Alton K. Marsh
Controllers Vector Capstone Aircraft In Alaska
The FAA rang in the new year in Bethel, Alaska, with the first operational use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology as part of its Capstone program.
At 3:18 p.m. Alaska time on Sunday, December 31, the Anchorage Air Traffic Route Control Center (ARTCC) began vectoring Capstone-equipped aircraft onto the ILS at Bethel, even though Bethel doesn't have radar service. The first two aircraft were a Yute Air CASA-212 and a Northern Air Cargo DC-6.
AOPA is a partner in Capstone, a demonstration program that provides traffic, terrain, and weather information to a multifunction display in the cockpits of general aviation aircraft at an affordable price. Capstone-equipped aircraft broadcast GPS-derived position, speed, and altitude information to a ground receiver and other equipped aircraft. That information is then transmitted back to ARTCC and displayed on the controllers' screens, just like radar targets.
Air Force To Dump Firefly Trainers
The Air Force has proposed options to the Pentagon for disposing of 110 two-passenger, all-composite T-3A Firefly aircraft, The Gazette of Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported.
The Air Force purchased the planes in 1994 from British manufacturer Slingsby Aviation for pilot screening programs. Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Cheryl Law confirmed that a proposal for disposing of the T-3As has arrived in the Pentagon, but she would not discuss details. The Gazette said that the three options are to sell the aircraft for parts, sell them as used aircraft, or mothball the fleet at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and the Air Force screening facility in Hondo, Texas.
The Air Force lost six lives in accidents involving the T-3A before the fleet was grounded. In all, about $30 million was spent on the T-3A aircraft, and an additional $10 million was spent trying to fix them. All the accidents occurred at the academy.
With the end of the T-3A Firefly program, the Air Force will contract with a civilian flight school or schools to operate a new fleet of general aviation aircraft. The aircraft will be provided under contract and not directly owned by the military. The Air Force has evaluated 12 aircraft for the program and will make its selection this month. The aircraft under consideration include the Cessna 182S, Cirrus SR20, Diamond DA20 and DA40, the Australian-built Eagle 150B, the Grob 115E, Lancair Columbia 300, Luscombe Spartan, Maule MT-7, Mooney Ovation II, Piper Archer III, and Zlin 143L.
The Air Force has set specific standards that the new trainer must meet, including the capability to operate from high-altitude airports. So far, the aircraft favored in the evaluation include the Cessna 182S, Cirrus SR20, Diamond DA20 and DA40, and Grob 115E, according to preliminary results.
A. Marsh
Crippled Skyhawk Lands Safely After Midair
A Cessna 172 safely landed at West Houston Airport in Texas following a midair collision with a Cessna 150. The impact left a section of the 172's right wing hanging down.
The aircraft were flying at 2,000 feet in good visibility on November 26, 2000, NTSB officials told The Houston Chronicle. The pilot of the Cessna 150, 36-year-old Don Lee of Katy, Texas, died after a wing was severed from his aircraft by the impact. His airplane crashed along Interstate 10, just outside of Katy. The pilot of the Cessna 172, Diana Orendorff, spotted the Cessna 150 shortly before the impact and pulled her aircraft into a climbing right turn, she told investigators. Aircraft owner Ed Oppermann then took control and landed at West Houston on one wheel. The aircraft reportedly collided at a 90-degree angle.
A. Marsh
S-TEC Test Pilot Dies In Helicopter Accident
S-TEC Corporation of Mineral Wells, Texas, reported that test pilot Ron Filler died in January as a result of injuries suffered during an emergency landing of a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter owned by S-TEC.
Filler was familiarizing himself with the helicopter prior to resuming flight testing of a helicopter autopilot that the company is developing. Flight tests of the autopilot had been suspended for six to eight weeks at the time of the accident. Filler made the emergency landing in a wooded area about three miles south of Mineral Wells on his way back to the airport after a routine flight. An ATP with more than 12,000 flight hours in airplanes and helicopters, Filler had been a 16-year FAA test pilot prior to working for S-TEC. No cause for the crash has yet been determined.
A. Marsh
Katana 100 Receives Gross Weight Increase Certification
What is a Katana 100, you ask? A Katana 100 is the more familiar Katana DA20, but one that has been refurbished with a more powerful engine and a gross weight increase to 1,654 pounds.
So far, the weight increase has been approved only in Canada, but the FAA is expected to follow suit under a reciprocal agreement. Diamond Aircraft Industries has received Transport Canada certification for a gross weight increase to 750 kg (or 1,654 pounds for the metrically challenged) for the Katana 100. The Katana 100 is a two-seat aircraft intended for primary flight training and recreational flying. The Katana 100 is factory refurbished with an engine upgrade from the 80-horsepower Rotax 912A3 or F3 engine to the new 100-hp Rotax 912S engine. In addition to improved performance, the conversion also offers the 10-percent increase in useful load.
Airline Uses Computer System To Target Training
Atlantic Coast Airlines has found a way to maintain a high level of flight training while staying within budget by using a PC-based system.
Developed by Eagle Research Laboratories, the Computer Assisted Performance Analysis System (CAPAS) is to be installed at one of the airlines' jet trainers in Dulles, Virginia. The system can be tailored for specific training requirements and can provide instant playback of training events.
"The desire is to quickly identify student deficiency through the use of CAPAS that will allow for targeted training and thereby reduce the demand for additional training," said Randy Hamilton, director of training for the airline.
NBAA Launches Business Aviation Study
Much attention has been given to airline and military personnel shortages, but little has been done to assess the needs of corporate and business aviation.
The National Business Aviation Association has launched a study to determine the employee requirements for corporate and business aviation over the next decade, according to NBAA Digest. The study will look specifically at the demographics of pilots, maintenance technicians, schedulers and dispatchers, flight attendants, and others in this industry segment. The study also will look at attrition rates, determine experience requirements, and make comparisons with the airline industry.
The results of the study are intended to provide aviation department managers with information to help them reevaluate current methods of recruiting employees and assess salaries for entry-level positions.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been commissioned to conduct the study. The results are expected to be ready and available to NBAA members shortly.
Hange Is First Woman To Receive Taylor Award
Patricia Hange is the first fully qualified woman to receive the Charles Taylor award. The award is named after the man who made a powerplant used by the Wright brothers. Recipients must have 50 active years as aviation maintenance technicians. Hange, of Arcadia, Florida, was nominated by the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance. She has also been nominated to the Women in Aviation Hall of Fame.
CAP Aviation To Offer Two New Aircraft
The French Air Force will use a new aircraft to train its military aerobatic display pilots. It is has placed three orders so far for the new generation of aerobatic aircraft.
The CAP 222 will be rolled out this spring by the French sport airplane company, CAP Aviation, as part of a line of aerobatic aircraft that offer improved performance. The company will also offer another two-passenger, tailwheel aircraft called the CAP 10C. As of January, both models were nearing production.
The factory-built Cap 222 is a certified model based heavily on the Giles 202 kitplane. Although the aircraft are similar in many respects, the fuselage had to be modified extensively to meet the greater load-bearing requirements of fully certified production aircraft. The first flight of the 10C, which is now set for this month in France, has been delayed by modifications to the fuel system and windscreen that differentiate the 10C from the older model, the popular 10B.
The CAP 222 will be built at Composites Unlimited in Oregon. No prices have been announced for either aircraft. There are 23 orders for the CAP 222. Progress reports are available on the Cap Aviation Web site (www.capaviation.com ).
A. Marsh
NTSB Chairman Resigns
Acting National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall announced in December that he would resign his position as a member of the NTSB as of January 18.
Hall joined the board in October 1993 and was appointed chairman in June 1994. He had been serving as acting chairman since that appointment expired last October.
Perhaps his most lasting legacy will be the change in how family members of victims of major transportation accidents are treated. In 1996, the Aviation Family Assistance Act was signed into law. The act empowers the NTSB to coordinate federal services to families of major air crash victims.
School News
Company Offers Jet Engine For Classroom
How would you like to have a 90,000-rpm jet engine to teach students about the jet age?
It's here. The SR-30, designed by Turbine Technologies, is a 12-inch-long engine that develops up to 40 pounds of static thrust. It can be viewed in operation right in the classroom behind a heavy polycarbonate window. The engine and display case can be delivered with a real-time computer display. For more, see the Web site (www.turbinetechnologies.com/minilab.htm).
Flight Instructor Offers Unique Lessons
A Florida flight school will offer primary flight training in experimental aircraft. Flight instructor Richard Johnson will be accepting new students this spring for training in Winter Haven, Florida. Johnson will be flying a twin-engine, tandem-seat airplane called Air-Cam built by Leza Air-Cam Corporation of Sebring, Florida. It's powered by Rotax 912S engines and has a cruise speed of 50 to 100 mph and a range of 340 miles at 70 mph. Training in single-engine experimental aircraft also will be available. For more information, contact Johnson's school at 863/293-8255 or via e-mail ([email protected] ). Substantial discounts are being offered for students who sign up prior to the closing day of the Sun 'n' Fun EAA Fly-in (April 14). More information about the Air-Cam is available on the Web site (www.lezaaircam.com).
Professor Honored For Dedication To Aviation
For his continued contributions to aviation research and education, the FAA selected Christopher Wickens of the University of Illinois as the winner of the 2000 Excellence in Aviation Award.
"For more than 30 years, Dr. Wickens' work in aviation human factors has supported our mission and the nation's aviation goals through his applied aviation research activities," said Steve Zaidman, FAA associate administrator of research and acquisitions. "Working with both government and industry, he has made valuable contributions in aircraft flight operations, flight training, simulation technology, and aviation education."
Wickens currently heads the Aviation Research Laboratory at the university. He has written extensively about human factors in complex systems, particularly focusing on aviation.
University, Airline Team Up To Assess Pilot Skills
Purdue University and American Eagle have joined forces to find better ways to assess pilot skills. Since the current pilot shortage has underscored the need to hire pilots according to skill level rather than flight hours alone, the multi-year project will compare applicant experience upon hiring with later success as an airline pilot.
"With better assessment tools than currently [are] available, airlines will not only be able to select the most qualified pilots, but flight schools will be able to more effectively focus their teaching methods," said Bernard Wulle, professor of aviation technology at Purdue and project coordinator. "We also want to develop a curriculum that provides in-depth training for regional and national airline aircraft, operations, and systems."
ERAU Professor Receives British Honor
An Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor has been awarded a British Silver Medal for his contributions to developing new methods and technologies for training.
Dee Andrews, an adjunct professor for the school, was presented the award by the Royal Aeronautical Society. Andrews was given the award for having served the last 13 years as the technical director of the Warfighter Training Research Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory. The division works with Air Force combat units, especially pilots.
Andrews teaches graduate courses at three of ERAU's teaching centers in the Phoenix area as well as a course for the school's distance learning program.
