China’s leading aircraft manufacturer, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), plans on showcasing two of its aircraft – the Seagull 300 and the Little Eagle-500 – at the upcoming Airshow China 2010 in Zhuhai city, Guangdong province, next month. The Seagull 300 is the first indigenous amphibious plane developed in China. After successfully conducting its first test flight earlier this month, AVIC is expected to begin mass production of the Seagull 300 next year. The Little Eagle-500 is a four- or five-seat light business jet. With its predominantly military controlled airspace slowly beginning to open up for private aviation and a rapidly growing economy, China holds incredible growth potential for General Aviation. According to Meng Xiangkai, GM of AVICGA, the GA subsidiary of AVIC, China currently only has 900 GA aircraft, compared with 220,000 in the US and 430,000 globally.
Staying with China, Chinese authorities late last week approved guidelines to reform the country’s low-altitude airspace management over the next five to 10 years with the goal of encouraging GA development in the populous nation. The reform would give non-military aircraft access to airspace below 1000 meters with relaxed restrictions. Shanghai Securities News reported that the new guidelines call for two trial flight control zones to “be deepened” first -- one near Shenyang and one near Guangzhou -- followed by a staged nationwide roll-out of low-altitude airspace reform beginning in 2011. While skeptics remain, Shanghai Securities News says Chinese aviation industry insiders hope the new guidelines will lead to landmark transformation for GA in China.
A supersonic business jet (SBJ) may yet become a reality if Reno-based company Aerion has its way. In collaboration with NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Aerion has conducted a series of flight tests that have marked the latest milestone in the company’s preliminary engineering activities for its first supersonic business jet. Aerion reports that five data test flights were conducted aboard a NASA F-15B in July and August, with the aircraft reaching a top speed of Mark 2.0. Aerion’s next series of tests will feature a test article designed to maximise the extent of supersonic laminar flow, confirmation of its robustness under realistic condition, and cross flow pressure gradients. The Aerion SBJ is designed to carry eight to 12 passengers at high subsonic and supersonic speeds, and despite costing a whopping US$80 million the company has already received a number of deposits. But eager buyers will need to sit tight as the aircraft is still a long, long way from reaching the market.
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the World Air Sports Federation, has appointed Swedish medical doctor John Grubbström as its new President. Before his election, Grubbström held several high positions in aviation related non-profit organisations and the FAI, including President of the Swedish Air Sport Federation and FAI Vice President. A holder of the Hot Air Private Balloon Licence since 1974, Grubbström has been a frequent competitor (he took part in the World Air Games 2009 in Turin) and official in hot air ballooning, having flown in over 20 countries on all continents. Honorary President of the Swedish Ballooning Federation since 1985, he was awarded with the FAI Airsport Medal in 1998 and with the Royal Swedish Aero Club Gold Medal in 2004. Grubbström succeeds Pierre Portmann, who stepped down from the FAI Presidency after six years in office and was elected FAI President of Honour.
Australia’s first female helicopter pilot, Rosemary Arnold, has written a historical aviation book documenting the professional lives of over 100 Australian female pilots who achieved 'firsts' in the Australian landscape between the years of 1909 and 2009. The book is being launched at the Qantas Heritage Museum at Sydney Airport on Monday December 6, so be sure to get along if you’re in town.
Italian aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aero has named Eligio Trombetta as its new General Manager. Trombetta joins Piaggio from Alenia Aermacchi, where he was Deputy General Manager. He is a member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers, a Royal Aeronautical Society Fellow, and a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Van’s Aircraft reports that its 7000th homebuilt kit aircraft, an RV-12 built by Ron Jagels of Novato, California, has taken its first flight. Van’s President Scott Risan said, “This amazing milestone certainly would not have happened without an extremely loyal and competent customer base. We hope that this significant number will motivate those that are still building and those that are dreaming of building their own airplane.”
You may have heard of the bloke in the US who last week flew a Cessna 172S over a New Jersey high school's athletics field while students were playing soccer and tossed rolls of toilet paper out the window. The pilot, 60-year-old Warren Saunders, claimed the drop was a practice run for a second drop he’d planned to do over a high school football game. Apparently he was trying to figure out how he could eject colored streamers from the aircraft and how they might fall. While none of the students were injured, Saunders has now officially been charged with violating a state law that prohibits aerial stunts over densely inhabited areas or public gatherings. Surely he should've known better... .