There several aviation sports events that have and will take place in exhibition of aircrafts of different types to the aircraft operators from all over the world. Some aircraft manufacturers will be celebrating their anniversaries since inception and others will be bring their new aircrafts into the market for the operators to be able to view and decide on inventing them into their fleet.
All these events are provided through monthly air news which the aircraft operators and travelers and able to get this information on internet, in magazines.
Air Venture 2010- A Year of Celebration.
The Douglas DC-3 and the Boeing B-17 celebrated and marked, both 75 years young, at Air Venture, in Oshkosh, Wisconsis this year. It also marked the celebration and honoring of all veterans and those who serve now, with war bird fly-bys held every day.
The aircraft got into the field before any of those celebrations could get underway.
Oshkosh was under a storm that at one point delivered seven inches of rain in a 12-hour period for almost 72 hours preceding the show. Someone called it “Sploshkosh”.Even Milwaukee International Airport,150 miles south of Oshkosh, was closed because of runway flooding, and that was a “first”!
At Wittman Field, Oshkosh, venue for AirVenture, most of the 10000 incoming aircraft were diverted to nearby airports when the taxiways became clogged with aircraft. Once the rain stopped, officials had to wait until the ground dried out before they could recover (and park) any aircraft.
As EAA made arrangements to move campers and motor homes to nearby malls as the rain and mud caused four empty camp-grounds. By noon of opening day,(July 26) ,warm temperatures and low humidity had things almost back to “normal”, but residual issues lingered until late in the week. More than 10000 aircraft found spots to park on the grounds. A total of 2380 show planes, included 1106 homebuilt aircraft, 635 vintage airplanes, 374 warbirds, 115 ultralights, 120 seaplanes and 30 rotorcraft were there.
DAKOTAS RULE
A cavalcade of 21 DC-3/Dakotas roared over Air Venture Monday afternoon as part of a mx*&$ arrival.By mid-week, the event would become the largest gathering of DC-3s since World War 11 with 36 aircraft scattered around the airport.
Since the plans were to park the DC-3s Dakotas together but the soggy ground washed out the plans. There is no doubt this was the last time that this many Dakotas will meet.
The original goal was 25 aircraft making an hour-long flight from the staging area at Rock Falls 111,to Wittman Regional Airport for a formation fly-by at 10000 feet to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the iconic aircraft. Organizers were deluged with requests to take part in the flight. The current record is 28 set in South Africa in 1985.
There are only two airworthy examples of the DC-2 remaining. One is in The Netherlands, and the other, in the TWA livery of The Lindbergh Line, arrived at AirVenture.It was given a coveted place at Aero shell square, and the centre of attention.
There was at least one forum on the Dakota each day with veteran C-47 pilots, Spooky and EC-47 drivers, private owners, and airline pilots all sharing funny, and often times hair-raising, stories of how the beloved Gooney Bird saved their bacon.
On Tuesday evening saw an exclusive DC-3 community (about 600) cookout hosted by Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh.Basler refurbishes DC-3s from its base at Witt man Regional Airport which is technically where Air Venture takes place.
On the Thursday evening, there was a special DC-3/C-47 reunion at the Theatre in the Woods. Special guest, Jim Douglas, the last surviving son of DC-3 designer Donald W Douglas, shared a perspective on growing up with his famous father. Almost 4000 people attended the event which featured a three-part program me: the early history through the Super DC-3: World War 11 and Vietnam and what the old girl is doing today, which included the missions of the turbine-powered Basler BT-67 and the appearance of the stars of hit Canadian reality TV series “Ice Pilots”.
The Ice pilots, of Buffalo Airways, still operate the last scheduled daily Dakota px*&$enger service in the world. They fly in the frozen country of the Yukon Territory, in Northwest Canada.
SHARING THE LIMELIGHT
The DC-3 shared the limelight with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress as Wednesday, July 28, marked the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the B-17. Between Boeing, Lockheed, and Douglas, more than 12000 were built, and 75 years later, four of the believed nine airworthy Flying Fortresses in North America, flew Air Venture.
According to Boeing historians, the B-17 went from its design as the model 299 prototype of flight testing in less than 12 months. By the time the war was over, the design was up to the “G” model, which carried twelve .50 calibre machine guns. In all, there were 8680 B-17G models built by Boeing, Vega, and Douglas to make this the largest production variation. The four Fortresses included the EAAs Aluminum Overcast, the Thunderbird, from the Lonestar Flight Museum, in Galveston, Texas, Texas Raiders belonging to the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), and Yankee Lady.
EAAs own B-17G Aluminum Overcast operated out of Appleton (about 60 miles away) this week to provide rides. Seen and heard overhead throughout the week, the EAAs flagship Fortress survived a major rebuilding .Earlier this year, its lower ball turret, was refurbished to operating condition. It did land on the field later in the week to help celebrates its 75th birthday.
Thunderbird, which, like the Texas Raiders, hails from the Gulf Coast, has financial challenges during these economic times.”We used to do 20 shows year”, said pilot Doug peoples.”Now, five or six raod trips, and some local hops make up a season for the B-17, beleaguered withy a scarcity of sponsors to foot the bill.
Texas Raiders has spent the past 47 years in the care of the CAF, but was out of action for seven years after inspections revealed extensive corrosion resulting from exposure to the saltwater of the Gulf Coast. The rehabilitation cost almost 0000.
Yankee Lady B-17G, N3193G, was delivered to the US Army Air Corps as 44-85829, then transferred to the US Coast Guard as PB-1G, BuNO 77255 in September 1946.Since then, it has worked in various configurations. It was a tanker in 1966, and in January 1969, Yankee Lady appeared in the movie Tora Tora Tora.Yankee Air Museum at Yspilanti, Michigan.
NEW COMPANY
News from around the circuit at Oshkosh included the fact that Alan Klapmeier,co-founder and former CEO of cirrus, is back creating a new airplane.
Klapmeier and a group of investors are merging with Farnborough Aircraft to create the 37-foot kenstral JP 10, a carbon fibre, 6-8 px*&$enger turboprop, at a former naval base in Brunswick, Maine.
So far, Klapmeier says he has no specs for weight, performance, development schedule, or price tag. Of course he does, but he will not be revealing them so early in the game. What he does have is a great deal of confidence in the data collected by Farnborough Aircraft during testing of what may be the prototype of the final aircraft.
The leading edge of the wing will be straighter, the tip slightly curved back and the engine power ratcheted down slightly, and at the request of the FAA this is according to kenstral spokesman in regard to plans to modify its Proof of Concept aircraft. Alan Klapmeier said “we’re looking forward to changing the future of general aviation”, and there will be more models beyond the Kestrel.
The company will hire about 300 people initially and it has put a budget of $ 100-million into the development of the aircraft.
INTRODUCING THE TRANSITION
Terrafugia,Inc., developer of the Transition Roadable Aircraft, or “Flying Car”, released specifications and computer graphics of the new Transition. The company unveiled a scale model of the next generation design, currently under construction at its factory in Woburn, Mx*&$achusetts.
The company has been collecting data acquired during driving tests and flight testing of the Proof of Concept Transition, successfully completed in 2009.The improvements to the design will be based on these data, with extensive computer-aided optimization.
The recent allowance of 50 kg by the FAA, for the Transition, keeps it within the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category. The design also allows the flexibility to incorporate modern automotive-style safety features currently unavailable in other light aircraft.
Terrafugias Transition is the only LSA to simulate crash testing using advanced computational fluid dynamics, airbag deployment, and digital crash test dummies.Terrafugia expects that when combined with a full-vehicle ballistic parachute system, and the ability to drive in bad weather, the Transition will be one of the safest LSAs in the world. Deliveries of the Transition are scheduled to begin in late 2011.
LEAD-FREE AVGAS
In 2006, Friends of the Earth, an environmental group, petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to minimize, or eliminate lead in Avgas through legislation.
Earlier this year the EPA recommended the public find ways to eliminate the offending tetraethyl lead (TEL) found in the fuel. What is unclear was what they meant by “the public,” pilots, on-pilots or environmentalists?
That action prompted concerned GA pilots and industry representatives to form an alliance of general aviation and petroleum industry organizations to develop a process by which an unleaded avgas solution could be identified.
The alliance reported at Air Venture that if necessary it would identify and transition to an unleaded fuel in a methodical process. It announced a two-pronged strategy: the short term strategy is to reduce emissions by developing a “drop-in” alternative to 100LL to be called 100ULL, (ultra low-lead), one which may satisfy the needs of piston-engine aircraft without pricey modifications. The long term approach is a detailed five-step program me which we will report on in a future issue.
Meanwhile, the EPA is examining whether 100LL poses a health risk and, if it does, whether that risk is great enough to mandate eliminating low-leaded gasoline.
Regardless of the sabre rattling, most concerned parties do not think 100LL will disappear any time soon, and the EPA confirmed that it had not set a deadline for the removal of lead from Avgas.
COBALTS CO50
Cobalt Aircraft industries, a French start-up, unveiled its new five-place all-composite, pusher design at Air Venture .The CO50 has sleek fighter-plane looks and features, such as under fuselage engine intake(ala P-51) ,canard, and split-vertical stabilizers which liken it to an FA-18 or su-27.
It features a wide, electrically-actuated panoramic canopy and a canard for stall resistance and high-speed performance. The rear-mounted engine will house a TCM 350 hp twin turbocharged, continental TSIOF-550-D2B in a pusher configuration, with FADEC and its attendant single-lever power control.
The company claims it will push the CO50 to 245 knots at a 75% cruise power setting at 8000 feet, and cruise at 220 knots. Cobalt also claims the aircraft will have a 600-nm range with a full load of px*&$engers.
Cobalt says the CO50 is for the business pilot, and aims to offer certified aircraft that can compete with the airlines on short and medium business trips. The prototype is nearing completion and cobalt will soon begin its joint EASA/FAA certification program me which is expected to last two years.
ENSTROM FOR VIRGINIA
Durban-Based JNC helicopter had two very good reasons to celebrate recently when it held a gala dinner at its Virginia Airport headquarters for about a hundred specially-invited guests to mark the tenth anniversary of its formation and the delivery of the first Enstrom F28C-2 in its fleet.
The helicopter is also the first of its type to be based at a flying school in KwaZulu-Natal, and it has been leased from Aerosales Africa, part of Safomar Holdings, which holds the distributorship for both Enstrom and MD helicopters. The JNC Helicopters team is lead by Carol Scobey with chief flying instructor Grant Surtees.
The Enstrom has been placed with JNC Helicopter which can cater for different market categories. It is powered by a turbocharged 205 hp Lycoming HIO-360-E1AD engine.
Aero sales Africa’s strategy is to place as many Enstrom helicopters with flying schools as possible, the idea being that if a pilot flies the Enstrom he or she will buy an Enstrom.The company adopted this strategy to aggressively market the Enstrom and MD range of helicopter in the African market.
