LOOP October 2011

MODE S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIG CHANGEOVER

+ WAC 2011 Special report + ELEPHANTS! Autogyro in Africa + EU IFR New plans explained + OCTOBER 2011 ISSUE 72 £3.40

F R E S H A I R FO R F LY I N G

+ S P E C I A L I N N O VAT I O N I S S U E +

13 AIRCRAFT TO CHANGE THE WORLD Take a peek into the future and see the aircraft that will revolutionise flying

INCLUDING Solar Impulse, Pipistrel, Lisa, e-Go, Virgin Galactic, and many more...

TECH NEWS FEST ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT BLITZ MPG TARGETS

+ DIESEL Cessna going for Jet-A + FLIGHT DESIGN C4 unleaded + ROTARY Electric heli! +

Your Glass Cockpit, Your Way.

1000 PRO PFD

1000 MFD

European STCs are currently available for the most popular GA aircraft. Contact your Aspen Avionics dealer or visit www.aspenavionics.com/approvals for complete approval details.

E VOLU TION 2000 PACK AGE Versatile and flexible, the 1000 Pro PFD (Primary Flight Display) paired with the 1000 MFD (Multi-Function Flight Display) gives you the industry's best value in EFIS technology.

The Pro PFD is a solid-state "six-pack" replacement for mechanical flight instruments featuring an electronic HSI with flight plan overlay. The 1000 MFD expands your glass panel with advanced features such as high resolution digital moving map, terrain and obstacle awareness, traffic, and more.

This pair also delivers the unmatched safety and confidence of full PFD reversion mode. One push of the MFD's REV button converts the MFD display into an identical PFD backup right in your primary instrument scan.

Available in one, two, or three displays configurations, the flexible Aspen Evolution system is designed and built to be easy to install, easy to use and easy to own.

See Evolution Flight Displays in aircraft just like yours at www.aspenavionics.com/ customergallery

EVOLUTION 1000 PRO PFD

All content Copyright 2010-2011 Aspen Avionics Inc. ”Aspen Avionics,” “Evolution,” and the Aspen Avionics aircraft logo are trademarks of Aspen Avionics Inc. All rights reserved.

EVOLUTION 1500 PACKAGE

EVOLUTION 2500 PACKAGE

www.aspenavionics.com

CONTENTS

#72

OCTOBER 2011

MODE S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIG CHANGEOVER

+WELCOME TO LOOP

WE have got used to the greatest strides in aviation innovation coming – unfortunately – in times of war, when the best and brightest in aero design shared a common goal, and by hook or crook, found resources to do it.

We may not be at war, but sometimes being a pilot it sure feels like it, with pressures coming from all sides. So is it any wonder that as fuel prices

+ WAC 2011 Special report + ELEPHANTS! Autogyro in Africa + EU IFR New plans explained + OCTOBER 2011 ISSUE 71 £3.40

soar, regulations tighten, and economies wheeze, we are in a time of unprecedented peacetime progress in aircraft design?

This issue is a special dedicated to the best and brightest new ideas in flying, gathering some of the most exciting new designs being worked on that will keep GA afloat for decades to come.

Read on and keep your hopes high, as our future is very bright.

F R E S H A I R FO R F LY I N G

+ S P E C I A L I N N O VAT I O N I S S U E +

13 AIRCRAFT TO CHANGE THE WORLD Take a peek into the future and see the aircraft that will revolutionise flying

INCLUDING Solar Impulse, Pipistrel, Lisa, e-Go, Virgin Galactic, and many more...

TECH NEWS FEST ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT BLITZ MPG TARGETS

+ DIESEL Cessna going for Jet-A + FLIGHT DESIGN C4 unleaded + ROTARY Electric heli! +

+LOOP PEOPLE

22

COVER STORY From supersonic to supergreen – 13 aircraft that can help change the world +FLIGHTCLUB YOUNG OR OLD, YOU’RE WELCOME flightCLUBHANGARCHAT

a Afric Out toT SCHO OL +ON tOUr

africa

flightCLUBFLIGH

his home to fly round Us YoUr wasnEWs. Charles Stewart held a life-long dream thesEnD go to... www.loop.aero going challengeEVEnt Africa. Little did he know what My firstcontinent, solo jiM cripps of his many adventures… to entail. Here he talks through some

who Jim Cripps date 31st August 1986 hours Instructor W. Neilson, when elephants and planes don’t but I had 13 (!) instructors. soloed 23 hours now 396 where we got to the As soon East as Most went Midlands commerical, originally from aIrcraft mix: shortly before a tour AM Cessna 152 but one fell and we cutcool nice, his Atlantic head onSea a 152’s step before we operator left a Cessna 210 Zambia, now living in flew (oops!). got our power back, but LOOP’s mastertofh E V i t a L s a bull elephant twisted the UK, and always + letters, Jim Cripps Eventually, and then we got mist, sitting at the tail and removed ‘only’ wanted to do travel Africa about 15ft, so we had to be I spot a one wing. Despite fatigue, – it’s on my life list! very cautious. to take off again and Jim Anderson, ew with EvErI flsince lowish pass we had my wartime The diversion gave us fuel extensive with everything the machine to higher pilot with a great when going boyhood, like someonlywhere we saw canoverget but Iwho flungwas great clockwork about I50ft problems, the and tied up. ground experience and I returned myself off a hillinclutching me. works so houses doing road guyswith at the end of the had some tech issues to Earth traverse on the trip with to have big smile a long length we wererunway when whoosh We ofwas plywood toadiscover landed on my picked the run east towards face onwe The route and ridge... feeling the to briefly 10ft feel the thrill middle of a restrictedshot upwards, with the the of I tall. in when it would The vSI the lines of places only downer along flight, wasat least I wanted for toppingBotswana, off the just mine zone, to be able to that the scale, diamond out to shut off, and by refuse we wouldfly.

Tower didcivilisation Byknew my 40s, I out hadof, from not say in at 3000 done feet. engine As I waited could“well280km the and distrusted the fuel done” now and in get like I’d some into heard gliding but it was Luckily, I for my stomach to catch cApE TOWN TO NAiRObi into Zambia and on telldirections. friends – no sciencethemany gauge up too – a camping other successful see old to start actually cheaper Tanzania. the local language with me speak I asked the girl THE initial journey plan soloists. it. to learn if on the side let us see light Maybe to landing to flybehind powered From Tanzania the talk to the she was spluttering! aircraft, was ablemy so good! alright. soof was too was to fly from Cape lack what was left, vital the of exactly Because route turns north west I thus commenced training and buy some fuel“That was great!” she foreman Town in South Africa to ranges and terrain (no using an R44, as My first flight with worth avgas at East Midlands afterbeamed with a broad given the hours’ a and Hurn.

– three Nairobi in Kenya travelling into Burundi and Rwanda having passenger we were flying. Meanwhile, planned) and however was first solo a before turning East back My first Trouble smile on her face. “Damn radio and headsets at East some bartering. through Namibia, in turbines very different hours our too few kettle of fish.was adrenaline 3hr in the into Tanzania and then onMidlands summer was, our destination of junkie,” I were also failing, we can’t Botswana, Zambia, I had persuaded happy, to keep this very ‘86 turned to Kenya. outinsurers thought. The rest of to be away!

10mins Tanzania, Burundi and it’s so hot, gyro – adelightful plumped fora anon girl I knewattowhat be I trip was very bumpytheclimb because fuel which I dropped Charles and Jim are event.we off landed the We Rwanda enroute – some my passenger. We started but Spanish-built and I’m burning brand proverbial fatnew otherwise incident free instructor was our destination, thought of the most spectacular raising funds to help and ELA Aviacion ELA 07R our takeoff can’t afford. Eventually, I Iand run into wind up the Cessna quickly realised itmy landing was a greaser. and challenging terrain in educate children in on lined which –but spot a lowish pass where justwe as I lifted off –villageAs thatautogyro.

– for the girl? beautiful long Africa, with the charity an abandoned was all Africa.

Well I can traverse the ridge... suddenly in South Africa shifted We started violently African Community runway and took off for a into90 degrees vague walking after thanking me for a within luckily, The first leg of the just for the engine to start headed straight and greatly couple and of circuits.

Outreach. wonderful experience she of the Purros lodge It was distance journey would be up to we cameincreased When spluttering! We just make it in velocity.

Namibia.

It costs ACO just late in the evening and ridge thatWham!where turned we planned to stay. the west coast of South a huge We lurched during young to a good-lookingover, and down to a luckycrossing a the chop hadthe centreviolently hunk with a flash for-us village to get more After a walk, Africa to the north west £25 per year to put diedthermal of through towards runs the some fresh away leading sports car who had turned Phew. a to being which I spotted corner of Namibia before child through school, beautifully control tower. fuel. country,todue thesmooth Much improving lodge immeasurably the up, dung, heading and who after giving That brought it’s own elephant turning east and heaving of we couldn’t and highflight. the controls hotI was It was like got its life chances. You can back to methe on rails a dirty look whisked her drove me owner as into Botswana. us back on So I suggested lift. drama: the village fuel stop line, but we get any Jim I that away. A few lessons were the circuit gyro after cautioning From Botswana the plan sponsor Charles and sped around heading to the coast. weren’t climbing and were through their website. learnt that day! was heads north east

AI BOYHOOD DREAM

+new PiLOt

konor brac her-walsh

From guitar lesson to flying w w w.l o o p.a e ro 3 8 LO O P o cto b e r 2 0 1 1

AS WE all know becoming a pilot is not just hard work and pretty expensive, it’s also a supreme test of determination – especially when young and there are so many other things grabbing

your attention such as studying and exams.

The superb BMAA Bursary

So, huge congratulations to Dorset teenager Konor Bracher-Walsh, who at just 16 has won out ahead of competition from across the UK to be awarded a bursary from the British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) to attain his pilot’s licence.

will see Konor given backing

Konor trains at the splendid Compton Abbas in Dorset and so far has been funding his National Private Pilot’s Licence for Microlights partly through teaching guitar to students at his school.

John Keep, Konor’s flying instructor at Compton, said:

throughout his flight training

lesson

“He is very enthusiastic about all aspects of aviation and is a pleasure to teach. I think he hugely deserving of his awardis which will help him achieve his dream of becoming a commercial and aerobatic pilot.. He will make a very good young pilot.”

The BMAA remarked on Konor’s obvious enthusiasm’ for microlighting, and have even asked him to help them promote the sport to other young people. It said: “The standard of the applicants was outstanding. Most had started their formal training and were paying for it by working for airfields and microlight schools.

All showed great enthusiasm and had plenty of ideas of how to encourage more young people into flying.”

To complete the glowing reports, Compton Abbas add: “We are delighted to have Konor here. He perfectly illustrates that with a hard work, anything is possible!”

+inside tip

Buying your own equipment isn’t cheap, so when it comes to getting yourself a headset, make sure it’s right for you.

comfort is king

AT SoME stage during or after training, you’ll need buy your own headset, but before you do there’s a couple of things to learn.

Comfort is very important, so weight matters a lot: the lighter the headset the more comfortable it is. But, if comes with

smaller (and therefore lighter) earcups it might not have hearing protection in cockpits. older sets often rely on ‘head clamping’ for soundproofing, which can be uncomfortable after a while. So before you buy a set, see if you can borrow one to use for an hour – much better than trying one on in a shop.

w w w.l o o p.a e ro o cto b e r 2 0 1 1 LO O P 45

37-47 Just how dramatic can a flight around Africa in an autogyro be?

This, and the usual events, advice, and tales from pilots old and new

4 AND THE WINNER IS...

So who won the $1.35m biggest prize in GA flying?

16 GEAR: SENNHEISER S1 TEST Phil O’Donoghue tests the newest ANR set and is mighty impressed

6 CESSNA TO GO DIESEL The daddy of GA says its top priority is readying for post-avgas

18 GEAR: NEW KIT Garmin’s newest pair of handheld GPS, and more IFD540 details

7 FLIGHT DESIGN C4 ENGINE One of the most exciting new aircraft on the way makes progress

20 GEAR: MODE S SPECIAL They hows and whys of the major change you need to know in 2012

9 BOB DAVY What can be learned from the Reno Air Race tragedy?

22 LOOP SPECIAL REPORT Aircraft debuting new tech and principles we will all benefit from

11 TIMO SCHUBERT A look at the major changes being outlined by EASA to ratings

32 AEROS WITH ALAN: WAC Alan’s report on the 2011 world Aerobatics Championships, in Italy

12 INCOMING What’s got your goat this month?

Fuel prices, for one. And AICs

58 INSTANT EXPERT Cessna’s 150/152 – training stalwarts, and great private buys

TIMO SCHUBERT A keen pilot, Timo is a former EASA man who now helps guide companies and organisations in the EU. He writes about new EASA licensing regulations.

CHRIS WILSON Chris is our man to talk to about marketing and classified ads. Heartbroken at England’s Rugby World Cup loss, it looks like he might defect to US football.

NICK HEARD Itching to get his hands on one of the new Boeing 747-8 Superjumbos, Nick turns his attention to the difference a well-managed transponder makes to your flying.

FRONTEND

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

N E W S W I R E AOPA CHINA MEET MORE encouraging signs of progress for GA in China, with the first meeting of the nation’s AOPA branch in Beijing.

PIPISTREL SCOOP GA’S BIGGEST EVER PRIZE WITH THE ELECTRIC G4 N E X T- G E N F LY I N G

NASA and Google back challenge to speed development of next-gen flight

I

T SAW the leading lights in the design of the aircraft of tomorrow all gather to go head-to-head, not just for the good of the planet and the future of aviation – but for some cold hard cash.

At Sonoma Airport in California, under the watchful eye of backers from NASA and Google (including co-founder Larry Page), a field of engineers from companies and universities set out to snag a $1.35m first prize for setting new standards in clean flying, in the CAFÉ Green Flight Challenge.

After a series of rigorous tests benchmarked

against seriously high standards, and under the caveat that all the aircraft have to be usable in the real world by normal pilots, Slovenia’s Pipistrel won with its innovative four-seat twin-fuselage single-engine Taurus G4.

Fitted with a single 145kW (195hp) liquid-cooled electric engine, and seating two occupants and ballast to represent two more, the G4 achieved an equivalent fuel efficiency of nearly 400 passenger-miles per gallon – more than double the minimum required target, and 5-10times more efficient than avgas engines – at a 107mph average speed.

TCE S A L P 1

The Pipistrel team celebrating the $1.35m prize for producing the electric G4. An aircraft that can travel nearly 400pmpg – four times better than a new Boeing 787!

4 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

The G4 took first ahead of fellow electric design eGenius, and the petrolpowered Phoenix in third.

It uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and the project leader for Team Pipistrel-USA, Jack Langelaan, said: “This has been incredible progress over three years. Together we have seen that electric power is a beautiful way to power airplanes. I pay about eight cents for a kilowatt-hour of electricity, which means it costs around $7 to fly the Taurus G4 for over two hours.

“Compare that with the cost and environmental impact of two-hours of aviation gasoline for a fourseat airplane.”

He highlighted the amazing progress made in electric aviation, from the historic flight of the Electraflyer at Oshkosh in 2008 – single-seat, 70mph, around 40-minutes max duration – to the range, pace, and payload of the Taurus and eGenius just three years later.

“We are witnessing and participating in the birth of personal air travel that is both affordable and truly green,” he added.

Joe Parish, NASA’s acting Chief Technologist, said: “Today we’ve shown that electric aircraft have moved beyond science fiction and are now in practice.” eGenius, which took the second prize of $120,000,

also used electric power and also neared the hugely impressive 400pmpg mark, and won a secondary $10,000 Lindbergh Prize award for being the quietest aircraft in the competition (see box).

The Phoenix motor glider, which came third, used a traditional petrol-powered Rotax engine. Meanwhile there was heartbreak in the Embry-Riddle camp, after a problem with its fitted airframe parachute meant they had to withdraw.

IS GOOGLE BOSS’S SEARCH OVER? GOOGLE’S co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have their own customised Boeing 767 to fly around in,

NEW KENT TMZs

WIND farms off the Kent coast have their own new TMZs, ‘London Array’ and ‘Thanet’, live from mid-November.

OLYMPIC TRIAL

HELP stress test the London Olympic airspace plans by filing a test flightplan on November 12. See olympics. airspacesafety.com/downloads

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO...

www.loop.aero

5 MINUTE READ...

Get a quick fact fix...

as well as some Gulfstream Vs, and who knows what other aircraft at their disposal. But is Page about get into GA? Google backed the CAFÉ Challenge, and Page – reckoned to have a bob or two – made sure he didn’t miss the chance to see the contestants personally.

Page is a fan of electric power for vehicles, and is an investor in the Tesla electric car project.

He followed the CAFÉ Challenge well before Google became officially involved, and has visited Pipistrel’s Slovenian HQ. He said: “I’d like to buy one if there was one available.”

For you, Larry, there just might be.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH “We will go from battery-powered flight to supersonic electric flight in one decade....”

Jack Langelaan, leader of the Pipistrel USA team, after winning the $1.35m first prize in the NASA -Google CAFÉ Green Flight Challenge in September

KEEP IT DOWN!

A quiet success

Below: The electric eGenius in flight – it took 2nd; the petrolpowered Phoenix (bottom) taxiing

THE CAFÉ Challenge also formed the latest round in the ongoing LEAP Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize, which has been making a series of awards to electric aircraft.

It handed its eighth and latest award to the eGenius, highlighting the relative silence of electric aircraft by giving it the ‘Quietest Aircraft’ title – showing that electric aircraft make great neighbours.

During flight testing, LEAP staff measured sound levels at multiple points along the runway, showing that eGenius was as low as 56dBa and peaked at only 62dBa – at the low end of a normal conversational volume!

LEAP boss Erik Lindbergh said: “Noise is one of the most significant impacts of aviation. When noise is used as a reason to close airports we all lose.

“This inaugural Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft recognises achievements in the development of quieter aircraft and compliments our efforts to advance the electric aircraft industry.”

The eGenius was designed and built in Germany, at the Stuttgart University Institute of Aircraft Design.

From electric acorns...

WHAT THEY SAID...

“It flies like it looks a little odd. You’re off the centreline of the aircraft and in the arc of a curved wing, sitting in a 4° bank.”

Pilot Dave Morss explains what the Pipistrel Taurus G4 is like to fly “There is currently no technical solution available to overcome the impact of primary radar clutter caused by wind turbines.”

The CAA, on why there’s new TMZs springing up around wind farms

NPLADCE

2

“The nation’s airspace is a public domain! Our government should relax its control to allow the general public access to their own sky.”

Feng Zhang, of AOPA China, telling the Government there what pilots think of airspace restrictions

STAT ATTACK

3RD

P L AC E

GA manufacturing predictions: 2011-2020 • AIRCRAFT BUILT 24,385 VALUE $28BN • PISTON AIRCRAFT BUILT 18,400 PISTON A/C VALUE $8BN • TURBINES BUILT 5985 TURBINE A/C VALUE $20.5BN Data: Forecast International

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 5

FRONTEND Sounds like a diesel Cessna will soon be on the options list

cessna: diesel fuel choice is top priority CESSNA OPTIONS

New boss for single engines and prop aircraft says next-gen fuels is her No.1 task

T

HE lady tasked with reinvigorating the single engine and propeller aircraft range from world’s biggest GA manufacturer says Cessna is working at top speed to get non-avgas engines into its next aircraft.

Jodi Noah, a longtime Cessna figure, has just taken over as SEP/Propeller boss after a wide-sweeping management shake-up at the company. Noah says she and her team have been speaking intensively to owners around the world, and that future fuel availability is their mostasked question.

Though STCs exist for most or all piston Cessnas to

use unleaded, in standard form new Cessnas have been designed to run on avgas, a fuel under severe pressure in the US because of ongoing legislative changes to outlaw its use and remove it from the supply chain.

Add to that of course its relentless increase in price, and mogas and diesel are the obvious alternatives.

Not only are Jet-A-burning diesel engines generally able to give longer flight duration and range, and far cheaper to buy more economical to run, but it is widely available in territories around the world where avgas supply is often unfeasible or impossible.

The firm is definitely looking at diesel – rather, Jet-A, cheaper and much more available worldwide than avgas – and though she would not be drawn on possible engine choices and partnerships, she said: “It’s the top of the list after talking to customers around the world,” she said at the recent NBAA bizjet show held in Las Vegas, USA. “We expect to announce something early in 2012.”

Make a date for AERO 2011 in Friedrichshafen, it seems.

The obvious choice for Cessna would be to revive the partnership with Thielert/Centurion. Cessna was poised to introduce a 2.0-litre 155hp Thielert-

It’s top of the list after talking to customers around the world... we expect to announce in 2012

New AIRCRAFT

Two new jets from Cessna

single-pilot operations), a max cruise of 400kt, and a 1300nm range. First flight of the new Citation M2 CESSNA responded to pressure from rivals like will be in the first half of 2012, with Federal Aviation Embraer and Honda by rolling out not one but two new Administration certification (Part 23) expected in the jets for the big NBAA business jet show in the US last first half of 2013, followed by deliveries in the second month – a beefed-up Mustang, half of 2013. and a new midsize jet.

Much bigger and longer-legged The smaller of the two, the M2, is the new Citation Latitude, filling is clearly pitched against rivals the gap between the Citation XLS like Embraer’s Phenom 100 and ($12.6m) and the big Sovereign the HondaJet, and fills the gap ($17.5m). The Latitude is $14.9m, between the Mustang and the CJ will feature Garmin’s newest family.

G5000 flightdeck, cruise at 442kt, It has a pricetag of $4.2m, and has a range of 2000nm. First a seating capacity of eight flight is expected in 2014, first First flight of the new M2 will be in 2012 deliveries 2015. (including pilots, but it’s OK for

6 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

powered Skyhawk 172 TD into its range in 2008, even taking orders for the model, prior to Thielert entering bankruptcy in Germany. The project petered out, but Thielert still holds an STC for the engine swap and have put the previous company’s woes long behind them.

Meanwhile an increasing number of new rivals have highlighted reduced running costs and better fuel options as strengths of their models against Cessna – such as Diamond, and Flight Design’s forthcoming C4 (see other news).

The other possibilities for Cessna are the 230hp SMA/Teledyne Continental turbodiesel, already flying in some Cessnas in the US with an STC, the Austro 300 used by rival Diamond, and the non-certified American DeltaHawk turbodiesel.

Noah revealed the firm is still working on a possible single-engine turboprop design, summarised by insiders as a turboprop version of the Mustang VLJ, and spoke of Cessna’s plans to “put the excitement” back into SEPs and prop aircraft, after years spent focusing on its jet models.

Ironically, Cessna had two new jets to show at the major NBAA event…

Follow us on twitter GO TO... twitter.com/looptelevision NEW AIRCRAFT

flight design c4 gets unleaded continental engine THE new Flight Design certified four-seater, the C4, will feature a Continental engine when it first reaches market next year, unleaded-ready to be future-proofed against the potential elimination of avgas.

The firm revealed the aircraft at AERO 2011 earlier this year, and outlined a basic engine spec of 180hp and mogasready – but left it open to being supplied by either Lycoming or Continental.

The final choice is the Continental IO-360-AF six-cylinder, derated from its 210hp peak to 180hp for the C4 – plenty for its 1200kg MTOW. The ‘AF’ suffix stands for alternative fuels, so it will run fine on 100LL avgas, and lower octanes too.

After initial launch,

airfie l d

CROMER BEAUTY saved

THE future of the beautiful Northrepps grass strip near Cromer in Norfolk is secure, after the region’s district council gave the site planning approval.

The field had been locked in dispute with nimbys who protested its planning application, but the relevant committee agreed with the rest of us that it’s just too good to vote against.

Northrepps moved to its current location only a few years ago, after 40+ years at another site a short distance away.

It has won a place in hearts of countless pilots for retaining the best features: low fees, great grub, great people and beautiful surroundings.

A few issues ago Bob Davy wrote about flying there and the brilliant things to do locally, saying it epitomised the best of British flying.

Flight Design said that it intends to introduce a diesel-powered option.

It had been suggested that the diesel engine used would be the 155hp Thielert Centurion 2.0-litre, but since Continental has recently confirmed that work is ongoing on its own new diesel engine – based on an SMA design licensed to Continental – so it might yet be the supplier for a diesel C4 too.

A third engine option will be available too – the Flight Design Rotaxelectric hybrid.

Flight Design world sales boss John Doman explained: “Alternative fuel compatibility was a key prerequisite for Flight Design and our C4 customers, as the future of 100LL is uncertain at

best. We are pleased to announce the avgas/ unleaded option. The decision on the Jet-A engine will come later.”

The IO-360-AF has a

2000 TBO, while in the C4 its peak 180hp will come at a leisurely 2550rpm – a relative chug for pilots migrating from existing higher-revving Rotax-

engined Flight Designs!

The C4’s first flight is due next year, with certification also due in late 2012 or early 2013. It’s priced at $250,000.

The finer details of the C4 are being pinned down. Stage one is confirming the engine

rotor ne w s

un hélicoptére électrique... mon dieu!

WE ALL know setting a record in a new type of flying machine takes guts, but making the first untethered flight in an electric helicopter was a double test of nerve for French record breaker Pascal Chretien – he thought his self-built machine might explode.

Chrétien, a French aerospace engineer and helicopter pilot, along with Solution F, a company specialising in hybrid engines, built the heli

with electric motors and onboard batteries.

To keep weight down, he opted to use a type of lithium-ion battery that has high energy density (160 Watt-hours per kg) allied to relatively low weight – but with the payoff that they have a tendency to blow up when damaged.

Chretien said about the potential danger: “The thermal instability of lithium/cobalt chemistry does not leave room for error. It is important to take

“I stand a good chance to end up as a kebab.” Blimey!

it slowly. If I crash I stand good chances to end up as a kebab!

“LiPo batteries are notoriously infamous for bursting to flames once distorted. This machine looks like a toy, and flies like a toy, but there is a raging tiger hidden underneath the seat, waiting to bite at the first mistake!”

Chrétien built the machine in under a year with little outside help.

To keep weight down and

simplicity high, he opted for co-axial main rotors – no need for a tail rotor.

And, instead of a standard cyclic, he chose a simple weight-shifting system of handlebars, incorporating the collective - which his is planning to adapt as he continues to improve on his prototype. He also has plans for other changes in the near future.

His flight lasted just 2m 10s and has earned him a place in the history books. www.solutionf.com

A gentle hover for 2m 10s put Pascal in the record books www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 7

FRONTEND

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

NEW AIRCRAFT

Evektor tests on CZECH Republic firm Evektor are pressing ahead with the testing phase of its new 14-seat twin turboprop, the EV-55, as interest mounts.

The cargo- and passengercarrier is pitched as a rival to the Cessna Caravan and Beechcraft King Air, and made its first flight earlier this year.

It has now logged 11 hours of testing, made on 12 separate flights. The autumn will see engineers focus on flight performance tests to measure basic speed and climb numbers, and other performance parameters.

Evektor’s Petr Grebenicek said: “During winter we plan some ground testing

and then the aircraft will be relocated to Aviation Research Institute in Prague.”

Evektor are understood to have signed a preliminary deal with a Russian-based firm to share construction tasks, expanding its manufacturing base.

The EV-55 will use win PWC PT-6 turbines, cost around $2m, have a max payload of 1800kg, and cruise at 220kt.

EV-55 testing in earnest

S AY I NG G O O D BY E

THORN TRIBUTES

TRIBUTES continue to flow for one of the most influential and well-liked pilots the UK has ever produced, Peter Thorn, Vice President of the HAA, who died in September.

Over a career that spanned decades in RAF ops, flight testing, and flight training, he improved countless aircraft and aided thousands of pilots

in improving their skills – with ever-present charm.

Known as one of the best Spitfire display pilots ever – he first filled the role in the BBMF – he was also one of the founder members of the Historic Aircraft Association, and was regarded with wonderful affection by pilots, from every background, that had met him.

Two historic greats: Peter Thorn, readying for a Meteor O N LY I N A M E R I C A

STEP FORWARD OUR NEW BEST FRIEND CAN you imagine a UK local politico declaring ‘General Aviation Appreciation Month’? No, neither can we.

But Idaho State Governor Butch Otter in the US has cited the positive economic, employment, and societal benefits flowing from GA as good reason to proclaim Septembers will be just that.

He said the flexibility

GA offered the sparselypopulated state brought tens of thousands of extra jobs and nearly $500m of economic boost. The proclamation said: “In part because of the availability of business aircraft and small public airports, non-farm employment rose by almost 20% between ‘00 and ‘08.”

Come on Boris et al!

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 LAST month’s crash at outcome (N.B. There are Reno claimed its 20th pilot lots of faster P51s, e.g. the since air racing started at most decorated P51 ever the event in the 1960s – no to fly at Reno, Strega, is small statistic in itself – also heavily modified and but it was the first time routinely flies much faster that spectators had been than the crashed aircraft.) killed at Reno.

The P51 went into Now there are doubts a 10-12G climb, most about Reno being able to likely inducing GLOC continue, or predictions of and, probably because of it being severely reined in residual aileron input at by elf’n’safety regulations the point of failure as the and insurance pilot rolled out of limitations. the previous bank, Reno is a multithe climb became million dollar a large, rolling-onThe noise from the-upline loop/ series of races which take place the ‘don’t do quarter clover. over just one face it, the it!’ brigade is Let’s week but which aircraft could have generate a massive way louder gone anywhere. boost to the from overseas A similar thing economy of the to than on the US happened area and furnish another P51, mainland itself all manner Voodoo, at of aviation Reno not sponsorship so long ago and charity – except events the pilot across the woke up at USA. Does 9000ft and it sound farrecovered fetched that the aircraft. this crash could stuff it?

Could elf’n’safety In fact the Reno races regulations have prevented rose from the ashes of the where this P51 crashed?

Cleveland air races, which Or reduced the number of stopped in 1949 after... a deaths and injuries?

P51 crashed, killing two Let’s face it, it’s highly civilians. Couldn’t make it unlikely, unless everyone up could you? within a 5-mile radius A high speed aircraft were deep underground or with a conventional in an assortment of tanks tailplane like the P51 has and personnel carriers, to be trimmed seriously watching the races on nose down at its top CCTV. Even then... a direct speed to stop the pitch hit from a 500mph P51? up moment of advancing Ironically the noise from centre of lift. the ‘don’t do it!’ brigade is The one that crashed at way louder from overseas Reno, Galloping Ghost, was than on the US mainland heavily modified to go a lot itself, where I’m told quicker than stock: a total things are strangely but loss cooling system so no comfortingly quiet. What scoop on the underside, may bury Reno is that clipped wings 10ft serpent more insidious narrower than standard, than H&S – third party and so on. liability insurance.

It’s possible that the I doubt if printing ‘motor elevator trimmer failed racing is dangerous’ on the outright, as some footage tickets will cut the mustard suggests, or the P51 but aren’t we all crossing experienced tailplane our fingers and toes that flutter with the same the race survives?

UNFRIENDLY AIRFIELDS II IT SEEMS some offence was taken after I nominated RAF Halton as the UK’s unfriendliest airfield. One suggested I shouldn’t write things which could damage business reputations in a recession – interesting – but my point is this: the recession is exactly why GA should be taking note of criticism and trying harder. It’s the premise to TV shows like Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and it can be very heartening to observe the outcome, which is almost always positive. And yes I do watch – I can’t help myself.

Another comment was that RAF Halton has its hands tied and, in the example I described, was just following the rules of the RAFA. Fair play. Anyway, as Wilde said, there’s only one thing worse than being talked about...

Simply talking about Halton has drummed up interest – I did wonder if visit numbers might actually increase?

That would be very ‘reverse psychology’ wouldn’t it.

Oh, other posts to me suggested the award should stay at Elstree...

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 9

FRONTEND

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

TIMO

Schubert

P i l o t , E U a n a l ys t , E AS A ex p e r t . . . o n E AS A’s n e w I R r u l e s fo r P P L s FOLLOWING three years of deliberations with Member State experts and the associations representing GA, EASA proposed on 21st September a more easily accessible Instrument Rating (IR) for private pilots.

The Agency’s proposal, “NPA 2011-16, Qualifications for flying in Instrument Meteorological Conditions”, is available for further comments until Dec 23rd, 2011.

In its NPA, EASA suggests that the current requirements for the IR (according to JAR-FCL) are an unreasonably high burden for private pilots. According to EASA this has lead to a situation in which a rather small proportion (5%) of holders of the PPL(A) in Europe also hold an Instrument Rating.

Therefore, it says the new IR should take into account the specific needs of private pilots.

In particular, EASA proposes to thin out the syllabus for the theoretical training course. This could also reduce the significant costs incurred by pilots in training for the IR. EASA wants to reduce the barriers to instrument flying and therefore proposes two new ratings. First, the Agency proposes a new entry-level qualification, the “En-Route Instrument Rating” (EIR). Pilots who have obtained this rating can fly according to instrument rules in the en-route segment of their journey. Take-off and landing must be carried out according to the Visual Flight Rules (VFR).

On departure the pilot must ensure that IMC is not entered below 1000ft above the highest object within a radius of 5nm.

Furthermore, it must be verified (based on the latest weather forecast) that the approach and landing at the point of destination can be undertaken in compliance with VFR. Despite the restrictions the EIR could be a good entry qualification which can be expected to improve flight safety.

The relatively low entry requirements are appealing.

According to EASA, holders of the PPL(A) must have obtained 20 hours of cross-country flying as Pilot in Command (PIC) before they can take up training for the EIR. The practical training should be at least 15 hours. Training will concentrate on the en-route procedures related to an IR. However, EASA also proposes that emergency procedures for an IR approach and landing should be practised. The theoretical training must encompass at least 100 hours. Following the theoretical exam and a skill test the rating is valid for one year. An annual proficiency While EASA has check would clearly taken be required to revalidate the too long ... its rating. proposals can Second, EASA be welcomed proposes a fullblown IR rating, as a positive which is broadly development

based on the FAA-IR. EASA has carefully considered the benefits of the UK’s IMC rating but eventually decided against it, the main reason being different airspace classifications in the EU. However, EASA suggests existing IMCR holders must be allowed to maintain their privileges, even after the introduction of the new European licenses; talks with the CAA are ongoing on this subject.

At the same time EASA is committed to ensuring IMCR holders are be credited towards the new IR if they choose to pursue this avenue. The main benefit would be the privileges of the IR can be exercised in all 27 EU states – and maybe beyond.

EASA proposes the theoretical knowledge required for the IR should reflect the needs of PPLs. The syllabus should thus be thinned to spare private pilots from having to obtain knowledge that they would only need in the field of commercial air transport. In concrete terms this could reduce the total amount of questions possible in the theoretical exam from 253 (JARFCL) to 150.

The practical training for the IR should be at least 40 hours, of which 30 hours can be undertaken in a simulator. This requirement is essential to ensure ICAO-compliance. Finally, the entry requirement to the IR is a PPL(A), including the night flight qualification. Pilots, who already hold an ICAO-compliant IR from

GA8 Airvan

third countries (non-EU) will be credited towards the European rating. However, according to the draft they will be required to demonstrate their theoretical and practical skill.

While EASA has clearly taken too long to come forward with its proposals, they can be welcomed as a positive development. Even though the EIR grants only limited privileges – and to some extent falls short of the IMC rating – it could become a reasonable entry qualification into instrument flying. Significantly, this qualification will also be valid in the whole EU, a clear safety gain when flying abroad.

However, we are still many steps away from the final adoption of the new ratings. To begin with, EASA will now carefully review comments received. As a next step it will possibly amend its proposals before it sends its official Opinion to the European Commission in Brussels. Subsequently, the Commission might decide to make further changes before it presents its proposal to a committee of EU Member State experts (a process called Comitology).

Finally, it is important to stress that the final decision rests firmly in the hands of the Member States, as they will be asked to vote on the Commission’s proposals.

Interested readers can obtain a copy of EASA’s proposals at the following link: http://hub.easa.europa.eu/crt/ docs/viewnpa/id_135

The GA8 Airvan is the choice of successful operators due to its renowned safety, economics, reliability and versatility; supporting a wide range of operations:

The Choice of Successful Operators

Skydive | Air charter | Tourism | Freight Law Enforcement | Aerial survey | Private Use Call us today to discuss an Airvan package that fits your operation.

Rugged

Economical

Versatile

Safe

European representative: Kerry Ashcroft Tel: +44 (0) 7540 162002 Fax: +44 (0) 208 711 5713 Email: airvan@btinternet.com

www.gippsaero.com

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 11

INCOMING

LOOP’S VIRTUAL, CLUBHOUSE, FOR YO U R O P I N I O N, PICTURES, AND BRAINTEASERS

STAR LETTER

EASA’s rules of hope THIS is a first for me, but I have a confession to make... [Calm down John!]: the latest news from EASA has actually put a spring in my step.

Reading about the long awaited rules outlined last month (LOOP, September) for the new European CS-LSA class, I can’t help but feel that it will ultimately allow me to fly at a considerably reduced cost than I do now, in aircraft that are bang up to date and make more than a passing nod towards progress.

I see the point you make in suggesting the rules for LSA manufacturers in Europe are

not perhaps as straightforward as for their American counterparts, but I feel that the additional requirements asked of an EU manufacturer will lead to aircraft that have a reputation for higher build quality, and consequently of higher safety. And that cannot be a bad thing.

All that remains now is to outline what licence we will be able to use to fly them.

John Dawson Good point John. The tighter EU build regs for CS-LSA aircraft apply to any manufacturer wishing to sell within the EU, no matter where they are based.

S P O T T H E P L A N E : B U RT R U TA N S P E C I A L !

1 The late great Steve Fossett flew this to a trio of world records in 2005, shrinking the world from above

2 A longerlegged version of one Rutan said was ever so simple to build and fly – his first GRP design

3 A swansong of sorts, it was Burt’s take on the flying car concept, and sounds like a legless camera stand

New EASA rules for small aircraft should lead to safer and better designs, John says

In defence of the MOD

I THOUGHT I would write to give RAF Halton some good press, after Bob Davy singled it out as unwelcoming in his column (LOOP, August).

A couple of years back I was flying my Chippie (G-ITWB) with no particular destination in mind, and on doing a 180 to head home I was flying directly into the sun with (the usual) fine spray of Aeroshell 100 on the screen; my visibility was reduced to a worryingly low level.

With RAF Halton close I requested a quick stop to clear the screen and was

given immediate clearance to land. Not only did the resident ATC glider pilots do the job for me, but I was given sandwiches and coffee too.

Not content with that they insisted I top up my tanks before I left and trusted me enough to settle the bill later.

So thanks guys, and sorry that I couldn’t give you a circuit or two as there were so many of you I would still be there now!

Ian Whitaker-Bethel

Got a warm hello at Halton

The cost of AIC updates LIKE many private pilots I subscribe to monthly AICs at £64.20 per annum.

In these financially challenging times it annoys me that ‘Communisis’ (yuk!) sends these updates in an oversize padded envelope, with a ‘delivery note’ in the ‘documents enclosed’ sticky window, and at a franked postage rate of £1.69 a go.

If they were to use a normal A4 envelope the first class post would be 75p, or fold them in half in an A5 envelope the rate reduces to 46p. Bulk, franked rates would be even lower.

It seems that at least 25% of my sub is spent on these

YOUR PICTURES

Is this ballooning’s dark side? AP

THINK YOU’VE GOT AN EAGLE EYE? Know your SJ30 from your SJ50? Get your magnifying glass at the ready and your thinking cap on to 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 Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero’ 2 Messerschmitt Me-262 3 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 12 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

For $1m on the US Who Want To Be A Millionaire?...! (He got it) JN

No idea if it’s real... but duck anyway! KS

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

Maybe NATS should instruct their agents to stop this blatant waste of customers’ money and reduce the price!

Pete Bish

Avgas: eyewatering stuff

FOR many a year I have been slightly addicted to the smell of avgas, which I am sure is of great detriment to my health and mental function. But, I am what I am: a flying junkie.

I have managed to weather the steady but relentless rise of the price of the stuff with the careful balance of flying a little less, flying a little better (energy management was never my strong point), and less whisky in the evening.

But, after the terrible realisation that I have got used to thinking £1.99 a litre is “a good deal”, I think the remaining penny has dropped. As painful as it will be for many, the sooner we are rid of it the better.

Consideration of the history of avgas leads me to believe that the worst thing that happened for the longterm good of aviation was its exemption from the ban on unleaded which swept dirty cars from the streets.

And still, the engine manufacturers act as if its elimination is a surprise.

Rod Fisher New engines won’t be cheap Rod, but the new fuels should be. We hope!

SOAPBOX

The award for the world’s biggest pilot goes to Hugues Duval, by the looks of it! Is that picture [LOOP, Sept, p8] manipulated?

Barry Price Not one bit!

CONTACT LOOP

SMALL WINGS

AWE INSPIRED

I HOPE there has been a flurry of letters and emails to loudly shout the superb achievement of Dave Sykes flying all the way to Oz in a microlight.

Some years ago I was unfortunate enough to be involved in a car crash which kept me confined to a wheelchair for three months. I have to say, the mere thought of flying at the time – as much as I wanted to – seemed impossible.

Dave has shown that if you set your heart on something, there is ALWAYS a way to make it happen.

Ken McKay

Nice work on the iPad LOOP – I am very impressed!

I had to use a friend’s to see it, but I now know what the wife is buying me for Xmas :) Charlie Dew

The engine in the tattoo [Your Pics, Sept], is a Rolls-Royce Trent.

Joe Kennedy Nope, it’s not. Keep em coming!

MODE S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIG CHANGEOVER

+ WAC 2011 Special report + ELEPHANTS! Autogyro in Africa + EU IFR New plans explained + OCTOBER 2011 ISSUE 72 £3.40

F R E S H A I R FO R F LY I N G

+ S P E C I A L I N N O VAT I O N I S S U E +

13 AIRCRAFT TO CHANGE THE WORLD Take a peek into the future and see the aircraft that will revolutionise flying

INCLUDING Solar Impulse, Pipistrel, Lisa, e-Go, Virgin Galactic, and many more...

TECH NEWS FEST ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT BLITZ MPG TARGETS

+ DIESEL Cessna going for Jet-A + FLIGHT DESIGN C4 unleaded + ROTARY Electric heli! +

ISSUE 72 ISSN 1749-7337

LOOP Digital Media Ltd 9-11 The Mill Courtyard Copley Hill Business Park Cambridge CB22 3GN T: 01223 497060 F: 01223 830880 E: incoming@loop.aero W: www.loop.aero

LOOP is published by LOOP Digital Media Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written prior permission of the publisher.

EDITORIAL Editor Richard Fairbairn E: richard@loop.aero Staff Reporter Dave Rawlings E: dave.rawlings@loop.aero New Media Editor Philip Powell E: phil@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@davidspurdens. 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 OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 13

FREE GIFTS CATALOGUE

Celebrate Pooleys 50th anniversary and receive a free Pooleys Diary with the 2012 Pooleys Flight Guide exclusively from Flightstore Spiral Bound : £25.95 Bound : £25.95 Loose leaf Pages : £35.95 Loose with Binder : £42.95 Pooleys 2012 Diaries only

£8.99

With over 700 pilot and aviation gifts TRD730530 Blenheim Over Blenheim Qty x 10

TRD Swas730526 Qty x hbucklin 10 gB

ucca

ming

6 o 3054 omec TRDr7ricane H Hu

Q ty x 7 3054 ight TRD7 e Air Ton In th

Q ty x

10

10 TRD730536

Final Approach order online now at: for Christmas Landing

www.

en dhov 0549 ng at Ein 3 7 D i TR r Even e Wint

10 Q ty x

8 ty x 3054 r Q TRD7 r Warrio e Wint

10

CALFLEG

neer

Qty x 10

RD73 0 Nine 553 -o Qty x -Nine: N o Tur 10 ning Back

TRD Now 730533 Qty x For A Mu g Of 10 Tea

.co.uk

£10.99 £10.9

5

All christmas cards £4.95 per pack

order online now at:

www. dps for pilot mag Dec Ad this .indd 2

TRD510212

£10.50

.co.uk co.uk 18/10/2011 12:35

The UK’s Leading Pilot Shop www.flightstore.co.uk

iPad Kneeboards for aviation Whether you want your iPad on your lap or mounted on a yoke, glare shield or window we have a full range now in stock at great prices.

you are sure to find what you want in our Free Gifts catalogue

order hotline:

tel: 01924 509 273

order hotline:

tel: 01924 509 273 dps for pilot mag Dec Ad this .indd 3

Showroom:

1 Town Hall Street, Mirfield West Yorkshire WF14 8DH

Open Monday to Saturday : 9am –5pm

Showroom:

1 Town Hall Street, Mirfield West Yorkshire WF14 8DH

Open Monday to Saturday : 9am –5pm 18/10/2011 12:35

FLIGHTGEAR

THE HOME OF AVIATION PRODUCTS NEW KIT, DEALS AND REVIEWS...

The best NEW sound around +NEW

I N

Sennheiser S1

Sennheiser has spent four years designing and developing its latest headset to compete with other top class headsets.

But how does it stack up? Phil O’Donoghue finds out...

+ AT A G L A N C E s e n N h e i s e r s 1 d i g i t a l

RRP: $1095 + Smart Update digital ANR customises noise reduction to the user’s aircraft environment + Headband tension adjustment for customized comfort + Treble boost for customised audio clarity + Peak-level protection for hearing safety + E ar-pad comfort zones do not squeeze on user's glasses

+ Bluetooth phone and music connectivity + Built-in mic bias voltage for cell-phone use Accessories included + Protective carry case + Cable clip + Wind and pop screen + Belt clip + Reference guide + Instruction Manual www.sennheiser.com

16 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

G E A R

ifd54o new feature Page 18

s

GarMiN's NeW GPs Goes d Page 18

ENNHEISER’S new S1 Digital is aimed squarely at the premium GA headset market – ground currently occupied by the Bose A20 and Lightspeed Zulu.2.

Sennheiser have certainly taken seriously their venture into this end of the market, with a completely new headset design that bears little family resemblance to other Sennheiser GA headsets.

The firm got together with the BMW subsidiary DesignWorksUSA to help with the design and aesthetics of the headset, and the result is a modern, sculpted appearance and some innovative design features.

The earcups are very substantial with good-sized oval openings, which contribute to an overall weight of the headset of a hefty 470g. While they are big, the earcups are hinged at the end of the headband so they can be folded inwards to provide a very compact package when not in use.

The ear cushions have a softer section near the temples to help stop the arms of glasses being pressed hard against the side of your head, and to provide a better noise seal when glasses are worn. There’s also a useful feature whereby the contact pressure of each earcup can be individually adjusted to one of three different levels, thereby providing some control over the balance between clamping force and noise attenuation.

Overall, despite its weight and bulk, the S1 proved to be extremely comfortable during our testing. On several occasions I wore the headset for over four

Mode-s – aLL You Need To KNoW Page 20

hours with no discomfort the consensus was that at all. while the S1 Active Noise Sennheiser have Reduction is good, but included in the S1 a new overall not quite as good The feature that allows the as the other top units on intelligibility the market. frequency response for the 1kHz to 6kHz range In common with the of voice to be boosted in three other premium ANR conversations stages – essentially headsets the S1 includes – at both ends a mobile phone and providing a ‘treble boost’. This can be done – was the best music player interface. individually for each side of any headset In the case of the S1 a using small switches Bluetooth interface is we've tested provided that supports under the control unit battery cover. The both mobile phone objective is to provide improved connectivity and streaming speech intelligibility for people music. Devices that support the who have less-than-perfect AVRCP Bluetooth profile can be sensitivity to speech frequencies. remotely controlled using the S1’s I set up the headset with the control unit. maximum treble boost and found I tested the phone connectivity that R/T intelligibility was never using a couple of different less than superb. The treble phones and found it worked well. boost feature did seem to make In particular, the intelligibility a difference – which, sadly, says of voice conversation – at both something about the effect of ends - was excellent, the best of 30 years of noisy cockpits on my any headset we’ve tested. own hearing!

The music interface was no less Another new feature included impressive. I tested using the in the S1 is what Sennheiser latest iPod Touch and was able to call ‘Smart Update’. The idea is tuck the iPod away in a pocket, that by pressing a button on the while using the S1’s control side of one earcup the digital unit to remotely fast-forward, circuitry re-samples the noise skip tracks, etc. Considering environment and generates a the traditional limitations of new anti-noise signal optimised Bluetooth and the noisy cockpit for that particular environment, environment, the sound quality rather than being based on fixed of the music streamed over parameters. I tried the feature on the Bluetooth interface was several occasions and while it did outstanding. seem to make some difference Overall the Sennheiser S1 is to the noise attenuation, I didn’t a top-quality headset bristling find that it provided a huge with new innovative features improvement over 'standard'. that haven't been seen before.

Comparisons of the noiseIt offers good noise attenuation, attenuation provided by top-end excellent speech clarity, and headsets tend to be somewhat provides worthy competition for subjective, but we had several the top headsets from Bose and people try the S1 in the air, and Lightspeed. Very impressive.

An extremely comfortable headset – even after four hours

FoR THe BesT GeAR Go To... www.loop.aero +THE COMPETITION

WITH Sennheiser throwing the gauntlet down to the other headset manufacturers, LOOP has a quick look at what else is on the market.

LIGHTSPEED ZULU 2.0 $900 THE Zulu 2.0 was launched this summer and is claimed to be quieter, clearer and comfier than the original. Instead of going for a completely revolutionary new headset, Lightspeed claims to have improved on the original Zulu.

The 2.0 benefits from lots of new technology including a Microport Vent for better ANR, better ear seals and a claimed 15% less side pressure.

BOSE A20 $995 THE Bose A20 has the same magnesium headband as its X model, but the ear cups and control module are different.

The two biggest additions is the ability to use Bluetooth, the addition of a 3.5mm auxiliary audio input (MP3 player, GPS unit etc.) and priority audio switch – all things the X lacked. Bose also claim that two normal alkaline AA batteries will last for up to 45 hours.

BEYERDYNAMIC HS800 €789 The HS 800 Digital is the German comapany’s second ANR headset and one of the first to use digitally controlled Active Noise Reduction.

Using a high-speed microprocessor, Beyerdynamic combines feedback and feedforward algorithms in a digitally controlled system. The headband has a special shape to keep pressure away from the top of the head.

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 17

FLIGHTGEAR

TO SEE MORE GEAR GO TO... www.loop.aero

GARMIN GOES 3D + N E W HANDHELD GPS

Two new products from the market leaders

G

ARMIN has launched two new portable GPS units with 3D vision and touchscreen controls.

They are the aera 795 and aera 796, which may qualify as Class 1 or 2 Electronic Flight Bags.

Garmin says the aera 795 has the features of the GPSMAP 695, adding new capabilities such as touchscreen and portrait and 3D Vision. The 795 also takes the pilot one step closer to a paperless cockpit with a digital document viewer, scratch pad and pre-loaded georeferenced AeroNav IFR and VFR enroute charts.

The aera 795 has a 7-inch touchscreen display that can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode. The design has been optimised to fit on the yoke and can also be used as a kneemounted device.

The US version has

geo-referenced IFR Enroute charts and VFR Sectional charts pre-loaded, and the aera 795 also includes US georeferenced Garmin FliteCharts. Jeppesen charts and diagrams can also be used, which is perfect for European customers.

The aera 796 includes a receiver for XM WX Satellite Weather and SiriusXM Radio. XM WX Satellite gives next generation radar (NEXRAD), aviation routine weather reports (METARs), terminal aerodrome forecasts (TAFs), temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), lightning, winds aloft, turbulence forecasts, PIREPs and icing forecast. It can also display traffic.

The aera 796 and 795 are available immediately for an expected price of $2,499 and $2,199, respectively.

+NEW IPHONE APP

ALL OF FRANCE ON YOUR FONE THINKING of flying to France? There’s an app for that!

GestionDesConges.Com has created a complete VFR Aviation Safety Briefing for France. It includes NOTAM Notams, AIP SUPs, AICs, Very Low Altitude Airforce Activity, Visual Approach Charts, Weather and Flight Plan Filing.

The NOTAMs are available in English and the app will display AIP airfield charts - all airfield charts for civilian, administrative and military airfields and heliports in France as well as VAC Visual Approach Charts and complete IFR instrument procedure.

All French METARs, TAFs and SIGMETs, plus observations from the major European station's 800 weather stations

in total make up the information.

The app retails at $5.99 and can be found on iTunes by searching for ‘Flying in France’ under navigation. www.flying-in-france.com

Every French airfield, and more, at your fingertips

18 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

+ U P G R A D E AV I O N I C S

MORE FEATURES FOR AVIDYNE'S IFD540 AVIDYNE is adding a ‘Multi Touch’ capability to its recently announced touchscreen IFD540 navcomms unit, allowing users to be able ‘pinch’, ‘zoom’ and ‘scroll’.

Avidyne says the new touchscreen controls are available in addition to the familiar knob and button controls, providing pilots the choice when interacting with IFD540.

The IFD540 has the Page and Tab user interface,

with plainly-labelled tabs, bi-directional keys, on-screen touch-sensitive labels, and a flat menu structure that is claimed to make it easier to access.

The IFD540 is the centrepiece of Avidyne’s newly-announced plugand-play avionics stack, aimed at replacing older GNS530 navcomms.

The IFD540 is expected to be available in the second half of 2012. www.ifd540.com

New features will be available on the IFD540

+ N E W HEADSET

HAVE IT YOUR WAY BEYERDYNAMIC’S latest headset has just been given its ‘Manufaktur’ treatment and can now be customised to one’s own tastes.

Pilots can customise the new HS800 to their own specifications.

The ear cups can be selected in a design of high gloss black piano lacquer, basalt grey metallic or burl wood.

For a small extra charge engraved text is also available on the yoke giving the option to have a name or licence number on the headset. beyerdynamic.com

HS800 in many colours

NAVITIMER A cult object among pilots and aviation enthusiasts, equipped with Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01, the most reliable and high-performance selfwinding chronograph movement, chronometer-certified by the COSC. ÂŁ6390*

For your nearest stockist in Great Britain and Ireland telephone 020 7637 5167

WWW.BREI T LI NG.COM

*RRP. Subject to change without notice.

PURE LEGEND PURE BREITLING

flightgear

mode-s: what is it?

And who needs it?

+mro

mode-s

Mode-S comes into force in the UK from 1st April, 2012. Here’s a quick guide to what you need to know, who needs it, and why

I

f you can cast your mind back to 2008, the controlling authorities thought the old transponders weren’t working as efficiently as they needed any more for skies increasingly filled with commercial flights and airliners.

They decided the system needed a huge upgrade to cope with the everincreasing rise of air traffic in the air corridors. This is where Mode-S comes in. But why does it need changing?

What are the Benefits? And who actually needs to worry about the changes coming into force in five months?

History of Radar There are two types of radar, Primary and Secondary.

Primary radars are the old big aerials that can be seen silently spinning round.

These were first designed back in the 1940s, and push out a big pulse of power and wait for the echo to come back. This produces an image on the screen for the Air Traffic Controllers.

They are simple things: they know something is

there, but they don’t know what height it is or who it is.

Soon after their invention, during WW2, IFF (Interrogation Friend or Foe) was developed, now known as Secondary Surveillance Radars. This allowed a little box on the aircraft (what we now call a transponder) to react back to the ground interrogation. The radar on the ground sends out a couple of pulses to ask, ‘who are you? what height are you at?’ To which the aircraft would reply with a code and a height in 100ft increments – and that system has been in use ever since.

“There are limitations to this system,” says Andrew Desmond Kennedy, a Senior Expert in Surveillance and Code Co0ordination, Deployment Co-ordination and Directorate Network Management at Eurocontrol.

“The radar sends out the two pulses asking the two questions, and it will ask every aircraft caught in the pulse. So if every aircraft is firing back its answers we get ‘garbling’ and it’s very difficult to discern one aircraft from another.”

20 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

“A good analogy is, you’re at a party and the lights go out. If you start shouting out, ‘Tell me who you are and where you are!’, you’re going to get a lot of people shouting back and you won’t get anywhere,” he added.

“That’s essentially what radar does. Generally that’s not a problem, but as the density of air traffic has increased and ‘air corridors’ have proliferated you now get a number of people in the same area and the radars are struggling.

The solution Andrew goes on to explain why Mode-S has come into effect: “Now we have Mode-S... the ‘S’ is for Selective. We are still using Secondary Surveillance Radars. But now each aircraft is signed a unique code and the radar now asks different things at different times, to different aircraft.”

The new code system has more than 16 million different combinations, where as the old Mode-A code only had 4096 codes in 12 bits. Now there is no real chance of two aircraft having

the same code.

“The pulse will periodically ask every aircraft in the range to reply. But once it’s got a reply from one aircraft, it can then lock it out and interrogate that aircraft selectively. So if there are lots of aircraft in the same place it can get all the precise information for each aircraft one at a time.

So instead of relying on the radar and overcoming all the garbling we chose selective interrogation.”

“The other aircraft receive the information but if the code isn’t theirs, they will ignore it and their transponder will remain stationary. You can schedule interrogations depending on where the aircraft is, so if it is close to the airport the interrogation will be sooner rather than later. There are lots of algorithms working quickly to arrange the order of the interrogations,” Andrew explained.

The Radar periodically has an ‘all-call’ which all aircraft have to reply. This is to make sure nobody is missed and the ground acquires new aircraft that have moved

into the airspace. Once they are acquired they are locked out until the interrogation comes to them with their specific code.

The new system has the capacity of managing 54 aircraft within an antenna beam of 3.5 degrees. This is managing aircraft that have been acquired (i.e. already known to the radar).

“If we assume that all 54 aircraft pop up at the same time then the time taken to acquire them is a little longer than if there were only one or two.

“There are specific algorithms foreseen to assist in the ‘capture’ of the aircraft’s details when multiple aircraft in close proximity need to be acquired simultaneously.

“The process is known as ‘Stochastic Acquisition’, a process managed within the aircraft’s transponder which supports acquisition and lock-out. In such an event the process could take 2 - 3 scans, which is still less than 30 seconds,” said Andrew.

“Typically aircraft do not all appear for acquisition at the same time but as

Follow us on twitter GO TO... twitter.com/looptelevision PHOTO www.airteamimages.com

you can see, the system has capacity and processes foreseen to accommodate such an event,” he said.

Mode-S comes in two flavours: Mode-S Elementary, which allows you to do the selective interrogation, and Mode-S Enhanced, which also allows the radar to interrogate the aircraft for additional parameters. These might be to see what the pilot has put in his FMS (Flight Management System).

“We can see if he’s put in the wrong height and can prevent level busts before they occur. The controller can see that there has been a mistake and the wrong value has been entered,” Andrew explained.

Enhanced can see the selected altitude, roll angles, magnetic heading and the true air speed indicator. But this is only for aircraft with takeoff mass greater than 5700kg and a cruise speed of greater than 250kt.

“It’s recognised that not all aircraft have a digital configuration and would not be able to pass this

CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN: The primary role of Mode-S is to make the life of the ATC easier, and give lots more information to the systems to make the right calls for safe transit; when the skies are this busy, Mode-S makes selecting the right aircraft much quicker; a Mode-S install kit

Mode-S Enhanced allows radar to interrogate aircraft for additional parameters.

These might be to see what the pilot has put in his FMS

information down. If that is the case the operators of that aircraft can apply for an exemption from Enhanced surveillance, but they still need Mode-S Elementary.

With this new system the antenna quality is a lot better as well. Different techniques are used, Air Traffic Controllers get a far better picture on the ground, it’s far smoother tracking for the controller and it improves the short term conflict detection tools that sit in the background and predict if there is going to be an incident. With much better data there are less false alarms.

Who needs it?

From the beginning of April 2012 a Mode-A/C unit will not count as a transponder, so if you are conducting any type of flight where you needed a transponder in order to satisfy your obligations you will now need a Mode-S transponder.

Anyone conducting IFR flights in controlled airspace already needs a transponder, so for many pilots and aircraft owners

this will necessitate a change to new hardware, rather than the adoption of new principles. (As the old adage says, a transponder’s not much use if you forget to turn it on!)

“Even if you’re VFR and by some strange mystery you manage to get clearance into A/B/C airspace then you still will need a Mode-S transponder,” said Andy Davis of Trig Avionics.

“Technically it is possible to get an airways crossing clearance if you negotiate nicely enough – people do fly VFR in restricted airspace – but the average pilot bimbling around won’t do that very often, if at all.”

If you’re planning on flying for public transport purposes, you need a Mode-S transponder. “It’s not so much the ‘bigger guys’ that will overlook the change, it’s more the people flying passengers in DA42s and smaller twin engine aircraft that might need to get a new transponder.”

Others that need to be ready by April include any aircraft flying above FL100, which will apply to some

VFR pilots. And finally, and most obviously, anyone flying in a TMZ (Transponder Mandatory Zones). “The interesting thing will be the Olympics, because they take place after March next year.

Therefore the current waiver will have expired and all of Olympic airspace will be a TMZ and people will need a transponder to fly though.

Andy finishes off by clearing up any doubt of who will avoid the need a Mode-S transponder: “Anybody who doesn’t fly IFR, doesn’t work in public transport, never goes into class A/B/C airspace, never flies above Flight Level 100, in other words, your typical GA aviator will still get away without a transponder.

“So if you can get away without one today – nothing really changes!”

Thanks to Thanks to Andrew at Eurocontrol. If you’re want to find out more on Mode-S visit the Eurocontrol wbsite: www. eurocontrol.int.

Thanks also to Mode-S guru Andy at Trig (www.trigavionics.com) for his help.

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 21

coverstory The radical French Lisa Akoya is at home on clear or snow-bound strips... and on water too

13 aircraft that will change the face of flying as we know it

Incredible new designs, exciting innovation, brand new manufacturers, lower costs, radical new ideas, and the technology of tomorrow… here are some of the most important new aircraft for the future of GA

F

LYING is a well-known science. Go forward, create lift, fly. In that regard, not much has changed since the first flights over 100 years ago.

But, the landscape for aircraft design and manufacture has changed immeasurably – and continues to do so, faster than ever before.

Flying is under the greatest pressure in its history, from economic and environmental standpoints, and tightening regulations that heap new pressures on designers and builders to

innovate and conceptualise for a cleaner, greener, safer tomorrow.

Consumers too have changing demands, clamouring for aircraft that are immune to the disappearance of avgas, and better for their wallet in general – even if that means completely new fuels. They also want aircraft with a certain something... more than 50-year-old designs with just a new lick of paint and a fancy GPS. Fortunately, in aeronautical bureaus and engineering departments around the world, in established firms well-known and some unheard of, designers

22 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

are rising to the challenge. Every change in circumstance and regulations offers new challenges to the creators of tomorrow’s aircraft, which they are eager to take on.

It offers opportunities too, for newcomers to the dizzyingly expensive and tightly regulated world of aircraft manufacture, to come up with something new, and never before tried. For them a rulebook isn’t to be feared… it is to be exploited, pored over for every opportunity to see what it frees them to do, not what it constricts them from trying.

The aircraft of tomorrow are

focused on flying cheaper and greener than any in history, using the newest materials which allow dazzling new ideas to take shape, and flown in places where things like the lack of avgas – or any petrofuel – doesn’t matter.

Some will be from firms you’ve never heard of, as new rivals appear to add pressure to the names we all know. Some will usher in a world where the cost of an hour’s flight might be measured in mere pence. And others will simply put the biggest smile imaginable on your face!

»

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

CHIC AND OH-SO SLEEK

lisa akOya A dash of French flair and audacity >> WOW! Who says the ICON A5 is the only plane which stops you in your tracks for sheer outrageous good looks and innovative design…?

The French Lisa Akoya is designed to land on sea and land – and snow! – and highlight the fun and freedom flying affords. It uses a 100hp Rotax so runs on unleaded, and is constructed from lightweight composites so gifts payload; the on-water ‘hull’ is specifically shaped to be lighter than normal

amphib hulls. Like the ICON, its wings fold back, making trailering and storing at home possible.

Top speed is 130kt, and range nearly 700 miles, so it’s got serious range potential too – the world’s coolest tourer? At €300,000 it’s much pricier than the A5 but that includes flight training, a threeyear warranty and free servicing package, and an impressive spec list including glass cockpit and airframe parachute.

For the artistic, you can customise its funky interior and colour scheme to their heart’s content too.

It’s already flying in France, and should reach its first buyers in summer 2012.

In addition to the Akoya, Lisa is working on a solar-powered version, called the Hy-Bird, fitted with solar cells across its wing surface and due to be the world’s fist solar-powered amphibian. www.lisa-airplanes.com

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 23

coverstory TURN IT UP!

pipistrel panthera The electric plane that looks like a racer >> WHEN the world first caught sight of the electric Panthera, it was easy to ignore its primary strengths and impeccable green credentials. Why? Because it looks just so damn good!

It may not have escaped your attention that most electric aircraft look about as exciting as

their engines sound – as if the designers focused entirely on the eco-friendly aspects to the aircraft and forgot about one of the most important things an owner wants: that feeling you get when you swing open the hangar door and see your pride and joy.

For schools and training

The Panthera comes with three different engine options, including electric

THE HOME HERO

e-GO With a little help from F1 >>WHAT’S this? A radical design taking advantage of recent rule changes, with cutting edge technology and manufacturing techniques, built for the post-avgas era, and backed by enthusiastic investors? If only it were British, it would be perfect. Oh, hold on… it is!

UK GA aircraft manufacturing may be at a ebb, with brave souls like Gerald Cooper (Thruster) and David Stanbridge (Swift/Europa) recently joining the few already in the game (praise BN and P&M!), but another new project is quietly making waves: the e-Go. It started in ‘07 as an entry into a theoretical design competition held by the LAA, and is steadily working its way towards first flight next year, and could form the blueprint for a future British renaissance in GA aircraft manufacture.

It is the brainchild of Cambridge aeronautical boffins Giotto Castelli and Tony Bishop, backed by a recent injection of £500,000 from

Cambridge tech and aerospace firms, and designed to the new(ish) Single Seat Dergulated category rules so is a fun-to-fly sub-115kg single-seater.

Power is from a 40hp Wankel, it will cruise at 120kt, have factors of +5/-3g, and look like nothing else – well, maybe a bit like the French Cobalt Co-50. Castelli and Bishop have shown that small and light need not mean uninspiring.

But their biggest step comes from calling upon expertise from the UK’s ‘F1 corridor’, so globally wellknown and highly-regarded.

Aircraft like the ICON A5 and Lisa Akoya show there is a strong thirst for unusual ‘boutique’ designs, and in a future where expertise in composites and electronics is increasingly vital in aircraft design, they have gone to a world centre of excellence: their own backyard. What other aircraft can our F1 geniuses help create? www.e-go.me

24 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

The first electric aircraft that many pilots will look at and think isn’t a bit comedy

organisations, how their planes look isn’t particularly important, but for many private buyers it’s an imperative. The Panthera is the first electric aircraft that the pilots of current fast avgas-burners will look at and think isn’t a bit comedy.

It also has a Vne of 220kt, showing that Pipistrel have started at the top end when it comes to design parameters. The all-electric version will feature a 195hp-equivalent motor that allows a cruise of 120kt, while there will be two other options: a petrol-electric hybrid, and a 210hp pure gasoline bullet that cruises at over 200kt.

Pipistrel by now have the kind of extensive experience of electric flight that other firms are years behind, winning a raft of recent awards for their designs and innovations – including the NASAGoogle $1.35m award last month, using the same electric engine that will feature in the Panthera.

It’s not an LSA either, which means four seats and full IFR spec avionics and approvals to boot.

The Panethera is reaching its molds now, and should make a first flight in 2012. www.pipistrel.si

Tighter regs for aircraft design will play into UK expertise

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO... www.loop.aero FA ST P R O G R E S S

aerion sbj The fastest laboratory in the sky

New York to Miami in just 93 minutes... and greener than existing designs

A SUPERSONIC business jet might not change the world – but the expertise required to build one will certainly make a difference.

Aerion’s SBJ concept is nudging its way towards fruition, thanks to an order book worth $4bn and backing from some serious investment heavyweights.

While the firm does not predict the sky will be teeming with its Mach 1.6 jets, which weigh in at a cool $80m a pop, it has recently established a consulting arm which is helping bring the dark art of Natural Laminar Flow and transonic aerodynamics to a wider audience.

The Aerion SBJ uses the

The lessons learned will permeate to other firms... and help boost fuel efficiency in other aircraft designs principle of the speed of sound varying with air temperature to be able to exceed the speed of sound at altitude without a troublesome sonic boom being heard at ground level. Improving in efficiency the faster it goes, the FAA are closely studying test results.

That’s basic maths and science,

but the trickier job is creating airfoil shapes and engine inlet designs that work well and retain efficiency at speed, which is why NASA is part of its design team: get it right, and we all benefit.

The lessons learned will permeate to other firms – Aerion is already partnered with other unnamed manufacturers – and help the drive towards a future where business and commercial jets get ever-more fuel efficient and able to eke more from less.

And, it has to be said, the day when something as cool as the Aerion is parked at a strip will be pretty world changing too! www.aerioncorp.com

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 25

coverstory It looks unremarkable but could set new VFM standards

A R I S I N G I N T H E E A ST

kai naraon The first salvo from a future giant >> KAI showed a small model of

F LY I N G FO R T H E M A S S E S

mahindra nm-5 A five-seater for not much more

than a luxury car? A game changer... >> MUCH like the KAI Naraon, India’s Mahindra NM-5 is a small aircraft that should be sending big shivers down the spines of the established giants of GA manufacturing – another Government-backed rival from a booming economy (9% growth) to worry about.

The five-seat metal low-wing has been developed in a publicprivate partnership between the giant Mahindra conglomerate and India’s National Aerospace Lab, and flew for the first time just weeks ago in September.

Unlike the Naraon, the NM-5 isn’t targeting international sales and dominance (yet!), but it will make life much harder for any established firms from outside India with high hopes of making big sales in the country – which is pretty much all of them.

India’s major challenge is moving its people around its huge country economically: roads are relatively sparse, and light aircraft are being touted as a major solution. The NM-5 is being promoted as an

Mahindra Aerospace boss Hemant Luthra... a happy man!

For established manufacturers betting the farm on mass sales in India, the NM-5 is a deadly new rival affordable plane for the populace.

And for flight training – expected to boom in the region as air travel becomes more routine – a simple and rugged aircraft is just what’s needed to help the next generation of pilots.

The kicker for the NM-5 is its price. The boss of Mahindra has spoken of making a light aircraft that should only cost around 30% more than an air-conditioned car.

Even if that turns out to be unachievable – the prototype uses a Lycoming IO-540 engine, so not every cost will be able to be slashed due to indigenous labour and manufacturing – if Mahindra can build a five-seat tourer for significantly less than current rivals, it heaps price pressures on the established manufacturers in what they hope will be a major sales market. If they are betting the farm on mass sales in India, it’s a deadly new rival.

Mahindra are also working on at least one new turboprop twin transport and passenger aircraft, having recently bought the Australian manufacturer GippsAero and also snapped up the type certificate for the old Nomad N24. It also bought an entire ex-Boeing production line, to aid the manufacture of major components for airliners. A heavy hitter with big plans. www.mahindra.com

26 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

the Naraon four-seater last year as an exploratory exercise at Oshkosh 2010, to gauge reaction from US pilots to a Korean-built GA plane. After all, Korea has never built a civil aircraft.

The reaction? Good enough to get the first prototype built and flying a little over a year later, at a ceremony graced by Korean ministers and business leaders.

It’s of pretty standard design, and clearly aimed at a potential Cirrus buyer with performance, equipment, and price broadly comparable with the SR22, so it’s not going to change the world because of that.

It’s what it represents that is important: a brand new aviation manufacturing nation. And not one wanting to merely pat itself on the back for joining a club of less than 30, but one aiming to become a genuine powerhouse.

KAI is the aviation giant you’ve never heard of, turning over $1bn last year building aircraft under license for the military and commercial aviation sectors using foreign parts and designs.

It was a Government-founded entity, and its current owners are

It’s what it represents that is important: a brand new aviation manufacturing nation...

Hyundai, Daewoo, and Samsung, so when it says it plans over the next 25 years to become one of the dominant manufacturers in GA, mirroring the rise of Korean automotive and electronic manufacturing, it should be taken very seriously.

Such claims might be taken with a pinch of salt if it were just marketing speak, but it’s not: at the first flight ceremony, Government ministers were outlining concrete steps being taken to ensure Korea had all the right global agreements in place to seamlessly enter the world of GA in a big way.

The Naraon is the first step for a country that believes it should be huge in GA manufacturing, and has a remarkable track record of achieving what it sets out to. www.koreaaero.com

The Naraon should be the first of many new Korean aircraft

Q U I ET LY C H A N G I N G P E R C E P T I O N

sOlar impUlse Behold... the Sun God of aviation WHEN it comes to electric aircraft, they don’t get any bigger or more ambitious than the Solar Impulse: at 80m wingspan it will be wider than an Airbus A380, yet fly around the world on solar power alone.

The delicate giant needs superb piloting skills to handle well, and

the mother of all weather reports to ensure its pilots steer clear of buffeting turbulence – it’s not what you’d call rugged.

But, it will showcase the very best of new energy and aircraft construction tech, and create a Lindbergh-style buzz for flying that is much-missed these days.

The men behind it, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, have already flown a smaller version (a piffling 63m wingspan) in Europe, and established that its system of harvesting solar power during the day for battery storage and reuse through the night works – they have flown 26 hours non-stop.

The Solar Impulse will eventually be covered by a mesh of over 12,000 wafer-thin solar cells feeding power to half a ton of batteries, and thence its four small

electric motors, each averaging a meagre 6hp.

It has already seen some significant advances in both battery and photovoltaic cell technology from its technical partners, which before long will filter down to the next generation of electric aircraft – showing that in-flight charging is yet another area where fuel costs can be driven down.

And, who won’t stare openmouthed when it flies overhead? www.solarimpulse.com

You think MkI is wide? MkII will have a wingspan of 80m!

A H I G H E R TA R G ET

virGin Galactic spaceshiptWO One small step for passengers (one giant hit in the wallet) >> NOW that the Space Shuttles are gathering dust in museums, SpaceShipTwo is in a field of one for being the rocket-boosted glider that goes into space. But, unlike the Space Shuttles, you can pay to get on this one: it’s the aircraft that everyone will dream of being able to fly in.

It forms the tip of the spear

SS2 is slung between the twin hulls of Mothership Eve, and detaches before blasting at Mach 4 into space

with which Sir Richard Branson will pierce the stratosphere (and the mesosphere and thermosphere) to beyond 100km above Earth – the formal definition of outer space – and make history as the first realistic example of space tourism.

In doing so it will turn air travel from the increasingly mundane

It’s the aircraft that everyone will dream of being able to fly in

back into something you feel like dressing for – albeit this time in a pressurised safety suit instead of a smart jacket and tie. And. there’s no upgrades either.

The passengers, six per flight at around $200,000 a throw, will have to be quick taking their snaps, as each flight lasts no longer than an hour. But what an hour.

SpaceshipTwo is carried to 50,000ft by Mothership Eve (itself a work of art), at which point it detaches and ignites a rocket booster which propels it to supersonic within seconds, a prelude to a 70s Mach 4 blast upwards into space.

Then… silence. The rocket shuts down as the SS2 arcs up to a 110km apogee, at which point the occupants become weightless in a 40,000ft freefall.

At around ‘just’ 70,000ft, the wings rotate to settle the SS2 into a gentle glide lasting 25 minutes, and back to Earth – and a ceremony for the six passengers, where they get their astronauts wings.

Of course, the question we all want to know is: will they still get their Virgin red socks, pen, and eye masks? Fingers crossed (from 2013 onwards…). www.virgingalactic.com

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 27

coverstory

Every aspect of the ICON is about ease of ownership and ease of use

THE DOOR TO NEW PILOTS

icon a5 The aircraft that non-pilots will ask you about >> THE Holy Grail of all aircraft companies, and anyone in aviation for that matter, is – surely – to get more pilots flying, and create a buzz about flying. On that basis, the US ICON A5 is doing us all a huge favour.

When was the last time an upstart company with no previous manufacturing history caused such a buzz in aviation? One that looks set to have the best part of 1000 orders on its books before even certifying its first aircraft –

It could not have come from one of the major incumbents of aircraft manufacture and during a worldwide economic car crash at that? 1000!

The A5 is another example of how wholesale rule changes

28 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

open the door to new ideas and new ways of thinking, and is the standout example of what the new LSA regulations have allowed: new ideas in aviation.

It could not have come from one of the major incumbents, and nor could its approach to the market: glitz, glamour, and sell the sizzle. It lands on tarmac! It lands on water! It goes on a trailer! Its wings fold back on moments! It’s unbelievably cool! Flying is easy!

Back it up with unimpeachable

technical staff (formerly at Scaled Composites), and mouth-watering styling inside and out, and it’s no surprise that a third of its orders have come from buyers who are not even pilots yet. Unprecedented.

For many, its $139,000 price tag is less than the car they might have bought instead.

For the rest, the A5 promises a return to the kind of flying that got them into aviation in the first place: fun! www.iconaircraft.com

CLASS LEADER

Cessna 162 Skycatcher Giving cred where’s it’s needed >> THE Cessna 162 Skycatcher might be the most improbable game changer on the list… a traditional metal high-wing that looks remarkably like countless other small Cessnas.

It’s not got amazing range or a particularly high payload, it’s not particularly fast or economical, and it’s got a Lycoming engine that burns gasoline. So why the fuss?

The 162 changes the game simply because it exists: a Light Sport Aircraft, from Cessna.

Industry heavyweight Cessna is something of a mirror for aviation, and – a bit like the company – most pilots are fairly conservative, avoiding risks or ventures into uncharted territory; it’s better for your health to stay on the flightplan, and out of the unknown.

And that meant a lot of existing pilots weren’t taking the new Light Sport Aircraft class seriously, seeing it filled with from firms they’d never heard of, and were unlikely to learn more about.

The LSA regs might have ushered in the largest number of innovative new designs for a generation, intended to reduce costs and lower the barrier to entry for new pilots,

£200 to top her up? How about a fiver...

A lot of existing pilots weren’t taking the new Light Sport Aircraft class seriously but the majority of existing pilots will simply stick with what they know and WHO they know.

So Cessna’s decision to jump into LSAs with a brand new design is a game changer because it gives the still-young class a much-needed air of credibility, and in doing so – ironically – opens up dozens of new companies making rivals to the 162 to an audience that might never had considered them before.

Cessna have quickly racked up over 1000 Skycatcher orders, and the fact it is an entirely traditional design is all the better. The message is reassuring: there’s no reason not to like it, or LSAs. The primary market was intended to be flight training schools looking to replace old 150/152s, but lots of private buyers are snapping them up. www.cessna.com

The 162 has shot to the top of the LSA sales charts in the US

R E V I TA L I S I N G A L E G E N D

beyond aviation’s electric 172 Giving new low-cost life to old >> ELECTRIC aviation is big news at present, and will only get bigger. As you will have read elsewhere in this issue, last month saw $1.35m, the biggest prize in civil aviation, awarded by the NASA-Google CAFÉ Green Flight Challenge to the electric Pipistrel Taurus G4, which showed fuel efficiency per passenger some 400% better than that of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner (see p4).

Almost all the new electric aircraft cropping up are entirely new designs, created from scratch to take full benefit of new materials and of featherweight construction. Which, it has to be said, not every pilot is a fan of – many prefer the sturdy feel of an all-metal design, and schools love them too, as they are rugged and cope with abuse from students.

Colorado-based Beyond Aviation have come at it from the other end, and are developing an electric engine and power system that will fit into the estimated 40,000+ Cessna 172s flying worldwide, and ultimately

Out with the old Lycoming, in with the new electric motor

Electric motors are more reliable and easier to maintain than gasoline engines countless other similar-sized aircraft too.

The Beyond 172 currently uses 320kg-worth of batteries and electric motor – about the same as a standard Lycoming-engined 172 with a full fuel load – with the promise that as battery tech advances (which it is, quite rapidly) the available payload/ range will increase as a result.

Beyond targets a two-hour duration at launch.

So far it has completed successful taxi tests and it should fly in 2012, aiming initially for a Supplementary Type Certificate for a two-seater, then afterwards for a full four-seater.

The proposition to flight training schools, who conduct most flights with two aboard and of only an hour or so, is really strong: electric motors are more reliable and easier to maintain than gasoline engines, and of course the running costs are a tiny fraction – just a few dollars or pounds per hour.

They are also quieter, which for schools with aircraft constantly in the air is a strong sales point in the ongoing war to placate neighbours.

Adding to the ambitious project’s credibility, the Beyond 172 has the backing of Cessna itself – not a company known to jump into bed with any suitor. www.beyond-aviation.com

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 29

coverstory A NEW CHOICE

flight design c4 A lightweight star moves up the weight divisions >> SIMILAR to how Cessna’s 162 marks a major move by an established certified aircraft manufacturer into LSAs, the Flight Design C4 marks a microlight and LSA firm moving into certified territory. Everywhere, the boundaries are blurring for the good.

Unveiled earlier this year at AERO 2011 in Germany, the composite C4’s standout numbers included a 1:1 weight to payload ratio (600kg empty, 600kg payload, 1200kg MTOW) and in diesel guise an incredible 1700nm range even with four aboard. Most importantly, it will eventually feature the Flight Design Rotax-electric hybrid, being the first certified aircraft to do so.

For pilots brought up on certified aircraft, it’s got everything they expect: roomy, practical, Garmin avionics, a traditional engine by Continental (if you want gasoline power). And, some additions they might not – like an airframe parachute as standard. And hey, it even passes bears a more-thanpassing resemblance to a Cessna.

The C4 spearheads a move by LSA firms into bigger territory VFM is high too. While Flight Design is a premium option in the price conscious microlight sector, in the everything-costs-a-lot world of certified manufacture they will be more than competitive, and have managed to lock the price of the C4 to $250,000 for the all-important US market.

So, how was this newcomer to the

certified market received at the big shows? Remarkably well: by the end of Oshkosh just three months after first unveiling, and with only a mock-up to show the world, the order book stood at over 70 aircraft.

Given that the company’s target was only between 30 and 50 sales by 2013, that’s damn impressive. www.flightdesign.com

W H O N E E D S RU N WAY S ?

sikorsky x2 Ushering in a new era of commercial flight >> THE weird-looking X2 is arguably the biggest innovation in helicopters for the last 35 years – a machine which so easily achieved its initial design goals that it made a mockery of such trifling things as the world speed record for helicopters with ease.

That landmark – 249mph – stood for nearly 25 years, and marked the assumed maximum speed that helicopters can reach given that their very means of lift are their limiting factor: as you go faster, the

tips of the advancing blades reach the speed of sound, where all sorts of funny things happen to their ability to create lift predictably and safely.

The X2 features co-axial main

A solution to the age old speed/load vs runway size problem dogging modern air travel

It was so good it shattered records without even being really stretched 30 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

rotors, and a built-for-speed pusher prop, so can split the jobs of lift and forward power into two. Now the main rotors only have to create lift – which can be done amply at relatively low rpm, as demonstrated by any autogyro – while the pusher turboprop gives an almighty shove from behind.

Sikorsky recently mothballed the X2 after it hit 290mph in level flight, well short of its outright best we reckon. Why? Because it was never intended to be just a speed machine: it’s a proof of concept. The REALLY exciting stuff is yet to come.

Scale the X2 up and make it on a much bigger scale carrying up to 30 or more passengers – which Sikorsky intends to do – and add some short wings for even more lift, and you have a solution to the age old speed/load vs runway size problem dogging modern air travel infrastructure (or to the military problem of heavy helicopters being slow and easy to hit).

Future X2 derivatives will have the speed of the fastest turboprops, and the load capacity of very large helicopters and the VTOL feature which makes them so valuable. www.sikorsky.com

OTHER STARS OF GA THERE are so many more new and cool designs reaching fruition than the 13 here – as any trip to Oshkosh or AERO 2011 will prove to you. And, so many have strengths that can help change the way we and others think of flying...

• HONDAJET The gorgeous and fast HondaJet will be out of reach of most at over $4m, but it is certain to set new standards for quietness and ease of access that other firms might have to respond to. Having the engines over the wings slashes its audible footprint on the ground, while they also mean it sits nice and low to the ground; it’s built with elderly passengers in mind.

• PC Aero Elektra One The Elektra One is already flying, and has the potential to be the most innovative of the lot by aiming to take flying to parts of the world where they can source neither petrofuel OR electricity. It recharges its batteries off free solar power, and is supplied with a solar panelequipped hangar that captures the sun’s energy – you don’t even need an electricity supply.

• Sikorsky Firefly Based on a humble Schweizer 300 with its Lycoming piston engine ripped out, the Firefly marks the first move by one of the giants of helicopters into electric rotary flight.

It’s not meant to form the basis for an electric Schweizer, but rather it is a testbed for new and cutting edge battery technology – an even bigger problem for rotary than fixed-wing aircraft. It has tested with solid lithium-based batteries, but will soon test out next-gen liquid-based battery technology.

• AGUSTA-WESTLAND 609 Like the X2, the AW609 tiltrotor aims to bring vertical takeoff to the world of turboprop passenger travel.

It too would negate the need for long and expensive runways. Fiendishly complex though!

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 31

AEROSWITHALAN

The 2011 World Aerobatic Championships

The bi-annual clash of the titans from the world of aerobatics

A

COUPLE of months ago I wrote about the history of the World Aerobatic Championships, looking ahead to the upcoming 26th WAC hosted in Italy by the Aero Club of Foligno.

Now the party is over. Everyone is back home, even the Australians.

So it seems right to pen a few thoughts on overall and individual performances at the event, in an attempt to convey some of its drama and flavour.

But first, perhaps, I should explain a little more about what I was doing there in the first place. Not flying, of course, as my body decided some years ago that I was now too old for Unlimited competition flying on the world stage.

FAI Sanction The FAI (www.fai.org), not to be confused with the motorsport's FIA, is the world governing body for Air Sports. For an international aerobatic contest to be accredited as

32 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

a true World Championship it must be sanctioned by the FAI’s Aerobatic Commission. The FAI was formed in Paris many moons ago, which is why the name is FAI and not IAF. It’s in French, so backwards. In English it would be the International Aeronautical Federation; not, to be confused with the Israeli Air Force.

The International Aerobatic Commission, part of the FAI, cannot be called the IAC, however, as that is the US-based International Aerobatic Club and, anyway, it has to be given

a name in French. The French verb for fluttering about is voltiger and the associated noun voltige is used for acrobatics or trick-riding in a circus.

Not surprisingly, then, aerobatics is called, in French, voltige aérienne and the backwards French acronym for the International Commission has to be CIVA. Why the French did not insist on the European Union being called the UE is beyond me.

International Jury Anyway, as this WAC in Italy enjoyed

the sanction of the FAI, it was necessary for CIVA to send a few wise old men to oversee the proceedings and make sure it ran more or less in accordance with the regulations.

Thus it came to pass that I enjoyed a two-week sojourn at the 'Centre of the World', how this part of Italy styles itself.

Whilst not without a modicum of responsibility, this task gave me a splendid overview of the event, including seeing the audience from the stage at the medal ceremony without actually having to win anything. I can see how power might go to one’s head.

Foligno Foligno is normally a pretty sleepy town. This ought to have been made especially so by the recession.

However, the WAC was carefully timed to fit in with the annual Quinatna pageant and so quite the reverse was true. A pleasant hotel in the heart of a mediaeval town proved to be the perfect place from which to see and hear the celebrations – including the street parties and interminable drumming competitions well beyond midnight!

Foligno airport has not yet been discovered by Ryanair and so is equally sleepy. Officially a training base for the Italian Air Force, so attracting public funding and enlarging the European debt, it reminds me a bit of the revitalised naval air station at Lee-on-Solent.

Imagine how Lyneham might be in 10 years time when half of it is occupied by ‘travellers’ and there is only one runway left. Perfect, really, for what was to follow.

A saving grace was a Dad’s Army weather forecasting unit that was unerringly accurate and made innumerable measurements by balloon ascent of the relatively minor upper winds.

Flick Rolling Competition aerobatics is all about accurate shapes and precise rotations of all kinds. Ignoring the odd spin, the rotations comprise rolls with aileron (until very recently, and rather ironically, called ‘Slow Rolls’ in the Aresti Catalogue) and flick rolls wherein the rotation should be driven by the rudder, with the wing in an asymmetric stall).

Judges have to be able to tell the

CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN: The skies above Foligno looked dramatic.... and only more so when the competition began; Philipp Steinbach became the first pilot in years to fly his own self-designed aircraft (used by many others too); Tom Cassells in his CAP-232 difference between these two types of roll, and it used to be easy. In times past, you could tell a proper flick roll because the rotation was much quicker than the pilot could achieve with ailerons alone and it was also a bit ‘squirrelly’ looking as the aeroplane was yawed all the time.

Now, it’s a bit different.

Carbon-winged monoplanes, i.e. all the aeroplanes at WAC, roll amazingly fast on ailerons alone – just as fast as good flick rolls. Judges are still meant to be able to tell the difference, so it has really come down to being able to assess just how ‘squirrelly’ is enough to determine the difference.

The task for the pilot is to get inject as much ‘squirrelliness’ into his flicks as possible – to make sure judges see them as such – while still stopping bang on heading. The key to success is understanding how to show

‘squirrelliness’ and really knowing your aeroplane intimately.

At the end of the first competition programme, when everyone had flown the Known Sequence published the year before, top squirrel was Russian ace Mikhail Mamistov, still flying the now venerable Sukhoi-26.

Towards the bottom of the list came some southern hemisphere pilots renting the crazy American MX-S, the sole Japanese pilot renting a 2-seat Sbach 342, and a few others still struggling to bury their nuts.

Roll Your Own The second challenge of the WAC is to design your own sequence, using figures from the Catalogue and obeying a few simple rules about what has to be included. Each sequence has the same potential maximum score, but you can, in theory, design a series of manoeuvres to suit your aeroplane and skill set. However, one pilot stood out as having a particularly novel idea, and what an idea it turned out to be.

The rules basically set out the minimum of some types of figure and rotation that you should include in the sequence. For example, there has to be a rolling turn and a tail slide ➽

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 33

AEROSWITHALAN and at least one spin. There have to be at least four flick rolls, and so on.

Enter Miki Golan flying a CAP-232, sole representative of Israel, and avid reader of the rules. Miki ‘discovered’ that the rules state no minimum requirement for any kind of aileron roll. There is just an assumption that pilots will include them, as only four flick rolls are necessary and, hey, aileron rolls are so much easier to fly and to judge. But aileron rolls are not ‘required’ so Miki has none in his sequence. Every figure, with the necessary exception of the Rolling Turn, is adorned with only flick rolls.

Many, many of them and everyone slightly different from all the others.

The amount of ‘squirrelliness’ needed for the whole sequence was immense. And yet Miki had been a bad squirrel in the Known programme and received reduced marks for a couple of flicks in that sequence. No rational person who saw the planned flick-fest thought it anything but a suicide note. But Miki had clearly highlighted an aspect of the rules that nobody else had spotted.

In order to continue in the contest after this “Free Programme”, Miki had to get a minimum of 60% of the available marks; he had to gather a lot of nuts. Everybody watched this flight, not just the judges. It was the biggest talking point of the day. Could he pull it off? Well, yes and no.

Each sequence contains nine very complex figures. The first eight figures of Miki’s sequence contained all the

flicks; figure 9 was the rolling turn.

Each of the first 8 figures contained enough ‘squirrelliness’ and got scored, but there was a cost. Flick rolls cause a lot of drag and destroy energy. Even a 300hp monoplane will struggle to burn enough gas in three minutes or so to keep the aeroplane at an acceptable altitude.

Miki just didn’t start high enough for the middle of a hot day in Italy.

He flew below minimum height in one figure and lost 250 penalty points, about 5% of the maximum.

Then, irony of ironies, he got just a bit too much stick and rudder into the final figure, the rolling turn. Half way through the first of the rolls one wing stalled a bit and the aileron roll turned into yet another flick and the figure was zeroed. Another 6% or 7% or possible marks lost and a final score down in the 50s. Miki was out of the race, because he did one flick too many. Too many nuts.

Winds of Change The French team this year were without Renaud Ecalle, the overall champion two years ago, tragically lost in a bad-weather accident in 2010. True to form, the experience of the top Russians came to the fore and the new World Aerobatic Champion is Mikhail Mamistov, and the Female Champion is Svetlana Kapanina and the Team Champions were Russia.

But how long it will stay like that is open to debate.

The Russian aircraft are now quite

Castor Fantoba displayed his impeccable Sukhoi Su-26 – just gorgeous

34 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

The Russian aircraft are now showing their age. How long before we see them flying new aircraft? elderly in competitive terms and beginning to show their age. One had a significant engine failure during the second Unknown and some pilots had to switch mounts. No Russian flew in the Freestyle competition to save wear on the aircraft. How long, I wonder, before we see the Russians flying new aircraft? One thing is almost certain: they will have to come from Germany. Will we see a radialengined Sbach in two years time?

Now, that would be something.

British Ambition The aspirations of British pilots for this event were mostly unrealised.

One, Nick Onn, lives in the US and had to withdraw when a certain hurricane hit the eastern seaboard just days before WAC was to start.

Our remaining pilots, Tom and Gerry, flew well in the early stages, easily making it though to the first and second Unknown sequences.

Tom Cassells had technical issues with his CAP and was unable to finish the second Unknown. Naturally it was disastrous for his final position, moving him out of the Top 20.

Gerald Cooper was flying the new single-seat Sbach 300 and still has relatively little time in the type, just a few weeks really since getting through the aeroplane's initial test programme. He flew exceptionally well to finish 10th overall and 6th in the Free programme. Even better may well prove possible at the next WAC, in 2013, when he has significantly more time in the machine.

Our final representative in the final Freestyle programme on the last day was Eric Vazeille, flying the Sbach 300 that he shares with Gerald.

Again, inexperience on the type was a handicap and Eric was unable to repeat his podium finish from Silverstone two years ago when he flew the CAP-232.

However, 5th in the World Freestyle is an amazing result under the circumstances and again bodes well for the future. The Freestyle winner was Rob Holland from the USA, flying that ‘crazy’ MX-S I mentioned earlier.

No wonder the South Africans found it a bit of a handful!!

So, no medals for GBR at this WAC, and the usual highs and lows. I am sure that in two years time we will see more UK pilots coming through the ranks to fly in their first World Championships. How far down the road are you?

Be safe and enjoy your flying. www.wac2011.it www.civa-results.com www.aerobatics.org.uk

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 35

LOOP FOR IPAD… SO GOOD IT SHOULD BE IN YOUR LOGBOOK! New iPad app brings you the very best in flying, and celebrates what it takes to fly for fun, to fly for a career, or simply to fly better

›› Every pilot remembers their first solo… it’s the moment in time that can bring together astronauts and glider pilots, jet jockeys and microlighters. Now, there is a new first for pilots to put in their logbook: when they got their first download of the LOOP iPad app! ›› LOOP for iPad is a new addition to the App Store, celebrating every aspect of just what it takes to be a pilot and shining a light on the best of leisure flying – the place where every person who made the decision to chase the dream of being a pilot can marvel at the sublime pleasure of flight. ›› It’s been created by the same team that makes LOOP each month – but with tons of added video and insight to make the best use of the coolest thing to hit aviation in years: the iPad. ›› The team has already created the five-star FLIGHTTEST app – the one that put you in the pilot’s chair of the Space Shuttle – and the P1 Business Aviation Magazine app, the fastestgrowing app for business aviation on the iPad. The debut issue is an Oshkosh special, bringing you the best of the biggest GA show in the world, with stacks of extras. ›› LOOP has always been about putting you in the hot seat of really cool aircraft, and the iPad debut issue flight tests the stunning new Millennium Master. Aviation is being turned upside down by the new LSA class, and the aerobatic but economical Master is about the coolest yet built. Add to that news, advice, a look at Cessna’s next big temptation for existing pilots, and video and photography from award-winning lensmen, and you’ve got an app that finally makes the iPad into a virtual airfield which lets you dazzle at the joy of flight even if it’s blowing a hurricane outside. ›› If that wasn’t enough, LOOP for iPad is FREE… that’s right, not a penny, because we want you to spend every penny you can on doing what you love: flying. Download it from the App Store and love flying as much as we do.

ITUNES: FIND THE APP ON ITUNES BY SEARCHING ‘LOOP DIGITAL’ OR CLICKING TO HTTP://TINYURL.COM/LOOPIPAD

To g e t t h e a o o v i s i t t h e A p p l e A p p s t o re a n d s e a rc h f o r LO O P D I G I TA L

w w w . l o o p . a e r o

CLUB

ADVICE || CLUBS || FLIGHT TRAINING || SAFETY || PLACES TO FLY || PEOPLE TO MEET || THINGS TO DO

T

H

E

P

L

A

C

E

T

O

B

E

FIRST SOLO

The legendary Jim Cripps, on his first time solo. P45

NEW PILOT

How the BMAA is helping a new pilot. P43

PLANE CRAZY

Italy’s Mr Autogyro speaks of his love for flying. P47

GRAND TOUR

The IMC countdown As the clock ticks on UK pilots being able to obtain a new IMC rating, don’t miss out on your right to get – and keep – a lifesaver P46

Making the most of Guernsey by air. P40

NICK HEARD

Transponder management as Mode-S nears. P42

GURUS

More details of how IMC rights will change. P43

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 37

flightCLUBHANGARCHAT

Out to Africa +ON tOUr

africa

Charles Stewart held a life-long dream to fly round his home continent, Africa. Little did he know what the challenge was going to entail. Here he talks through some of his many adventures…

I

+thE VitaLs

cApE TOWN TO NAiRObi THE initial journey plan was to fly from Cape Town in South Africa to Nairobi in Kenya travelling through Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda enroute – some of the most spectacular and challenging terrain in all Africa.

The first leg of the journey would be up the west coast of South Africa to the north west corner of Namibia before turning east and heading into Botswana.

From Botswana the plan was heads north east

into Zambia and on into Tanzania.

From Tanzania the route turns north west into Burundi and Rwanda before turning East back into Tanzania and then on to Kenya.

Charles and Jim are raising funds to help educate children in Africa, with the charity African Community Outreach.

It costs ACO just £25 per year to put a child through school, immeasurably improving its life chances. You can sponsor Charles and Jim through their website.

AM originally from Zambia, now living in the UK, and always wanted to do travel Africa – it’s on my life list!

I flew with Jim Anderson, a great pilot with extensive experience in who was great to have on the trip with me.

The route was picked along the lines of places I knew we would be able to get in and out of, and could see old friends – no science behind it.

Because of the lack of avgas (no using an R44, as first planned) and having too few hours in turbines to keep insurers happy, we plumped for a gyro – a brand new Spanish-built ELA Aviacion ELA 07R autogyro.

We started in South Africa and headed straight into Namibia. When we came to crossing a huge ridge that runs through the centre of the country, due to being hot and high we couldn’t get any lift. So I suggested heading to the coast.

38 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

As soon as we got to the nice, cool Atlantic Sea we got our power back, but then we got mist, sitting at about 15ft, so we had to be very cautious.

The diversion gave us fuel problems, but we saw some guys doing road works so landed to discover we were in the middle of a restricted diamond mine zone, at least 280km from civilisation in any directions. Luckily, I speak the local language so was able to talk to the foreman and buy some fuel – three hours’ worth after some bartering. Trouble was, our destination was 3hr 10mins away!

We landed at what I thought was our destination, but we quickly realised it was an abandoned village – luckily, within vague walking distance of the Purros lodge where we planned to stay.

After a walk, during which I spotted some fresh elephant dung, the lodge owner drove me back to the gyro after cautioning that

Eventually, I spot a lowish pass where I can traverse the ridge... just for the engine to start spluttering!

elephants and planes don’t mix: shortly before a tour operator left a Cessna 210 and a bull elephant twisted the tail and removed ‘only’ one wing. Despite fatigue, we had to take off again and get the machine to higher ground and tied up.

We had some tech issues on the run east towards Botswana, when it would refuse to shut off, and by now distrusted the fuel gauge too – a camping light on the side let us see exactly what was left, vital given the ranges and terrain we were flying. Meanwhile, our radio and headsets were also failing, we can’t climb because it’s so hot, and I’m burning fuel which I can’t afford. Eventually, I spot a lowish pass where I can traverse the ridge... just for the engine to start spluttering! We just make it over, and down to a luckyfor-us village to get more fuel. Phew.

That brought it’s own drama: the village fuel stop

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO... www.loop.aero +history royal aero club trust

Help find the pioneers If you enjoy a bit of genealogy and know there’s an aviator in your family history you might be able to help the Royal Aero Club (RAeC) Trust, who have teamed up with Ancestry. co.uk to search worldwide for missing images of over 200 pioneer aviators.

Family history enthusiasts and local history communities are being urged to help find the images which accompany a number of Aviators’ Certificates held in the Trust’s extensive archive, which includes 13,000 photographs.

These certificates were given to pilots who, in the early days of the First World War, successfully completed their initial training through the Royal Aero Club before service.

“Unfortunately, one volume is missing, so volunteers from the Royal

Aero Club Trust are busy compiling a ‘virtual’ replacement album, drawing on photographs from other sources,” says Andrew Dawrant, RAeC trustee.

This is where you can help. The trust is urging any budding history sleuths, or anyone with an interest or family connection with the early days of flying to go to http://blogs.ancestry. com/uk/2011/08/08/helpfind-the-missing-heroes-ofworld-war-i/ and help track these images down.

GET Your club noticed in loop clubs@ loop.aero

Records like this are missing... can you help?

+ s c h ol a r s h i p s p i l o t s o f t h e f u t u r e

said there was no petrol, but after watching for a while I realised what they were really saying was there was no petrol at this price. I asked a policeman who was watching events if, for 10 Namibian dollars per litre, there was any petrol to be had... 30 mins later we’re siphoning from police cars!

Later, as soon as we try to gain height, we can’t – a fuel problem, due to air leaking into the carb bowl (something routinely tightened at the 100 hour service, we later discovered). Then, we had to call in an emergency landing at Etosha National Park due to lack of fuel; all sorts of form filling for us, but worth it just to fly over the Etosha Pan – two hours of out of this world views.

Alongside fuel scarcity, overheating was a real problem, leaving us in a constant sink and worried about climbs; water temp was showing 120°, oil 115°.

Our next leg was towards

Rundu, with the name of a guy to call for fuel along the route, Marius. So, tucked away out of sight, in the middle of nowhere at a vet’s outpost, were two drums of precious fuel. Landing later at Marius’ farm, he turned out to be a real hero who not only flew and built his own autogyros, but is a refrigeration engineer too.

You could not dream of a better coincidence, and before long he has seamlessly grafted a radiator suited to a 2.5l autogyro engine on to ours.

By now I am thinking the Big Man is looking out for us...

Now it was the plan to get all the way round Africa, but unfortunalty the gyro fell apart and we only got as far as Zambia. We suffered every technicality you would have thought possible, and really they aren’t made to fly the harsh terrains we put it though. But we are planning on going back and finishing the job in hand. www.heli2africa.com

Clockwise from main: Talk about hot and high.... air temps really sapped the will of the hardy ELA autogyro; Now that’s what you call sleeping under the stars; The ELA wasn’t the only one who found heat a problem (well, in that suit...); Oi! Where’s your hi-viz?; Look left and right on takeoff...

Scholarship chance IT’S that time of year again!

If you are young and want to get into flying, as pilot, engineer, or air traffic controller, get writing to Cotswold airport for a chance to win a scholarship to help you on your way.

The scheme, now in it’s fifth year, gives 14-18-year-olds the chance to embark on a career in aviation and gain experience and training close to home.

The programme, funded

by Cotswold Airport owner and CEO Ronan Harvey, is run in conjunction with the airport-based fly2help charity and flying organisations on site. It has already helped change the lives of dozens of young people.

Application forms and details are on the fly2help website www.fly2help.org or by calling 01285 771177.

Entries close Jan 13, 2012.

10 places available on the 2012 scheme... get your entry in!

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 39

flightCLUBEVENTS

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

H I S T O R I C J E T S 70 YEARS OF THE JET AGE, RAF MUSEUM, OCTOBER 22

GRAND TOUR

Memories from the first jets Pioneers talk about flying the earliest ‘air pushers’ IT’S rare to be in the company of greats, but this year’s speakers at the HAA Annual Symposium are living legends. The subject – the birth of the jet age – is headed

by Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, CBE DSC AFC, perhaps Britain’s greatest living aviator.

As a test pilot he flew more aircraft than any other flyer, is reckoned to be the first British pilot to break the sound barrier, and the first to fly a jet from an aircraft carrier.

His talk traces the earliest days of jet flight from his experiences of the Gloster Whittle E28/39, Britain’s first jet, his supersonic flight in the de Havilland Swallow, and flights in German wartime jets including the Arado 234 and Messerschmitt 262.

Ian Whittle, son of Sir Frank, and Ray Fowkes, apprentice to

Whittle Snr as he developed the jet engines, will join Captain Brown to add a unique insight.

Captain Terence Henderson will celebrate the de Havilland Comet and Concorde – the world’s first, and most famous, jet airliners – having flown both. And Nigel Walpole will tell the story of the

Hawker Hunter and Supermarine Swift, to explain why one became a 1950s icon and the other remained obscure.

Tickets for the day-long event, includes lunch and access to the RAF Museum are £20 for members and £25 for non-members. www.haa-uk.aero

Winkle Brown was the first to land a jet on an aircraft carrier

EVENTS PLACES TO GO OVER THE NEXT MONTH

+ 22-23 October, End of Season Fly-in, Northrepps Aerodrome This Cromer grass strip is an absolute cracker, and the local dressed crabs are renowned delicacies – easily finding space in the most cramped of cockpits. So what more reason do you need to fly there? How about this: the site has just been given district council planning approval to continue operating as a permanent airfield, after years of challenges from nimbys. Now that is worth going to help them celebrate! www.northreppsaerodrome. co.uk

restoration projects such as the world’s only WWII Barracuda torpedo bomber and a Wessex HU.5 www.fleetairarm.com

This Open Day provides an opportunity for anyone considering a career as an airline pilot to benefit.

• See the Full Flight Simulator Centre to gain an insight into + 29 October, Professional what is involved.

Flight Training Exhibition, • Get firsthand advice and Sofitel, Terminal 4, Heathrow see presentation covering An exhibition for anybody topics such as selection, contemplating a career as a training and finance professional pilot, combining • Join tours around seminars from trainers and CTC’s Boeing and Airbus airlines with exhibition simulators, Virtual Flight stands from Europe’s top Decks (Airbus) and Computer flight training organisations Based Training rooms. and pilot service providers. • Representatives from the Tickets £8.50 in advance or BBVA bank will be on hand to £10 on the day. answer your finance queries 01225 481440 and Pooleys pilot shop will be open on site. + 2 November, Aviation The training centre will + 23 October, Hibernation Auction, AV8 restaurant, be open for visitors from Fly-in, Breighton Aerodrome Cotswold Airport (Kemble) 10am to 4.30pm. Visitors can A cracking bash as the Featuring aircraft including spend the entire day at the flying season starts to draw a wartime J4E Piper Cub centre to tour the facilities to a close... and a perfect Coupe, a Ventus B high and try their hand at some excuse to wonder at some performance glider, certified of the training devices. of the beautiful aircraft at parts, non-certified parts and There will be a ‘Careers the resident Real Aeroplane air memorabilia, the latter Advice Centre’ for you and Company’s stunning including pilot supplies. your family to visit and get Collection. Ask founder Taff enquiries@airnautica.com questions answered, plus Smith about his incredible www.airnautica.com two formal presentations Cape Town record attempt! during the day by Captain www.realaero.com + 5 November, CTC Open Lee Woodward, Head of CTC Day, Crew Training Centre, Wings and Executive Director + 27 October, Fleet Air Arm Nursling CTC Aviation, and a guest Museum’s Reserve Collection If you are considering a speaker giving an industry Open Day, RNAS Yeovilton, career in flight, the chances update and an insight into Ilchester, Somerset are you will know CTC are. If the airline pilot’s role.

Including a number of not: they’re one of the giants. www.ctcwings.com 40 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

+ 6 November, Vintage Sunday Fly-in, Old Sarum, 01722-322525 www. oldsarumairfield.co.uk + 21 November, Light Aircraft Design Conference, RAeS, London This conference will focus on information useful to the would-be designer of light aircraft. With new content the conference will complement material presented previously. A principal aim of the GA Group is to encourage light aircraft design and manufacture in the UK – a superb goal, and one we all want to see suvveeed.

020-7670-4345 http:// aerosociety.com/Events + 26-27 November, The Flying Show, NEC, Birmingham The Flying Show at the giant NEC halls in Birmingham is the UK’s biggest indoor show for pilots.

It covers the whole spectrum of light sport flying, from simple paraglider canopies to ‘hotship’ composite microlights capable of cruising at 130k or more, and all with the great emphasis on affordability.

0116-261-1322 www.theflyingshow.co.uk

Guernsey With stunning scenery Guernsey is a perfect weekend getaway, with idyllic walks on the cliff paths, rambles through the rural interior, or lazy beach days.

SEE THIS Castle Cornet

Castle Cornet has stood guard over the town and harbour of St Peter Port for nearly eight centuries. Five museums inside (including an RAF museum). www.museums.gov.gg

EVERYTHING ELSE Plan your stay...

STAY HERE: THE FARMHOUSE HOTEL

A relaxing hotel and restaurant in rural St. Saviour Guernsey, dating back to the 15th century but with a modern sophistication. The Hotel offers a choice of dining options, beautiful gardens, a pool, and conference facilities. As one of the oldest family-run hotels on the island, The Farmhouse is perfect for family holidays or a quiet break. Room prices start at £99. www.thefarmhouse.gg

EAT HERE: PIER 17

Set on the tip of Albert Pier with stunning views of the harbour and Castle Cornet, ideally placed to pick the best of the daily catch from Guernsey’s native shores. http://pier17restaurant.com

GOLF HERE: ST. PIERRE PARK

The St. Pierre Park golf course is set within the grounds of the hotel and was designed by Tony Jacklin CBE. This testing Par 3, 9-hole course offers a real challenge to golfers of all abilities. Jacklin used the natural hilly topography of St. Pierre Park to provide a course with a wonderful variety of holes and an abundance of water hazards amongst the woodland landscape. Green fees start at £15 for 9 holes. www.stpierrepark.co.uk

THE STRIP GUERNSEY (EGJB)

Be sure to get a pic of your plane with the very impesssive airport terminal building in the background – an award winner!

CONTACT: States of Guernsey Airport, Guernsey Channel Islands. Tel: 01481 237766 RUNWAYS: 09/27, 1463m x 45m asphalt FUEL: Avgas and Jet A1 LANDING FEES: £5.63 per metric ton or part thereof. www.guernsey-airport.gov.gg

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 41

flightCLUBFLIGHT SCHOOL

Nick Heard

P

GURUS

Q&A

Transponders are only as good as the person that turns them on... or forgets

NICK HEARD is a seasoned flying instructor, current Boeing 747 captain and a former RAF Tornado pilot. Here he looks at the best way to make use of a transponder to aid safety.

I

WAS flying with a private pilot friend recently on a local trip. It wasn’t any sort of training trip and I just sat in the right seat and enjoyed just being in the air. However, I did notice that the other pilot did nothing with his transponder – he put it to ‘Standby’ after starting the engine, and that was the last activity that I saw with the transponder until we had been flying for a little while.

I didn’t want to leap in with all sorts of instructional stuff as that wasn’t the idea of the flight, but I casually asked whether he ever turned the transponder on. His reply was along the lines of “No – am I supposed to?”

I was a bit surprised at that answer, as I thought there was enough information around to let everyone know that transponders should generally be left on whilst in flight. I mentioned this to my friend and he duly set the transponder to ‘On’ with Altitude reporting on and with code 7000 selected.

Some pilots out there view the transponder as yet another ‘Big Brother is watching’ issue, and others just forget to turn them on.

Here are a few reminders of why transponders should be used, and how they can help.

For day-to-day flying, your transponder should be set to ‘On’, with code 7000 set, and with altitude reporting (or Mode C) on – as discussed above with my friend. 7000 is the VFR ‘conspicuity’ squawk in the UK, which indicates to any ATC radar unit that you are in no need of any service, and that you are happily minding your own business!

With altitude reporting on, you will help the radar controller in that he can let pilots who may be using his service (such as Traffic or Deconfliction Service) of your altitude. Without the altitude reporting, the controller has no knowledge of your altitude, and the other aircraft may require avoiding action to maintain lateral separation, even though there may be several thousand of feet of vertical separation.

But there are more reasons now to follow the correct transponder procedures.

More and more aircraft – such as the RAFs Grob Tutors, as I mentioned in a recent article – are being fitted with Traffic Awareness Systems (TAS). These systems rely on transponders talking to each other, warning pilots either visually or aurally of other aircraft nearby. Now, let’s say two aircraft are getting close to each other, but only one has a TAS unit fitted.

As long as both aircraft are

Sponsored by

squawking, then the pilot of Finally, do make use of the the TAS-fitted aircraft will well-developed ‘Listening get the warning of the other Squawk’ system that is now aircraft, and that pilot can in place around the evertake appropriate action, increasing number of airport even though the pilot of the control zones. non-TAS aircraft may be As part of your planning, blissfully unaware of check the the situation! appropriate zone So for those of around which you you who don’t like are flying and you For traffic squawking, you should find the are now increasing relevant frequency awareness the risk factor of and squawk. and reduced collision by not Assuming you allowing this modern collision risk are not planning to kit to do its job. transit the zone, then alone, it’s Don’t forget some all you need to do becoming of the other squawks when approaching really that you might the zone is select need. Those doing the frequency and important aerobatics should squawk, and just squawk 7004 (if not under listen out – you don’t need to any ATC service), whilst you call the ATC unit. should squawk 7600 if you If you start to drift towards lose all your radios. 7700 is the zone boundary, however, the emergency squawk – use ATC can give a quick warning this, for example, if you call on the radio – but they lost your only engine whilst won’t have your registration, cruising around without any of course (unless you have a ATC service. This would be Mode S transponder), so it a more practical and rapid will be a blind call from ATC. way of getting attention to So get used to routinely your plight than, say, dialling using the transponder – I up another frequency to would recommend a handget a Mayday call out, and written note in your pre-flight therefore less distracting than checks to make sure you turn the major job in hand – a the transponder on at that forced landing. If you lost point in the cockpit. engine whilst already with For traffic awareness an ATC unit with an assigned and reduced collision risk squawk, then do make a alone, it’s becoming a really Mayday call and don’t worry important aspect of good about the 7700 squawk! modern GA practice.

INTEGRA 406 GPS ELT Emergency Locator Transmitter

F lySafe

Revolutionary integral GPS, and internal 406MHz antenna.

Easy install and portable. www.kannadaviation.com Email: sales@kannadaviation.com or call: +44 (0)23 9262 3900

385 flysafe Loop 52x148.indd 1

42 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

28/03/2011 09:24

ALL YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED BY THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS

+STAR QUESTION

IMC SAFE?

Q| I see that our French cousins have conjured plans for a France-only domestic Instrument Rating – even though national ratings are meant to be axed with the EASA takeover of licences next year. Does this mean IMC has been definitely saved?

A| The answer is that I don’t think that the word ‘definitely’ can be applied anywhere within the EASA transition process’!

There are still too many aspects still at consultation stage, with implementation dates likely to slip further (I believe). However, recent news from EASA regarding proposals for a European Instrument Rating and En-Route Instrument

LEAN OF PEAK

Q| I saw in the coverage of Oshkosh online that there now seems to be a big debate on ‘Lean of peak’ running.

Is there a hard and fast rule that would work for me? FADEC is years away for me, I’m afraid.

A| ‘Lean of Peak’ engine operation is getting more interest these days because of high fuel prices. It’s a big subject, and I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule – running an engine on the hot side may have implications for long-term engine life depending on aircraft type, and if you forget to go back to full rich on descent you can finish up in real trouble.

Check the Pilots Operating Handbook and perhaps the engine manufacturers recommendations for the best advice. – Nick Heard

YOUR GURUS...

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

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

Keep your cool above clouds and get the right training

Rating look good, as does the suggestion that the IMC Rating may remain in place as a UK qualification only.

Perhaps the French may now decide that the European ratings look good enough without going their own way. I think that obtaining or keeping an IMC Rating looks like a good idea for

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

TWO IN ONE

Q| I am in the middle of my PPL, and am being told that it’s worth getting additional ratings while I’m in the process of learning. Is this legal? And to what benefit?

A| Very much legal, and in the long run very beneficial in saving time and money.

A common example is to learn your tailwheel rating

He could be doing his PPL in that; why not you?

www.loop.aero JULY 2010 LOOP 29

p026-035.flightest ljBSnewlj.indd 29

30/6/10 15:00:14

DOROTHY POOLEY Top instructor and examiner, Dorothy shares her wisdom

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

now, on the assumption that the training and experience you gain with that will stand you in good stead for subsequent conversion to the new European Instrument Ratings should you decide to pursue those options when (or if!) they come into force.

Nick Heard

while undergoing your PPL training. Other students have managed to rack up a night rating, and even learn aerobatic flight too, all while learning their PPL. In fact, most aerobatics trainers are tailwheel too, so you can hoover up two for the price of the additional one in that combination!

Be aware of course that each aircraft will behave very differently, but this is a very useful concept to be aware of as soon as possible in your flying career.

All this comes with the caveat that your instructor(s) have to be fully on side – if they think you require more training on the basics required to pass your PPL skills test, then focus on that before worrying about anything else.

The benefit comes after passing your PPL, shortening the time to new ratings.

NEED TO SPEAK YOUR MIND! THEN EMAIL YOUR OPINION TO LOOP incoming@ loop.aero

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 43

44 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

flightCLUBFLIGHT SCHOOL

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

My first solo jim cripps who Jim Cripps date 31st August 1986 hours when soloed 23 hours now 396 where East Midlands AIRcraft Cessna 152 instructor W. Neilson, but I had 13 (!) instructors. Most went commerical, but one fell and cut his head on a 152’s step before we flew (oops!).

A BOYHOOD DREAM

LOOP’s master of letters, Jim Cripps

Ever since my wartime boyhood, when I flung myself off a hill clutching a long length of plywood to briefly feel the thrill of flight, I wanted to fly.

By my 40s, I had done some gliding but it was actually cheaper to learn to fly powered aircraft, so I thus commenced training at East Midlands and Hurn.

My first solo at East Midlands in the summer of ‘86 turned out to be a non event. I dropped off the proverbial fat instructor and lined up the Cessna on that beautiful long runway and took off for a couple of circuits. It was late in the evening and the thermal chop had died away leading to a beautifully smooth flight.

It was like I was on rails as I sped around the circuit

with everything going like clockwork and I returned to Earth with a big smile on my face and feeling 10ft tall. The only downer was that the Tower did not say “well done” like I’d heard them tell other successful soloists. Maybe my landing was too good!

My first flight with a passenger however was a very different kettle of fish.

I had persuaded this very delightful girl I knew to be my passenger. We started our takeoff run into wind which – just as I lifted off – suddenly shifted violently 90 degrees and greatly increased in velocity.

Wham! We lurched violently towards the control tower. Much heaving of the controls got us back on line, but we weren’t climbing and were

+ n e w p i lo t k o n o r b r a c h e r - w a l s h

From guitar lesson to flying lesson AS WE all know becoming a pilot is not just hard work and pretty expensive, it’s also a supreme test of determination – especially when young and there are so many other things grabbing your attention such as studying and exams.

So, huge congratulations to Dorset teenager Konor Bracher-Walsh, who at just 16 has won out ahead of competition from across the UK to be awarded a bursary from the British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) to attain his pilot’s licence.

Konor trains at the splendid Compton Abbas in Dorset and so far has been funding his National Private Pilot’s Licence for Microlights partly through teaching guitar to students at his school.

John Keep, Konor’s flying instructor at Compton, said:

The superb BMAA Bursary will see Konor given backing throughout his flight training

“He is very enthusiastic about all aspects of aviation and is a pleasure to teach. I think he is hugely deserving of his award which will help him achieve his dream of becoming a commercial and aerobatic pilot.. He will make a very good young pilot.”

The BMAA remarked on Konor’s obvious enthusiasm’ for microlighting, and have even asked him to help them promote the sport to other young people. It said: “The standard of the applicants was outstanding. Most had started their formal training and were paying for it by working for airfields and microlight schools. All showed great enthusiasm and had plenty of ideas of how to encourage more young people into flying.”

To complete the glowing reports, Compton Abbas add: “We are delighted to have Konor here. He perfectly illustrates that with a hard work, anything is possible!”

only about 50ft over the houses at the end of the runway when whoosh we shot upwards, with the VSI off the scale, topping out at 3000 feet. As I waited for my stomach to catch up with me I asked the girl if she was alright.

“That was great!” she beamed with a broad smile on her face. “Damn adrenaline junkie,” I thought. The rest of the trip was very bumpy but otherwise incident free and my landing was a greaser.

As for the girl? Well after thanking me for a wonderful experience she turned to a good-looking young hunk with a flash sports car who had turned up, and who after giving me a dirty look whisked her away. A few lessons were learnt that day!

+inside tip

Buying your own equipment isn’t cheap, so when it comes to getting yourself a headset, make sure it’s right for you.

comfort is king At some stage during or after training, you’ll need buy your own headset, but before you do there’s a couple of things to learn.

Comfort is very important, so weight matters a lot: the lighter the headset the more comfortable it is. But, if comes with smaller (and therefore lighter) earcups it might not have hearing protection in cockpits.

Older sets often rely on ‘head clamping’ for soundproofing, which can be uncomfortable after a while. So before you buy a set, see if you can borrow one to use for an hour – much better than trying one on in a shop.

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 45

flightCLUBget rated & plane crazy get rated imc safe

Get your IMC rating quick

EASA has seen sense and agreed to life-long ‘grandfather’ rights for UK pilots with an IMC rating... but if you don’t have one yet, it’s time to your skates on

I

N A recent decree EASA agreed that anyone who has an IMC Rating, or gets one before it takes over responsibility for licensing, will be allowed to exercise IMCR privileges for as long as they fly.

EASA will take over licence responsibility on April 8, 2012, leaving UK pilots just months to gain this invaluable rating.

The IMCR has always been a vital addition to the UK PPL’s armoury, and is unique to our shores – crucial thanks to the wildly varying weather those very shores bring. It also has an immaculate safety record and it is claimed that no IMC trained pilot has ever been killed whilst flying in IMC conditions.

Faced with this EASA has come up with two alternatives to the IMC aimed at helping pilots become safer: the EIR (Enroute Instrument Rating) and a simpler, competencybased Instrument Rating meant to be far cheaper for pilots to achieve than the current full ‘European’ IR.

The new EIR will concentrate on the enroute procedures related to IR training. EASA propose that for pilots to take this rating they will need to already have at least 20 hours of cross-country PIC. The training is expected to be about 15 practical hours and 10 hours of theoretical.

There will be an exam and skills test at the end, and the privilege lasts for 12 months – so holders need to complete an annual proficiency test.

The new EIR states that the pilot must be able to takeoff, and land, in VFR conditions – and has to know it’s currently VFR at the destination before setting off, which we know in fast-changing UK conditions isn’t something to be relied upon.

It does allow for pilots to be able to conduct flights under IFR and in IMC in the enroute phase. But, you cannot enter IMC conditions if they are less than 1000ft above the highest point or obstacle within 5nm. A mishmash, for UK skies.

The new proposed Instrument Rating will consist of at least 40

46 LOOP october 2011 www.loop.aero

Guide prices to what it costs to get extra ratings. Ring each club or school for full details. Some offer aircraft choice, or may have additional fees (eg landing fees) so ask about any extra costs.

TAYSIDE AVIATION + PPL: £6640 + MEP: £2300 + Night Rating: £796 + IMC: £2675 + CPL: £5620 + IR: £11,990 www.tayside aviation.co.uk BOURNEMOUTH FLYING CLUB + NPPL: £5487 + PPL: £7717 + IMC: £2582 + Companion Course: £1372 + Night Qualification: £857 + MEP: £2125 + AOPA Aerobatics: £1750 www.bfclub.co.uk FLYING TIME SHOREHAM 01273 455177 + PPL all inclusive £7605 + Night Qualification £1095 + IMC Rating £2690 + MEP £3065 + CPL £7960 + Zero to frozen ATPL £45,450 + Multi Engine Instrument Rating £12,205 + ATPL Ground School www.flyingtime. co.uk

MULTIFLIGHT LEEDS/BRADFORD 0113 2387135 + Night Rating: £705 + MEP: £2178 + IMC: £2115 + FI Rating: £7260 + IR: £13,056 + IR 55 hours: £14,906 www.multiflight. com CLACTON AERO CLUB 01255 424761 + Tail wheel conversion (residential, inc B&B) £710 + Three week PPL course (residential, inc B&B): £5940 + Two week NPPL Course (residential, inc B&B): £3904 + Two week Conversion To PPL Course (residential, inc B&B): £4270 + IMC (residential, inc B&B) from: £1980 www.clacton aeroclub.co.uk Are you a a school with a rating or course? Or have an offer on? Email dave.rawling s@ loop.aero with the details.

PHOTO www.airteamimages.com

Come April 2012 the IMC rating will be no more.

But if you have it - you keep it!

hours (currently 50 hours), of which 30 hours can be undertaken in a simulator. It would also require the same mount of ground school as the EIR course. This requirement is essential to ensure ICAOcompliance. The entry requirement to the IR is a PPL(A), including the night flight qualification.

The Skills Test for the new competency-based IR will be the same as the regular Instrument Rating and will be entitled to the same privileges.

So, to dodge the mishmash of EIR, and get something tailored for our skies and weather, move fast. For an IMCR expect to pay around £2500, which will include at least 15 hours instrument training (up to two hours of this can be completed in a CAA approved simulator). At least 10 of the 15 hours must be flown by sole reference to the instruments. And as always there’s a skills test at the end.

More information on the new ratings can be found at: http://hub.easa. europa.eu/crt/docs

ratings watch

FOR THE LATEST NEWS GO TO... www.loop.aero PLaNe CraZY Vittorio magni

The King of Autogyros

After 45 years Vittorio Magni had enough of paying through the nose to get in the air, so he did what anyone would do: design and build your own aircraft!

B

ORN in Italy in 1938, Magni Gyro founder Vittorio always had a love for autogyros. But how did it all begin?

Q| What first attracted you to flying?

A| In a word, passion! When I was a child, I lived close to an airfield so I’ve always been curious about anything that involves flying. I then started my career at agusta S.p.a. [agustaWestland today]. I just loved being in the sky with the helicopters. But I wanted something different. I wanted to develop something less expensive, easy to fly, stable, and safe.

Q| When did you start flying?

A| I started about 45 years ago by flying a Benson autogyro glider. It had no engine and it was a single-seater so I had to fly without an instructor. at the time the autogyro was virtually unknown in Italy, so there were no instructors to teach anyone how to fly them. In fact I’ve never had an instructor tell me how to fly and I know have nearly 10,000 flying hours.

Q| How did it progress from there?

A| after a year of flying in the Benson autogyro glider I decided to add a 1600cc Volkswagen engine to the glider it worked so well I suddenly realised that the gyro would be the machine for the future, so I committed to making autogyros.

MAIN: One of Mr Magni’s inventions.

INSET: Vittorio has more than 10,000 hours in gyros Q| What happened after you left Agusta?

A| Well, I started working for agusta in 1956 at 18. In 1962 I was recruited as a specialist in the Helicopter division of Montedison, acquiring experience in crop spraying and aerial disinfestations. after that I started my own company with another pilot. the company was called elitaliana and we specialised in crop spraying. then in 1967 due to the success of my other work I was invited to collaborate with a brand new company created to build a new light helicopter Silvercraft S.p.a. at Silvercraft, I was appointed Flight line

Magni has grown and grown over the years

leader and obtained my helicopter licence. While all this was happening I was also importing the plans for the Benson gyroplane from america. this was going to be the base to produce Italy’s first gyros.

Q| What happened then?

A| after the first machine was built I knew I could do so much more and started to develop a complete range of one-and two-seat gyros. every time they seemed to work better and better.

In 1977 I also created a new company called VpM, which had a specialist skill of manufacturing composite parts. there was a huge increase in the need of composite parts from other local companies such as agusta and aerea, so it was set up to meet real demand.

Q| How did working on autogyros move on from a hobby to a business?

A| My first commercial success in the field of autogyros arrived in 1986. I sold two patents to a Spanish company called cenemesa. the rights were for my single

seater the Mt5 and a two seater called the Mt7. Both of these gyros were powered by arrow engines.

In 1996 my old company VpM became Magni gyro. the new company had a new purpose. We were going to improve on models that were already on the market and design completely new models of autogyro as well. I feel that since the beginning we showed Magni gyro to be well founded and capable of a good development.

Q| You’ve been in the industry for many years now. But since starting up Magni Gyro, what do you feel has been your biggest achievement?

A| there has been many, but I think it must be receiving the english Section t certification. I think that I was also the first person to believe, and prove that the autogyro is a safe and stable machine. I think that I have helped other companies and competitors to expand market opportunities and give major job opportunities worldwide in the autogyro industry.

Q| With all your work commitments, do you still get much time to fly and what do you enjoy flying?

A| I don’t get to fly very often anymore with work commitments. recently I’ve been flying at the weekends, but that is mainly flighttesting our prototypes. I really enjoy testing our prototypes or any technical innovation!

Q| What are you working on at the moment?

A| ah, that’s a secret, I would like to tell you but I can’t! not right now anyway, so you’ll have to wait and see!

Q| If you’re going out flying What’s is your favourite autogyro?

A| Well there is not one in particular. It all depends on what I’m going to be doing in the sky. If I want to enjoy the flight, for the sheer fun of it, I’ll fly the M14. If I’m on a training flyight it’ll be the M16. For longer cross country flights I’ll go in the M22 and if I want to be comfortable and protected by the air especially in winter-time then I’ll fly the M24 Orion. www.magnigyro.it

www.loop.ae ro october 2011 LOOP 47

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero Bulldog T Mk 120/121

Bulldog T Mk 120/121, 1974, ex-RAF 2-seater trainer, 7197hrs TTAF, Military reg: XX561, CAA reg: GBZEP, Lycoming 10 360 200hp 70hrs SMOH by CSE Oxford, Hartzell constant speed prop 34hrs since zero timed. Extensive RAF workshop & parts manuals including all RAF history from new. Based Biggin Hill, UK. OIRO GBP25,000 (no VAT). Car considered in part exchange. Tel: Anthony on + 44 (0)7843 443 989 or + 44 (0)208 467 1448

Aviat Husky A1B 180

2007, tt airframe 45 hours, 50 hour check just completed, Garmin GPS/COM GNS 430, Black Leather Seats, Lycoming 0-360-A1P 180 hp, Hartzell prop, £110,000 ONO. For further information email: huskyforsale@gmail.com.

48 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

CESSNA P-210 PRESSURIZED CENTURION II

1982. TT:2900, Engine TSIO-520AF engine (Eagles Engine Golden Series) TSOH:1140. Interior 8/10, Exterior 8/10. Avidyne and Garmin Avionics. €222,000 Tel: +44 41 91210 3128/745.66.89 Email: aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

Grumman AA1-A

1970, 2-SEAT. A/F 3050, ENG 1340, SKYMAP II VOR/LOC, DME, MODE C, ADF, HANGARED, FIFE, ARC 5/11, IDEAL GROUP A/C. £15,500 01334 850675 SIERRA.CHARLIE@UKGATEWAY.NET

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero cessna 120 1946

MX-7-180 MAULE 1991

1977 CESSNA A150M

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 07768 963 734 or richard.flanagan@ gamstonflighttraining.co.uk

G-BTXT. Dec 91. A.R.Cert April 2012.

TTAc and engine 1218 hrs. Lycoming 0-360-C1F. Hartzell c/s prop 24hrs.

KX155, K1203 VOR, KR76a txp, KN64 DME, AvMap Geopilot Plus. Vortex Generators. £48,000 No VAT. REDUCED TO £43,000 NO VAT 01388 745126

AEROBAT TEXAS TAILDRAGGER, N REG, HOLTON STOL KIT FOR SHORT FIELD, 105KTS CRUZ 28LTS/HR ONLY 2172 A/F HRS, ENG, 140HP LYCOMING,0290,D2-B,ONLY 436 HRS TSMOH, SENSENICH METAL PROP , WELL EQUIPPED NARCO/KING PANEL, VERY GOOD CONDITION £26500.00, ONO CONTACT 0044 (0)1363 83049 ( EVENINGS /WKNDS ) MOB 0044 (0)7972 281226

Glasair iiSRG

Havard 4M

1999 TTASN 378hrs TTESN 433hrs TTPSN 64hrs, New Permit, LAA Best Homebuilt, Huge Spec, Has gone 3000sm non-stop @ 200mph using 27 lph!! £85,000 no vat.

01757 229556 realaero@btinternet.com

Havard 4M by Canadian Car and Foundary, TTSASN 3835, TTESOH 433, TTPSOH 64 All AD’s complied with, no corrosion, maintained regardless of cost, part of private collection £90000 no Vat Nice! realaero@btinternet.com.

01757 229556

Robin DR360 Chevalier

CESSNA 320D SKYNIGHT

130kt cruise. New ARC, always hangared. TTAF 2484hrs, Eng 384hrs. Garmin 190, Area Nav, Transponder, ADF, 720 Flip Flop Radio, Audio Panel & Intercom. £24000 Phone Eric on 01206 386211.

A RARE CHANCE TO OWN PROBABLY CESSNA BEST TWIN A TRUE 6 SEATER WHICH CLIMBS AT 500FT/ MIN ON ONE ENGINE AT GROSS / SEA LEVEL AIRFRAME HOURS 4560 ENGINE HOURS 1006 PROP HOURS 148 SIGMA TECH 3 AXIS AUTO PILOT COUPLED TO HSI, NAV & GPS Contact - Joe Irwin 01582 881213 or 07860 405439. £65,000

Pitts S2-B.

Factory Built 1984. TTAFE 1146 hrs from new. 260 h.p. inverted fuel & oil systems. GPS/Comm, Mode C transponder. Go to AirBASE for data sheet £64,950 no VAT.

AirBASE Aviation Ltd Tel: 07770 883216 Email: info@airbaseuk.com www.airbaseuk.com

PA28 235 Pathfinder

Airframe 5980 TT Engine 550 S/H. Full IFR equipped, Garmin GPS. recent Strip and repaint. Interior 7/10 New Annual/ARC. Cambrai Cover. Long range fuel tanks. £28,750 No VAT. Aircraft/cars considered in PX. Tel: 01483 200057 Email aces-high@btconnect.com

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 49

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero

1970 Piper Cherokee 180.

Reluctant sale. Excellent all round condition 9/8 inside & out. Engine 380. AF 7680. King radios, Mode C. GPS 3C. New Annual. Guide price £26,000. Tel: 01953 681 007.

Email: LaurieNDT@aol.com ROCKWELL COMMANDER 112TC 1976

AN EXCELLENT ECONOMICAL 4 SEAT TOURING AIRCRAFT AIRFRAME 2750 TT, ENGINE 710 TSO, 3 BLADED PROPELLER 5 TSN, STANDARD AVIONICS PLUS GTC 327 TRANSPONDER, STORMSCOPE, REMOTE COMPASS, KN 64DME, SKYMAP II GPS, HSI, RMI, Contact Joe Irwin 01582 881213 or 07860 405439

50 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero VANS RV 9a DIESEL

120hp Wilksch (WAM) engine, 120hrs 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 July 2012. £49,999 Tel: 07860 558558

1993 AG - 5B brunman tiger

TTAF 3413. TTE 1014. New ARC just completed. ARC expires July 2012. Aircraft bare metal resprayed, corrosion proofed and interior refurbished 2007.

IFR avionics including King 165/ 155 Nav Comm, ADF, DME, Mode S Transponder, HSI with slaved Gyro.

Airframe, engine and upholstery immaculate condition.

Based at Blackbushe for viewing.

REDUCED

£49,000 Tel Ian : 07941 578182 e mail: ianjamesward@tiscali.co.uk.

£60,000

piper arrow 200 11

1974 TT AF 2758. Engine 762. Prop 0. One owner since 1985, always hangared, no outstanding A/D’s. Factory corrosion proofed, auto pilot, electric trim. New ARC 15.7.11. King IFR, ADF, Xpdr, DME, ILS. £33,000 or sensible offer. No VAT Contact Mr P. Brunton 01970 612 567 (office) 01654 702248 (home) Piper PA-46-350P Jetprop

N4173N, 2000, For Sale in Switzerland, Airframe TT: 1040, Lycoming TIO-540AE2A, 1030 hours, Garmin Avionics, Hartzell HC-I3YR-1E three blades, constant speed. Pratt + Whitney, PT6A-35, zero hours $ 1,040,000.

Stefano Scossa – 0041 912103128 aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

Cessna C-150D

Immaculate condition, Airframe 2680 hours, Engine 1745 hours. Full UK IFR, R-Nav, 2 Alts, 2 Comms, ADF, Intercom, Mode C Transponder, VOR & GS. Well looked after. Probably the cleanest C150 around. EASA ARC Annual till May 2012. £11,500 ONO. First to view will buy.

Based Lymm Dam Airstrip (Cheshire) Firas - 07958-449552

EUROPA CLASSIC FOR SALE

450hrs Total, all MODS and AD’s up to date. Selling with new permit to fly. £29,950.

David Hunter 01666 503330, 07939157426

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 51

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero Piper PA-32 6XT

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, Fresh annual, new cylinders. $42,000 VAT free.

Stefano Scossa - +41-91-2103128. aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

GRUMMAN - CHEETAH AA5A

Piper PA-46-350T Matrix

Piper PA28-161 Warrior II

N-reg, 2008, Nice, privately owned aircraft. Airframe, Engine, Propeller Total Time: 300 hrs. Interior Tan leather, 9/10. Exterior, 9/10. No damage history. $41,000 Stefano Scossa +41-91-2103128. aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

Total Time Airframe 11,200hrs, Engine 150 Hrs SMOH in October 2009, Annual due 22/10/11, Avionics: KMA 20, Narco 12D (new)+Nav with ILS, King KX175B Nav/Com with LOC, King KR85 ADF, King KN64 DME King KT76A Transponder, Sigtronics 4 place intercome. Price: £25,000 +VAT. Contact Paul Mobile: 07768 906358

1969 Piper PA23-250D Aztec

TTAF 4585.hr Eng 14 .hr since complete overhaul Nov 2010

by Nicholson Mc Laren with HC conversion under FAA/STC certificate. Dual Michel Nav/Com VOR/LOC/Gs. DME. ADF. Mod C. Colour Skymap. A/p. twin Alt. Interior upgraded. Strobe. Good history. £32,000 ONO Tel: 01908550565

CAP 10B FOR SALE

2 seat aerobatic, C of A to Oct 2011, 2,300 hrs airframe, only 100 hrs engine, Superb condition £55,000 Tel Colin 07799 773164

For sale with long range fuel (5.5hrs) making the a/c a continental traveling machine with an oxygen system for over the Alps trips, TXP, always maintained by YAK UK Ltd.+44 (0)1767 651156

52 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

Quarter share in Europa Classic Mono.

Based at Bidford on Avon, includes box trailer, one man rigging system, can be rigged in 10 minuets. 912 Rotax, VP Prop, Full 6 packinstruments, 2 x radios, xponder , garmin gps, Skymap III. £7000 for share, £70/month covers all costs. Just put your own fuel in and go flying. Contact Jim 01386 446870, 07947 897666 jim. naylor@talktalk.net

Pitts s2a

Exceptional cherished example refurbished and maintained regardless of cost. Well known competition performer with proven track record. Large Bubble Canopy, Hooker Harnesses, Fitted Cover. Always Hanagared. Engine (New 2004) TT 381:45, Prop (New Type Hub) 199:50, Airframe TT 1778:00, Fresh ARC MAy 2011, £60,000 (Including VAT) Neil Bigrigg 01636 525318

Airframe 7359 hours total time, Both engines 949 hours total since factory overhaul Aug 1994, Both propellers 2 hours since overhaul APRIL 2011 , Full ARC Review expires 20TH APRIL 2012, New battery 2011, De Ice boots no holes or patches, Cambri cover, King KMA 24 Audio, Trimble TNL 2000 GPS, Narco COM810, Garmin GNS 430 NAV/COM/GPS, Garmin GTX330 XPONDER, King KT76 XPONDER, Narco NS800 AREA NAV, King KR87 ADF, BFG 3M Stormscope, Six seat upholstered in grey cloth, Log books and history back to new, Good paint, resprayed Dec 1999 by Coulton, Same owner since 1988

piper pa-28r-201t turbo arrow III

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 00 41-91-2103128. aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

Paul on 01328 878809 for more details.

YAK 52

Europa Classic Mono

YAK-55 The best value of any aerobatic aircraft. Only 383 TTSN. M14P engine - only 29 hours SOH; new 2-blade V-530 prop.

Many extras. Exceptional and well maintained aircraft on UK register. Only Euro 49,000 (today £43,000) including European VAT.

Richard Goode Aerobatics

Tel: +44(0)1544 340120 Fax: +44(0)1544 340129 Email: richard.goode@russianaeros.com

Ralle 150GT FOR SALE G-BGSA

Socata Rallye MS892E-150 (1977). Airframe - total time 1329. Engine - 33 (since full overhaul). Prop - 33 (since new). New battery & 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 with best offer) Contact: Rod Bellamy 07970 270686 Mailto: h1rnr@aol.com

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero

F.8L Falco

This Falco was completed in 1988 by the current owner to Sequoia plans and has been carefully maintained and hangared since then.

Reason for sale is the completion of another Falco by this Frati enthusiast.

Total Airframe Time TTAF; 989 hours. Engine Lycoming O-320-A3C. Engine Total Time Since Overhaul 989 hours. Propeller: Hartzell HC-C2YL-1BF. Propeller Time Since New: 989 hours. Overhauled 30th November 2009. Time Since Overhaul 25 Hours. Annual Permit to Fly valid to 10th March 2012. Standard Canopy. A VIONICS. King KY 197 Com. King KNS 80 RNAV. King KT 76A TPX. Leather upholstery.

The aircraft is based at Breighton Airfield, UK £65,000 Contact Neville Langrick on 0044 7860 353499 or neville@langrick.net

1978 Grumman AA-5A

Socata TB10

Rutan, Long-Ez

4 seat IFR equipped Tourer Ex Cabair. 12,000 hours airframe 1150 hours engine - Lycoming 160hp 200 hours propeller. Easa CofA until 21-Dec-2011. All ADs complied with, including wing spar replacement.

Good overall condition inside & out Based Cranfield. Aircraft has IFR screens. andychester@gmx.com

Forced sale due to loss of medical. new annual being carried out now.great touring aircraft. £55,000.

Contact Richard +441621741250

TTAF 300hrs. Lyc O-235-L2c !5 hrs since major overhaul. Electric nose lift, wing leveler. Full panel.

Permit June 2012. Based Prestwick. £26000 ONO. Michael Timmons +44 (0) 1563 540 510.

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 53

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero Stemme S-10 Chrysalis S10-V

PA32 Cherokee six-260

D-KGED, 1990, TT 1.016,00, Excellent condition, Becker Avionics, Empty Weight 691 kg, ARC Valid through June 2012.

Stefano Scossa +41-91-2103128. aeromeccanica@bluewin.ch

G-EDYO, 1966 PA32 - 260 based at Compton Abbas and Alderney, Airframe 2810, 3 hours, Engine (Lycoming 0-540-EUB5), 710.1 hours propeller, (2 blade Hartzel Scimiter blade type) 310.5 Hours, New paint (bare metal repaint) 2002, New ARC 17 March 2011. £39,500 + VAT. Al Paton 07781 431406, 07774 625791, 01481 823639 al.paton@hotmail.com

Piper PA28-180 Cherokee Challenger, 1973.

Stretched fuselage version of the 180 h.p. PA28. Hard to find a good one. Good paint & interior.

IFR avionics. £25,750.

AirBASE Aviation Ltd Tel: 07770 883216 Email: info@airbaseuk.com www.airbaseuk.com

Piper PA28-180 Cherokee, 1972.

Nice example of this hard to find 180 h.p.version of the PA28. IFR avionics. Good paint & interior. £24,950 no VAT. AirBASE Aviation Ltd Tel: 07770 883216 Email: info@airbaseuk.com www.airbaseuk.com

GBAMS Robin DR400 – 160

Two 1/6th Shares for Sale. Hangared at Headcorn, 2x ILS/VOR/Mode S equipped, excellently maintenance at Headcorn with all ADs complied with.

Good availability, lovely to fly, great tourer, friendly group online booking Share reduced to £4,000 for quick sale .

Monthly £134 with full group Visit www.triquetra.co.uk/bams or call John 07786 566477 TB20 SHARE AT SHERBURN NEAR LEEDS

Popham 155kt cruise. Fly fast in luxury. £125 per month + £125 per tacho hour wet, 1/5 share £13,750. Contact leslieappleyard@aol.com Lez Appleyard: 07971 987 626

FOR SALE - 1/6th share in this superb motor glider 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: 2380 hours since manufacture. Flying costs: £40,00 pcm and £40.00 per Tacho hour. Engine off = Free, Availability is excellent! 1/6th share - open to offers.

Contact David on 07917 613220 or david@skipwithstation.com

AA5 Grumman Traveler

Gamston- EGNE Small group Only 6 member shares . Online booking website, LAA Group Rules 1/6 share £5350, £70 pcm + £95 p/h wet. http://www.gbcpn.co.uk/

Call Joe 07976 802107 emailjoe@gbcpn.co.uk

54 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

BUY AND SELL YOUR AIRCRAFT ONLINE AND IN LOOP MAGAZINE www.loopmart.aero To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

Looking to start New group for a Yak 50 and Yak 52.

Based at Henstridge Airfield Dorset.

3 persons per group 2 more members needed in each group.

Costs to be discussed, but very advantageous terms.

Call Jez 07801021029 or jez@aerobatics.co.uk

mousquetaire

Share in Piper PA28R-200

New group. New Engine , Hangared/based Redhill £80 a month £80 an hour wet...full 4 seat wooden tourer, great to fly.

Alistair White 07860762277

¼ to ½ share in 1974 Goodwood based Arrow II. Total hours 1470, 3 blade prop, new annual, always hangared, £90ph wet.

Contact: alankentppl@rocketmail.com 01403 255550 & 07889 122710

Insurance

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 L OOP 55

Clubs and Schools

Aircraft Covers

Pilot Shops

VHF RT LICENCE

All the training you need in one full day, theory and practical or either. Includes exam and test. To air traffic control, the badge you wear as to how good you are as a pilot is your RT. “If you sound a ****, they will assume you are.

It may not be fair, but it’s how it is”

Phone me for a chat Derek Davidson

Tel (from 7am - 8.30am & evenings) 07831 517428 / 07766312221 DEREK DAVIDSON flyderek@hotmail.co.uk

To advertise here please

Aviation English to Level 4.5 or 6 if required (by arrangement) certification 1 hour only

on 01223 497060

call Chris Wilson

Pilot Shops

Avionics

Microlight Services

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060

56 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

Groundschool

Pilots Winter Home

PILOTS WINTER HOME

Located at Eagles Nest Airpark, mid Florida, 3,000ft lighted grass runway, licensed sea plane base. Price $579,000.

House for sale and many extras, lake front, three bed two bath, 2,143sq ft house, 2,000sq ft hanger and attached garage.

Screen porch at rear with fantastic lake views.

Contact Roger Goodger 0208 669 5342 or visit www.albatrosslady.com for further pictures and information.

Please mention LOOP when responding to classified adverts Aircraft For Sale

Aircraft Kits

To advertise Aircraft

here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 Firey T67M260 for sale

497060

Swift Aircraft is offering 9 Firey T67M260 for sale, prices from 47,000 GBP. These aircraft were previously used by the UK Military from 1996 – 2009 for Defence Elementary Training and are currently being overhauled to meet all airworthiness requirements. This eet of aircraft boasts a range of high prole UK Military training pilots.

It’s your chance to own a piece of British aviation heritage, for more details including full specications, please visit the Swift Aircraft website, or contact Swift Aircraft.

Email: rey@swiftaircraft.co.uk

Telephone: 01436 840116

Firefly-Advert-Classified.indd 1

Hanger Doors

Web: www.swiftaircraft.co.uk

26/09/2011 14:50

To advertise here please call Chris Wilson on 01223 497060 BEDFORD MARSHALL AIRCRAFT REFULLERS 4500 LTRS. ALUMINIUM. LOW & HIGH PRESSURE HIGH SPEC. CHOICE OF TWO. £17500 & £25000 (MINT) AVGAS OR JET-A1 PLEASE CALL FOR MORE INFO CONTACT NICK BAILEY 07703 441998

www.loop.ae ro OCTOBER 2011 LOOP 57

PHOTO www.airteamimages.com

INSTANTEXPERT EXPERT

Nice example of a 1980 Reims-built FA-152 Aerobat, fitted with a Lycoming O-235

+PRE-OWNED AIRCRAFT

CESSNA 150/152

Thousands of pilots have trained in them but do they make sense for private owners? + C E S S N A 1 5 0 / 1 5 2 FA C T S

+ In production from 1958 to 1985 + 24,000 150s and 7500 152s built + Two seats side-by-side + High-wing, all-metal airframe + Aerobatic ‘Aerobat’ version available + Current equivalent is the 162 SkyCatcher

H

ANDS up if you trained for your PPL in a Cessna 150 or 152? OK, that’s more than half the pilot population then! You’ll find these simple, tough two-seaters at flying schools all over the world even though it’s more than 25 years since production stopped.

The 150/152 is a great trainer. Not only does the aircraft have safe, predictable handling but it’s incredibly tough, taking the +HISTORY

+ 1957 First flight of the 150, successor to the fabric covered tailwheel Cessna 140. + 1958 Production starts.

Power is 100hp from a Continental O-200. + 1964 C150D with rear window, changing the look. Max weight increase to 730kg. + 1966 C150F with swept back fin, wider doors, electric flaps. Frenchbuilt Reims model, F-150, with 130hp engine. + 1977 152 replaces 150. Longer TBO, 110hp Lycoming, max weight increase to 757kg, more modern interior with lower noise levels.

abuse student pilots deal out in its stride.

There’s probably not an aircraft out there which can stand hard landings so well.

This ruggedness combines with simple construction and features – fixed prop, fixed gear, frugal engine – to make it one of the least expensive aircraft to own and operate. Just about its only downside is its cabin – a bit narrow – and max weight is also a squeeze with two big pilots.

+CHECKS

+OWNING

!

General All 150/152s have been around a while so check logs to make sure maintenance has been regular and ADs complied with. Check condition of seats, interiors, panel, and moving parts of the airframe for worn bushes.

Engine A compression test will show up any issues.

Starter motors and battery get a harder life on school aircraft.

Airframe corrosion 150/152 are no worse than many but check for corrosion inside wings, corners of fuselage and exposed surfaces.

! !

PHOTO www.airteamimages.com

Simple, tough, known costs... ideal for PPL training 58 LOOP OCTOBER 2011 www.loop.aero

IF you find a good 150/152 with relatively low hours, and a private history instead of owned by a flying school, then snap it up! That’s what Ross Williamson of Crowfield Airfield in Suffolk did when he viewed G-BHMG, a 1980 F-150F. “We already had a 150 and I was looking for a more modern version, which the 152 is. It’s got the slightly larger engine, but not the pricier RollsRoyce in the 150 Aerobat.

“This one is a late Reims model so is corrosionproofed as all Reims models are. It looked nice and hasn’t done much aerobatics, or been bashed around in schools.”

Well, that’s about to change a bit because G-BMVM is now part of the fleet at pistureque Crowfield where Ross is hiring it out at £105 net, £126 inc VAT per hour.

That’s the wet self-fly hire rate and an instructor is on top, if you need one.

W: crowfieldairfield.co.uk

+FOR SALE

£11,500 ono

1964 C-150D. Airframe 2680hr, Engine 1745hr.

Annual til May 2012. Full IFR panel.

Shares £1400 each

Manchester Barton based 1974 F-150L. Monthly £40, hourly £50 (wet). Healthy group finances. G-PLAN Flying Group (Google to find).

+PROS AND CONS

PROS

+ Safe, predictable handling + Inexpensive to operate + Tough – especially the undercarriage! + Often fitted with IFR panel for flight training

CONS

+ Payload – two big people will limit fuel and baggage + Slow-ish and thirsty-ish + Old fashioned and often tatty unless refurbished + Yoke control column

+THE DATA

CESSNA 150J (1968) Max speed 106kt Cruise speed 102kt @ 75% Climb rate 670ft/min Range 413nm Engine 100hp Continental O-200-A air-cooled flat-four Fuel burn 21 litres/hr Wingspan 10.2m Height 2.6m Max weight 726kg Empty weight 504kg Useful load 222kg Fuel capacity 98 litres Seats 2 Price High hour 150 c.£10k; clean newer 152 c.£20k Manufacturer Cessna Aircraft Owner’s Club Cessna 150-152 Club www.cessna150-152club.com +LOOP SCORE

Running costs Durability Performance Reliability Handling TOTAL SCORE

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 20/25

+OR THIS...

Piper Tomahawk share £4000 for 1/4, £70pcm + £48/hr, based Brimpton

Rallye 100ST £9,500 TTAF 2864hr, Eng 410hr.

See LOOPMart

Pilot, September 2011 “... the immediate impression is one of comfort.” “... the basic ANR performance was most impressive - and there was an appreciable improvement when the adaptive feedback button on the left ear was pressed.” “... the intercom and radio transmissions were far clearer with the S1 than with rival units.”

THE QUIET

REVOLUTION THE NEW S1 DIGITAL PILOT’S HEADSET FROM SENNHEISER Designed to give you maximum control over noise levels in the cockpit, so you can focus on the joy of flying.

At the push of a button, the S1’s exclusive NoiseGard™/ digital technology accurately analyses the cockpit’s noise levels to achieve superior noise cancellation during all phases of flight.

Design features include: • Adjustable headband contact pressure • Bluetooth interface

• ‘Comfort zone‘ for glasses • Customisable treble boost

Sennheiser aviation headsets. Put on before flight.™ Learn more: www.Sennheiser-Aviation.com/S1 or scan the QR code with your smartphone.

Experience ‘The Quiet Revolution’ at one of the Sennheiser S1 Premium Aviation Dealers

Designed in collaboration with

SCAN WITH YOUR QR CODE READER

A4_flyer.indd 1

MADE IN

GERMANY

BMW Group DesignWorksUSA

27/09/2011 16:26

YOUR FINGERS caN’t waIt tO GEt YOUR haNdS ON thIS You’ve never flown like this. then again, who has? the all-new corvalis ttX features the first touchscreen, all-glass flight deck ever designed for a piston aircraft. all the menus have also been reconfigured so you can easily find what you want when you want it. In this new cockpit it’s just touch and go there.

To look inTo The fuTure of aviaTion: 00-800-6060-0009 i uk.CeSSna.CoM

CORVALIS TTX

CAC1102G TTX_Fingers_Loop.indd 1

9/13/11 4:14 PM