MIDWEEK UPDATE 20 JUNE 2018
Plan Your Weekend……..Forthcoming Events…….Aviation News
Worldwide Incidents and Accidents……This Week in Aviation History
3rd Saturday of every month. Microland. Bring and braai. Fires and bykos provided. Fires start from 09h30. Contact person: Nick Swardt 082 441 8011 or Alan Hussey 072 82 2341
23: Potchefstroom charity event fly-in breakfast to raise funds for cancer sufferer four year old Ruben Bamberger.
24: Vintage Aircraft Fly-in Johannesburg Model Aircraft Club. JOMAC is just off the R 114 Mulderdrift Road and is registered with SAMAA at 25° 56' 31" S and 27° 58' 44" E. Contact: jomacadmin@gmail.com
24-28: South African Hot Air Balloon Championships 2018, Skeerpoort North West Province. Contact Richard Bovell richard@bovellross.com
28 June- 1 July: Race for Rhinos - Sowa Pan - Botswana. Contact Chris Briers e-mail: chris@airteam.co.za cell: 082 568 7988
30: Wings Park Open Day and Fly-In. Contact Johan Odendaal odendaalj@italtile.co.za
4: EAA Chapter 322 meeting. Dickie Fritz Moth Hall Edenvale. Contact: editor@afskies.co.za
6-10: Zim Navex - Prince Charles Airport - Harare. Marion Kalweit - 2017 Air Rally Committee email: zimairrally@gmail.com Tel +263772570009
7: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop open practise day. Officer Commanding - Museum oc@saafmuseum.org.za 012 351 2290
9: MISASA AGM 18h00 at Kroon Airfield
14-16: Nysltroom Vliegklub/EAA Taidraggers Fly in for more information contact: Richard Cell: 082 490 6227 or mail to: Richard.nicholson1963@gmail.com
14: SAC Judges Trophy. Brits Airfield. Contact Annie Boon chunge@mweb.co.za
14: Hoedspruit Fun Rally. Contact Wynand Uys email: wynand@ottersden.co.za or Frank Eckard e-mail: frank.eckard@mweb.co.za cell: 083 269 1516
14: Limpopo Flying School Open Championships for Microlights. Camping facilities at the field. For more information contact Nico at 0828525961 or email vliegskool@hotmail.com
21: Krugersdorp Flying Club Airfield Festival and spot landing competition. Contact kfc@iafrica.com or phone 082 374 5559
21: Tailwinds fly-in at Microland. Contact Nick Swardt : Nick Swardt 082 441 8011
23 -29: EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
Camping on the airfield contact Neil Bowden E-mail: neil1@telkomsa.net
Hotels in Appleton contact Calvin Fabig E-mail: calvin@designer.co.za
28: CAA Safety Campaign Launch Midrand Conference Centre. RSVP Kgomotso Malema at malema@caa.co.za
4: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop open practise day. Officer Commanding - Museum oc@saafmuseum.org.za 012 351 2290
3rd Saturday of every month. Microland. Bring and braai. Fires and bykos provided. Fires start from 09h30. Contact person: Nick Swardt 082 441 8011 or Alan Hussey 072 82 2341
9: Stellenbosch Flying Club Women's Day Fly in. Contact Alison Navarro 083 728 78386 architecnic1953@gmail.com or Louise Hofmeyer 083 454 1104 louise@airshowsa.org.za
19: Rand Airport Airshow. Contact Stuart Coetzee E-mail: manager@randairport.co.za Tel: 011 827 8884
19: World Helicopter Day. Henley Air Rand Airport.
25: Sheila Taylor Fun Rally - Krugersdorp Airfield. Contact Grant Rousseau Cell: 082 329 3551E-mail: gr@kama.co.za
25 - 25: Bethlehem Airshow Stefan Fourie fouriesj1491@gmail.com 072 344 9678
The Aviation Radio Show; get all your questions answered in one place. To listen to a recording of the live broadcast click on the link:
www.debela.co.za/aviation-radio-show
MORE THAN 10 PILOTS AND A WHOLE LOT OF HOT AIR!
by Sarah Bauling
What happens when you put 10 hot air balloon pilots into the sky all at once?
The South African Hot Air Balloon National Championships!
So who are these amazing pilots? What are their REAL jobs? And WHY are they envied by many? With the newest pilot in the competition sporting just 100 hours right up to the competitor with just over 2000 hours there is bound to be some fun!
Competitors are coming from around the country - Johannesburg, Drakensburg and not forgetting our neighbours, Zimbabwe! Past South African champions, and those that simply love the camaraderie of ballooning. Full time pilots, part time pilots, retired passionate aviators hang gliders, maize and mielie and soya farmers, chartered accountants - you name it - they are there.
Nine men, one lady, R35,000 worth of prizes and the grand title up for grabs - we can guarantee one thing - it is going to be unbelievable!
SUBSONEX PERSONAL JET APPROVED FOR RENO AIR RACES
Sonex Aircraft announced a collaboration with High Performance Aircraft Group to showcase the SubSonex Personal Jet. High Performance Aircraft Group debuted the SubSonex at this year's Pylon Racing Seminar (also known as "Rookie School") at Reno Stead airport in preparation and training for the National Championship Air Races in September. Photo © Sonex.
"The plane has been approved for racing, and now we have to get to work in preparation for training enough pilots to create a new race!" remarks Pete. "I believe we got eight flights in and everyone loved it. It was a blast on the course."
During the four-day event, the SubSonex participated in formation flights with as many different aircraft as time allowed. This included fingertip, echelon, cross-unders, pitch out rejoins and recoveries. Due to runway construction at Stead airport, only Saturday and Sunday were available for track time during this year's PRS. Very high winds prevented all flights on Saturday, so all time on the track had to be accomplished on Sunday. "I did three flights on the track and everyone loved the SubSonex," writes Pete, "First time in history for this jet design to make flights on the Reno race course!" Flights during PRS were conducted on the Jet/Unlimited course; however, Sonex Aircraft and High Performance Aircraft Group are hoping to gain approval for future testing and exhibition racing on the shorter courses, designed for aircraft closer to the SubSonex's speed envelope and level of manoeuvrability.
Zaccagnino is flying SubSonex model JSX-2 factory prototype number 2, also known at the Sonex factory as "Sharkie," for these racing and demonstration flights while JSX-2 factory prototype number 1 is on the airshow circuit for its third season performing day and night pyro aerobatic air shows around the nation by Bob Carlton of Vertigo Airshows. The SubSonex Personal Jet is offered to Sonex Aircraft customers as a Quick Build aircraft kit and is powered by the PBS TJ-100 turbojet engine. The airframe kit plus engine price is under $100,000 and complete costs to purchase and complete a SubSonex kit start at only $108,000 - for a JET!
High Performance Aircraft Group, based in Park City, UT is headed by aeronautical engineer and 3-time world champion race pilot Peter Zaccagnino. Pete has flown throughout the world and performed specialized flight testing for various aircraft manufacturers in both civilian and military aircraft. He has over 22,000 flight hours in hundreds of aircraft types. High Performance Aircraft Group specializes in flight testing, high performance aircraft training, global aircraft placement, aircraft management and acquisition. Pete will be racing in this year's National Championship Air Races in the Jet Class and Sport Class. We expect championships in both!
PILATUS EXTENDS PC-12 MAINTENANCE INTERVALS AND DELIVERS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED OPERATING COSTS
Pilatus engineers recently developed and certified a new PC-12 Master Maintenance Plan to give greater flexibility with regard to the timing of required inspections and maintenance. The plan applies to all PC-12 Series, and will reduce required maintenance labour by 20-40%. Photo © Pilatus.
The new Maintenance Plan lists all scheduled maintenance tasks with maximum intervals, allowing operators to package these tasks according to their own specific operations. For operators who want a pre-defined inspection programme, the new maintenance policy also provides the tasks pre-packaged in six different intervals - 300 Flight Hours (FH), 300 FH/12 Months (MO), 600 FH, 600 FH/12 MO, 1200 FH/12 MO, 2400 FH/24 MO where the flight hours or calendar time intervals are understood as "whichever comes first".
BEECHCRAFT KING AIR 350I ROLLS OUT IMPROVED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, NAVIGATION
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, today announced during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) 2018 that iTAWS is now standard on the Pro Line Fusion-equipped Beechcraft King Air 350i/ER turboprop aircraft. The system provides an integrated Terrain Awareness and Warning System (iTAWS) with the Fusion's high-resolution Synthetic Vision System (SVS) for easy operation. Photo © Textron.
iTAWS brings aural and visual warnings to the primary flight display and multi-function displays, and it eliminates the standalone TAWS line-replaceable unit along with all related wiring and complexity.
"Integration of the latest technology and comfort throughout the cockpit and cabin have made the Pro Line Fusion-equipped King Air 350i a success since it achieved certification and entered service in late 2015," said Rob Scholl, senior vice president, Sales & Marketing. "We continue to invest in the world's best-selling business turboprop family, bringing owners/operators features that are important to them. Better navigation, more accurate storm information and increased situational awareness lower the pilot workload and boost the comfort of everyone on board."
All new Beechcraft King Air turboprops come equipped with Pro Line Fusion flight decks. The company expects to roll out the above new features on the King Air 250 in the near future.
The cutting-edge technology and products that will drive general aviation's next generation will come together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 on Tuesday, July 24, with a full Innovations Day of programming and events on the AirVenture grounds. Photo © Uber.
The daylong series of only-at-Oshkosh events brings together the brightest minds in aviation innovation. Topics will include electric and hybrid powerplant technology, artificial intelligence in the cockpit, future avionics, uses of unmanned aircraft, and more. The packed schedule of events concludes with An Evening with Innovators at the Theatre in the Woods, featuring with the third annual Founder's Innovation Prize judging and program. In addition, Aviation Gateway Park features more than 20 new exhibitors demonstrating new technology throughout the week.
"EAA members thrive on the 'what's next' - the new technology and innovations in general aviation," said Dave Chaimson, EAA's vice president of marketing and business development. "Many of the innovations seen at Oshkosh over the past five decades are now commonplace in aviation. There's no place better than Oshkosh, and its connection with the community's leading manufacturers and service providers, to provide world-class educational experiences to engage in aviation's future."
NASA passed another milestone when its unmanned Ikhana aircraft made history by flying in public airspace without a safety chase plane for the first time. NASA got special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct the test flight.
Ikhana took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California and cruised at an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) through airspace shared with commercial flights. It later descended to a lower altitude shared with general aviation flights.
"This historic flight moves the United States one step closer to normalizing unmanned aircraft operations in the airspace used by commercial and private pilots," NASA says.
Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ:WKHS), an American technology company focused on providing sustainable and cost-effective solutions to the commercial transportation sector, announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accepted their application for Type Certification for their SureFly eVTOL aircraft. Photo © Workhorse.
The June 1st application is an important step forward, as the SureFly design appears to be the first hybrid-electric eVTOL multi-copter to reach this important milestone with the FAA.
SureFly has been designed to create a new type of aircraft that is intended to be easy to operate, safe to fly and expected to be moderately priced relative to a conventional helicopter. SureFly has eight electrically driven props that are powered via a piston or turbine based generator. The craft also has a small lithium battery that is designed to power the motors for a safe descent and landing in the rare event that the generator should fail while in flight. In addition to these redundancies, the SureFly design has a ballistic parachute that works above 100ft of altitude.
The SureFly system features a state of the art fly-by-wire control system that enables single joystick control of the craft. The lightweight carbon fibre fuselage and large front windshield also lend a level of comfort and safety for the pilot and passenger. The SureFly can accommodate a pilot and passenger or a pilot and cargo for a wide variety of applications.
"The FAA has yet to certify an aircraft like SureFly," said Steve Burns, CEO of Workhorse Group. "We have been working closely with the FAA while we have been under our Experiment Certification status, and we feel that their acceptance of our Type Certification application represents a vote of confidence in our team, our product and the future of electric vertical take and landing aircraft here in the United States."
Because the FAA has not certificated an aircraft like SureFly before, and because this is truly a first-of-its-kind design, much of the FAA's regulatory certification framework does not apply to SureFly, so Workhorse is working closely with top experts in the field to develop new certification requirements that fit a hybrid-electric eVTOL like SureFly.
YUNEEC'S TYPHOON H PLUS HAS LANDED
Meet the second generation of Typhoon H - a hexacopter even more powerful than before. Creatives will benefit from a new one-inch sensor camera capable of 4K/60fps video and 20-megapixel stills. An all-new, larger, quieter six-rotor airframe provides stability in winds in excess of 30mph. Other drones force you to choose between image quality or flight stability, but the Typhoon H Plus gives you both. Photo © Yuneec.
WHAT'S NEW?
• C23 1" sensor camera with up to 20 MP photo and 4K @ 60 FPS video resolution
• Improved low-light performance & exceptional dynamic range
• New flight controller based on PX4 with integrated backup and failsafe
• Six rotors for unparalleled safety and stability
• 5-rotor mode to compensate a motor failure
• Optimized design for improved airflow and cooling as well as specially shielded core areas for increased reliability
• No data transfer to external server
• High efficiency and quiet flight operation
• Redesigned ST16 remote control with improved display
• Automated flight modes: Orbit Me, Point of Interest, Journey Mode, Follow Me, Curve Cable Cam, Return Home
• Available with Intel® Real-Sense ™ technology that is capable of detecting obstacles and intelligently navigating around them
New Zeeland, Ngamatea Station: Three men have been injured after a Hughes MD600N carrying five people crashed in the central North Island. One man is in a critical condition, and two others are seriously injured. St John assessed two other men after they were flown by rescue helicopter to Bridge Pa airport, A Hawkes Bay District.
India, Gujarat: An Indian Air Force (IAF) Jaguar aircraft on a routine training mission developed a technical snag during the landing phase in Gujarat. The pilot ejected safely. This comes three days after another IAF Jaguar jet crashed in Gujarat's Kutch district soon after it took off from the Jamnagar air base, killing a senior officer who was piloting the aircraft. The plane crashed in a field in Bareja village.
USA, Sacramento Mather Airport: A Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet A that belongs to a company owned by Google executives Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt and is based at Moffet Field experienced an in-flight fire and subsequent gear-up landing at Sacramento Mather Airport (KMHR), Sacramento, California. It sustained substantial damage and the two occupants were uninjured.
Denmark, Copenhagen: An Air Baltic Boeing 737-300 on a flight from performing flight BT-619 from Riga (Latvia) to Amsterdam (Netherlands), was enroute at FL360 over the Baltic Sea about 150nm eastnortheast of Copenhagen (Denmark) when the crew initiated an emergency descent advising they had discovered some fire on board. The crew decided to divert to Copenhagen at FL100. Swedisch armed forces dispatched a Saab Gripen to intercept the Boeing and inspect the aircraft from the outside; no traces of fire or smoke were discovered from the outside by the fighter crew. The Boeing landed safely at Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport about 40 minutes later.
16 JUNE 1922
Henry Berliner demonstrates a primitive helicopter to the US Navy.
Born on 13 December 1895 Henry Adler Berliner, the sixth son of inventor Emile Berliner, was a United States aircraft and helicopter pioneer.
After a short time as aerial photographer with the Army Air Service, in 1919 Henry moved back to Washington to help his father with the helicopter research that had been underway for many years. Using a Le Rhône engine of 80 hp mounted on a test stand, Henry was able to hover and move forward, but only with assistants holding on to stabilize the contraption.
In 1922, he bought a surplus Nieuport 23 fighter's fuselage, added a Bentley 220 hp engine on the front, and connected it by geared shafts to two horizontal rotors mounted on a truss extending sideways from the fuselage. A third horizontal rotor at the rear provided pitch control. This was demonstrated at College Park, Maryland to the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics on June 16, 1922, and is often given (though disputed) as the debut of the helicopter.
In 1923, Henry added a triple set of wings to his prototype, as a backup in case of engine failure. This machine could both hover, and reach forward speeds of 40 mph, but did not have the power to gain much altitude; its best performance, on 23 February 1924, reached an elevation of just 15 feet.
A 1925 biplane-like design was lighter and more efficient, but performed little better and was the Berliners' last. In the following year, Henry founded the Berliner Aircraft Company and went on develop various fixed-wing aircraft. The company merged to form Berliner-Joyce Aircraft in 1929 and was acquired by North American Aviation a few months later; in 1930 Berliner founded Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO). ERCO built the ERCO Ercoupe.
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