrus awarded SR20 production certificate
Cirrus Design Corporation may now inspect each aircraft on the production line without direct government oversight after the FAA presented the company with a production certificate for the SR20 on June 12.
An FAA official said that the certificate establishes Cirrus as a legitimate aircraft manufacturer that produces high-quality aircraft. The Duluth, Minnesota-based company has been hiring employees and adding tooling to boost production of the composite plane. Cirrus currently has 597 orders for the SR20; 39 have rolled off the assembly line since deliveries began in July 1999.
French Connection heirs consider sale
The families of French Connection pilots Daniel Heligoin and Montaine Mallet say that they have made no decision about the future of the FBO and flight school operated by the couple in Bunnell, Florida, but are receptive to proposals to purchase the properties.
The two pilots died on May 27 while performing a side-by-side hammerhead maneuver at Bunnell's Flagler County Airport. They operated Mudry Aviation - an FBO and flight school at the field that specialized in aerobatic training - and also operated CAP Unlimited, a dealership for CAP aircraft.
S.A. Smith, director of maintenance at Mudry and executor of the estate, said that the families will entertain proposals for both. A decision was expected soon as to the future of the properties. Mudry Aviation includes the flight school, maintenance shop, office equipment, two CAP 10B aircraft, and Heligoin's pristine Piper J-3 Cub. The CAP Unlimited dealership includes the right to sell CAP aircraft in the United States.
Interested parties may contact Smith at Mudry Aviation at 904/437-9700. Heligoin and Mallet were buried in France. - AKM
eBay avionics auction spurs complaints
Two dozen buyers of avionics that were advertised on the popular eBay auction Web site, many of them AOPA members, say that they never got the merchandise or that it arrived in poor condition. The total merchandise involved is valued at approximately $35,000.
The company involved is BestBuy Avionics, located in downtown Portland, Oregon. AOPA's Aviation Services department has heard from several of the buyers and has alerted authorities in the Portland area in order to aid in any investigation that might be in progress. One complainant told The Oregonian newspaper in Portland that merchandise he received appeared to have been in a fire.
Efforts by AOPA to contact the merchant, identified in a report by Portland's KOIN-TV Channel 6 as Brent Sherman, have been unsuccessful. - AKM
Cessna's smallest warbird turns 50 this year. The life of the hardworking L-19/O-1 Bird Dog was to be celebrated in mid-July at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita by people who built and flew it. About 75 Bird Dogs were expected to attend the three-day reunion. The single-engine Bird Dog was first built in 1950 as a military reconnaissance plane; it saw combat in Korea and Vietnam. Some are still on active duty in foreign countries. For more information, see the Web site ( www.l-19bowwow.com).
UND wins national flying championship
North Dakota students won the Eleventh National Intercollegiate Flying Association National Championships, besting 30 other schools.
The University of North Dakota Flying Team scored 162 points in 10 events held in Grenada, Mississippi, from May 16 through 20. Western Michigan University placed second with 130 points, while the team from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott, Arizona, campus came in third with 101 points; Ohio State University, fourth, 56 points; and the Air Force Academy, fifth, 38 points.
Top pilot honors went to Erich Hess, first place, and Brian Visocky, second place, both representing UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. The events consisted of four flying and six ground activities: IFR event, power-off accuracy landings, short-field accuracy landings, message drop, computer accuracy, simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation, aircraft recognition, preflight, and ground trainer.
Want to go 400 mph with a piston engine?
Air race pilot Jon Sharp, a past winner of many races aboard his Formula One class aircraft that he named Nemesis, is receiving design help from volunteer Lockheed employees to build a two-seat NemesisNXT (for next). The old Nemesis reached 290 mph.
AOPA Pilot learned during a pylon racing seminar in Reno, Nevada, in late June that the new aircraft will reach speeds approaching 400 mph and that the aircraft will be offered for sale in kit form. The taildragger will have side-by-side seating, metal landing gear, and be powered by a Continental 550 engine. Continental and Lockheed are sponsors of Sharp's racing activities. Sharp is allowed to use Lockheed equipment during "downtime" at the giant aerospace company's famous Skunk Works development facility.
The all-composite aircraft, which looks a lot like Nemesis and has a 24-foot wingspan, is undergoing wind-tunnel testing. There are already plans to develop a model with longer wings to provide a lower landing speed. The aircraft will be machine-molded and should fly in July or August of 2001. It will have a small baggage compartment.
There is already a waiting list of customers for the aircraft, which will be produced at Fiberset, located in Mojave, California.
Look for the prototype to race in the Sport Class (because of the higher power) on closed courses as well as in cross-country races. - AKM
House kills prime NASA GA program
NASA officials say the fight has only just begun following recent action by a House subcommittee that killed the new Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) program (see " Future Flight: Your Future GA Airplane," January Pilot).
NASA won approval from the Clinton administration in January for a system using highly automated aircraft and small general aviation airports that provides private air travel to the masses. The House appropriations subcommittee on housing and urban development and independent agencies cut startup funds for this year and all future-year funding as well. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. James Walsh (R-N.Y.) told The Daily Press, published near NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia where the program is based, that in his opinion the FAA could fund the program.
SATS program chief Bruce Holmes told the paper that there seems to be confusion among House members about the operational functions of the FAA versus the research role of NASA. There are several opportunities to restore the funds as the funding bill moves through further committee action in the House and Senate, votes on the House and Senate floors, and finally in House/Senate conference committees. - AKM
Squawk Sheet
On June 7 the FAA released emergency airworthiness directive 2000-11-51 mandating replacement of certain Unison (Slick) magnetos on Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) O-300, IO-360, TSIO-360, and LTSIO-520-AE engines. Affected magnetos include Unison models 6314, 6324, and 6364, serial numbers 99110001 through 99129999, inclusive. The FAA issued the AD in response to several incidents, including an in-flight failure of an IO-360 installed in a Cirrus SR20 in which the magneto impulse coupling stop pin migrated out of the magneto frame, causing damage to the gear train of the engine and ultimately engine failure. (Cirrus is disputing the FAA's claim, saying that the airplane was on the ground when the damage occurred.) The AD mandates removal and replacement of affected magnetos within 10 hours time in service after receipt of the AD. Upon removal, suspect magnetos must be inspected to ensure that the stop pin is still present. If it's missing, the AD requires inspection of the gear train or oil sump to find the missing pin and to look for additional damage. TCM will extend warranty coverage to factory installations still under warranty. Unison will cover the cost of required inspections and parts replacements for all aftermarket parts and will extend warranty coverage for any inspections/repairs resulting from missing stop pins on a case-by-case basis. Affected aircraft owners are encouraged to contact Unison customer service at 815/965-4700 for warranty information. For more information and a copy of the AD, contact AOPA's Pilot Information Center at 800/872-2672 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Independent FBO finds new angle in jet business
Judging by the pounding exhaust and the smell of jet fuel hanging heavy in the air, business is booming at Dallas Love Field. And with a sparkling new building, one independent FBO intends to increase its market share compared to the big chains.
The triangular-shaped three-story building is designed to maximize space. It allows the Business Jet Center, which opened in May, to accommodate more aircraft by parking them at an angle on the ramp. A pointy canopy sticks out from the 22,000-square-foot building, big enough to handle a Gulfstream V and keep travelers dry in bad weather. Uniformed employees handle everything from valet parking to aircraft cleaning.
Partners Robert Wright and Kevin Jordan began working together seven years ago when Jordan, a broker and pilot, sold aircraft for Wright, a Dallas real estate developer and manager. They did their dealing in a hangar at the run-down Dallas Jet Center. Later they took over the FBO after it defaulted.
Having signed a 40-year lease with the city of Dallas and prepared to invest more than $15 million, the new FBO intends to increase its share of general aviation fuel sold on the field from 10 to 20 percent. "We do not want to be the biggest, we want to be the best," General Manager Stephanie Jordan said.
Besides the FBO, the parent company, Business Jet Services, provides charters, aircraft interior design, and aircraft sales. For more information, see the Web site ( www.businessjetcenter.com).
The New Piper Aircraft Inc. has picked Avidyne Corporation's FlightMax as the standard radar indicator for the Piper Seneca V. The announcement came on the heels of SkyWest Airlines' selecting the FlightMax 850 display for its fleet of Brasilia EMB-120s. For more information, see the Web site ( www.avidyne.com/SenecaV.htm).
NetJets opens new operations center
Executive Jet Inc., parent company of the popular NetJets fleet of fractionally owned business jets, formally opened its new operations center on June 14.
The 200,000-square-foot facility can handle up to 35 airplanes at once in its maintenance hangar. Meanwhile, the second floor of the new building houses the dispatchers, meteorologists, and other scheduling personnel in a cavernous, modern office space. The new center will handle the needs of NetJets' 286 airplanes, and there's room to expand. NetJets personnel estimate that their fleet will grow to some 700 airplanes within five years. The company adds six to eight new airplanes to its fleet each month, and the boom in the fractional-ownership market shows no signs of abating. New owners sign up at the rate of 30 to 50 a month.
"[NetJets] has grown faster than any of the other companies I own," said Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., owner of Executive Jet. "I knew it when I bought it...it didn't take an IQ of more than 60 to realize that it would grow." Buffett flies about 550 hours per year in NetJets airplanes; his wife racks up 1,100 to 1,200 hours per year.
More than 2,000 owners now participate in the NetJets program. There are 792 pilots, and 50 new pilots are hired each month. By the end of the year, NetJets will have about 1,500 pilots. NetJets has a European hub of operations in Lisbon, Portugal, and the company recently opened NetJets Middle East in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with two Gulfstream IVSPs. By the end of the year, another G-IVSP will go to Jeddah, along with four Hawker 800XPs and two Dassault Falcon Jet Falcon 2000s. - Thomas A. Horne
Bombardier makes Istanbul sales
During Airex 2000, an annual airshow held in May at Istanbul, Turkey's Ataturk International Airport, Bombardier Aerospace announced the sale of a Global Express, a Learjet 60, and a Challenger 604 to Dogus Air. The sales represent transactions valued at $78 million.
Dogus Air is a subsidiary of Dogus Holding, a diversified Turkish company in the banking, food processing, construction, hotel, and aviation businesses. The company will use the new jets for executive transportation. To date, 14 long-range (maximum range: 6,500 nm) Global Express airplanes have been delivered to customers, and 38 more are in the completion process. From Istanbul, the Global Express can fly nonstop to Los Angeles or Hong Kong.
In another statement, Bombardier officials said that its Flexjet Europe fractional ownership program has opened two new sales offices - one in Munich and one in Paris - to handle the growing demand for Flexjet airplanes. Flexjet Europe currently operates seven airplanes out of its operations base in Copenhagen, Denmark - two Learjet 31As, four Learjet 60s, and one Challenger 604. Servicing of these airplanes takes place at Bombardier's service center at the Berlin-Schoenefeld Airport, operated jointly with Lufthansa Technik AG. - TAH
On the horizon: Jets, more jets, and gyroplanes
Looking for an amphibious jet? How about a gyroplane that flies at 50,000 feet?
Archedyne Aerospace is developing the NauticAir 450, the world's first amphibious corporate jet. Since 75 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, the company said that the nine-place jet opens up a number of "extra" landing sites. The aluminum-and-composite jet is to be powered by twin Williams-Rolls FJ44-2 turbofan engines and is to have a 448-kt cruise speed. The company is currently looking for investors. For more information, see the Web site ( www.archedyne.com).
Want to give your Aerostar a big kick? Try adding twin jet engines. Aerostar Aircraft Corporation is developing a new light jet, the FJ-100 ( www.aerostarjet.com). The company entered into an agreement with Williams International to supply the FJ33-1 engines along with a maintenance program. The jet is projected to cruise at 415 kt, offering a service ceiling of 41,000 feet and an IFR range of 1,750 nm at a cost of 93 cents a mile. The first flight is scheduled for December 2001. The plane will carry an introductory price of $1.95 million.
Undaunted by two noninjury accidents in flight testing, CarterCopters L.L.C. ( www.cartercopters.com) wants to break world records for rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, then patent the technology and sell it to certified aircraft and kitplane manufacturers. The CarterCopter uses a rotor for vertical takeoff and landing and a small wing for high-speed cruise. The CarterCopter is projected to hit speeds in excess of 347 kt at 50,000 feet. Funded in part by a grant from NASA, a prototype, powered by a Corvette engine, has been flying. The company is currently looking for additional test pilots.
AOPA members in the news
Jim Brough, AOPA 1051804, was named this year's recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical Award. The award is presented by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and allows Brough, a middle school teacher at Lin-Wood School in Lincoln, to take a year off to introduce teachers around the state to an aviation program he has developed and has been teaching for seven years.
Pauline Mallary, AOPA 130627, has published Racing in the Skies, A Pilgrimage to the Past. The book is a memorable account of the author's 40 years of flying and 102 air races in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, Central America, and Nicaragua. The book sells for $19.95, including shipping and handling. Information is available by calling 770/964-5223.
Stephen Coonts, AOPA 1056593, has published his latest novel, Hong Kong. Coonts is a best-selling author and frequent contributor to AOPA Pilot. More information on the book, published by St. Martin's Press, is to be available on Coonts' Web site ( www.coonts.com). The book goes on sale September 12.
Roger D. Coon, AOPA 1555816, of West Richland, Washington, has been chosen as the state's flight instructor of the year. Coon, who serves as director of operations for Bergstrom Aircraft in Pasco, is an 8,000-hour ATP and CFII with experience in 65 aircraft.
Stephen Rokicki, AOPA 1013216, and Robert Bessier, AOPA 3532041, have formed the Sandia Flight Safety Foundation. The foundation's mission is to provide assistance to manufacturers to enhance human factors and ergonomics in aircraft cockpit design.
Michael Perozziello, AOPA 989518, has coauthored Breaking the Cost Barrier: A Proven Approach to Managing and Implementing Lean Manufacturing. The book shows how a group of aerospace professionals was able to develop an approach that can reduce aircraft manufacturing costs by 25 percent.
The book is published by John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Kevin Gustafson, AOPA 1405640, of Seal Beach, California, has become one of the youngest commercial airplane pilots in the country at age 18. He recently added a multiengine rating and plans to get his CFI. His goal is to fly for the airlines after college.
The FAA on June 21 awarded Cessna Aircraft Company a type certificate for the Model 525A Citation CJ2, the third such certificate Cessna has received this year. The Citation CJ2 is the first aircraft developed, manufactured, and certified by Cessna utilizing its integrated team concept. Cessna officials said that the concept leverages the expertise of many areas during the planning, development, and manufacturing process to maintain high quality. "The Citation CJ2 development and certification program has exceeded every expectation," Cessna CEO Gary Hay said. "We have successfully executed our first accelerated certification and development program." The CJ2 offers higher cruise speeds, more cabin space, and greater range than the earlier CitationJet. First customer delivery is expected this year.
Aviation charity groups merge
Under a single vision, several public-benefit flying organizations have united to form the nation's largest charitable aviation network. Six Angel Flight volunteer pilot groups and Mercy Medical Airlift have merged to form Angel Flight America.
"The ultimate goal and mission of AFA is to help more people in need. Helping people, giving hope, and saving lives is what Angel Flight is all about," Angel Flight America Chairman Lee Johnson said.
Volunteer pilots from each member organization involved in AFA own or rent general aviation aircraft, pay for operating costs, and donate time away from families and businesses. For more information, see the Web site ( www.angelflightamerica.org).
FAA to buy new system
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey announced on June 26 that her agency will buy a new ground surveillance system that will improve runway safety at 25 airports.
Called ASDE-X, the surface-detection equipment will provide detailed coverage for runways and taxiways, and alert air traffic controllers to impending collisions, especially at night and in bad weather. The system will be similar to other types of ground radar installed at the nation's busiest airports.
Garvey, speaking at the opening of the FAA's Runway Safety National Summit, said that the 25 airports were selected based on the greatest need. The FAA plans to award a production contract for the system in September. A list of the airports is available on the FAA's Web site ( www.faa.gov/apa/pr/pr.cfm?id=1090).
BFGoodrich Company and Dartmouth College are working together on a potential breakthrough in aircraft ice protection technology. Based on the patented research by engineering professor Victor Petrenko, the process uses electric current to prevent ice formation. When applied to aircraft surfaces, hydrogen and oxygen gas bubbles form and generate enough pressure to shed the ice. The program is funded through the BFGoodrich Breakthrough Innovation Thrust for Excellence (BRITE) program. The intention is to market the technology.
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