The Australian Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Australian Flying are very proud to announce that we have been able to name the major Wings Award after GA stalwart Col Pay. The Col Pay Award for a Lifetime of Service to General Aviation will not be easy to get; it will certainly be a hard-earned award won by someone with single-minded dedication to furthering GA in Australia. In short, they will need to reflect the values and work ethics of Col Pay. There are worthy candidates out there, but we need you, the readership, to nominate people you think deserve to win the Col Pay Award. Information on this and all the other Wings Awards categories is on the Australian Flying website. Thanks to Ross Pay and family for giving their blessing.
When companies merge, the reality is usually very different to what the press releases say. Despite the presence of all the traditional buzzwords like "synergy", "leverage" and "efficiencies"; there is almost always another story behind the ink. This week Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aircraft formed ONE Aviation, making the Eclipse 550 and the Kestrel 350 sister ships. Most notable in the press announcement is the absence of the words "joint venture" or "merger." So what is the story behind ONE Aviation? There are two options: a new powerhouse in general aviation has emerged, or two drowning companies are clinging to each in hope that mutual bouyancy is not a myth (it is!). Personally, I am excited about the thought of the Kestrel 350, and I want to be able to report plenty of great news from ONE Aviation in the future. With former Cirrus visionary Alan Klapmeier running the show, there is every chance of ONE Aviation being around for a long time.
I am also up on my toes this week about the Flight Design C4's maiden flight. This is one of several new four-seaters emerging that will provide very real alternatives for the low-end general aviation market. Other are the Tecnam P2010, Brumby Aircruiser, Vulcanair V1.0 and the Sling 4. Flying schools and aero clubs would do well to look very closely at these models when the time comes to retire the faithful PA28s and C172s.
Piper in particular has swung their focus away from the traditional low-end workhorses such as the Archer, Warrior and Arrow, concentrating on what has become a core market for them: six-seat singles. This week came the announcement of the new 600 SHP M600 and the turbo M350. The M600 has an increased range and payload over the Meridian, but not so much as a knot of extra speed. It seems Piper is banking on the utility value of the aircraft rather than taking on the more highly-rated PC-12 and TBM 900. They're not so much competing in that market as the are creating a market of their own.
News about another speed demon this week: the Cessna TTx is about to head off around Australia on an Aeromil Pacific demo tour. I sat in this aircraft at Avalon and was impressed with the general feel of the cockpit. If you've never sat in a modern cockpit like that in, say, a Cirrus, before, the first time you do there is little familiarity with the comfort zones you've been flying in the past. The TTx is different: there is no technology shock when you plunk yourself down. It's all laid out logically and things are where you expect things to be. Speed aside, this aeroplane is worth a good look if you're in the market for a high-speed single.
This week the ATSB released a report into yet another instance of a pilot pressing on into bad weather. The fact that there is an ATSB reports tells you the result was tragic. Yet, as the ATSB warning released with the reports says, it was a very avoidable accident! It seems there were so many outs for this pilot, yet none were taken. We can only conclude that the insidious press-on-itis had taken a hold of the pilot and refused to let go. We've all done something that hindsight later condemns, and none of us were in the cockpit so we really don't know the full story. All we can do is learn from this and ask ourselves at regular intervals during the flight "am I happy to continue?" If the answer is not a happy and enthusiastic "yes", it's time to think of another plan.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch