Training Notes And News

National Air and Space Museum officials say they are within $93 million of the amount needed to complete funding for a new companion facility at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The museum is expected to open on schedule in December 2003, just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight. Display aircraft will be moved into the building starting next March. The total cost of the project, including initial staffing, moving exhibits, construction, and fundraising, is $311 million. Three portions of the project - those not generally open to the public - have been deferred until funding is complete. They include a restoration hangar (visitors will be able to watch work in progress), a two-story facility for archives and processing of collections, and a two-story structure that might be referred to as an attic, a "dense storage" space.

Alton K. Marsh

Study Cites Need For Increased Aviation Capacity

A new economic study released in September quantifies the tremendous impact of civil aviation on the U.S. economy. The study, released by DRI-WEFA, found that civil aviation contributed in excess of $900 billion and 11 million jobs to the nation's economy in 2000. Of those figures, general aviation represented a significant portion, accounting for more than $100 billion and 1.3 million jobs to the U.S. economy. "General aviation is a critical link in our nation's air transportation system. This study certainly confirms that point," said Ed Bolen, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. "Given the clear relationship between aviation and the economy, it is imperative that we invest in the future." A copy of the DRI-WEFA study is available online ( www.generalaviation.org/EconomicImpact ).

Tiger Wins Production Certificate

Tiger Aircraft accepted its production certificate for the AG-5B Tiger from the FAA in a ceremony at its facility in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in September. The company has completed nine of the single-engine, four-place aircraft - with one more in the paint shop - for a total of 10 Tigers to come out of the factory in the 10 months since type certification was acquired in late 2001. The production certificate will allow Tiger Aircraft to ramp up production to four airplanes a month in the immediate future, with production increases to nine a month by the end of 2003 for a total of 90 aircraft completed next year, according to Bob Crowley, company president and CEO. The AG-5B Tiger sells for $219,500.

Oklahoma Pilots Award Scholarship

The Oklahoma Pilots Association (OPA) recently awarded its eleventh annual Vic Jackson Memorial Scholarship to Southeastern Oklahoma State University aviation student Lindy Jackson. Jackson recently earned her bachelor's degree and is currently enrolled in the master's program at the Durant, Oklahoma, college's Department of Aviation. The $2,000 award will fund ongoing flight requirements. Jackson is interested in professional aerial photography. Previous recipients have gone on to careers as airline, corporate, and commercial pilots, as well as other aviation professions.

OMF Aircraft Secures $5 Million Investment

OMF Aircraft, based in Neubrandenburg, Germany, announced that it had secured $5 million in investment funds. A combination of bank financing with a German government guarantee and an infusion from parent company Stinnes Group, the funding will be used to seek out a new powerplant designed to run on Jet-A fuel and to develop a new aircraft model. "Now that the development of the Symphony has settled down, we're looking forward to being able to expand the range of our products," said Derek Stinnes, managing partner of OMF Aircraft. OMF currently offers the single-engine, two-seat Symphony in VFR- and IFR-certified versions for $120,000 and $140,000, respectively.

Space Day Gets Set To Blast Off

Next year the Space Day Foundation is launching a series of activities to honor the previous 100 years of aviation and aerospace accomplishments. The goal is to inspire a new generation of inventors, aviators, and explorers. Space Day takes place May 1.

"The aviation and space exploration pioneers of this last century look to our youth to take the next steps in humankind's celestial journeys," said former Sen. John Glenn, cochairman of Space Day. "These students, who represent our future space pioneers, will one day realize exciting possibilities that we can only now imagine."

Space Day programs include the Space Day Design Challenges, in which students will actively collaborate as they create solutions to challenges of living and working in space; Student Signatures in Space, which will send digitized student signatures on a space shuttle mission; and Cyber Space Day, a Webcast devoted to science, space, and math. The official Space Day Web site ( www.spaceday.com ) provides a wealth of information for teachers, students, and parents.

Iowa Lawyer Wins Sporty's Skyhawk

When Hal Shevers of Sporty's Pilot Shop called up the Iowa attorney general's office to give away an airplane, he was met with some skepticism. The winner of the $180,000 Skyhawk 172SP, John Baty - who serves as an assistant attorney general - was on vacation at the time. Shevers was able to prove that it was a legitimate deal after he directed one of Baty's colleagues to the Sporty's Web site where he could view Shevers and the company staff waving via an Internet camera. Baty's office was able to contact him in England to tell him the good news. He currently owns a Beechcraft F33A Bonanza. In the past 16 years, Sporty's has awarded 19 airplanes. The 2003 sweepstakes airplane also will be a Skyhawk SP.

NASA To Test Wing-Warping Fighter

Engineers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center are getting ready to show that, in a very Wright brothers sort of way, twisting or warping flexible wings can enhance aircraft performance.

The team has conducted ground tests of the Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) on a modified F/A-18A. At press time, the team was readying the aircraft for its first test flights. The program intends to investigate the use of lighter-weight flexible wings for improved maneuverability of high-performance military aircraft.

"The project reflects both a return to aviation's beginnings, when the Wright brothers devised a primitive wing-warping method to control the Wright Flyer, and a gateway to the future - a future where aircraft will sense their environment, morph, and adapt their shape to the existing flight conditions," said Denis Bessette, Dryden's AAW project manager. "These future aircraft will take advantage of years of evolutionary lessons exhibited in birdlike flight."

The test aircraft has been modified with additional actuators, a split leading-edge flap, and thinner wing skins that will allow the outer wing panels to twist up to 5 degrees. Engineers hope to see similar roll performance with smaller control surface deflection when compared to production F-18s. AAW research could also enable thinner, higher-aspect-ratio wings on future military and commercial aircraft, which could result in reduced aerodynamic drag, allowing greater range or payload. The program is a joint project sponsored by NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and Boeing.

Vickers Vimy Sets Sights On Atlantic Crossing

The Vickers Vimy replica team is planning to launch next year on its most historically significant journey, a transatlantic flight. To honor the first 100 years of flight, the team plans to re-create the 1919 flight on which John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown flew from Newfoundland to Ireland in 16 hours and 12 minutes under extreme conditions. The feat was one of the flights credited with showing the world that airplanes could be used as more than tools of war. The twin-engine biplane is named after the World War I battle. Previously, the team recreated the London to Australia flight of 1919 (in 1994) and the London to Cape Town flight of 1920 (in 1999).

School News

ERAU Showcases New Aviation Facility

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University showed off the new aviation building on its Daytona Beach, Florida, campus with an open house in September. The three-story, 75,000-square-foot building includes computer and flight tutoring labs, an air traffic control simulation facility, and air traffic management research capabilities.

UND Students Win Scholarships

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has selected five students from the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences to receive $1,000 and $5,000 aviation scholarships.

NBAA chose Prashant Franklin to receive a $1,000 Professional Development Program scholarship from the United States Aircraft Insurance Group. Gregory Peterson was awarded a $5,000 Lawrence Ginocchio Aviation Scholarship. And Tina Conover, Justin Fryklund, and Jered Lease each will receive $1,000 Indiana Business Aviation Association/Professional Development Program scholarships.

Boeing To Acquire Interest In Training School

The Boeing Company has signed an agreement to acquire FlightSafety International's interest in FlightSafety Boeing Training International (FSBTI), the companies' joint venture for aviation training. At press time, the companies did not disclose financial terms, and the transaction is subject to U.S. and German government regulatory approvals. FSBTI was formed in 1997 to offer training to flight and maintenance crews of aircraft having 100 seats or more. Today, it has 800 employees in 21 locations worldwide. Boeing plans to call the new subsidiary Boeing Training International. Its headquarters will remain in Seattle.

Aerobatic School Opens In New Hampshire

Looking for aerobatic and upset/spin training? A new school has opened at the Nashua Municipal Airport in Nashua, New Hampshire. Aerial Advantage Aviation offers all facets of training from tailwheel to advanced aerobatics in its late-model Pitts Special S-2C and Super Decathlon aircraft. For more information, call 603/598-3180.