A bank holiday video

Renaud Ecalle, who won this year's World Aerobatics Championships

A quick guide to Chapter 11

Chapter 11 relates to US bankruptcy law. It's a legal tool that gives a company, in difficult times, a period to reorganise. Either the company itself, or one or more of its creditors, can file a petition in a US bankruptcy court for Chapter 11 protection.

In many cases it will be the owners or managers of a company who continue to run and reorganise the company during Chapter 11. This is known as Debtor in Possession (DIP). Any reorganisation needs to be approved by the bankruptcy judge, with a creditors' committee being influential in the planning of the reorganisation.

Chapter 11 provides protection from creditors. Any legal moves made by creditors are basically put on hold, and inevitably a negotiation concerning those debts will be part of any reorganisation. Should the debts exceed the assets, and reorganisation prove impossible, then Chapter 7 is the next step. Chapter 7 is effectively a liquidation. A court will appoint a trustee who will sell any remaining assets and distribute the funds.

So why the words on Chapter 11 in a UK General Aviation blog? Most US airlines have been through Chapter 11 at one time or another, and some of the big names in GA have also used its protection. From what I'm hearing, there may be a couple more before too long.

EGNOS arrives

EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) is due to be given the green light in October, with full approval for it to be used for 'safety of life' applications (i.e. approaches) in 2010. This clears the way for RNAV approaches with vertical guidance - known to be liked by the UK CAA!

Full story here

RNAV Approaches

There are more precision GPS approaches in the US than there are ILS approaches. There are non-precision GPS approaches all over Europe, and of course in Iraq and Afghanistan too.

In the UK, until very recently, Shoreham had the only GPS approach. Gloucester has recently been approved and Lydd is almost there, so things are moving, albeit slowly. The approaches at Gloucester and Shoreham both require an ADF as the NDB is used for the missed approach procedure. What possessed the designers or regulators to mandate the use of an archaic, unreliable navaid in a modern approach is beyond me.

It doesn't really matter if much of the rest of the aviation world thinks that we have a third-world aviation infrastructure, but if we don't do something to at least start to catch up in this, and other areas, GA's utility will be reduced even further.

Very Little Joy

I can remember the earnest look of concern on regulators' faces when talking about VLJs. How would the ‘system’ cope with thousands of light, slow jets being flown by non-professional crews? Some suggested new rules that would require a crew of two for any jet aircraft, some suggested banning them from certain high-volume airspace and some just attended lots of conferences and meetings, many in exotic locations. For the foreseeable future, the regulators will have to find something else to fret about. The skies, be they in Europe, the US or anywhere else for that matter, aren’t about to fill up with business or personal jets of any kind, let alone small, slow ones.

I suggest that the term VLJ no longer refers to Very Light Jet, Very Little Joy seems more appropriate. Truth is, the dream of thousands of small jets leaving aircraft factories has turned into a bit of a nightmare for the companies seduced by the dream.

In no particular order…

Eclipse: The daddy of all VLJs. Vern Raeburn’s baby promised disruptive technology. The Eclipse promised a new aircraft with new engines, new avionics and new systems, all of it built in a (you’ve guessed) using new manufacturing techniques. The company succeeded in building and certifying the aircraft, burning their way through $1.7 BILLION on the way. Early, unfulfilled promises of good performance mated to a sub $1m jet caused a stir and undoubtedly made selling existing aircraft like the Piper Meridian much harder. One strange episode involved the (brief) launch of the Eclipse 400 - a single-engine, V-tail, four-seat jet designed, in my opinion, purely as a spoiler for the Cirrus Jet. According to Raeburn, the E400 'only' cost $10m.

Adam: A good bunch of people with an interesting centreline twin that probably belonged to another era. I always felt that the A700, a twin jet version of the A500 was a slight panicked response to Eclipse’s announcement. Had they started with a clean sheet of paper I’m pretty sure that their proposed VLJ wouldn’t have had the twin boom configuration.

Diamond: Christian Dries, the man behind Diamond has enough energy to run a small European country and the D-Jet is just one of his many projects. Traditionally, Diamond’s aircraft development takes place in Austria, but Dries moved the jet project to Canada, partly because it is closer to the prime market, but also because of grumbles over the difficulty of working with some European regulators. A while ago, Dries told me that he had spent €80m on the D-Jet; I expect that figure has risen considerably. Diamond is still talking about deliveries in mid-2010, but the high cost of development must be hurting, and there are rumours that Dries is looking for a company to partner with.

Cessna: Not so long ago, the Citation Mustang commanded a premium, now, if you have the cash, there are some great deals to be done. The Mustang is a good aeroplane and a safe bet. None of the VLJ players are smiling right now, but Cessna at least aren’t crying.

Cirrus: Alan Klapmeier’s enthusiasm was infectious and over 400 people sent the manufacturer $100,000 deposits without even knowing the proposed specification. The economy changed, but so did the politics at Cirrus. Last year Brent Wouters took over as CEO with founder Klapmeier remaining as Chairman. In June Klapmeier announced that he was putting a team together to buy the jet project from Cirrus Aircrfat/Arcapita. That deal fell apart during Oshkosh, and last week Klapmeier cleared his desk. Many of the deposit holders sent in cheques because they believed not only in the jet, but in Alan Klapmeier. There have been quite a few people asking for their deposits to be returned and they are being gradually refunded as cash flow allows. Yesterday, Cirrus Aircraft announced that it was closing ‘Cirrus North’, the building that housed the jet project. Wouters insists however that the company is fully committed to completing the jet. Should there be a ‘run on the bank’ from deposit holders I find it hard to see how the company could avoid a spell of legal protection from creditors.

Piper: Until recently, I was pretty sure that the Piper Jet would prove disastrous for the Florida-based manufacturer. The wing looks gorgeous, but the fuselage with its rear-mounted engine could only be loved by its mother. I’m no aerodynamicist, but I didn’t reel with shock when I heard a rumour that the nose baggage locker contains a block of concrete. (I’ve never been able to/allowed to open it when I’ve seen the jet on public display.) Notwithstanding the above, the Piper team were in fine form at Oshkosh, and Piper undoubtedly the most upbeat manufacturer.

Epic: This Epic LT turboprop kit was real, but the company announced loads of other projects. The house of cards eventually collapsed and as I write this there are plenty of people still looking for Rick Shrameck, Epic’s CEO.

Eclipse II: Mason Holland and Mike Press recently paid $40m for the liability-free assets of Eclipse. Given that those assets set others back $1.7b, I’d say they got a good deal. Initially, the plan is to provide support, spares and upgrades to existing owners. When the economy changes, production could start again.

There are of course other, even smaller players and there are still visionaries (?) pounding the streets, getting thrown out of VC offices the minute they mention 'VLJ'. I’m willing to bet that the ongoing projects at Cirrus, Piper and Diamond are causing more headaches than joy, and in this economy it is only possible to guess at the damage being done by any lack of focus resulting from what many will only think of as a millstone.

I’d be willing to bet that Eclipse Mk II will do OK. It's often the second or third owners of a set of aviation assets that make the money. I suspect that there’s some money out there... waiting for one of the existing companies to go bust in order to acquire a debt-free project... or three.

Why real maps should remain on paper

I'm a devoted GPS user. Even if I try, I can't imagine touring without one. In fact, I have two units - an installed and approved GNS530, and a Garmin 495. Both have current databases and both are very good, and both will one day get upgraded when the next wave of whatever comes along. I hardly ever fly without them, and I never fly without a paper chart.

I might love the latest and greatest, but my heart sinks when I hear of another GPS that displays a digital version of a CAA, Jeppesen or other paper chart. Showing real, georeferenced charts on screen is seen by some as the holy grail, but I just can't understand why.

When you go flying, how small do you fold your chart? I enjoy a fairly spacious cabin in the C182, and have become a bit lazy when it comes to chart folding, so it's at least A4 in size and perhaps bigger. I've been looking at what other other pilots do and most seem to fold their charts down to about A4.

That provides an area that would take at least 45 minutes to fly through in an average GA aircraft, and it's a nice size to help with the bigger picture, giving situational awareness.

Contrast that with the displays that are showing digitized charts. Even the biggest are just too small. Of course, it's possible to zoom out, but then it's a struggle to read the 'chart' - and zooming in so that any notations are clear just makes the immediate area far too small.

Charts were designed and drawn to be on paper; vector charting was designed to appear on screens. Having the real thing on a screen with a moving symbol of an aeroplane showing exactly where you are may seem comforting, but with the very minimum of effort the combination of a real (big) map and a moving (vector) map GPS is the way to go.

The weather today was mainly...

No, they're not mine.

Epic lawsuit grows, Shrameck still missing

The original lawsuit filed against Epic by Rich Lucibella has been extended to cover two of Epic's sister companies - Aircraft Completion Servces and Aircraft Investor Resources - and Rick Shrameck, Jeff Sanders and Michael Shealy.

Epic's Bend facility remains shut with Epic's landlord holding lien against the property inside. Meanwhile Shrameck's whereabouts remain a mystery.

Running on empty

Ever been tempted to stretch a flight, or take off a little tight on fuel? It seems that the pilot of this Piper Comanche pushed it a little too far and ran out.

The pilot reportedly told Santa Barbara controllers that he was 'out of fuel' before gliding to a landing on Highway 101 in California. Apparently he intended to land with the traffic in the northbound lane, but ended up landing into oncoming traffic. The aeroplane hit two cars before spinning around and hitting a third. Luckily for everyone involved no-one was seriously injured. The only passenger was the pilot's wife (also uninjured) and I can only imagine what she said (and probably continues to say).

I've occasionally taken off from the strip to pick up fuel with less avgas on-board than I would like (and I like to land with one hour of fuel left in the tanks). My limit for a 'reduced' fuel margin means landing with thirty minutes in the tanks, but with this incident sparking a re-think, I'm now in the market for a couple of 20l jerrycans that'll take me back to the general rule of one hour's worth of fuel in the tanks on landing.

Shuttleworth Collection threatened

There's a thread on the FLYER forums concerning a letter received by the Shuttleworth Collection. It's shown here, but a larger version is available over on the forums.

As you can see, it contains a threat against the aeroplanes in the Collection, and it is a threat that is rightly being taken seriously.

I have no idea if there's a genuine risk to the Collection's aircraft, but it does bring home the fact that in the UK, for the vast majority of the time, aircraft are pretty safe whether they're left outside on strips (fingers crossed), on airfields or in hangars.

Of course, there have been some well-documented criminal acts, like the five substantially damaged aircraft at Redhill in 2003, and latterly there was some damage to aircraft parked outside at Wycombe Air Park just prior to AeroExpo, but to date (and the fingers are still crossed) we've been lucky.

That said... crossing fingers is not really a serious crime-busting strategy, so despite the relative safety we need to remain vigilant, and to encourage other airfield and strip users to join us in aviation's version of Neighbourhood Watch.

I hope the threat to the Shuttleworth Collection is spurious, I hope they catch whoever is sending the letters, and I hope that it isn't, as the police wonder, an 'inside job'.

Some good and bad UK destinations

I was being quizzed by a non-flying friend recently. He wanted to know where pilots went in the UK, and what they did when they got there. I somehow failed to describe the eau de damp building and stale chip fat that permeates some establishments and concentrated on some of the nicer or more interesting places I've been to...

1. Blackpool. I know, not an obvious choice, but it's so different that landing there and then walking along the seafront when the summer season is in full swing just transports you to a completely different place.
2. Oban (photo). Situated in some of the UK's most stunning scenery Oban is well worth a visit. At one time Paul Keegan would welcome you with tea and jammy dodgers, but local political nonsense may have changed this.
3. Compton Abbas. Great views, air/ground the way it should be done, good food and a real buzz.
4. Bolt Head. Amazing strip perched on the cliffs of Devon. Land, park and walk into Salcombe for a bit of sophisticated (compared to Blackpool) seaside fun.

I somehow failed to mention...

1. Lydd. Glad to say that Ms Frosty is no longer there and the welcome is, well, welcoming. Trouble is, when I tried to buy a meal (at lunchtime) the spotty yoof told us that he was on his lunch break and couldn't serve us any food!
2. Newquay. Good ATC but expensive and a pain to use. Go to Perranporth instead.
3. Blackpool. I know it features in the good to visit list, but just don't get stuck there on a Tuesday night in January!
4. Alderney. Great island that's well worth a visit. Sadly it is spoilt by some of the unfriendliest ATC this side of the Urals.
   

How's your Sprag clutch?

The Rotax 912S is almost certainly the world's best-selling aviation engine at the moment. It's the power plant of choice for almost every LSA in the US (Cessna's SkyCatcher is powered by Continental's O-200D) and can be found in all sorts of microlights and homebuilt aircraft. It's a four-stroke 100hp engine and has a reputation for being both highly reliable and frugal.

Recently however, I've heard of a few owners who have had to replace sprag clutches much earlier than they would like. The engine has a TBO of 1,500 hours, but some sprag clutches (used to engage the starter) have needed replacement at 150 hours.

If you are a Rotax 912S owner, drop me an email or leave a comment about your experience with the sprag clutch.

2009 Burned Children's Club

Today was a good day. Today was a day when a few of us could get together, give a little time and/or fuel, and give some pleasure to a group of children attending a local camp. All of the children have been seriously burned, and all are on a holiday organised by the Burned Children's Club.

Of course a day like this doesn't just happen and Jim & Pat Dalton put a huge amount of work and effort into making it all run smoothly. There's a group of volunteers who work alongside them organising and recording what's going on, while others provide food, entertainment and safe passage to or from the aircraft.

It's great to be involved in something like this, it's great to see people enjoying flying so much, and it's great to see everyone pulling together to make this happen with the minimum of fuss.

Eclipse lives again

As expected, the bankruptcy judge dealing with the demise of Eclipse accepted the only bid for the company's assets yesterday (August 20).

The $40m bid was put together by two deposit holders, Mason Holland and Mike Press. The way is now clear for the company to reopen on September 1 with Eclipse's assets and no debts. The 'original' Eclipse burnt through an estimated $1.7 billion before closing down.

Holland and Press have no plans to restart production immediately, but will concentrate on bringing the existing fleet up to spec (the assets include the DayJet fleet), and on supplying parts and service to existing owners.

Klapmeier clears desk

US aviation news service ANN is reporting that Alan Klapmeier, Cirrus Design co-founder, has cleared his desk at the company's Duluth, Minnesota offices.

Klapmeier founded Cirrus Design (now Cirrus Aircraft) with his brother Dale, who still works for Cirrus, twenty years ago.

Over the past twenty years, he has built a reputation for passionately promoting GA as a business tool, and for his efforts to promote aviation to a non-pilot audience.

He recently put together a team to buy the Vision SF50 jet programme from Cirrus, but negotiations broke down during Oshkosh. It's not yet known when or where he'll reappear in the aviation world, but there's little doubt that he'll be back.

Charity begins with an Aircoupe

This blog doesn't usually carry ads for aircraft for sale, but this one is a bit special. It's a Fourney Aircoupe F-1A, and what makes it special is that the proceeds from the sale will go to the Burned Childrens Club. Tony Crowe is looking after the sale and has posted a lot of details on the FLYER forum here.

I flew the aircraft earlier this week and it's a good, honest little aeroplane that handles well, and sips avgas at about 4.5gph. With a price tag of £14,000 ono (and with no VAT to pay) it has the potential to provide extremely low-cost flying for a small group.

Email Tony at aircoupe@bobcroweaircraft.com for more details.

Photo shoots

Yesterday afternoon we did a photo shoot for an upcoming feature. One of the variables that makes an air-to-air shoot interesting (by which I mean a pain in the backside) is any performance differences between the photo ship and the subject aeroplane. At the slow end of the scale we've photographed flexwing microlights, at the fast end a Cessna 421 and even an Eclipse Jet.

There are things that can be done to help minimise the differences. If the subject aeroplane (or helicopter) is much slower, then putting it on the inside of a turn helps. If it is much faster, then a wide descending turn gets the speeds closer together - there's nothing worse than a picture of a jet with gear and flaps down and at a high angle-of-attack, or a speck in a blue sky that's actually a microlight lagging a mile or so behind.

Yesterday's subject, a BN Islander, was ideal - the Islander will fly at stupidly slow speeds or will fly at up to 130kt (which is also stupidly slow when you consider that it takes 600hp and the associated fuel burn to do that). It was also being flown by someone who teaches formation flying, which made things even easier.

ATC and 'pretend' clearances

OK, you are flying along minding your own business. Somewhere between your present position and your destination is a chunk of tiered, Class D, controlled airspace. You call up the relevant unit and make your request. In return you're given a squawk, the QNH and a Basic service. You are also asked to remain outside controlled airspace. So far so good.

Plan A is to continue on track, Plan B to remain on track and continue below the airspace or Plan C to turn east to avoid the airspace.

A couple of miles before the boundary you get a call, "G-ABCD cleared on a direct track to XXXX (where X = your destination), remain below 1,500' on a QNH of 1018."

The trouble is the controlled airspace starts at 1,500', so below that altitude you are outside controlled airspace - so what are you being cleared through? I would much prefer, "Unable to offer transit, please remain below controlled airspace which starts at 1,500', QNH 1018," to a pretend clearance that has the potential for confusion.

Any UK ATC out there?

A great little strip...

There are some great farm strips and some great people. Today, I needed somewhere green and quiet to meet Tony Crowe, to go flying in an Aircoupe that he's selling, and to take some pictures.

I emailed Jim Thorpe, PPL/IR member, part-time instructor and strip owner who emailed straight back with a 'no problem'.

Tredunnock is 800m of easy-to-use, slightly-uphill grass, there are only a few rules (to keep everyone happy) and it was just the job for today. So thanks Jim, the 'loan' of your strip is much appreciated.

..and there are good airports too

OK, I might enjoy the relative freedom and lack of complication that strip flying brings, but sometimes an airport is required. Today that airport was Gloucestershire (EGBJ).

Gloucestershire Airport (aka Staverton) is a bit of a favourite of mine. The opening hours are good, the people friendly and helpful, the facilities are good and the pub/cafe 'The Aviator' provides decent food at a decent price.

What's even more impressive (to me) is that they manage to combine all sorts of aviation from microlights to business jets without a problem.

Now - if only they could get the CAA to approve their GPS approach it would be even better.

Cirrus Jet video features...a Cessna

I know, small things and small minds, but the shadow of a Cessna 337 in a video from Cirrus Aircraft made me smile.

The video is part of the SF50 promotional material on the Cirrus Aviation site and includes a technical update on the project. I assume that the C337 was being used as the camera ship, and that the video's editor couldn't resist including the footage.

The Vision project, or more accurately negotiations over ownership of the programme, provided some interest and a fair few news stories during this year's AirVenture at Oshkosh.

A date for your diary

On 28th November I'll be attending the Aviators Ball. It's being held at the Holiday Inn, Regents Park, and if the last couple of years are any indication it will be another great event.

The organisers have worked to keep ticket prices reasonable in the current climate, so for just £58 per person you'll get...

Arrival drinks, a three-course meal including half a bottle of wine, a live jazz band, guest speakers and an aviation auction with some stunning prizes and a lot more.

Better still, profit from the event will go to the British Disabled Flying Association. Click here for more information and to book your ticket.

Lydeway, a perfect little fly-in

The annual Lydeway fly-in took place today. Despite being based at the strip for the past three years, this is the first event that I've been able to make and it was brilliant.

Nigel, the strip owner, limits the number of aircraft to about fifteen to keep things manageable. He also invites non-flying friends and local residents - everyone brings along some food to accompany the provided BBQ. A good time is had by pilots and visitors alike.

Any non-flying visitor is offered the chance to go flying with the pilots, enjoying short local rides. It's great to be able to share the sheer joy of flying and of course the event works well for building local relationships too. The combination of good weather, great food and pleasant company is hard to beat on a summer afternoon.

Hudson mid-air

Alongside the speculation and rumour, the facts of this accident are starting to emerge. According to the NTSB, the Teterboro controller working the Saratoga called the pilot 40 seconds before the collision with a frequency change instruction (Newark on 127.85). Also according to the NTSB, there were several potential conflicts ahead of the aircraft that the pilot wasn't told of. While the Teterboro controller was confirming the Newark frequency, the Newark controller was calling the Teterboro controller to ask him to give avoiding instructions to the Saratoga pilot. Although calls were made there was no response.

The Teterboro controller was engaged in a 'non-business related' telephone call at the time of the accident. That call is widely reported to have been to his girlfriend. Both the controller, and the ATC supervisor who was not present at the time, have been suspended by the FAA. Although the FAA has stated that there is currently no reason to believe that the controllers' behavior led to the accident, they are both likely to be dismissed.

The area is covered by TIS, traffic data that is uplinked via a Mode S transponder and displayed in the cockpit if suitable equipment is fitted (typically a GNS430/530 in older aircraft). If the traffic is seen by radar (as it was in this case) then it too would be uplinked. The equipment fit of each aeroplane has not been released.

There's a YouTube video of the collision, reportedly made by friends of the five Italian tourists who were in the Liberty Tours Squirrel.

Tough times continue for business jet employees

There may be some talk of green shoots, but even if they are real they'll be of little comfort to many working in the jet world, particularly if they are involved in building them!

Hawker Beechcraft last week sent out letters to employees warning of further significant job cuts.

I hear that Wichita is the world's biggest parking lot for unsold jets right now. A year or two ago people were prepared to pay a premium for positions near the head of the delivery queue, and sales people wouldn't negotiate, now all you need is a pocket full of dollars to do some spectacular deals at your local Business Jet store.

NetJets, the world's leading fractional ownership company, is restructuring after Chairman and CEO of 25 years Richard T Santulli resigned with immediate effect. The company lost $350m in the first half of 2009 following an 81% drop in aircraft sales and a 22% drop in revenue hours.

UK Cape challenge postponed until 2010

Steve Noujaim has decided to postpone his attempt at the Cape record until early 2010. Steve will use the extra time to further improve the aircraft, fitting long-range tanks and a Garmin G900X integrated avionics suite to replace the Blue Mountain screens that were part of the initial build.

The extra time will also give Steve the chance to raise some extra sponsorship and to put another 30 or 40 hours on the aeroplane before setting off for South Africa.

Good AFPEx news

Forget the addressing stuff for now, the good news is that the next release of AFPEx, due in October, is intended to alleviate the need for a large download every time, and will probably also remove one of the security stages.

The next release will also make the software fully compliant with the latest version of Java.

Oshkosh video

Just found this great video that nicely captures at least part of what Oshkosh is all about.

Enjoy



Oops, can't get this to fit properly, click on the video to watch the original

A guide to VFR flight plan addressing for France

The VFR addressing changes for flights to, or from, France seem to have caused a bit of a stir. They've also been used by many as a reason not to use AFPEx, which in my opinion is a bit of a shame. Anyway, here's a short, simple guide to addressing French VFR flight plans.

The way it was...
When you filled in a flight plan online using AFPEx, the system auto-filled the addresses for the departure, destination and alternate airfields. You then right-clicked in an address box, clicked through to 'Add VFR Addresses' and added the collective* address for each of the FIRs through which you would be flying. For France, the pop-up box also told you to manually add the ICAO codes for the destination and alternate with the suffix ZPZX for each.

*A collective address is something created by the AFPEx people at NATS, so rather than having to know the addresses of each FIR in France for example, they have all been 'collected' under one, AFPEx-supplied address.

You will need to download or open this file

The way it is (for now)...
AFPEx will still auto-fill the departure, destination and alternate fields for you. As above, you will need to follow the 'Add VFR Addresses' for the FIRs that you will fly through, including France.
Open the document from the French AIP (linked to above) and go to the VFR addressing bit that starts on page 12 of the document.


At the top of the page you will see that they want the following

1. Departure ICAO code + ZPZX
2. Attaching BRIA code + ZFZX
3. Destination ICAO + ZTZX
4. Attaching BRIA + ZFZX
5. FIR (In France) crossed + ZFZX
6. SIV concerned + ZTZX
7. Any additional addresses specified

The rest of the AIP document provides a useful table giving all of the necessary addresses


...it's fairly simple to go through the table and dig out the correct addresses.

However, from the list above, AFPEx will auto-fill the departure or destination fields adding the suffix ZTZX. The sharp-eyed will notice that the French now have different addresses for the same airfield depending on if it's being used as a departure or destination! To be foolproof, the AFPEx team is suggesting that you manually add ZPZX to all departure, destination and alternate fields in France. You also will have entered the AFPEx-generated collective address when you used the pop-up 'Add VFR Addresses' to put in VFR France. This collective address now contains...

• Every FIR in France
• Every BRIA in France

...meaning that all you have to enter is the relevant SIV, and any additional addresses. These can be easily found in the AIP document. AFPEx is trying to make things easier by persuading the French BRIAs to forward the flight plans to the SIVs, and if they succeed I'll update these instructions.

Given the amount of addresses that could be required for some destinations, it's worth using the 'Store' function in order to create saved, correctly-addressed flight plans for your favourite destinations.

Glossary
BRIA Bureau Regional d'Information Aeronautique - think FBUs of old
SIV Service Information Vols - think Flight Information Area

French flight plans and AFPEx

I know people who like AFPEx, people who hate AFPEx, and people who haven't even heard of AFPEx (the internet-based Assisted Flight Plan Exchange). I belong to the group of people who like AFPEx. When I file a flight plan I know that it has been done, and that I'm not relying on a couple of other people to get my plan into the system.

With IFR plans there's an almost instant ACK message that gets sent to your AFPEx mailbox indicating that all is well. There's no acknowledgment with VFR flight plans, but I've never had a problem with them going missing, until yesterday that is.

My flight had started in Quiberon, but I planned a stop in Cherbourg to complete Customs formalities, i.e. walking through the empty Customs corridor. I'd logged on to AFPEx in the morning and filed a flight plan from Cherbourg back to the strip in the UK. On my way from Quiberon to Cherbourg, I called Jersey to get a crossing through the south-east corner of their zone and to get an early idea on the status of D036. Jersey mentioned my flight plan; when I first called, they'd looked it up on their system. Imagine my surprise when Cherbourg said they hadn't seen it, and neither had Nantes, the BRIA (French Flight Brieifing Unit) for that region.

Despite knowing that it was in the system somewhere, I ended up having to call Nantes and file over the telephone. I called AFPEx this morning to find out if I’d done anything wrong and found out about a recent change that the French have introduced.

When using AFPEx to file a flight plan you are offered a degree of help with the VFR addressing. This is accessed by right clicking in one of the address boxes at the top of an AFPEx flight plan form and clicking through ‘VFR addresses’ and ‘Add VFR addresses’. You’ll then be presented with a box in which there is a list of addresses which are pretty much all collective addresses. By collective addresses I mean that the people at NATS behind AFPEx have grouped the appropriate addresses together under one single address, making life simpler for the user and reducing the possibility of errors.



However, scroll down to France and then extend the box and you’ll see a note that suggests you consult the French AIP, specifically ENR 1.11. This is a document that sets out some new addresses for French airfields, addresses that right now AFPEx does not take into account. As an example, any flight departing from or arriving at Cherbourg will need the following list of addresses.

LFRCZPZX LFRSZPZX LFRRZFZX LFRGZTZX LFRGZPZX
if you are departing from Cherbourg, or

LFRCZTZX LFRSZPZX LFRRZFZX LFRGZTZX LFRGZPZX
if you are arriving at Cherbourg

Right now, AFPEx does not seem to differentiate between departing or arriving, using LFRCZPZX for both. The collective address for VFR in France, EGZYVFLF is an AFPEx collective and may or may not contain some or all of the required addresses. I suspect my ‘lost’ flight plan was due to it not being properly addressed as per the new instructions

To say this is a bit of a mess would be an understatement. The AFPEx team are well aware of this issue and are discussing it with the French with a view to finding a nice simple solution. In the meantime (and I’ll update this as and when I get news) the only way to be squeaky clean is to print a copy of the French AIP ENR 1.11 and follow the instructions there.

HMEC-25 Headsets

Have you used these before? If so, I'd like to know how you found them. Please drop me an email or leave a comment.

Thanks

Ian

CAA issues LSA clarification

This is the SportCruiser, one of the new breed of aircraft hoping to get a Permit while waiting for EASA to finalise the regulations. There are others, some have Permits (CTLS, Remos G3), some are still waiting (SportCruiser, SuperStar). Those with Permits have non-renewable Permits, when/if those without get their Permits they'll also be non-renewable. The plan is that by the time their two-year Permit expires, EASA will have it all sorted, and the manufacturers will have the required Part 21 approvals.

The CAA has recently issued a letter, which suggests that they are somewhat concerned about some of the incorrect information that is out there, including things that have been written by people who should know better in a magazine that should also know better.

Here's the letter in full.

Dear Sir,

Light Sport Aircraft (LSA)

With the increasing interest in Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) it is important that operators and potential purchasers are aware of the current situation regarding the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) plans for the aircraft.

At present, EASA will provide ‘Flight Conditions’ for these aircraft. This potentially allows these aircraft to qualify for an EASA Permit to Fly (PtF), which will be issued by the State of Registry, e.g. the UK CAA. The aircraft are being delivered from the manufacturer, accompanied by an EASA Form 52. This attests to the build status of the aircraft but, at present, these documents have no legal validity as the production process currently sits outside of the established EASA Implementing Rules for certification under Part 21. This means that aircraft which have had a PtF issued, have not been designed or manufactured to a certificated standard and will be restricted in their use. For example, ab initio flying training or its use for hire and reward will not be permitted.

EASA has recently agreed to formalise the requirements for certification and manufacture of these LSA types. We believe that EASA intends that they will be designed to a code, Certification Specification (CS) -LSA, based on the US ASTM specification. It will also be a requirement that the production organisation be approved, in accordance with Part 21. In the absence of the Part 21 approval, the aircraft will not be eligible for anything other than a PtF and thus will be restricted in use.

Aircraft manufactured and delivered when the Part 21 production approval is in place will initially be issued with a PtF but once the aircraft has been evaluated against the design code, may be eligible for the issue of a CofA. EASA is considering further the likely operating rules that will apply to LSA aircraft with a CofA and it is hoped that this will include flying training.

There are three further points worth noting. Firstly, kit-built versions of these LSA aircraft will only be eligible for a National PtF, e.g. a UK National PtF issued by the CAA and administered through the Light Aircraft Association. Secondly, an aircraft with an EASA PtF is not necessarily eligible for flight in the airspace of another country, even the EU Member States, as EASA has yet to take on the legal competence for airspace use and access. Thirdly, LSA aircraft on a PtF cannot be hired out, this constitutes hire and reward, but can be operated by a group in accordance with the current group rules defined in the UK Air Navigation order (max 20 members sharing the costs).

In the meantime, prospective purchasers of these aircraft should be aware that the EASA requirements are not yet in place.

Jim McKenna

Head of Strategy, Policy and Standards

Airworthiness Division

Safety Regulation Group

Civil Aviation Authority

50lph and only 120kt

There's no doubt about it, filling the 182's tanks with avgas is expensive. They empty themselves at the rate of about 50lph and the energy released propels the C182 along at about 120kt. It'll go faster of course, but you pay dearly for the extra speed and unless there's a very good reason 2nm a minute is a decent compromise.

It's not all bad news though. The picture above shows the stuff we took for a two-night stay in France, and some of the stuff we brought back: there's a small suitcase and a holdall (and they never do); a bag of shopping (tins, jars and all sorts); a freezer bag with ice packs (keeps the fresh fish, err... fresh); bag containing laptop and assorted wires; a flight bag with a Jepp manual, charts, radios and documents; a couple of headsets; a couple of life-jackets; a dinghy and a couple of quarts of oil. After all that I still had a couple of seats at the back going empty.

When I compare that lot with the space and weight restrictions 'enjoyed' by some smaller aircraft, I realise that the C182 offers compromises that suit my flying - from short strip stuff to IFR touring. The 50lph still hurts though.

Air/Ground radio

I called in at Compton Abbas for some fuel on Saturday. Compton's callsign is Compton Radio which indicates that they ofer an Air/Ground service, and they do it properly, which is to say within the regulations. Air/Ground cannot provide instructions to a pilot either in the air or on the ground, so when you call final they'll tell you the wind, that's all. When it's time to leave, an Air/Ground service can't give you taxi instructions or give you clearance to take off - they can give you the wind direction and strength.

Landing at Compton on Saturday it was surprising how many people (it was heaving) kept announcing that they were on final, then short final, then very short final. Each time the A/G operator gave them (correctly) the wind direction and speed, adding the information that they were an Air/Ground service. The airwaves were also pretty full of people asking for taxi instructions, and calling ready for departure at the hold, expecting to be cleared for take-off.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a general moan about the quality of RT, but some of the people suffering from a lack of understanding were (correctly) using the Student prefix. In my opinion the fault lies with their instructors who should know better, and who should have ensured that their students understand the different services available, particularly as they're supposedly under supervison.

CAP413 has the details.

Flight planning

When I was learning to fly, my preparation for a cross-country flight went roughly along these lines.

1. Plan the route. That meant lines on maps and plogs with times, speeds, altitudes and headings. It involved protractors, scales and a CRP1 to do difficult sums.
   
2. Pop over to the Tower to look at the NOTAM (I learned pre internet). Looking at the NOTAM meant flicking through a few sheets of telex paper pretending that I understood the seemingly random characters that were barely legible. I didn't.
   
3. While in the Tower, ask for the latest TAFs and METARs at least for the departure and destination airfields. These too were a mystery at first.
   
4. Discuss all of the above with other students, actual skygod PPL holders who were at the school renting, and finally one of the instructors. Should any changes be required, I'd repeat all of the steps.

These days the planning process is much quicker, that's partly due to having a bit more experience but also because it is just so much easier now. For my flight to France tomorrow, the planning went something like this

1. Take a quick look at the weather to see if it is going to be VFR or IFR. For this (rough) guide I look at one or more of the following Avbrief, BBC, Meteo France. Tomorrow looks like good VFR
2. Fire up Navbox ProPlan, create a line between departure and destination and 'rubber band' my way around anything I need to.* Depending on distances and time pressures, I may plan a stop somewhere - unless there's a good reason I prefer not to fly legs of more than three hours if possible.
3. Check NOTAM on the AIS site and re-plan with ProPlan if there's a need (no need for tomorrow, although there are some transiting Red Arrows and a big gliding competition to look out for.
   
4. Draw a line on the map, and take a look at airspace, paying particular attention to vertical restrictions like the airway running from SAM to the Channel Islands.
   

In the morning, I'll use the briefing handbook facility to check for any last minute NOTAM and will use Avbrief to take a more detailed look at the weather. I'll be spared trips to the Tower or anywhere else and will file my flight plan online via AFPEx, and my GAR via email.

Both processes give the same result, but where I probably took half a day to plan a 100nm flight before, now largely thanks to the internet and a laptop, pretty much any European flight can be easily planned in less than 30 minutes.

Where's Rick Shrameck?

Have you seen Rick Shrameck? During Oshkosh there were rumours that the Epic facility in Bend, Oregan had been closed down by a 'Federal agency'. The rumours were persistent so I tried to find out what was going on, but couldn't make contact with Mr Shrameck. Emails and calls continue to go unanswered.

There was an Epic stand at Oshkosh but when I went along to ask some questions I found that the stand had gone!

One Epic customer, Rich Lucibella, has recently filed a lawsuit against the company for an engine that he says they failed to deliver. According to Lucibella (via AIN) there are about twelve uncompleted airframes in the Epic building. The Epic LT is a kit aircraft that is supposedly built at the factory by the owner. Epic is currently under investigation by the FAA for allegedly exceeding the amount of building that the company does compared to that carried out by the owner.


Thanks to Airport Journal for the picture

Update: According to loal news reports the building was locked up by the landlord who also has a lien on good inside. Rick Shrameck is not repsonding to calls or emails, neither is his business partner or lawyer. More information here

Owners bid $40m for Eclipse assets

Two Eclipse owners have put together a $40m bid for Eclipse Aviation's assets which include the DayJet fleet. If successful, Eclipse Aerospace (EA) will pay $20m in cash and issue $20m in shares to take over where Vern Raeburn and Roel Pieper left off.

Although this offer has passed inspection by the bankruptcy court - and the existing owners' group EOG (Eclipse Owners Group) has withdrawn, in order to back EA's offer - there is still a chance that there will be an auction later this month. I understand that there may be competition from Russia and China, although Daher-Socata is no longer an interested party. Eclipse Aerospace was started by Mason Holland and Mike Press, both Eclipse owners.

Update: The fate of Eclipse will be settled on August 20th. So far the Eclipse Aerospace bis is the only runner in the race with the bankruptcy judge setting a deadline of noon on Friday 14th August for others to enter the running. If one or more bids are made then an auction will follow, if not then it is likely that the judge will approve the sale of Eclipse's remaining assets to Eclipse Aerospace.

Hotel approved for Biggin Hill

It's not all bad news at Biggin Hill. After two failed attempts the airport has received planning permission to build a hotel at the corner of Churchill Way. The hotel's bar and restaurant, which will have a view of the runway, will be open to the public.

More details from This is Kent

Waterless wash test

...and now for something completely different. AFE recently sent through a 'onedrywash' car cleaning kit to test. Waterless cleaning systems have become very popular in areas of drought, and in some parts of the world it has been the only way that car valeters could remain in business, although I very much doubt that a hosepipe ban is on the cards for the UK this summer.

It says on the box that the system was developed to clean aircraft in the desert. Lacking anything resembling a desert I waited for the rain to stop and headed for ths strip to try out the system for a report in next month's issue of FLYER. After doing that I thought I'd try making a video of the process for this blog.

As you can see the system is simple to use: spray on, clean with supplied microfibre cloth, and then finish by polishing with another clean, dry (supplied) mf cloth. The box claims that the kit has enough fluid in it to clean seven cars, but I'd guess that there's about enough to give a dirty C182 one good clean.

I was surprised how well the system worked, even on areas of paint that are in less than perfect condition. The 'kit' costs £14.95 and consists of a bottle of cleaning fluid (each bottle saves one tonne of water apparently!), two microfibre cloths and some latex gloves. Replacement bottles of 'onedrywash' are available for £9.95. It's expensive if you are a compulsive cleaner, but if your aircraft lives in a hangar and gets two or three good cleans a year then it's well worth giving this a try.

Air Touring at Biggin Hill in administration

Air Touring at Biggin Hill has gone into administration. The company was distributor for the TB series of piston singles and the TBM850 turboprop. They also distributed the Columbia 350 and 400 before Columbia itself went into administration prior to being bought by Cessna. Air Touring at Biggin was also the UK dealer for Mooney Aircraft.

I understand that neither Air Touring Germany nor the Air Touring Group are affected by this. For further information contact: Baker Tilly, The Clock House, 140 London Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1UW. Tel: 01483 307000

GA piston sales down 58%

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) today released the shipment figures for the second quarter of 2009. As expected, they don't paint a pretty picture. The first six months of 2009 saw 434 aircraft delivered whereas 1,034 were delivered over the same period in 2008, a 58% drop.

Total sales revenues (which include jet and turboprop aircraft) have also seen a dramatic decline with Cessna down $922,511,336, Piper down $48,475,950, Cirrus down $48,272,008 and Diamond down $46,671,661. The industry as a whole is down $2.73 billion so far this year.

In the first quarter of 2009, Cessna led the single-engine piston market with 26% of all shipments, but in Q2 Cirrus Aircraft became the market leader accounting for 32% of all shipments against Cessna's 31%. The best-selling single continues to be the Cirrus SR22 with 68 deliveries while Cessna shipped 32 C172 Skyhawk SP and Diamond 31 DA40.

Other snippets that I found interesting...

Cessna sold more Citation Mustangs than Skyhawks (38 against 32)

So far this year only one Corvalis 350 has been sold

Despite costing over $1m each, eight Baron 58 have been sold so far this year

Liberty Aerospace sold seven XL2 at an average price of $171,571

Maule sold two aircraft at an average price of $169,248

Privately, manufacturers are not hopeful for significantly increased sales. Many have new aircraft in stock and others will be building 'white tails' (aircraft without orders). The market may (fingers crossed) have bottomed out, but the recovery looks like being long and slow.

Oshkosh by the numbers

The Oshkosh numbers are out, and the good news is that even in this tough climate attendance is up.

Attendance: 578,000 - up 12% on 2008

Total aircraft: over 10,000

Exhibition aircraft: 2,652 (highest number since 2005). The breakdown was...

1,023 hombuilt aircraft; 1,007 vintage aircraft; 355 warbirds; 116 ultralights; 99 seaplanes; 36 aerobatic aircraft and 16 rotorcraft

Commercial exhibitors: 750

Number of people camping: 41,000

The event was reported on by 907 members of the media.

If you want to be part of the numbers next year, the dates for your diary are 26th July to 1st August.

Oshkosh in pictures

A small selection, hopefully conveying some of the Oshkosh atmosphere. If you want to see a bigger version of the same slideshow, click here.

A short guide to the Cirrus battle

There's a lot of confusion surrounding the events at Cirrus, so here's a simple guide followed by a few guesses.

25 years ago Alan and Dale Klapmeier founded Cirrus Design

In 1998 the FAA certified the SR20

In 2000 the FAA certified the SR22

In 2006 Cirrus started taking $100,000 deposits for the jet. It is said that at one point they held 40 deposits

In 2008, Alan Klapmeier was replaced as CEO by Brent Wouters, Klapmeier remained as Chairman

In early July, Alan Klapmeier announced that he was putting a team together to buy the jet project from Cirrus Aircraft

Brent Wouters and Alan Klapmeier appeared to not be reading the same script in interviews following that announcement

At Oshkosh, Wouters and Dale Klapmeier said that selling the project to Alan (while retaining an interest) was a win win

Later that week Alan Klapmeier said that he was withdrawing from the negotiations

Brent Wouters responded by suggesting that Cirrus had alternative capital options

A few thoughts (and guesses)

It's clear that there's a rift between Alan Klapmeier and Brent Wouters

It's clear that Alan and Dale are not as close as they once were

From comments made by Wouters, it's clear that the Jet will take a very long time for Cirrus to bring to market without significant additional investment

In these tough economic times, Cirrus needs deposit holders asking for their money back like a double dose of swine flu

Arcapita (who own Cirrus) should, in theory at least, be very motivated to do the deal - it would remove the jet deposit liabilities and going forward would mean that Cirrus would not need to spend 'every development dollar' on the jet.

Wouters has stated that the negotiations had got very, very close

Does Arcapita have another deal on the table?

Has Alan really withdrawn, or is that a negotiating tactic?

More news when I get it...

Update: As far as I can tell the withdrawal was for real, and wasn't part of any negotiation strategy. It is impossible to say that Alan Klapmeier and his team will never buy the project, but all the signs are that when his Chairmanship of Cirrus Aircraft ends later this month he'll be spending his time working on non-Cirrus matters.

How to sell stuff

A tale of two retail experiences...

Me: "Hello, I'd like to buy one of these please."
Retailer: "You sound English, I'll have to change a few things. I can't sell you one from the stand and I need $300 for shipping."
Me: "Thanks, but no thanks."

Me: "Hello, I'd like to buy one of these please."
Retailer: "Certainly sir, would you like me to customise it at all?"
Me: "No thanks, but I'd like to buy one from the stand."
Retailer: "No problem."
Me: "Here's my American Express card."

Same product, same show, same exhibition hall. Retailer 1 (Aircraft Spruce) managed a smile, but weren't interested in selling anything. Retailer 2 (Sarasota Avionics) couldn't have been more helpful or pleasant to deal with.

Seaplane heaven

A short drive or bus ride from the AirVenture showgrounds you'll find the EAA's seaplane base. The idyllic base situated on Lake Winnebago is, in contrast to the bustling showground, quiet and relaxing. There's a steady stream of departures and arrivals and free boat rides around the sheltered inlet where the aeroplanes are moored.

The number of aircraft landing at the seaplane base looks like being significantly down this year. Some people are saying that the economy is at fault, while others blame the administrative hassle that the TSA has put in place for Canadian visitors flying in - there are certainly fewer C reg. aircraft this year.

If you visit Oshkosh in the future, and every pilot should try to get there at least once, I can recommend taking a morning, afternoon or evening to enjoy the seaplane base.