Cessna's SkyCatcher nearly here

Cessna's C162 - the SkyCatcher - is now compliant with the ASTM standards used for LSA (Light Sport Aircraft)in the US. According to Cessna, deliveries are due to start later this year, with November looking likely, although many observers and deposit holders believe that only in 2010 will significant numbers start to be delivered.

The SkyCatcher features a stick-cum-yoke arrangement, a Continental O-200 and a Garmin G300 glass panel.

I overheard a couple of visitors talking while standing by the SkyCatcher...
"Look at that 'ole Coninennal"
"Yup, bedder dan dat Rowtaix thing. Shame dere building it in China"

...and today it rained

The wet summer isn't limited to the UK. Today Oshkosh was mainly about rain and mud. The car parks were in danger of turning into mud baths and the display took place between showers with the audience alternating between watching the proceedings in the open and sheltering under the nearest convenient high-winged aeroplane. The stallholders in the hangars weren't complaining though, the wet weather sent many visitors scurrying inside to look, dream and sometimes buy.

Tomorrow promises to be much better with any storms holding off until Saturday. Fingers crossed.

Where has the Epic gone?

Yesterday there was a patch of grass that an Epic LT called home. Alongside was a gazebo and a poster or two. By late afternoon today the patch of grass was empty and the gazebo gone. There were a few rumours that I won't repeat here. It could of course be that the Epic crew had to be elsewhere, that the aeroplane was needed, or that they've moved to another part of this huge site...

As soon as anything is confirmed I'll post an update.

Liberty XL2 to get diesel power

Not content with providing what they call the world's most economical, IFR-approved, two-seat trainer, the team at Liberty Aircraft has set off on a journey that should enable them to bring a Wilksch-engined Jet A1 fuelled aircraft to market. The aeroplane was clearly labelled as a proof of concept aircraft, but Liberty personnel told FLYER that the Wilksch engine would be FAA-certified within four to six months, with certification of the airframe/engine combination following six to ten months after that. This timescale suggests either significant optimism or a project that is already quite advanced. Watch this space for updates.

Positive vibes from Piper

Piper came to Oshkosh talking about their adoption of Garmin's G600 in their training aircraft. From 2010 the G600 glass panel will be standard fit on new Warrior and Seminole and an option on the Seneca V.

Piper also announced that they are putting the Piper Archer back into production. The 180hp PA28 will come, as standard, fitted with Garmin's G600 and an S-TEC 55x autopilot. Standard features will also include leather upholstery and air conditioning. The Archer will be available in 2010 for about $300,000.

SMA's new engine

You could be forgiven for thinking that SMA, the French company behind the SR305 diesel engine (very) occasionally seen in the C182 had gone away, but a US and French team was working the stand at Oshkosh and updating us on progress. According to Luc Pelon, SMA's CEO, they have been further developing the engine and the SR305-E is the result.

A different turbocharger and FADEC changes have brought the engine's service ceiling from 12,000' to 20,000'. Pelon believes that the true advantages of the engine will only be realised when someone designs an airframe specifically for it, but in these tough economic times we think he may have some while to wait.

www.smaengines.com

Ask how, not if...

Oshkosh is as much about the people as it is about the aeroplanes. An interview with Jessica Cox in AeroShell Square yesterday drew crowds, and some tears. Jessica is unusual in that she was born with no arms, and controls her Ercoupe with her feet. Cox summed up her spirit nicely by saying that she never asks if something can be done, but only how something can be done.

SMA Maule

While Luc Pelon was discussing his SR305-E Brent Maule was on hand to talk about the upcoming Maule M9. Fitted with the SMA diesel engine, the M9 will cruise at 137mph burning about 9usg. The paperwork is with the FAA and the TC is expected 'real soon now'.

The M9 will be the first aircraft fitted with the SMA engine as standard and is expected to appeal to many markets where avgas is unavailable or hard to find. As you can see, the M9 sports a new cowling which is not expected to win any awards for beauty.

www.mauleairinc.com

Cirrus update

Although there was news of some strategic partnerships and a new luxury trim level that facilitates customer's individual design requests (known as Xi), the subject that interested most people at yesterday's press conference was the Vision jet and Alan Klapmeier's plans to buy the project from Cirrus Aircraft.

Cirrus co-founder (and Alan's brother) Dale Klapmeier addressed the question before it was asked by explaining that Alan was indeed working on a deal, and that he is the only person that Cirrus Aircraft would even consider as a buyer. Dale (and later Brent) acknowledged that a team led by Alan using outside finance would be a win win situation. In response to a question from the audience, Brent Wouters said that Cirrus Aircraft would retain an unspecified percentage of any new company set up by Alan. Finally, should it prove impossible for Alan to raise the money and buy the project, Cirrus Aircraft would 'get it done' although both Dale and Brent said that this scenario would make it very challenging to certify the aircraft by 2012.

New engines, new fuel

Continental kicked off the stream of press conferences yesterday by announcing several engine developments. For starters, they'd flown to the event in a Cirrus SR22 turbo running on 94UL, an avgas replacement they're backing. The set-up has accumulated 20 flight test hours so far with promising results.

Continental's PowerLink (so far standard equipment on the Liberty XL2 and a retrofit option for the IO-550N found in Cirrus SR22 aircraft) is set to play a larger part in Continental's future, particulary when avgas is replaced by something else (and TCM - Teledyne Continental Motors - is backing 94UL). There are two further developments of PowerLink in prospect, one a basic configuration that will be aimed at the retrofit and lighter end of the market where cost is a significant factor, and another that will deliver all of the FADEC advantages including analytics, but with a lower weight penalty.

The SR22 Turbo may be a big seller, but the people at Cirrus are bolting on a turbonormalising system, developed and manufactured by the highly respected guys at Tornado Alley, to the stock IO-550N. In an effort to win back some business, TCM has certified their FADEC system on their TSIOF-550, which now delivers 350hp at FL220. They're working closely with OEMs to deliver this engine and intend to make it available as a retrofit or replacement fit for existing SR22 Turbo owners.

Meigs Field

I'd always wanted to fly from Meigs, but that's no longer possible thanks to the well-documented actions of Mayor Daley. This morning, before leaving Chicago for Oshkosh, Ian and I drove down to take a look at what was left. Although the control tower remains there's little else to suggest that this was once one of the world's most stunning airports. Dayley has turned it into a park with a mixture of mown grass, paths and wild conservation areas. As parks go, it's a pretty good one. It's in a stunning location and provides an area for cyclists, runners, walkers and just about anyone else to enjoy themselves. I'd still rather have Meigs though.

Life in Economy

Today was a travel day. To be fair to Virgin, the economy seats in their A340 aren't that bad. Ian Quinn tried out Premium Economy, and I had a minor concern when I thought that my bag hadn't made the flight, but all's well that ends well... so to summarise the day.

• An hour-and-a-half to drive to Heathrow
• A couple of hours to get stressed by the experience of T3
• Eight hours in the aeroplane
• About an hour to get through immigration, baggage reclaim and Customs
• What seemed like an hour standing in the queue for the hire car
  
• An hour or so to enjoy Chicago's traffic

Chicago seems to be a great city with a really nice atmosphere. We had a local beer or three and a bite to eat in a decent nearby bar. Tomorrow we're planning to have a quick look at what was once Meigs Field before Mayor Daley bulldozed it under cover of darkness in 2003. Right now my watch is telling me it's 9.00pm, but my body knows that it's 3.00am.

'night zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Something for gadget fans

If your tyres look a bit flat, and if you can't be bothered to check them the 'manual' way, you could always invest in this wireless pressure and temperature gauge.

At $298.95 it isn't cheap, and personally I'd rather have the avgas, but if this kind of thing floats your boat or if you have a bad back or a fixation about exactly correct tyre pressures, then get in touch with Aircraft Spruce and hand over your credit card details.

A long night ahead

Ever get nervous about flying a single over water? Spare a thought for Mike Blyth and James Pitman who are, as I write, flying from Guinea in Africa to Brazil, a flight that is expected to take between twenty and twenty-five hours (yup, they’ve got ferry tanks).

They're flying a D6 Sling, a Rotax 912 ULS powered LSA that they designed and built. Their departure from Guinea was somewhat delayed thanks to a spot of bother with the local constabulary. Apparently, while taking pictures of the night-time African streets they inadvertantly included a policeman in one of the frames. This led to lots of interviews in lots of rooms by lots of officials, who, judging by the reports were not the friendliest of human beings.

That mess got sorted out today, and after a quick trip to a petrol station (there was no avgas at Conakry, Guinea) they headed back to the airfield where it seems they managed to get their satellite tracking working again. You can see their position live by going to their site here.

I’m happy with longish sea crossings in the C182, but I would be distinctly nervous about flying more than 4,000km over the Atlantic behind a Rotax fuelled by petrol I’d just brought from a petrol station in Africa. I’ve never seen or sat in a D6 Sling, but the cockpit must be huge to accommodate the cojones required for this trip.

Update: After 21 hours flying Mike and James arrived in Brazil. I'm guessing that they are sleeping right now. Tomorrow they're scheduled to fly again, but it's a relatively short, four hour flight.

Around the world in a prototype LSA

There's more than one way to get to Oshkosh, and while we'll be risking DVT in Virgin economy, Mike Blyth and James Pitman are taking a longer route.

Mike and James are co-owners of The Airplane Factory and betwen them they've designed the D6 Sling, a 100hp Rotax powered LSA. They are currently flying the production prototype around the world, with of course a stop at Oshkosh on the way. You can follow their progress here.

Tomorrow, Wednesday 22nd, they'll be setting off from Conakry in Guinea for Belem in Brazil a distance of 4,044km (2,183nm). That's a lot of water to cross at a still air speed of about 105kt. See you both in Oshkosh.

Electric aeroplanes coming to Oshkosh

It seems that one of the emerging themes of this year's AirVenture is the advent of electrically-powered flight.

Shown here is a Flightstar e-Spyder, an ultralight fitted with a Yuneec electric motor and battery pack. This development airframe (lightened to make useful load available for the battery pack) will be flying during AirVenture in the Ultralight park.

With the current battery package powering the 20 kilowatt motor the e-Spyder has a duration of about 40 minutes. A full recharge takes about three hours.

Update: Yuneec's e430 continues testing in California with the aim of gaining experimental exhibition certification so that it can fly at Oshkosh. Yuneec's website can be found here.

AirVenture rumours

The big 'O' is just over a week away and a few rumours are breaking cover. Product development gets hit hard in these tough times, but companies need something to sell, and any development engineers who still have their jobs need something to do...

So what have I heard?

• Jeppesen will be announcing a new product to facilitate chart viewing. I guess that this will be some kind of EFB (Electronic Flight Bag), but don't know if it is a software or hardware solution. It would be ideal if Garmin's 695 and 696 could be used to run JeppView (or ChartView as Garmin call it).
• Garmin. No firm rumours here, but historically they've used Oshkosh for announcements, so it is hard to imagine them turning up with nothing new at all. The 695/696 isn't an old product, so I would be surprised to see anything new in their portable line up.
  
• Cirrus Aircraft. Again nothing heard here, but following Alan Klapmeier's announcement at M7 it will be interesting to see what is said, and whether or not he'll be working on or from the Cirrus Aircraft stand. Brent Wouter's announcement that all development dollars would be spent on the Vision SF50 jet hasn't gone down well with Cirrus owners, so perhaps they'll be able to find a few bucks for some minor updates to the SR line?
  
• Several manufacturers will be talking about a new, alternative fuel, engine options. I expect this to be one of the main themes of this year's event.
  

A flight in strong winds

Today's flying was mainly about weather, both being in it, and being beaten up by it. The forecast suggested that out to the west conditions would improve, so with tantalising blue specs suggesting quite low cloud tops we climbed to 6,000' after leaving Devizes. The blue gaps disappeared and we (me, Martine and the dog) spent an hour-and-a-half droning through clouds with the only variation being the amount of rain outside (or inside for that matter).

The wind, generally coming from about 330 on the surface was blowing at 25G35 on the Isles of Scilly, and Culdrose spoke of something called a drifting buoy that was reporting 40kt winds between Lands End and St Mary's. It was a sporting landing, but it wouldn't be the last of the day. After lunch and a walk around town we took off and made our way towards Perranporth for fuel. I'd called them earlier to check on their opening times, and they reported gusts of 55kt, but by the time we got there things had calmed down and they were only reporting 310 at 20G38. The approach to 27 brings a fair bit of turbulence, but even once down it was a struggle to get to the pumps. Taking off was actually worse. I hate those few moments when the weight is coming off the wheels, and the wind is trying its best to blow you off the runway. We 'enjoyed' some pretty rough turbulence for the first three-hundred feet.

It took about an hour-and-a-quarter to fly from Perranporth to Lydeway, all of it turbulent. Five miles from the strip, Lyneham told me about some heavy rain, which had the decency to wait until we landed to make itself known. It meant putting the cover on in the rain, but that seemed preferable to landing in it.

The dog, by the way, proved to be a trouble-free passenger, occasionally standing up to take a look outside.

Flying in to Le Touquet's new restaurant

l'Escale at the airport is no more, long live l'Escale. The old owners sold up and the people behind Richochet (a great little restaurant in town) have taken over. They had to keep the name, but apparently spent €1,000,000 on the refurbishment. It's been open for a week or so, and today we gave it a try. There's a more detailed report here, but the food was average at best and the service terrible.

There are so many restaurants close by, that these guys are going to have to improve pretty quickly if they are to prosper, or even survive.

Well, you asked for more details...

• We waited to be seated, but were ignored. One other couple (like us without a reservation) arrived five minutes after us but were seated before we were even spoken to.
• Once seated it took ages for our drinks order to be taken. There was no bottled water available.
• Our main courses initially arrived before our starters.
• When the starters finally arrived one of the orders was wrong. They did offer to change it but having waited so long for the food I wasn't about to let it out of my sight.
• When the mains arrived again two of the dishes were wrong.
• I strongly suspect that the correct mains were made from ingredients that were previously presented as the incorrect dishes.
• The bill was wrong (three diners being charged for four meals).

Patience is a virtue (in the circuit)

I flew into Southend today. I was asked to join downwind right-hand for Runway 24, and was told that I was number two to a C172 already established downwind. Although the traffic had been called I looked and looked but couldn't find it. The Tower asked the traffic to turn base, and when he did I spotted the aircraft a long way ahead. I'd guess that it was at least two and possible three miles from the runway. It's always a bit of a pain when someone flies a large circuit and I'll admit that I was quietly frustrated.

As I taxied in, I heard the instructor in the C172 tell the Tower that he was getting out and that the student was about to head of for his first solo. What's more when I stopped I saw that the instructor was Full Flap TV's Rob Bull. We chatted as he looked nervously at the student heading for the runway. I don't know who's more worried in these situations, the student or instructor. By the time I'd paid my bill, checked the oil and put my lifejacket on, the C172 was back with a beaming pilot at the controls. I just had time to congratulate him and shake his hand before heading off to Le Touquet. Any frustration at the size of his circuit had gone - the world has another pilot and that's got to be a good thing.

I'm from the Civil Aviation Authority...

A UK airfield, sometime in the past...

It's not that he was very loud, but the words, "Hello, I'm from the Civil Aviation Authority and I'm here to see...." seemed to be picked up by everyone in the room, which unsurprisingly fell silent. Later, when I went to pay my landing fees the man from the CAA was in the office talking to the airfield staff. It was impossible not to hear the content of the conversation.

It turns out that Mr CAA is an investigator with the legal branch and he'd driven the 250+ miles to the airfield to take a statement. Allegedly, earlier this year a visiting aeroplane had infringed some Gatwick airspace and he was seeking a statement confirming that said aeroplane had actually visited. I won't repeat it here, but the registration, type and names of occupants were stated openly. The man from the CAA and a couple of others in the room made some other comments that bear repeating.

1. Mr CAA stated that at least both of the alleged offending pilots (there were two), were flying in the UK on their FAA licences.
2. That they had a GPS in their aeroplane.
3. That they'd probably only get a slapped wrist.

Nothing too radical there, but the tone/sucking of teeth (from others in the room too) was interesting.

There was an implication that an FAA licence is inferior to a CAA/JAA licence. I looked up one of the pilots, and he does indeed hold an FAA PPL (and instrument rating). While that doesn't bring any specific knowledge of UK airspace or procedures, it doesn't suggest inexperience either.

There was a suggestion, by someone other than Mr CAA, that the GPS was the cause of the infringement. According the the local expert, "They (GPS units) should only be used if you are 100% certain of your position without them." I would suggest that such disdain for GPS is one of the reasons that it is not taught properly, and that would be one way of improving navigational accuracy and situational awareness.

Finally, Mr CAA man gave (me) the impression that he'd driven a long way and gone to a fair amount of trouble, but that the offenders would probably only get a letter. I sensed a degree of frustration.

CAVOK to marginal VFR in just 30 minutes

Went to St Mary's in the Scilly Isles this morning. Thanks to a stiff headwind the C182 averaged a groundspeed of 90kt. That same wind made the arrival somewhat sporting, but I got lucky and it all came together in the last inch or so.

The trip back provided a challenge or two, here's a quick rundown.
12.00 Top picture. I checked the oil, added a quart, did a quick running check, got in, started, did the power checks and called for taxi.
12.21 Middle picture. For a change the headwind didn't turn through 180 degrees so I enjoyed a 145kt+ ground speed. It didn't take too long before I could see Land's End. Super helpful ATC were giving me a running commentary on the CB activity.
12.30 Bottom picture. The plan was to avoid the CB activity (obviously), so I routed up the coast towards Newquay. I was over the sea, but either the cloudbase was dropping or the sea was rising. Either way it wasn't the most pleasant of flights. As I got towards Perranporth the weather improved a bit so I landed to pick up some fuel. As I taxied to the pumps the worst of the weather caught up and drenched me, and the airfield. Time for a coffee and a spot of lunch. They're a friendly bunch at Perranporth and the food was good.

I'd had enough of the low-level stuff for one day, so after leaving Perranporth, when I flew into more rain somewhere short of Bodmin, I asked Newquay approach if I could upgrade to a Traffic service, climbed to 4,500' and sat on instruments for half-an-hour. It was good practice and much safer than grubbing my way over Cornwall and Devon. The weather significantly improved somewhere north of Yeovilton which made for a pleasant end to the day's flying.

Flying Legends. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I'm glad to say that apart from a little reduced visibility just after departure, the weather was pretty stunning for the rest of the day! Looks like the BECMG was right after all.

This was my first Flying Legends, so I don't have a huge amount to compare it with, but here goes anyway.

The Good

Booking a slot and flying in was easy, marshalling was great and the transport to north side friendly and efficient. Check in and pilot processing also worked well. We were lucky enough to enjoy a seat in an enclosure and enjoyed the show in a very civilized manner with a great picnic (thanks Martine). The show was great, but most of The Fighter Collection's aircraft remain grounded thanks to a CAA audit. There were a few barbed comments aimed at the CAA by the commentary team. Bernard Chabert and others pointed out that the DGAC, the French National Aviation Authority, has a safety-driven but pragmatic approach to historic aircraft. Could this have been a veiled threat or a hint that The Fighter Collection may find a new home if the current troubles cannot be resolved to everyone's satisfaction? Highlights of the show for me were the FW190, the Gladiator and the Lysander. Bernard Chabert shoudl also get a mention in the 'good' section, he enthusiasm is infectious.

The Bad

Bernard Chabert, great commentator that he is, needs to learn that sometimes less is more. The only other minor thing is that Duxford must be trying hard to take the prize for the UK's most expensive avgas (£1.60/litre) - sadly, they have some stiff competition.

The Ugly

There was a small issue with a foreign aeroplane who someone thought was trying to push into the departure queue. I know that it can be frustrating, but the radio, which was very busy with all sorts going on, is not the place for pilots to get into a discussion about queue etiquette, 'suck it up' as they'd say in the US. Nicely handled by air traffic though.

More weather thoughts

Off to Flying Legends at Duxford tomorrow (I hope). My slot is for 09:48 local, so will need to get airborne at about 09:00 to be there on time. The Stansted TAF is

TAF EGSS 111700Z 1118/1224 19010KT 9999 BKN020 BECMG 1118/1121 -RA BKN012 TEMPO 1120/1208 8000 RA BKN008 PROB40 TEMPO 1121/1206 3000 +RA RADZ BKN004 PROB30 TEMPO 1201/1207 19015G25KT BECMG 1207/1210 25010KT NSW SCT030 PROB30 TEMPO 1214/1219 26015G25KT 7000 SHRA=

If the red TEMPO is running late it'll be interesting, but the blue BECMG looks just the job. Let's hope that the front shown here is punctual and clears through in time.

Cirrus fly in - Turweston

Well, it's 07.30, and outside the sky looks grey. I need to get to Turweston - this is Lyneham's weather. Lyneham is 10nm north of the strip, so their weather tends to be 'my' weather.

TAF EGDL 110434Z 1106/1124 19005KT 9999 BKN012 TEMPO 1106/1108 7000 -RADZ SCT004 TEMPO 1110/1113 BKN018 BECMG 1113/1116 7000 -RA BKN006 TEMPO 1114/1124 2000 RADZ SCT002 BKN004 BECMG 1120/1123 19016KT=

The weather is generally coming in from the west, so I took a look at Yeovilton's TAF to see if the Navy had a more optimistic view, in my experience their weather forecasts are pretty accurate

TAF AMD EGDY 110609Z 1106/1115 21005KT 9999 SCT008 SCT020 TEMPO 1106/1115 FEW010 SCT020 TEMPO 1106/1115 8000 -RA PROB40 TEMPO 1106/1115 3000 -DZ BKN006 BECMG 1112/1115 21010KT 6000 RA BKN008 PROB40 TEMPO 1112/1115 3000 +RA BKN007=

I don't like the bold bits, which cover the period of the flight there and back. I hate TAFs like this, because if it's a TEMPO it's tempting to think that the weather will be fine, and that the TEMPO will turn out to be nothing more than a 5 minute shower. So fly or drive?

Does anyone know where I put my car keys?

UPDATE: Well, despite last minute doubts I stuck to plan B and took the car. The weather en route wasn't great, but was definitely flyable - a few bits of brightness suggested that I'd have been able to enjoy some sunshine on top at 3,000', or make my way in decent viz under the cloud. During the day, the weather just got better and better. By Hungerford I was cursing the weather forecasters, and feeling bad for not having flown. By the time I got to Marlborough I wasn't quite sure, and by the time I got to Devizes I was very glad to have taken the car. Here's the view. This is about 2nm from the strip.

So that's what they were thinking

There have been rumours about NATS wanting to charge for services provided to VFR flyers for years. This year there were yet more rumours, and they were being repeated by individuals not known for spreading unfounded gossip. I decided to use the Freedom of Information act to ask the Department for Transport for any documents relating to any discussions with NATS about charging for these services.

Here are the results. There's a news story in next month's Flyer

Covering letter from the DfT, including a (good) statement of intention
An email referring to an upcoming meeting
A document prepared by NATS discussing the services provided to VFR flyers and the rationale behind charging.

I think you'll find the documents, particularly the last one, of interest.

We've been offered an interview with Ian Hall, Director of Development and Investment at NATS, so if you have any questions you'd like us to put to him, drop us an email at asknats at flyermag dot co dot uk

Lydeway approach

A bit of an experiment this, coming back to the strip today (Lydeway), I put the G10 into video mode, propped it up on top of the instrument panel and switched it on. This is the approach to the westerly runway, and as you can see it crosses the railway line on short final. If I can see a train coming I'll hold off, or go-around. The trees that line the strip on the left during the final part of the approach and the rollout make a great hiding place for deer. For some reason they (so far) only seem to hide in the first third of the runway; I've had to go around three or four times because of walking wildlife in the two-and-a-half years that I've been at the strip.

Chamois closed

I've just been speaking to Adrian, a friend who lives in France and who uses his Jodel to fly in and around the Alps far too regularly. Adrian has just given me some bad news. Chamois, the Italian altisurface is currently closed. The grass is too long, there are cows grazing on it, there's a fence in the middle and if that's not enough, it appears that there's a bit of an argument going on between the people who manage it (someone manages it?) and the local farmers. Aaarrrggghhhh.

I've only flown in once. I took off in a D140 from Megeve with Frank (seen arriving here) and Bruno, Megeve's CFI. We picked our way through Mont Blanc's valleys into Italy and routed overhead Aosta heading roughly south. Roughly ten miles later we turned left up a valley to be greeted by the Matterhorn looking simply stunning. Chamois was off to our right a couple of thousand feet lower. We landed, walked into the village (only accessible by cable car or aircraft) and had lunch. It is, or was, a great little strip in a spectacular setting.

There's a meeting taking place next week to try to resolve the issues and to get this little bit of aviation paradise open again, but I'm told that hopes are not running too high. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Update: It seems that Chamois will now be closed until the end of the year, it may open again in 2010, but that is far from certain. Bugger.

Will The Fighter Collection fly?

The Flying Legends airshow takes place at Duxford next Saturday and Sunday. I'm planning to fly in, meet some friends and enjoy a nice picnic in glorious sunshine while enjoying some great displays. There is however a bit of a fly in the ointment as it were. The Fighter Collection, the mainstay of Legends, has had many of its aircraft grounded by the CAA.

I'm told that following an audit of the Fighter Collection in October 2008, the CAA wasn't happy with both some modifications and the use of alternative parts and materials which, in the CAA's words, had not been properly validated. The CAA say they were also concerned by the lack of records detailing how some of the changes were accomplished.

The CAA says that for safety reasons certain aircraft are grounded until such time as the organisation can show the CAA how the work was undertaken and have completed any remedial work required.

I'm sure that the team at Duxford will put together a great event, but I'm equally sure that the groundings will have long reaching consequences.

Rumours

Apparently there aren't enough rumours in this blog, so here are a few. There will probably be some more after Oshkosh...

1. Somewhere in the USA, probably in Kansas, there's a modified Citation Mustang. At the back you'll find the normal Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615Fs, but at the front, grafted to the nose, is a turboprop of some kind. The company could be testing a new engine for the Caravan, but there have been rumours about a high performance SET (single engine turbine) to compete presumably somewhere in the Meridian to PC-12 space rather than the utility market that that the Caravan occupies. Of course it could be even more radical, and be destined for an aeroplane that will sit just above their high performance single engine pistons.
2. Back in the days when everyone was still pretending that the economy was booming, Rolls-Royce signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mooney. Rolls-Royce is developing the RR500, a small turbine, intended for use in smaller GA aircraft. The engine should deliver up to 480shp with the capability of producing something like 350shp continuously. I understand that Mooney was planning to develop an all-new, bigger airframe specifically for this engine.
3. Alan Klapmeier's recent announcement at M7 is the result of a bit of a rift in Duluth. I understand that Alan and brother Dale are no longer working or playing well together.
4. The town of Bend in Oregan is a bit quieter than it used to be since Cessna closed their factory there. Lance Neibauer, founder of Lancair is apparently working on a new aviation project. He is currently building a team and seeking finance. More news at Oshkosh perhaps?
5. ...and finally, not really a rumour, but not widely reported either. Look out for G-FRGN in an upcoming AAIB bulletin. The Piper Dakota, Polly Vacher's around-the-world aeroplane, was badly damaged when it failed to get airborne from Polly's strip. I'm glad to say however that Polly is fine.
   

Cirrus photoshoot results

Got a look at some of the shots from the Cirrus photoshoot earlier this week. Top is an approach to the strip in order to take a look at the EVS system (the enhanced picture on the MFD). Centre is just a nice shot that happens to include the moon - funny to think that it was 40 years ago when Neil Armstrong took that step - and bottom is just a nice shot over Dorset. All pics copyright Oli Tennent

Glider towing for beginners

I had a go at glider towing today and it all started with a BDFA meeting at Lasham. While I was there I took the opportunity to get a briefing just in case I need to fly in (or out) at some stage.

Lasham is home to one of the world's largest gliding clubs, and if the weather's great it is wall-to-wall sailplanes with simultaneous winch launches, aerotows and trial flights, all of which use sort of parallel(ish) runways. It is also a jet maintenance base, so there's the chance of the occasional 757 and 767 movement from time to time. I can see why they want people to be fully briefed before they fly in. Trying to join overhead, flying a long shallow approach or even a wide circuit has the potential to make life all a bit interesting.

Gordon McDonald, Lasham's ex-CFI talked me through the procedures and then offered to show me the ropes (no pun intended), by taking me along on a couple of aerotows in one of the club's Robins.

He talked me through two launches and then invited me to fly a couple for myself. As you can probably imagine, the acceleration is not too impressive, particularly with a large, two-seat glass ship hooked on the back. Most of the two-seat glass sailplanes are launched at 70kt, but the wooden training gliders (K7s I think) like to be towed up at 60kt which makes life interesting as the view forwards can only be described as blue and cloudy. The only thing louder than the engine at full power is the blaring stall-warner which spends more time on than off. I'm told that once airborne the pull on the rope is only about 40lb, so when the glider releases (good tug pilots will do what they can to fly their hitchiker into an area of lift) there's only a very smal jolt, it's then a case of looking in the rear-view mirror to see which way the glider is turning and then heading off in the opposite direction. All that remains is to return to the airfield as quickly as possibly while managing any engine cooling issues and of course avoiding all of the gliders that are being launched, or flying the circuit or just in the area.