The dawn of human-powered flight
You might think you need Lance Armstrong's quads to attempt human-powered flight, but a group in Canada says you really don't need to be a seven-time Tour de France winner to leave the ground.
The project is the brainchild of a retired research scientist with an appropriate last name, Richard Synergy, of Toronto, Canada. He set a Guinness World Record in 2001 for flying a kite on a single string to an altitude of 14,509 feet. Two years later, Synergy decided to bring humans into the equation, mentally and physically.
Along with five university students, Synergy used kites to test wing designs. That paved the way for the Flycycle, a 70-pound pedal-driven airplane now under final assembly. It has a wingspan of 42 feet and is stressed for 6 Gs for operating in thermal and ridge lift. It can be flown by people of "average physical stamina" weighing 190 pounds or less. It is estimated to cruise at 22 mph and have a never-exceed speed of 41 mph.
The Flycycle is basically a flying wing with a carbon-reinforced-plastic airframe in which the pilot sits inside the wing in a semi-recumbent position. It has no external control surfaces. It will climb and dive by the pilot shifting his weight and using wing warping for turning. A 9-foot propeller will provide the thrust. There is also a tiny electric motor and a battery that provides seven minutes of emergency power.
After successful flight testing of the first Flycycle, more models are planned, followed by a demonstration tour.
For more information, visit the Web site.
Dept. of R&D
Getting around wires
Researchers Zhaoxia Xie and Henry F. Taylor of Texas A&M University have developed a new fiber optical device that senses a pilot's press of the button. A system based on a single fiber could detect presses from hundreds of buttons simultaneously. What are the advantages for aircraft? The device would be lightweight and take up little room. It would be immune to lightning and electromagnetic interference. Best of all, it wouldn't cause fires. Lockheed Martin has been among the supporters of the research. Look for the future application on military and commercial aircraft.
A rule of thumb
To estimate your glide ratio, take your groundspeed and divide it by your vertical descent (after you drop the zeros). Example: 65 knots divided by 5 (500 fpm) equals 13. Your glide ratio is 13-to-1.
Skywritings
Since his youth, Alan Armstrong has been fascinated by the American Volunteer Group — better known as the Flying Tigers — that operated from China early in World War II. Now an aviation attorney and active general aviation pilot in Atlanta, Armstrong believes that the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor could have been prevented. Nearly five months earlier, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt endorsed a plan calling for the United States to provide China with 150 manned bombers and 350 fighter planes that would combat Japan's growing presence in China-but it was never carried out. Armstrong explores this and the circumstances surrounding the formation of the American Volunteer Group in his book Preemptive Strike, published by Lyons Press. Armstrong co-owns a Japanese Kate World War II torpedo bomber replica that he flies in airshows and for the film industry. The book retails for $22.95. For more information, see the Web site.
Violet the Pilot flies a de Havilland Twin Otter to the north in her latest adventure, Violet the Pilot in the Arctic. Children's book author and commercial pilot Bettina Jenkins Bathe created the character who flies general aviation aircraft in exciting locales. Previously, Violet flew seaplanes in Canada, helicopters in Hawaii, and hot air balloons in France. In the Arctic adventure, she's accompanied by her "motley crew" of animal friends: Sirocco the beaver, Stealth the lady bug, Shadow the butterfly, Margo the escargot, and Kohola the humpback whale.
While tapping into children's innate desires for flight, Violet communicates real pilot practices such as safety and reading maps. The book sells for $14. Portions of book proceeds go to charities. For more information, visit the author's Web site.
Author David West Reynolds covers how a sleepy spit of land was turned into a place of historical significance in Kennedy Space Center: Gateway to Space. With authoritative text and more than 150 images, he captures the science behind the romance and the romance behind the science. The book begins with a tour of the launch site, then continues with the space missions that captivated the world. Published by Firefly Books, the hardcover book sells for $40.
AOPA's Airport Directory
Updated and coming soon to your flight bag
Need to preview airport destination information? Look for AOPA's Airport Directory 2007-2008 edition. It comes fresh off the press into your mailbox in early February 2007 — before the flying season warms up in the spring. This valuable companion to AOPA's Airport Directory Online, which is updated around the clock with downloadable instrument approach charts and a kneeboard printout of airport information, will be delivered to AOPA members who requested the printed edition of the directory.
Cessna's LSA makes maiden flight
Cessna Aircraft Co. firmly marked its foray into the world of light sport aircraft with the maiden flight of its proof-of-concept airplane on October 13 in Wichita. The airplane is powered by a 100-horsepower Rotax engine and primarily constructed of aluminum. Cessna plans to evaluate the market and make a decision in the first quarter of 2007 on whether to go into production.
What's in the December issue of AOPA Flight Training?
- Why Did You Pick That School? Aspiring aviation professionals talk about their alma maters. Also, our annual College Directory of aviation schools.
- Tips for Topnotch Touchdowns. It's all in the timing.
- The Road Not Taken. Flying can be rewarding even if you didn't make it your career.
The December issue mailed on October 25. Current AOPA members can add a subscription to AOPA Flight Training for $18 per year. For more information, call 800/872-2672.
Missing Art
Over the past 49 years as this publication has grown to be the largest, most influential aviation magazine in the world, many staff members have come and gone. But only a very few have had a lasting impact on the successes AOPA Pilot enjoys. One of the most influential was Art Davis, who for 21 years drove the design of this magazine. His progressive guidance transformed the magazine from an amateurish clubby magazine into the professional award-winning journal you hold today. Art, always inquisitive about technology, led us into the computer age. A first-generation Macintosh computer drew the curious among us into his cluttered office to ohh and ahh over the marvels of typesetting a headline with just a few keystrokes. Art's technical prowess kept us on the leading edge — not bleeding edge — of publishing technology, helping to manage costs and bring forth innovative new design features. Before joining AOPA in 1979, he was art director for a number of well-known magazines, such as Air Progress, Car and Driver, and Flying. When he retired from AOPA in 2000, he held the title Creative Director. Art died on October 8 at home surrounded by his friends and family, including Lucille, his wife of 26 years. Although all of us here will miss him, his design and photography brilliance will shine on for many years to come in future issues of this magazine, which he loved dearly. — Thomas B. Haines
Dream gifts
Online Survey
Respondents to our online survey about dream holiday gifts pretty much covered the entire general aviation inventory, wanting flying machines from manufacturers A to Z. Not surprisingly, seaplanes made up a disproportionate number of the responses. There's something alluring about those floats. Amphibians were represented, too. One member said he'd like to travel to every state in a Grumman Goose. Although many were specific about the aircraft manufacturer, all the way down to the paint and avionics, one member simply wanted a four-place diesel-powered aircraft from any company. OK, so that does narrow it down a bit.
There were plenty of members longing for the past: North American P-51 Mustangs and Piper J-3 Cubs. One member said he wanted "a collection of classic tube-and-fabric airplanes from the 1920s through the early '60s, all in mint condition." Another member could see the perfect gift unwrapping itself over a one-week period: "Warbird school. Flying twice per day. Stearman the first two days; T-6 the next two days; fighters the next two days; and a bomber the last day. Days to include hotel, light meals, workouts, and daily massages. Evenings would be drinks and airplane talk."
Others preferred something more permanent: "A home with a private airstrip and hangar, far enough away from neighbors to avoid noise-related issues, but close enough to a moderate-size city to easily drive into town for needs and wants, and maybe scheduled commercial airline or at least commuter service." Or "a big, fat heated hangar with living quarters in Idaho." Some had dreams that would affect the masses: "That all two aviation insurance underwriters would arrive at new calculations for hull and liability insurance, resulting in a 75-percent drop in insurance rates."
And finally, there is one wish we can grant: the AOPA sweepstakes Piper Cherokee Six. Expect to see Santa delivering it to you around February.
And now Piper has a jet
Airline pilots used to talk about descending below 10,000 feet into "Indian country," meaning the airspace occupied by the Piper Cherokees, Apaches, Aztecs, Comanches, Senecas, Seminoles, and Saratogas. Now airline pilots won't have to descend so far to meet a Piper aircraft, although the Indian name is gone. Piper Aircraft literally dropped the curtain on its entrant into the very-light-jet race at the National Business Aviation Association convention in Orlando in mid-October with the single-engine all-metal PiperJet. (The press release calls it a PiperJet while the name "Piper Jet" was painted on the mock-up, so the name is still a work in progress.) The jet won't fly for 18 months, but engineers are claiming a cruise speed of 360 knots, a range of 1,300 nautical miles, an 800-pound full-fuel payload, and a maximum operating altitude of 35,000 feet. It will seat six with an option for either a seventh seat or a lavatory. The jet is priced at $2.2 million (in 2006 dollars with a consumer-price index escalator). If all goes well, the first deliveries are expected in 2010. — Alton K. Marsh
When you absolutely have to
With a max cruise speed of Mach 0.92, the Cessna Citation X is the fastest civilian airplane in the world. But if that's not fast enough for you, stand by.
A supersonic cruiser will be certified by 2012 if the executives at Aerion Corp. have their way. At the NBAA convention in mid-October, the execs updated the media on the status of the three-year-old initiative. The plan is for Aerion to develop the airplane and business concepts and then partner with one or more major aerospace companies and/or government agencies to actually build the airplane. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney engines, the Aerion supersonic business jet uses patented supersonic natural laminar-flow technology to reduce drag to the point where it will cruise at up to Mach 1.6 for up to about 4,000 nm. It is believed that it can cruise at up to Mach 1.2 without a sonic boom reaching the surface, making it rather neighbor friendly. The FAA currently restricts supersonic flight over land.
A trip from New York to Paris takes about 4 hours, 15 minutes; regular folks in subsonic coach need about 7.5 hours to make the same trip. You won't eat just peanuts either. Chances are the Aerion food will be fast, but it won't be fast food. Watch this space for future updates on the Aerion project. — TBH
For more news from the National Business Aviation Association show, visit the Web site.
AOPA ePilot Headlines
Recent news from AOPA's weekly e-mail newsletter
Worth more dead than alive
The Air Force has scrapped more than 100 T3A Slingsby Firefly trainers that were used to screen pilot candidates from 1994 to 1997. It was too expensive for the military to refurbish them.
Eclipse now fully certified
Eclipse Aviation has received full type certification for the Eclipse 500 jet. The airplane is now certified for single-pilot and day/night VFR and IFR operations.
Cirrus goes turbine
Cirrus Design is entering the jet world. The company has sent out 1,500 "gray boxes" to potential customers, outlining hints of the jet and asking for $100,000 deposits.
Adam A500 gets IFR nod
Adam Aircraft has announced that its A500 centerline thrust twin-engine aircraft received an amended type certificate from the FAA, approving it for day and night flights in VFR or IFR conditions.
Quest readies for certification
The FAA has issued Quest Aircraft Co. a type inspection authorization for the Quest Kodiak single-engine utility turboprop. The TIA certificate allows the company and the FAA to conduct final inspections for conformity.
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.
Johnny Miller, the oldest active pilot in the United States, did something in September he'd never done. He took a glider flight. And, fittingly, he did it at New York's Wurtsboro-Sullivan County Airport, the country's oldest (operating since 1926) continually operating glider port. Miller flew with flight instructor William Jaeger in a Grob 103. Interestingly enough, both men are retired Eastern Airlines captains. Miller also flew for United Air Lines and was the founding director of the American Bonanza Society. Miller liked his first soaring flight so much that he took another. Miller had towed gliders years ago, but had never flown one, Jaeger said. Miller turns 101 this month. (See " Pilots: Johnny Miller," December 2003 Pilot.)
