Tecnam has announced it delivered a total of 265 aircraft in 2010. Of those 265, 55 were the new P2006T Twin, flight tested in the November/December 2010 issue of Australian Flying, and the remaining 210 were in Tecnam’s single engine range. The word is that a senior representative from Tecnam HQ in Italy will be on the ground at this year’s Avalon Airshow for the first time, so if you’ve got a soft spot for the Italian manufacturer be sure to pay the Tecnam stand a visit.
Flight Global reports that Cessna is readying a slate of clean sheet and product upgrades in its super-light and medium-sized business jet range to take on the equivalent from Embraer’s Legacy 450 and 500 development programs. The new aircraft are said to
replace Cessna’s Citation XLS+ super light twin and its midsize Sovereign. In addition to the single-engine turboprop its widely rumoured to be working on to fill the gap between its Corvallis TT piston and the entry level Citation Mustang jet, Cessna is said to have other clean sheet designs up its sleeve to be unveiled in the near future.
Airservices Australia’s Flight Inspection Service (FIS) will visit urban and regional areas throughout this month to check that air navigation aids are operating correctly. The IFS checks the accuracy of over 500 pieces of critical air navigation equipment on a three-year rotational basis under a long-term nationwide program. Equipment being tested includes instrument landing systems (ILS), distance measuring equipment (DME), and non-directional beacons (NDB). Using a Beechcraft King Air, the FIS will inspect navaids at:
- WA: Perth, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Cunderdin, Gin Gin, Jurien Bay, Ballidu, Narembeen, Southern Cross, Esperance;
- NSW: Sydney, Bourke, Richmond, Cooma, Albury; and
- VIC: Wangaratta, Strathbogie, Mansfield, Cowes, Wonthaggi, East Sale, Mount Sandon.
IAOPA Europe (the International Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association Europe) has raised concerns about the state of landing fees for GA aircraft in Spain. IAOPA Europe reports that, in a new blow to General Aviation in a country where GA is grossly under-developed despite boasting some of the best VFR flying conditions in Europe, minimum landing charges at Spanish airports have been increased by around 300 per cent since the start of 2011. So spare a thought for GA pilots in Spain…
The US AOPA reports that Wings of Hope, a St. Louis-based aviation charity that implements poverty reduction strategies to help those in need attain self-sufficiency, has been nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. The organisation was founded in 1962 to provide a refurbished aircraft to a nurse in Kenya who used a fabric-covered Piper to reach women and children of nomadic tribes in the desert. It now operates in 155 countries, including Australia.
And in another feel-good story from the US, Garmin has partnered with reality TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help Florida pilot Joe Hurston, founder of disaster relief volunteer group Air Mobile Ministries, repair his 1970 Cessna Skymaster. Hurston uses his Skymaster to deliver water purifiers and supplies to disaster victims, and as part of an episode for the TV show a Garmin dealer from Orlando helped refurbish the aircraft and fit it with a new Garmin avionics suite that included a G500 and dual GNS 430Ws. We love to hate reality TV as much as the next guy, but this was a nice touch.
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the late Steve Fossett’s completion of the longest nonstop flight in history. On this day in 2006 the adventurer made an emergency landing in England due to mechanical issues with his aircraft after flying a distance of 42,460km in around 76 hours. Now there’s a log book entry to boast about!
The P2006T production line at Tecnam's facility in Capua, southern Italy. (Tecnam)
