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INSIDE ROBINSON R66 TESTED... THE FIRM'S FIRST TURBINE + DEBUT Rolls' RR300 engine + SIMPLE Great innovations + VALUE 'A game changer' +

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MAY 2011 ISSUE 67 £3.40

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+ AERO 2011 SHOW SPECIAL +

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS Flight Design and Tecnam lead the charge of new European designs revealed at the biggest show for pilots on the Continent... including this brilliant new four-seater

GARMIN'S NEW WAVE Touchscreen GTN and G2000 set new standards for rivals to aim at BEYERDYNAMIC HS800 Headset war hots up as 'double digital' become the new buzzwords CUSTOM JOBS Two amazing takes on existing designs as 'chopping' meets flying PLUS: OTHER NEW AIRCRAFT TO START WISHING FOR

+ AUTOGYRO 'Luxury' Cavalon + HURRICANE Replica + CESSNA New Corvalis 400 TTX +

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CONTENTS

#67 MAY 2011

+WELCOME TO LOOP

WOW... exciting times for European aviation, with the giant AERO 2011 Show in Germany seeing an absolute clutch of new designs and innovations from manufacturers (reasonably) close to home. Ambition was the name of the game, with both Flight Design and Tecnam making moves upwards into classes heavier than their traditional model range.

You’ve seen the new Flight Design on the cover, and it’s aiming deadset at the Cessna 172 and other stalwarts, with Flight Design pursuing rapid plans for full certification. The Tecnam should surprise... not long after introducing its Rotax-powered twin, the firm is readying an 11-seat mini-airliner, as well as its new four-seater. As we said... wow!

+LOOP PEOPLE

BOB DAVY p13 Bob’s comments last month about Olympic Airspace restrictions struck a chord with you. Now deep into the display season, he ponders a new addition to his team.

FLIGHT TEST Robinson is finally entering the turbine arena, with the R66. Jamie Chalkley tests it +FLIGHTCLUB A LWAY S O P E N TO N E W C O M E R S

41-52 The flying and training season is in full swing, and here you’ll find the best things to do and places to see, as well as great advice and cool people.

4 NEW FLIGHT DESIGN C4 LSA giant goes up in size with its cracking new four-seater

16 INCOMING The Olympics and ‘ugly’ aircraft get your goat this month

6 NEW TECNAMS Unexpected 11-seater unveiled at Aero 2011? And the new four-seat!

18 GEAR: NEW GARMINS Ditch those GNS old systems, the GTN is here. And, the G2000!

9 CUSTOM CLASS Tired of ‘off the shelf’ aircraft? Wait until you feast your eyes on these

20 GEAR: NEW HEADSET Beyerdynamic reveal their new range-topper, the HS800

10 CORVALIS OVERHAUL Firm’s top SEP gets a new look, and a new Garmin flightdeck too

22 FREEDOM TO FLY The guys who are about to transform flying for the disabled

13 BOB DAVY The tricky task of moving a warbird... on a lorry

52 PLANE CRAZY So, what is it like to fly a helicopter that is like no other?

15 DENNIS KENYON The delicate task of flying with nervous passengers

66 INSTANT EXPERT The British-built Quik comes under the microscope this month

ALAN CASSIDY p36 Alan casts his eye across Olympic ice skating and gymnastics this month... two easy challenges compared to the pressure cooker of the aerobatic Unknown.

DAVE SPURDENS p26 Has a Robinson ever looked this good? Dave knew exactly what he wanted from the R66 shoot, and the skies obliged with some moments of stunning sunshine.

FRONTEND

AV I A T I O N NEWS, VIEWS AND OPINION FROM HOME AND ABROAD

N E W S W I R E SUN ‘n FUN ‘n WIND

FLORIDA’S Sun ‘n Fun was lashed by a tornado which wrecked aircraft and exhibits – including this Zenith CH750. Ouch!

BUOYANT FLIGHT DESIGN TAKE AIM AT HEAVYWEIGHTS WITH THE NEW FOUR-SEATER E AERO 2011 SHOW SPECIAL

‘King of the LSAs’ reveal new certified C4 concept… and it’s a cracker! VERYONE knows Flight Design make fantastic two-seat microlight and light sport aircraft, with over 1700 of its CT range flying at schools and clubs around the world. But, they don’t do ‘big’ aircraft, do they? They do now. After much pre-AERO 2011 speculation, the German firm used its home event to unveil its most important new design in years – the four-seat C4 with which it is firmly moving up a gear to take on the likes of Cessna and Piper in the massmarket four-seater sector. And it will do it with some fearsomely strong credentials. The C4 will

seat four 6ft-plus adults in comfort, cruise at 160kt, have as standard a Garmin or Dynon glass cockpit, IFR ops approval, autopilot, TAWS, and airframe parachute, a payload of 600kg, a spectacular range and endurance of up 1700nm/13.5hr, while sipping either mogas or diesel. All for €220,000. In the US it’s even better value, with Flight Design hoping to lock the final price at $250,000! Is this the aircraft you’ve been waiting for? Many seem to believe so… Flight Design sold 30 at the show, and reckon they will have notched up over 100 sales by the conclusion of

New C4: 1700nm range with four onboard and luggage? Where do we sign?

04 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

Oshkosh – well in excess of their own cautious targets of 30-50 by 2013. They outlined hopes for 100 sales in 2014, and 200 in 2015, and if they smash those targets just as convincingly, we’re looking at a new bestseller in GA. FAA Part 23 certification plans for the cute highwing tied in with plans to massively increase its US and global presence too. The composite C4 features many existing FD components, such as the CT’s wing and tail, meaning the ambitious schedule of first flight by the end of this year, certification next year, deliveries in 2013, is perfectly achievable.

TARGET SPECS

• All composite four-seater • 600kg empty, 600kg payload, 1200kg MTOW

• Max 75kg luggage • Stall 50kt, max cruise 160kt, Vne 195kt

• 180hp Avgas/Mogas;

10.4gal/hr @ 75%, max range 1200nm (carrying 4 x 90kg PAX) • 155hp diesel; 5.9gal/hr @75%; FADEC, max range 1700nm (4 x 90kg PAX) • Three-blade constant speed prop • Garmin G1000 or similar/ Dynon SkyView, autopilot, terrain/traffic/WMX • Airframe parachute standard, airbag belts • Optional floats/ice protection planned

Flight Design boss Matthias Betsch explained: “People know us well for our existing designs, but the C4 will put us in a new sector of GA. We believe that many schools and clubs around the world would replace the ageing fleets that they have, of aircraft like the Cessna 172 and Piper PA-28, if they could afford to. “These are 40-year-old designs, but are not cheap to replace, so the schools continue to update the existing models which have a lot of old technology and engines. We think they deserve a new four-seater with the most modern design and technological

JETPACK UAV

THE Martin Jetpack first seen at Oshkosh ’08 has flown without a pilot, for seven minutes under remote guidance. Due in 2013. developments that could replace the ageing fleets at a good price.” The C4 will see a move by Flight Design into new engine partnerships, after long-term tie-ups with Rotax in their existing microlights and LSAs. Both Lycoming and Continental are in the fray to supply an IO-360-type 180hp Mogas-ready engine, while Centurion’s 2.0s 155hp motor will feature in a diesel model. Flight Design’s own hybrid electric add-on will feature later. Flight Design is on a roll, with its January-to-April 2011 sales in the US already matching the entire sales results of 2010, and it clearly sees the US as the next big step in its growth. Much of that task falls to its ‘superstar signing’ of ex-Cessna heavyweight VP John Doman – formerly head of all propeller aircraft sales for the firm and one of the three men who conceived the idea of the Cessna SkyCatcher 162 which saw Cessna move into LSAs.

Flight Design has quietly been racking up approval after approval for its manufacturing and design processes, giving it a much freer hand to develop aircraft without having to consult with EASA at every stage – a painful and timeconsuming process. Its German and Ukrainian manufacturing facilities recently received glowing reports from EASA as it earned DOA approval. POA approval is expected imminently, putting it on a par with any other major GA manufacturer. Meanwhile, great news for the 60 buyers of the existing Permit to Fly CTLS. The design has received certification by EASA, and Flight Design say it is most likely any PtF CTLS will be allowed by EASA to be modified with the small number of changes (eg four not five flap settings as on the PtF) the certified aircraft features and become a certified aircraft – or alternately guarantee PtF issuance in perpetuity. www.flightdesign.com

G650 TRAGEDY

GULFSTREAM was hit by tragedy after four staff were killed when a mule G650 crashed during engine-out takeoff tests, catching fire. TALENT SHOW

Flight Design look to the audience for Top 5

KEY to setting its spec and performance targets for the C4 has been Flight Design’s decision to canvas pilots. CEO Matthias Betsch explained: “We surveyed many pilots, and they gave us a clear list of things in order of priority that any new aircraft should have. They said the most important thing was cost, under $300,000 was important if possible. “The second thing most important was all round performance – they don’t need it to be the fastest. Third range, fourth payload, and fifth a parachute.” GROWTH PLAN

GA guru joins Flight Design FLIGHT DESIGN unveiled their new boss of global sales and marketing at AERO 2011, a name well known to anyone in the industry as one of the gurus of GA. John Doman was at Cessna for over 20 years, finally as boss of propeller aircraft, and pivotal in Cessna’s move into LSAs and the creation of the SkyCatcher 162. He said: “Flight Design is perfectly poised, making great aircraft and plans for great new ones. What was always very impressive to me is the sheer level of skill and competence, which is a match for anything I experienced at Cessna.”

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO...

www.loop.aero

5 MINUTE READ @ AERO 2011 Get a quick fact fix... QUOTE OF THE MONTH “People forget we have been foreign owned for the last 10 years by a Bahraini company. China is not a fourletter word… their interest in aviation is good for aviation.” Cirrus boss Brent Wouters reminds naysayers criticising the CAIGA-Cirrus tie-up that aviation is already a global concern WHAT THEY SAID... “America’s previous dominance in the area of smaller aircraft has been eclipsed in particular by the rapidly growing interest in performance-oriented light and ultra-light aircraft.” Industry expert Peter Pletschacher holds out good news for European manufacturers of smaller aircraft at the show. “The Spitfire is a lovely aircraft, but the Hurricane means more to me, as a good friend flew one.” Flying Legend boss Giuseppe Margarone on why his Italian firm crafted a beautiful Hurricane rep. “Jet? What jet? You weren’t meant to see that…!” Flight Design’s Matthias Betsch pulls journalists leg on April 1, ‘accidentally’ revealing a jetengined CT at Sun ‘n Fun

Wot no prop? ‘Jet’ CT spied...

AERO 2011 IN NUMBERS

More buyers and less spotters as Europe’s biggest show continues to grow AERO 2010 AERO 2011 Visitors 39,700 33,400* Exhibitors 504, in nine halls 630 in 11 halls Nationalities 31 29 Media 608 (30 countries) 727 (32 countries) *Show ran during week in 2011, not weekend like 2010, and ditched the ‘air show’ for non-pilot fans

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FRONTEND

Now this was a surprise... Tecnam's 'miniairliner revealed AERO 2011 SHOW SPECIAL

TECNAM ADD TO THEIR POSITION OF STRENGTH Cessna 172 rival shaded by surprise new 11-seater as fast-growing Italian firm adds yet more artillery to its armoury

OST aircraft firms would ensure that the first appearance of a muchanticipated new fourseater was the focal point of their display at an event like AERO 2011, but it© s a sign of how much Tecnam is really going places that its new P2010 highwing only got second billing on its gigantic show stand.

Star of the show was a mock-up of the firm’s new P2012 Traveller, an 11-seat twinprop conceived and designed specifically for a major US commuter airliner – and instantly of interest to many others too, with VIP, Medevac, parachute and cargo firms all perking up their ears. The Traveller will be powered by Mogas-burning Lycoming TEO-540s, have

New P2010 is a seriously lovely aircraft... watch out Cessna!

06 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

fixed gear to cut weight and maintenance, wide windows, easy to access large luggage bays, and a large sliding rear main door for passengers. Max cruise will be around 215kt, and price between €1.2m and €1.4m says Tecnam boss Paolo Pascale Langer. First deliveries are planned for 2015. Its genesis came after Cape Air, the largest US commuter airliner and the world© s biggest Avgas user, asked 30 firms to submit designs that could replace its fleet of nearly 70 Cessna 402s. Key criteria were that any new aircraft carried nine passengers, had two engines, and was not reliant on Avgas. For GA pilots, the Tecnam P2010 four-seat high-wing was the one to make for. First shown last year in image form only, the first

The spec sheet reads like Langer told his engineers to squeeze the best from the weight saving fuselage aircraft looks fantastic – and like many others clearly has Cessna’s iconic 172 and 182 in its sights. The spec sheet reads like Langer told his engineers to squeeze the best from the weight savings offered by its carbon-fibre fuselage (the wing is metal) to make it a winner in a face off with Cessna’s 172. The two aircraft have identical MTOW of 1157kg, and after that it’s Tecnam all the way: lighter, roomier, more payload, more baggage space, shorter takeoff, faster

climb, faster cruise, longer range, shorter landing roll. Starting at €182,250, it’s cheaper too – the base 172SP price is equivalent to around €210,000 – though the price difference is heavily masked by the Cessna coming with Garmin G1000 avionics as standard. Fit a G1000 to the Tecnam, and its price leaps to €237,600, equal to $40,000 more than the 172SP. But, it’s still much cheaper than the 182 which starts at $398,100 – and yet comparable in performance. Either way, there’s a scrap brewing in the sales pitches. Tecnam also showed the newest version of the P92 Eaglet, the G5-LY, which now features Lycoming’s 115hp LIO-233 engine. It will cost just under €69,000, available later this year. www.tecnam.com

cavalon brings luxury to auto gyro range WITH it being their home show, it’s no surprise the launch of Auto Gyro’s new ‘luxury’ Cavalon was greeted with almost Hollywood-style fervour by fans at Friedrichshafen. The firm is not the first to launch a side-by-side fullyenclosed autogyro – Italy’s Magni M24 beat them to that honour – but when the covers were ceremonially drawn away amid dry ice, nightclub lighting, leggy models, and 100+ spectators crowded around the newcomer, it made a huge impact: it© s lovely.

Powered by a Rotax 912 or 914 Turbo and kitted with FlyMap, Dynon or Garmin avionics, it’s roomy, will happily cruise for

hours at 80kt, and oozes quality in manufacture. At €60,000(ish), it was one of the stars of the show. www.auto-gyro.com

Foxy models and dry ice? It could only be a new Auto Gyro!

aero 2011: NeW DeSIGN

trixy surprise with new autogyro too AUTO GYRO wasn’t the only firm grabbing attention with a new enclosed autogyro at AERO 2011, with Austrian firm Trixy Aviation unveiling its new ‘cabriolet’ G4-2R tandem design at the show. It’s got many of the usual features you’d hope for in a factory-built machine, such as 100hp Rotax 912 power, pneumatic pre-rotator, lightweight glass panel options (Kanardia Nesis), two-year warranty etc, but its most innovative feature is the ability to remove the rear panel of the split-roof canopy so rear passengers

can fly ‘wind in the hair’. The firm has a very well stepped price list that gives options all the way up from its basic €59,800 tag.

The Trixy cruises at nearly 90kt and has a maximum load of 298kg, with a MTOW up to 560kg. www.trixyaviation.com

Trixy autogyro completed first tests just before show

aero 2011: NeW DeSIGN

hurricane replica taKes shape in italy ITALIAN manufacturer flying Legend’s beautiful scale replica of the Hawker Hurricane is likely to make it to the UK soon, with the Light Aircraft Association’s new aircraft guru Francis Donaldson due to test fly it this year. LOOP has a new ‘we want one if we win the lottery’ idol! The ready-to-fly Rotaxpowered warbird replica drew appreciative crowds alongside the firm’s soon-tofly Embraer Tucano rep, and will cost around €105,000 ready to fly. A kit version is due soon. The Tucano will

be around €125,000, ready to fly. A kit will follow too. The Hurricane has already completed over 200hr of flight testing, has a Vne

of 155kt, and features retractable undercarriage and airframe parachute. In bare metal, it© s gorgeous. www.flyinglegend.it

Just... wow! An artful Italian take on a British classic

EYES ON DESIGNS

Round-up of some of the nicest new designs at AERO 2011 amid a bumper crop of newcomers AERO&TECH NEXTH THIS black boxy ‘stealth LSA’ is called the Nexth – try saying that with a mouthful of burger! Claimed to be built to F1 motor racing standards and designed by Ferrari, it’s expected to top 175mph – from a Rotax 912! It© s all metal (steel tube, ally skin), and the first flight is due in June. Adding to its list of attributes is being fully aerobatic capable too, to +9/-4g. Projected price is €60,000. IKARUS C52 HOW do you improve a brilliant design like the C42? It’s tough – there© s over 1200 sold and it© s a deserved classic. Makers Comco have said let’s try and make it lighter and thus faster, in the C52! Features include redesigned landing gear and carbon composites in the tail, adding up to an extra 5-10kt. Nice! SHARK Odd looking, and with the under-cowling gills and curved fin which give it the name Shark, this aircraft was seen at AERO two years ago but now appears to be flying with new German owners. Claim to fame: said to capable of 190mph, reckoned to be the fastest LSA in the world. As with many, it© s carbon-fibre. A2 ELLIPSE Strange curved wing of the Ellipse composite low-wing will allow a cruise of over 160kt from a 105hp ULPower engine, A2 says. First flight is due any day now, and work is already underway on prototype No.2. The design is reckoned to be so efficient and slippery it has speed brakes. MERLIN 100 Single-seat C152 lookalike from Czech company TechProAviation. Oddly it weighs 120kg which just pops it outside the 115kg single-seat deregulated (SSDR) category. Power is a from a 35hp two-cylinder engine so should be cheap as chips to fly, and despite the low power figure its top seed is a smidgeon over 100kt. Best stay slim though: cabin width 29in.

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FRONTEND

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO... www.loop.aero

AERO 2011: NEW DESIGNS

'BODYKIT' CULTURE COMES TO AVIATION Customs grab the limelight at Friedrichshafen – and they're a cut above 'Max Power'

OVE over traditionalists… the customisers are in town. If the thought of a standard aircraft off the production line isn’t for you, and building your own is too daunting, then there is a new third way: the aviation equivalent of a customised hotrod. Two of the best at AERO 2011 were innovative takes on existing designs, by firms who already have a good pedigree in aircraft manufacture. In a close-run race for the nicest aircraft at the event,

the gorgeous Funk FK14 Le Mans just pipped of the starkly beautiful Savage Bobber (see panel), both using classic car and bike designs as inspiration. The standard FK14 is a nice enough plane in anyone’s book, but Funk have redesigned the canopy into a two-place open-top with bubble windscreens, painted it racing green with retro touches, added a sumptuous leather interior and called it the ‘Le Mans’. Brilliant! Everyone who saw it raved on, and for many it was AERO© s star turn. The

inspiration came from 1950s Porsche race cars which competed in the 24 Heures du Man, hence the name. The styling hints at the romance of the period, flying with bugs in your teeth, not a care in the world... and a sure knowledge of the layout of the cockpit because once in, you can’t see much of it. The canopy interchanges with the standard enclosed canopy, both hinging at the front. It costs €4500. €100k gets you twin Garmin 695s, Rotax 912 power, and a huge smile. www.fk-lightplanes.com

Available in tailwheel or tricycle style

Savage Bobber

HANDS-UP who knows • 2 types of chrome what a ‘Bobber’ is? It’s a • 8 types of high quality leather trim custom motorcycle term meaning a stripped-down • 10 types of luggage holders and bags bike, based on a stock chassis, with all but the • 3 colours of seat belts essentials removed. • 2 types of seats (including the option of The term dates back high quality saddles from to the 1940s and 50s the motorcycle industry) when riders wanted more performance and • 10 wildly different special paintschemes more agility. And that’s the rationale behind the • 4 colours available for the propellers Savage Bobber, a Piper Cub lookalike with fuselage • 2 types of original instrument panels covering removed to show the bare frame, a great • Special tyres and brakes retro paint job, big tyres, • Textured colours for the chrome heads, and a huge fuselage tubes number of colour scheme • Supports for optionals like metal fuel tanks, and finish options. surfboards, fishing poles, It’s produced by another great Czech company, Zlin hunting rifles, etc. Aviation, as part of the • You can choose between Rotax or Lycoming power Savage range; the Bobber and, yes, you can also is based on the Savage Classic. The Bobber weighs get a kit for enclosing the cabin for use in cold 25kg less and this is the weather! options list: All you'll • 15 different colours for need to the engine complete the look is some • 20 colours for the Brylcreem! welded www.zlin A pure rockabilly plane fuselage aero.com

AERO 2011: NEW DESIGNS

SKYLEADER PACK GROWS TO SIX LIGHT aircraft design and construction is a thriving industry in the Czech Republic, with many of the top LSAs coming from this talented country – aided by wide and strong industry support for aerospace design talent coming from its two very good aerospace universities, in the cities of Brno and Prague.

• SKYLEADER 100

One of the results is the Skyleader 100, a singleseat all-metal low-wing which started as student project at Prague for a low-cost, simple, fun aeroplane and is now in proper production. Skyleader is a range

of aircraft by Jihlavan Aeroplanes, and the 100 is the entry-level model. It has a very simple rectangular wing, tailwheel landing gear, a sliding canopy and is powered by a two-stroke Rotax engine – either the 50hp 503 or 60hp 585 – fitted with a slim three-blade prop. All simple, like the price: €35,000, ready to fly (€16,000 as kit, minus engine/avionics/prop). Cruise is 75kt, Vne 120kt, and minimum speed with flaps is 24kt so it takes off and lands just 100m and 130m respectively! A really wholesome aircraft, and a good looker too.

• SKYLEADER 600

Top of the six-aircraft Skyleader range is the 600 which is a fullyfledged Light Sport Aircraft with a maximum weight of 600kg, cruise of 113kt, powered by the ubiquitous Rotax 912 (80 or 100hp) or 914 (115hp). It too takes off and lands in very short runs

of 90-100m, and has a payload of 320kg – easily enough for two plus luggage and a fair amount of fuel. The chief designer of the Skyleader range is the highly respected Professor Antonin Pistek, Director of the Institute of Aerospace Engineering at Brno Technical University.

Simple, light, and cheap.... just the ticket

During his 30 years in the aerospace industry, he designed various small transport aircraft including the Let L410 UVP and L610, as well as all Skyleader’s two-seaters (four aircraft altogether), as well as the five-seat VUT 100 Cobra for fellow Czech company Evektor. www.skyleader.aero

Ribbon on 600 being picked up at the show

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FRONTEND

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO... www.loop.aero BEST OF THE REST FROM AERO 2011

One dealer at the show said the TTX is "Orgasmic!"... quite some reaction

More great new aircraft at the show ITALY© S LITTLE BLACK (PRIME) NUMBER ITALIAN start-up Blackshape says its Prime two-seat tandem is the only ultralight (read microlight) to use prepreg, hot melt, carbon fibre to construct the fuselage, wings and tail – and in its pre-painted state, it’s matt black, hence the name. The Prime is all about speed. Max cruise is an amazing 186mph, Vne is 211mph, and 75% cruise 171mph. All from a 100hp Rotax, burning 18l/hr at 75%. www.blackshapeaircraft.com

AERO 2011 ABSENTEE

CESSNA GIVES CORVALIS MAKEOVER US firm not at AERO 2011… as it stole show in the US

ESSNA had to decide if it was at Sun ‘n Fun in Florida or AERO 2011 this year, and opted to give US pilots the first look at its blue-riband piston prop: the gorgeous new Corvalis 400 TTX.

New paint the obvious sign

The primary change over the outgoing 400TT is inside, with the luxury four-seater being the first to feature Garmin’s new G2000 integrated flight deck, making the TTX Cessna’s first all-glass prop model. Read more about the G2000 in the AERO 2011 Gear special, on page 18. The composite 235kt TTX will feature a reworked version of the G2000, to Cessna’s specs and design and rebadged ‘Intrinzic’. It updates the current G1000

The first aircraft to feature Garmin's new G2000 integrated flight deck

The all-white Blackshape Prime

units installed in existing 400 TTs. Use of an L3 Trilogy electronic back-up display means it is the first ‘no-dials’ piston aircraft from Cessna, deleting the back-up gauges in current Corvalis. Performance figures are unchanged, and it continues to use the 300hp TCM TSIO-550-C engine – so no unleaded option yet. The price has taken a step up to $733,950. First UK models? Around 18 months. www.cessna.com

AERO 2011: NEW

DIAMOND'S ROUGH-STRIP DA40 AT first sight, the idea of a DA40 equipped with heavy duty landing gear, big tyres, Fowler flaps and Vortex generators along the wing might seem a weird idea. Most ‘tundra’ aircraft are high-wing tailwheelers, after all. But Diamond says there’s a huge market in emerging markets like Russia where many small airfields are rough strips. The Tundra Star meets Russian certification rules for these rough strips which include being able to withstand a 20G heavy

landing as well as potholes and ruts. The Vortex generators (small vertical tabs on the top surface of the wing) help reduce the stall speed to 58kt... fast enough on a rough strip! The canopy is bulged for extra headroom, appealing to military trainers who wear helmets. The Tundra is powered by Diamond’s own 168hp AE300 Jet A1-burning turbodiesel driving an MT three-blade composite constant-speed prop. Cost is €220,000 euro which includes a Garmin G1000,

10 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

Also on show was the the AE500 six-cylinder turbodiesel which should power the DA50 Magnum tourer. Based on a marine engine it© s tall, so might mean a new look nose. www.diamond-air.at

Certified to 20g for landings... !

NOT THE PARROT CZECH Sport aircraft introduced its new highwing at the AERO 2011 show. Once called the Parrot, but likely to change, it will come with Rotax 912(100hp) and Jabiru 3300 (110hp) engine options, 375kg empty/600kg MTOW, 75% cruise 112kt, Vne 135kt, and climb 850fpm. Max range is up to 520 miles. Price is expected to be SportCrusier-ish, between £71-80,000 +VAT. www.czechsportaircraft.co.uk

Many SportCruiser touches on highwing "HAVE WE MET BEFORE?" OK, so BRM Aero’s new Light Sport Aircraft looks remarkably like the SportCruiser which also looks very similar to the Roko Aero NG4... and the linking theme is the chief designer, Jiri Konecny. The BRM stand was even next to the Czech Sport stand at AERO 2011! He left Czech Aircraft Works (now Czech Sport) to set up Roko Aero, and moved on again to his new firm BRM Aero. www.brmaero.com

"Hold on... isn© t that..? Aaaah!"

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AWARE 5

SV-D700 7”display ........ £1635 SV-D1000 10”display ..... £2195 SV-ADAHRS-200 .......... £750 SV-EMS-220/A ............. £375 SV-XNPDR-262 Mode S £1125 SV-GPS-250 GPS rec. ...... £125 All other Skyview parts in stock

AWARE 5 Airspace Warning Device ............ £191 AWARE 5+ Airspace Warning Device ........... £274 CLARITY GPS with full search facility ............ £499 FORESIGHT 7” screen moving map GPS ....... £832

TRAFFIC ALERT Portable Traffic Alert System

Icom

IC-A6E* Sports pack ..... £208 IC-A6E* Pro pack .......... £308 IC-A24E* Sports pack ..... £275 IC-A24E* Pro pack .......... £375 IC-A210 ............ £750 IC-A110 ............ £625

CLARITY

digital charts as standard • CAA Map GPS • Moving airspace alerting system • Unique to use straight from the box • Ready • Free airspace updates for life

BECKER

AR4201 VHF Com .......... £950 NEWAR6201VHF Com 8.33 £1195 BXP6401 transponder £1495 TRIG TT21 Class 2 Mode S £1250 TRIG TT22 Class 1 Mode S £1595 TRIG TT31 Class 1 Mode S £1575

Zaon XRX £799

ATR500 transceiver ......... £790 ATR833 transceiver ....... £1070

Uniden UBC30XLT ............... £ 58 Icom IC-R6 .......................... £150 Icom IC-RX7 ....................... £169 Icom IC-RX20 ..................... £339

Cable or Bluetooth module below allows the XRX to show traffic on your GPS moving map XRX to Garmin Aera Series £89 XRX to Garmin 495/496 ...... £75 XRX to Garmin 695 ............. £75 XRX Bluetooth module .... £199

MX11 replacement Com £695 MX170C Nav/Com ....... £1295 MX300 Nav/Com .......... £1295

LIGHTSPEED

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BOSE

We stock a full range of Icom Accessories

Receivers

FUNKWERK

MICHEL / TKM MICROAIR

M760 transceiver ............. £599

MICRO AVIONICS

BEST

Zulu ANR GA version ............. £499 Zulu ANR GA coil cord ............ £499 Zulu ANR Helicopter version £499 Zulu ANR Lemo panel version £499 Sierra ANR GA version £399 with blue tooth and music input

NEW

HME95 Lightweight GA Headset £135 HME100 GA Headset ............. £169 HME110 GA Headset ............. £199 HMEC250 ANR GA Headset .... £325 HMEC26BK Lightweight ANR .. £499 HMEC26T-BK w/talk through ... £675 HMEC46-1-BK Lightweight ANR £425 HMEC350 GA ANR ................. £499 HMEC460 GA ANR ................. £535

INSTRUMENTS RC ALLEN (TSO approved)

RCA22-7 vacuum horizon ....... £575 RCA22-11 vacuum horizon lit .. £658 RCA26EK electric horizon .... from £1585 RCA2600 digital electric horizon £1815 RCA11A-8 vacuum D.G. ........... £575 RCA11A-16 vacuum D.G. lit ..... £658 RCA15AK/BK electric D.G from £1585 RCA82A turn coordinator .......... £615 JP INSTRUMENTS (TSO approved) FS450 fuel flow ...................................... £449 EDM700-4C engine management ... £960 EDM700-4C with fuel flow ............... £1350 EDM700-6C engine management ... £1295 EDM700-6C with fuel flow ............... £1690 WINTER EASA approved ASI ............ £245 WINTER EASA approved ALT ........... £225

Non TSO instruments for LSA Homebuilt or Experimental Aircraft GH030 vacuum horizon .............. £290 GH025 electric horizon 14volt ... £799 GD031 vacuum D.G. .................... £290 GD023 electric D.G. 14volt ........ £799 BZW-4B turn coordinator .......... £275 BC-3E altimeter ........................... £180 BC-2A vertical speed ind. ............ £99 VSI2FM-3 vertical speed ind. ..... £99 VSI2FM-2 vertical speed ind. .... £149 Magnetic Compass ......................... £85 Air Speed Indicators from .......... £85 MC022 vertical card compass .. £130 MCVC-2L-AM vertical card compass £140 PRECISION TSO vertical card compass £249

Harry’s HM40 ................... £ 89 HM51child headset ........... £ 79 Peltor 8006 GA headset £150 Peltor Helicopter headset R22/44 £175 Peltor Helicopter headset .. £175 David Clark H10-30 ......... £189 David Clark H10-13.4 ...... £215 David Clark H10-13H ....... £229 David Clark H10-60 ......... £249

AMERI-KING

Home/Kit Builders

We can supply an avionics package to meet your specific requirements ready for immediate installation. All looms are custom made by our engineers. If required, the avionics can be built into our new radio rack mounting system. Please call for pricing and more information.

MM001B Helmet with VOX £345 MM001C Helmet w/VOX and ANR £406 MM001 Headset ............... £181 MM001A ANR Headset .... £242 MM006 Bluetooth phone adaptor £140 MM005 Radio Interface ...... £186

BUY The revolutionary Lightspeed Zulu offers: Unrivalled comfort, Blue tooth mobile phone connectivity and auxiliary music imput

CUSTOM PANELS

TRIG

Zaon MRX £275 AV80R AVIATION GPSwith street maps £399 AV80R ACE with “GO DRIVE” £1195 SKYMAP III C European version £999 KMD 150 panel mount GPS £1895 KY97A VHF Comm 14v .......... £995 KY96A VHF Comm 28v ........ £1695 KY197A VHF Comm 14v (OHC) £1500 KY196A VHF Comm 28v (OHC) £1500 KR87ADF system (OHC) ..... £1695 KN64 DME (OHC) ............ £1295 KX155 Nav/Comm (OHC) ..... £1450

* approved for ground use only.

EFIS-D6 ....... £1000 EFIS-D10A .. £1375 EFIS-D100 .. £1235 EMS-D120 .. £1400 FlightDEK-D180 .. £1895 HS34 HSI module ... £410 SV-32 Auto Pilot servo £475

INTERCOMS NEW Bose A20 Headset

A20 GA twin plug .............. £712 A20 GA twin plug w/bluetooth £787 A20 Helicopter w/bluetooth .. £787 A20 Lemo installed version ... £712 A20 Lemo w/bluetooth ......... £787 Installed wiring harness .... £ 37

HM2 place portable ............ £79 HM2 place for Icom w/PTT £99 HM4 place portable ............ £99 Sigtronics SPA400 ............. £169

PS Engineering

PM 501 panel mount 4 place £185 PM 1000 4 place prices from £225 PM 3000 stereo 4 place ......... £295 PMA 4000 Audio Panel ......... £525

SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT 406MHz Personal Locator Beacons

Survival Products 4-6 Person Rafts Weighs only

5.5

AK-451 ELT is a TSO’d, JAA JTSO’d approved 406 MHZ ELT .................. £649 • Suitable for fixed wing and helicopters • Triple transmit 406 satellite/243 Military/121.5 Civilian • Antenna options – Blade, Rod, Whip, Portable • Up to 78 hours battery life • Reliable sealed G switch • Simple installation – all accessories included • Coding Programming included • Self Test built in

AK-350-30 Altitude Encoder ..... £139

Kilos

The Lightest most compact raft in the World

Raft with canopy .......... £999 Raft with equipment ... £1150 HM Survivor Slim line lifejacket with whistle and light ....... £65 Survival Products FV-35F TSO approved life jacket ........ £49

FAMILY RUN ADD 20% VAT - UK & EU ONLY BUSINESS FOR OPEN MON-FRI 9am-5.30pm – NEXT DAY UK MAINLAND DELIVERY FROM £10.00 If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, please return the goods in original condition within All prices subject to change. OVER 20 YEARS 28 days for replacement, exchange or a full no quibble refund.

Kannad XS-4

Kannad XS-ER

GME MT410G

Kannad XS-4 GPS PLB ......... £188 McMurdo FastFind Max-G PLB £269 Kannad XS-ER GPS PLB ......... £279 GME MT410G with GPS ......... £285

CAA/EASA APPROVED

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FRONTEND

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MORE AERO 2011

VIPER IMPREssEs WITH so many great light sport aircraft coming out of eastern Europe, you could be forgiven for missing a real gem – and the Tomark Viper SD-4 is one. It’s a mostly metal low-wing design from Slovakia, with a rear-hinged canopy, unusually, and very similar good looks to the well-known Sport Cruiser low-wing from rival manufacturer Czech Sport Aircraft. It’s being pitched for fun, training, and glider tow use. It has a surprisingly roomy cockpit, with twin stick and central throttle, a fully equippped panel and 100hp Rotax 912 for a fully loaded price of €95,000.

A lower spec model is €60,000 (both +VAT). Many of these eastern European aircraft aren’t available in the UK, but there’s a chance this one will be – we bumped into former Jabiru UK agent Kevin Pearce at the show, who said he might be coming back into aviation after almsot three years out, as Tomark agent. www.tomarkaero.com

Viper is a lovely two-seater

MORE AERO 2011

RUSSIAN LA-8 AMPHIB WHAT’S the market for an eight-seat amphib? Huge, say Russia’s Aero Volga. “There are just 5000 airfields in Russia,” says the company, “but tens of thousands of suitable stretches of water.” The $1.38m LA-8 is a true amphib rather than a floatplane, with a boatshape fuselage for better water handling, and the

look and feel of a luxury launch inside, accessed via a large opening at the rear. Sturdy retractable trailing link undercarriage means it can also operate from unimproved strips, another massive asset. It flew 3500km from Moscow to the show in three days – good going, given its 145kt max cruise. www.aerovolga.com

Aero Volga could be a major player in emerging markets GET SNAPPING!

BREITLING’s AMAZING ‘WIN A PPL’ PIC COMP NOT got your licence yet? Handy with a camera? On Facebook? If you can answer yes to all three of those questions, you’re in with a shout of winning a spectacular prize from watch firm Breitling. The company, famed for its flight-related links and ad imagery, is hosting a photography competition

on its Facebook page in which the winner will get PPL training as a prize. Entries are currently being taken, with the closing date for submission May 18, before they go forward to judging by the great and good of Breitling’s aviation pals. Entry criteria apply, as expected. See the FB page for more. facebook.com/breitling

BOB

Davy

LO O P ' s m a n w i t h a tt i tu d e a s w e l l a s a l t i t u d e I JUST took delivery quality – it does of half of another what it says on the Nanchang CJ6. No... tin. For maintenance the Chang Gang we use Rex Ford This ‘calendar at aren’t becoming a Seething, now ‘two and a half ship’ expiry’ trend has officially the Chang display (sounds the potential guru in the UK – like what happens to ground a fair looking after 4 of 5 if a crossover goes on the UK reg. chunk of the CJ6s wrong). It’s a half The ‘new’ Chang UK’s warbirds was shipped by road share rather than half an aeroplane, on a 40ft low loader meaning there’s a a spare (or with crane – slightly nerve50% chance of it) if my main wracking, despite insurance. one is in maintenance, goes The Chang’s 10ft gull wing tech or is pre-booked (two outer panels detach leaving other shareholders in my a 12ft span aircraft able Chang display too). to sit on its wheels which The ‘new’ Chang has been retract and extend from the stored for eight years and so wing stubs, though for road needs an annual/overhaul, transport its better to have and some age-related the aircraft on its belly on a replacements such as new bed of planks. prop, air hoses etc – where One problem is moving things have got slightly silly. the outer wing sections in The old prop was overhauled a way they they don’t try to three years ago and the fly and rattle themselves aircraft hasn’t moved from to pieces. The military its nice warm hangar since, developed a simple technique but now needs another prop (especially good transporting because the ‘old’ unused prop complete aircraft under is time-expired. We can sell helicopters): they strap a it on ebay as an overhauled lift-destroying block of wood prop, probably to the US, along the top surface of the even though we can’t fly with wings ... simple but effective. it in the UK. Our wings travelled end-on This ‘calendar expiry’ to the airflow strapped to trend has the potential to the fuselage sides, plenty of ground a fair chunk of the packing stopping even the UK’s warbird/historic fleet, slightest movement during particularly jets, which travel. One pratfall learned often have low-time but last time lifting the Chang old engines and steadily off the loader, with strops declining options of around fuselage fore and aft overhaul/replacement. of the wing stub: if the fore Why not overhaul our strop is too forward it stops prop again? Because Chang the nosewheel extending. spares are so readily available This is why I love aviation and relatively cheap that it’s – to wring the best out of cheaper to buy a new prop it you need the skill set in China and ship it than of a military tactition, an overhaul the ‘old’ one here. accountant, a politician (the Over the years we’ve shipped bureaucracy we’ve dealt all manner of parts for the with!) and of course a pilot. other Changs including It’s fun isn’t it? At least, engines, props, gear legs, most of the time. I can’t wait pneumatic rams, wheels, to see the three Changs lined tyres, air hoses, even plugs. up at Waltham, hopefully We’ve never had any around the time you read his. problems with legitimacy And then it will have been of parts, paperwork, or worth it.

elsewheRe...

Have you seen/ heard the footage of the FAA controllers asleep on the job/ watching movies on their iPads? There’s some great Google and Youtube material of it. The ‘iPad movie’ guy had Murphy’s Law very definitely playing against him in that his mic stuck open so that he broadcast three minutes of Samuel L Jackson over the airwaves he was supposed to be monitoring. The FAA’s head honcho is saying that the snoozing has to stop – ATC aren’t even allowed to sleep on their 30 minute breaks – and he’s going to crack down, and yet the stories just keep coming. When people need to sleep they need to sleep. If the FAA really want to make it a safer operating environment – ironically it’s the low stream jobs in the early hours that are the worst culprits – they need to have a tag team set up so controllers can call time if they feel their eyelids sagging Pilots get round it by having short naps in controlled situations during cruise only with the other pilot awake and fully strapped in, and with relief crews on long sectors. Sometimes it’s the right and only thing to do, especially if there’s a difficult approach waiting at the end.

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 13

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DENNIS

Kenyon

Fo r m e r w o r l d h e l i co p te r ch a m p i o n a n d i n s t r u ct o r When the subject of nervousness passengers crops up, I invariably think back to the off-quoted quip by Derek Alexander, a fine crop spraying pilot from new Zealand. In the 1970s Derek was showing me the ropes and urging me to get the skids closer to the crop on a 40 knot dusting run. “Relax Dennis, you’re as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!” By the time I’d thought about his humorous and overlong simile AnD think through what I was trying to achieve, I was already settling in to the required low-level handling technique. Yes, humour is relaxing. In my opinion the first ever recorded incident of a nervous flyer occurred in 1843. The englishman, Sir George Cayley, followed his production of a variety of successful spring-driven VTO models, by building what he called, ‘an Aerial Carriage’ which he claimed, ‘could lift a man!’ Sir George obviously wasn’t known for his courage or his self-confidence, since he promptly instructed his man-servant to ‘test fly’ his creation. however, it is on record that said man-servant took one look at the contraption and refused. But let’s take a peek at the actual problem of ‘a fear of flying.’ We’ve all heard the phrase: ‘if God meant us to fly – he’d have given us wings’. Well he has, or has at least given man the ability to build a good copy and use them to lift a ‘heavier than air’ flying machine. The airlines are very aware of the problem, and call in the clever interior designers to produce cabin colour schemes and shapes that are intended to

put their passengers at ease once they are settled in their seats. In training, cabin crew learn how to deal with the problem and it is fairly rare to experience a chronic condition, but I bet there are more than a few stories out there. In my own experience, I remember several nervous passengers. My first was when I was making a sales demonstration to a peer of the realm, one Lord Grosvenor (today’s Duke of Westminster). The location was eaton hall, the Duke’s impressive mansion in Cheshire. As part of the day’s demonstration, I was asked to demonstrate an enstrom Shark to his Lordship’s pilot, that lovable gentleman Ken Davies. The day went especially well, when as a ‘thank you’ gesture, I opted to make a short ‘joy flight’ for Ken’s Davies’ good lady wife with just the two of us on board. As I lifted, I immediately felt a very firm grip of fingernails digging into my thigh. I hesitated for a moment in the hover, but decided that as the lady’s grip wasn’t actually hurting, it would be best to continue with the sortie. Fifteen minutes later, I was thinking differently. All’s well that ends well though and Ken’s wife seemed to have As I lifted, I enjoyed the immediately flying, and after felt a very some postflying afternoon firm grip of tea, I said my fingernails goodbyes albeit digging into with a fairly my thigh sore knee!

All this is a bit odd as I haven’t given any further thought to the experience until a ‘PPrune’ post cropped up this year, when the son of the said lady passenger, reported on one of the ‘nostalgia’ threads that his mother had often told him of her first ever flight in a helicopter, being the occasion when ‘a nice enstrom pilot’ took her up but that she had been so scared she had held on to his knee for the whole flight! I was innocent, I promise. Of course the usual flock of PPruners have had fun at my expense! But that‘s what light aviation and banter is all about! My second story concerns the flying of a 100-year-old lady. her family had clubbed together to buy her a local sight-seeing flight over her home near Reigate. helicopter pilots know that very few first-time passengers seeing even their own town from the air are aware of either position or direction. As I greeted the lady I could see she was really looking forward to the occasion. As we winged north out of Redhill Aerodrome, I headed for her home town but far from being nervous or disoriented, she was carefully studying the ground below. I was surprised, when she immediately suggested, “Follow the old A23 to where it crosses the A25, then take the Dorking Road until the roundabout.” She went on. “If you take the turn to the south-west, you’ll see my house next to the school.” That lovely lady was one very ‘un-nervous passenger.’ I’ve had PPL graduates who couldn’t map read as well!

My final story concerns yet another lady who, when her husband approached me about owning a personal helicopter, made it absolutely clear that she would never even get in one. The lady’s name was Wendy and I wanted to know the basis of her ‘fear of flying.’ Was it safety or the noise perhaps? no, she hated heights and being off the ground. We spent a fair time in deep discussion until it became apparent things might change if I could persuade her to sit in the helicopter with the engine off. Wendy allowed me to fasten her seat belts while I reassured her by saying that at any stage, she could leave the helicopter if she became the slightest bit uncomfortable. For half an hour, we chatted about the helicopter’s controls, the instruments and how the thin blades were able to provide vertical lift, so when I suggested we start the engine, she was actually becoming interested. next came the rotor engagement while we sat for fifteen minutes burning & turning. I was taken aback when she asked was it possible to hover just a few inches off the ground? Less than a minute into the very low hover, she asked me to land so she could get out. “I’ve seen all I wanted.” She told me. Well at least I’d made some progress in getting her airborne! You can imagine my surprise when, the following morning, the husband telephoned to place his order for a new 280C Shark. “Oh, and by the way,” he added, “Can you include the cost of Wendy getting her private licence too.”

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 15

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Olympic dreams I’VE just woken up in Summer 2012, after a long sleep, and decide to go for a flight to blow away the cobwebs... just what’s needed. Travelling to my club, I pass through the ‘ground-level mandatory transaction zone’ (aka congestion charge), before depositing a flurry of coins into the waiting beggar baskets at the Dartford Crossing, continuing on to my club. Arriving, there are no-nos all round when it transpires I neglected to file a flight plan for the simple task of flying on my PPL privileges. No flying. Next day, take two: flightplan filed and approved by the relevant automaton, now aloft, I am funnelled

into a virtual shoebox of airspace, under threat of Typhoon interception should my (new and compulsory) transponder accidentally shake off its mountings and fail. Meanwhile, I wonder what will happen if I should declare an emergency and be forced to deviate from my approved plan. Fortunately, a Welsh runner I’ve never heard of gets a plucky fifth that day, more than making up for all the ‘temporary’ (do we really believe that?) restrictions to movement. I’m with Bob Davy on this one. Anon Pilot, email Suffice to say that you are by far from the only reader to comment on this.

SPOT THE PLANE 1 It’s not upside down or backto-front... but this experimental aircraft does sound like twice the machine of any before it.

2 If you haven’t sat in one of these... we’ll be surprised. We’re not even going to give a hint!

3 In the news a bit lately... Our own Nick Heard used to count one as his office.

The Olympic Airspace restrictions... not winning fans

New glasses Mr Cripps! I’VE got very used to seeing a regular flow of letters from Jim Cripps [So have we... we think he must be on holiday this month. Ed] and they are always entertaining and unusually thought provoking. He’s motivated me to put pen to paper after launching what the tabloids might call ‘a blistering attack’ on

Diamond fans speak out!

Diamond’s DA-42. Horses for courses is a human right, but I think it’s a really elegant piece of engineering which looks superb in flight; I can only think Jim needs to renew his optical arrangements! As to my own pick for ‘most over-rated aircraft’, in terms of looks, my vote would go for the two-seat Spitfires one sees flying around – it’s sort of like bumping into Miss World’s ‘homely’ sister: all the genetics, none of the luck. Others that leave me a bit non-plussed are Concorde (can’t get over how bad it looks on landing), the Robin DR400 (as curvy as a Volvo 240), and the Piper Meridian – it’s squashed! Ron Waters

I confess...

OK, I know this will stimulate some opprobrium. You ask for our suggestions on ‘beautiful aircraft’ we think are over-rated. Much as you showered it with praise last month, I always thought the Tiger Moth was a bit... ugly. It’s that tall upright nose!

To tall and skinny, he says I know it’s because of the old engine yadda yadda... A rounder front please! Alistair Toomey Burn the heretic!

YOUR PICTURES

My wife wants one ... (for once!) PT

think you’ve got An eAgLe eye? Know your Cheyenne from your Apache? Get your magnifying glass out and your bobble hat on, and see if you can work out these obscurities. First correct entry from the hat wins a prize! Email ‘Spot the Plane’ to incoming@loop.aero LAst month’s mysteRy AiRCRAFt 1 The flightdeck of Concorde 2 A North American F-86 Sabre 3 ICON’s A5 16 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

I reckon they must they hand these out near Area 51. Watty Morell

An RAF Minibus? NM

SPEAK OUT! BE HEARD! MAKE A POINT! EMAIL YOUR WORDS TO LOOP. DON'T BE MUTE. incoming@loop.aero

Why the big deal in America about Cirrus being sold? It stopped being US about 10 years ago didn’t it? Think how we feel about Rolls and Bentley! James Archibald

THANKS Bob Davy for pointing out the truth in the Olympic restrictions debacle. How ironic that the skies our forefathers fought most passionately to defend are now no-go zones, thanks to our own lawmakers. Pat Francis

I’m pleased to see Cirrus get out of their scrape. They deserve enormous praise for the way they made the big boys up their game. eoin simpson

Fair do’s to John O’Connell... that is one shipshape Chipmunk. Does he have OCD? Peter Brown

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BOB’S RIGHT 2

MAY 2011 ISSUE 67 £3.40

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MANY thanks for sending the three Commercial Flying magazines – I appreciated Chris Gower’s insight and also his honesty about the scale of the task. More than ever it looks like a personal investment in my future. Annabel Collins Email if you missed the series.

ROUND of applause for Bob Davy, regarding his thoughts on the 2012 Olympic airspace plans. My first thoughts were much the same... The battle against terror is lost if this is what we do every time there is anything of note going on. Brian Lewis

+ DEBUT Rolls' RR300 engine + SIMPLE Great innovations + VALUE 'A game changer' +

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BOB’S RIGHT 1

INSIDE ROBINSON R66 TESTED... THE FIRM'S FIRST TURBINE

AS A first time visitor to the Friedrichshafen show in Germany, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect – I’ve fallen before for pre-event publicity that promises everything including the kitchen sink, but turns out to be a few tents and ropey club aircraft on a windswept airfield with all the glamour of a cold school dinner. So, as I return with a bagful of brochures and a head full of unattainable dreams I can only say what a good surprise it was and better than I’d expected, with lots of new aeroplanes and useful accessories. I know where I’ll be next year in April! PS. It was nice to see you all at the show, and thanks to the glamorous ladies on your stand for the coﬀee! Mike Stevenson You’re welcome Mike, and it’s great to hear you enjoyed the show. It’s kind of hard not to and we always recommend it.

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Bright times ahead

+ AERO 2011 SHOW SPECIAL +

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS Flight Design and Tecnam lead the charge of new European designs revealed at the biggest show for pilots on the Continent... including this brilliant new four-seater

+ AUTOGYRO 'Luxury' Cavalon + HURRICANE Replica + CESSNA New Corvalis 400 TTX +

ISSUE 67 ISSN 1749-7337

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EDITORIAL Editor Richard Fairbairn E: richard@loop.aero Staﬀ Reporter Dave Rawlings E: dave.rawlings@loop.aero New Media Editor Helen Rowlands-Beers E: helen@loop.aero Creative Director Bill Spurdens E: bill@loop.aero Art Director Dan Payne E: dan@loop.aero Production manager Kevin Hilton E: kevin@loop.aero Chief Photographer David Spurdens E: david@ extremesportsphoto.com ADVERTISING Sales Manager Dave Impey T: 01223 497067 E: daveimpey@loop.aero Sales Executive Chris Wilson T: 01223 497060 E: chrisw@loop.aero PUBLISHING Editorial Director Dave Calderwood E: dc@loop.aero Director Sam Spurdens E: sam@loop.aero Director Dave Foster E: dave@loop.aero CONTRIBUTORS Alan Cassidy, Bob Davy, Dennis Kenyon, Nick Heard, Stan Hodgkins, Phil O© Donoghue, Paul Bonhomme, Dorothy Pooley www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 17

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+AErO 2011 GEAr sPECiAL gArMIN pArTY

Touchscreen meets big screen in Garmin’s innovative new replacement for GNS 430 and 530 panel-mount navcomms

VERY now and again a company makes a quantum leap; Garmin has just done that. Making its public debut at AERO 2011 was its new GTN 650 and 750 systems, two new panelmount navcomms which will take over from the industry-standard GNS 430W and 530W units. With well over 110,000 of the earlier GNS boxes sold since their 1998 launch, as you’d expect lots of pilots made a beeline to see the the GTNs – Garmin Touchscreen Navigator – up close. The new GTNs are already certified, approved for installation into many aircraft and ready to fly. They feature touchscreen operation, graphical flight planning with victor airways and high-altitude jet routes, remote transponder, remote audio control (750 series only), SafeTaxi and electronic chart capabilities (750 series only). Garmin said: “As the successors to the very popular GNS 430W and 530W, the GTN 650 and 750 have big shoes to fill. We’re confident that the GTN series will set a new standard on what avionics for general aviation aircraft should be, just as the GNS 430 and 530 did when they were announced in 1998.” The main difference between the GTN 650 and 750 is the screen size. The GTN 650 is the same physical size as the outgoing GNS 430W but has a 4.9inch screen – 53 percent more screen area. The GTN 750’s big 6.9-inch screen is almost

18 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

+AT A GLANCE

PRICE: $11,495 - $16,995 + Width: 6.25in + Height: 2.65in (750: 6in) + Depth: 11.25in + Screen size: 4.9in diagonal (750: 6.9in diag) + Weight: 3.2kg (750: 4.24kg) www.garmin.com exactly double the GNS 530’s screen, which makes it possible to view an entire chart via Garmin FliteCharts and ChartView. The GTN 750 also has integrated audio and intercom functions. In addition, both units have much higher resolution displays, with pixel-count per area much increased, meaning far greater clarity and © zoom© -ability on map and chart screens. In terms of memory, they are many times more powerful than the preceding units, able to store up to 99 flightplans with up to 100 waypoints each – well up from 20 plans and 31 waypoints. BETTER MENU Garmin units aren’t always praised for being user-friendly to operate, with a labyrinthine menu structure a complaint. No longer; Garmin has obviously listened and the new units have a shallow menu structure, with a desktop-like menu interface and intuitive icons, audio and visual feedback, and animation. The GTN has a touchscreen alphanumeric keyboard and, most usefully, a ‘back’ button. It’s far easier to use and a real step forward. The bezels have been design as grip points too, to steady your hand during any turbulence and allow accurate point touching. Of course, if you have got so used to the old units that you can’t change your ways, all is not lost and you can still use the traditional data entry via buttons and knobs. Useful to know if you always fly wearing gloves:

PILOTS GET TO GRIPS WITH IPAD APPS Page 21 the touchscreen minimums. In is activated addition, precise by electrical course deviation conduction and roll steering through your skin. The new outputs can be units have a coupled to select The GTN systems have a shallow menu autopilots so dual concentric IFR flight structure, with that knob for data procedures a desktopentry, volume/ may be flown squelch knob, automatically. like menu ‘home’ button and interface with ‘direct to’ button ADD-ONS intuitive icons Garmin’s GTX so that pilots can do all the 32/33/33D remote basic fundamentals – like transponders can interface establish a route and with the GTN 650/750 and change COM frequencies the transponder functions – without using the can be controlled from the touchscreen. With the GTN’s display. home key, pilots are Optional versions of seldom able to be more the GTX 33/33D Mode S than two taps away from transponders are available all primary pages and which support ADS-B/Out. functions, say Garmin, so Satellite weather, lightning navigating it is quick. and traﬃc optional inputs can be supported and may FLIGHT PLANNING be overlaid on the moving The GTN units have map too. graphical flight planning The standard GTN 650 to enable you to edit an and GTN 750 feature a active flight plan on the 10-watt COM, and a field map and easily enter a upgradeable 16-watt new waypoint or modify version is also available. the sequence by tapping Later this year Garmin or dragging a finger on the will launch the GTN 725, screen. Victor airways and similar to the GTN 750 but high-altitude jet routes can a GPS-only unit. Similarly be overlaid on the moving with a GTN 625 GPS-only map, and airway segments unit, and a GTN 635 that can be selected onscreen is a GPS unit with VHF for entry into a flight plan. Communications radio. Terrain, mapping and All the units are SBAS/ obstacle databases are WAAS enabled. built in. Colour-coded The 650 and 750 alerts show when potential both have FAA TSO terrain conflicts are authorisation and are ahead. Full Class B TAWS STC approved on a broad alerting is also available model list covering most as an option. Both units Part 23 fixed wing aircraft. are SBAS/WAAS equipped The GTN 650 is expected to to allow for GPS-guided cost $11,495, and the GTN LPV glidepath approaches 750 $16,995. down to ILS-comparable www.garmin.com/gtn

Combo pack will bring enormous power to pilots

750 (top) has big screen, but overall unit spec similar

INNOVATION FOR DISABLED PILOTS Page 22

FOR THE BEST GEAR GO TO... www.loop.aero Touchpad below can control entire system

G2000 AT A NEW LEVEL FOR years the big-screen powerful Garmin G1000 has been the benchmark system for top-level integrated flightdecks that a GA pilot could realistically expect to use. AERO 2011 saw its next-gen big brother – the G2000. Like most Garmin now appearing, it is touchscreen controlled – though unlike the new GTN series (left) the major display screens are not themselves sensitive to touch. Instead a separate 5.7-inch control screen handles input work, a combination first seen on Garmin’s bigger G3000 and G5000 systems. It is aimed at the very highest performance piston aircraft and IFR pilots, bridging the gap even more than the G1000 did

to current and next-gen turbine and jet cockpit systems. The first aircraft to receive it is the revised Cessna Corvalis 400TTX. It features the same simple interface software as the GTN, G3000 and G5000, as Garmin approach a pilot nirvana of uniform interface and control across all systems. On the face of it the expansive 12- or 14-inch MFD/PFD displays are the same as the G1000, but hugely decluttered with just a few knobs and buttons surrounding, with most functions migrated to the touchpad. But, it also brings many new features from the more powerful 3000, and the ability to customise the displays to show different information

in different ways. You will be able to configure the screens to show charts, maps, weather, TAWS, highway-in the-sky, Synthetic vision, traffic, engine displays, flight planning, aircraft systems details and more, as well as configure comms, auto-pilot and other controls. The G2000 also features Garmin’s ESP Electronic Stability and Protection system – the invisible co-pilot that helps pilots stay out of trouble. No retro-fit availability yet, but never say never. Oh, and if you fly with gloves you’re OK too… the screen uses an infra-red beam array system for touch sensitivity. FAA certification is targeted for the end of the year.

AUDIO GETS '3D' AND VOICE RECOGNITION NO MORE tiresome reaching to switch between COM1 and COM2… just ask for it. Garmin’s new development in audio brings voice-recognition to the cockpit, in the GMA 350 fully digital audio panel, meaning you ask it to do much of the selecting work formerly done via knobs and buttons. To switch between settings hold a command button and say ‘COM1’, and so on; you pre-programme settings yourself. Added ‘3D Audio’ can split

differing conversations into separate earcups – ATC to right, weather left, for example, closer to how the brain will naturally split multiple sounds. Amongst its features, the pilot can also select which feeds go where, for example routing music to passengers and not voice traffic (there are MP3

input sockets), or keeping phone calls on a personal loop only. An auto-squelch feature will also adjust volumes and clipping against background noise. It is $2395, with a helicopter version $2695, available from later this year. The rear pins mate up with GMA 340 installs and many others.

It might even make you a cup of tea, if you ask nicely www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 19

FLIGHTGEAR

AERO 2011 SPECIAL... BEYERDYNAMIC’S NEW HS800 RANGE-TOPPER Luxury digital headset takes DANR to a new level says manufacturer +AERO 2011 BEYERDYNAMIC

WITH just earcups, a mic, wires, a control box, and sound cancelling now a regular feature, you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s not much left to be squeezed from the ‘humble’ aviation headset. Beyerdynamic disagree. It launched at AERO 2011 its new range-topper, the HS800 Digital, which doubles the level of digital control over the sound feed to create a clearer and sharper sound in the ears, it says. By eliminating any vestiges of analogue control and going fully digital with both ‘feedback’ and ‘feedforward’ (a technology first seen on

its earlier HS600) control, Beyerdynamic says it outstrips any system that still utilises analogue elements and is far more reactive to unusual sound conditions. In short, that should mean better and more sophisticated noise cancelling, they say. It’s typical Beyerdynamic in look and style, with tweaks to improve comfort, weight, and compatibility with other devices such as phones and MP3 players. Cushions are leathercovered, ear-padding soft, peak padding shaped to improve comfort, and clamp pressure meant to reduce fatigue. It retains the signature circular

+AERO 2011 ENGINE

Very light to handle, but will earcups squeeze?

Standard look, but many parts can be customised

Control/battery the right size to twiddle in flight

earcups, which have been critiqued before for not being ear-shaped – so we will have to see in testing how it feels after a few hours wearing. The control and battery unit is compact and

makes sense, metal parts are anodized, and carbon-earshells give it a cool look. As with other Beyerdynamics it can be customised too. There is a heli version, either can be powered

from the panel, and there are alternative connectors. It comes with a five year warranty. Price is €789. We’ll be testing an HS800 soon, so keep your eyes peeled. www.beyerdynamic.com

+AERO 2011 CHARTS ON THE GO

ULPOWER TARGETS US JEPPESEN CHARTS GIANTS WITH NEW SIX NOW OUT FOR THE IPAD ENGINE firm ULPower had a first prototype of its new six-cylinder engine range at AERO 2011, with a plan in place to get it certified with the likes of Lycoming and Continental firmly in its sights. The six was first shown last year as a mock-up, and response was so good ULPower have surged ahead with getting it near ready to run and produce. The opposed flat six sounds like it will be many kitbuilders’ dream engine, with up to 200hp, multipoint EFI/FADEC, Mogas-friendly, and a relatively low 95-105kg weight, but ULPower are clearly looking toward the certified market too. It will be available in

four different specs, from 145hp up to 200hp, and at the show the firm’s Nicolas Josson said he sees it becoming a real alternative to the traditional Lycoming and Continental fitments in certified aircraft. It is likely the six will eventually mirror the firm’s other engines with a 1500/10yr TBO. It should be running within a few months, with first deliveries early 2012. www.ulpower.com

Four guises, up to 200hp

20 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

JEPPESEN have been an existing Jeppesen blazing a trail for aviation subscription can download with the Apple iPad tablet, the Mobile TC App for recently completing free, bringing the same decompression tests on utility of desktop displays the new iPad 2 at 51,000ft to the iPad in electronic for the FAA as it becomes kneeboard role. more acceptable as a It’s got the Apple pinchcockpit tool. No surprise and-zoom to explore maps, it had something to show and clarity was excellent. pilots at AERO 2011. It shows arrival, approach The firm spent much of and departure procedures, the show demonstrating its notifies you of chart Mobile TC App changes, to showgoers, and updates which online. In transforms use, it fits in the media very nicely device into a with the spectacularly iPad’s usual bright software, so and clear if you can use electronic an iPhone charts display. you’ll be well Any at home. pilot with Now a proper EFB jeppesen.com

+ A E R O 2 0 1 1 SOLD

D-MOTOR ON SALE FIRST shown during development last year, the innovative Belgian D-Motor LF26 for microlights is now on sale – and proved a quick hit with AERO 2011 attendees, with several sold at the event. The major sell of the fuel-injected 2.5l boxer four has low weight and compact dimensions, tipping the scales at only 47kg including exhaust/radiators. www.d-motor.eu

78hp, €10,500, 10.5l/hr

to see more gear go to... www.loop.aero

+aerO 2011 ‘GO GLASS’ fOr $1

be sure to check online for all the latest reviews on the newest flight gear www.loop.aero

trutrak brings a touch of glass JEALOUS of the spangly real-time engine monitoring displays seen in some uber-expensive glass cockpit set-ups? Here’s how to get your own for a fraction of the cost. Trutrak have married their well-established engine Data Module technology – which monitors engine and airframe data – to the Apple iPad to allow the device to show masses of vital engine and aircraft data digitally. All probably while you listen to your favourite tunes to boot. The system has already been tried and tested on iPhones, but the far larger and clearer iPad screen is even better at showing real-time readouts of T&Ps, trim and flap

positions, air temps, fuel flow an reserves, rpm and pressures, amps and volts, and much more – far bigger than many commerciallevel EFIS systems. It can be programmed to show warnings and overspeeds etc, and costs just $0.99 on the Apple App Store. A reconfigurable version is $49. The EDM data module is around $600, but if you already have one it syncs in easily via wireless. www.trutrakap.com

Looks $1m... costs under $1 www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 21

flightgear

BRINGING FREEDOM TO FLIGHT FOR ALL + I N N OVAT I O N F Ly I N G FO R a L L

For potential pilots with lower limb disabilities it can be a nightmare learning to fly... but that is about to change. Dave Rawlings went to see the future for disabled flyers

Dr Phil Stocking, Goatie Lewis, and Stefan Fischer... with their life-changing new Freedom Control in the foreground. EASA are fully on side too! 22 LOOP may 2011 www.loop.aero

AUTAM ‘Goatie’ Lewis contracted polio as a small child and has used crutches ever since – contributing to his mindset that no problem is unencounterable. So when he decided to become a pilot and found it very difficult to find a school which had the required special sets of hand controls to operate the rudder pedals of training aircraft, he knew there had to be a better way. “It was just by sheer chance that I found somewhere that had hand controls, but it meant driving as far and wide as Norwich and Derby, and after I qualified I felt people shouldn’t have to experience the same headaches I did,” said Goatie. The challenge was on... The problem was there were only two certified hand controls available, the Union for the Cessna 152/172/182 and the Vision Air for the Piper PA-28 range. Neither were in production anymore and were only certified through grandfather rights. Goatie set his mind to a solution, not just for his use, but for any disabled pilot to use, in a wide range of aircraft. That meant not just engineering challenges, but dealing with the minefiled of certification too. Cranfield Uni has one of the best Aerospace Engineering courses in the world, so Goatie went to see Philip Stocking, Senior Lecturer in Structural Design

Follow us on twitter Go to... twitter.com/looptelevision and Stress Analysis, and Course Director for the MSc Course in Aerospace Vehicle Design... Mr Aero Engineering himself. Dr Stocking was the former Chief Designer of Cranfield Aerospace and worked on major projects such as VAAC Harrier and the BAE146 Atmospheric Research Aircraft for the Metrological Office, and his imagination was immediately captured. Stocking explains: “I was inspired by Goatie’s cause whilst at the same time thought it would a great project for the students to look at, because this project is not only talking about giving disabled people flying experience, but we’re also talking about the real chance of giving disabled people the chance to get their Pilot Licence. Up until now everything has been focused on joy flights – this is giving people the chance to get their PPL.” One goal the team set was to create a device which could work in Cessnas and Pipers with minimal change if any. “Pipers and Cessnas are very common aircraft and can be found in nearly every flying school in the world. We wanted to create one set of hand controls to fit both, which were portable, and incur no install costs,” said Goatie. There were other problems with the existing hand control sets on grandfather rights. If a pilot dropped the Union controls, it will fall to the floor and possibly come unclipped – not

goatie wants it to be of benefit to any disabled pilot. That meant not just engineering challenges, but dealing with the minefiled of certification too. good. The Vision Air hand controls for the Piper also work in such a way that up applies left rudder and down applies right – which Goatie said many found counterintuitive. They both also take around 15 minutes to fit each time they are used, and the Union also requires holes to be drilled in the foot pedals, and a spanner to fit the control – adding the potential of FOD. The design Goatie and Cranfield have created, the Cranford Freedom Control, will not need a lengthy install process or any adjustments to be made to the aircraft itself, great news for schools and pilots. “This model will work for 152 up to the 182. On the PA28 it should be able to work on the Cherokee, Warrior and Arrow... even though it has toe brakes the interchangeable parts will fit so the toe brake will still work for other pilots.” Stefan Fischer is a MSc student on the Aerospace Vehicle Design course and currently building the prototype of the new ruddern hand control. “Part of Stefan’s research

is to come up with a clip type of arrangement where a hook will lock in place on the underside of the pedal, making it even easier to install,” said Dr Stocking. Although it is only the prototype Stefan knows what needs to be done before the certification process can really start. “I need to make adjustments to the pedals. They need to be stiffened up so they don’t bend. The other big part is to get the quick mounting sorted so the disabled pilot can attach them quickly,” said Stefan. “The fittings for Pipers aren’t finished either, they still need some work doing to them,” he added. Other changes will include an extendable arm for taller pilots and a ball on the end of the lever for comfort and better grip. “This will also have benefits for shorter pilots. Even if I wasn’t on crutches, I’m still quite short and would probably benefit from this design regardless,” said Goatie. Three years after the first meeting, it is at the MkII prototype stage. In the first year of the project Dr Stocking had two students design different prototypes of which one was selected to move into second year. This was then developed as part of the second year project. “Goatie felt this design was very close to achieving what, as a group we want to achieve, so Stefan is going to do his small adjustments, but the emphasis is now on getting the approval done,”

Freedom Control device clips over existing pedals without modification

said Dr Stocking. The team are in the process of talking to a few manufacturers about building the final design. “We are working with Aerodac who have been fantastic with their help, and that has led us to talks with a couple of manufacturers,” said Goatie. “Even though Philip is a professional Aerospace Engineer and Cranfield University is a fantastic institution to learn in, its not an approved design house. Aerodac work with lots of manufacturers and have opened doors for us.” “Cranfield University’s core business is delivering MScs and PhDs so the university isn’t an approved company to design and manufacture aircraft, or aircraft parts, and therefore we have to go to another organisation that does have CAA approval to be able to do the submission. So Stefan will work very closely with Aerodac on the producing the right documentation,” said Dr Stocking. Once built and ready to be submitted for certification the team has to make sure that it will fulfil the criteria. “To get this approved for use we have to demonstrate that it can be used in crosswind landing and spin recovery... of course this device shouldn’t restrict the movements of the rudder pedals,” said Dr Stocking. “Once we’ve approved the concept then Stefan will produce a full set of engineering drawings to

Left for left, right for right... simple!

www.loop.ae ro may 2011 LOOP 23

flightgear send to a manufacturer to produce all the parts for it to be assembled,” he added. The team has had support from EASA since the start of the project. “From day one EASA has been really supportive and encouraging – and they’ve already accepted the initial application – meaning when it has its certification it’ll be available in all 31 EASA countries,” said Goatie. “We hope Stefan can produce all the documentation to be ready for submission by September. Once approved manufacture should be quite easy. We have complied with CS23, which is a big long list of what to do and what not to do, so we have to demonstrate that to CAA and EASA and then it’ll be ready,” added Dr Stocking. With the plan to have the hand control ready for distribution by the end of this year it is time for the team to work out costs and how much each unit will retail for.

“We are still fine tuning the budget. If it can be below the £500 mark it can be within reach of flying schools and the individual without breaking the bank. We will sell it at cost. This is a non-profit making exercise,” said Goatie. “Freedom in the Air is budgeting to make between 30 and 50. And the idea is once we’ve got certification, we would be to give some away to flying schools that are closest to mass populations,” he added. Executive Director of EASA, Patrick Goudou, has personally ensured Goatie EASA will put it through the certification for free. “In my three years dealing with EASA, they have bent over backwards for this project. Everything I’ve asked for they have furnished,” Goatie says. Working with Cranfield could have long-term benefits for the future of disabled pilots in professional aviation too.

24 LOOP may 2011 www.loop.aero

Below main: The existing Vision Air kit for Pipers. Below inset: This small bracket transforms Goatie’s Cessna rig to Piperfriendly

“The people on the Cranfield course today are the same people that will be designing the aircraft of tomorrow, and they are learning to provide solutions for everybody,” said Dr Stocking. “Currently I’ve got a student working on disabled rudder pedal controls for our 747 flight simulator. This will need a completely different set up. In fact it will need to be an electro-mechanical design rather than just a mechanical re-design. It’s a great research project. It’s only a matter of time before disabled pilots will go on to get CPLs and ATPLs.” Goatie is full of praise for aviation, and said: “A lot of CFIs I’ve spoken to about this are really excited and saying it’s a no-brainer to get it. We’re also working with the International Wheelchair Aviators in the US, and last week I had 15 emails from schools in America saying they need hand controls, it’s really starting to grow.”

+ W H O’S G O A T I E L E W I S ?

GAUTAM Lewis’ life story sounds like an inspirational film script, and is a testament to drive and determination. Born in 1977 in Kolkata, India, he contracted polio at just three before being abandoned by his parents to the care of Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity. Under their care he endured numerous operations at the Rehabilitation Centre for Children (RCFC) just outside the city, where he would meet Dr Patricia Lewis, a nuclear physicist working at RCFC for a year. She adopted Gautam, who moved to London at just nine. After studying business at the Southampton Institute Goatie worked in the music business looking after artists including Keith Flint (Prodigy) and Incognito. This evolved into a three-year period at Creation Management (the driving force behind Oasis). In 2007 he fulfilled his childhood dream and qualified as a pilot, passing all ground and air exams in just six months. He realised disabled pilots were ill-served in aviation, and turned his prodigious energies towards Freedom in the Air (FITA), a not-forprofit organisation is committed to making flying easier for people with disabilities. He says one of the best things about it is being able to introduce a disabled person to the freedom of flight and the boundless possibilities it offers. FITA has given over 250 youngsters with disabilities (and also young carers) free flying lessons through the Freedom Wings project, working with Cranfield Flying School and Cranfield Uni. During 2011, FITA is beginning to offer pilot training to disabled people, which includes making the airport and aircraft accessible – s the school’s aircraft will be the first to get the new hand control system. www.freedomintheair.org

Photo: S. Ognier

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28/04/11 21:40

FLIGHTTEST

Robinson R66: An evolution of a classic

Robinson changed the face of helicopter use and training with its pistonpowered R22 and R44 models. Now it enters turbine territory...

26 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO... www.loop.aero

WoRds Jamie Chalkley Photos David Spurdens

» www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 27

FLIGHTTEST

N THE world of helicopters, Robinson have been the machines in which countless new pilots have made their first flights and gained their licences. The Californian firm’s two-seat R22 and four-seat R44 are instantly recognisable and used at hundreds of schools worldwide; straightforward machines with simple piston engines and relatively low costs. So when Robinson finally certified its first turbine machine in late 2010, the five-seat R66, promising costs and simplicity that would undercut existing turbine rivals, the world of rotary was very keen to see the result. Jamie Chalkley got an early look at what looks a game changer...

“LAYING MY RoBINsoN CARds oN thE tABLE...”

OK, so, cutting to the chase and laying cards on the table, I’m not what would traditionally be called ‘a Robinson pilot’, and prior to flying the R66 I wasn’t sure if I would be won over by it. But after my test of the firm’s long-awaited first turbine model, I have to say I liked it more than I thought. Frank Robinson and his team in southern California have probably hit the nail square on the head! What did the job for me? Read on… Aesthetically, first impressions were very encouraging. It’s a little bigger than the piston-engined Robinson R44 which, in my view, makes the design look better – in part down to the additional fairing and intakes where the lower mast, cabin roof and tail boom come together. As my co-pilot for the day put it, “It looks a little like an R44 with a body kit.” So how else does it compare to the well-known R44? The length is exactly the same at 38.2ft, and main rotor diameter is also the same at 33ft but with an increased

blade chord of approx 1.5in and blade twist (root to tip) reduced from -6º to -4º. The tail rotor blades are a little longer with an overall 2in increase in diameter and each blade is 0.4in bigger in its chord. The cabin is 7.5in wider with an extra inch given longitudinally to provide a little extra legroom in the back. The skid width has increased by 6in to 92in and the top of the main rotor hub is 8in higher. The pre-flight walkabout is typical Robinson: built for the pilot AND the engineer, so everything is easily accessible. The checks are standard helicopter, with some orientation to know what access panels are where, and it’s certainly a quality-engineered aircraft. I won’t go into a long detailed description of the walkaround and how to do it, but what’s important to know is that it that it’s logical and straightforward. Obviously, most noteworthy is the all new engine, the Rolls-Royce RR300 (see panel, p33).

GEttING AIRBoRNE

Orientation in the cockpit was very close indeed to the R44. Obviously the engine instruments are configured for the turbine over the

28 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

Pre-flight walkabout is typical Robinson: built for the pilot AND the engineer, so everything is easily accessible.

piston engine but other than that I would have struggled to notice too much difference. The trademark Robinson cyclic T-bar was still evident (still hydraulically boosted). Personally, this feature of Robinson machines is something I’ve never been particularly fond of, although clearly it does the job. Strangely, with me in the left seat, I found my cyclic grip rested further right than in the R44. The R66 cabin is wider, so the front seats are a little further apart, but it doesn’t look like Robinson made the cyclic tubes any longer. Kind of odd I thought. The caution warning panel is clear and obvious for a turbine aircraft, except for the addition of an EMU light (Engine Monitoring Unit) which was new to me. This is a system for the benefit of the maintenance division which records any exceedances past limits in N1 and N2 RPM, Torque, and Measured Gas Temperature. This creates a better and more reliable process for maintenance to address any such exceedances based on registered data rather than work from ‘best guess’ estimations from a pilot who may have pulled a little too hard out of a confined area on a hot day. An overrunning clutch allows the rotor blades to start spinning up without the need for the pilot to engage them manually after start. So following the very straightforward engine start sequence (described in scroll panel, below) and leaving a standard minute at idle before flicking on the generator, we were ready for lift, and into hover.

thE sURPRIsEs stARt

Surprise No.1: it was super smooth in the hover! But with the cameraship already airborne there was little time to appreciate it as we needed to make tracks,

T H E R O B I N S O N S T O RY LET US look at the R66 and how it got here in the first place. The Robinson Helicopter Company was started by Frank Robinson in 1973. Frank himself was a very experienced and well respected engineer with industry experience at Cessna, Kaman Aircraft, Bell Helicopters and Hughes Helicopters where he led many R&D projects including a new tail rotor for the Hughes 500. Frank kept on at his employers with his own designs for a low cost concept helicopter but no one ever took his ideas on. In 1973, Frank got fed up waiting and decided he would do it himself! Frank built and flew the R22 s/n 0001 himself in 1975 and gained its FAA Type Certificate in the 1979. The first was delivered in late 1979 where it became the fastest selling civil helicopter in the World! In the mid 1980’s Frank set about designing the R44. It received its FAA Type Certificate in 1992 and began delivery in 1993. Several variations followed, the best being the Raven II which was fuel injected, this came off the line and went straight to the top of the sales figures in 2002. Robinson at their peak were producing nearly 1000 R44’s a year, that’s nearly three a day! Robinson has now sold more than 5000 R44’s worldwide! Interestingly, Frank never actually designed the R22 as a trainer. Which is kind of ironic given as it’s probably the most popular ab-initio training helicopter. Moving forward, there was always room in the market for the Robinson Turbine.

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FLIGHTTEST T H E R 6 6 ’ S F R E S H S TA R T THE start procedure for the R66 and its RR300 turbine is possibly the first thing for ages in helicopters that has really made me sit back and go, “Wow, great idea!”. Knowing the R66 will be the first turbine machine for many pilots, Robinson sought to address a major risk point for pilots transitioning to turbine: starting procedure. Get it right and it is the easiest thing in the world, but get it wrong and things can get very, very expensive: accidentally initiate a ‘hot start’, where you exceed the transient starting limitations and cause thermal damage to the combustion liner and turbine blades, and engine removal and inspection are almost certain, and replacement likely. Bearing in mind the absolute gas temperature limit on start is 927ºC, we are talking about serious thermal stress. So what are the two leading culprits? The first is basically a slippery finger. On a standard 250-C20B engine, you press the start button and HOLD... and hold,

hold, hold… until ‘N1’ (the compressor fan) speed reaches reach 58% and only then can you let go. If you accidentally release the button before 58%, engine RPM acceleration drops and airflow falls below that required to shape and stabilise the combustion flame, and subsequently it all starts to get a little warm inside… a hot start. What Robinson did to minimise the risk is to install a latching starter, which releases itself at 58%. The simple ideas are often the best! So, it starts thus: hit ‘START’ and the starter latches. Wait for 15% N1 RPM, then advance the panel-mounted idle/cutoff plunger forward to ‘idle’, introducing fuel and allowing the engine to ‘light off’. Measured Gas Temperature (MGT) will rise fairly rapidly in stages, before dropping. With the eyes of a hawk monitor MGT to ensure it stays within limits, and check oil pressure is actually increasing. At the same time monitor N1 as it approaches 58% self-

sustaining speed at which point the latched starter releases by itself. Job done! So what happens if start needs to be aborted? Again, very easy. If MGT rises too high or looks like it will peak in the transient for too long, just is pull the idle/cut-off plunger and cut the fuel. Temps should immediately start to drop (unless there is an engine fire). The starter is still engaged meaning vital cool air is being drawn in. Once the MGT falls below its recommended temperature figure for an aborted start you simply release the starter latch manually. The most common reason to abort a start, in my experience, is my leading culprit number two: a low or flat battery, indicated by lazy acceleration of N1 RPM, and very rapid rise in MGT. There are other factors too, such as a tail wind or poorly rigged FCU (Fuel Control Unit). Whatever the issue, I have to say I really like Robinson’s idea of the latched starter. Smart work, guys.

New RR300 compact turbine is a development of the earlier Rolls-Royce 250 unit so James, my co-pilot for the day from owners Sloane Helicopters, transitioned out to the North West climbing at around 70kt to 1800ft. Once straight and level with the speed back at 65-70kt. James handed control over to me. Surprise No.2: other than the less familiar style of holding the cyclic, I found it very stable. The fore/aft cyclic range felt very balanced against that of roll, something I felt was never quite as well harmonised on the R44, and the hydraulic-boosted forces were just a tad heavier than the R44,

which I feel is a good thing. Overall the aircraft was very stable at this speed and holding a fixed datum was pretty easy.

thE VIEW FRoM hERE

With straight and level and basic turns already done we now looked at some steep turns... nicely balanced and predictable

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The cockpit visibility is very nice and all felt bright and comfortable. Although for anyone intending to do a reasonable amount of formation flying, you might, like me, always yearn for that second roof window. There is just the one on the port side to allow the pilot good visibility in a left turn, but for

formation flying, with relative positions changing, a roof window the other side would have been very nice to have during breaking and re-establishing formation, or maybe for an instructor to see out on a steep right turn. With straight and level and basic turns already done we now looked at some steep turns. I found these to be nicely balanced and predictable in handling. I was keen to try a fast cruise to see what speed we got to and to feel what the ride was like. You can never quite trust the sales brochures with this

stuff and they were making a series of different claims depending on what you read where: ‘approx 120 KIAS’ or ‘up to 125 KIAS’ or even ‘120 to 130 KIAS’ were all printed in black and white. But there’s only one way to find out, eh? So we took up the cruise speed a notch at a time. And I have to say, on the way up it was as good a ride as you would expect from any nice two-bladed rotor system. You’ll always get a “two-per” vibration frequency with a teetering head (as Robinsons use), the best ride I’ve found is probably from a good

example Bell 206L Long Ranger or the Bell 222, but the R66 is pretty darn good too – notably so in the hover as already said and again at low cruise. High cruise wasn’t quite as nice, although James did tell me that the aircraft was due a track for the top end cruise speed which should smooth it more. Speed wise we maxed out straight and level, with Max Cruise Power set, at 120 KIAS and we weren’t going to squeeze out another drop. I have to say it was a definite compromise in ride quality

Very smooth at cruise, top speed flight showed a little roughness

if you wanted the extra knots. Personally I’ve always found this to be much the case with the R44 too: everyone tells me they cruise at 115 KIAS but I found 105 KIAS (maybe 110kt) was far more comfortable and the extra knots weren’t really worth the drop in comfort. Having only flown the one R66 that’s all I can base this on. From 105 to 110 KIAS ride quality is going from really very nice to sort of average. After 110 KIAS you’ve got to want to be in a hurry. I’ll look forward to flying another or maybe this one

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FLIGHTTEST again, post track, to see if my findings are consistent. For reference (sea level figures) VNE is 130 KIAS between operating gross weights of 2200lb to 2700lb, and 140kt below 2200lb (the difference, presumably, allowing for C of G changes and/or mast bending load). Next I asked James to demonstrate an autorotation, so we climbed up to get a little more available real estate. Entering the auto was smooth and predictable, and allowing a few moments to stabilise parameters, our rate of descent was an undramatic 1450ft/min. Again, it was all very similar to the

R44 which I have to say is pretty blinking good in autos! We decided against throwing her at the ground in anger, and carried out a standard power recover back to straight and level flight. We proceeded back home, me back in control, carrying out a few turns here and there and a range of speed changes for good measure. Again all in all I found it to be a very comfortable and predictable aircraft; in terms helicopters predictable is a good thing! Coming back in to land James called for a join from the northwest and to cross the active runway. Clearance received he said to approach however I wanted to.

Just to get a further feel of the aircraft I elected for a crosswind approach, shallowing off the angle toward the end but keeping the speed up for an easygoing quick stop into wind, and I’m happy to report there were no handling quirks to watch out for. Power delivery was smooth and plentiful and again I had to comment to James on how smooth the aircraft was in the hover. Tail rotor authority felt ample and well balanced during some spot turns left and right although I really did notice the lack of hydraulic boost to the pedals which I hadn’t really noticed so much until then.

A tREAt ENdEd too sooN

Take off and landings were nice and stable. The wider skid span should obviously make a difference 32 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

The choice for turbine operators and owners just got wider... the R66 is very impressive

in terms of stability on the ground and the RR300 turbine spooling up and down just sounded so much nicer than a piston growling away behind you. All too soon (I must have been enjoying myself!) it was time to return back to the warm welcome at Sloane’s hangar. The shutdown was the standard two minutes with the throttle in the closed position (ground idle), non-essential electrics (i.e. avionics) and the generator off, then pull the idle/cut-off control on the panel for engine shut down. It’s as easy as that! Relaxing in the cockpit for a bit and chatting things over with James, I took stock of how nice the interior is. Leather seats are standard, and the avionics are well placed and all look very modern.

T H E N E W R O L L S - R OYC E R R 3 0 0 IF you need reminding how much impact Frank Robinson has made on civil aviation, the fact Rolls-Royce made a new engine for him is surely testament enough. The RR300 is derived from the well-known 250 Series engine, which has over 180m flight hours, but using a scaled-down single stage centrifugal compressor from the 250-C40/47. They steered away from the familiar six-stage axial/one-stage centrifugal compressor of the 250-C20 but kept to a similar combustion section and turbine assembly. In the R66 it gives 270shp at Takeoff (100% torque) and 224shp at Max Continuous (83%). This transient powerband has a 5min limit. There is one quirk I’ve not come across before: Robinson imposed an airspeed restriction above 83% of maximum 65kt indicated, to reduce stress on the rotor system I was told. I am familiar with a reduced airspeed limitation when operating twins Cat A with a higher rotor speed setting, but it’s the first time I’ve come seen it on torque settings In terms of engine management, it’s pretty standard for anyone familiar with the RR250 series, except for starting it which is far simpler and a real strength of the R66.

However the engine instruments look pretty different to what I’m used to, in that they are flush-fitted into Robinson’s own unique panel rather than the standard gauges found in most other turbines. This does bring me on to a minor negative for me: whilst the build quality is unquestionably good, some of the finish inside left me feeling it’s a bit... mmm... plasticky. I know I probably just lost favour with every Robinson owner reading this, but it’s true – the switches just don’t do it for me. I want to lean down and grab a decent sized switch without fear of breaking it. It’s probably the most durable plastic known to man, but actually maybe that’s just it... I wish it wasn’t plastic. Same for the engine instruments, give me a nice proper gauge – like

the R66’s Torque gauge. Robinson put in a 3.5in instrument-sized torque gauge. Perfect. Way nicer for low-time turbine pilots than the half-size ones you get in most the other types (not featuring glass cockpits, of course). That was a good move Frank: an over-torque is expensive! A clear, large, easy to read gauge is smart thinking, I believe.

GRAN tURIsMo

So it’s comfortable, easy to fly, makes the right smell out of the exhaust on start up ,and has a proper grown-up-sized luggage bay… so how far can we take this baby? Let’s check. Full fuel is 73.6 US Gallons and James reckons on his experience, he’s burning about 22 USG/hr at cruise which gives over three

James reckons he burns about 22 USG/hr at cruise, which gives over three hours flying to dry. Now that is going some distance!

hours flying to dry. Now that is going some distance! Max weight is 2700lb; the aircraft we flew was 1290lb empty, so even going with full fuel this leaves a whopping 917lb for passengers and baggage (available payload being 1410lb at zero fuel empty weight). For those comparing against the R44, the max weight of the R44 Raven II is 2500lb versus an empty weight of circa 1500lb, so an available payload of 1000lb – thereby giving the R66 some 400lb better payload compared to that of the R44 (although the R66 needs more fuel per hour).

Cost

The R66’s basic price is $798,000, which includes standard Bendix/ King KY196A comms unit and www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 33

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FLIGHTTEST

Doors all round, and plenty of room inside for all but the super-tall. Leather seats come as standard, and it’s got a good overall feel

This luggage bay is quite a step up in size from previous Robinsons, and easily swallows three sets or more of golf clubs. Let’s tour!

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO... www.loop.aero a Garmin GTX327 Mode C transponder unit. Options such as artificial horizon with slip indicator, direction gyro, turn co-ordinator, and avionics upgrades such as Garmin’s 430W radio and GTX330 Mode S transponder are available, and the one I flew was almost fully-optioned, to $840,000. Air conditioning is an option too (though not certified at the time the model I flew was built, so not fitted). The R66 has a 2000hr airframe time between overhauls, except in the case of the main rotor and tail rotor blades which are 2000 hrs OR 12 years, whichever comes along first. The new RR300 engine is also on a 2000hr overhaul and would appear to have no requirement for a part life hot end inspection such as the 1750hr inspection on the RR250-20 series engine. So with such an in-phase aircraft maintenance overhaul life, the operating costs should be fairly predictable right? Correct! This is what I’m told: for the engine and airframe overhaul factor in £83.54/hr reserve cost. For fuel and periodical inspections add an additional £82.02/hr. And for good measure, factor in a further £12/hr for unscheduled maintenance (parts and labour) and you arrive at a Direct Operating Cost per hour of £177.56

(plus VAT). This is converted using current fuel price averages and a USD exchange rate of $1.61/£1.

CoNCLUsIoN

So there you have it... all I know of the R66 and my open opinions that go with it. It presents Robinson with another great claim to success. It is a beautifully built aircraft with an all round good feel to it. It has a proper roomy luggage area, five seats, a turbine engine, and flies for a good three hours at somewhere between 110 to 120 KIAS depending on how you want the ride. It’s the cheapest turbine I’m aware of. For the same money you could look at very nice used examples of the MD500E (which I personally love), the Bell 206, or maybe, a just-about-new Enstrom 480B. All have their pros and cons and nothing is perfect (including the R66), but in terms of sheer value for money, it’s hard to not say the R66 wins hands down. If you want speed go for the MD, if you want safety go for the Enstrom, if you want iconic go for the Bell. There is something for everyone. The R66 has been a long time coming... was it worth the wait? Absolutely. It’s a terrific aircraft which is modern, honest, is great value for money and is charming to fly. Again, I commend Frank and his team!

DATA FILE ROBINSON R66 PRICE Base price $798,000 As tested $840,000 sPECIFICAtIoN Engine Rolls-Royce RR300 driving a two-blade rotor Max Gross Weight 2700lb Empty Weight Equipped (inc oil & std avionics) 1280lb Maximum Fuel 493lb (73.6 US gallons) Payload (at max fuel) 927lb PERFoRMANCE Cruise Speed Approx 120kt Maximum Range Approx 350nm Hover Ceiling IGE 10,000ft Hover Ceiling OGE 10,000 ft Climb Over 1000ft/min Ceiling 14,000ft Base Price US $798,000 As Tested US$840,000 Fuel capacity 56 US gallons

Instrument display is pleasingly clear and straightforward. Bendix/King and Garmin kit comes as standard, with upgrades available to include additional Garmin units. Air con is also just certified

MANUFACtURER Robinson Helicopters Torrance California USA T: +1 (310) 539-0508 www.robinsonheli.com thANKs to... Many thanks to Giorgio Bendoni and all at Sloane Helicopters for their help arranging the test! Sloane Helicopters Ltd The Business Aviation Centre Sywell Aerodrome, Sywell Northants, NN6 0BN, UK Phone : +44 (0)1604 790 595 Fax : +44 (0)1604 790 988 www.sloanehelicopters.com

All specifications and performance figures are supplied by the manufacturer. All performance figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level, and at gross weight unless stated otherwise.

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AEROSWITHALAN

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Into the Unknowns

Alan looks at one of the great challenges in sport

HE sport of Aerobatics is very demanding, physically and, especially, mentally. There are some challenges that are very rare among sporting disciplines, if not unique. The first among these are the aerobatics “Unknowns”. Imagine, if you would, the Open Golf tournament at St. Andrews or Carnoustie, wherever. Actually Sandwich this year, but golf should always be in Scotland. They play a round of 18 holes on each day of the contest. It’s the same course each day, and they have a couple of practice days before they start. How many ‘under par’ would they shoot if the course was a completely different layout each day and there was no practise? Who would be the Ice Skating Champion if they had to go out on the ice and skate a full 4-minute programme that they had never seen or rehearsed on ice before? You can imagine, surely: Start with a triple toeloop, then a double salko, go whoosh here, then around there, then a double axel. You get the idea. The physical challenge of aerobatics is to fly a pre-planned sequence of figures with harmony and precision. The mental challenge is to do exactly the same thing with a sequence of figures that you have only been able to study for a couple of hours (maybe overnight at an international competition) and which you cannot go and actually practise before the “for real” performance.

Moving on froM Beginners For the last few years, the BAeA has held a number of special introductory events for those who are Beginners to aerobatic competition. Last month I talked about the importance of planning a season’s sporting aims, from training to competing and maybe even moving up from one of these Beginners events to a Standard level contest. For each level of competition, we publish each year a “Known” programme, which everyone practises and which we fly first at nearly all the events. At most Standard competitions, and higher level ones, there is also an Unknown sequence to fly. Sometimes more than one. So, what might this entail? You don't do this without a lot of preparation... and lots of note-making!

repertoire For each level of competition, of which there are four, from Standard to Unlimited, there is a

published repertoire. These are basic manoeuvres and added rotations that go to make up the figures that you must know how to fly in order to compete. For example, here is a picture from the Standard/Intermediate repertoire as published by the British Aerobatic Association. Other countries have their own versions. This basic shape is a “Half Cuban” (see 'Half Cuban' diagram, overleaf ) and it has two places where the aircraft can, or must, roll. In the top left corner is the Aresti Catalogue number for this shape: 8.42.1. The blue half roll on the descending 45° line is mandatory, but could be replaced by two quarter rolls. These options are shown in the top right corner as 9.1.4.2 and 9.4.4.2 respectively. The [S] next to the half roll shows that when this is added to the basic shape it is a Standard level figure. The [I] next to the 2x4 half roll shows that using this instead of the simple half roll makes the figure up to Intermediate level. In Intermediate sequences, any of the three full rolls (continuous, 2-point or 4-point) shown in red can be added on the entry line just before pulling up into the looping segment. The basic difficulty co-efficient, or K-factor, for the Half Cuban shape is 10, shown in a circle at the top. Each roll that is added increases the overall K-factor by the number shown in a circle beside each rolling element. The simplest Half Cuban, flown at Standard level would have a total K of (10) + (6) = (16), while the most difficult version of the Half Cuban at Intermediate would be (10) + (11) + (7) = (28). Clearly, a budding Standard level competitor must get hold of a copy of the Rules and find out what they might be up against. These can be downloaded free of charge from the BAeA web site (www.aerobatics.org. uk/baea_publications.htm). There is also a sequence archive on the web, so you could see what the Unknown sequence was for the same contest last year (www.aerobatics.org.

Learning an Unknown involves, for me at least, using lots of different methodologies together

uk/seqnews/PowerStd.htm). I’ve done this for the Fenland 2008 Unknown, (see 'Fenland '08' diagram, overleaf ). So, the task is: • One-turn Spin • Immelmann • Split-S • Stall Turn • Goldfish (Half Reverse Cuban with a 45° Up Line added on) • 180° Steep Turn • 45° Down Line • Half Cuban • Roll (straight and level) Given that there might be as little as 2 hours from first seeing this sequence to actually flying it, what can I tell you that will help make the process easier?

neuroscience Fair enough! I am stepping a little out of my specialist subject here, so if there is a brain surgeon reading the editor can expect some interesting correspondence next month. However, I am also 62 years old now, and I’ve picked up a few ideas of my own on the way. The brain has many parts to it. We have five senses and a lot of different manual and mental skills. To commit something to memory, something that must be recalled with perfection under physical and mental stress, it is best to use as many parts of your brain as you can. So learning an Unknown involves, for me at least, using lots of different methodologies together. AnAlysis: orientAtion, locAtion The first thing is to go somewhere you can concentrate and do some analysis. What height do I need to start the spin? Where is the best place to put each figure? Which way shall I roll and turn? Height analysis means starting at the end of the sequence, where we must not be below 1000ft and would be well advised to have a 200ft buffer. So figure 9 is to be flown at 1200ft. Working back with suitable memorised data for my aeroplane, it seems I must start at 2600ft for the spin entry. First issue solved. The height analysis is shown over (see the 'Height Analysis' diagram, overleaf ). I’ll do the spin to the right, as it is more nose down and a bit faster. Looks better than a flattish one to the left. I can do all the aileron rolls to the left, but will have to do the 180 turn to the right because of today’s wind. I draw a plan view of the performance zone, or “box” for short. The judges are sitting by the runway, the wind is from ➽ www.loop.ae ro may 2011 LOOP 37

AEROSWITHALAN the right and blowing a bit away from them. So I can work out where I should fly each figure. Like below (see 'Location Note', diagram). Now to make sure I don’t forget anything... note-making time.

MeMorising The first bit of my brain that I use for memorising a sequence is the bit that controls hand-eye co-ordination. I draw. Well, scribble actually. Over and over again. I use lots of paper. First I scribble slowly, to make sure I get everything right. (see 'Scribbled Note' diagram). I draw each bit of each figure in the sequence they will be flown. A little bit along and down at the top, then the spin symbol with an “R” next to it, then the rest of the down line, then the level bit at the end. While I am drawing, I speak out loud what the figure elements are. Another part of the brain working; the speech and memory bit. Like reciting poetry. I do this maybe 20 times, getting quicker and quicker in both drawing and speech. Lots of old paper used up. But this is effective – I guarantee

it. Really use your brain. Overheat it a little...

reHeArsing No practise is allowed before an Unknown. That is, not by flying the aeroplane. So the only way to rehearse, essential for any good performance, is to do it on the ground. I do this by walking about in a rough square, about 4m per side, marked out on the ground. But its not really walking - more of a rather crazy dance. My right hand moves the imaginary control column, my left moves the imaginary throttle or acts as a stand-in for the sighting device on the left wing. If a section of flight is inverted, I walk backwards, bent forwards and looking between my legs. My head always looks to a direction where I can see the horizon, monitoring the attitude at all times. Imagining what I will see from way up in the Box. Runway, judges, road, farm and so on, because that is what it will be like in the aeroplane. Spin right, making the rudder inputs with my feet, stop, fly level, loop up, roll upright from inverted, wait, check the judges position,

Building up a competitiveto flight, I'll make several notes to wo out the flowrk and correc heights t required

The only way to rehearse, essential for any good performance, is to do it on the ground. I do this by walking about in a rough square, about 4m per side accelerate a bit, half roll, pull… and so on until the end. Then I do it again. And again. If possible, I get someone who knows a bit about the subject to watch me and see if I miss anything out. Make corrections. Don’t worry about looking a bit mad. The madder the walk-through, the more likely that the flight is impeccable. That’s what you get judged on – the flying.

pressure The idea of the Unknown is to put pilots under pressure. See if they can keep it together under stress. That’s the mark of a Champion. Knowing the sequence well and rehearsing thoroughly are the

Location no te

things that relieve the pressure and enable justified self-confidence. Imagine what it's like at the World Championships themselves. You’ve probably watched the Olympic gymnastics. One by one the gymnasts occupy the spotlight to do their routine. They have worked on it for two years at least, seeking perfection in the most difficult moves they can think up. Then it's over. Known (and well-practised) sequence of events, then finished. Medals to those who do best. Now imagine that after they have done the first programme, the one they have designed and built to their own spec over those two years, they have to do an Unknown!! Each of the individual gymnasts picks his own most difficult move and throws it into the pot. Then all these really hard tricks have to be put into a practicable order and performed to perfection without any second chance and without any practise. How hard would that be? That is aerobatics.

reWArD Don’t be put off. The feeling after getting it right is amazing. Better than you know what. Be safe and enjoy your flying.

Issued routines needr toairbecraft used to establish you orising minima, and begin mem F enland '08

Scribbled note Height Analysis

Half Cuban

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Kevin Bredenbeck, who flies the radical new X2 P52

NEW PILOT TIPS Start your training season with some great advice P49

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Go a little further

Dorothy Pooley says flying abroad is one of the great pleasure of being a pilot. She gives some advice to make it easier on p50

Making sure that fuel issues donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t catch you out P46

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Advice on scattering ashes, and mobiles P47

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Get your race face on with a trip to Le Mans P44

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L I V E T H E D R E A M F LY I N G A D C - 3

“Could I really become a DC-3 pilot?” Gerald Smith thought he’d spent the last 10 years underusing his PPL… what better remedy than becoming a qualified DC-3 pilot?

EMI-RETIREMENT allowed the time and space to undertake one of my longest held aviation ambitions – to pilot a DC-3 Dakota, an aircraft that changed the world of aviation, helped evolve the modern aviation business, and was pivotal in WW2… I wanted a seat! Dan Gryder in Georgia, USA, says he can train anyone with a licence to become a DC-3 pilot, and outlined a programme to make me second-in-command qualified. I was sceptical; having not flown for 10 long years, aside from a bit of gliding, would I be able to do it? The planned course would revalidate my lapsed FAA

CPL/IR ASEL – SEP(A) in JAA language– whilst earning a multi-engine rating, and a tailwheel endorsement. Quite a tall order! The multi-engine rating was taught on a Geronimo Apache, and It’s true that you never forget how to fly – though weather claimed a day of training I passed the check-ride, got my FA AIR revalidation, and Dan reassuringly insisted I was more than good enough to fly the DC-3, saying it was only a small step up. Part of the DC-3 course involved jumpseat rides with another pilot already co-pilotqualified, and watching him display the stick and rudder skills many of today’s airline pilots are said to lack I felt my goal move a step closer.

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Dan made me fly N143D from left seat to reinforce the feeling of being in command of the DC-3, and the course itself was simple. Take offs, turns, approach to the stall, and landings were the bulk – all landings were ‘wheelers’ not ‘three-pointers’ to avoid over-stressing the airframe and to allow braking – and by far the hardest task was learning engine start. Big radials require pre-oiling and demand careful starts and handling – three hands are not enough! The DC-3 is a solid workhorse that needs bags of rudder leading the ailerons to initiate a turn, and I was really enjoying the great big wheel, levers that move through hefty arcs and the slightly grimy, oily, sweaty feel of the cockpit

I did much more than fulfil a life ambition to fly a DC-3... I put myself on a new career path, and made a friend!

– feeling like an airline captain from a bygone era. Modern glass cockpits? No thanks! Fly the numbers, approach at 90kt, and the DC-3 is your friend. It’s heavy on the ground and demands full concentration when taxiing, even light winds taxing the leg muscles, but are stable in smooth air and negate the need for autopilot – but why would you want one? More circuits, more landings, and more fun ensued before the FAA examiner visited and asked me some questions: How many gallons in the tanks? Endurance from full? How does the hydraulic system work? It turned out that the Dan trains FAA examiners on the DC-3 and their faith in him was such they knew a non-prepared

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Fly with a Spitfire in aid of charity

AVIATION charity fly2help have arranged a superb chance to notch up a truly amazing logbook entry for any pilot: fly in formation with a Spitfire. The charity have tied up with cool new formation display team RV8tors, who will put two winners of a text-to-win competition in the second seats of their display RV8s, and fly in formation with a Spitfire at an event planned for late September this year. Proceeds from the competition benefit the charity, which aims to help

families and individuals facing trauma and the effects of long-term illness, and also put others on a new career in aviation. The winners will fly on the weekend of September 24/25, at Kemble. After the Spit flight, the RV8ors will peel off to simulate a dogfight – so no heavy breakfast o the day! To enter, text FLY to 70099. Texts cost £1 + network rates, with at least 76p per text going to fly2help. See their site for more details and rules. www.fly2help.org

GET YOUR CLUB NOTICED IN LOOP clubs@ loop.aero

Fly with one of these, and do your bit for a good cause too! candidate would not be presented. After that – I passed! – the paperwork was minimal, and as well as receiving my Multi-Engine Rating my DC-3 paperwork was waiting for me before I even arrived home. It seems the FAA do things very smoothly, and the CAA has much to learn, I believe. I did much more than fulfil a life ambition to fly a DC-3 of course, and more than revalidate my FAA CPL and IR, add a twin rating and tailwheel endorsement to my licence, and put myself on the road to a new career path – I also made a friend in my instructor and host, Dan, who was superb in all respects including faultless admin of the trip and accommodation. He wouldn’t let me buy a meal

or a beer! Other DC-3 pilots are now friends too, and I’ve just returned from another trip to the US where I flew in a 27-ship DC-3 formation. The icing on the cake was the cost. Prior to flying out, Dan estimated $10,400 for my ME Rating and DC-3 course – but because of fuel savings it actually cost just $7800, which Dan passed on to me. It’s the only course I have been on which came out cheaper than estimated, and all things considered is easily ‘the best course ever’! CONTACT The DC-3 NET 147 Sky Harbor Way Griffin, GA 30223 T 001-678-688-7069 E contact@thedc-3network.com W www.thedc-3network.com

Clockwise from main: The DC-3 Gerald flew, N-143D. Built in 1938, she has over 56,000 hours!; the big ninecylinder radial; a DC-3 gathering; Gerald at the controls; Dan Gryder, DC-3 guru

+PHOTO ALBUM

The fight against the V1 bombs which peppered London, the Dambuster raids, and maintaining the Battle of Britain Memorial flight form the centrepieces of a Duxford Special Interest Day in June. ‘Against All Odds’ will see experts on the subjects talk with fascinating insight. June 25, at Duxford. See their sute for more, and details of a similar WW1-themed event later in the year. duxford.iwm.org.uk

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 43

flightCLUBEVENTS

SEND US YOUR EVENT NEWS. GO TO... www.loop.aero GRAND TOUR

O P E N DAY

C E S S N A A N D P I P E R F LY I N A N D O P E N D AY, D O R S E T, M AY 2 2

Celebrating all things aviation Compton Abbas is throwing a party for Cessna and Piper lovers COMPTON Abbas is hosting a party for anyone who flies a Cessna or Piper. We can’t think of one person we know who hasn’t flown a PA28 or a 172 so Abbas Air is celebrating Cessna’s stalwart and the PA28’s fiftieth birthday.

The day is open to everyone and isn’t just for the owners of Pipers or Cessnas. A big part of the day is for those interested in flying but who has yet to make a start. So if you know someone who wants to become a pilot, take them along. Compton Abbas is offering

Compton Abbas, a stunning airfield in the Dorset countryside

‘taster’ flights available throughout the day, with an instructor. There will also be reduced price student equipment packs to get started and everyone from current students and flying instructors to commercial pilots on hand to chat to. Pilots flying into Abbas in a Piper or Cessna will receive half-price landings (£5 instead of £10). Everyone who flies in will benefit from the popular ‘Pilots’ Fast Track Food’ system which means visiting pilots can beat the Compton queues and enjoy their food and drink within minutes! The day is also a fundraising event for the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance. The ‘Compton Girls Calendar 2012’ will be on sale to help raise some money, and during the day there will be displays, stalls and raffles. www.abbasair.com

EVENTS THINGS TO DO IN MAY 2011

+ 1 May, Devon Strut Fly-in, Bolt Head 01548 531923 www.devonstrut.co.uk + 1 May, Shuttleworth Spring Air Show, Old Warden www.shuttleworth.org + 2 May Piper Supercub Fly-in, North London Flying Club, Panshanger www.northlondonflyingschool. com + 2 May, International Auster Club Fly-in, Kimberely Hall, Norfolk www.austerclub.org + 2 May, Bank Holiday Fly-in, Northrepps Aerodrome www.northreppsaerodrome. co.uk + 5 May, Pilot Training College Assessment Day, Bristol The Pilot Skills and Aptitude Assessment Day. Tickets £8.50 in advance or £10 on the day. 01225 481440

+ 7-8 May, Scottish Aero Club Perth Fly-in, Perth Airport Scottish Aero Club is holding a fly-in at Perth Airport for members of the LAA and the BMAA, and aero clubs from around the UK, Ireland and Europe. www.scottishaeroclub.org.uk + 7-8 May, Vintage Fly-in, Goodwood Aerodrome Goodwood’s ex-RAF World War II Harvard training aircraft will be on hand. Camping is available for all, along with a BBQ on the Saturday evening. All pre-1966 aircraft land for free. PPR 01243 755087 www.goodwood.co.uk + 8 May, Abindgon Air and Country Show 2011, Abingdon Airfield, Oxfordshire Three hour flying display with The Tigers parachute display team, aerobatics by The Ospreys and the Swift Glider Team. www.abingdonfayre.com

+ 7 May BAeA Aerobatics Beginners Day, Leicester Airport www.aerobatics.org.uk

+ 8 May, Van’s RV Aircraft Fly-in, Old Buckenham Airfield Free landings for all Van’s RV homebuilt aircraft www.oldbuck.com

+ 7-8 May, Eastern Bloc Fly-in – The Yak Attack, Northrepps Aerodrome www. northreppsaerodrome.co.uk

+ 8 May, Vintage Piper and Vintage Cessna Fly-in, Popham Airfield, Hampshire www.popham-airfield.co.uk

44 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

+ 8 May, Pooley’s Day, Compton Abbas Airfield Essential to PPR through Pooley’s. www.abbasair.com + 10 May, Pilot Training College Assessment Day, Edinburgh http://exhibitions.flyer.co.uk + 14 Devon Strut Fly-in, Bodmin 01752 406660 www.devonstrut.co.uk + 14 TOPNAV North, Retford (Gamston) www.rin.org.uk + 14 May, Tri-pacer Fly-in, North London Flying Club www.northlondonflyingschool. com

+ 19 May, Pilot Training College Assessment Day, Leeds www.rin.org.uk + 21-22 May, Taildragger Fly-in, Northrepps Aerodrome www.northreppsaerodrome. co.uk + 21-22 May, 70th Anniversary Living History Fly-in, Halfpenny Green Airport RAF operations began here in 1941. To mark the event there will be WWII re-enactment groups portraying military and civilian life, plus a fly-in, with overnight camping near your aircraft. Proceeds to Help for Heroes. PPR not essential but helpful 01384 221378

+ 14 May, Women in Aviation + 22 May, Homebuilds Fly-in, Fly-in and Hangar Dance, Bodmin Breighton Aerodrome Aerodrome www.realaero.com 01752 406660 + 27-29 May, Glenforsa Fly-in + 14 May, Oxford LAA Group Fly-in 2011, Glenforsa Airfield and Barbecue, Enstone www.realaero.com 01608 678204 + 28-29 May, Thruster Aircraft + 14 Panshanger Revival Day, Fun Fly-in, Damyns Hall Panshanger Airfield Aerodrome, Essex 01708 556000 www.northlondonflyingschool. www.damynshall.co.uk com + 31 May, Vintage & Veteran Day, + 14 May, Aeronca Club Fly-in, Sherburn Aero Club Bodmin Aerodrome Vintage aircraft, GA fly-in and a Fly-in and hangar dance classic car rally. www.aeronca.co.uk www.sherburn-aero-club.org.uk

Le Mans A stunning historic city set on the Sarthe River filled with its Gallo-Roman past on show – but it is truly famous for the 24-hour car race, taking place in June.

SEE THIS 24 Heures du Mans

Taking place on the 11-12 June, the Le Mans 24-hour car race is a sight to behold and anyone with the slightest interest will not fail to fall in love with this amazing event. www.lemans.org

EVERYTHING ELSE Plan your stay... STAY HERE: HOTEL CHANTECLER

Located near the city this beautiful three-star hotel has just benefited from a recent refurbishment. The hotel is located in the city centre, the staff are friendly and the breakfast comes highly recommended. Rooms start at €76 www.hotelchantecler.fr

VISIT HERE: LA NUIT DES CHIMÉRES

Every evening throughout the summer and during the Christmas holiday, the monuments and city walls of Le Mans are transformed into a giant projection screen. The city wall is turned into a Roman theatre and there is a concert on the cathedral, Queen Bérengère haunts the courtyard of her museum and between each historic site, gargoyles and fantasy figures guide spectators towards the mysteries of the old town. Something to behold. www.nuitdeschimeres.com

VISIT HERE: MUSEE AUTOMOBILE DE LA SARTHE First opened in 1961 the Automobile Museum of Sarthe is a celebration of all things Le Mans. Visitors can discover the history of the 24-hour race and the evolution of the automobile. The museum is structured around six major sequences that take the visitor to meet the heroes of the 24-hour race and the origins of a tradition of local automobile racing whilst tracing the evolution of the car in the twentieth century.

THE STRIP LE MANS ARNAGE (LFRM)

CONTACT: Aeroport du Mans-Arnage, Route d’Angers, FR-72100 Le Mans, France. Tel: +33 (0)2 43.84.34.85 RUNWAYS: 02/20 asphalt 1410mx30m, 02/20 grass 970m/80m LANDING FEES: Around €20 www.aeroport.fr

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WHILST YOU’RE THERE LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS... JUST REGISTER, LOGIN AND COMMENT! www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 45

flightCLUBFLIGHT SCHOOL

GURUS

Nick Heard

How carefully do you check fuel in your aircraft? It's sadly still something that catrches many pilots out

NICK HEARD is a seasoned flying instructor, current Boeing 747 captain and a former RAF Tornado pilot. In this special he warns of potential problems you can prepare for to sidestep

T© S an unfortunate fact that almost every Safety Bulletin involving GA aircraft will involve an incident resulting from fuel mismanagement. No other activity – boating, driving, etc – has such catastrophic consequences if you fail to manage fuel properly – or in the worst case, run out of it completely. Cars and boats will just stop – and I do accept that there could be further consequences if that happens in a car on the M25 or on a boat near to some rocks. In an aircraft, you are most likely going to have to descend, even if it’s only for a while as you get the problem fixed. Some simple knowledge and airmanship should reduce the risk of fuel problems to a minimum. For any aircraft you fly, you should know how much fuel it carries, where it’s located, and how it is transferred to the engine. Cessna 150/152s typically have fuel in the left and right wings, with a single fuel cock and engine driven pump, but no means of ensuring equal transfer from both tanks. Pipers also have fuel in each wing, but with a left/right/off fuel cock and both engine-driven and electric pumps. Other aircraft may have a main tank plus an auxiliary tank. Many aircraft suffer from

unreliable fuel contents indications, and pilots have fallen into the trap of relying on fuel gauges, only to be let down (literally!) during the trip as it becomes clear that the indications were spurious. The best way to check fuel contents before flight is by physically looking, which is easier in some aircraft than others. Low-wing Pipers are easy to check, Cessnas less so with their high wing, but a calibrated dip stick will the most reliable indication of fuel contents. Don’t forget to check for water in fuel at the same time. Water in fuel has a nasty habit of getting into the engine at the worst time – just after getting airborne. Fuel planning can be an issue for navigational trips to other airfields. With fuel prices going through the roof, there might be a tendency if hiring an aircraft on a ‘dry’ rate to take only the minimum fuel required. Any fuel use in excess of what you planned – such as weather avoidance – could place you somewhat short of juice. In Piper aircraft it’s normal to switch on the electric pump before take-off, to back up the engine fuel pump. If the engine pump fails, then the electric pump will maintain fuel transfer to the engine. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to turn off the electric pump – many

pilots I fly with turn it off in the climb at 1000 ft. If the engine pump has just failed, then the engine will now stop, leaving you in an awkward position of little height and speed, and pointing away from the airfield. So why not leave the electric pump on for longer – and if the engine does stop as you switch off the electric pump, turn it back on again straightaway! Once airborne, any routine set of checks must start with a check of the fuel. Check contents – as expected, or less than expected? – and balance, if appropriate. In the Pipers, you must clearly look after fuel balance by changing tanks. Do this at some opportune time – perhaps every half hour, or half way through a trip. In a Cessna it is possible for fuel to fail to transfer in a balanced manner from both tanks, perhaps due to a blockage. If you notice that a fuel imbalance is developing, then your first thought must be that you now only have half the fuel you thought you had, which may well have implications for your flight – can you make it to your destination, can you make it home, or should you divert?

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A fuel imbalance will mean unequal weight in left and right wings, but it is unlikely that this will cause any problems in roll control. However, if a large lateral imbalance has developed (in any aircraft) then a sensible pilot might carry out a low speed handling check at height. Set up an approach at, say, 3000 ft or so, to check that control is still adequate at approach speed. If any roll problems become apparent, lower the nose to increase speed to regain controllability. Find out what speed you need to maintain control, and use this for your approach. If you are operating from a short strip, think again as to whether you can safely stop from this higher approach speed. Ultimately, though, it’s fuel contents that generally catches pilots out. If you find yourself running short, then bite the bullet early and divert – declare a ‘PAN’ if necessary to get most assistance. If there is nowhere to go, then a controlled landing in a field on your own terms will be more preferable than a forced landing after then engine fails. Don’t just carry on in the hope that you’ll make it!

If you find yourself running short, then bite the bullet early and divert

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46 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

28/03/2011 09:24

Q&A

ALL YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED BY THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS +STAR QUESTION

SAYING GOODBYE

Q| I AM sure this will have been asked before so I hope it doesn© t sound silly: is there an official procedure or law on scattering ashes from an aircraft? My brother recently succumbed to a long illness, and during his later months said, quite seriously, that he would like his ashes scattered over our birthplace in Wales. How would I do this? A| Firstly, our condolences regarding the loss of your brother. Secondly, you are by no means the first to ask that question here and you've done the right thing by checking. You are not a pilot yourself, but do not assume that the pilot you choose to carry this out with will know the correct procedure, or even if there is one. Initially, you (or your pilot)

CALLING FOR ADVICE

Q|Can you outline to me the legal stance on using a mobile telephone while flying PIC? Like much in life, I do it all the time, but feel like I perhaps ought not! Am I breaking the law? A| It© s unlikely you are, unless you are texting while landing or somesuch; it© s all about sensible use. CAA advice is mostly concerned with the prospect of loose objects rattling around the cockpit, or their use in some way causing issues with the instruments and operation of the aircraft, and put the onus on the PIC to ensure anything that could be a problem – like a mobile handset – is secured, used sensibly, and does not disrupt gauges. The relevant

CLEAR PROP

YOUR GURUS...

PROPELLER ADVICE FROM PROPTECH

NICK HEARD Decades of flying experience in all conditions... including combat

DENNIS KENYON Former World Heli Freestyle Champ Dennis is our rotary expert

PHIL O'DONOGHUE FI and aeros pilot Phil is our resident Brains for testing gear

DOROTHY POOLEY Top instructor and examiner, Dorothy shares her wisdom

ALAN CASSIDY MBE Current British National Advanced Aerobatic champion and respected author

NEED TO SPEAK YOUR MIND! THEN EMAIL YOUR OPINION TO LOOP incoming@ loop.aero A sunny day and a classic plane... a fitting way with which to say goodbye

should inform the CAA of your intention to conduct an 'unusual aerial activity' using the form SRG1304 from its website. To comply with the law, you will need to do this well in advance, several weeks. For ashes scattering we understand that an associated fee is waived. Your pilot will need to make clear that he understands

his responsibilities and the limitations of the flight. In addition to the CAA, the relevant local authority should also be informed; your intended area is very rural, so there shouldn't be any issue whatsoever. Advice from those that have done this also include open top planes being best, and delay if even slightly wet. +NOTAM

HALFPENNY GREEN

NEED TO SPEAK YOUR MIND! THEN EMAIL YOUR OPINION TO LOOP Air Navigation Order section says all equipment carried or fitted to an aircraft should be secured or stowed so as to avoid any problems, and adjusted to avoid interfering with the correct functioning of the aircraft itself.

incoming@ loop.aero

21 May: Flypast by Battle of Britain Memorial Flight 1305 to 1335.

SHERBURN-IN-ELMET

To 22 June: No mogas available.

CARDIFF

19 May - 22 May: PPR only due to sports event 01446 712523

THRUXTON

Aerodrome closed due to motorsport events on 28-30 May, 11-12 June and 30 July.

SOUTHEND

28-29 May: Flight restrictions due to air show.

INALLY... the weather is starting to improve, which means that many aircraft owners have started to think about awaking their machines from their winter hibernation. If you have been lucky enough to have been able to use your aircraft throughout the winter it is business as normal for you. But if your aircraft and of course its propeller(s) has been dormant for a few months, then a bit of care should be taken when returning it to service. Remind yourself of the art of a good visual inspection, and carry one out on the prop to ensure there is no damage to the propeller, blades or spinner which could have been induced while it was not being used – not all hangar knocks get reported as they should. Also check for any corrosion, especially if the aircraft storage in located near the coast or somewhere with dampness in the air. Also, if your aircraft is kept outside, inspect inside the spinner, itself before anything is started or turned: it© s to check that a bird family has not set up home in your spinner! This could delay the use of your aircraft while waiting for any young to get in the air before you do, so make these checks before the instance you plan to actually go flying for the first time. If you are unlucky enough to find this problem, of course I could not condone premature eviction, as I do not want to upset Bill Oddie or the RSPB! If you have a variable pitch prop and it can be lubricated, then grease it in accordance with the requirements of the owners manual, but be careful not to over lubricate. The propeller owners manual is always a good place to find information on recommended maintenance practices. Staying with VP props, when you do your initial engine runs, after ensuring the oil and engine is up to operating temperature, cycle the prop through its various ranges to ensure it

moves freely and hasn© t suffered from the period of inactivity. Before you start flying you should also check of course that the propeller isn© t overdue for an overhaul or mandatory inspection, as AD’s or new service information could have been issued over the winter period.

As always, do not hesitate to contact the Engineering Team at Proptech for any technical advice. I would like to take the opportunity to remind all LOOP readers that Proptech are also McCauley and MT propeller recommended service centres, as well as Hartzell. We have been working with the McCauley products for many years, but the MT prop are relatively new to Proptech. Our tradesman and inspectors have undergone the required factory training at MT in Germany, so we could duly become a recommended service centre. Please contact the Proptech Commercial team for McCauley, MT and Hartzell propeller repair or overhaul quotations. If you call or e-mail for quotes, please let the person know that you are calling after reading this LOOP article. So, we wish all pilots and owners a trouble free summer of enjoyable flying, whether it be for business or pleasure. Should you experience any problems with your propeller, do not hesitate to contact Proptech for advice. Finally, on a lighthearted note, search YouTube for © HIGH TECH PROPELLER, Red Bull Air Race© ... very interesting, and yes, Proptech can do both prop types! www.proptechpropellers.com

DUXFORD

22 May: Flight restrictions due to air show.

GLASTONBURY

22-27 June: Flight restrictions due to rock concert. www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 47

flightCLUBFLIGHT SCHOOL

SEND US YOUR EVENT NEWS. GO TO... www.loop.aero

MY FIRST SOLO DOROTHY POOLEY WHO Dorothy Pooley; instructing legend with a fixed wing ATPL, FIC, FIE, as well as a Rotary CPL and Instructor Rating DATE July 27, 1989 WHERE Redhill AIRCRAFT Cessna 172 HOURS WHEN SOLOED 27 HOURS NOW 8,600 INSTRUCTOR Craig Sergeant and Patrick Kelly

INSTRUCTOR’S INSTRUCTOR

Dorothy has more than 6,500 instructional hours

+NEW PILOT

I managed to take off on the wrong runway. The nervousness got the better of me. I was learning at Biggin Hill, but we went down to Redhill to do circuits because it’s a bit quieter. There are parallel runways at Redhill. The tower told me to take off on runway 26 Left and I took off on the first one I got to – 26 Right. They didn’t tell me off but when I came into land I spotted both runways and thought: “Oh god, I wonder if they noticed?” They had! Going solo was superb, in fact it spurred me to carry on after I’d nearly given up twice. My first instructor used to shout at me so I was really nervous and tense the entire time. He actually wrote in my student record book: “This woman will never learn to fly!” Despite that I persevered. It took me 11 months from my first lesson to going solo, because of the time off. I gave up for three months after only completing five

hours and was convinced I wasn’t going to do anymore. But on a skiing holiday I met a test pilot who was working for Shorts Brothers and he convinced me to go back and try again. When I went back, on my first lesson the instructor put us into a spin without warning me, which really scared me. I had to take another two month break, because that summer I rode my bike from Land’s End to John O’Groats. I ended up with really swollen ankles and was on medication so couldn’t fly. When I went back, I met Patrick and Craig. They were superb instructors and made me want to fly. After I eventually flew solo it only took me four months to finish my PPL. I was working full-time as a solicitor but I managed to fly more than 30 hours in those four months. After gaining my PPL I wanted to instruct because I was convinced I could do it better than the people

INSTRUCTOR’S ADVICE

+INSIDE TIP

Nick Heard knows best NICK Heard, LOOP’s resident expert on all matters flying has decided to pass on some of his invaluable knowledge to the new pilots out there. So if you’re a student or just qualified and looking to complete further training, take these three thoughts on board: Prepare as much as possible for your flying lessons. I’m always amazed about how many trainees turn up for flying having not looked up the relevant stuff in the manual beforehand. It’s very hard work and much more expensive! So take half an hour at some point to learn

•

as much as possible before starting the lesson briefing. Likewise, at the end of a trip, don’t let your instructor leave without letting you know what you need to look at for next time. In a similar vein, try and get to the airfield early so you can get your brain in gear. Find out runway in use, weather forecast, NOTAM information, so that your instructor can be impressed with your preparation. He’ll gain confidence in your potential to become a competent, professionally-minded pilot. Do you get on with your instructor? Personality differences can become accentuated in the cramped, noisy environment of an

•

aircraft cockpit where a lot can be going on. There are many different styles of instructing – some gentle, others more tough and direct! If you don’t like the way your instructor teaches you, you are at liberty to discuss it or change instructors – it’s your money! If you’ve recently qualified here are a few more wise words to keep you safe. There is a right way and a wrong way to recover from bounce landings. The wrong reaction after a bounce on landing is to shove the nose down, which will promptly result in a second heavy impact on the nosewheel and quite probable breakage.

•

out there. So within a year I completed all my ratings. The first was my MEP. I had 70 hours total time, I then got my five hours on type and flew to Iceland! That year I flew 100 hours. I completed my MEP, IMC and night rating. I became an instructor within four years of my first lesson with more than 350 hours. When I qualified there was no work, much like now, so I invented work. I wrote to everyone I knew in the legal department offering trial lessons for £39. I had eight people take a trial lesson, four of whom became students. Three went solo, one qualified and still flies today. It was during that time I got a job instructing for Cabair at Redhill and in 18 months I flew about 1,000 hours. I believe that my first flying experience pushed me on to become a Flight Instructor Examiner. I want to train people to be the best possible instructors they can be.

If you find yourself in the situation of a firm landing and bounce, hold the attitude and apply full power to go around. If you’re flying into an aircraft with short finals, make sure you squeeze in a last check of the undercarriage and flaps position to avoid and last minute embarrassment! Whilst in the visual circuit, be punctilious about making RT calls in the correct position. Your calls are vital not just to Air Traffic Control but to other pilots who are in or joining the circuit. But be flexible - if you can’t make, say, a ‘downwind’ call in the right place due to busy RT, call ‘late downwind’ when you can get a word in.

•

LOOP spends a lot of time on airfields and picks up good advice all the time. Here’s this month’s tip.

KEEP ON TOP OF YOUR LICENCE

With winter well and truly behind us, now is the perfect time to have a close look at any ongoing requirements to keep your licence up-to-date. It might be wise to check this before you even get back in the cockpit. Be sure to check all the expiry dates, due dates of your extra ratings, and medical (which might include ECG or audio tests as the years roll on!).

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 49

flightCLUBGET RATED

Extend your horizons GO ABROAD

Dorothy Pooley gives advice on flying abroad, to France or further THINGS TO TAKE •Documents for the aircraft including interception procedures; aircraft papers are needed if crossing a Flight Information Boundary •Passports and visas •Credit cards and foreign currency •Personal Locator Beacon, a requirement since ’08 if your aircraft is not fitted with an ELT PLANNING •Up-to-date Pooley’s Flight Guide or Jepp charts for the country (VFR/IFR) •Weather for the route – European Tafs and Metars (www.metoffice.gov. uk/aviation, or http://www.orbifly. com/member/metmap.php) •NOTAMS – www.ais.org.uk •Weight and balance •Fuel and oil There is extensive help on filling in a flight plan in Safety Sense Leaflet 20 (www.caa.co.uk/safetysense) and NATS has AFPex online filing. You can contact NATS regarding this service at flightplanningonline@nats.co.uk If flying over water consider an immersion suits, carrying a dinghy or wearing life jackets – advisable if

50 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

flying an SEP aircraft over water more than 10nm from the coast. Make sure a dinghy is within reach, not stowed in compartment. When flying over water, fly as high as you can without infringing controlled airspace. It is required by Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 that a GA Report is filed prior to departing the UK. For some countries it is necessary to fax this to the Police or Special Branch, and for others Customs and Excise. Details are readily available on the Home Office website. If flying to the Channel Islands you will be given a number known as a ‘Permission to Fly Number’ – note it down. A concession colloquially known as “Fuel drawback” allows Avgas users to reclaim duty paid on the entire tank of fuel exported overseas even if you only use a small portion of it on your trip (see www.hmrc.gov.uk/ index.htm). You muct submit a form together with fuel receipts evidencing the uplift of fuel prior to departure. You should receive a cheque within a few weeks! EN ROUTE One of the big mysteries of crossing the channel is often how do you talk

to Air Traffic? Many myths abound. Leaving the English coast, it is usual to be talking to London Information and if you are crossing towards the North West coast of France, you will be able to obtain a RADAR service from Lille Information. It is not true that they speak to you in French although you may hear French being spoken on the frequency! Just wait your turn as usual and make your call clearly and slowly. It is, however, likely that the airfield to which you are routing (unless it is a large one) may only be conversing in French. If you are routing to the Channel Islands you need to be aware that the Channel Islands control zone is Class A airspace. Therefore if you do not have any instrument qualifications you will need to have at least 10km visibility to operate with Special VFR. Consider your alternates carefully particularly in view of the above points. Many smaller airfields on the continent may be unmanned and therefore on landing how will you close your flight plan? (Details on this in the Safety Sense leaflet) ON ARRIVAL You will have to book in in the normal way and there is usually a large black

C in a yellow square to show you where to go. If Air Traffic is present then they will close your flight plan. Otherwise you will need to make a phone call to do this. Find out whether fuel is going to be available at the time you wish to return, because if it is not it may be worth refuelling before leaving the airfield! Find out where you file a flight plan so that you have less to worry about on the return day. You may wonder how you are going to get into town. At Le Touquet they have bicycles for hire or if you are feeling lazy a taxi will only cost you around €8. You could of course take folding bicycles in the back of the aircraft if you have sufficient payload. Details on transport, hotels and restaurants in the locality will be found in the French flight guide known as Delage. This guide also contains a list of useful phrases if you are not a French speaker. THE RETURN Allow yourself enough time for planning the return route and do not forget what time it will be dark at your destination! If you do not have a Night Qualification remember you should plan to be on the ground no later than 30mins before sunset.

MAKE YOUR FLYING EASY! Let skybookGA™, the most integrated on-line pre-flight briefing service for the GApilot, take the pressure off planning your next flight OING flying this weekend? Will you be off to the south coast, working your way down through the busy air corridors of Luton, Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick plus a host of other active airfields? Before you go, you need to know the best route, with the best information at your disposal. So, who do you turn to? It has to be the experts. Turn to skybookGA, the most integrated briefing service available, which ensures the relevant information for your flight is available wherever you are, whenever you want, before you set off. INDUSTRY EXPERTISE The service was created by flight planning experts Bytron, behind commercial flight briefing services used by major airlines, NATS and airport authorities. skybookGA is a spin-off from this professional commercial programme. When Bytron was formed 1984, its objective was to provide electronic briefing systems that would dispense with the uncertainty of fax and paper trails that hindered reliable data provision. Their mission to abolish unwieldy processes brought great benefits to professional pilots – and now GA pilots too. skybookGA benefits from the lengthy development process that went into the professional service. Rightfully known as ‘the

one-stop shop for pre-flight briefing,’ skybookGA offers comprehensive planning aids which allow pilots to easily customise routes, visualise them, and view in both Google Earth and Virtual Earth. At the invitation of Thomas Cook Airlines, which uses Bytron’s eFlight Briefing package, Bytron is working with Rolls-Royce subsidiary DS&S to create its first fully-integrated and connected Electronic Flight Bag (eFB), allowing maintenance data and engine monitoring on a global scale. FANTASTIC FEATURES FOR GA The beauty of skybookGA is the breadth of service it offers, catering well for the shortest low-level flight, all the way to upper level cross-border journeys – always being easy to use. skybookGA features include Personal Location Point information, which allows you to create waypoints and store them for future use. Airfield Brief is another brilliant feature, which allows search of airfields by name or ICAO and IATA codes. The information includes full airfield and runway details, plus all NOTAM/METAR/TAFS/ LTAFS/SNOWTAM affecting that airfield. The Great Circle Route Briefing will route width and upper flight level, and create a route using the shortest course between the airfields. The brief calculates all FIR and airfields within the route’s width and upper limit with NOTAM and MET info.

SIGMET advises on potential weather hazards other than convective activity over a 3000 square mile area, generating data on icing, turbulence, dust and even volcanic ash. AIRMET’s regional weather forecasts cover regions within the UK and is updated regularly throughout the day. Two of skybookGA’s integrated features that pilots particularly praise are the Quick Weather Maps and Danger Area Briefs. Quick Weather Maps allow you to view prevailing weather conditions and trends at a glance. They provide information on windspeed and direction, temperature, dew points, cloud cover and pressure. Danger Area Briefs allow searches for international and domestic NOTAM affecting Danger Areas by FIR, area name or number during specific time periods. It includes easy-to-view charts of UK Danger Areas. International NOTAM contains information about the establishment, condition or change in any facility, service, procedure or hazard. The most recent development is the Pilot Log (Plog), based on departure, destination, flight level and flight corridor, and even fuel burn. Routing data can be exported to GPs devices too. It’s small wonder GA pilots cherish the comprehensive briefing data that skybookGA offers. They feel confident that every eventuality has been covered, before setting off to the airport.

NEW AND IMPROVED! skybook GA™ now has loads of new features, including: GPS ROUTE EXPORTER Easy to use, this feature enables you to convert and download the route plot created on skybookGA into 50 GPS file formats.

NOTAM F & G Has been added to all briefing packs: Plain language display of NOTAM upper and lower heights (F & G fields).

RAINFALL RADAR Met images are updated every 15 min. Shows the previous 3, 6, 9 and 24 hours and forecasts the next three hours’ expected rainfall.

RESTRICTED AREAS (TEMP) MAP This has now been updated so you can see multiple NOTAM that are centred on the same point.

SATELLITE IMAGES The display for satellite images has been updated to a carousel display to aid searching which now can be opened in a separate window.

METAR FEED This loads airfield METAR details onto Google Earth. Wind speed, direction and cloud cover are displayed. You can also seelive weather along your route.

For more details and all the latest updates visit www.skybookga.com SKYBOOK GA ARE ALWAYS LOOKING TO IMPROVE OUR PRODUCTS, IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS LET US KNOW AT SUPPORT@SKYBOOKGA.COM TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR SPECIAL ONE-MONTH FREE TRIAL OFFER, OR TO SUBSCRIBE, GO TO WWW.LOOP.AERO, CLICK ON THE SKYBOOK TAB AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. YOU’LL WONDER HOW YOU EVER COPED WITHOUT IT! BLADES fresh air for helicopters March 2011

flightCLUBplane crazy

SEND US YOUR EVENT NEWS. GO TO... www.loop.aero

PLane crazy KEVIN BREDENBECK

Discovering a whole new world Kevin Bredenbeck is the fastest helicopter pilot in the world, and in the unusual Sikorsky X2 he’s pioneering a new way of flying

ESTING a new aircraft is a rare privilege for a pilot. Testing a completely new way of flying is even rarer, which makes Sikorsky’s Kevin Bredenbeck a man in – currently – a unique position: only man to fly the radical new X2 Q| The X2 is very different to look at. What is she like in the cockpit? A| Sitting in the cockpit we have a regular helicopter collective on the left, righthand side-arm controller and yaw pedals. The side-arm controller acts just like a cyclic in a regular helicopter apart from a trim button, which you push out of detent and release, and the aircraft maintains the new attitude. The yaw pedals also do a conventional job apart from, between 60 and 120 knots forward speed, when they have to deal with differential collective wash-out.

Q| Contra-rotating rotors means no need for a tail rotor. Does that change the experience of flying? A| all the time you‘re airborne, the rudders are reacting and moving but, in the hover, they’re not doing anything because there’s no airflow over them. I move the pedals and maintain position by altering torque on either the upper or lower rotor – just like a regular contrarotating system. Q| Where is the transition in directional control from rotors to rudder? A| as we increase forward speed through 60 knots, the fly-by-wire system reduces its influence over the main rotors. By 120 knots I have good airflow over the rudders and don’t need the rotors to maintain direction any more. Q| The X2 has already reached 260 knots. How does it overcome issues of supersonic rotor tips?

X2 adapts main rotor rpm at speed to aid forward flight

52 LOOP may 2011 www.loop.aero

World’s fastest helicopter pilot... not bad for a day’s work. The speeds will kepp rising A| as we increase speed on this rigid rotor aircraft, we approach the point where the two advancing blade leading edges go supersonic. To avoid that, we progressively beep back the rotor speed, using a beeper on the collective to trim back the rotor speed. For now I do it manually but, in the production model the fly-by-wire system will take care of this automatically, through data supplied by smart airspeed probes on the nose. Q| And to control forward speed…? A| We also have a prop beeper, which is real simple: push forward for faster and back for slower. In the production model I will able to vary propeller pitch

between minus 20 to plus 55 degrees. Q| How do the main procedures of flight differ from traditional helicopters? A| like in a conventional helicopter you can fly it nose down and decelerate nose-up, but on the X2 we can also approach, land and take off in a level attitude, like a submarine. We also have a blended mode, which I tend to use, whereby I take off like a conventional helicopter and lower the nose to increase speed. as we catch translational lift at about 30 knots I start beeping in the prop and raising the nose, all the while reducing collective pitch until I’m flying almost like a fixed-wing.

It’s a seamless transition – I don’t have to balance the switchover. you can fly it like a helicopter until you want to increase speed. Then you engage the prop, bring the nose up, lower the collective and then fly it like an aeroplane. For the rest of the flight you’re just using the stick. Q| It’s done 260kt already. Is there much more to come? A| We still haven’t used all the available thrust but listen to this: in testing I fly level at 4500ft, using 18 degrees of prop, crossing the runway threshold at 50kt… by the time I’m at the other end I’m doing 180kt and still accelerating. Unbelievable.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

BLADES is the most passionate advocate of helicopter flight in publishing. With news, show reports, flight tests of machinery as varied as Bell's 47 to Eurocopter's EC135, and field reports from operators,military excersises, and record-setting expeditions, BLADES covers every aspect of rotary.

Benefits include: ✱ Delivered straight to your door ✱ Get your issue before it’s out in the shops ✱ Save on the cover price ✱ Just £29.95 for 12 issues (within the UK) FOR AN ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TO BLADES, CONTACT THE SUBSCRIPTION DESK ON +44(0)1223 499799 OR EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS@LOOP.AERO

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28/02/2011 21:08

The BesT PLACe TO Buy AND seLL yOuR AIRCRAFT.

Why use www.loopmart.aero ? Great value for money... FREE online advert Reach more people... 26,122 people plus 1000's online Making your advert couldn't be easier... Simple 4-step process Make the most of your advert... Upload video and pictures ADVeRT OPTIONs IN PRINT AND ONLINe RALLYE MINERVA 220

1968 one owner a/c always hangered near London. In 1986 a BRAND NEW engine fitted with a turbocharger was installed but the turbocharger was removed. The turbo manufacturers claimed that for continuous use 235 bhp with 250 bhp for five minutes would have been delivered. Some strengthening modifications have been retained. Otherwise the engine without turbo is rated at 220 bhp 400 hrs later still giving breathtaking rate of climb. Short take off and landing, excellent all round visibility, fully IFR with 2* VHF, 2 NAV, ILS, DGO, RMI, 2*ADF, transponder, special extra instrumentation. Not flown since £20,000 spent on new CofA. Brand new propellor (some £8,000). Included a mountain of new and used spare engines, blocks, pistons, con rods, crankshafts, autopilot parts, etc. Ideal aircraft for business or pleasure. Contact Tony Crook, Box 66, 272 Kensington High Street, London W8 6ND or phone 0207 602 4992 or fax 0207 348 0389

Gold » 2 column x 8cm advert in LOOP » Advert on www.loopmart.aero » 1 issue: £195 +VAT » 2 Issues: £295 +VAT

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CESSNA SKYLANE ROBIN DR182 400

2+2 delight to fly - economical - king avionics - txp mode C-VOR - skymap 111C -recent 50 hr Hangared Exeter open to offers. Contact: Stephen - 01395445686. stephen.baker@btinternet.com

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Whatever package you opt for your advert will be viewed by thousands of potential buyers - it makes good sense to get as much exposure as possible. Choose an option from the right and decide which best suits your needs.

Need more help? Please feel free to contact Chris on 01223 497060 or email sales@loop.aero

54 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero TURBO ARROW PA28 RT-201T

Tel 01746783413 email ronsuebadger3@googlemail.com

SHOESTRING RACER

Year 1980 Airframe 3937 hrs. Engine 874 hrs GPS GNS430. Transponder GTX330 mode S RNav KNS 80 New. Radio KX197.ADF K86 Audio+Markers KMA20.4 way intercom Brand new Hartzell prop fitted A/P plus extras. £55,000 ono.

JODEL D112

2 seat aircraft, Continental C65 new cylinders fitted, new mags, carb overhaul, In Good condition, new permit. £8,999. Contact Chris Murgatroyd on 07711132247.

One seater racing aircraft, new engine, ready to race. Trailer included. Maintained in approved wksp 30,000 Euros o.n.o Located: Rouen (LFOP)-France Contact: +33 6 09 31 55 55 Email: claude.james@scj.fr PA 20/22 PIPER PACER 4 SEAT TAIL DRAGGER

Lycoming 0320 150 HP '0' Time engine. Airframe manufactured @1960 and 1800hrs. 'N' Registration. Narco MK12D NAV / COM, ILS/OBS. Narco TXPNDR. 4 place intercom. STOL Kit with droop wing tips and vortex generators and horizontal stab. New annual. Based - Compton Abbas, 1/4 share available, £6,000. Mark Leonard 01929 459208, mandsleonard@aol.com

CESSNA P-210 PRESSURIZED CENTURION II

205 hrs TTAF. Lycoming O-235 255 hrs STOH. Good panel with Icom A200, AV80R GPS, electric trims, turn co-ordinator etc. Permit August 2010. Good condition, excellent flyer. £16,500 ONO. Tel 01244 671417.

TT 4450 hours. Engine 1665 from new, 630 STOH (new cylinders). 3 blade Hartzell prop. 210 hrs from new. Full airways with FM immune Narco 121 VOR/ILS. Last annual August 2009. £30,000. Contact: 01491 573845 or email denise@rotherfieldgreys1.fsnet.co.uk

EUROPA CLASSIC 912 P.O.A.

GRUMMAN AA1-A

Photos/video at www.alandstewart.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Tel: +00 41 91210 3128/745.66.89 Email: aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

2+2 delight to fly - economical - king avionics txp mode C-VOR - skymap 111C -new annual till March 2012. Hangared Exeter open to offers. Contact: Stephen - 01395445686. stephenbaker4@btinternet.com

PA 24 COMANCHE 260 1965

Great condition. Dependable touring aircraft 120kt cruise. 4hr range. One owner. May be sold with year permit. Contact Alan 01245-264186 alan.stewart@blueyonder.co.uk

1982. TT: 2900, Engine TSIO-520AF engine (Eagle Engines Golden Series) TSOH: 1140. Interior 8/10, Exterior 8/10. Avidyne and Garmin Avionics. € 234,500.

ROBIN DR 400

ZENAIR ZODIAC 601 HD

1970, 2-SEAT. A/F 3050, ENG 1340, SKYMAP IIC, VOR/LOC, DME, MODE C, ADF, HANGARED, FIFE, ARC 5/11, IDEAL GROUP A/C, £17500, 01334 850675

SIERRA.CHARLIE@UKGATEWAY.NET

1970 PIPER ARROW1 200HP

PIPER PA22 TRIPACER G ARDS.

1967 CHEROKEE 180

Corrosion proofed from new always maintained / hangared at Exeter, never used for training 3 blade prop, FM immune & mode S A/F 3837, eng 2300, prop 104. New annual. £28,000. Contact: 07770 238570 pedrothepongo@yahoo.com 01626 833977 julietock@btinternet.com

100 hours engine, hardly used since overhaul. This plane is practically as new, the best you will see, Recent rebuild, recover, and repainted. £22,000 ono. Kept in a Private Hangar at Newtownards. Contact: Chris Donaldson on 07768797550.

Total time airframe, 8500’. Engine, 1125. King & Narco Radio Equipment with 1 TKM MX-170 Com/Nav. Sound well maintained, Piper 6/10 inside & out. Price: £25000 Tel: 0044 1392 364216 Email: info@airwaysflighttraining.co.uk

ROBIN DR400 REGENT 180HP

CIRRUS SR22 GTS G3 TURBO

Manufactured in 1990, a/c has a total time of 2050 hrs a/f and engine. Engine with 0 hrs. Very good condition, is always hangared and has a full set of covers included. Cruises happily at 120 knots, carries 4 adults and luggage, making it a fantastic touring aircraft it is very easy to fly. WILL TAKE ANY KIND OF VEHICLE IN PART EXCHANGE. £65,000 – Simon York. 01423 340209

Avidyne Entegra PFD/MFD, DME, Cmax, Skywatch, Emax Engine Management, Tactical Weather data link, Mode-S Transponder, ELT, E-TAWS, 2xGarmin 430W's, 55X Autopilot, Ice Protection, Silver paint, AirConditioning, Leather interior, Offers Welcome, VAT paid. 01452 715 389 www.absolute-aviation.co.uk.

PIPER PA32 260 CHEROKEE SIX

1979 GRUMMAN TIGER AA-5B

1972. Reluctant sale of my N registered aircraft (VAT paid). Two owners from new, same owner for the last 20 years. 1590 hours TTAF, 102 hours since factory new Lycoming and prop overhaul. Hangered since new and maintained regardless of cost. Probably the cleanest PA 32 260 in the UK today. Extensive avionic and autopilot upgrades, details on request. No damage history. £ 55,000 Contact John Marshall - Tel-01730 816141

A/F 4012hrs Engine 0 hrs. prop 57hrs. New annual and ARC. KMA 24 Audio panel. KNS 80 Nav. Century Auto Pilot. KR 87 ADF. KY 197 comm. KX 170B Nav Comm. KT 76A Transponder. 2 Alts. Exhaust and cyl Temps. Blue Leather with white and blue paintwork spats incl. £38,000 no VAT Contact 07802 400050 charlie@gwinearfarm.co.uk

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 55

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero CESSNA 120 1946

MX-7-180 MAULE 1991

ZLIN 526

BEAGLE PUP 150

This is a great example of the Cessna 120. 1946 2000 TT 550 on engine. Flys lovely. for more info please come and see for your self or phone me on 07545922794 or richard.flanagan@ gamstonflighttraining.co.uk

G-BTXT. Dec 91. A.R.Cert June 2011. TTAc and engine 1106 hrs. Lycoming 0-360-C1F. Hartzell c/s prop 436hrs. KX155, KI203 VOR, KR76a txp, KN64 DME, AvMap Geopilot Plus. Vortex Generators. £48,000 no VAT REDUCED TO £43,000 no VAT 01388 745126

Airframe 2250H, Aerobatic to 3500H, engine WM6III - 900H on condition. C of A until 21/05/11. Propeller Avia V503A at zero hours. Many spares available. £44,000 ono. Allan – 07921694967. Email - jasbaldry@hotmail.co.uk

Owner offers this Series 2- B121. PUP 150 (Lycoming 0-320). Fresh annual. Always maintained, delightful handling 150hp pup is a joy to fly. Leather seats, long range tanks, Cleveland disc brakes, Cambrai cover and four place intercom. £29500.00. Contact: 07961 408444– whiskybravo47@hotmail.com

MOONEY M20J

MAULE MXT-7-160 STAR ROCKET

1987. Private aircraft, second owner. Airframe and engine: TT 765 hrs, Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D, 200 hp, fuel injected. Interior 7/10, Exterior 9/10. Garmin Avionics. $ 137,000. Tel: +00 41 91210 3128/745.66.89 Email: aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

Only 160 Hrs TT A & E Aux. Tanks. Obs. Doors. Leather Int. GNS 430 etc. etc. Imaculate - as new and ready for work. Offers invited: 01635 291990 or 07802241646 email: info@villaguide.co.uk

BELLANCA 7GCAA CITABRIA

BASED AT KILKENNY AERODROME IRELAND, CURRENT UK ANNEX 2 CERTIFCATE OF AIRWORTHINESS, AIRFRAME 1840HRS SINCE NEW, ENGINE O-320 900 HRS SINCE 0 OVERHAUL, EXCELLENT COMPRESSIONS AND OIL PRESSURE, SENSENICH PROP, (CRUISE), MOGAS STC, KING 155 NAV/COM, INTERCOM, NARCO AT150 TRANSPONDER, VERY NICE WELL CARED FOR AIRCRAFT IN GOOD OVERALL CONDITION, IN REGULAR USE, VERY ECONOMICAL TO OPERATE SAME OWNER FOR 9 YEARS PRICE E40,000 CONTACT VINCENT VAUGHAN 00 353 86 8497878. DHC1 CHIPMUNK 1950

SUPERMARINE SPITfIRE MK26 80% SCALE REPLICA

Airframe: 117793 hours, Engine: 1078 hrs. C of A until June 2011. For quick sale reduced price £23,000

Contact Paul – 01502 678125 Mobile: 07745 775937 Email – paulaukland@hotmail.com

luscombe silvair 8e EqUIPMENT Sigtronics Intercom • Garmin GNC 300XL Moving Map Nav/Com • Garmin GTX 327 Transponder c/w mode C • Narco VOR • Direction Indicator • Turn Co-ordinator • Segmatex Artificial Horizon • Altimeter • Rate of Climb ENGINE AND AIRfRAME Engine Type: Continental C85-12F • Propeller Type: McCauley IB90/CM 70” x 51” • Airframe Time Approx. 3600 hours • Engine Time Approx. 1300 hours • Engine Time since new Millennium Cylinders fitted Approx. 220

£24000.00 ONO. EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTED HISTORY. CAMBRAI COVERS. CONTACT Carlton Green 07860 307165 Can be viewed by arrangement

2 Seats. First flew Feb 2007- 25 hours from new. Fitted with a 5.3 litre Jabiru 8 cylinder 180 hp engine. VNE 193 knots. MT 3 blade constant speed prop. Bendix King KY97A TSO Radio. Garmin GTX320A Transponder. Skymap colour GPS. In permit until April - new permit will be supplied. Many refinements to original spec including ground proximity radar. Max cruise 2,600 rpm at 24” 160 knots. Authentic RAF markings. Renowned aircraft builder Mike Hanley seriously involved in aircraft kit build. See flypast at http://vimeo.com/20056122 £150,000 for this top quality superb aircraft. Contact: Michael (owner) 01943 605500 or Chris (CFI) 07721 682184 or 0161 787 9034.

PA28-161 WARRIOR II

1988, TTA 8672, TTE only 288 Zerotimed rebuild 2006, Prop 288, Full king IFR, Trig Mode-S, Full repaint 2006, Public CoA ARC 24/2/2012, Ext 8/10, Int 7/10, Privately owned, Beautiful, Reliable aircraft. £44,950. mjw3136@mjwade.co.uk. 01280 860355.

1979 PIPER PA28-161 WARRIOR 11

1983 SLINGSBY fIREfLY T67M 160HP

Engine and prop just been overhauled TTAF 9795. Garmin 430, Garmi GTX 330 mode S transponder. ARC to 10/03/2011 Well maintained £49,950 NO VAT Contact: Paul Villa email paul@apollo-aviation.co.uk Tel 01273 440737

TTFN 4,240. Engine/Prop 740. Annual due April. 2xBecker Com. Becker ADF. Transponder. DME. £25,000 inc VAT YOU WONT FIND ONE CHEAPER Contact henrypelham@thruxtonairport.com Or call Western Air (Thruxton) Ltd 01264 773186.

56 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

G-CCZU - 2004

NVFR 4 seat DA40D with 2.0l Thielert Centurion JET A1 powerplant with FADEC. Extended baggage compartment. Total hours Airframe 1008 Engine 44 and Propeller 0. £109,000 + VAT Tel: +44 (0) 1777 839200 – Ext 203

Sukhoi Su-29 2 Seater

A superb example of the best aerobatic plane in the world. 495 TTSN but only 45 hrs since new engine, prop, new Sukhoi Lifetime, hoses, brakes, new paint, etc. Long-range fuel, smoke, lightweight electrics, tools, manuals etc. New EASA C of A. Only Euro 180,000 including European VAT. Also for sale the last Su-31 Sukhoi made, only 35 hours since new. Ultimate specification Contact: Email: richard.goode@russianaeros.com Tel: +44(0)1544 340120 PA-28 CHEROKEE 160HP

3100TT 220TTE. VOR/ILS/DME/ ADF. Reg G-LIZI. Featured Dec LOOP mag & LOOP TV & on afors.com. £23500. Contact Mark at sharpyjen@live.com

G-CEWN - 2008

Full IFR 4 seat 2.0l DA42 with G1000 Dual screen Garmin G1000. Long range tanks. De-icing. Oxygen. Platinum design package. Total hours AEP 190. €420,000 + VAT Tel: +44 (0) 1777 839200 – Ext 203

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero GLASTAR, TAILWHEEL

350 hrs on ENGINE, AIRFRAME, PROP, INSTRUMENTS all brand new. Engine Telydyne Cont. fuel injected 125 HP. Burns 22 litres per hr at 8,000 Ft at 105Kts cruise. Baggage, 250 lbs. Fuel load 95 litres. Short field performance. gmn2008@hotmail.com

1976 PA 28 151

Total time airframe, 13,200’. Engine, 131. Propeller, 1810. King radio & Narco Nav Equipment. A good economic Piper, 6/10 inside & out. Price: £33500 Tel: 0044 1392 364216 Email: info@airwaysflighttraining.co.uk AVIAMILANO f14 NIBBIO 180HP.

Rare 4-seat Falco. Stelio Frati design. 140kt economy cruise. Owned last 7+yrs. Always hangared. Work of Art, signed by artist. Much TLC applied. Asking - £39,500 NO VAT Email: robin.nash@sky.com Tel: +44 (0)7956 141833 PIPER CHEROKEE PA32-300 (6/7 SEATER)

1980 BEECH BARON BE58 G-OSDI

6/7 Seater Aircraft. Equipment: KN62A DME, KX165 Nav Comm, KX175B Nav Comm, KT76 Transponder, KR85 ADF, 2 VOR’s, 1 ILS, Skymap IIIC Colour GPS, 2 Altimeters. 6 Place Intercom, 6 Headsets. £58,000. Contact John Cheetham Tel: 07973-601140 Email: john. cheetham@jcinstruments.co.uk

TTSN only 2188, engines 546, Props 60, Shadin Fuel Computer. Colour WX Radar, Collins pro line avionics, Second Altimeter. Century IV Autopilot and Flight Director coupled to Trimble 2000GPS. red/white & grey leather seats. 6 place intercom. Sold with Mar 09 EASA CofA. JAR145 maintained. view UK.£85K NO VAT. jah@heard.demon.co.uk or arthur@eldridgeonline.com

G-KELV - 2005

G-CEZG - 2008

OE-fYB - 2008

Full IFR 4 seat DA42 1.7l Thielert Centurion Jet A1 powerplant with FADEC. Dual screen Garmin G1000 glass panel cockpit. Total hours AEP 470. Always hangared. Cover and Electric Tug included. £265,000 + VAT Tel: +44 (0) 1777 839200 – Ext 203

Full IFR 4 seat DA42 2.0l Thielert Centurion powerplant with FADEC. Dual screen Garmin G1000. De-icing. Long range tanks. Oxygen. Platinum design package. Total hours AEP 213 €420,000 + VAT Tel: +44 (0) 1777 839200 – Ext 203

Full IFR 4 seat DA42 2.0l Thierlert Centurion powerplant with FADEC. Dual screen Garmin G1000. Long range tanks. Extended baggage compartment. Total hours AEP 443. €350,000 Tel: +44 (0) 1777 839200 – Ext 203

EC-JKE - 2001

IFR 4 seat DA40-180 with Lycoming powerplant. MT 3 blade hydraulic constant speed propeller. Meticulously maintained. No damage history. Total hours Airframe 1730 Engine 1730 Propeller 42. €100,000 + VAT Tel: +44 (0) 1777 839200 – Ext 203 YAK 18T

JABIRU G-HINZ

EASA C of A, Termikas overhaul in 2007, long range fuel tanks in wings, Becker radio & mode S TXP. Excellent condition. YAK UK Ltd, 01767 651156 www.yakuk.com

Built and owned by an engineer. TT 500 hours. Excellent condition. Leather interior. Electric trim and panel-mount throttles. Icom radio, Garmin Mode S. Headsets and fitted Garmin 196. New permit. £20,000. Derek - 07860 208080.

1997 SUPER DECATHLON

ENSTROM f28A G-BONG

LOVINGLY MAINTAINED JABIRU UL 450

310 hrs TT. 85 hrs Prop. Fully Aerobatic with 180hp Fuel-Injected & C/S Prop. Annual just done. 1950lbs GW increase mod. £70K. Call Mark at Blue Yonder Aviation for full info 01787 224290.

TT 2975, good component times, engine 530 hrs, Fresh annual Nov 2010, Met Silver with red leather. Bargain at only $59,000 NO VAT. Tel 01978 780197 or 07780 700418

PIPER SENECA V

Low houred Seneca V for sale. Mint condition inside and out, Always Hangared. Full IR, De-icing kit, 3-bld props, a/c, Electric flaps, Prop sync, Executive club seating,Colour radar,TCAS, Aspin EFD 1000 ATP PFD, Garmin 530/430w, GTX330 S Mode, RCR 650D ADF, KR87, S-Tec 55X, ST-360 Alt/Alert, IHAS 8000 w/KMD 850, WX 500 Stormscope, DME 450, KN63, New annual with sale, Props have 6 years remaining time. Contact Richard Morgan- +44 (0) 1494 873 240 or rtm6@btinternet.com WANTED JODEL

DYN AERO MCR01 SPORTSTER

RV8

R912, PV50 prop, TT 270hrs Dynon EFIS, Garmin GPS295, GTX327, Icom IC-A200, Micro Avionics ANR headsets & intercom, Hyd disc brakes, new Cambrai cover, hangered. New permit July. Contact: Paul on 01309 641451 or 07786 055520

350 hrs TTAE. Superior 0360 FI 180 HP engine. Sensenich 82" FP prop. Cleared for Aeros. Garmin 296 GPS. Garmin GTX 328 TXP. Garmin SL40 Radio. EI fuel flow & fuel gauges. Adjustable rudder pedals. Leather seats. Will be sold with 1 years Permit. Always hangared. £72,995 Contact Don Sargant 07747535135 donsarg1@gmail.com

SLINGSBY T61f

1981 MODEL CESSNA 172P

RALLYE 235C

G-Reg. TT airframe 9562.01 (as at 16TH Sept 09). Engine 0-320-D2J (160 BHP @ 2700 rpm) total hours on this engine (as at 16th Sept 09) only 79.45. New Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC) on 10th June 2009. New paint and interior in 2005. VHF NAV/COM 1 – KX155A. VHF NAV/COM 2 – RT 385A. DME KN-64. 300 ADF R-546E. New in 2007 mode ‘S’ Transponder Garmin GTX 330. Four place Sigtronics I/C. Asking Price: £37.500. For more information please contact the CFI & Operations Manager: Tel: 07899917698. E-mail: charles.hales@gmail.com

Taildragger in a superb condition. A unique aircraft. Four seats. Year 1979. TTAF 1500 hrs. Engine Lycoming O.540, 80 hours SMOH, Prop new overhaul. Paint/exterior as new. Delivered with new annual. Price 59.000 EUR. si@sigurnes.is

Tired or broken Jodel wanted for refurbishment or rebuild Contact Gerry Robson07848040861 or 0166745148

MAULE M-6-235

Reg: G-MOUL Jun'90 T/T: 770 hrs 0-540-J1A5D Factory O/H Jun'01 Engine TSOH: 238 hrs Always hangared, prop O/H Jun'08, ARC June'09, well equipped £54,000 VAT paid E-mail: MKlinge1@aol.com Tel. 07831 612233

Venture motor glider, Very good condition, 1600cc Rollinson engine, Runs on AVGAS/MOGAS, Complete with new Annual inspection and ARC to 2011. Hours: engine 1009 hrs airframe 5186 hrs. £10,000. John Giddins - 078 99987537.

Build assist by Eric Bentley and beautiful paintwork by Murray Flint. 340 trouble free hours. priced at £23,000. For full details, more photo's and list of many extras, Email geoffrey.d.allen@btinternet.com

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 57

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero RALLYE MINERVA 220

REDUCE YOUR fLYING COSTS, fLY ON A PERMIT

PRACTAVIA SPRITE G-BCWH ROLLS ROYCE 0240 LICENSED ENGINE. ALL METAL AIRFRAME COROSION TREATED DURING BUILD. LOW HOURS AIRFRAME AND ENGINE. PANEL MOUNTED ICOM RADIO AND SKYMAP 111c. IMMACULATLEY FINISHED 2 SEATER TOURING AIRCRAFT, ALWAYS HANGARED. FULL FLIGHT TEST REPORTS BY WELL KNOWN BAE TEST PILOT ROLAND BEAUMONT. PERMIT UNTIL JUNE 2010. OWN AND FLY THIS UNIQUE AEROPLANE. £30,000. TEL: 01253 397637 SOCATA TOBAGO TB10

CESSNA 177RG

One owner! 1974 RG One owner since new. Twin KX 155 radios with twin VOR/ILS indicators. Four headsets. 1900 hours. Engine 770 hours. Based at Biggin Hill. Contact: Don Ward 01689853700 kestores@ntlworld.com

PULSAR 582 TAILWHEEL AIRCRAfT

BEECH BARON 95-B55

PA28-161

G-ELZY…1986…TTE 2130…TTAF 6880…engine build in 2004…KX155/GTX328/x1 King non G/S indicator…£20,000 + VAT with new Annual. Contact: Robert Wildeboer 01243 755064. rob.wildeboer@goodwood.com.

58 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

DORNIER DO27A

120hp Wilksch (WAM) engine, 120 hrs TTE&AF. May 2007 build. MT three blade C/S prop, glass panel, colour GPS two axis autopilot transponder mode C. 115/120 knots on 15/18 litres per hr. Permit May 2010. £60,000. 07860 558558.

$120 • HISTORICAL AIRCRAFT FOR SALE, PART EXCHANGE CONSIDERED • Dornier D27 A1 1958, are rare chance to purchase this historic aircraft. Lycoming Engine with less than 20 hours, Airframe no more than 720 hours. 10gals per hour cruising. New CAA aproval to fly. POA Dave Collier – 01487 843333, Dave@africanaviator.com

1993 AG - 5B GRUMMAN TIGER

TTAF 3385hrs. TTE 986 hrs. New ARC just completed including propeller and carburettor overhaul. Arc expires 12-07-2011. Aircraft bare metal resprayed, corrosion proofed and interior refurbished 2007 (see www. flymoore.co.uk). Airframe, engine and upholstery immaculate condition. IFR avionics. Based at Blackbushe for viewing. £49,000 Tel: Ian 07941 578182 email: ianjamesward@tiscali.co.uk

TTE 1853 (927 STOH), Prop 75 SOH. New ARC Oct 2009. Complete new avionics upgrade Nov 2006, Garmin GMA 340, GNS 430, GTX 330, GI 106A . King KR87 ADF, K1265 DME. Narco comm 2. 4 place intercom, music input. Complete interior upgrade 2007, two tone grey leather executive finish. Stunning condition, always hangared. Full maintenance manuals and Cambrai covers. Project near completion forces reluctant sale. Contact: Matt Colebrook on 07748 622842 or Email mattcolebrook@gmail.com

Rotax 582 engine, Built 1994 by the present owner, Cranfield award winner, TTAF 280hrs TTE 35hrs, Cruise 115mph @ 17L mogas, Sold with one years permit, Open to sensible offers. (thats sensible to me as well as you) Tony Fenn Tel 07885 709505

VANS RV 9A DIESEL

Robin aiRcRaft

Distributor since 1995. Now being manufactured by Finch Aircraft in the same factory as before at Dijon, the full range of new Robins is now available:

nEW aiRcRaft RanGE

DAUPHIN 400/120 classic Robin 2+ 2 trainer with proven , reliable O-235 120 hp Lycoming engine with 2400 hr TBO ECOFLYER 400/135 2+2 trainer with highly economical Thielert diesel engine, 18L / hour Jet A1 REGENT 400/180 classic 4 seat tourer with Lycoming engine , 120 kt cruise ECOFLYER 400/155 full 4 seat tourer, with the new Thielert 2.0S 155hp engine , 22L / hr jet A1 at 120 kts. Economy, performance, and style. PRESIDENT 500/200 wide-cabin,luxurious 4/5 seat tourer with injection Lycoming engine and c/s prop

NEW! A glass cockpit based on the Garmin 500 will be available from April as an option on all new Robins, or as a retro-fit. We also specialise in selling used Robins , see our website for current list

Year 1982, Total Time Since New: Airframe - 2530hrs, RH Engine 535hrs, LH Engine - 625hrs, Right Prop - 72hrs, Left Prop 72hrs. Last Annual - April 2010, New Exterior Paint, very good condition, always hangared. Avionics: King KY196 COM, King KY-196 COM, King KN 53 NAV, King KNS 80 NAV/RNAV, King KR87 ADF, King KT-76A Transponder. Priced to sell, For further details or to view please call us on +44 (0)1952 770189

MistRal aviation ltd contact: John Kistner tel: +44(0)1730 812008 fax: +44(0)1730 816237 or steve bailey for the EcoflYER - tel: +44 (0) 7973 691727 Email: sales@mistralaviation.co.uk www.mistralaviation.co.uk

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero PIPER PA-46-350P MIRAGE

N4173N, 2000, For Sale in Switzerland, Airframe TT: 1040, Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A, 1030 hours, Garmin Avionics, Hartzell HC-I3YR-1E three blades, constant speed. $ 540,000. Stefano Scossa – 0041 912103128 aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

ROBIN ATL

Serial Number 64 - Manufactured June 1986, Total time - 2708 hours, Engine time - 186 hours, CoA until 27/12/2010, Becker Radio with intercom / 2 headsets / Garmin GPS, 1QUE / Fuel consumption - 15 litres per hour. Barry Walker - 07836 779168, 01453 548387.

RALLYE 150SV

SA341G CIVILIAN GAZELLE HELICOPTER fOR SALE

Fully refurbished sporting Breitling sponsored livery. Please see the website www.GKHRE.co.uk for full details, price and contact.

Excellent Engine & Component Times For Further Info, Contact +44(0)1328 830060 or jeremy.a.taylor@btinternet.com

SLINGSBY fIREfLY

WYLES HARdY & cO Ley Hill Road, Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP3 0NW UK T: +44 (0)1442 832234 www.wyleshardy.com

1961 classic taildragger. Easy and delightful to fly. True 4 seater with excellent touring and short field capability. 120 kts cruise and over 5 hours endurance, Leather interior, Garmin Mode-S, Maintained in the UK, Engine & A/F 2580 TT, EASA ARC till July 2011, £22,000 ono. Martin - 01327 262219 or 07785 342842

Immaculate Slingsby T67 M Firefly Aerobatic Trainer . +6/-3G inverted Fuel and oil system 900 hours left on engine , 400 hours on Prop , King 65 Vhf , slaved HSI , DME, Xpdr Price £33,000 VAT paid Contact Guy Cowper 07962175090

PA28RT-201

1967 BEECHCRAfT MUSKETEER A23-24

1976-CESSNA f-172

G-LAOL… 1979… TTE1260… TTAF4440… TT prop 480 since 2006 o/haul…GNS430…GMA340… KMD250…GTX328…KX165…ADF650… KN64 x2 G/S indicators…STEC single axis A/P…£38,000 + VAT. Contact: Robert Wildeboer 01243 755064. rob.wildeboer@goodwood.com.

2884 A/F HRS, 60 HRS engine and prop, Colton paint in 2005, annual and ARC due August 2011, Skyforce moving map, Narco digital avionics. Phone James or Paul on 01328878809. For more details.

This aircraft is in exceptional condition and has benefited from a recent internal refurbishment and external repaint. Complete history back to build. Aircraft total time 4726 hours. Engine Lycoming 0-320H2AD 881 hours since overhaul. U.K registered. £45,000 Contact Simon Chance-01392362415 or simon.chance@iscavia.com

FOR SALE

Cirrus SR20 - G1. Y.O.M – 2003. Registration Number: G-CMLS. Engine: Teledyne Continental IO-360-ES. CAPS ballistic recovery system. Avidyne Flight Max EX 5000-C MFD slaved to GPS. Sandel SN338 EHSI Compass System. Garmin 340 Audio Selector Panel. 2 x Garmin GNS430 NAV/COM/GPS. S-Tec System Fifty-Five X Auto Pilot with ST360 Altitude Selector & Alert. Garmin GTX327 Mode ‘C’ Transponder. EMAX Engine & Fuel Monitoring on MFD Airframe & Engine Hours: 592 TT LOcAtiOn: South West England. OFFERS invitEd Tel: +44 (0)1442 832234 or email: gordon.wyles@wyleshardy.com

G-OODW…1984…TTE 542…TTAF 9790…engine build in 2009…Garmin 430/S-Tec, ADF650D/GTX328/KX155/KMA124/KN84D/x2 G/S ind, Annual due Jan 11, £28,000 + VAT. Contact: Robert Wildeboer 01243 755064. rob.wildeboer@goodwood.com. REIMS BUILT CESSNA f172N

PIPER PA18-C SUPER CUB 1952

Airframe only 2019 hours. Engine 1040 since 1993. Well equipped, Garmin audio panel and mode S transponder. Flies really well and in very good condition inside and out. Fresh annual/ARC issued at purchase. View aircraft North Essex. Email: ian@aeroservices.co.uk Tel: 01375 891165

Airframe 4160 hours Engine (C90-8F) 338 hours, 60 hours since top overhaul. Metal Prop. New Becker radio in 2010, twin wing tanks, new struts in 2006. Permit until end of June 2011. Seen at North Weald. £24,000 Call 01279 659989 http://www.lgc-pictures.co.uk/supercub.htm 1980 PIPER SARATOGA PA32

PIPER ARROW 200 11

Safe, reliable and economical, We have upgraded the interior, Exterior paint still glossy and in good order. JV was built in 1969 S/N 28-25572, A/F = 10414.43 Hrs, Engine 1119.88Hrs. Avionics - Com1 / GPS – Garmin GNC250, Com2/ Nav - Narco MK12D, ADF – King KR87, DME – King KN64, Transponder - Narco Mode ‘C’, The sale will include the ARC renewal and a fresh annual. Contact:- Roger Hawkes 07976-519263 Or Duncan Bennett 07866 – 458234.

RALLYE 100ST 1974

TT2864. ENG410. New ARC. Narco 810. TX, AT150. GPS55. Skyforce GPS. Prop Overhauled 2010. Price £9500. Contact 01371 856796 or mkaerosupport@btconnect.com

RALLE 150GT fOR SALE G-BGSA

TIGER MOTH

LAA Permit. Maintained to a high standard. Massive amount of restoration work undertaken. Becker radio/transponder. Electric starter. Wind driven generator. Further details. Marcus@innfrastructure. com. Tel 07900 244442.

LIGHT AIRCRAfT KIT fOR SALE

Bushcaddy L164 float or wheels. Kit comes with wheels,Extras-custom 30 gal tanks,sunroof,new senseneich prop,strobe lights. Kit needs Lycoming engine or superiour equivelent.,plus avionics.Everything included to build complete aircraft.Serious enquiries only please-£15,000 Contact 0044/7501140544 or 0044/7949175673

1974. TT 2715 A/F Engine 718. Prop 160. A very sound airplane. Always hangered. New C of A Feb 2011. All a/d’s complied with. King IFR. Electric trim and autopilot, factory corrosion proofed. £36,000 ono no VAT Contact Mr. P. Brunton 01970 612 567 (office), 01654 702248 (home). CHEROKEE

G-BMUD IS MODIFIED & CAA APPROVED FOR BANNER TOWING/PARACHUTE DISPLAYS. TTAF 5215. ENGINE 683. PROP 270. ARC UNTIL MAY 2012. STBD FUEL TANK 2005. FUEL TANK LININGS X 2 2005. CORROSION/REPAINTED 2005. COCKPIT CANOPY 2008. ELEVATORS 2008. FRONT SEAT BELTS 2009. AVIONICS 2/NAVCOMS. TRANSPONDER MODES A/C. ADF. EXTENSIVE BANNER EQUIPMENT. EXPERIENCED PILOTS IF REQUIRED PRICE £54,000 – 00 Contact MESCAL TAYLOR 07889 883906 E MAIL skyads1@tiscali.co.uk BOLKOW 207 D-EfTI

On Behalf of a Major Finance Company

PA28-181

CESSNA 182P BANNER TOWING AIRCRAfT 1973 5 SEATS EGNf

301T Turbo, Hangared, Fixed gear csp 154kt, Full king avionics and skymap 111c, IFR and airways equipped, auto pilot, 6 place oxygen and intercom, new Lycoming engine – 155hrs. New 3 blade hartzell variable pitch prop – 75hrs. £68,000 No VAT. 01226 790735

Socata Rallye MS892E-150 (1977). Airframe - total time 1329. Engine - 33 (since full overhaul). Prop - 33 (since new). New batter & exhaust. Always hangared (Bodmin). No damage history. ARC issued 23/02/2011. Bare metal respray 2007 Offers in the region of £30,000 (no VAT) Contact Rod Bellamy 07970270686 mailto:h1rnr@aol.com

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 59

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero GRUMMAN SUPER AA1

BEECH 55 BARON 95B55

150BHP upgrade! Only 2850hrs airframe and 380hrs factory zerotimed Lyc O-320E2G, 80hrs since factory o/h on Hoffman prop. 1500ft/min ROC, and 135 cruise @ 28L/Hour. Mark 01296 612316 or 07932 620039.

ROBIN DR 400/180 REGENT.

€ 142,500. Stefano Scossa – 0041 912103128 aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

D-IGCA, 1964, Airframe TT: 2500 hrs, Interior 9/10, Exterior - 9/10, Very well maintained aircraft, Valid ARC, 100 hrs on overhauled engines TCM IO-470's and engine accessories.

SLINGSBY fIREfLY T67M-MK2.

Price: £48,000, Robert –07737745604, 01666825962. r-mcphee@me.com ROCKWELL COMMANDER 114

Offers around £85,000. FREE HANGERAGE. FREE STRIP AVAILABLE. She is in exceptional condition and hangared 10 miles west of Salisbury on a private 1000 metre strip. Full ownership or 1/2 share, Engineer on site.10 hrs since complete engine overhaul. KFC200 flight director coupled to 3axis autopilot, NEW :-GSN430, SL30 navcom, GTX330 Smode transponder, GMA340 audio panel, EDM700, Leather seats. Oxygen, TT1560 hrs grahamdimmer@hotmail.com or 07836205010

LANCAIR 320

PA32 CHEROKEE SIX-260

TTAF 10900 Approx, Lycoming 0320-E2G, Mccauley 1C172/BTM7359, superb condition with no history of accident damage. £38,000 Contact: Grant Miles 07957 358908

G-EDYO, 1966 PA32 – 260 based at Compton Abbas and Alderney, Airframe 2810.3 Hours, Engine (Lycoming 0-540-EUB5), 710.1 Hours, Propeller, (3 blade Hartzel Scimiter blade type) 310.5 Hours, New Paint (bare metal repaint) 2002, New ARC 17 March 2011. Al Paton 07781 431406, 07774 625791, 01481 823639 al.paton@hotmail.com

PIPER PA-32 6XT

PIPER PA-46-350T MATRIX

PIPER PA32-300 CHEROKEE SIX

N-reg, 2008, Nice, privately owned aircraft. Airframe, Engine, Propeller Total Time: 240 hrs. Interior Tan leather, 9/10. Exterior, 9/10. No damage history. $636,000 Stefano Scossa - +41-91-2103128. aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

1978, G KNOW, TT Airframe 2811 Hours, TT Engine 10 Hours Since Rebuild, TT Prop 10 Hours From New, Brand New Hartzell Three bladed prop. King Avionics, full IFR fit. including Piper Autocontrol IIIC 3 Axis Autopilot, Cambrai Cover, External Power Lead, Tip Tanks (Fuel-84 US Gallons), Life Jackets, Electric Trim, Sun Screens. Club Seating, Cream Leather Seats with Blue Piping (New 2005). £73,000.00 Offers Invited, Vat Paid. Hangered at Stapleford Essex. George 00447904338864

PIPER PA-28R-201T TURBO ARROW III

2009 BUILD SPORTCRUISER PLANE fOR SALE

T7-NWS, 2004, Airframe 1020 hrs, TT: 1020 hours since new, Propeller Hartzell 3 bladed, TT: 1020 hrs, TSOH: 0 hrs, Beautiful Interior 10/10, $288,500 VAT free. Stefano Scossa - +41-91-2103128. aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

rockwell commander 112 (g-bdkw)

1969 PA23-250D AZTEC

Furtherstripad details and free flight on request. Loop adtrail216x20 1009:Layout 1 Tel :01473 620677, email john@jtjaklaschka.co.uk

7343 Airframe HRS 934 ENG HRS, De-ice, Good paint and interior, annual and ARC due FEB 2011. Garmin 430 & Mode “S” Xponder. Owner pilot for last 20 years. James or Paul on 01328878809, for more details.

HB-PMS, 1978, TT: 3500 hrs, TCM TSIO-360-FB TT: 600, Prop Hartz BHC-C2AF-1BF TT 3400, In good condition. No damage history. €43,800. Stefano Scossa – 0041 912103128 aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

BEECH 60 DUKE B

SLINGSBY fIREfLY T67M MKII (160HP)

D-INAZ, 1982, TT: 3600, Engines TSOH: 500/500, Props TSOH: 10/10, Interior Tan leather - 8/10, 6 seats, Garmin Avionics, $307,000. Stefano Scossa - +41-91-2103128. 20/10/09 10:05 Page 1 aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

2008 ACA CITABRIA AURORA

160 hours TT. 118hp Lycoming. Very Economical. Aerobatic +5/-2G. Full Gyro Panel. KMD150/SL30 NAVCOM/GTX328 MODE S TXPNDR. JPI Fuel Computer. Aileron Spades. CFP-2 Corrosion Protection Package. High Spec. Perfect Condition. £86,995 (No Vat). For more details and a full specification contact European Dealer, Blue Yonder Aviation Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 1787 224290 or mark@blueyonderaviation.co.uk

100 HP Rotax, analogue panel with Garmin 328 Mode S transponder, Large 695 GPS, BRS, Test Hours only, beautiful plane in white, blue and silver bargain at £78,600 inc VAT, ready for permit & to fly home. Call Ben on 0207 536 6356 for details, or see www.czechsportaircraft.co.uk 1970 CESSNA 172H REIMS

Year 1993, Total Time Since New: Airframe 4418hrs, Engine - 587hrs, Prop - 408hrs, Fresh Annual and all service bulletins/mods up to date Very good condition, Priced to sell. For further details or to view please call us on +44 (0)1952 770189.

For competitive aviation insurance... 60 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

Contact John Kistner – Mistral Aviation. 01730 812008. Sales@mistralaviation.co.uk

GRUNMAN AMERICAN AA-5A CHEETAH

Award winning immaculate beauty for sale following loss of medical. Injected Lycoming 160hp with 0 hours STOH. 250 hours TTAE. Overhauled completely in last year. Cruises at 200mph for 1,000 miles at 8 gph! Fully equipped panel. Comes with interchangeable wing tip extensions, cover, Permit to Fly, quantity of spares & more. Always hangared at Cranfield. Transition training available. Contact: Mafopp5@aol.com, or +44(0)1525 270067, +44(0)7836351553. £70,000 + VAT

• Commander 112, low wing, retractable, four seat tourer, excellent condition, built 1973, hours 2180, public transport category, It has an annual to December 2011. • Engine 200HP, fuel injected, 390 hours, propellor Hartzell variable pitch 390 hrs, 115-120 knots. • Range 700 nautical miles with two, 300 nautical miles with four. • Interior beige leather, much more capacious than Piper or Cessna, door both sides. • Owned owned Dec 2000 in full working order, easy to fly, dependable in VFR and IFR. Maintained locally since Aug 1993. • Full airways avionics, Bendix King KX 20 TSO COM/NAV, Bendix King KR 85 TSO ADF, Bendix King Skymap IIIc GPS, Garmin GTX 330 Mode S Transponder, Narco NS 800 RNAV, Sennheiser noise cancelling headsets. • Kept at Elmsett Airfield (EGST) 15 miles west of Ipswich in Suffolk.

Airframe - 5960 hours (in 22 years), engine - 390 hours since major overhaul (with a TBO of 1600hrs) OH, propeller - 360 hours since major overhaul (with a TBO of 750hrs) OH Date Feb09. Fully aerobatic. Bendix King avionics.

1988, Lycoming 0360-A3A, Sensenich 76EM 855-0-58, TTAE 2100 approx, Exterior: 8/10, Interior: 7/10, EASA C of A July 2009, New ARC Aug 2010, King Avionics, this aircraft looks nearly new inside and out and the asking price reflects the engine hours and would otherwise be considerably higher, engine has been extended to 2400 hrs, been repainted in 2006 when the wings and tail were re-covered and the wing spar mod also done. £54,000 No VAT.

TTAF 9285, recent prop overhaul, TTE 1090, Continental 0300D, Annual December 2010, Well equiped, reliable, good starter, Based Full Sutton York, £22,000 no VAT. Contact: Paul 07940576583

Hayward Aviation Ltd info@haywards.net Tel: 020 7902 7800

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero KITS OR READY BUILT

Runs on unleaded Mogas. Fuel injection engine. Fully approved in the UK. Basic insurance around 1k. Type ratings. Servicing and spares always available. Rotorway 162F. Brand new. Radio Fitted. Others available

Price £39,000 + VAT. SOUTHERN HELICOPTERS LTD. TEL 01279 870211 E-mail jon@rotorway.co.uk Website www.rotorway.co.uk 1982 PIPER ARCHER PA28-181

TTFN 7,315. Engine 2,100. New Annual. KY187.Com KX155 Nav/Com KNS 80 Area Nav/DME. KR 85 ADF. Garmin 155 GPS. Transponder Autopilot. Priced to sell - £27,000 inc VAT Contact henrypelham@thruxtonairport.com Or call Western Air (Thruxton) Ltd 01264 773186.

STEMME S10VT fOR SALE

Never in the field of aviation has so much been offered to so many for so little. Engine SMOH 589 hrs, Airframe 8379 hrs, Prop 224 hrs, Fatigue index 86, hangared at North Coates. Included is 1 RFD 4/6 person life raft + 1 McMurdo GPS PLB + 1 Garmin 196 GPS Lincolnshire. Contact - Charles 07760 729165

Built 2001, Serial No 11-063. Airframe 646 hours. Engine, Rotax 914 F2/S1 Turbo charged 236 hours. Propeller, Variable Pitch Factory serviced 7 hours. New ARC annual, type 3, 5 year service airframe and engine Completed 12/04/11 Asking £ 130,000 (new today 300,000 euro) Contact: John Bally Tel. OO44 (0) 1497 851605 E-mail: jbally@onetel.com

SORRELL HIPERBIPE SNS7

BOURNEMOUTH CIRRUS GROUP

Aerobatic/touring Biplane on LAA permit to April 2011. Fuel injected Lycoming IO360,Hartzell C/P prop. Christen inverted oil & full inverted fuel system. £21750. 01394 448231 or 07929666069

grouPs & sHares

SOCATA TB9

Four seat touring aircraft, Always hangared from new, Excellent engine condition, Current annual – Ark june. Lycoming 160hp engine, Fixed pitch sensenich propeller, 4660 aircraft hrs, 2323 engine hrs, Blue Velour interior, Full Panel, Narco Nav/com, Narco 8015 transponder encoder, Narco 890 DME, Spar 400 4 place intercom, Built in 1983, Offers around £26,000, More photos available on request. Contact David Hook on 07711 698 636 Email david@citsystems.net PIPER LANCE PA32RT

142kt Always hangared. New cream leather interior. Full IFR with GNS430. 6 place intercom. New 3 blade prop. Based in Sywell, Northants. £15,000 per 1/6 share. Finance available. Free conversion. Phone 07703583564 for a trial flight. More photo’s available on request mikeboutel@hotmail.co.uk

grouPs & sHares

A SCOTTISH AVIATION BULLDOG (G-CBCV)

Low Hours High Spec SR22. Active Non Equity Group. Contact- www.cirrushire.co.uk or 07721 399945/ 07980 981276

GROUP fLYING

Join a well run friendly group who enjoy flying the DA40 TDi. Stapleford based this aircraft ideally placed for European or UK trips. Full IFR equipment, auto pilot, a cruise of 130 knots. G-ZANY has excellent availability, a non-equity scheme, no capital outlay which is ideal for those flying 2+ hours a month, whether long distance touring, local flying or IMC training and discounted rates for required conversion training. Call Paul Ponting on 07803 174804. Email info@altairaviation.co.uk or see http://www.altairaviation.co.uk

YAK – 52 G-YAKT

¼ share in this superb warbird like aircraft based and hangered at White Waltham. £12,000 ono. Please contact David Blundell on 07767305532. SUPER L4 CUB

1/8 SHARE GLOSAIR AIRTOURER SUPER 150

PA-30 £17,000

Based in Dundee. 1940, TTAF/E1200hrs, Super Cub Fuel system 4.5 hrs endurance, solo from the front , Cleveland brakes/800 tyres, Comm KY96A, intercom P & S 1000., £43/hr wet with free landings, £80/month, Sixth shares at £3,700. Contact: sa300.duster@virgin.net or telephone 07836 589898

Based at Rochester, semi aerobatic two seat tourer with C/S prop, recent full respray & new leather. Bored with Cessnas and Pipers? Fly an aeroplane with character that always turns heads whenever you land. A very friendly group, on-line booking and good availability make this a viable alternative to renting. Engine fund. £75 PCM and £85 PH wet. 1/8 Share £3000. Contact Dave on 07711 189933

25% shares G-BAKJ. BRNAV/ GPS approach approved. Dream Panel. Leather interior refurbished. Engines under half life, hangared near London/. 160kts cruise. For full specifications and photos contact grahamcolover@aol.com or call 07768063289

fIfTH SHARE PA28 PIPER WARRIOR 11

1944 L-4J PIPER CUB

Based Old Buckenham, Norfolk. Zero timed eng/prop, EASA C of A, Hangared, E-Allocator booking, Full Panel plus auto pilot. Low Hrs and experienced pilots welcome, excellent availability. £150/mth + £70 wet. £8000. Call Ray on 07810502850 for viewing and trial flight.

Low-hour continental 65A engine, Sensenich propeller Brand new aluminium wings. USAF D-Day markings Permit renewed May ’09 White Waltham based. Two reluctant sellers due to relocation! £6500 per share 01886 880568

fIfTH SHARE PA28 PIPER WARRIOR 11

Based at TURWESTON, Northants. Well equipped. Excellent availability. Friendly, well organised group. £75 per hr wet, no monthly charge. £6,500. Call Tom on 07780687271 or tompft@aol.com

CHIPMUNK 1/6 SHARE £5,000

TB10 TOBAGO fOR SALE OR SHARES

£120/month; £80/hour wet (fuel and oil), Hangared at Oaksey Park, Full conversion training available, On-line booking system and good availability, Contact Ken on 07785 537603 or

180hp c/s Prop 402.5hrs TTA 3543 TTE 1380 Cambrai cover , New windscreen. Full IFR,KMA24 panel w/4 place intercom, KX 155(2) KN64 DME, KH87 ADF, Garmin GTX327 with Mode C Skymap II GPS £38,000 outright or shares at £7.000 currently based Fife(044) 01506 852296

email fraser@dalgowan.freeserve.co.uk

1/3RD SHARE Of PIPER TURBO ARROW G-BWMI

New engine. New prop. New paint job. New interior. New cover. Existing partners fly low hours. Based at Fairoaks Phone Steve: 07974 951430

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 61

Buy AND seLL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero 1/6TH SHARE

IMC equipped, recent ARC at Headcorn (Shenley Engineering), lovely to fly, currently hangared at Biggin, friendly group online booking. £4,750, engine fund visit www.triquetra.co.uk/bams or call John 07786 566477.

PA28 140 CHEROKEE

1/12th share in a fine PA28 140 Cherokee. Well equipped (IMC), good availability with web based booking. £2,000 per share £75 per month £70 per hour wet. Based Gloucester/ Kemble. 07595 373539 stephen.white2@btopenworld.com (Treasurer Gatti Flying Group)

MX-7-180 MAULE 1991

Based at Co. Durham, G-BTXT. Dec 91. A.R.Cert June 2011. TTAc and engine 1106 hrs. Lycoming 0-360C1F. Hartzell c/s prop 436hrs. KX155, KI203 VOR, KR76a txp, KN64 DME, AvMap Geopilot Plus. Vortex Generators. 1/4 share at £9,750 07801 184372

SHARE fOR SALE BASED WELLESBOURNE

BöLKOW 209 MONSUN

1/6th share available in well run group based in own hanger at Wellesbourne. 95 hrs TTAE with new full permit. Wilksch WAM 120 diesel engine, MT 3 blade C/S prop. Very economical 16ltrs hr JetA1 at 140 knts cruise. Well equipped for touring, Garmin GNS 430, Garmin VOR/ILS, Garnin mode c transponder, digital EMS. All fixed costs £60/month including home landings, and £35 pr hr wet. Contact: Mark Weaver 07801 126877 or Steve Arnold 07779 311769

Thruxton based two seat, semi aerobatic tourer. Excellent availability. Friendly well organised group. 1/5 shares (£4000) available. £70 pcm, £65 per hour wet. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ D-EGHW/, Jonathan - 01264 333606, jsb@jsblake.co.uk

NORTH WEALD BASED BEAGLE PUP 150

fOR SALE - 1/6TH SHARE IN THIS SUPERB MOTOR GLIDER.

ROBIN HR100/210 SAfARI

1/6th share available. £5300 ono. CofA completed Jan 2009. Well run group. See www.swiftflying.co.uk Contact Roger Hayes on 01285 851311 or 07860 257333

The glider is hangared at the York gliding club to the east of York. The engine was replaced relatively recently. She is in excellent condition, very well maintained and flies beautifully.Engine: 498 hours since zero hours replacement. Propeller: 238 hours since zero hours refurbishment. Airframe: 2830 hours since manufacture. Flying costs: £40.00 p.c.m. and £40.00 per Tacho Hour. Engine Off = Free, Availability is excellent! 1/6th Share - £6000. Contact David on 07917613220 or david@skipwithstation.com

£3,900, £80/month, £69/hour wet. Sixth of Robin Hr 100/210 Safari. London Fairoakes. 210hp Rolls Royce prepared Continental IO-360, All metal construction, four seater, large hold, IFR avionics – stable flight characteristics, Constant Speed Unit, 120 kt cruise, 10 Hr fuel, 1300 nm range, 480kg useful load, Inexpensive and practical tourer, small, well organised and friendly group, Google hr100 for details.

SYWELL BASED BEAGLE PUP 150

C150 CHEROKEE WARRIOR ARCHER CHEROKEE 6

1/6 th share available £5,100, Good availability, Friendly group, Hangared, Delight to fly this Historic Aircraft. Contact: Phil 01327830549 07794624509. e-mail: intermanxnorton@me.com

Wellesbourne Warwickshire, no capital Flying Club. No minimum daily or weekend hire, £40 per month, rates per hour, wet, fully inclusive, weekday/weekend, Cessna 150 Aerobat £79/£89, Cherokee 140 £89/£99, Warrior £99/£109, Archer £109/119, Cherokee 6 £189/£199. FREE BROCHURE 01789 470424 www.takeflightaviation.com

PIPER ARROW 2 1/5 SHARES

PA28 – 161 WARRIOR II

ROBIN DR400-160

2 1/5th shares for sale in friendly 1973 Piper Arrow 2 group based Denham. Fully IFR. £8000. Wet £80 per hr. More details at: http://n747mm.helihost.org/ad/ Contact 07956 282 940 or andrewflyboy1@aol.com

A fifth share available at £10,000 in this superb 1984 PA28 -161 Warrior II based and hangared at Humberside Airport. Only three other shareholders and operational costs are £84 per hour wet with no monthly standing order. Excellent condition rated at 9/10 inside and out. Contact Chris Dale on 07711 438999 or e-mail chris.dale@gbpom.co.uk

PIPER ARROW 200HP 1/6 SHARE – SUffOLK 3 Blade C/S Prop. Twin NS800 FM immune RNAV, Michel MX 170C Nav/ comm, Garmin 340 Comms Box,TXPDR GTX 327. Autopilot; 2 x Altimeter; 2x CDI/GS; Slaved DI, ADF, 4 place intercom; Two-tone leather interior. 4-man liferaft; two lifejackets, McMurdo Fastfind GPS ELB. Internet booking system. 815m grass airstrip. No hangarage or landing charges. One-sixth Share available £6,000.00. Hourly rate £90.00 wet : Monthly charge £97.00 (Mar 09). For details: Peter Tel +441284706222. email petespencer@kesdale.com

cloudmuncher@gmail.com MOONEY M20J

ROBIN REGENT

ROBIN 340 SHARE IN EAST SUSSEX

Be free from flying club restrictions: shares available in Mooney M20J hangared at Booker. Touring and day trips in style at 150kts, fully equipped. See www.zitair.aviators.net

1/6th shares available in friendly group operating a Robin Regent out of Spilsted Farm Strip, E Sussex. GMIFF built 1991; 1568 TTAF; 828 TTE; always hangared; no outstanding ADs; full IMC kit; Skymap. £90/mth fixed; £80/hr. Call: John on 01424 845400 or Roger on 01424 838403

A one sixth share, well equipped with very low engine hours & good availability. Private strip & hangar in East Sussex £95pm £60ph wet. £4200, Non-equity share considered. Contact Bryan 01444 892841 BJ@F2S.COM or Geoff 01323 833641

HALf SHARE IN SPORTCRUISER

GRUMMAN TIGER

PIPER 28R -180

Two 1/6th Shares. Hangared at Headcorn, IMC equipped, maintenance by Shenley Engineering, June completed annual, lovely to fly, great tourer, friendly group, online booking, £4,750, engine fund Contact: www.triquetra.co.uk/ bams or call John 07786 566477.

Based Swanborough Farm, Lewes, East Sussex. VP Woodcomp Prop, 912ULS, Dynon, Leather interior, 154 hours, £32,000 Phone David Scott 01825 733000

Swindon based Grumman Tiger share for sale. 1/5 share in AA5B based at Draycott Farm. £7000.00. £65/hr wet. £100/month. ADF, RNAV, Mode S. May consider nonequity membership. Contact Tony Tel: 01635 200431. tony@redshiftdesign.co.uk

Kirknewton/Edinburgh Based. Always Hangered. 3 Blade Prop 180bhp. Engine 653 hours. Fully equipped. 1/4 Share Available. New C of A £7500 Tel 07836 379711 Email: biodun@sfg.co.uk

SPORTSCRUISER

1/6 SHARE AUSTER D4/108

EV97 EUROSTAR

2 shares available in a group of 5. Superbly equipped new aircraft arriving April 2010. £16k per share, £6k of which deferred for 2 yrs. £70 p/mth £45 per hr wet. Call Mike on 01234 355149 / 07725 560809

£3,700, £55 /month, £35 /hour wet, Tenth Share of G-CFEE EV97 Eurostar, Microlight hangared at Redhill. Micro/ NPPL/PPL licenses, All metal, 2 seater with luggage shelf, 3 blade carbon prop, 100 mph cruise, 3.5 Hr fuel capacity

Lycoming O-235, Classic taildragger, under-utilised, hangared Bourne Park, Andover, long-established group, includes instructor, groupmaintained, on LAA Permit to Fly, £2,900, £55 per month, £45 per hour wet. Phone Robin on 0118 978 1821

188kg useful load, Inexpensive and practical sport plane in immaculate condition, low hrs engine and maintenance fund accumulated, Nimble and responsive handling, class leading performance, unobscured vision.

SOCATA TB10 SHARE LIVERPOOL

SHARES IN DR400 180

SUPER L4 CUB

MOONEY M20J

Hangared at Liverpool. Perfect 4(5) place touring 180hp gives 120kts at 35Lph. 2 Bendix King NAV/ COMM with Glideslope, DME, ADF and 2-axis autopilot. 1/12 share £3,500. £120pcm £75p/h. Airframe 2846 hours. Engine 1744 hours inc healthy engine cash fund standing at £15,000. Friendly, well run and established group with excellent availability. Call Alan 07976 667807. www.deltaecho.co.uk

DR400 group based at Kemble / Cotswold Airport. The aircraft was factory refurbished in 1996 and the engine was replaced in 2007 and has since flown 400 hours. Availability is good and there is a web based booking system. The hourly rate is £80 wet. Cruises at 120kts, colour moving map. David - 07711 819248

Be free from flying club restrictions: shares available in Mooney M20J hangared at Booker. Touring and day trips in style at 150kts, fully equipped. See www.zitair.aviators.net

62 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

cloudmuncher@gmail.com

Insurance

Aircraft Grouping

Aircraft Dealerships and Parts

Clubs and schools

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

arage Hang ailable av now ll for ca s price

www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 63

Clubs and schools

Pilot shops West London Aero Club

Interiors

TWIN TRAINING AVAILABLE Trial Lessons/Vouchers available PPL – IMC – TAILWHEEL – AEROS – NIGHT Ground School available daily, including evenings FIC Training Aircraft parking and hangarage EASA 145 Engineering on site UK leader in Light Aircraft Silencers Historic Club House NPPL available

01628 823272 www.wlac.co.uk

White Waltham Airfield, Maidenhead, M4 Junction 8/9, M40 Junction 4

engineering

Avionics

Tel: 01327 831239 Fax: 01327 831240 Email: nandbengineering@btconnect.com

Avionics MODE S IS HERE TRIG and FUNKWERK units in stock for immediate dispatch.

www.airworlduk.com

Aircraft Kits

Microlight services Fly in to Galaxy Microlights... UK ULPower Dealership

07841 614577

Galaxy Microlights www.galaxymicrolights.co.uk

hanger Doors

Galaxy Microlights is a Wiltshire based small microlight aircraft repair and service centre providing the following services: ● Permit inspections ● Check flights ● Repairs ● Maintenance ● Fabric Covering & Paint Spraying ● Micro Avionics Mark Jones

Call us now for a competitive quote

mark@galaxymicrolights.co.uk

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

Batteries

Premium Aircraft Batteries and Chargers Call AQS 02086 062950 64 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

N & B Engineering Ltd 3D Milling, CNC Turning & Milling Established supplier to: Aircraft restorers, Marine Industry, F1 Racing teams and The MOD. Parts produced from samples or drawings and are of the highest quality and precision. Full 3D CAD/CAM Software. CMM Inspection available.

Aircraft Covers

hangers HANGARAGE IN OXfORDSHIRE

Maintenance & Propeller Overhaul

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

Tailwheel Conversions

Excellent hangarage available in North Moreton near Wallingford on beautiful 750 metre level grass strip. Contact Peter Vacher, 01235 817554 or pvacher@aol.com

WE’VE CREATED SOMEWHERE SPECIAL FOR YOU TO LAND... WWW.LOOPTV.AERO LOOPTV is the best place to land for your aviation ﬁlms, video, product tests, interviews and show reports. Upload your own videos online and whilst you’re there comment or rate on someone else’s!

WHILST YOU’RE THERE LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS... JUST REGISTER, LOGIN AND COMMENT! www.loop.ae ro MAY 2011 LOOP 65

INSTANTEXPERT EXPERT

First of the Pegasus Quik series, the 912S, is a fast, comfortable all-rounder

+PRE-OWNED AIRCRAFT

PEGASUS QUIK P&M’s Quik flex-wing microlight range has been a runaway success with 350 sold in UK alone + P& M Q U I K FA C T S

AME a current successful UK manufacturer of light aircraft... it’s a struggle but here’s the company we should all know: P&M. Based in Rochdale, Lancs, P&M produces a full range of flex-wing microlights, is the UK agent for Flight Design’s fixed-wing microlight, and also sells a single-seat deregulated flex-wing. P&M launched the first of the Quik range +HISTORY

+ 2003 P&M created as a company following the merger of Pegasus Aviation and Mainair Sports, two of the UK’s top microlight makers + 2003 P&M Quik launched, with either 80hp Rotax 912 or 100hp 912S engine + 2006 P&M Quik GT450 launched with bigger wing to take 41kg extra weight, including seat loads of 110kg + 2007 Richard Meredith-Hardy and blind Miles Barber fly GT450 to Australia + 2008 QuikR launched with 100mph cruise due to low drag wing

PHOTO www.airteamimges.com

+ In production since 2006 + Rotax four-stroke engines + Two seat open cockpit + Fastest flex-wing microlight when launched + 350 of all models on UK register; 154 of which are the basic Quik in 2003, the first of a new generation of flexwing microlights with a genuine 80-100mph cruise, agile handling and a level of equipment unseen before on such aircraft. Since then, P&M has launched two more Quik models, the GT450 and QuikR (nice pun in the name). The GT450 has a slightly higher max weight at 450kg over the Quik’s 409kg, while the QuikR has a new design on the top of the wing for sheer ultimate speed.

+CHECKS

Wing fabric Dacron wing fabric degrades in sunlight and has to be tested using a special tool – and replaced if it fails Brakes Early Quiks had drum brakes which are inferior to later discs Front suspension P&M improved front suspension on later models. Worth converting Engine Rotax engine reliable when maintained and used properly. Needs to reach correct operating temp. Sprag clutch can cause issues

! ! !

Ian MacAdam flying an original 2003 Quik 66 LOOP MAY 2011 www.loop.aero

+OWNING

Ian MacAdam runs a microlight school at Damyn’s Hall, Essex and has been flying Quiks for years. I do all my own maintenance apart from the Rotax 912. I change the oil, coolant, plugs, and can balance the carbs... but after that it’s time to call Gary at Airmasters. The wing has to be stripped and inspected every 4 years. I do that then it’s signed off by an inspector. The annual sail test is the Bettsometer. It sticks a needle though the sail and pulls in vertical and lateral directions. If it starts to tear before the limit, then you will need to replace the sail – about £2750-£3000. The sail deteriorates more quickly in sunlight so I put my machine back in the hangar or in the shade after every flight. Buy a secondhand machine with a full annual permit, and get a wing cover from Martin Symms in Wales for about £200. www.learn-to-fly.co.uk

+FOR SALE

Quik 912 1/4 share £4850

Based Long Marston, 170hr, helmets, suits. Disc brakes & video camera. www.afors.co.uk

QuikR £29,500

New with recond engine (save £3500). Analogue instruments, choice of wing & trike colours. www.gsaviation.co.uk

+PROS AND CONS

PROS

+ Open cockpit freedom + Proven airframe and powerplant + Good performance + Good climb performance + Established company with lots of experience, plus dealer network

+THE DATA

P&M QUIK 912S Max level speed 105mph Cruise speed 80mph Climb rate 1200ft/min Stall speed 37mph Engine Rotax 912S producing 100hp driving 3-blade Warp Drive prop Fuel burn 16 l/hr @ 80mph Wingspan 8.35m Height 3.737m Max weight 409kg Useful load 203kg Fuel capacity 47 litres Seats 2 (max pilot/ pax weight 200kg) Base price £33,000 Manufacturer P&M Aviation Unit B, Crawford St Rochdale Lancs OL165NU www.pmaviation.com +LOOP SCORE

Running costs Durability Performance Reliability Handling TOTAL SCORE

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 18/25

+OR THIS...

AirCreation Tanarg www.flylight.co.uk

CONS

+ Open to weather - need full gear on cold days + Controls work ‘other way’ to fixed wing + In demand, few for sale

Thruster T600N

£30,000 www.thruster.co.uk

NEW Bose A20 Aviation Headset ®

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Caseright Ltd. Turweston Airﬁeld 01280 841 111

Heli-Air Ltd. Wycombe Air Park 01494 451 111

Global Aviation + Piper Parts Ltd. Shoreham Airport 08452 419 865

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11-04-11 10:37