Brace yourself, for this could very well knock your socks off. The EAA reports that a father/son pilot duo in the US are planning an attempt to fly an aircraft (likely a C172) for 65 consecutive days. That’s one nonstop flight – 1558 consecutive flying hours, more than two months, no toilet breaks, no leg stretching, nothing! Matt Pipkin and his father Chet are planning the flight to raise awareness for victims of child sexual abuse as part of Matt’s Commit65 charity initiative. Refueling will be done air-to-air (12-14 hours between fill-ups) and oil changes in-flight (which will require the design and installation of special plumbing on the engine). If they pull it off, the Idaho pilots will break the longstanding Guinness world flight endurance record of 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes, and 5 seconds, set by Robert Timm and John Cook, who remained aloft from December 4, 1958, to February 7, 1959, in a C172 as part of a promotional stunt for the Las Vegas Hacienda Hotel and Casino. Just for some perspective, Timm and Cook’s flight saw them fly a distance equal to six times around the world. The pair hope to achieve the feat in the US summer of 2012; to read the full story click here.
And if that isn’t enough to blow your mind, we here there’s also an eight-year-old child pilot prodigy in the US who’s cruising through the early stages of learning to fly and has already logged 17.5 flight hours in a Cessna 150. Justin Stipp, who needs to stick a few phone books under his bum just to see over the panel, says, “When you become a pilot and you’re in your airplane, you get to see more things of the world when you are in the air instead of when you are on the ground. Flying is my favorite thing ‘cause once you get your hands on the controls, it’s pretty fun.” And ain’t that the truth, Ruth! To read more click here.
The omnipresent Google is apparently eyeing off Hervey Bay-based Seabird Aviation’s Seabird Seeker multi-role light aircraft to use as their new mapping tool. The Fraser Coast Chronicle reports that Ergon Energy CEO Ian McLeod and chairman Ralph Craven will fly to San Francisco next week to meet with Google executives, who have expressed interest in procuring up to 70 Seabird Seekers. Seabird Aviation and Ergon Energy have worked for more than two years to develop two custom-designed surveillance aircraft that will be put into service in August surveying Ergon’s 150,000km long Queensland electricity network. And apparently Victorian fire-fighting services are also exploring the plane’s fire-fighting capability. Queenslander!
The Alpine Shire Council in Victoria’s north east has unanimously adopted the draft Master Plan for Mount Beauty Aerodrome. After many years of lying idle, the approval now paves the way forward for the upgrade of the airstrip. Included in the Master Plan is a 1600m runway strip (pending DSE approval) with an 18-metre wide sealed centre. The upgraded strip will provide much improved safety by facilitating landings and take-offs into wind. Most of the previous operational restrictions will not be a consideration for the majority of pilots operating at Mount Beauty once the upgrade has been completed. The picturesque Mount Beauty is a popular fly-in spot and boasts plenty of gliding, hang-gliding and recreational flying. It’s also the nearest fixed-wing airport to the Mt Bogong/Falls Creek snow fields and is heavily relied on for Air Ambulance, search and rescue, and fire bombing missions. Funding estimated at $1.5 million will now be sought from the Victorian Government.
Flight Global reports that Cirrus Aircraft President Brent Wouters has defended the popular GA manufacturer’s impending sale to China’s state-owned CAIGA at the Aero 2011 airshow in Freidrichshafen, Germany this week. Says Wouters: “Nobody raised any objection when we were taken over by a Bahraini company in 2001. This anti-Chinese sentiment is completely unfounded. This is a terrific opportunity for Cirrus to develop new products, accelerate development of existing products, grow around the world and strengthen the balance sheet. Cirrus will remain in the USA. Only when the Chinese market accounts for a significant portion of our sales will we consider building a second assembly line in China,”.
Qantas has christened its tenth Airbus A380 the Bert Hinkler in honour of the Queensland aviation pioneer of the same name. And it’s an appropriate name too, given that the latest addition to the Qantas A380 fleet will operate on the Sydney-Singapore-London route and Hinkler made the first solo flight from Britain to Australia in 1928. For the record, Hinkler’s flight took nearly 16 days, and his namesake will knock it over in a mere 21 hours. The honorary A380 naming convention follows on from the first Qantas A380, the Nancy Bird-Walton.
A new aviation display hall at Auckland’s Museum of Transport & Technology (MOTAT) will be the new home for one of the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s retired Skyhawks. The hall will also house the Solent, a rare flying boat that carried passengers to Pacific destinations in 1949, and the Sunderland, another flying boat used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in WWII. Two of the 16 remaining Skyhawks will go to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Christchurch, with a further five to be allocated on long-term loans to other Kiwi aviation museums and another one apparently to be based in Australia.
Pilatus had a cracker of a year in 2010, with the company generating its highest ever sales revenue and operating income. The Swiss aircraft manufacturer also delivered the 1000th model of its popular PC-12 in mid-2010. And the two very first PC-12 customers – over very own Royal Flying Doctor Service, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police – bought new PC-12 NGs in 2010. The RFDS currently operates 33 PC-12s.
Helicopters New Zealand Ltd (HNZ), NZ’s leading helicopter services provider and operator, has been sold to international helicopter operator Canadian Helicopters Limited (CHL). Founded in 1955 with one aircraft, HNZ had grown to a fleet of 37 helicopters before going into receivership last August.
(Seabird Aviation Australia)
