Things are cracking
Sometimes aircraft manufacturers will go to extremes to learn something. Cirrus Design became famous for dropping 3,600-pound pallets out of the back of a military transport airplane to test its airframe parachute system. Now Liberty Aerospace has intentionally manufactured composite parts that contain defects.
Liberty has requested testing to determine how long the aircraft will remain safe and flyable while encountering various composite delaminations, according to the National Institute for Aviation Research's (NIAR) newsletter. The airplane is built from a combination of composite and metal parts. It uses a steel-tube chassis that contains the landing gear and serves as a mount for the fuselage and aluminum wings. Carbon-fiber panels give it an aerodynamic and lightweight shape.
The testing is being conducted at NIAR's structural testing lab in Wichita, where the aircraft will be inspected every tenth of a lifetime for crack growth. The tests began in mid-July and will continue until the airplane has sustained 15,000 simulated flight hours. The results will help the company develop guidelines for Liberty XL2 maintenance manuals.
The full-scale testing lab provides a level of testing that not many aircraft manufacturers can afford on their own. Raytheon was the lab's original launch customer and has tested its entire product line there.
Oshkosh mystery unveiled
Three letters — PSQ — appeared in the blue skies on a Friday morning during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006. Confused? Turns out skywriter Suzanne Asbury-Oliver drew the mile-high letters. They stood for "Painless, Safer, Quieter," a tagline used by Oregon Aero to represent its products line, designed to make pilots more comfortable.
From topics such as Cessna's proof-of-concept light sport airplane to the Eclipse 500 jet certification, see our enhanced Oshkosh coverage on AOPA Online. You'll find news stories, photos, and special features from the event.
A rule of thumb
If the wind is 30 degrees off the nose, the crosswind component is half the wind speed. If the wind is 50 degrees off, the crosswind component is roughly 75 percent of the wind speed. For 70 degrees, the crosswind component is about 90 percent of the wind speed.
Source: Flight Training magazine, December 1997
Cessna's LSA and NGP
Cessna Aircraft showed off its proof-of-concept light sport aircraft (LSA) model at Oshkosh in late July. The high-wing strutted airplane, which has yet to fly, boasts an aluminum fuselage and a composite cowl, with a full-castering nosewheel. Cessna also treated observers to three flybys of what they're calling the "NGP," or Next Generation Piston airplane (inset), another proof-of-concept airplane from the company's skunkworks. The cantilevered-wing airplane resembles the Cardinal, but the planform presented to observers shows an intriguing forward sweep to the wings and sleek shaped fuselage. We'll have to wait and see whether either or both airplanes enter production. For more details, visit the AOPA Web site.
$100 hamburger discovered in Florida
Turns out there really is a $100 hamburger. Pilots may joke about the actual cost of a hamburger once you factor in the cost of flying to your favorite airport café. But the Old Homestead Steakhouse in Boca Raton, Florida, has debuted the ultimate burger, a 20-ounce masterpiece comprised of beef from three continents. The restaurant dubs it the "Beluga caviar of sandwiches," according to a report by The Associated Press. The bill comes to $124.50, including tax and an 18-percent tip. (With today's avgas prices, you can do the math on what it really costs.) The restaurant donates $10 from each sale to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Boca Raton Airport is two miles northwest of the city.
A moment in history: Fly-in movie theater
Drive-in movie theaters marked a cultural shift in American entertainment history. A lesser-known version is, believe it or not, the fly-in theater. Here's how it happened. Richard Hollingshead is credited with inventing the drive-in concept when he mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car and projected images on a screen he nailed to trees in his back yard in Camden, New Jersey. He opened his first drive-in theater in 1933, according to the Web site About.com. In 1948, Edward Brown Jr. opened a drive-in/fly-in theater in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
It had a capacity of 500 cars and 25 airplanes. A landing strip was built next to the theater, and the airplanes would land, then taxi to the last row of vehicles. When the movies were over, the airplanes would be towed back to the airstrip, according to About.com.
The Spirit of Maryland finds a home
An important piece of Maryland aviation history has found a place to land. Nathan "Bill" Morris (see " Pilots," January 1994 Pilot), who was one of the oldest private pilots in the United States and an AOPA charter member, liked to travel the world in his souped-up Cessna 182 dubbed The Spirit of Maryland. He died of kidney failure last December at the age of 98. But Morris' spirit will live on after he donated the airplane to the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum at Martin State Airport. It's the first civilian airplane to be part of a museum's fleet of military aircraft. East Coast pilots owe Morris a great deal of thanks. In World War II while serving in the Civil Air Patrol, he protected the Atlantic coastline by hunting submarines. After the war he discovered a small piece of farmland on Kent Island that would become a grass strip he called Kentmorr Airpark, a blending of his last name with the island's name. Pilots flew in from all over to eat crab cakes by the Chesapeake Bay. He also helped develop Bay Bridge Airport, a modern paved facility near his home.
Members in the News
Arlene Feldman, AOPA 435388, has been named president of the New Jersey Aviation Association. She retired from the FAA in 2005 as administrator for the eastern region, a post she held for 11 years. Feldman is both a pilot and an attorney.
Online Survey: Looking back on 9/11
It's been five years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and 88 percent of the 271 respondents to our recent online survey said that their flying had been affected as a result. One member said, "I live in the ADIZ [Air Defense Identification Zone]. Leesburg, Virginia. 'Nuff said." Although the Washington, D.C., area may have been hit with the brunt of flight restrictions, the pain is felt far and wide. "Flight planning has taken the fun out of hopping into the air on a great day with no specific destination in mind," said another. The financial impact was huge. "Caused me major stress and a stroke because of substantial loss of business. Had to sell my aerial advertising business." And many airline careers were derailed. "My class date at Continental Express was September 10, 2001. Needless to say, I was furloughed for two and a half years and now I'm happily flying Gulfstreams in the corporate world," said a Texas pilot. Pilots worry about getting busted while abiding by the rules. "Even though flying IFR, I try to take a wider path around ever increasing restricted airspace," said a respondent. Foreign pilots used to value the training opportunities in America, but now it's much more difficult. "First, as a flight instructor, I will not even consider taking on a student who is not an American citizen. There is too much paperwork and compliance issues to deal with. As a corporate pilot, the nonstandard security measures set up by FBOs are maddening," said a respondent. The restrictions have even managed to scare Canadians. "As a Canadian, reading all the horror stories about infractions, I will not fly into the U.S. anymore. Far too complicated. So much for the supposedly freest country in the world. Glad that Canada does not panic for no reason like the U.S." And here's a final scary thought: "A group of us pilots hosted a class of third-graders to sit in our airplanes, put on the headsets, and move the controls," said one member. "Each group did the same thing. They grabbed the yoke and simulated diving into the World Trade Center!"
Dept. of R&D
Researchers at Thales Avionics are developing a low-cost system that can double an airline pilot's ability to detect obstacles in fog and other poor-visibility conditions. The system uses two sensors, one that detects the short-wave infrared band and the other, the long wave. By combining the data from both cameras, it produces a more complete image than either sensor could produce on its own. The resulting image is displayed on a screen in the cockpit. Researchers say the system is useful primarily on the ground, where the infrared sensor picks up on the heat generated from aircraft. The next step is to build a complete cockpit simulator. BMW is one of the project's eight partners and is exploring a similar system for cars. It can boost a driver's vision up to 400 percent.
On the Numbers
Congratulations to Thomas Klein, AOPA 4627498, whose photograph of a Cirrus SR22 about to touch down on a dramatic mountaintop runway was selected by AOPA members as the June "Photo of the Month" in the AOPA Pilot 2006 General Aviation Photography Contest. Go online for more details and to see a larger version of the photograph. Find out how to submit your own general aviation photographs each month online. The contest ends August 31, and cash prizes totaling more than $7,700 will be awarded, including a grand prize of $1,750.
What's in the June issue of AOPA Flight Training?
- How am I doing? When you should seek another instructor's opinion on your training progress — and how to do so diplomatically.
- Avoiding airsickness. Tips to help you resolve the argument between what you see and what your body feels.
- The lowdown on flaps. The general rule is to fully extend the flaps for normal landings, but crosswind landings may be an exception.
- Home schooling. How to get the most from self-study programs.
The September issue mailed on August 2. Current AOPA members can add a subscription to AOPA Flight Training for $18 per year. For more information, call 800/872-2672.
GA market watch
There's a stalemate going on in the piston twin-engine market, according to Vref's newsletter for the second quarter of 2006. Beechcraft Barons, Cessna 310s, and Piper Aztecs are trading at 1994 prices. Pressurized twins, meanwhile, are at their 1995 levels and falling. Escalating fuel costs have been hurting the market for years, but the recent spike made a bad situation even worse. Potential buyers are aware of the conditions and are making low-ball offers. Sellers are rejecting the offers, resulting in little activity in the market, according to Vref. The exceptions are Cessna 421Cs, Piper Navajo Chieftains, and other airplanes that have been updated. Low-time airplanes have the upper hand, while high-time airplanes are sitting still. Perform your own aircraft valuations using AOPA's free members-only service on AOPA Online. Also, see Vref's Web site.
AOPA ePilot Headlines
Recent news from AOPA's weekly e-mail newsletter
A new jet in town
Diamond Aircraft formally unveiled its new personal jet, the D-Jet, on July 15 during DiamondFest 2006 in London, Ontario, Canada.
Cessna on the LAMA
As proof of the continued research by Cessna Aircraft Co. into the light-sport-aircraft market, Cessna has joined the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association based in Frederick, Maryland.
Carnauba plane found
Nearly 70 years after the Sikorsky S-38B Carna?ba floatplane crashed off the coast of Manokwari Bay in Papua, Indonesia, the Johnson family, of SC Johnson fame, located the wreckage under 90 feet of water.
Symphony plays the blues
Symphony Aircraft Industries announced in June that it had entered the equivalent of bankruptcy protection under Canadian law to allow it to operate under protection from its creditors while it pursues additional financing.
Sport-Jet crashes
A new entry in the very-light-jet arena suffered a setback when it crashed during its twenty-fifth takeoff, on June 22. The single-engine four-seat Sport-Jet made by Excel-Jet suffered an "uncommanded roll at low altitude" at Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Sport Cub certified
It's been nearly a year in coming, but CubCrafters, of Yakima, Washington, now has light-sport approval for its entry into the sport-plane market.
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