Week in brief February 4 2011

Sydney Metro Airports has scored a major win this week with the announcement that parts of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), a next generation fighter jet being built for Australia, the US, the UK and six other countries, will have parts made at Bankstown Airport. The Boeing facility at Bankstown will be taken over by Perth manufacturer Quickstep, who earlier this week signed an agreement with Northrop Grumman, one of the major multi-national defence companies building the JSF. Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare said $10 million in assistance from the Federal Government had helped lure Quickstep to Bankstown. Around 3000 JSFs are expected to be built over the next two decades, including at least 14 for Australia, with Quickstep contracted to supply components including access panels, fuel tank covers, aircraft skins and in-board weapons bay doors. Last year Boeing announced it’ll be vacating the Bankstown premises as it consolidates its Australian operations at its Melbourne facility.


The US FAA warns that pilots flying GA aircraft certified before the year 2000 should be aware that the stall-warning system may not work as expected in icing conditions. In a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin the FAA recommends that pilots flying in icing conditions should treat a buffet or shudder as if it is an imminent stall, and instructs not to believer the myth that thicker airfoils are more tolerant of ice accretion. To read the full recommendation click here.


The Chinese government’s test of loosening the country’s airspace restrictions for private aircraft officially commenced late last week with the initiation of trial flights in selected airspace up to 1000 metres. The trial flights are being conducted from now until March in and around Haikou, the capital city of Hainan Island province, by four helicopters flying without the need to seek permission prior to each flight. To date less than 30 per cent of China’s predominantly military controlled airspace is open to civil aviation, and pre-existing regulations have stipulated that private pilots must wait up to a week to gain approval for flights. China’s State Council and Central Military Commission plans to increasingly test the opening of the country’s airspace over the next five years. Given China’s current economical growth and the fact that it currently has less than 1000 GA aircraft, compared with around 220,000 in the US and 430,000 globally, these airspace tests are being watched closely be GA manufacturers.


Charles Huron Kaman, founder of US helicopter manufacturer Kaman Aircraft Company, passed away on Monday January 31 at the age of 91. As a 26-year-old engineer, in 1945 Kaman founded Kaman Aircraft Company in the garage of his mother’s Connecticut home with $2000 and the aim of demonstrating a new rotor concept (using a servo-flap controlled rotor) he’d devised to make helicopters more stable and easier to fly. Today, Kaman helicopters are in use by both civil and military operators around the globe.


Cirrus marked the 10th anniversary of its very first Cirrus SR22 on Monday January 31. The SR22 has proven an incredibly success for Cirrus, with the aircraft by far the highest selling GA machine in 2010. To celebrate a decade in the air, Cirrus has released 10 special Limited Commemorative Edition SR22Ts. There are currently 86 SR22s on CASA’s civil aircraft register.


Robinson Helicopter Company reports it experienced a year of transition in 2010. During the first half of the year the company worked to move unsold inventory created by the unstable economy, but by mid-year the inventory was gone and the company saw a surge in new sales. Production was then ramped-up as orders steadily increased, most notably in the back half of the year. By year’s end, Robinson had 169 new orders on its books. Total production for the year was 162 aircraft: 40 R22s, 112 R44s and 10 of the R66 turbine.    


The ATSB has issued an investigation bulletin that underscores the importance of maintaining situational awareness and the risks of pilot distraction. The bulletin features summary reports compiled from information provided to the ATSB by individuals or organisations involved in an accident or serious incident between October 1 2010 and December 31 2010. The read the bulletin click here.


Textron, the parent company of, amongst others, Cessna, Bell Helicopter and Lycoming Engines, reports a spike in business in late 2010 that points to impending growth in 2011. The company says business jet and commercial helicopter demand in particular has been encouraging. For the record, Cessna delivered 79 business jets in 2010, up from 68 in 2009.


US golfing great and avid aviator Arnold Palmer made his final flight as pilot-in-command this week after 54 years in the cockpit. The 81-year-old Palmer, who apart from being one of the greatest golfers to ever swing a club, has long been a supporter of GA. Palmer’s last flight was at the controls of his Cessna Citation 10, flying from Palm Springs to Orlando in the US.


The Camden Advertiser had another crack at Camden Airport this week over aircraft noise, reporting that some local residents are calling for a curfew for circuit training operations due to “constant, unrelenting noise”. According to community newspaper, the Camden resident, “knew the airport was there when we bought the house four years ago, but then, the planes were few and far between”. Traffic at Camden has inevitably increased since the closure of Hoxton Park Aerodrome in late 2008, but Hoxton Park’s end was actually result of the continued residential and commercial growth and development of Western Sydney. Here’s hoping these Camden residents are aware of that fact… .