Training Notes And News

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), in which an aircraft transmits its GPS-derived position to air traffic controllers and to other aircraft so equipped - is credited with saving an Alaskan pilot. While the pilot was recuperating from injuries suffered in a crash, he thanked the Capstone equipment aboard his aircraft for his rescue.

AOPA has been an active partner with the FAA in Capstone, a demonstration in Alaska of multiple new technologies that can benefit GA. When pilot Erick Gutierrez did not return to Bethel on October 27, 2002, a search was initiated. The downed aircraft's emergency locator transmitter failed to activate, but air traffic controllers were able to look at the aircraft's ADS-B ground track and vector a National Guard helicopter crew that picked up Gutierrez barely two-and-one-half hours after he was reported missing.

"The more we see of Capstone's capabilities, the more we support the technology's widespread deployment," said Randy Kenagy, AOPA director of advanced technology. "Improved search and rescue capabilities are just one of the advantages this datalink offers to general aviation pilots. Traffic information and near-real-time weather graphics will also help improve safety."

Cessna Bans Use Of Ethanol-Based Aviation Fuels

Citing test results that found extreme corrosion, deterioration of rubber fuel bladders, electric fuel pump damage, and clogged fuel filters, Cessna announced that current ethanol-based fuels are not approved for use in its airplanes. A recently issued service letter highlights the results of a comprehensive Cessna evaluation and states that "...operational safety may be compromised by the use of ethanol fuels."

Ethanol is under study as one of several alternatives to 100LL avgas, which is in danger of being phased out because of a shrinking global market for leaded fuel caused by growing environmental concerns. AOPA is continuing its search for alternative fuel solutions.

Andrew Werking, AOPA associate director for regulatory and certification policy, is participating as a full member of both the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) and the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) groups tasked with identifying and writing standards for a safe, environmentally friendly, economical, and technically viable alternative to 100LL.

Cirrus parachute scores a save

With a pull, a pop, and a sense of relief, a 53-year-old architect unwittingly made aviation history on October 3, 2002, near Dallas, Texas, when the rocket-launched parachute in his Cirrus SR22 may have saved his life. It marked the first time that a certified aircraft has landed using an airframe parachute.

Lionel Morrison was on a return-to-service flight when he experienced a serious control problem. Morrison said that when the airplane was in the shop, the left aileron was removed and put back on. Later, while he was in the air, he noticed that it was hanging on by a hinge. Morrison said it took both hands on the side-stick flight control to keep the airplane level. He launched the chute, and the airplane landed in cedar and mesquite trees in northern Texas as golfers at a nearby golf course looked on in amazement. "I've never had any desire to go skydiving," he joked. Morrison, the sole occupant, was uninjured in the incident.

The parachute system, made by Ballistic Recovery Systems, has been used to save the lives of many ultralight pilots, and was recently certified as an aftermarket option for Cessna 172s. It is also available for Cessna 150/152 aircraft. The system is designed to be used as a last resort.

Yeager Retires After Amazing Flying Career

Now Chuck Yeager is one of us, a pilot of small, nonmilitary airplanes. But for most of his career, the conqueror of the sound barrier has flown the best and the worst of all the military planes available in this country and elsewhere. In late October, Yeager easily sliced through the sound barrier in a military jet one last time in his role as a dollar-a-year consultant to Edwards Air Force Base before announcing his retirement, the Los Angeles Times reported. From now on, the 79-year-old legend will devote more time to hunting and fishing, he joked. Based on his most recently announced hunting plans, the elk in Oregon had better watch out.

Comm1 Awards Aviation Training Scholarships

Two pilots aspiring to professional aviation careers each received $1,000 scholarships from Comm1. Winners Rosely Netrefa, 32, of Hawthorne, California, and Tina Conover, 21, of Castle Rock, Michigan, were among more than 80 applicants for the scholarships. Netrefa, a flight attendant and student at Long Beach City College who hopes to become a professional pilot, said the scholarship money will help her to complete her CFII and MEI ratings and transfer to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to complete her aviation degree. Conover, who will use the money to help finance a dual degree program at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, hopes to work both as a professional pilot and an air traffic controller. Comm1's Aviation Scholarship Program is at the core of an ongoing series of efforts by the developers of Comm1 Radio Simulators to raise awareness about the importance of pilot communications proficiency at all levels of flight training and improve aviation safety.

Diamond DA20-C1 Gets Higher Load Limit

The FAA has approved a gross weight increase, to 1,764 pounds, for Diamond Aircraft's two-seat DA20-C1. This increases the useful load for Diamond's Continental-powered Katana - popular as a training aircraft - to about 600 pounds, depending on configuration. The new gross weight is applicable to all U.S.-registered DA20-C1s and does not affect the Utility category certification. For more information, visit the Web site ( www.diamondair.com ).

ICAS Scholarship Recipient Chooses Aerobatic Training

The International Council of Air Shows Foundation awarded its first French Connection Memorial Scholarship to Dave Kaiser, owner-operator of Patriot Aviation in Danville, Kentucky. The scholarship, established to commemorate the lives of airshow team and aerobatic instructors Daniel Heligoin and Montaine Mallet, provides financial aid to one male and one female flight instructor per year specifically for aerobatic training. Kaiser, a naval aviator who logged 200 landings aboard the USS Ranger while piloting a Lockheed S-3 during the Gulf War, opened Patriot Aviation in June 2001. In his scholarship application, Kaiser noted that he wanted to fill a void in flight training by becoming an aerobatic instructor. He will use the scholarship to bring Master Aerobatic Instructor Rich Stowell to Stuart Powell Field in Danville to provide one-on-one instruction in emergency maneuver and aerobatic training techniques. For more information on the annual French Connection Scholarship, visit the ICAS Foundation Web site ( www.icasfoundation.org ).

Tiger Makes Record Leap To 41,000 Feet

Bruce Bohannan has done it. The time-to-climb record that had eluded him earlier this year is his, unofficially. His piston-engine airplane, the Exxon Flyin' Tiger, has set a world record - actually four world records - by reaching 41,300 feet in 32 minutes and 2 seconds. (Don't try to climb that high in your training airplane.) He also set records in the C-1b aircraft class for sustained horizontal flight at that altitude and for absolute altitude. The record flight took place October 22, 2002, at Desert Resorts Regional Airport near Palm Springs, California, site of AOPA Expo 2002.

Fractional Ownership Continues To Grow

Fractional aircraft ownership company Executive Jet Management Inc. added eight business jets to its charter fleet in the third quarter of 2002. Aspiring professional aviators will be glad to know that more airplanes mean more jobs; fractional operators accounted for 20 percent of all professional pilot hiring during the first eight months of 2002. Executive Jet now manages more than 100 aircraft in nearly 50 locations across the country to meet the growing demand for charter and support the NetJets Fractional Aircraft Ownership Program.

Airport delays and business travelers' desire for increased security are fueling the continued growth of Executive Jet Management and others serving the fractional market, where buyers purchase only a share - say, one-fourth or even one-eighth of an aircraft - making ownership feasible for people who could not justify purchasing an entire aircraft.

Embry-Riddle Gets First Aircraft For Air Force Contract

T he initial delivery of six Diamond DA20-C1 Falcon aircraft to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for use at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, took place at the Diamond Aircraft factory in London, Ontario, in early November.

Utilizing 35 of the DA20-C1 Falcons, Embry-Riddle will train as many as 500 Air Force cadets annually. The Falcon, named in honor of the Air Force Academy mascot, is a custom version of Diamond's standard two-seater aircraft.

Los Angeles Firm To Sell Zero-G Flights

Ever think you might like to be an astronaut? A new company with headquarters in Los Angeles can sell you a taste of weightlessness. Zero Gravity Corporation will begin offering such flights in the United States in early 2003. Using a Boeing 727 cargo aircraft, the firm will fly space adventurers during the day and return the aircraft to a contract cargo carrier during the night.

The company is betting on corporate clients like Hollywood movie producers to provide the profits, but it will sell flights to individuals as well. A ticket to ride will cost between $3,500 and $5,000.

Weightlessness is achieved by pulling the aircraft up 45 degrees, then nosing over to duplicate zero-G conditions for 30 seconds - and doing it again and again - for up to 30 passengers. For information, see the company's Web site ( www.zerogcorp.com ).

News From Aopa Expo 2002

Jeppesen, Garmin Link Up For Nav Data

Pilots have been asking why GPS nav data updates can't be inexpensive and easy, and now there's a better answer. At AOPA Expo 2002 in Palm Springs, California, Jeppesen announced the creation of a link on its Web site that allows owners of Garmin handheld GPS units to update navigation databases online for $35. Traditionally, these units are updated via floppy disks at a cost ranging from $90 to $130, so the changes reflect a large savings for the average customer and an argument to fly with more current data in these handheld devices, which are used for VFR flight and are not required to adhere to the same update schedules that IFR-approved panel-mount devices are. For more information, visit Jeppesen's Web site ( www.jeppesen.com ). -Julie K. Boatman

Eclipse Aviation, UND Team Up

Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation, announced a four-part flight-training program with the University of North Dakota for buyers of the Eclipse 500 jet. It includes a home-study Jet Transition Precourse, a Type Training Admission Evaluation and Preparation course, the Type Rating Course, and a Mentor program. If the evaluation phase indicates that an Eclipse pilot requires further training before advancing to the type-rating phase, this training will be provided by UND Aerospace Foundation. Training prerequisites for entering the Eclipse 500 program are at least a private pilot certificate with multiengine and instrument ratings.

New Piper Announces Accelerated Training Program

New Piper announced that its Ace Pilot Program will drastically accelerate the pace at which new or low-time Piper airplane buyers can advance to the Malibu Meridian or other high-performance aircraft. New Piper has formed an alliance with SimCom Training Centers and U.S. Flight Academy to develop and implement a "tightly structured and administered" training program. In addition to moving new buyers more quickly into Piper's high-performance airplanes, this program will increase safety and lower insurance rates, the company said.

School News

ERAU Professor Named To NTSB Post

The National Transportation Safety Board has named Frank Richey to the new position of president and academic dean of the NTSB Academy. The academy, which is currently under construction, is expected to open in late summer 2003. Richey, a professor of applied aviation sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's campus in Daytona Beach, Florida, will have overall responsibility for academic administration, curriculum planning, course development, communications, strategic planning, and financial operations. The NTSB Academy is located in Ashburn, Virginia, on the campus of George Washington University.

Arkansas College Wins Aerospace Award

The Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) Aviation Department was awarded the Civil Air Patrol's Frank G. Brewer Memorial Aerospace Award commemorating Frank Brewer and his lifelong interest in aviation, youth, and education. NWACC's Aviation Department, nominated in the organization category, is aggressively seeking to increase public awareness of the college's degree programs. "We want the young people, and career changers, to know that we have excellent programs right here in Northwest Arkansas," said David Bowman, head of the aviation program. During the past year, NWACC Aviation has hosted an Aerospace Education Teacher Workshop and taught aviation to elementary students in the popular summer school called "Kids College."

Ohio School Buys First New Schweizer Trainer

Schweizer Aircraft recently delivered a new 300CBi helicopter to Johnston Aviation Company Inc. of Elyria, Ohio. The new, fuel-injected 300CBi is the first to be purchased by a U.S. flight training school. Rob Johnston, president of Johnston Aviation, accepted the keys to the helicopter from Paul H. Schweizer in a ceremony at the Schweizer factory. The helicopter is equipped with a procedural training IFR panel complete with a Garmin GNS 430 GPS/nav/comm. "Our chief pilot, Tony Hurst, has always spoken highly of Schweizer helicopters," Johnston said. "I am personally very impressed with the 300CBi and know that everyone who has flown it at Johnston Aviation feels it is an excellent entry-level helicopter that is enjoyable to fly." The school also operates 14 fixed-wing aircraft.