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Recent news from the aviation world
GA pilots step up to help Puerto Rico in aftermath of Hurricane Maria
General aviation pilots and business owners pitched in to fly much-needed supplies to hurricane-stricken Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in conjunction with the groups Operation Airdrop, the Cajun Airlift, and AERObridge. Organizers say hundreds of pilots have contributed to the effort. —AOPA Online
‘Strega’ dethrones ‘Voodoo’
Strega, long a fan favorite P–51D air racer, won the Gold race in the Unlimited Class at the fifty-fourth National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada. Pilot James Consalvi finished the eight-lap race in 7:49.774, for a speed of 481.34 mph. He was closely followed by last year’s Unlimited Gold-winning combination of Steve Hinton and the P–51D Voodoo, finishing with a speed of 480.744 mph. —AOPA Online
2017 finale puts Muroya on top
The final standings of top finishers in the 2017 Red Bull Air Race World Championship are 1. Yoshihide Muroya (Japan) 74 points; 2. Martin Šonka (Czech Republic) 70 points; 3. Pete McLeod (Canada) 56 points; 4. Kirby Chambliss (USA) 53 points; 5. Petr Kopfstein (Czech Republic) 43 points; 6. Matt Hall (Austria) 40 points; 7. Matthias Dolderer (Germany) 39 points; 8. Juan Velarde (Spain) 37 points; 9. Michael Goulian (USA) 28 points; 10. Mikaël Brageot (France) 24 points. —Red Bull Air Races
Texas museum finally opens
After tussling with two hurricanes—the first that destroyed it and the second that delayed its return—the Lone Star Flight Museum has reopened. In 2008, Hurricane Ike significantly damaged the 27-year-old aviation museum. In Galveston, the decision was made to move the collection to Houston. Plans to dedicate the new 130,000-square-foot $38 million museum were then thwarted when Hurricane Harvey struck in August. Finally, on September 30, ribbon-cutting ceremonies heralded the museum opening. It features more than 20 beautifully restored historic aircraft.
NavWorx calls it quits
Closure leaves firm's ADS-B customers with few alternatives
Avionics manufacturer NavWorx Inc. closed its doors in late October. The company’s primary product, the ADS600-B universal access transceiver (UAT)—which provides both Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out and In capability—was the subject of an FAA airworthiness directive issued June 6 that focused on the UAT’s integral WAAS GPS position source. Since then, the company had been working to certify a modified Gen 2.0 UAT with a different GPS receiver.
The company said it could not obtain certification for the new GPS module, obtained from a third-party vendor. “We are unable to sell the ADS600-B, or provide AD updates, for either certified or Experimental aircraft. Therefore, we are not currently conducting any business and have ceased operations,” said a statement on the NavWorx website October 19.
The AD’s final rule prohibits the use of NavWorx’ internal WAAS GPS position source. By January 11, 2018, owners of aircraft with the affected UATs must couple the UAT to an approved GPS position source or disable the UAT by pulling the circuit breaker and placing a placard in full view of the pilot.
Thanks to alternate methods of compliance (AMOCs) obtained by three individuals, any aircraft owner can use an installed Garmin GTN 625, 635, 650, 725, or 750; GNC 420W or 420AW; GPS 400W or 500W; or GNS 430W, 430AW, 480, 530W, or 530AW as the ADS-B Out position source. The NexNav mini LRU GPS receiver also is approved; it lists for $1,996, increasing to $2,180 in January, and is available from Aspen Avionics dealers.
Check AOPA Online for any updates. —Mike Collins
Industry News
Evolution Aircraft closes its doors
Evolution Aircraft Co., the Redmond, Oregon-based kitbuilt aircraft manufacturer born out of Lancair assets in 2016, has closed its doors. Owners received written notice of the impending closure, and multiple telephone calls to the company known for its composite turbine-powered aircraft went unanswered as of press time in late October.
The future of factory support and insurance remains unknown. There are questions as to what happens to the 85 built and registered Evolution aircraft, and what the closure means for owners who spent more than $1 million for the fast, high-altitude, pressurized four-person stallion.
Evolution aircraft owners and aviation industry personnel point to a July 17 fatal crash in Mesa, Arizona, which killed two people, as the beginning of the firm’s downfall. As a result of that accident and subsequent lawsuit, the company has apparently been unable to acquire liability insurance for continued operations, according to sources.
In the last 22 months, there were at least five accidents involving Evolution aircraft that involved hull losses, including one in which a windscreen “exploded” in cruise flight “instantaneously without any preindication,” according to an NTSB report.
The prototype of the $1.3 million Experimental aircraft first flew in 2008, and the company began selling kit aircraft the following year. Doug Walker, the owner of an Evolution model, flew with AOPA for a 2012 article on the Evolution and noted that the agile aircraft was “much simpler than a high-performance piston airplane.”
—Dave Hirschman
Notable People in Aviation History
December 17, 1903
Orville Wright lifts the Wright Flyer into the air at 10:35 a.m. at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina; the flight lasts 12 seconds and covers 121 feet as Wilbur Wright runs alongside. It is the first powered, manned, heavier-than-air flight. The Wright brothers each take to the air, flying into a headwind gusting to 27 miles per hour. The first flight, at a groundspeed of only 6.8 miles per hour, was recorded in this famous photograph. The next two flights covered approximately 175 and 200 feet, by Wilbur and Orville respectively. Their altitude was about 10 feet above the ground.
“Wilbur started the fourth and last flight at just about 12 o’clock. The first few hundred feet were up and down, as before, but by the time three hundred feet had been covered, the machine was under much better control. The course for the next four or five hundred feet had but little undulation. However, when out about eight hundred feet the machine began pitching again, and, in one of its darts downward, struck the ground. The distance over the ground was measured to be 852 feet; the time of the flight was 59 seconds. The frame supporting the front rudder was badly broken, but the main part of the machine was not injured at all. We estimated that the machine could be put in condition for flight again in about a day or two.” —Orville Wright
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