â„¢ June 2019
Volume 18 No.6
R35.00 incl. VAT N$35.00 incl. VAT
ABSA Lowveld Airshow
PTAR
EAA National Convention
Lanseria International Airport
06090
Cover photograph by SAC Nicholas Egan (RAF) www.africanpilot.co.za 9 771681 151008
Co Tr m ans pa p s o Av s S nde ia wi r C tio n n g f hec Ai or k rc G or ra en ft er al
Chinooks
Contents 40
Airline Pilot
Regulars
8
Airbus ACJ319neo sets record
4
Competitions
8
EgyptAir selects FlightSafety
6
Letters
9
CemAir wins CAAC ruling
17
Names to Remember
10
Bombardier Africa Tour 2019
30
Events Calendar
12
Mango fuel saving technology
32
Fact File
36
Picture of the Month
Commercial Pilot
38
Accident Report
14
Bose A20 headsets
44
The Best of the Best
16
AVDEX prebuilt schedules
106 Medical
18
Comet Specialty Tires
108 Register Update
20
Bose headsets for AMS
110 Aircraft Sales
22
Garmin G1000 NXi upgrades
111 Shop Window
Drone Pilot
Special Features
23
AiRXOS UAV organ transplant
50
24
Raytheon helps pilots fly drones
50
Lanseria International Airport Feature 2019
beyond line of sight
Other
Flying Cars
28
Stars of Sandstone 2019
25
ASX launches seed equity round
40
The Boeing Chinook
26
XTI TriFan 600
46
AERO Friedrichshafen
98
Sun ‘n Fun Lakeland USA
Helicopter Pilot 33
China’s first Airbus H215
88
Sport Pilot 88
ABSA Lowveld Airshow 2019
92
PTAR 2019 Saldanha
96
Brakpan Aeroclub Mercedes day
102 EAA National Convention 2019
distributed by
Contributors Athol Franz Charlie Marais Dr Nick Lee
Christine Brits Aidan Owen
Divan Muller Charlie Hugo
Rob Jonkers Fiona Hugo
98
copyright The views expressed in African Pilot are not necessary those of the editor, publisher, or staff writers. The editors and publishers cannot be held responsible for differences of opinion or statements published in good faith. No part of this magazine may be reproduced including advertisements produced by Wavelengths 10 (Pty) Ltd in any form without permission from the publisher. – South African copyright laws apply. distribution African Pilot is distributed by On the Dot throughout southern African countries to approximately 1 000 retail stores: CNA, Exclusive Books, Pick ‘n Pay, PNA, selected Spar stores, garage convenience shops, Checkers Hypermarkets, 7/11 stores, selected bookshops, Fascination and Incredible Books as well as to neighbourhood convenience shops. Own distribution to specialist pilot shops at airports as well as to key decision makers within the aviation industry. Back editions are distributed free of charge to African countries, airport lounges, charter companies, the South African Air Force and selected flight schools. Altogether 5 500 copies of African Pilot are printed each month. The magazine also has online readers from all over the world. The first pages, up to and including picture of the month, of African Pilot may be downloaded free of charge by visiting www.africanpilot.co.za
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Editorial June editorial CemAir wins Civil Aviation Appeals’ Committee (CAAC) ruling against SACAA In order to understand this ruling / judgement: The CAAC is a completely separate committee that reports directly to the Minister of Transport and is funded directly by treasury. In my opinion this was a shocking judgement for the SACAA, because as an administrative body, the regulator failed comprehensively in its duties, whilst the appeal committee picked the regulator to pieces. There were five notices against CemAir, all five were challenged and all five were set aside. Consequently the damage the management of the SACAA has already done and continues to do by victimising professionals within the aviation industry in South Africa is alarming. Clearly the SACAA abused its position as the regulator and acted completely unlawfully. Personally I am grateful for the protection afforded to the citizens of the Republic of South Africa by the Constitution. Abuse of administrative power is nothing less than a precursor to a dictatorship, which is fast becoming the norm at State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa. Having spent considerable time walking the ramps at various general aviation and international airports around South Africa, it has become abundantly clear that the inspectorate of the regulator are not only abusive, but in manty instances these people interpret the rules to suit themselves. I heard from a major AMO who has multiple approvals from African CAAs as well as the FAA, IASA and Transport Canada that dealing with the SACAA inspectorate can often be a nightmare, whilst almost without exception all the other regulators representatives are knowledgeable and polite. Hopefully with the national and provincial elections behind us and the endorsement of Mr. Ramaphosa as the next president, some of the blatant theft and political rot in our country will be stopped.
There was a time when I tried to support the SACAA as the regulator, but in my opinion the SACAA has become a deeply flawed organisation that is bloated with the hiring of far too many people who are neither technically nor academically qualified. This has been exacerbated by internal politics that have created an organisation that serves to extend its own power as well as the interests of its management. Of course aviation safety has gone ‘out of the window,’ being a convenient catch word for justifying the unjustifiable. Certainly very few SACAA employees have any real interest in developing aviation in South Africa and this includes the management at the highest levels. When you read the judgement it is abundantly clear that CemAir did not break any regulations, whilst certain ‘officials’ within the inspectorate who are named in the report clearly have no idea about what they are regulating. This story is far from over and I personally believe that the CemAir case will become a catalyst to call the entire aviation industry to take decisive action. Perhaps it is time for legal class actions as well as reports to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) about the shortcomings of the SACAA. We have to stop the rot at the regulator and return the South African regulator, where many people within the inspectorate are not qualified, to international standards. The SACAA should be delivering the services to its clients that it happily takes money from on a regular basis instead for victimising its customers. Your input about this matter will be most welcome. Please send me an e-mail to me: editor@africanpilot.co.za with your observations and comments. Until next month, please fly within the rules of aviation. Athol Franz
Editor Athol Franz 082 552 2940 editor@africanpilot.co.za
Publisher / Production Wavelengths 10 (Pty) Ltd
Marketing Lara Bayliss 079 880 4359 marketing@africanpilot.co.za
Durban correspondent Pete van der Spek
Copy reader Gordon Dyne
gdyne@global.co.za
Designers Maria Leader maria@africanpilot.co.za Creshenda Maraba-Haffejee creshenda@africanpilot.co.za Website and digital Johan Botes
johan@africanpilot.co.za
Accounts Manager Helena Kurland
admin@africanpilot.co.za
Admin / Subscriptions Paulinah Motlhabi
subscribe@africanpilot.co.za
Transport Ephraim Ndlovu
Cape Town correspondent Irene McCullagh Printing Business Print
012 843 7600 / 0861 42 42 59
Distribution On the Dot
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African Pilot Local International Fax
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P.O. Box 30620, Kyalami, 1684, South Africa
African Pilot House No. 6 Barbeque Heights, Dytchley Road, Barbeque Downs, Kyalami, South Africa
website: www.africanpilot.co.za June 2019
African Pilot
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Competitions Total value of the competition in this edition is R2 200
Cover Chinookes
June Cover Competition
Century Avionics has sponsored a Transponder Check or Compass Swing for General Aviation aircraft and the winner can chose between the two. Questions 1) How many years has Century Avionics been in business? 2) Which company was the major sponsor of the Lowveld airshow 2019? 3) Which major US aviation giant manufactures the Chinook helicopter?
April 2019 Cover Competition Winners Congratulations to the following winner, Johann Pelzer, who has won a flight for two persons in a Robinson R44 helicopter
This Month’s Cover Competition Entries to be submitted to the following e-mail only: info@africanpilot.co.za One entry per person please. Entries sent to other African Pilot e-mails will automatically be disqualified.
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On Wednesday 14 September a very special formation left RAF Odiham bound for the south coast of England but tactical camouflage was not on the agenda! In the past 18 months three Chinook aircraft have been painted to celebrate the 100th anniversaries of 18(B) and 27 Squadron from RAF Odiham and 28 Squadron from RAF Benson. As for the stunning imagery seen here, that could certainly not have been captured without the generous contribution of 657 Sqn Army Air Corps, also based at RAF Odiham, who integrated a Lynx aircraft with the formation to act as a camera platform. This again provided a valuable training opportunity for dissimilar types to operate together, all the while having to maintain awareness of the other’s capabilities and limitations.
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Hi Athol, Hope you are well. I have been reading the March edition of African Pilot and found the article about the DH Mosquito very enjoyable, especially as WW2 aircraft are my favourite. The Hendon museum in London, mentioned in one of the articles, also has a very beautifully restored Mosquito which I had the privilege to see on a visit to this museum a few years ago. I also enjoy your articles about interesting people from that time period.
Dear Marc, Thank you for your e-mail about the DH Mosquito article we published in the March 2019 edition. Indeed, I was fortunate to discover the magnificent picture, which appeared on the front cover of the March magazine, of the formation of four iconic Second World War fighters taken in New Zealand by Gavin Conroy. On contacting Gavin, he was extremely pleased that we wished to use his picture and he earned some cash from the subsequent transaction.
I have a suggestion about articles that your magazine could cover in future publications. As you are aware we have a few very interesting aircraft museums around our country which are not widely publicised and therefore not a lot of people know about them. One such museum is the Military History museum in Saxonwold, Johannesburg. It has a fine collection of aircraft which could be written about and the men and woman who flew them. That is to say if the museum is interested in a little coverage.
For the record, in the past I have covered the South African Military History Museum in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, which also has a DH Mosquito on display. One of the problems of the Mosquito was that being fabricated mostly from wood the aircraft was susceptible to being destroyed by ants. For this reason this particular Mosquito was hung from the roof of one of the display halls. However, by bringing this request to my attention, I will definitely make contact with the Museum again to undertake a further illustrated article in the near future.
Best regards. Marc Post NAC engine shop supervisor
Thank you for your great suggestion.
Dear Athol, This is a belated thank you to you and African Pilot for running the appeal for funding Mayday-SA. Three weeks later we had raised R25000. It is pretty obvious that, apart from you generous R2000 challenge, your subscribers also put money into our bank account. We value your support and kindness to us. It has been there since the very beginning. As the expert, do you believe we should ask you to run the campaign again – maybe after a month’s break?
important confidential pilot mentoring service for when a pilot was experiencing an emotional crisis. Frankly, I believe that the SACAA should be far more involved in Mayday-SA, especially from a funding perspective. I am very pleased that my call to the aviation community had some positive effect and that you received several generous donations. Of course I will help you again and hopefully more pilots will take up the challenge to assist financing Mayday-SA in the future.
Eri and I trust you had a blessed Easter. Warm regards Mike Groch
Sincerely, Athol Franz
Please deposit directly into Mayday’s FNB account: Peer to Peer Mayday-SA Rivonia Branch: 250355 Account number: 62407812488 Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ
Dear Mike, Thank you very much for your mail. Ever since Mayday-SA was launched by you and Wendy Santilhano, I realised that this organisation was to become a very
Please Mike, continue with your great work.
Dear Athol, The press release from the SACAA is a slap in the face for the entire aviation industry, trying to justify and pretend that it is its intention and decision to continue the audit, when the DCA was commanded to do so. Now, after all this time, where does one start to prove acceptable standards? This is ludicrous and insulting at the lowest level of reasoning. To act justified is more arrogant than even expected from the fiercest uneducated politician. The class action and ICAO involvement now becomes the only next level of trying to restore sanity. The media statement underpins the huge void between reality and power mongering, nepotism, racism, prejudice and bias.
dealing with nastiness and deliberate terrorising and obstructing progress. The good boys had some great success, but failed where teeth were required. We need our own fox-terrier branch. Demand and stop asking, receive or suffer consequences and this is only a portion to what I feel. You are welcome to do with this as you see fit, but tactical advantage is always to keep some surprises for the coup de grace. We should call a meeting to discuss a much more aggressive and Malema type stance!
Unfortunately a very serious class action will have to change the destructive course of destroying an entire industry. Arrogance, deliberate holding to nonsensical positions to delay work already done and cleared by international manufacturers, is seen as deliberate and terrorising companies to go out of business. The job losses so far must be the pride of every obstacle positioned in powered positions. Managers and bully artists alike, will have to be taken to task individually as carelessly, whilst hiding behind cheap clichés of flight safety, managing public money. As customers of the regulator we should undertake a rally to its offices and take the path of destruction as some of our political leaders do. We should bar its inspectors, tape, video and take immediate legal action, when they run outside of their declared service mandate. We have an immense amount of taped conversations, under oath declarations and well reasoned deliberate cases of obstruction to rid a few personalities from their high and mighty thrones. We should start an aviation legal fund, non profit and create a section just
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Kind regards, Athol
Writer wishes to remain anonymous. Dear anon, You have said what many aviation professionals are expressing every day about the blatant rot within the SACAA where many individuals within the regulator behave in a disgusting way towards the very clients they are supposed to serve. I spent some time with a major South Africa AMO that is regularly audited by regulators from the African continent as well as the FAA, IASA and Transport Canada and I was told that the SACAA inspectors are the very worst that are encountered on a regular basis. It appears that the many staff changes result in some inspectors changing the rules as they wish, probably because they don’t understand the rules in the first instance. Then there are the obstacles put in front of many healthy pilots trying to renew their medicals. I know several pilots who are being asked to produce the most ludicrous reports from countless doctors. It seems like a deliberate attempt from the SACAA to reduce the number of General Aviation pilots. Regards, Athol.
Obituaries compiled by Athol Franz Tragic accident takes Jan and Engela Kemp
O
n Friday afternoon 10 May, whilst flying in the Nylstroom area, Jan Kemp and his wife Engela were killed when the Piper Tomahawk in which
they were flying impacted a rocky hill. Over many years, I had become good friends with Jan, who was best described as a passionate EAA member who started the Volksrust EAA Chapter. At the same time, the love of his life Engela, was a lovely girl always to be seen with a huge smile on her face.
God speed the two of you to that great
hangar in the sky and may your journey be filled with incredible memories.
Goodbye to Bob Ewing
A
nother wonderful EAA member and good friend was Bob Ewing, who also passed away this past week. Bob and I go back to the great EAA Margate days
when he was the National President and I was the marketing / PRO for EAA national. Bob was a career instructor and avid aviation enthusiast who spent the latter years of his life in Port Alfred working as a senior instructor at 43 Air School. Bob brought plenty of character to the EAA movement with his excellent leadership and love for people. We wish Bob a safe journey to that great hangar in the sky perhaps in the company of Jan and Engela.
Jeff Woolf from Sennheiser
J
War! He told me about the time towards the end of the war when he together with hundreds of other prisoners were forced to march
eff Woolf , aged 97, who founded the Sennheiser brand in
in cold and inhumane conditions many hundreds of kilometres at
South Africa in the 1970s passed away on Friday evening 10
the hands of the Nazis. He told me that any man who fell down
May. Being Jewish the funeral had to take place as soon as
through exhaustion was executed on the spot.
possible and Jeff was laid to rest on Sunday 12 May. Jeff will always be remembered for his wonderful sense of Over many years I became good friends with Jeff and I was always
humour and his humility towards all people he met in his
enthralled to listen to his war stories – yes! The Second World
long productive life. June 2019
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Th ffirst ACJ319 The ACJ319neo1 1 successfully f ll completed l d a 16 h hour, 10 minute test-flight on 26 April, setting a new record for the longest A320 Family flight by an Airbus business jet. The aircraft flew from Toulouse to northern Greenland and back, in an endurance flight that included a simulated diversion under 180 min ETOPS3 rules, for which the A320 airliner family is already certificated. The aircraft is due to be delivered to K5 Aviation of Germany in the coming months, after ACJ319neo flight-trials are completed.
ACJ319neo is fitted K5 Aviation’s A ’ ACJ319 d with h five additional dd l centre ffuell tanks (ACTs) in its cargo-hold and includes improvements such as a lower cabin-altitude for greater passenger comfort. Airbus says that it has now received corporate jet orders and commitments for 14 A320neo Family-derived aircraft. Airlines and corporate jet customers have ordered almost 15,000 A320 Family aircraft to date, with more than 700 of the new A320neo version already serving airlines worldwide. Around 200 Airbus corporate jets are in service worldwide, flying on every continent, including Antarctica.
The simulator will be installed at the EgyptAir Training Academy headquarters located at Cairo International Airport. In accordance with its fleet renovation strategy and with the introduction of new types, good training is demanded on fully-equipped state-of-the-art simulators that can cope with new types of products we manage,” said Capt. Abdel-Hady Al-Shakanqiry, Head of EGYPTAIR Training Academy. “I believe the advanced technology flight simulators and reputation for providing outstanding service and support made FlightSafety the best choice to support our growing needs, especially with the addition of the A220-300 aircraft.” This is the first simulator FlightSafety has built for the Airbus A220-300. The advanced technology systems incorporated into the FlightSafety FS1000 simulator are designed to enhance performance and reliability as well as lower life-cycle costs compared with previous-generation devices. They include FlightSafety’s 60-inch electric control loading and cueing technology as well as a new multi-function Instructor Operating Station that features an intuitive interface, scalable graphics and large multi-touch displays. FlightSafety has delivered more than 140 simulators for commercial aircraft to date.
systems and displays to commercial, government and military organisations. More than 2,000 highly qualified instructors provide in excess of 1.4 million hours of training each year to pilots, technicians and other aviation professionals from 167 countries and independent territories. FlightSafety operates the world’s largest fleet of advanced full-flight simulators at Learning Centres and training locations in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
They include a variety of devices for aircraft manufactured by Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer that are utilised by airlines around the world.FlightSafety International is the world’s premier professional aviation training companies and supplier of flight simulators, visual
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CemAir wins Civil Aviation Appeals’ Committee (CAAC) ruling against SACAA
Late in April, CemAir won its appeal against the SACAA for the unlawful grounding of its fleet and the suspension and subsequent cancellation of its Operating Certificates. ALL notices issued by the SACAA were overturned by the Appeal Committee and the airline was completely vindicated. I and many others applaud the Department of Transport and the Civil Aviation Appeal Committee for upholding the fair and just principles contained in the Constitution of South Africa. Just to understand this ruling / judgement: The CAAC is a completely separate committee that reports directly to the Minister of Transport and is funded directly by treasury. In my opinion this was a very bad judgement for the SACAA, because as an administrative body, the Regulator failed comprehensively in its duties and the appeal committee picked them to pieces. There were five notices against CemAir all five were challenged and all five were set aside. Consequently the damage the management of the SACAA has already done and continues to do by victimising professionals within the aviation industry in South Africa is alarming. Clearly the SACAA abused its position as the Regulator and acted completely unlawfully. Reading the judgement it is abundantly clear that the appeal committee comprehensively found that this was the case for all action taken by the CAA in December 2018 and January 2019. Personally I am grateful for the protection afforded to the citizens of the Republic of South Africa by the Constitution. Abuse of administrative power is nothing less than a precursor to a dictatorship, which is fast becoming the norm at State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). In my opinion the SACAA is a deeply flawed organisation that has become bloated with the hiring of many people who are neither technically nor academically qualified. This has been exacerbated by internal politics that have created an organisation that serves to extend its own power as well as the interests of its management. Safety is subordinate, a convenient catch word for justifying the unjustifiable. Certainly very few SACAA employees have any real interest in developing aviation in South Africa. The idea that you need to keep the Regulator ‘happy’ to continue operating in the aviation environment is something that is very African. When you read the judgement it is abundantly clear that CemAir did not break any regulations, whilst certain ‘officials’ within the inspectorate who are named in the report clearly have no idea about what they are regulating. This story is far from over and I personally believe that the CemAir case will become a catalyst to call the entire aviation industry to action to stop the rot and return the SACAA to the authority it should be by performing to its clear mandate. To quote the judgement, “...there was no reasonable basis whatsoever to ground
the entire fleet in terms of section 115. There was accordingly no basis to suspend the AOC and the suspension of the AOC and the grounding of the entire fleet on 11 January 2019, particularly where there was no factual basis for concluding that there was a systemic failure on the part of CemAir and this amounts to grossly unfair administrative conduct both substantively and procedurally and should be set aside.” It needs to be understood that this process was an appeals’ committee within the Department of Transport and not a court of law and this committee has no jurisdiction beyond deciding if decisions made were done correctly and whether or not they should stand or be set aside. This is clearly stated in the document. It is interesting that when the SACAA chose to deal with legal matters internally they have lost, when they retained outside council, they have not. It is also clear that the legal team within the SACAA was not prepared or able to defend its position. It also does not seem to understand its legal obligations and is lacking the internal governance to comply. It is ironic that there were opinions about how it should not stick to the letter of the law in audits, yet this is what led to its undoing. The implications for the industry are significant. If the regulator cannot defend its position and is unable to comply with its own regulations and procedures, then matters will rarely be decided on merit and questions will always remain. What the document does not fully answer is why the SACAA / CemAir relationship is so unique, relative to similar operators. For many industry professionals it has become abundantly clear that the regulator needs to take a serious look into its internal failings and hold certain people accountable. Actions should be justified and defendable, subjecting anyone to unreasonable action is no better than letting someone off the hook for technicalities. I suspect when the litigation starts, CemAir will be hoping the SACAA will also choose to deal with the considerable damages claim internally. The regulator is supposed to measured, competent and administratively sound, but there have been numerous examples within the aviation industry in South Africa that show the exact opposite. In this matter the CAAC questioned the competence and ability of the organisation in this judgement and the authority of the SACAA has been called into question. June 2019
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Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in 28 countries across the segments of Transportation, Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft and Aerostructures and Engineering Services. Bombardier has around 200 direct employees in South Africa, whilst its head office and production site is in Isando, with a Business and Commercial Aircraft Support Office at Lanseria International Airport. On Thursday 25 April, Bombardier provided an opportunity for its customers and the media to view a brand new CRJ900 at the Fireblade facility on the eastern side of OR Tambo International Airport. One of two aircraft that have been sold to Uganda Airlines. The CRJ900 is a stretched 76–90 seat version of the CRJ700. The airplane is loosely based on the CRJ200 series with a few major improvements. The first CRJ900 (C-FRJX) was modified from the prototype CRJ700 by adding longer fuselage plugs fore and aft of the wings. It was later converted into the prototype CRJ1000 by replacing the fuselage plugs with longer plugs. The CRJ900 competes with the Embraer 175 and according to Bombardier is more efficient per seat-mile. Mesa Air Group was the launch customer for the CRJ900 painted in America West livery. The FAA Type Certificate designation of the CRJ900 is the CL-600-2D24. In 2007, Bombardier launched the CRJ900 NextGen to replace the initial version. Its improvements and conic nozzle enhances fuel economy by 5.5%. The new model has improved economics and a new cabin common to the CRJ700 NextGen and CRJ1000 NextGen. Mesaba Aviation (now Endeavor Air), operating at the time as Northwest Airlink (now Delta Connection), was the launch customer and remains the largest operator of the CRJ900 NextGen. In 2016, Bombardier began offering a modernised cabin design for the CRJ Series with a more spacious entry, larger overhead bins, larger windows situated higher in the fuselage, newer seats, larger lavatories and upgraded lighting. Maintenance intervals were extended to 800/8,000 hours. ‘A’ checks every 800 flight hours and ‘C’ checks every 8,000 from 2018 and a new conic engine nozzle boosts fuel efficiency by 1%. The 60 to 100-seat airliner market is forecast by Bombardier to be some 5,500 airliners from 2018 through to 2037.
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The wing is wider with added leading edge slats, the tail is redesigned with more span and anhedral. The cabin floor has been lowered two inches which improves outward visibility from the windows in the cabin as the windows become closer to eye level height. Its maximum ground take-off weight is 84,500 pounds. The aircraft features two GE CF34-8C5 engines, 59.4 kN (13,400 lbf ) thrust with APR. The engines are controlled by FADEC digital engine control instead of control cables and a fuel control unit. In typical service the CRJ900 can cruise 8 to 10,000 feet higher with a slightly higher fuel burn and an average true airspeed of 450 to 500 knots, a significant improvement over its predecessor. South African Express Airways For nearly 25 years, the Bombardier Commercial Aircraft division has been supporting South African Express Airways, which has an all-Bombardier fleet composed of CRJ-200s, CRJ-700s and Q400s. Bombardier currently markets the trio of aircraft as the CRJ Series complementing its Bombardier Dash 8 twin turboprops marketed as the Q Series. Bombardier designed a larger plane, the C Series, but that is now majority-owned by Airbus and marketed as the Airbus A220.
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L
ast month Mango’s test flight took to the skies to test the newly installed Split Scimitar® Winglet technology on its Boeing Next Generation 737-800 fleet of 14-aircraft.
The first installation of the Winglets began in April and it takes approximately two to three weeks to install the sets on each aircraft. Roll-out on the remaining 13 aircraft will take place individually in order for daily operations are not disturbed. “It is an exciting time for us, as the Winglets should mean significant fuel savings across our fleet; an approximate reduction of up to 2.5% in fuel burn. The enhanced performance to our fleet should mean improvements to our operating economics so that we can keep our
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airfares competitive,” says Marelize Labuschagne, acting CEO at Mango. “Mango is an airline that cares about its carbon footprint and the Winglet technology also talks to our environmental stewardship as they should reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 390 tonnes per aircraft per year,” explains Labuschagne. In the nearly 13-years Mango has been operating in the low-cost airline space, its team is continuously looking for ways to maximise savings in order to remain competitive. “It is an increasingly challenging environment and thanks to our partnership with aviation giant Boeing, we should soon see the projected savings on our bottom line; all while doing our bit to reduce the fleet’s footprint,” concludes Labuschagne.
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June 2019
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A20 headsets
Pilots demand two things from their headsets. Firstly, these units have to provide audio that is clear at all times, no matter how noisy the aircraft environment may be. Secondly, as aviation headsets have to be worn for many hours at a time, they must be comfortable.
As one of the world’s premiere audio equipment companies, it only makes sense that Bose would tackle the aviation headset challenge and resolve it brilliantly with the A20. Weighing in at just 340 grams (12 ounces) on head weight, the A20 is designed to provide the most noise reduction ever offered by an around-ear Bose aviation headset, whilst still providing the clearest audio possible through the use of active equalisation and other technologies. Compared with traditional headsets offered by competitors, the A20 provides 30 percent more noise reduction whilst exerting 30 percent less clamping force on the wearer’s head. Comfort is enhanced by
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the A20 having a torsion spring in the middle of the headband. This ensures that the headset sits comfortably on the pilot’s head and distributes the clamping force evenly. It also ensures that lateral pressure is consistent, regardless of the size and shape of one’s head.
That is not all: The Bose A20 Aviation Headset also offers features such as Bluetooth® audio and communications’ interface; a customisable audio prioritisation control that enables either the muting of existing audio for incoming communication, or mixing that new audio with the existing audio feed; intuitive ‘plug-and-play’ operation for easy use in all kinds of aircraft; a high-performance adjustable noise rejection boom microphone and an optional coil cord, popular with helicopter pilots. The coil cord version, which provides the cable management that helicopter operators often prefer, can be ordered with the most popular helicopter-specific connectors.
“The A20 Aviation Headset is the best performing aviation headset for helicopter operators we have ever brought to market,” said Patrick Schutterop, Bose Corporation’s manager responsible for sales, marketing, and after-sales support in South Africa. “It provides more noise reduction in louder environments over a broader range of frequencies than our previous models, and does so in a very comfortable and easy-to-use way. It also has the features pilots have told us are important, like full Bluetooth® functionality, a coil cord cable, auto-on (for panel powered models), auto shutoff and audio prioritisation. Bose was the first company to bring a commercially available, active noise reduction headset to the market back in 1989,” said Schutterop. “As we have developed meaningful new technologies over the years, we have brought new headsets that incorporate those improvements to the market.” Due to the combined noise from engines, wind rushing by at high speeds and other operational sources, helicopters are generally noisy places. This is why pilots need headsets that reduce their exposure to loud ambient noise by actively analysing that noise and then electronically negating it before it reaches their ear drums.
However, contrary to what you might think, noise isn’t the first thing most pilots complain about
said Schutterop. “It’s comfort. There are many noise reduction headsets on the market today, with some, like the A20, that do a good job of reducing noise. However, unfortunately, most of them trade comfort for quietness. The challenge is to deliver a headset that does a great job with noise reduction, whilst remaining comfortable over the long haul.” For that, the award winning Bose A20 is the clear choice. It has been specifically designed to cancel noise whilst maximising user comfort, without the traditional trade offs or compromises.
“Our customers routinely tell us that the A20 is not only one of the quietest, but also one of the most comfortable headsets they have ever worn,” said Schutterop. “That is really satisfying to hear because comfort is one of the design elements to which we pay close attention. There are a wide variety of reasons pilots tell us they prefer our product,” he added. “These range from comfort to audio clarity to having the right features that add to the flying experience in a meaningful way.”
Bose’s success in making aviation headsets is borne out by its other specialty headsets made for other markets where noise reduction and clarity are also top priorities. These markets include the National Football League’s noisy playing fields for coaches; the US and other militaries in a variety of tracked
and wheeled, armoured vehicles and in the air on Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules aircraft, C-17s, Boeing P-8s, KC-135s and others. Bose also has strong relationships with some of the largest helicopter original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the world, including Bell Helicopter, Leonardo Helicopters, Airbus Helicopters and Robinson Helicopter Company. The bottom line: The A20 Aviation Headset is the kind of quality equipment all pilots need in their cockpit, be it inside a Robinson R44, a Bell 406, a Cessna 172, a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320. “Bose has been providing products for mission critical communications for over 30 years and it seems, our customers really value that,” said Schutterop. “The result is that customers can feel confident that the A20 will do what we claim. We don’t over-promise and we focus on what really matters to pilots; namely clear communication, comfort, less noise and ultimately, a durable and reliable product that will enhance their flying experience for years.”
ABOUT BOSE CORPORATION Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Dr. Amar G. Bose, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Today, the company is driven by its founding principles, investing in long-term research with one fundamental goal: to develop new technologies with real customer benefits. Bose innovations have spanned decades and industries, creating and transforming categories in audio and beyond. Bose has a simple mission: think of better solutions, create better products, help people enjoy the things they truly love. Everything Bose does supports this mission and points the company forward. Bose aviation headsets are certified to FAA TSO and EASA E/TSO standards.
Your Bose dealers in South Africa are:
Century Avionics:
Tel: +27 701 3244 Website: www.centuryavionics.co.za
Wings ‘n Things:
Tel: +27 701 3209 Website: www.wingsnthings.co.za June 2019
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AVDEX AMP
will ensure accurate maintenance tracking and record keeping
Prebuilt schedules AMP is an online aircraft maintenance tracking programme with a centralised aircraft maintenance scheduling system, which means no schedule building required by the client. AMP provides accurate tracking, which helps the operator and AMO with the planning and tracking of aircraft maintenance. This means less down time for the aircraft and more productivity for the AMO. Usage recording AMP provides full aircraft usage recording allowing the AOC to record all flights of an aircraft. This ensures accurate date and flight hour recording of maintenance captured.
Document storage AMP allows the digital upload of aircraft work packs to the cloud to facilitate storage and retrieval of vital maintenance related documents at any future date to substantiate previous compliance.
PRA oversight AMP has a PRA login to allow the checking of the aircraft Status prior to flight.
Web based Being internet based, oversight on all aircraft is possible from any web browser.
Advantages AMP offers a variety of helpful features: • • • •
Generates full aircraft status reports Generates work packs Tracking of component movement SBs, ADs and Manual Revisions tracked by Avdex and notified to client when the AMP Schedule is updated Tracking Usage of an aircraft
•
AVDEX Maintenance Planning Tel: 011 954 1536 Cell: 073 454 7809 E-mail: info@avdex.co.za 16
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By Divan Muller
Tsiolkovsky with his ear trumpet
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was born on 17 September 1857, in what was then the Russian Empire. He did not have an easy childhood. At the age of ten, he contracted scarlet fever and subsequently became hard of hearing. As a result, he was unable to attend school. Three years later, his mother died. Young Tsiolkovsky studied at home and almost constantly read books, developing an interest in mathematics and science. He later studied these subjects in Moscow and became a school teacher. In his spare time, he studied aeronautics and cosmonautics.
overcome to make space travel possible. In the 1920s, he was the first to provide a scientific description of the physics involved in ground effect and hovercraft. Then, in 1929, he published a book called ‘Space Rocket Trains,’ in which he became the first person to describe multi-stage rockets. Meanwhile, Tsiolkovsky continued working as a high school mathematics teacher. He died on 19 September 1935, at the age of 78. Today, he is known as one of the fathers of rocketry. One of the most prominent features of the far side of the moon, a massive impact crater, has been named the ‘Tsiolkovsky’ in his honour.
In the mid-1890s, he used his personal funds to build the first wind tunnel in Russia, using it to test various aircraft and airship concepts. After studying the effects of air friction, he was given financial aid by the Academy of Sciences, which he used to construct a larger wind tunnel. At the same time, he began work on solving theoretical problems associated with space travel. In 1897, he derived an equation which he called the ‘formula for aviation’. It described the relationship between a rocket’s velocity, its mass and the exhaust velocity of its engine. In 1903, about six months before the first flight of the Wright brothers, he published an article titled, ‘Exploration of outer space by means of rocket devices.’ The article revealed what is now known as the ‘Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.’ Even today, this equation is vitally important in space travel and exploration, as well as some spheres of aviation. It contains all the essential aspects of rocket physics in a brief formula. It must be noted that in other parts of the world, most notably Britain, other scientists had also independently created similar equations, but Tsiolkovsky was the first to use the equation to calculate whether rockets could reach the necessary speeds to achieve space travel. Tsiolkovsky published a second part of the article in 1911, in which he addressed specific problems which had to be June Ju JJun un u ne 22019 019 001 1199
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COMET AVIATION
SPECIALTY TIRES
S
pecialty Tires of America (STA) was founded in 1915 as McCreary Tyre and Rubber Company, as a fully integrated manufacturer of a wide range of tyres for various applications and in this case for light aircraft use. Located in Indiana, USA it is proud to be the only tyre manufacturer that manufacturers exclusively in the USA and the aircraft tyres meet FAA TSO C62 requirements.
STA offers a complete range of general aviation tyres including sprayer, tailwheel and warbird sizes. The most popular range, the Aero Trainer has been designed specifically with flight school operations in mind. The Aero Trainer provides uncompromising performance with outstanding durability in these harsh conditions and offers operators the best possible value for money in an aircraft tyre, without compromising safety. Comet Aviation Supplies has been importing these tyres directly from the Specialty Tires of America since 2006. Comet also offers the Air Trac also from Specialty Tires, designed for private aircraft that operate mostly on soft fields such as grass or sand strips, whilst being perfectly usable on hard surfaces as well. Comet will also import the Air Hawk and Super Hawk tyres on demand.
Contact Comet Aviation Supplies Tel: 0027 11 825 0048 or E-mail: sales@cass.co.za Online ordering is available on
www.cometaviationsupplies.co.za with secure payment options and overnight delivery
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Brand new
Bose headsets for aero-medical service provider
O
n Tuesday 14 May, I travelled to Cape Town for the hand over of 33 new Bose headsets to the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS). AMS partnered with Wings ‘n Things to replace all the headsets of its current fleet consisting of AgustaWestland helicopters and Pilatus PC 12 fixed wing aircraft with brand new Bose A20 headsets. The AMS is a non-profit aero-medical rescue organisation working in partnership with the various Provincial Departments of Health to ensure that the National Health System is strengthened through the provision of rescue, air ambulance and rural health outreach services. The purpose of the AMS is to facilitate pluriversal access to healthcare to those rendered most vulnerable by geographical, social or economic inequity and in so doing, reduce vulnerability of at-risk communities and judiciously improving the quality of life. “We are pleased to welcome Bose Aviation and Wings ‘n Things, an authorised Bose dealer, as supporters of the AMS. The ongoing support will ensure that we can focus on the task at hand to continue to provide an innovative, quality and rapid aero-medical service to all communities.” said Dr. Philip Erasmus, AMS CEO. The aeromedical environment is a challenging environment where providing care for critically ill and injured patients in the confined space of an aircraft is crucial. Communication between pilots and paramedics
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By Athol Franz
during all phases of flight and patient care in the cabin is vital to ensure safety during every mission. The greater noise reduction feature of the Bose headsets assists with decreasing crew fatigue and improves the quality of the communication through the headsets between the crew members. “Bose is honoured and proud to be able to support the terrific work done by the amazing people of The SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service. Please keep up the excellent lifesaving and outreach work you do so well.” Patrick Schutterop, Category Business Manager (Aviation EMEA & India from Bose Aviation.) Colin Blanchard, Owner and CEO of Wings ‘n Things said: “Wings ‘n Things is truly excited to have been given the opportunity to play a part in facilitating this great initiative between Bose Aviation and the AMS and to have been able to arrange something that will ease the financial burden at an operational level and allow AMS to invest its resources into the services to the communities that it serves. With the Bose A20 headsets we are also ensuring the well being of the pilots’ hearing to enable them to function at the high level which is expected of them. We are grateful to our long-term partner, Bose, for its generous assistance that enabled Wings ‘n Things to contribute to this terrific donation.”
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offers new upgrades for G1000 NXi-equipped King Air aircraft
A Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for new features and upgrades for the G1000 NXi integrated flight deck in the King Air 200/250/300/350 series’ aircraft has been announced by Garmin. A new, Bluetooth-enabled audio panel for the G1000 NXi integrated flight deck in the King Air offers an expanded feature set alongside innovative sound quality. Home theatre-like music effects add to the rich audio characteristics provided by the audio panel, allowing pilots to select bass boost levels, as well as equaliser effects, including rock, classical and pop music. Advanced auto squelch automatically adapts to the noise level within the cockpit and allows for natural conversation through headsets. It includes a six-place stereo intercom and support for up to three stereo music inputs. Split-COMM mode allows the pilot and co-pilot to broadcast independently on two separate frequencies and contains dedicated pilot and co-pilot music and intercom volume control knobs. In addition, a built-in digital clearance recorder can record up to 60 seconds of selected COMM radio transmissions so pilots can easily play back difficult clearances. The first to introduce 3D audio, Garmin incorporates 3D audio processing into the audio panel. With stereo headsets, incoming audio is spatially separated to reflect how people naturally process sound and conversation by differentiating audio sources by their unique locations or seat position. For example, sound from COMM 1 will come from the left, whereas sound from COMM 2 will sound as though it is coming from the right. As a standard feature of the audio panel, pilots can connect a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth to easily make or receive phone calls, stream audio entertainment or wirelessly connect to select Garmin HD action cameras. Offering a seamless upgrade path, pilots and aircraft owners can easily upgrade (or select it as an option with a new G1000 NXi installation) to the new audio panel because it is slide-in replaceable and only requires minor wiring modifications.
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The GWX 75 weather radar is also compatible with the latest upgrade for G1000 NXi-equipped King Air aircraft, which offers exceptional range and a new, enhanced colour palette that features four-times more colour contouring than traditional weather radars on the market. The Doppler-based, solid-state GWX 75 offers a range of 320 nautical miles, horizontal scan angles of up to 120 degrees and to focus on an area of interest, pilot-adjustable sector scanning. The GWX 75 also retains vertical scan capabilities, which allows the pilot to focus on storm tops, gradients and storm cell build-up at various altitudes. Optional features such as Dopplerenabled turbulence detection and ground clutter suppression are also available with the GWX 75.
Also included as part of this upgrade: •
•
Split-screen view is available on the MFD, offering a simultaneous view of maps, charts, checklists, flight plans and more on a single screen. Pilots can view decoded Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) on the primary flight display (PFD) and multi-function displays (MFD).
In addition, Garmin has recently completed a King Air G1000 NXi integrated flight deck testimonial video where owners and operators explain why they selected the G1000 NXi and how it reduces operating costs, improves payload and enhances reliability. For current King Air owners and operators, the latest features are available immediately from select Garmin Authorised Dealers as a free upgrade (installation and hardware charges may apply). Optional equipment upgrades are also currently available. King Air owners and operators may contact a Garmin Authorised Dealer for pricing information.
participates in UAV delivery for successful organ transplant
P
art of GE Aviation, AiRXOS participated in the world’s first unmanned aircraft (UA) flight that delivered a donor kidney to surgeons in Baltimore, Maryland for successful transplantation into a patient with kidney failure. The momentous flight was a collaboration between transplant physicians and researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) in Baltimore; aviation and engineering experts at the University of Maryland (UMD) and collaborators at the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland (The LLF). Whilst organ transport by drone has been previously tested successfully between medical facilities by the University of Maryland UAS Test Site in St. Mary’s County, this is the first time the flight operation was used to deliver an organ for transplant. The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flight operation was monitored by AiRXOS’ Air MobilityTM Platform, a rich, cutting-edge grade framework enabling unmanned traffic management applications, operations and services. The Air Mobility Platform manages the volume, density and variety of unmanned traffic data, whilst coordinating and integrating that data within a secure, FAA-compliant, gated cloud environment to ensure safe unmanned operations.
locations as well as aircraft operating systems that combined best practices from both UAS and organ transport standards. Maryland faculty and researchers believe this prototype organ transport blazes a trail for the use of UAS to expand access to donated organs, improving outcomes for more people in need of organ transplants. Presently organs are transported by commercial aircraft or charter flights. Organ transplants have a limited window of cold ischemia time (CIT) in which an organ can be chilled and then have blood supply restored. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing; the non-profit that manages the transplant system, as of January 2019, almost 114,000 individuals were on the national transplant waiting list in the US and every day approximately 80 people receive organ transplants. For sensitive medical deliveries, reducing the amount of travel time in urban settings, as well as vibration during travel can help lead to better outcomes.
Amongst the many technological firsts of this effort include: a specially designed, high-tech apparatus for maintaining and monitoring a viable human organ; a custom-built UAS with eight rotors and multiple powertrains to ensure consistently reliable performance, even in the case of a possible component failure; the use of a mesh network radios to control the UAS, monitor aircraft status and provide communications for the ground crew at multiple
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Raytheon system helps pilots fly drones beyond line of sight
Raytheon’s Ground Based Detect and Avoid (GBDAA) system is now operational at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport and will be used to test the safety and efficiency of small drone operations in the 200 square mile drone test range. “GBDAA allows drone pilots to make safe decisions about flight manoeuvres beyond visual line of sight without using ground observers or chase planes,” said Matt Gilligan, vice president of Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services business. “The data gathered at this test site will go a long way toward ensuring the safe integration of drones throughout the national airspace system.”
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Contracted by the US Air Force through the Department of Transportation’s VOLPE centre, GBDAA is a key component of SkyVision, the only mobile beyond visual line-of-sight system certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to provide drone operators with real-time aircraft display data, satisfying a key ‘see and avoid’ requirement. SkyVision operators inside the mobile unit will give drone pilots situational awareness and proximity alerts by syncing their display with the drone pilot’s display, allowing for safe passage through the airspace by showing airborne tracks from multiple sensors. GBDAA is based on Raytheon’s Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System, or STARS, which is used by air traffic controllers at more than 400 FAA and military locations to provide safe aircraft spacing and sequencing guidance for departing and arriving aircraft. GBDAA comes in numerous configurations to meet varying mission needs; the US military uses a fixed version to manage larger unmanned systems like the Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk.
ASX launches seed equity round
Airspace Experience Technologies (ASX), an aviation technology start-up, is re-imagining personal air transportation with the mission to offer urban commuters a cleaner, faster and affordable transportation alternative in support of Uber Technologies Urban Air Mobility programme, UberAir. From its headquarters at the historic Detroit City Airport, the ASX team is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing tilt-wing (eVTOL) aircraft affectionately dubbed MOBi-One. The goal is to produce and operate fleets of safe and reliable aircraft that will make smart cities even smarter, vastly reduce commute times whilst producing zero operational emissions. ASX is launching a side-by-side Regulation CF and Regulation D Series Seed funding campaign with its partner SeedInvest, a leading equity crowd funding platform that offers its network of investors vetted investment opportunities. Proceeds of the seed round will be used to acquire key automotive EV technology, build a series of full-scale prototypes and initiate FAA certification. “SeedInvest is disrupting the financial services’ industry just as ASX is disrupting mobility and we were proud to be accepted through SeedInvest’s rigorous evaluation process,” said Jon Rimanelli, co-founder and CEO of ASX. ASX is planning to deliver 2,500 aircraft by 2025, with cargo deliveries starting in 2023 and passenger service by 2024. Based on a recent study, traffic congestion cost Americans nearly $87 billion in 2018, or an average of $1,348 per driver. The solution is elevating commuters to the sky with electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Founded in 2017 by Jon Rimanelli, Dr. Anita Sengupta and JP Yorro, the ASX team is made up of seasoned NASA technologists, aviation
and automotive experts, market enablers and logistics leaders. ASX has built and flight-tested five subscale concept vehicles and achieved a major milestone in the fourth quarter of 2018 by optimising controls and demonstrating vertical and plane mode flight. ASX is now ready to begin the full-scale production design and commercial certification process for MOBi-One. Equipped with proven zero-emission electric propulsion and broadband ‘V2X’ vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, a fully-electric MOBi-One, with one pilot and four passengers, will deliver an estimated range of 100 miles and a cruising speed of 150 mph, giving it the ability to reduce a 60 minute commute to 15 minutes or less for the price of a ground vehicle for hire. With a hybrid propulsion system, MOBi-One is capable of up to 300 miles of range for regional travel and cargo utilising the USA’s general aviation airports. “Studies estimate that by 2035, global air travel based inspections, goods and passenger services has the potential to be a $74 billion market,” said Sengupta, co-founder and chief product officer at ASX. “Passenger transportation will be more than 40 percent of that market opportunity.” June 2019
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XTI TriFan 600 air taxi completes
first successful hover tests T
he first time we reported on the XTI TriFan 600 aircraft was in 2017. Since then, the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft has continued to develop and recently concluded its first hover test. On 8 May 2019, XTI Aircraft announced it successfully completed the first test flights of its XTI TriFan 600 VTOL aircraft with a 65% scale prototype. The test flights were conducted in Placerville, California. According to the press release: “The TriFan 600 prototype completed multiple take-offs, hover and landings, which tested and validated the electric motors, battery power system, ducted fan propulsion, flight controls, other electrical systems and instrumentation.
The aircraft was on a short tether during the tests due to its location at an airport in northern California where it was constructed. Future flights at a certified UAV test facility will be untethered in hover and will also test forward, wing-borne flight, as well as the transition phase between vertical and forward-flight modes.”
XTI TriFan 600 According to XTI Chief Executive Officer Robert LaBelle: “This is the moment the entire XTI team, our investors, customers and many others have been waiting for and working toward. In one year, we
have progressed from conceptual design to a flying prototype. The aircraft proved to be stable in hover and had no problems throughout several runs.”
Inside The XTI TriFan 600 The XTI TriFan 600 is a six-seat, hybrid-electric, fixed-wing airplane with three ducted fans. The fans lift the aircraft from vertical take-off up to 340 knots (630 km/h) in cruising speed with a range of 650 nm (750 miles, 1,200 kilometres). While these last numbers are only in its VTOL formation, a straight runaway operation pushes the performance up to 1,200 nm (2,200 km, 1,380 miles).
The final XTI TriFan 600 aircraft design will measure 37.7 ft (11.5 m) of wingspan with a length of 38.7 ft (11.8 m). The 6 ft (1.8 m) diameter propellers on the 2 wings will develop 350 hp (260 kW ) electric motors (two of them). Two 5 ft (1.5 m) diameter co-axial ducted propellers are in the aft fuselage, with one motor for each propeller.
XTI TriFan 600 For all of this to fly, the XTI TriFan 600 will rely on a single 1,000 hp (745 kW ) Honeywell HTS900 turboshaft engine powering three generators. Interestingly enough, the 65% scale model uses batteries with an in-house-produced battery pack;
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with the help of partner Trek Aerospace. Trek Aerospace will also help with the manufacturing of the ducts and assembly of the aircraft. The electric motors and controllers are from MGM Compro, according to eVTOL News.
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Earthrise Mountain Lodge who provided the accommodation for the weekend in the early morning sunrise
Stars Sandstone Estates BY CHARLIE AND FIONA HUGO
The ever popular biennial celebration of preserved steam, vintage vehicles and military hardware continues to attract many visitors from around South Africa and the world. Add in vintage aircraft and spectacular vistas of this working farm in the south eastern Free State, all makes for a great time to travel back in time.
As a working farm, Sandstone Estates, through the efforts of Wilfrid Mole and his team of experts have dedicated themselves to the preservation of narrow gauge steam, historical railway and transportation systems. Add in the fact that this museum is also the base of an overflow of various military vehicles from the South African Armour Museum in Bloemfontein, most in running condition, one can reminisce on days gone by unleashing one’s inner child.
We must highly recommend the Belgian Waffles with ice cream and cherry sauce from Ionia, a local cherry farm. After all Ficksburg is renowned for the cherries and those who wish to partake of more adult cherry items, there is a cherry liqueur.
During the entire event visitors can avail themselves of all train excursions. In addition the Armour Museum performs daily convoy runs through the estate and visitors may also enjoy a trip on these vehicles. A highlight of the military display is the arena where some of the historical armour is driven around for display.
The Harvard club of South Africa in conjunction with the Old Flying Machine Company spend ten days on the Estate providing visitors the opportunity to enjoy flights in the historic aircraft over the magnificent scenery. Aircraft in attendance were a pair of Harvards, two DHC Canada Chipmunks as well as its biplane predecessor, the DH Tiger Moth and a Cessna C185. The ever popular Harvard flights with limited aerobatics for those more adventurous souls were eclipsed by the more sedate open cockpit of flying in a Tiger Moth. Operating from a grass airfield amongst the ripening maize fields and large areas of the autumn Cosmos flowers makes for great memories and excellent photo opportunities. As there is no fixed schedule for these flights it is a bit of potluck.
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During the first week and a bit, there is a steam train journey called the Mountain Wanderer that runs out to the furthest part of the railway line. At a watering stop the journey is halted and aircraft perform numerous flypasts against mountainous backdrops in the late afternoon setting sun. Once again this can make for great photo opportunities.
Formation with a DH Tiger Moth and two DHC Canada Chipmunks
The final, more public weekend does not always include this trip but for the aviation enthusiast the large number of fly-in aircraft more than compensate. The Brakpan Aero Club members arranged an excursion to the Estate and a number of vintage helicopters were in attendance. One could come down to the base of operations with one’s picnic basket and cooler box, sit under the blue gum trees and enjoy the tranquillity of (virtual) days gone by, again rendering great photo opportunities.
Two T6 Harvards As the Estate is located some distance from the nearest towns of Ficksburg and Fouriesburg accommodation can be a problem. There are a limited number of cottages along the railway line and a large open area for those who wish to camp. The African Pilot team was privileged to be accommodated off base at the Earthrise Mountain Lodge located in a peaceful valley amongst the mountains. With awesome scenic views whilst travelling to and from this comfortable and intimate lodge it is just the place to unwind from the stress of the city. We thank Earthrise Mountain Lodge and Wanita for the hospitality. By the way, I still cannot believe the size of those free range‘chicken’ legs we had for dinner. DH Tiger Moth
All this would not have been possible without the assistance of Sandstone Estates and Tilley Dix-Smith.
We thank you. Hopefully the event will continue and we can once again unleash our inner child.
Picture showing the Narrow gauge railway line with the Drakensberg Mountains in the background.
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Event
Venue
Contact
1 June
Newcastle Airshow
Newcastle Airport
5 - 8 June
Zimbabwe Air Rally
6 - 7 June
Africa Drone Conference
8 June
Kroon fly-in (Rosslyn Micro Flyers)
10 - 16 June
SAPFA World Precision Flying Championships
Castellon, Spain
17 - 23 June
Paris Air Show 53rd edition
Paris
20 - 23 June
SAC National Championships
Klerksdorp
21 - 23 June
EAA Chapter 322 flight training Boot Camp
Mwala Lodge
22 June
Mafeking Airshow
Mafikeng
22 June
Reefsteamers train, plane, vintage car event from Krugersdorp to Magalies
Krugersdorp to Magalies
Ian Morrison imorison@worldonline.co.za
23 - 28 June
South African Hot Air Balloon Championships
Skeerpoort North West Province
Richard Bovell chairman@bafsa.co.za
27 - 30 June
SAC National Championships
Malelane Airfield
Annie Boon chunge@mweb.co.za
4 - 6 July
AERO South Africa
Wonderboom National Airport
+27 120 599 6151
12 July
CAASA AGM
Lanseria International Airport
12 - 14 July
Taildraggers Fly-In
Nylstroom
Johan Pieters 082 923 0078 johan@champ.co.za Mel Cooper + 263 773 218426 zimairrally@gmail.com
Emperors Palace Convention Centre
Simon Mkitlane 011 886 0433 simon@vukanicomms.co.za Dawie 082 576 2355 DandrĂŠ dandre100@gmail.com Hans Schwebel 082 656 3005 hans.s@britsgranite.co.za expo2019@siae.fr www.siae.fr Annie Boon chunge@mweb.co.za Neil Bowden 084 674 5674 neil1@telkomsa.net Relibile Mofokeng 073 837 0162 relibilemofokeng@gmail.com
Konstantin.vonVieregge@za.messafrankfurt.com 011 659 2345 office@caasa.co.za Richard Nicholson 082 490 6227 flybenchmark@gmail.com
Airshow organisers: African Pilot annual airshow award details on our website: www.africanpilot.co.za Local 0861 001130 International +27 11 466 8524 Pre & post publicity: E-mail: editor@africanpilot.co.za Website: www.africanpilot.co.za Details are published in the magazine, the African Pilot weekly Newsletter and the African Pilot Website. They serve to remind aviation enthusiasts of forthcoming events during the week running up to the event. Capital Sounds for sound and broadcast: Brian Emmenis 057 388 2351 E-mail: capital@icon.co.za ASSA - Air Show South Africa Website: www.airshowsa.org.za. To reserve an airshow or fly-in please book on-line: www.airshowsa.org.za Louise Hofmeyer 083 454 1104 E-mail: louise@airshowsa.org.za Management & Airshow Authorisation: Tania van den Berg SACAA Website: www.caa.co.za
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By Divan Muller Developed during the late 1950s, the VZ-9-AV Avrocar was intended to be the prototype of what could become the ultimate Cold War fighter. The aircraft was developed by Avro Canada, funded by the US military, designed by British engineer Jack Frost and tested by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It was hoped that the experimental aircraft would lead to the development of a combat aircraft which could simultaneously meet the requirements of the US Air Force (USAF) and the US Army. The former needed a fighter capable of taking off and landing vertically and accelerating to supersonic speeds, whilst the latter required a subsonic reconnaissance aircraft which could transport troops. Meeting these somewhat contradicting
requirements was an ambitious endeavour. The resulting aircraft resembled a flying saucer and relied on exploiting the Coandă effect to provide lift. NASA tested the first prototype and found that the design was too aerodynamically unstable for supersonic flight. When the second prototype was completed, engineers estimated that it would be capable of reaching a speed of 225 knots and an altitude of 10 000 ft. However, when tested by NASA, the aircraft became uncontrollable when flying more than one metre above the ground. Test pilots reached a maximum speed of 30 knots. It is interesting to speculate what could have resulted if development of this highly innovated aircraft had continued, but the project was cancelled when funding ceased in 1961.
Did you know? The odd-looking Avrocar was a ‘proof of concept’ aircraft, intended to lead to more advanced combat aircraft.The Avrocar was powered by three Continental turbojet engines, which were used to drive a single ‘turborotor.’ Although the Avrocar project itself ended in failure, it contributed greatly to the development of various components used in modern aircraft. Technology developed as a result of the Avrocar can be seen in aircraft ranging from the C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft to the F-35 Lightning II fighter. 322 3
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China’s first Airbus H215 helicopter delivered to SGGAC
China’s State Grid General Aviation Company (SGGAC) has taken delivery of one heavy twin-engine Airbus H215 helicopter, a member of the mission-proven Super Puma family, becoming the launch customer for the H215 in China. A subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the world’s largest utility company, SGGAC performs aerial construction and maintenance work along China’s network of high and very-high voltage power lines. The H215 will join the company’s existing fleet of 15 Airbus helicopters, comprising of 13 - H125s, an H120 and an H225. This addition will enable SGGAC to perform new missions such as cable repair, cable laying, cargo transportation and power line pylons’ constructions in difficult-to-reach areas. The helicopter comes equipped with a 4.5-ton cargo sling, hoists, weather radar and a wire strike protection system. The configuration features 17 comfortable seats equipped with oxygen jackets for high altitude missions.
The H215 combines advanced avionics and a reliable platform for rugged multi-mission capabilities in the world’s harshest environments. Its baseline configuration offers extremely competitive direct operating and maintenance costs. Standard features include provenMakila 1A1 engines, the latest generation flight management system and the most modern technologies, which includes a glass cockpit avionics’ system and the renowned 4-axis autopilot from Airbus Helicopters’ advanced H225. The introduction of this H215 increases China’s Super Puma fleet to nearly 40 aircraft, performing a wide range of missions from oil & gas to aerial work to VIP transportation. The fleet is supported by Airbus Helicopters’ Chinese technical team, its approved helicopter MRO centre in Shenzhen and an H225 full flight simulator located in Beijing. June 2019
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By Charlie Hugo
Sponsored by
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African Pilot
June 2019
And Down we Go by Charlie Hugo This picture shows the five ship Raptor RV formation team leading the four ship Team Xtreme on the way down from a mass formation loop taken at the ABSA Lowveld Airshow 2019 on Saturday 11 May 2019. Charlie used his Canon 1D Mk IV fitted with a Canon 100-400 L MkII. ISO 100 (taken on auto ISO), shutter Speed 1/160 (shutter priority) and f10 (shutter priority). Charlie’s website: www.wildaviation.com June 2019
African Pilot
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