The numbers were presented at a General Aviation Manufacturers Association meeting in February in Washington, D.C. GAMA Chairman Mike Smith predicted that 2001 will be another good year for both the piston and turbine markets.
UPSAT Offers Flight School Program
Be honest. None of us knows our own GPS, or the one in the rental aircraft, half as well as we would like. Most of us are reluctant to make a GPS approach in actual instrument weather, and even fewer of us have read every page of the GPS owner�s manual.
To help fix this situation, UPS Aviation Technologies has developed a flight school program that allows its customers to get training close to home on its GX50 and GX60 series GPS receivers. The program offers two hours of ground school and an hour of practice in an aircraft. UPSAT�s Web site (www.upsat. com) offers a $50 certificate to offset the cost of the training.
Leading Edge Aviation Services at Vandenberg Airport in Tampa, Florida, has developed a curriculum for the course that teaches the functions you are most likely to need for routine instrument flying. For more information, see the Leading Edge Web site (www. leadingedgeaviation.com).
Alton K. Marsh
Alaska Air Guard Defines Safety
Do you think you could fly 150,000 hours without an accident? The Alaska Air National Guard�s 176 Wing did just that in one of the most dangerous places to fly.
The 35-year safety record is even more incredible when you consider that the wing is flying three totally different aircraft�the C�123J Provider, C�130 Hercules, and HH�60G Pavehawk helicopter�in difficult conditions. Plus, the wing is called on missions all over the Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Central and South America.
�It�s tremendous, when you think about it,� said Col. Gene Ramsay, vice wing commander. �Today, we fly more missions in harsh arctic conditions than ever before and we�re deploying to more places around the globe, and we do it with a superb safety record.�
The wing attributed its safety record to training that teaches pilots to recognize the chain of small events that can lead to a catastrophe.
�Interestingly, major aircraft accidents are usually the result of a series of problems that develop, not just one big mistake,� said Maj. Dirk Cain, a C�130 pilot and wing safety officer. �Through our safety briefs, we learn how to recognize a problematic chain of events and break the pattern. Safety is something we talk about a lot. When we get ready to take off on a mission, our number one objective is to come back home safe and sound.�
The wing has routine safety briefings and spends a lot of time studying aircraft accident reports to learn from others� mistakes. The last accident for the Alaska National Guard was on December 15, 1965, when one of its Provider transport airplanes crashed at Cape Romanzof, 460 nautical miles west of Anchorage, while on a routine training mission. The five-member crew died.
To mark the safety milestone of 150,000 accident-free hours, Wing Commander Col. Van P. Williams Jr. set aside the anniversary date as a �safety down day� where no flying took place. Instead, aircrews took part in numerous safety briefings.
�I believe it also makes a statement about the commitment by our women and men who not only fly these aircraft, but who diligently maintain them,� said Brig. Gen. George Cannelos, commander of the Alaska Air Guard.
UPSAT To Lead Way In WAAS Precision Approaches
UPS Aviation Technologies has announced plans to build the world�s first GPS receiver capable of using signals from the FAA�s Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) for precision instrument approaches.
WAAS increases the accuracy of GPS navigation by transmitting additional position and integrity data from two geostationary satellites. It augments the existing constellation of 26 GPS satellites. Using UPSAT�s new technology, pilots will receive vertical and horizontal guidance with three-dimensional integrity to any runway in the United States with a published instrument approach procedure.
�The airline experience demonstrates that stabilized instrument approaches with vertical guidance are the safest, yet the majority of general aviation airports don�t have this precision approach capability,� said AOPA President Phil Boyer. �This new receiver delivers on the WAAS promise of vertical approach guidance to thousands of GA airports. And it shows that the decision to continue WAAS development is a good one.�
The system is designed to warn pilots if WAAS satellite signals become degraded or unusable. UPSAT believes it will overcome critics� concerns about the reliability of the WAAS signal, which has not yet been approved by the FAA for precision approaches. UPSAT said that it will seek certification of its new system later this year. For more information, see the Web site (www. upsat.com).
Wind Tunnel Tests Show Wrights Got It Right
Taking a step deeper into the minds of the Wright brothers, a group has continued to unveil secrets that gave birth to the modern aviation industry.
Members of The Wright Experience have been studying photos and other materials from around the world in an attempt to �reverse engineer� what led not only to a flyable and controllable airplane but also to the fundamental theory on which flight is based. Since the Wrights were worried about competition, original test equipment, drawings, and other information were destroyed. The group�s mission is to create working reproductions of all the Wrights� development aircraft for the one hundredth anniversary in 2003.
By using 1900-era woodworking tools and techniques, the group has produced eight-foot propellers from 1903, 1904, and 1911. Full-scale wind tunnel tests conducted in late December 2000 at the NASA Langley Research Center showed that the group was able to achieve static thrust measurements similar to those of the Wright brothers.
�We were very pleased, but not surprised, that both thrust coefficient plots showed very good to excellent agreement between the Wright brothers� measurements and the measurements taken during the current test series,� said Ken Hyde of The Wright Experience.
The group is being supported by a number of universities, government agencies, corporations, and organizations like AOPA. For more, see the Web site (www.wrightexperience.com).
Boeing Proposes Satellite ATC System
The Boeing Company has formed a small air traffic management unit and is developing a proposal for a GPS-based ATC system to be presented to the Bush administration in May.
Boeing officials stressed to AOPA that the proposal is a system design model, not a management or revenue (user fee) model. Fresh operational concepts are needed to break away from the FAA�s current 1950s-era system, Boeing said. The company said its ATC unit will grow to a few hundred people in a year and that the company is ready to advance the government billions of dollars to implement the new plan. Boeing has manufactured many of the GPS satellites built to date, and will build and launch a new generation of 33 GPS satellites starting this month.
A. Marsh
Cessna Celebrates Single-Engine Milestone
Cessna Aircraft Company celebrated a milestone recently: the delivery of the three-thousandth single-engine aircraft from its Independence, Kansas, facility. The new Cessna 182 Skylane was delivered to USAU Inc., managers of United States Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG). The tail number, N72US, reflects the number of years that USAIG has been providing insurance to the aviation industry.
NASA Plans GA Airplane Of The Future
NASA has bought a Lancair Columbia 300 to serve as a testbed for research on the general aviation airplane of the future. The aircraft was delivered to Bruce Holmes, director of the NASA General Aviation Program office, during a ceremony at Lancair Company headquarters in Bend, Oregon, in January. It was then flown to the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. There, it will be outfitted with a number of experimental technologies developed through NASA programs.
A. Marsh
Project Plans Glider Flight To 100,000 Feet
An ambitious team with help from NASA is planning to build a glider capable of soaring to the far reaches of the stratosphere. The aim is to double the current world altitude record of 49,009 feet that was set in 1986 by riding wind-generated mountain waves. Ultimately, it will be a learning experience because little is known about soaring at such high altitudes.
Called Perlan, the 95-foot-wingspan glider is named after rare mother-of-pearl clouds. In order to work its way through the complex atmosphere, the glider will require a pressurized cockpit, an autopilot to keep it on course in thin air, and a drogue chute to allow it to descend to a lower altitude so that it can regain control if it gets upset by turbulence. The glider will be riding lift from high winds that smack jagged mountain peaks and surge upward. Wave pilots have experienced climb rates in excess of 2,000 feet per minute. Record-setting adventurer Steve Fosset will put up funding and act as chief pilot for the first phase.
The team plans to modify an existing two-place Flugzeugbau DG-505 glider and use it to shatter the current altitude record. The team hopes that by drumming up enough attention, it will ensure funding for Perlan.
School News
UND Acquires ATC Simulator
The University of North Dakota has acquired an air traffic control (ATC) simulator to train students in both basic and advanced tower and radar simulation.
Although 13 national colleges now offer ATC programs, UND says it�s the only college that follows the FAA Academy�s current training program. That way, students will be �facility ready� when they leave the university. The simulator has the capability to portray 100 simultaneous movements. It will be delivered to the school this spring.
�There are very few training institutions that allow a student to work in a tower, terminal radar, and en route center environment, all working in tandem,� said Gary Bartelson, director of the university�s air traffic control program.
Northrop Grumman Hosts Long-Time Internship Program
Northrop Grumman Corporation in February kicked off the thirtieth year of its nationally recognized high school internship program. Called the High School Involvement Partnership (HIP), the program has allowed 84 students to start on-the-job training.
The students, all seniors, came from 11 public schools near the company�s headquarters in Los Angeles. They will work at Northrop Grumman�s facilities for two hours a day, five days a week for 17 weeks to get a sense for what it�s like to operate in the business world. Students in the HIP program receive training in their choice of more than 30 disciplines, including engineering, manufacturing, composites, accounting, and tooling.
Besides school credit, students who participate in the program receive $500 scholarships if they attend college. Many have gone on to work full-time for Northrop Grumman.
Army Launches Online University
The Army has awarded a $453 million contract to PricewaterhouseCoopers, a professional services or- ganization, to provide distance education for an estimated 80,000 soldiers over the next five years. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is one of the partners in the program.
The contract unites more than a dozen technology providers and an initial set of 29 accredited higher learning partners to create a customized, complete online university called Army University Access Online. The initiative enables eligible soldiers to obtain college degrees or technical certification using laptop computers while on active duty.
Airline Academy Expands Learning Environment
Regional Airline Academy Inc. has tripled the size of its administrative and classroom facilities at the Deland Municipal Airport in Florida. Academy officials said the timing goes along well with the ongoing airline hiring boom.
�Response to our Airline Pilot Training program is fantastic. Airlines are hiring pilots now and will continue to do so for years to come,� said Michael D. Yocum, academy president and CEO. �There has never been a better time for someone to learn to fly and pursue an airline pilot career.�
The school offers an accelerated 10-week program for people without prior aviation experience. For more information, see the Web site (www raajobs.com).
Duluth College Offers Pro Pilot Program
Beginning this fall semester, Lake Superior College (LSC) will offer a professional pilot degree program. The 64-credit Associate of Science degree will prepare students for careers as air freight, commuter airline, or corporate pilots and as flight instructors.
The two-year program was moved to Duluth, Minnesota, from Vermilion College in Ely. LSC was able to transfer instructors and equipment, including a flight simulator. The program lets students earn a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating.
�Establishing the program here makes sense,� said LSC President Kathleen Nelson. �With the support of major aviation employers such as Cirrus Design and Northwest Airlines, we have an excellent opportunity to grow the program and contribute to the economy as well.�
For more information, contact the LSC Enrollment Services Office via e-mail ([email protected]) or by telephone at 218/733-7601.
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