Cessna 182 goes turbo
Cessna Aircraft Company announced at October's National Business Aviation Association convention in New Orleans improvements to the venerable 182 Skylane. The new 182T and the T182T offer a more refined interior, speed enhancements, and the addition of a Honeywell Bendix/King moving map display.
With the speed improvements, the normally aspirated 182 is expected to cruise at about 150 kt while the turbo will add 20 kt. A standard 182T will sell for around $242,000, while the turbo model will run $281,600. Cessna has been producing some 250 182s per year for the past couple of years, and company officials expect the improvements to boost the rate by 10 to 15 percent. Deliveries begin in January.
Meanwhile, new 172s are coming off of the Independence, Kansas, production line at the rate of one every 3.5 working hours. Cessna also has launched an enhanced Web site ( www.cessna.com) featuring virtual reality tours of the Citation X and the Cessna 206, interactive brochures, image downloads and screen savers, links to product support tools, and online job applications. — Thomas B. Haines
Airshow buys stake in AirCell
Airshow Inc., a provider of in-flight information and entertainment services, has made an equity investment in AirCell Inc., a provider of air-to-ground communications. The companies, both privately held, declined to reveal specific details of Airshow's investment in AirCell, but Skip Fehr, Airshow's new vice president of marketing and business development, characterized it as a "very substantial investment."
Airshow will bundle its services, which include Doppler radar and satellite weather imagery; stocks, financial, and news services; and AirshowTV with AirCell hardware. AirCell's proprietary technology allows air-to-ground use of conventional cellular telephone frequencies. The AirCell network, which operates at 9,600 baud—faster than other available air-to-ground telephone technologies—is 75 percent complete; it will be finished by March 2001.
The companies will target the aircraft retrofit market, and work together to develop faster data transmission rates and value-added services. Airshow also announced that it had received supplemental type certificate (STC) and parts manufacturer approval (PMA) from the FAA for its Airshow Mail e-mail service for business-jet travelers. For more information, visit the Airshow ( www.airshowinc.com) or AirCell ( www.aircell.com) Web sites.
Eclipse to use new welding technique
Eclipse Aviation Corporation plans to use a technique called friction stir welding to reduce labor costs and weight for the Eclipse 500 jet.
Friction stir welding is a machine process in which a special rotating tool moves along an aluminum surface. The frictional heat softens the aluminum in order to join it to another aluminum surface. The technique can bond surfaces faster than a riveting machine.
The technology, invented and patented by a British research organization, is being used to make the Boeing Delta family of rockets and has been approved for building the space shuttle's external fuel tank. For more information, see the Web site ( www.eclipseaviation.com).
Ibis to offer faster Ae270
Ibis Aerospace, a joint venture between the Czech Republic aircraft manufacturer Vodochody and a Taiwanese firm, says it is planning to certify a higher-flying, faster version of the Ae270P, a single-engine turboprop.
Prototypes of the Ae270P are now emerging from the factory, with certification expected in late 2001 or early 2002. The $1.9 million aircraft is aimed at the charter market. It is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A engine and will cruise at 225 kt. The company announced at the NBAA convention that it will use prototype number five of the Ae270P to develop a new model to be called the Ae270HP with a range of more than 1,500 nm. It is the same aircraft but powered by the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66A, which should allow it to achieve a cruise speed of 252 kt. The new model will cost $2.2 million and is aimed at the owner-flown executive market. Deliveries of the Ae270HP are expected in 2002.
Falcon announces 2000EX, Easy Cockpit
Dassault Falcon Jet revealed plans to develop a follow-on aircraft to its popular Falcon 2000 business jet. The Falcon 2000EX will share the same cabin dimensions as its forerunner, but will be able—thanks to its 7,000-lbst Pratt & Whitney 308C engines and a 31-percent greater fuel capacity—to fly 3,800 nm with NBAA IFR reserves.
That's 960 nm farther than the Falcon 2000. Dassault says that the airplane will be able to climb directly to Flight Level 410, cruise at Mach 0.80, and cost just under $25 million. The first flight is expected in the fourth quarter of 2001, while FAA and JAA certification should come by the third quarter of 2002, and deliveries will begin in the second quarter of 2003, the company said.
Dassault also announced a new four-tube interactive flat panel cockpit display it calls the Easy Cockpit. Based on the Honeywell Epic system, the system will use cursor controls and a trackball to enter data and request various displays. A head-up display (HUD) is another component of the system, which will debut in the 2003 models of the Falcon 900EX.
Dassault's study of a supersonic business jet continues, but is stymied by the difficulty of finding an engine powerful and reliable enough to serve for industry-standard overhaul intervals.
Raytheon Aircraft announced the new Hawker 450—a Mach 0.80, 2,000-nm twin turbofan with a cabin height of 5 feet 11 inches. The airplane, which Raytheon says will enter service in 2006 and cost between $7.8 million and $9 million, will fill a niche between its Premier I and the Hawker 800XP. It will have a larger cabin than the Premier I. Raytheon claims it will be certified by the end of this year. Honeywell 731-40 turbofans of 4,250 pounds static thrust will power the 450. A Honeywell Epic cockpit control and display system will be standard.
Twin Commander Aircraft Corporation has added a new feature to its Grand Renaissance refurbishment program for the 690, 695, 840, 900, and 1000-series turboprop twins—and every other Garrett-powered turboprop. The original electromechanical gauges can be replaced with a four-tube, color liquid crystal display setup from Meggitt Avionics of Manchester, New Hampshire. Attitude and heading indicators, engine, and fuel quantity/fuel flow information will appear on four 3-by-4-inch displays. The standard system will cost slightly more than $60,000; instruments for the copilot's side are optional. The retrofit is also available through Twin Commander service centers for Cessna 441 Conquests, Merlins, MU–2s, and Beech King Air 100s.
Fractional jet businesses report strong sales
Three fractional jet companies testified at the NBAA convention that the fractional market is hot and is continuing to grow in the good economic climate.
Raytheon Travel Air (RTA), Raytheon's fractional ownership program, will add 22 new Premier I and 50 new Hawker 450 aircraft to its fleet—which now numbers 86 airplanes, including 22 King Air 200s, 42 Beechjet 400As, and 22 Hawker 800XPs.
The option to order 25 more Hawker 450s has also been placed in addition to previously announced RTA orders for 27 Hawker Horizons and 48 King Air 200s. These new orders and options amount to $2.08 billion worth of sales and will bring the RTA fleet up to 347 airplanes.
Executive Jet's NetJets fractional ownership program is leasing shares to new clients until deliveries of new jets catch up with customer demand. Executive Jet officials said about 200 of its 2,000 clients have been given leases on shares of jets until some of the 460 jets now on order are delivered.
The clients receive the same service, but lose the tax advantage of depreciation that would come from owning a share of a business jet. While deliveries are on schedule, "manufacturers are not delivering aircraft to us as quickly as our demand requires," an Executive Jet official said.
And Flight Options, the only nationwide provider of fractional ownerships in preowned jet aircraft, announced that it sold more fractional ownerships in the first seven months of 2000 than all but one other fractional provider.
Cleveland-based Flight Options said that its 191 fractional shares represented 26.5 percent of total sales, trailing Executive Jet, but passing Flexjet/Business Jet Solutions and RTA. Flight Options also announced its entry to European fractional operations, which will be marketed to its fractional owners in the United States through a partnership with British charter and aircraft management company Chauffair.
Incubator seeks aviation business ideas
A recently launched company intends to help would-be entrepreneurs develop business aviation ideas and bring them to market. 41,000 Feet LLC will facilitate the development of the ideas by providing access to capital, start-up management experience, and shared infrastructure such as technology, accounting, marketing, and sales.
Founders Scott Liston and Paul Schweitzer decided to apply the business incubator concept to the aviation marketplace. The company is currently working with four businesses, serving different segments of business aviation, and intends to roll them out early next year. The four are capitalized at amounts ranging from $250,000 to $2.5 million, and 41,000 Feet says that it has the ability to fund suitable proposals up to $10 million. "What we're looking for is the entrepreneur to become emotionally attached to their idea, and work every day to bring that idea to market," without getting bogged down by administrative issues, Liston said.
Under the deal, the entrepreneur owns the idea. Eventually the new business would separate from 41,000 Feet, but the company would typically own an equity position of 25 to 75 percent of the resulting new business. For more information, visit the Web site ( www.41kfeet.com).
Gulfstream Aerospace will offer a newer, longer-range version of the Gulfstream V, the G–VSP. The G–VSP will replace the G–V and be capable of flying nine passengers 6,750 nm nonstop at Mach 0.80. The G–V's maximum nonstop range is 6,500 nm. At Mach 0.87, the airplane's range will be 5,000 nm. The G–VSP will enter service in 2003 and cost "less than $45 million" in 2003 dollars. The G–IVSP will remain in production.
Piaggio, the Italian manufacturer that builds the P–180 Avanti composite-construction canard pusher turboprop twin, will locate U.S. corporate headquarters in Greenville, South Carolina. Piero Ferrari (yes, of the car-manufacturing Ferraris), president of Piaggio Aero Industries, and Steve Hanvey, president and CEO of the newly formed Piaggio America, said that the U.S. headquarters will include sales and marketing, customer service, and product support. Dallas-based JetWorks has been signed on as a maintenance and service provider for Avanti operators. Production of the $4.7 million, 395-kt, 1,750-nm Avanti will be stepped up to 15 airplanes per year in 2001. There are currently 13 Avantis flying in the United States; last year there were only four.
Cirrus unveils SR22
Cirrus Design Corporation unveiled the SR22 at AOPA Expo 2000. It's designed to offer higher performance without increasing pilot workload.
Following in the successful footsteps of the 200-hp SR20, the new model has a 310-hp Teledyne Continental engine and offers a 180-kt cruise speed, a 1,000-nm range, and a climb rate of 1,300 feet per minute. The all-electric (dual alternator/dual battery) aircraft does not require a vacuum system and includes CAPS, the parachute recovery device found on the SR20.
The base price for the SR22 is $276,600. The instrument panel features the Garmin GNS 430 color GPS/com/nav and GNS 420 GPS/com, an electric HSI, and an S-Tec/Meggitt System Fifty X autopilot. For $294,700, the SR22 includes dual Garmin GNS 430s and a Sandel SN3308 electronic HSI. Cirrus expects to receive FAA certification for the SR22 before the end of the year. The SR22 will be assembled alongside the SR20 at Cirrus' manufacturing facilities in Duluth, Minnesota. For more information, see the Web site ( www.cirrusdesign.com).
Two-place trainer to cost less than $100,000
A two-place tricycle-gear trainer and recreational aircraft based on the successful Europa kitplane is expected to enter the United States market in 2002. The company already took 10 orders at AOPA Expo 2000 in October.
Pricing for the first 50 factory-built Liberty XL–2 aircraft is $85,000. After that, the Rotax 912S-powered aircraft will cost $97,500. Company officials said they are open to other engine options, but have no plans at present.
The specifications call for a 600-lb. useful load and a cruise speed of 120 knots. The aircraft was designed by Liberty Aerospace and will be built by Scaled Technology Works in Montrose, Colorado, the firm that is slated to build the Visionaire Vantage personal business jet. The firm also builds parts for the interiors of Cessna aircraft.
The first prototype is under construction. More than 750 Europa kits have been sold in 32 countries. Certification by the FAA is expected in late 2001. The company says that its marketing plan predicts sales of 400 Liberty XL–2 aircraft a year. For more information, visit the Web site ( www.libertyaircraft.com). — Alton K. Marsh and Julie K. Boatman
Schweizer Aircraft received FAA type certification for its model 333 turbine-powered helicopter. The 333 features a unique rotor system, designed and developed by Schweizer, which is an upgrade to the system found on the 330SP helicopter. The 333 provides more useful load, speed, and hover performance compared to its predecessor. At an hourly operating cost of $133, the 333 also costs less to operate than the 330SP. The first commercial 333 was delivered to Dick Wales of Waco, Texas. The base price is $595,000. Schweizer is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this year. For more information, see the Web site ( www.sacusa.com). — JKB
Boeing has completed its purchase of Jeppesen Sanderson Inc. Jeppesen is now part of the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group (BCAG) under the leadership of Alan Mulally. Boeing expects to keep the Jeppesen name and all of the company's present business units intact. Jeppesen officials said that they expect to retain the Jeppesen name, perhaps tagged with, "A Boeing company." Downplaying the Boeing name is most likely an important step in helping Jeppesen maintain good international customer relations with companies such as Airbus that compete directly with Boeing. For more information, see the Web site ( www.jeppesen.com).
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is offering three new undergraduate degrees on its virtual campus. The school is now offering the associate of science and the bachelor of science in professional aeronautics and the bachelor of science in management of technical operations degrees over the Internet. Since 1992, the school has been offering a master of aeronautical science degree online. For more information, see the Web site ( www.embryriddle.edu).
The FAA has approved microthin prescription inserts called Intacs to correct nearsightedness for pilots. KeraVision Inc., maker of Intacs, said that the procedure is approved for all aviation medical classes. Intacs mark the first nonlaser option for correcting nearsightedness or myopia to be approved by the FAA. The product was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year for correcting 1 to 3 diopters of myopia. The maintenance-free plastic inserts can be removed and changed as patients age and their vision changes. For more information, see the Web site ( www.getintacs.com).
NTSB looks for answers in governor's death
The investigation continues in the death of Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan. Preliminary information from an air traffic control tape showed that the pilot, Carnahan's son, Roger, reported a problem with the attitude indicator and was seeking clearance to head to better weather.
After analyzing the wreckage of the Cessna 335 that was moved to the National Guard Armory in Festus, Missouri, an NTSB team found no evidence of an in-flight breakup. An initial examination of the propellers showed that the engines were producing power on impact. Fuel samples showed no contamination. The plane carrying the governor, his son, and an aide crashed at 7:33 p.m. on October 16 about 10 miles northwest of Hillsboro, Missouri. The NTSB plans to release a report in about six months on the board's Web site ( www.ntsb.gov).
Pilots work to simplify flying in Mexico
The Baja Bush Pilots Association (BBP) has made some important changes that should make flying into Mexico less expensive and less problematic, countering a trend of skyrocketing fees over the past few years.
Speaking at AOPA Expo 2000, Jack McCormick, president of BBP, announced a number of changes allowed by the Mexican government to benefit U.S. pilots. The changes include eliminating some taxes; making all international airports, except Mexico City, airports of entry for private aircraft; no longer requiring pilots to enter, fly in, and depart Mexico with the same passengers; and allowing night VFR for single-engine aircraft between controlled airports. McCormick was appointed by Sen. Alejandro Gutierrez of Mexico to sit on a special committee that aims to simplify flight procedures. Other BBP proposals are pending.
Dressed in traditional regalia, members of the Seminole tribe received an amended type certificate for their Micco SP26 from FAA Administrator Jane Garvey at AOPA Expo 2000 in October. Based on the Meyers 145A and B aircraft, the SP26 offers a bigger engine than its predecessor, the SP20, which received certification last January. The SP26 has a 260-hp engine, and VFR and IFR avionics packages are available. For more information about the Micco Aircraft Company, see the Web site ( www.miccoair.com).
Industry continues ADS-B evaluations
The second in a series of operational evaluations integrating GPS and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B, in which an aircraft transmits its altitude and GPS-derived position instead of a traditional transponder reply) was conducted from October 26 through 28 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Sponsored by the FAA and the Cargo Airline Association, OpEval-2 focused on the use of a cockpit display of traffic information, based on ADS-B data, to improve approach and departure spacing in a terminal environment. The tests, which involved a mix of air carrier and general aviation aircraft, also demonstrated anonymous ADS-B transmissions, comparable to squawking the VFR 1200 transponder code, and the use of airport diagrams as a moving map on aircraft multifunction displays.
ADS-B offers an opportunity to transition from a procedures-based air traffic control system to a technology-based distributed, redundant system, said Bob Hilb, a UPS Airlines captain. "Because of all the tasks and the communication problems, the controller has to insert buffers. The buffers are somewhere near twice the required runway occupancy time," he explained. In terminal airspace, transferring some workload—maintaining separation spacing, for example—from controllers to pilots would allow controllers to reduce distance buffers, resulting in increased capacity. Minimum separation standards are unchanged.
The use of airport diagrams as a moving map on multifunction displays was evaluated by assigning pilots intentionally circuitous taxi routes on Louisville International/Standiford Field during both day and night operations. "The guys who didn't have the moving map tended to get lost," said Paul Fontaine, the FAA's lead systems engineer for ADS-B. Controllers used ADS-B-derived data, integrated with conventional radar returns on traditional displays, to monitor aircraft movements.
AOPA staff flew the association's Beech A36 Bonanza during the four days of evaluation flights; AOPA President Phil Boyer and Vice President and Executive Director of Government and Technical Affairs Dennis Roberts also attended. Other industry participants included Honeywell, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, the Mitre Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development, NASA, Rockwell Collins, Sensis, and UPS Aviation Technologies.
Related technologies are being evaluated in Alaska's Capstone demonstration program (see " Future Flight: Air Traffic Control's Evolution," October Pilot). — Michael P. Collins
Family FBO enters third generation
AOPA President Phil Boyer was among general aviation dignitaries congratulating the Showalter family at the opening of their new FBO facilities in Orlando, Florida, in early November. With the third generation of Showalters now participating in the family-run Showalter Flying Service at Orlando Executive Airport, the time seemed right to build a modern facility, explained Bob Showalter's wife, Kim Showalter.
It was his father, an uncle, and his father's cousin who founded the business in late 1945. Today, Bob and Kim's daughter, Jenny, also participates in the business. For decades the business operated out of the old terminal building at Orlando Executive, which was the primary airline airport before the opening of Orlando International. Thirty-one months ago, the family decided to build a new facility, which included the tearing down of the old terminal. The building that was dedicated last month is designed to remind visitors of the prestigious old terminal but will operate more efficiently. The building, with its teal roof, simulated control tower, and wraparound porch, cost $1.8 million.
The design gives visitors easy access to landside vehicles and a host of traditional amenities, such as a pilots' lounge, snooze room, showers, conference room, and large meeting room. Two new hangars are planned for the 50-acre site. One end of the new FBO will accommodate aircraft sales, including sales of the Extra 400. Bob Showalter has been named Extra's Southeast sales and marketing manager. — TBH
The composite Extra 400 (see " Classy Business," June Pilot) has received FAA certification in the Normal category for day and night IFR operations. Manufactured by Extra Flugzeugbau Gmbh of Dinslaken, Germany, the 230-knot, six-place pressurized airplane has been flying in Europe since 1998. The aircraft is powered by a Teledyne Continental 350-horsepower engine. "The Extra 400 is the most technologically advanced single-engine piston aircraft in the world. We have designed and built an aircraft utilizing carbon fiber structures, and the latest in design and production processes that far exceed current certification requirements," said Walter Extra, the company's founder and chief designer. Sales and support will be provided by Extra Aircraft USA of Orlando, Florida, through a nationwide dealer/service center network. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
Ground breaks for NASM expansion
William H. Rehnquist, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, former Army Air Corps member, and chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution, broke ground at Washington Dulles International Airport on October 25 for a $238 million expansion of the National Air and Space Museum.
It is scheduled to open on a 176-acre site at the southeastern corner of Dulles in December 2003. The U.S. Marine Band played as four F/A–18 jets flown by Marines flew a "missing money" formation over the ceremony. Smithsonian officials said the gap between the third and fourth aircraft represented the amount of funding still needed to finish the museum. The 710,000-square-foot Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is named after an aircraft leasing businessman who pledged $60 million to the museum. Another $60 million is needed.
He and his daughter were among a dozen shovel-wielding dignitaries who joined Rehnquist in the ceremony. Rehnquist, however, used a 25-year-old shovel that turned the first sod on the Mall in Washington, D.C., to start construction of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
The new building will showcase 200 aircraft, including the Lockheed SR–71 Blackbird Mach 3 reconnaissance airplane and 100 space artifacts, including the space shuttle Enterprise that was used for drop-and-glide tests. It will house hundreds more aircraft that will not be showcased. The Enterprise and SR–71 are housed in temporary hangars near one of the active runways at Dulles, awaiting a move to the new facility two miles away. — AKM
AOPA members in the news
Rudy Frasca, AOPA 201320, has been chosen by the state of Illinois to represent the state in the National Aviation Hall of Fame Exhibit and Learning Center at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton. Each state chooses one representative. A description and photo etching of the honoree, along with a state flag, will be on permanent display. Frasca is the founder of Frasca International Inc., which makes flight simulators for civilian and military flight schools.
Kerry J. Sullivan, AOPA 1376482, has self-published A Pilot's Guide to Rescue: Getting Help When You Need It. Sullivan is a retired Naval aviator, and the survival book for pilots is based on his 20 years of search and rescue experience. The book is available by sending $12 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling to: Rescue Guide, Post Office Box 11776, Pensacola, Florida 32524.
Lynn Carlson, AOPA 1077241, of Northfield, Minnesota, has been named president of the National Agricultural Aviation Association. The organization provides the voice of the aerial application industry.
William Garvey, AOPA 1230449, has been named editor in chief of Business & Commercial Aviation and A/C Flyer magazines. A pilot and journalist with credentials in magazines, books, television, and radio, Garvey moved to B/CA from Aviation Week Productions, the television and video unit of the magazines' parent company, where he served as managing editor/producer. Garvey was an associate editor for AOPA Pilot early in his career.
William P. Lear Jr., AOPA 1066764, son of the creator of Learjet, has published Fly Fast…Sin Boldly: Flying, Spying & Surviving. The book recounts Lear's adventures as a pilot and daredevil. Lear bought a Lockheed P–38 at age 17, taught himself how to fly it, and later raced in two cross-country races. He flew in the military after entering service with more than 1,100 hours, survived a midair collision between two North American P–51s, and did some spying behind the Iron Curtain. The book retails for $27.95 and is available in bookstores or by calling Addax Publishing Group at 888/285-5786.
Squawk Sheet
The FAA issued its official approval of an alternative method of compliance (AMOC) for a recently issued emergency airworthiness directive affecting certain Lycoming engines. AD 2000-18-53 originally mandated the replacement of faulty oil filter adapter plate gaskets every 50 hours to prevent oil loss and possible in-flight fire. The AMOC allows the one-time installation of a gasket with a new part number to serve as terminating action for the AD. Sources at Lycoming said that 4,300 of the gaskets have been shipped to distributors. To alleviate industry concerns over possible parts shortages or parts hoarding, Lycoming officials arranged for an additional 8,000 replacement gaskets to be sent to distributors. For more information, see AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory/reggaskets.html).
Links to the full text of these proposals and rulemakings can be found on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/pilot/links/links0012.shtml).
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