Aerobatic air racing captivates millions
Imagine seeing an Extra 300 flying beneath a bridge at 250 mph with only what looks like a wingspan separating it from blue sky and eternity. Gasp. Cringe. Shriek. Welcome to the wild world of aerobatic racing.
The Red Bull Air Race World Series was dreamed up by Hungarian aerobatic ace Peter Besenyei to challenge pilots as well as entertain the public by mounting high-G competitions in places where you normally wouldn't see airplanes. Besenyei was afraid audience interest in the sport was waning. "Something new had to be created...something exciting, really exciting," he said of the sport that began in 2003 in Austria and Hungary. "And besides, I was no longer happy with the way aerobatics were judged. We pilots are all too dependent on the personal tastes of the judges, who of course can't be absolutely objective. I wanted a more objective way of scoring our efforts."
What could be more objective than a clock? The elaborate timing system uses local position measurement (LPM) wave reflection technology, which allows the airplanes to be tracked 1,000 times a second in a defined area. Each airplane carries a transponder that allows for a continuous stream of data such as G-forces, speed, and the pilot's heart rate.
But to make it all work, the course had to be defined first. An Innsbruck, Austria, company called Bellutti Protection Systems along with Martin Jehart and his team developed the "air gates," 62-foot-high conical shapes made of spinnaker material. Because of the shape and the fact that they are continuously pumped with air, the air gates can withstand winds of up to 34 mph without blowing over. The gate crew is developing one in the form of an arch for contestants to fly under. The system allows course designers to be endlessly creative. They can place the gates on bridges, skyscrapers, cliffs, mountains, glaciers, rivers, waterfalls, oil rigs, and dams.
The gates are set up in a certain order and the aerobatic maneuvers are predetermined. Only a handful of the best aerobatic pilots in the world are invited to compete. Pilots fly through the gates sometimes straight and level and sometimes at knife edge as the clock ticks away. The winner is the pilot who manages the best time with the least penalty.
What happens if you hit a gate? American aerobatic champion Kirby Chambliss ripped right through one with the tail of his Edge 540 while competing in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The only thing damaged was his score.
The event made its U.S. debut last year at the Reno National Championship Air Races. It's scheduled to return to America on October 8 for Fleet Week in San Francisco, where the 2005 overall champion will be crowned.
Time to simultaneously inflate all air gates: 4 minutes
Time to change an air gate when destroyed during a race: 5 minutes
Amount of transportable equipment required for a race: 100 tons
Orville Wright's final flight
Much has been made about the Wright brothers' first powered flights and their contributions to aviation, but little has been said about Orville Wright's last flight.
For the latter part of his life Wright mostly watched from the sidelines as aviation developed from its humble beginnings. In April 1944 the Army Air Force received the first of a number of Lockheed C-69 Constellations. One arrived at Wright Field in Dayton to undergo further flight-testing before it was put into military service. The military invited local officials and the press to take a ride on the airplane, according to a 1968 edition of Skylights newsletter. Not too many people would have been surprised if the 72-year-old Wright had rejected the offer, but something about the Connie must have intrigued him enough to come out into the open.
Once in the air, Wright reluctantly took the controls from the copilot's seat and saw how well behaved the giant airplane was. Back on the ground Wright was asked by a reporter what he thought about the airplane. "I enjoyed every minute, but I let the machine take care of itself. I always said airplanes would fly themselves if you left them alone," Wright said.
The event marked the first time Wright had piloted an airplane in 25 years and also the last time. He died of a heart attack in January 1948.
AOPA Online Survey
How many hours did it take you to solo?
The Cessna 150, 152, and 172 were the airplanes of choice for first solos, according to AOPA members who answered our new online survey. Most of the respondents to our unscientific survey were new pilots who soloed sometime between 2000 and 2005. What were the greatest challenges they faced?
Crosswinds were a biggie. So was a lack of time and money. One respondent simply said, "Duh! Landing." Another said, "Avoiding getting a bucket of water dumped on me after I landed; that was the custom of our flying club." And "talking on the radio with the world's biggest grin on my face" was a challenge for yet another. Join in the fun and look for our latest survey on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/members/). And look for the results in a future issue of AOPA Pilot.
Creativity can save airports
Airport issues are nothing new to AOPA and its members. But creative ideas to save airports and ensure their future vitality are certainly a breath of fresh air.
A creative idea is just what AOPA member Ray Condgdon has. When Condgdon heard that one of his favorite private airports in southwest Utah, Beryl Junction Airport, was on the chopping block, he developed a unique strategy to buy the airport. Not being able to afford the hefty price tag, he devised a plan involving an essay contest and a neighboring piece of land.
For an entry fee of $100, contestants are invited to submit a 100-word essay starting with the word flying. Local college students will be judging the entries and the winner will get 2.5 acres in beautiful southern Utah. Condgdon is hoping to receive enough entries to purchase the airport and eventually pave it and operate it as a public-use facility.
In the end, everyone wins. If he doesn't receive enough entries, Condgdon is still going to give the land to the winner, as well as donate the entry fees to the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. Visit the Web site ( http://ut82.aspirantarmoury.com) for all the details. — Ian Twombly
A rule of thumb
Crossing the threshold 50 feet too high increases the landing distance 25 percent.
Source: The Axioms of Flight
Flying West
Pilot called 'Irish Moses' dies
Robert F. Maguire Jr., who was dubbed the "Irish Moses" by Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, died on June 10 at the age of 94.
The World War II veteran was a pilot for Alaska Airlines in 1948 when his company was contracted to fly Jewish refugees from Yemen, where they had been oppressed for centuries, to Tel Aviv in the newborn state of Israel. This became possible when the imam of Yemen agreed to allow the entire Jewish population to leave.
When Alaska Airlines pulled out of the operation, Maguire kept it going by creating Near East Air Transport using purchased and leased airplanes. He said he was motivated more by adventure than money and never forgot the gratitude of the Yemenite Jews. "They would sing and offer blessings as they flew into Israel. It was so touching. I was blessed that God had given me the opportunity to be there."
Maguire was chief pilot of this heroic, dangerous, and secret mission that became known as Operation Magic Carpet. He helped to carry more than 40,000 refugees during more than 400 flights — each round trip was 3,000 miles long — through hostile airspace during Israel's War of Independence. Although the flights were made at low levels to avoid detection and were frequently fired upon by Arab military forces at war with Israel, no aircraft was lost, and no one was injured.
Following Operation Magic Carpet, Maguire transported thousands of Iraqi and Iranian Jews to Israel through Operation Ali Baba.
Maguire was raised in Portland, Oregon, as an Episcopalian and was of Irish and British descent. He learned to fly at 17 and enlisted in the Army Air Force on December 8, 1941. (His father was a judge in the Nuremberg war-crimes trials following WWII.)
A memorial service for Maguire was held at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. The eulogy was presented by Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. "It wasn't his conflict," Hier said, "yet he risked his life every day."
A Douglas C-54 (DC-4) representing those used by Maguire during Operation Magic Carpet was flown to Santa Monica from New Jersey in Maguire's honor. — Barry Schiff
Members in the news
Michael McMillan, AOPA 1002441, president of Meggitt/S-Tec, has been appointed to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) board of directors. As a board member, McMillan will help set GAMA's overall policy direction, including analyzing legislative, regulatory, and technical issues facing general aviation.
Jack L. King, AOPA 010119, has received a Maryland Aviation Pioneer Award for his contributions to aviation over a career spanning more than 50 years. King started out by working on the assembly line at the Glenn L. Martin Company. He later became a test pilot, inventor, corporate pilot, and author. In 1967 King helped launch Professional Pilot magazine and co-authored a dozen books.
Farewell, Franklin, Younkin
I started flying with my father as an 8-year-old boy. I've seen my share of airshows. The Blues (Blue Angels, that is), the 'birds (Thunder and Snow), Leo, Hoover, Wagstaff, even Art Scholl. They've all passed in review for this wing nut's pleasure.
None of them, not even Bob Hoover with his displays of superhuman mastery of the airplane, had ever moved me until I sat transfixed by the incredible alchemy of superb piloting, ruthless aircraft modification, pulse-quickening music, and unlimited imagination that was the airshow act called "X-Team: Masters of Disaster."
All my life I had wondered if anyone else in this world took as much joy from seeing complex machinery perform flawlessly as I do. Watching the men and machines of the X-Team go through their paces put that curiosity to rest once and for all. Their show was the guilt-free indulgence of every fantasy this airport-kid-become airline pilot had ever had, and introduced me to a few of their own that I couldn't have dreamed in a million years.
Before someone comes out with "reasons" why Jimmy Franklin's Waco and Bobby Younkin's Sampson collided in front of a horrified crowd in Canada in July, I just want to say something myself: I don't care to hear it. What Franklin, Younkin, Jim LeRoy, and the X-Team gave us was far beyond an airshow. It was a tour de force of the human imagination. At a time when computer animation and virtual reality make "real life" seem as bland as oatmeal, they proved several times a week for three years that all we really have to do to transcend mediocrity and boredom in our lives is let our passions fly free every once in awhile. I'll never forget it, or them. Tailwinds, Masters. — Nathan Gerard Carriker
Carriker, AOPA 904029, of Springfield, Missouri, is a first officer for American Airlines.
Skywritings
Wings of Change is for those who know nothing about aviation or who think they know everything about aviation. Simply put, there's something here for everybody. The book is the fourth volume in the five-volume Aviation Century series that begins in the late 1930s, illustrating how the aviation industry came of age. Wings of Change continues the story, covering the transition from military to passenger airlines and the rise of private aircraft travel that ultimately led to a shrinkage of the Earth, at least in terms of public perception. What is unique about this book is how well it pulls together all the elements in an interesting way, highlighting not only the aircraft but also the people who made them fly. It goes from Fred Smith, the man behind FedEx, to Ralph Charles, who was known up until his death in 2003 as the oldest active pilot in the United States. And the authors, Ron Dick and Dan Patterson, tell stories about people who deserve more notoriety such as Jacqueline Auriol, the first woman test pilot and the wife of the president of France. Divided into five chapters, the 288-page hardcover book moves from airline travel, to private aviation, to lighter-than-air aircraft, to rotorcraft, and finally to cutting-edge aircraft. It features some 400 photos. Published by The Boston Mills Press, the book sells for $39.95 and is available in bookstores beginning this month.
While most pilots are usually satisfied with a safe landing, there always have been those for whom flying becomes art. In the book Artful Flying, frequent AOPA Pilot contributor Michael Maya Charles identifies a path via which any pilot can seek to transform his flying skills from pedestrian to truly skyworthy, and gain greater insight in the process. By drawing upon Eastern philosophy, Charles introduces pilots to a way of approaching flight with a "beginner's mind." Not only does this practice increase a pilot's enjoyment of flying, argues Charles, but also it makes that pilot safer by increasing situational awareness and mental flexibility in times of crisis. The book is layered with many examples that feature beginning students to experienced aviators, flying gliders to rotorcraft and sport airplanes to heavy jets. Published by Artful Publishing ( http://artfulpublishing.com), the hardcover book sells for $34.95.
Imagine flying an airplane solo around the world. Now imagine that the airplane is the iconic Beech Starship. And then imagine you're launching on this two-year adventure with less than 400 hours and a certificate only three years old. Dallas Kachan had the good fortune and confidence to embark on such a journey in November 2000, and he recounts his experience in The Starship Diaries. The book hits two very timely notes: Kachan was in Japan during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with more than half the world still to cross; and the Starship has been retired from the fleet as of last year. Kachan's journal from the trip, recounting stories that range from running out of fuel over the South Pacific to being shot at over Africa, is an entertaining read — and captures what it was like to fly the legendary Starship for the historical record. The Starship Diaries is available online ( www.starshipdiaries.com) for $24 plus shipping.
What's in the September issue of AOPA Flight Training
- Knocking Off Rust. Been out of the cockpit for a while? Here's a simple plan to get back in the game.
- Checklist Checkup. One piece of safety equipment that you can customize.
- The Student Experience. It's checkride day. Mark Wilkinson must prevail over nerves, last-minute cramming, and anticipation.
The September issue mailed August 3. Current AOPA members can add a subscription to AOPA Flight Training for $18 per year. For more information, call 800/872-2672.
AOPA ePilot Headlines
Recent news from AOPA's weekly e-mail newsletter
New bush plane from American Champion
American Champion Aircraft's new airplane, the High Country Explorer, is the first airframe to be certified with the new 180-horsepower Superior Air Parts' Vantage engine.
Commander sale final
The Commander Premier Aircraft Corp. announced that it has finalized the purchase of Commander Aircraft Corp.
An American light sport airplane
Fans of the Piper Cherokee line will recognize a few things when they first see the IndUS Aviation T211 Thorpedo, an $85,000 aircraft that became the first U.S.-built Light Sport Aircraft category aircraft to receive an FAA special airworthiness certificate (see " Sport Planes Are Here!" page 74).
New contract for New Piper
After licking its wounds from last year's hurricane damage, The New Piper Aircraft avoided a labor strike with the signing of a worker's union contract.
Vickers Vimy lands in Ireland
Steve Fossett and copilot-navigator Mark Rebholz on July 3 completed their quest to re-create a historic transatlantic flight in the Vickers Vimy biplane replica.
Curtis Pitts dies at 89
Curtis Pitts was still involved in the design of his new Model 14 before he died in Miami on June 10 of complications resulting from a heart valve replacement. Pitts was behind the famous Pitts biplane.
Now you can receive a customized version of the free AOPA ePilot e-mail newsletter tailored to your interests. To customize your weekly newsletter, see AOPA Online ( https://www.aopa.org/apps/epilot/).
Related Articles
