Week in brief July 29 2011

This week at AirVenture 2011 DAHER-SOCATA celebrated its 100-year anniversary, marking a Century of continuous aircraft production by the French manufacturer. The TBM850 manufacturer started aircraft manufacturing activities as Aeroplanes Morane-Saulnier in 1911. Since then, it’s built 94 prototypes and delivered 17,000 aircraft in more than 70 countries. To read the history of DAHER-SOCATA and how the company celebrated this impressive milestone this week click here.


The forthcoming Wide Bay Australia International Airshow will this year feature for the first time a Training and Careers precinct that aims to attract teenagers to careers in aviation. The precinct will be home to a seminar centre as well as displays by Defence Force
Recruitment (DFR), CQ University, Sky Education and the Queensland Institute for Aviation Engineering. All high schools in the Wide Bay region have received an invitation to bring senior students to the airshow on its opening day, free of charge, to see the displays, meet with Defence personnel and education/training organisations on site and participate in a series of seminars. And if that doesn’t win the young ‘uns over, they’ll be able to meet Red Bull Air Race ace Matt Hall and listen to him speak about the joys of aviation as a career. The event happens at Bundaberg Airport from Friday August 19 to Sunday August 21. For more click here.


No here’s a tale of survival. New York pilot Michael Trapp treaded water for 18 hours after his Cessna 150 suffered a fuel problem that forced him to ditch into Lake Huron. He was flying to Wisconsin to visit family, but when the fuel problem arose he turned the engine off and opened the cabin door just before impact, which allowed him to escape from the cockpit when the aircraft flipped when it hit the drink. Without the assistance of a flotation device, he drifted, swam and stayed afloat until he was spotted by a passing fishing vessel. Hats off to the man.


The Department of Defence has announced that six additional Iroquois helicopters will be reserved for sale to historical organisations, where they’ll become proud static displays. Serving the Australian Defence Force for nearly half a Century, the Iroquois, affectionately known as ‘Hueys’, were key to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, providing vital support to troops on the ground and featuring prominently in the battle of Long Tan. Following their service in Vietnam, the Iroquois went on to serve on many peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. The Iroquois’ final deployment before being withdrawn from service in December 2007 was to Sumatra in Indonesia to provide assistance following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. 11 Iroquois helicopters have already been allocated to Defence bases around Australia and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra for static display. Organisations interested in acquiring one of the additional Hueys can email disposals@defence.gov.au or call (02) 9393 2914 for further info.


We’ve previously reported that a Kiwi company has come up with a novel way of minimising birdstrikes using a natural fungus, and if that doesn’t take off other airports could always follow Gold Coast Airport’s lead. Working with bird-strike management experts Avisure to help prevent bird strikes at/around the airport, Gold Coast has added a plucky Labrador named Joe ‘The Wonder Dog’ to its security team. To prepare for the mission, Joe and his handler, wildlife biologist Martin Ziviani, have undergone extensive training for the past year with an internationally certified specialist dog trainer so they can work safely and effectively around the airport. Martin will have three levels of control for Joe – voice control, whistle control and electric collar – which will help the two-year-old Lab work at different distances, with ambient airport noise and activity without actually harming birds. The airport says the concept of using man’s best friend to humanely move on birds is based on the natural threat of predation and is likely to be more effective than scaring birds with blasts from cannons and blank shells from rifles. Man’s best friend just got even better!


Tom Poberezny, long-serving Chairman of the US-based Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), abruptly announced his retirement from the position at the start of this week’s EAA AirVenture 2011 in Oshkosh. Poberezny has led the 58-year-old association since 1989 and has grown the EAA, and the AirVenture event, exponentially in that time. He was also pivotal in the EAA’s Young Eagles program. Current EAA President and CEO, Rod Hightower, will assume Chairman responsibilities at the EAA.


NASA astronaut Dr Greg Chamitoff will talk in detail about the last flight of the space shuttle Endeavour at the University of Sydney on Tuesday August 2 from 1830. Entry is free, but pre-registration is essential. If you’re keen, you can click here to pre-register now.


Earlybird registration for October’s prestigious Safeskies conference, to be held in Canberra from October 25-27, close today. Safeskies is encouraging the GA community to get along, so to grab your pass to the event at the discounted earlybird rate click here.


Colorado company Beyond Aviation, formerly known as Bye Energy, has began initial taxi tests on its all-electric Cessna 172 project. As previously reported here, Beyond Aviation, an integrator of clean, alternative energy technologies for business and GA aircraft, is collaborating with Cessna to design and develop an electric propulsion system for a C172 proof-of-concept aircraft. The company’s goal is to develop a practical, cost-effective conversion to environmentally friendly electric propulsion systems as a replacement for internal combustion engines on aircraft requiring 150 to 200 hp. It hopes to announce a date for the aircraft’s first flight shortly.


Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support is now offering an automatic cabin climate control system for the Beechcraft Bonanza. The CabinComfortPlus is an aftermarket installation that offers fully automatic, automotive-style cabin climate control. 18kg lighter than the current factory air conditioning system, it replaces the current Bonanza cooling system and provides a control panel to set cabin temperature zonally. The operator and/or passengers set the temperature for their zone to the desired setting and the system automatically maintains that temperature, enabling set-and-forget comfort throughout the cabin. The system is certified for all phases of flight including take-off and landing without the need to be turned off during start-up or shutdown. For more info email HBC_Parts@hawkerbeechcraft.com.


And staying with Hawker Beechcraft, its Global Customer Support unit has also just announced an LED replacement for Beechcraft Baron and Bonanza landing and position lights. Designed in conjunction with Astronics LSI, these lighting units are available to replace existing landing, taxi, position and anti-collision lights. With no glass filament to break, they are shock and vibration resistant while consuming significantly less energy. The solid state LED light engine provides high reliability with more than 8000 hours mean time between failure, greatly reducing operational costs. They can be ordered here.


Here’s a novel idea. US company Optex has developed a laser-scan detector system that’s
installed inside hangars and warns pilots when a plane comes within eight feet of the hangar walls. The Optex Redscan laser-scan system is said to be a cost-effective and powerful way to reduce the likelihood of damage to aircraft or facilities, while allowing personnel to move freely throughout the hangar. Optex designed the system as a means to eliminate any risk of damage to aircraft during exit or entry, and if an object comes within the laser’s span it will set off strobes and sounds. Sounds like a winning idea… .


L-3 Avionics Systems has reached a major milestone this week by selling its 15,000th collision avoidance system. The L-3 SkyWatch collision avoidance system was the first active traffic detection system certified for GA and is widely used in light aircraft, helicopters and business jets. The SkyWatch collision avoidance system and the more powerful SkyWatch HP provide pilots with high-accuracy onboard traffic detection.


An F-16 fighter jet suffered a rough landing on arrival at EAA’s AirVenture at Wittman Regional Airport this week. Details of the damage done have yet to be released, but an eyewitness said the jet, “came off the edge of the runway going about 60 miles per hour and the front landing gear sunk into the soft ground because of the rain”.