http://morphing.mae.cornell.edu/Papers/%5BManzo%5D%20HECS%20MS%20Thesis%20Master.pdf

http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=406&gTable=mtgpaper&gID=65912

I created a wiki page to katix gforge for link collection.

I hope you like it. It is not sorted in any sense, but it contains lots of interesting links. A friend of mine has been sending these to me a quite long time and I thought that I could share the collection with you.

http://gforge.katix.org/gf/project/twinzygger/wiki/?pagename=MiscTechPapers

A fluke shot !

But of what ?

04-06-2009. Due to unpopular demand I have added a second clue below.

Same object - different direction.

Jat cabins empty as passenger numbers decline

As May draws to a close Jat’s passenger figures continue to decline for a 6th consecutive month. The airline has published its results for the month of April. In the first 4 months of 2009, Jat Airways has carried a total of 261.203 passengers, 602 tonnes of cargo and 210 tonnes of mail. Comparing to the same period last year and with 19% less flights Jat carried 19% less passengers, transported 34% less cargo and transported 10% more of mail. The Cabin Load Factor (CLF) which stood at 53% by the end of April in 2008 now stands at 50%, 3 index points lower. In the first 4 months of the year Jat is particularly noting a decline in passengers travelling to Montenegro. Passenger numbers on lines to Tivat and Podgorica declined by a large 55%.

In April 2009, Jat transported 77.273 passengers. This means, compared to last April, passenger numbers have declined by 18%. In April 2009 the CLF stood at 57% which is a decrease from 59% in April 2008.Compared to last year the only sector seeing an increase in passenger numbers is charter services. There were a total of 15 more charter flights in April 2009 compared to the same month last year. Charter flights have increased by 10% this year while passengers on charter flights have also increased by 12%.

By the end of April 2008 a total of 15.000 passengers travelled with Jat to Montenegro while this year the number is 5.646. On Euro-Mediterranean services Jat carried a total of 67.323 until April 2009, compared to 74.894 passengers last year. Passengers travelling on Jat’s charter flights increased from 3.833 to 4.305 this year. Nevertheless, April is so far the best performing month for Jat so far this year. The low passenger figures are a result of the global financial crisis. The airline will publish its May results in a few weeks. Last year Jat recorded its best May passenger figures since 1991, which will be tough to beat this year.

PIK 20 ZK-GKG c/n 20067 as flown by John Robinson.

Pekka Tammi was a student at the Polytekniknikkojen IlmailuKerho RY, (which is a longer way of saying PIK) where with a bit of help from Ilkka Rantasalo and Raimo Nurminen he designed a glider to meet the recently changed 15m standard class rules (1971 - 72 we are talking here). This included the use of water ballast and wing flaps. It is the wing flaps/brakes that make this glider so different from most which tend to have what are generally referred to as Schempp-Hirth wing brakes and separate conventional trailing edge flaps. The Schempp-Hirth brakes pop up out of the wing surface (sometimes below as well) somewhere about the wing spar region of the wing. This destroys the lift over that section of the wing and increases the drag and therefore the rate of descent. The PIK on the other hand has trailing edge flaps down to about 40 degrees and beyond that - down to 90 degrees are barn door brakes. With the brakes so far back on the wing the centre of pressure moves back when they are deployed and the flying attitude changes to very nose down.

The above photo from Andy Heap shows the approach mode of GKG with it all hanging out. Full brakes and wheel down. This gives the approximately -45 degree attitude - however the flight attitude is actually nearer to about -30 degrees. A very unnerving feeling standing on the peddles for the first few flights watching the ground arriving.

Again unlike other gliders with Schempp-Hirth type brakes which can be altered +/- during the approach to suit aiming points, descent rates etc : On the PIK it is normally; once down thats it ; your are committed. So the secret for the PIK was to make absolute certain you will reach the landing field before cranking the brakes out.

It is also surprising how little round out is actually needed to plop this glider down.

Another useless bit of information is that in the PIK if you are too high on final with it all hanging down, you can actually poke the nose down even more and instead of the speed building up alarmingly as per the normal glider, the drag actually increases and the descent naturally steepens even more.

By my guess we have had 9 PIK's in NZ. 6 model 20's and 3 model 30's. Some being self launching.

I very much regret not purchasing this glider when I had the chance back in 93.

Photos lifted from the Andy Heap collection.

Rotorway Executive ZK-HUR3 c/n 3216 was built in between 1986 and 1988 by Orville Neisingh from a factory kit and registered as the Neisingh Exec with the c/n 001. Tom Taylor acquired it and partially dismantled it for conversion to a Turbine engine. This was never completed and it was sold to Bruce Burdekin in 2007.
Bruce imported it into NZ and set up at number 5 hangar at Wigram and registered it as ZK-HUR on 20-03-2007. Alas it proved not to be quiet what Bruce had purchased.
A new mainframe was purchased but damaged in transit. This was repaired. Then a new tail boon and tail rotor was obtained. The engine is an in house Rotorway 152 of 140hp. This drives onto a quad V drive belt. With the closure of Wigram this project has moved to Rangiora, creating more delay, but it is progressing slowly.

Two reasonably seldom seen aircraft dropped in to Rangiora for fuel following an outing from their respective bases near Sheffield in inland Canterbury this afternoon.
Above is Piper PA-18-95 Super Cub ZK-BKX c/n 18-4684 of Fred Bull.

And the one and only (in NZ) Beagle Auster A109 Airdale ZK-CCW c/n B528 of Charlie Draper.
This is one of only 43 built and about five airworthy survivors.

Tehran

Croatia’s national carrier is in negotiations with a tour operator to begin seasonal summer charter services from Dubrovnik to Tehran, the capital of Iran. The last group of Iranian tourists visited Croatia’s coast in 2007 when Turkish Airlines offered services from Tehran to Zadar in cooperation with Croatia Airlines. However, this arrangement did not continue into 2008 due to the political situation in Iran. Currently Croatia Airlines is unable to come to an agreement with the tour operator in order to begin services to Iran. Nevertheless the management of the Croatian national carrier believes that the service to Tehran could be very profitable if operated during July and August in cooperation with a tour operator. Croatia has invested greatly in the promotion of its tourism offer in Iran in the past few months. Croatia Airlines is hoping that this way it will contribute to the Croatian tourism industry which is facing an extremely difficult summer due to the global financial crisis. If the flights become a reality it would be Croatia Airlines’ longest service.

Meanwhile, Croatia Airlines will be wet leasing a single Bombardier CRJ200 from Adria Airways. The aircraft, registered S5-AAG, is in the Star Alliance livery. It will be used mainly on services from Zagreb to Munich, Zadar and Pula until the arrival of Croatia Airlines’ new Dash Q400 in July.

From Embarer E195 to E175

Only a few days after receiving its second new Embarer E195 jet, Montenegro Airline CEO, Zoran Đurišić has said that its final order for the E195 will be changed to an Embarer E175.The E175, like the E195 is part of the Brazilian company’s E-jets family. The main difference between the two aircraft is that the E175 can seat some 80 people while the E195 model can seat approximately 120 passengers. The change in the aircraft order comes as demand falls across the aviation industry. However, Đurišić says that the Montenegrin national carrier, together with Turkish Airlines, is one of the rare national carriers in Europe reporting an increase in passengers this year. The contract for the order change will be officially signed next Thursday in Paris.

In the meantime the debate of who should take over the Montenegrin carrier is intensifying. El-Al Israel which has so far shown great interest in the airline is sending a delegation to Podgorica, for a second time in two months. The management of Montenegro Airlines will meet with the El-Al delegation next week. Yesterday, a Greek business delegation held talks with the Montenegrin Government. The delegation which included the Restis Group, Greece's fifth-largest shipping company, showed interest in Montenegro Airlines. The Restis Group would like Montenegro Airlines to begin scheduled 3 weekly services from Podgorica to Tel Aviv via Rhodes and Athens. The 3 weekly service would, according to the Restis Group, be increased during the summer period. Yesterday, Sun d’Or International Airlines, an El-Al subsidiary began services from Tel Aviv to Tivat.

After nearly two weeks of horridible weather in the Christchurch area we got a lovely cool sunny day today. I dropped into Rangiora for a while this afternoon and the place was really buzzing. Aircraft and people pleased to get airborne.

ZK-VAL

Murphy Rebel ZK-VAL2 [c/n 408R] with Neville Sommerville dashing off.

Coyote 11 ZK-DYM

Rans S6ES TD Coyote 11 ZK-DYM [c/n 4051657] (Delta Yankee Kermit) about to commit aviation.

Vans RV-4 ZK-SIM

Ed Langston thrashing the circuit in his Vans RV-4 ZK-SIM2 [c/n 2826]

ZK-AXC

The Clayton Auster J4 ZK-AXC [c/n 2080] just off it annual.

 ZK-EDG

Jodel D.11 ZK-EDG [c/n AACA/17/2] locally based just in from checking the curvature of the earth.

Heli CD Contractors Hughes 369E ZK-HCD

Heli CD Contractors Hughes 369E ZK-HCD3 [c/n 0021E] departing after refueling.

P2002 Siera RG ZK-SRG

Ruth departing in the Tecnam P2002 Siera RG ZK-SRG2 [c/n 364]. It has been based on the nearby Vallance airstrip for a while.

ZK-DDL

ZK-DDL2 the Tecnam P2004 Bravo [c/n 051] of Diamond Plant and Equipment Hire was out for a breath of air fresh.

Skyhawk ZK-DAW 

The Small's Cessna 172L Skyhawk ZK-DAW [c/n 59737] from the Haka Valley dropped in briefly. They have had this for nearly 35 years now.

Cessna A185F Skywagon ZK-DSO

Cessna A185F Skywagon ZK-DSO [c/n A185F-02282] about to venture forth on a local flight.

Corby CJ-1 Starlet ZK-EEZ

And happiness is:- Terry Salmon back after a 45 minute blat in Corby CJ-1 Starlet ZK-EEZ [c/n AACA/130/1].

Cessna 207 Skywagon / Stationair 

Star Alliance ends regional membership

The world’s largest airline alliance system, Star Alliance, will get rid of its regional membership scheme whose members are both Slovenia’s Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines. The group plans to present an updated corporate governance on the sidelines of the IATA annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur next month and the step is expected to be formally announced there in addition to other changes. Croatia Airlines, Blue 1 (Finland) and Adria Airways are currently the only regional members. Their status is more restricted than that of a full member. None of the three airlines have been invited to join the main alliance system. However, the principle of unanimous voting for new members will no longer be applied, which could clear the way for smaller carriers such as Croatia, Blue 1 and Adria to become full members.

Star formally invited Greek carrier Aegean to join the alliance as a full member today. The airline is expected to finally join the largest alliance in mid 2010. Aegean will bring nine new destinations to the alliance network plus a sizeable domestic network that Star Alliance so far has not had access to. Its principle competitor, Olympic, is not yet aligned with any of the other groups. Star officials point out that Lufthansa's proposal to add Aegean was quickly adopted. Turkish Airlines, geographically the nearest member, did not object to the plans either. Lufthansa was the sponsor of both Adria’s and Croatia Airlines’ membership in Star.

The airlines expected to join the alliance this year are Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines and TAM Airlines. Next year, besides Aegean, Air India will also join the alliance. Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines become regional Star Alliance members in 2004. Their fate in the alliance will officially be announced next month.

ZK-REX4 above was built by Rex and Ruth Newman at Omaka and was first registered on 15-07-2004 after some 1900 hours of labour. This is a Vans RV7A c/n 71200 and is one of three built by Rex. This was re-registered as ZK-RFX on the 26-05-2009.

The second edition became ZK-MIS and was registered by Rex on 19-10-2007 before being relisted to The COD Impact Trust on 09-01-2008.

Rex now has a third such aircraft almost ready to roll out. My guess being that this will become ZK-REX5 in the very near future.

[As a matter of interest: If a registration has been issued several times, I add a number to indicate which allocation we are discussing. In the case above we are talking about ZK-REX issues number 4 and maybe 5].
To help complete the picture:-
ZK-REX1 was a Cessna 310B [c/n 310B-35654] from 1958 until 1959.
ZK-REX2 was a Embraer 110P2 Bandeirante [c/n 110-184] between 1989 and 1996.
ZK-REX3 was a Embraer 110P1 Bandeirante [c/n 110407] between 1996 and 1999.
ZK-REX4 was Vans RV7A [c/n 71200] as above.

At opening of Browns Road airport, New Plymouth, 4th March 1967




At Ardmore 2003

So sad that this wonderful old aircraft has departed this country after 76 years here.
In my view, this is one occasion where the Historic Artifacts act should have been bought into play.

De Havilland DH60M (Gipsy 11) , c/n 1542 , ZK-AEJ, often referred to as "The Racing Moth" has been cancelled as exported after being advertised for sale some time. The Beech G17S ZK-MOE (c/n B-14) and the DH89A ZK-SWR (c/n 6853) have also been advertised.

ZK-AEJ has an extensive history which I have listed below.

I don't actually have any really good pictures of it, but these three will give some idea of its radiant beauty.

Top pic shows it at Rangiora on 19-06-2002 whilst undergoing repairs following a woopsie.

Centre & lower pics taken earlier at Mandeville on 11-12-1991.

It was cancelled on 20-05-2009 as exported.

Brief history :-

De Havilland DH60M c/n 1542 gained its first Certifiate of Registration as G-AAXG in May of 1930 and although still under the ownership of the De havilland Aircraft Co Ltd went to Alan S Butler. First flight was on 26-06-1930 with its C of A (N0 2603) being issued the same day.

It was built as a special "one off" racer with a flush covering over the front cockpit, a smaller undercarriage and was said to have had non folding wings. [Not sure about that because it certainly has folding wings now].

It was flown into second place in the 1930 Kings Cup race by Alan Butler on 05-07-1930.

It was then entered into the International Touring Competition in July & August of 1930 and was given the competition number of "K5" [As seen in the pic above].

Its UK registration was cancelled in August 1930 and delivered to Eduoard Bret of Cannes, France who won the Coupe Zenith des Avions Legers on 27-09-1930 with a record flight of 8 hours and 44 minutes around the Bordeaux - Tours - Orly - Marseille - Toulouse - Bordeaux circuit. It was registered in France as F-AJZB on 23-10-1930 to Eduoard Bret. He also won the Coupe Zenith in 1931.

The aircraft returned to the UK in February 1933 as part exchange for the DH80A G-ABDG with its French registration being cancelled in April of 1933.

It took up its olde UK registration of G-AAXG on 23-02-1933 with The Honorable Brian Lewis who traded as Brian Lewis & Co Ltd out of Heston. Its C of A was renewed on 09-03-1933 and was then sold to Lieutenant Home R A Kidston and was delivered to DH at Stag Lane in June 1933 for packing and shipping out to NZ.

It was shipped out on HMS Diomede (Kidson was serving on this ship at the time) in January 1934 with the intention of becoming ZK-ADF. But it was not flown and the registration was not taken up. It departed on the ship again until they returned to Auckland again on 12-11-1934

It was then operated in NZ still in its UK markings until they were cancelled in December of 1935.

In the meantime it had been registered in NZ as ZK-AEJ on 16-09-1935 [I think] to R G Tappenden of Auckland. (I assume the date difference between its NZ registration & the UK cancellation would be due to the mail delivery time).

It went to J Allen of Wairoa, but was based in Hastings on 21-10-1936.

With hostillities it was impressed into the military on 09-09-1939 but because of its special nature was not used, but stored until sold off in 1942 to Butler & Carrol.

It then moved to R N Brown who traded as Snake Gully Airways. Its first post war flight was on 20-12-1945.

It returned to J Allen again before being acquired by Gordon Reader under Early Bird Flying of Palmerston North on 12-09-1966. Here it got named "Racing". Two other aircraft in this fleet carried the names Rugby [Rearwin ZK-AKF] and Beer [DH 94 Moth Minor ZK-BFP] .(hence the title of this blog).

Earlybird Flying Ltd of PN appear on 17-03-1967 until it was withdrawn and stored at Paraparaumu of 07-01-1971.

In October 1984 it was sold and on 22-01-1985 was registered to Gerald Grocott of Hasting and roaded to Temple Martin at Hasting for a rebuild and reflown on 01-07-1987.

It was known to then spend time at Mandeville from about February 1991 still owned by Gerald Grocott.

It was damaged whilst taxying at Dargaville on 19-02-2000 and then sent down to Pat Scotter at Rangiora for repairs [pic above]. It was then flown back to Hastings.

& That briefly is the story as I see it.

Any additions, corrections etc most welcome.

Despite the bad weather at Ardmore on Tuesday afternoon, the all-black Eurocopters of Advanced Flight were busy. Their latest addition, EC 130B4 ZK-IJV, departed to the north.

ZK-HSW/4, in the fleet since late 2006 arrived, and was soon pushed under cover.



While ZK-HXW/4 sat and watched it all.

Cirrus Design SR20 ZK-SRL , c/n 1500 , was built in 2005 and initially registered as N321SN and ferried into Archerfield, Australia on 30-05-05 to become VH-SRL3 to Sunland Aviation Service Pty Ltd on 23-06-05. It crossed the Ditch on 08-01-2007 into Ardmore to become ZK-SRL on 31-01-2007 with Cirrus Australasia (NZ) Ltd before moving across the field to the Auckland Aero Club (Inc) on 23-02-07.

It recrossed the Ditch from Whangarei to Norfolk Island and into Lord Howe Island on 19-05-09 and then across to Coffs Harbour the next day.

NZ registration was cancelled on 20-05-09.

Above pic at Ardmore 18-03-2008 Robinson R22A Alpha ZK-HXR , c/n 0459 , a product of 1984, spent three years in the US as N8557B before moving to NZ to become ZK-HXR on 03-11-87 with Skysales Aviation (NZ) Ltd of Christchurch. After several owners it was listed to Heli-Pest Ltd of Haast on 31-05-2006.
Sadly it crashed into Lake Wanaka during a ferry flight on 01-11-2008 with the loss of the pilot.

Above pic at Rangiora on10-05-2007.

Pic below at Nelson on 25-01-1989.

More visits to Skopje - Austrian Arrows Bombardier Q400

Austrian Airlines will be adding an extra four services a week, on top of the existing Vienna to Skopje daily flights to be operated by Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. MAT Macedonian Airlines operated this service 4 times per week in a code share agreement with Austrian. As MAT has been grounded, the code share will now end and Austrian Airlines has committed itself to flying the route with its own services. The existing daily flights will remain the same, and as such the carrier will move to 11 services a week. “The new step represents a significant expansion in seating capacity. The Balkan region represents an essential and strong pillar of the strategy of Austrian Airlines”, the carrier said in a statement.

Operating under the Austrian Arrows brand, the new 72 seat Bombardier services will be operational from June 2 this year. Macedonian Airlines (MAT) has run out of aircraft in the past three weeks following the misunderstandings between the carrier and the Civil Aviation Agency, which were triggered by the overhaul of MAT's sole aircraft, the Boeing B737-500.

From June 1, 2009, Adria Airways will have the greatest share of services from Skopje. It will have a share of 19.7% of all flights, Jat Airways will enjoy a share of 16.9%, Malev Hungarian Airlines and Austrian Airlines both with 15.4% of all flights from Skopje, Croatia Airlines with 11.2%, CSA Czech Airlines with 8.4%, Turkish Airlines with 7%, B&H Airlines with 4.2% and Bulgaria Air with 1.4%.

New idea:
- A body that comprises of a laminar body and wing blended together
- There is a V-tail in a blended boom
- Rear of the center section has suction slot on top side
- The boom contains a electric fan that is used for suction and additional thrust
- There are two turbocharged Rotax 912UL engines in the wings which are hidden in blended pods that continue the airfoil shape of the wing without interruption
- Both engines turn additional turbochargers which drive generators which generate electricity for the rear fan of the aircraft

Items that need to be studied:
- does pressure thrust work with this kind of shape, or does it require axisymmetric body?
- compare the drag of minimum axisymmetric body with non-blended wings to a blended wing body which has larger cross sectional area, but potentially lower wetted area.
- wing incidence relative to the center section - center section has a lower aspect ratio than the wings and what it requires to achieve optimal lift distribution in this combined case
- the achievable gain from the lack of interference drag or very small interference drag
- optimal wing loading for a combined blended wing body compared to a pod+boom+wings solution
- shark fin shape on the outer wing sections, the gain and the issues

2010 - the end of Jat Airways

After Jat Airways’ aircraft, a B737-300 registered YU-ANJ, entered service on Monday with a new look interior, the carrier's outgoing CEO Saša Vlaisavljević revealed that Jat Airways will no longer be the name of the Serbian national carrier. The new name of the airline will be revealed in spring of 2010 when new aircraft are expected to arrive. The new aircraft, besides a new name and logo, will have a new livery while each aircraft will carry the name of a city in Serbia. The new name will include the name “Serbia” in it so it is easy to associate with the country. Vlaisavljević says that the name will be changed due to great public pressure to do so. The new name of the airline will either be Air Serbia, Serbia Airlines or Serbian Airways. The new look will also see a big restructuring within the cabin crew department and young cabin crew will be employed, an unwelcome peace of news for the current Jat cabin crew.

Vlaisavljević said that the new visual identity will cost the airline approximately 250.000 Euros but that the process, which has been delayed many times, must be complete when new aircraft start arriving. Jat’s current look, known as the “the flying dots”, was applied in 2003 when the airline changed its name from JAT Yugoslav Airlines to Jat Airways, after Yugoslavia ceased to exist. On Friday, Jat will name a 3 member team which will be involved in the negotiation for the purchase of new aircraft. This team will travel to the Paris Air Show which will be held from June 15 to 21 where an agreement should be made for the purchase of 3 new ATR72-500s, to replace the current ATR 200 series, in the airline’s fleet.

Jat’s current CEO, Saša Vlaisavljević will leave his position on June 1. Will his idea of a new look be carried out by the next Jat administration remains to be seen. Vlasavljević also made a promise for a new look in 2006 although plans were put on hold. This is why this news must be taken with caution. If the plan goes ahead, the name “Jat” will disappear from the skies for the first time since 1947.

De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth ZK-BAR is pictured above at Ashburton on 25-07-2006.

Registered in NZ on 04-11-2004 to John Copland using the c/n of 1123. This apparently is not its true c/n but probably a corruption of 445/T.123 which was applied to A17-401 which is thought to be the original identity of this aircraft when it was constructed for the Royal Australian Air Force. Its history is a bit obscure but VH-AKF is linked to this airframe from March 1947 until a crash at Sale, Victoria on 06-01-1950. Then from 08-10-1958 VH-AHB appeared, built from many parts including VH-AKF. VH-AHB crashed at Kerang in Victoria on 10-10-1964 and seems to have disappeared for forty years to pop up as ZK-BAR.

Sadly it crashed and was burnt out not long after take off from Ashburton on 02-12-2006 claiming the life of its owner and his passenger.

Cancellation effective from 16-04-2009.

Zagreb ends negative trend

The largest Croatian airports have reported their passenger volumes for April of 2009. When compared to last year most airports are reporting negative trends however Croatia’s main airport, Zagreb, has ended its few months of negative decline. Zagreb Airport reported an increase in passenger figures when compared to last April by 2%. There were a total of 168.111 passengers in April 2009 compared to 164.834 in April 2008. The reason for this could be due to Easter as it fell into the month of April instead of March like last year. Another airport doing well last month was Zadar, which reported an increase in passengers by 64%. The increase which has occurred due to the arrival of Ryanair has seen 14.585 passengers pass through its doors in April. Rijeka also managed to increase passenger numbers by 8%. A total of 7.414 passengers passed through the airport this April compared to 6.848 last year.

Airports continuing to report negative trends are Split, Dubrovnik, Pula and Osijek. The worst affected this April, due to its low volume of passengers, was Osijek. The airport saw only 137 passengers compared to 887 last year, a decrease of 85%. Also performing badly was Pula whose passenger numbers decreased by 51% to 9.381. Dubrovnik saw a decrease of 7% with a total of 68.907 passengers this April. Split performed the best out of the worst with a decrease of only 1%. It had 54.878 passengers this April compared to 55.440 during the same month last year.

The number of passengers transiting through Croatian airports were recorded in Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, Zadar and Rijeka. Zagreb saw the largest decrease of transiting passengers in April with figures falling by 53% compared to last year, meaning more people are choosing not to travel on from Zagreb. In contrast Dubrovnik, Pula and Rijeka saw an improvement with more transiting passengers.

The results, like all during this year, have been largely affected by the global financial crisis.

Here is your next lesson to RC helicopter flying. In this post we will learn how to do a figure of 8 fly. In the last post we learnt how to hover your rc helicopter from the ground using cyclic. You definitely have to do a lot of practice doing hovering before you come to fly few feet above the ground. If you have gained the control over your hands and have synchronized your eyes with hands movements, it’s time we can move onto this next lesson of beginner RC helicopter training in which we will fly a figure 8.

You need to do your flight checks before getting into the business:

- Check all mechanics of you rc helicopter are in working condition. Moving parts are smooth but not loose.

- Training gear is one important thing during this training session, make sure it is properly secure on the skids.

- Range check is to be done and see if all the transmitter switches are on the correct positions.

- Calm or no wind is a requirement; gusting wind is a big NO.

- Choose an open area preferably a ground with no obstructions preferably no people. Being on a field with soft grass is a very good support for sense of safety for your RC helicopter.


Since we have done the skidding on the ground and for that we needed a hard surface. From now on your heli will remain in the air while practicing the coming lessons, you require a little soft and grassy surface to protect your rc heli from a sudden land or if it drops because of engine failure. The training gear on the skids also protects a lot in incidents like these and even if you are doing a very good hovering, training gears help in tipping over in case of emergency landings. Training gear also helps as a visual aid which helps in seeing rolling and pitching better than you can detect from rc heli body movements. But it need emphasis that you keep your focus on the nose section of the rc helicopter, the suggested bright color of the training gear tips will be totally noticeable in the background of it.

You will require a reference point to reach to if there is none; bring something to make a reference for your flight.

Put the helicopter into the wind and stand 8- 10 feet at the rear side of the rc heli. Start your helicopter and start hovering above the ground slowly. Do the cyclic controls by practicing day one maneuvers of left right, backward forward, up down, and diagonal crosses. This will be a warm up for the figure of 8 maneuvers today.



RC Helicopter Training:
It’s a thrill to feel your rc helicopter flying. Now for making a figure 8, see the illustration above, it is as simple as it looks in the picture above. If I were to put the sequence into words; put the rc heli into the wind direction on the reference point. Start hovering 3-4 feet above the reference point and slowly start moving at the forward right or starboard bow diagonal. When it has covered 8 feet of distance from the reference, make it move onto the starboard (right) only. 8 feet more and move your rc heli starboard aft or backwards left, 8 more feet and move it only aft or backwards for 8 more feet. Now move it port aft or backwards left diagonal for 8 feet, then port or left, then port bow or forward left diagonal, forward and then land back onto the reference point. This may seem a little complicated but keeping the figure above in front it will be easy to understand that I am only talking about completing a circle on right hand side of your reference point. The circle flying will be more like an octagon due to edges on the turns but will become a circle as you gain more control on the maneuvers of your rc helicopter with practice. You can well imagine a circle of around 16 feet in diameter completed fly by your rc heli mark it if you want and go for the circle on the left or port side of the reference point. Take your time in completing one circle and then land to fly another. You will practice more and more and will start making perfect circles. Make smaller and larger circles than the one we have discussed by changing the distance. As you get comfortable in completing one circle, don’t land; keep flying for the complete figure of eight.

You need to be in complete control of the rc helicopter all the time. Gaining control over commands is the main aim of this lesson. You need to stay in control and increase your flying time. Although in this lesson we kept the rc helicopter in the direction of wind but still you have seen your heli to come near you and move away, this feel will give you an orientation of your rc heli and prepare you to fly the rc helicopter nose pointing into the direction of the flight instead of wind. This lesson of beginner RC helicopter training in which we did a figure of eight rc helicopter flying is very important to give you a confidence of moving onto the next step of better flying.
Happy flying!
Tonja

Banja Luka Airport terminal building

B&H Airlines and Serbia’s Jat Airways are negotiating with the airport of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second largest city, Banja Luka, in order to begin new services from the airport. Jat Airways, which currently operates 3 flights per week from Belgrade, is interested in beginning services to Tivat in Montenegro from mid June. Banja Luka Airport is trying to persuade B&H Airlines to introduce a stopover on its new flights from Sarajevo to either Stockholm, Gothenburg or Copenhagen. B&H Airlines operates 3 flights per week from Banja Luka to Zurich which according to Banja Luka Airport CEO is recording satisfactory passenger numbers. “The flights to Zurich are very popular which is the reason why the number of flights have been increased from 2 to 3 per week”, Velimir Bobić, Banja Luka Airport CEO said.

During 2008 a total of 12.000 passengers passed through the airport’s doors, while this year the number is expected to be significantly increased. The airport’s management believes that passenger figures would be even higher if the rigorous visa regime currently in place would be lifted. Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina must have visas to travel to any country within the European Union and they are often difficult to get.

Currently, the cost of tickets from Banja Luka to Belgrade one way amount to 148 Convertible Bosnian Marks (75 Euros) while a return ticket costs 273 Convertible Bosnian Marks (139 Euros). A one way ticket on flights to Zurich cost approximately 178 Euros, although there are 10 different pricing options, all of which depend on the amount passengers stay in either Zurich or Banja Luka, depending on which city they travelled to. Plans for the launch of the low cost Sky Srpska, which was to have its hub in Banja Luka, have been delayed until further notice.

What type of aircraft are we looking at here then ?

If you know that, then you will know its NZ civil registration !

Then you will also have a very good idea of who the pilot is on this occasion ?

Well I go away for a couple of days to come back and find that Anonymous has got the answer 100% first up.

Well done.

It is indeed the manufacturers plated from a P&W R1340 Radial. This one on Harvard ZK-XSA.

Youtube video about Burt Rutan Ares

Caught up with the latest Jetconnect 737-476 ZK-JTS at Auckland International today.
One point of interest is that this aircraft also carries the "Spirit of Australia" tagline, which has been carried by the VH-registered Qantas aircraft but has been absent from the local variety until now.
Then out came ZK-JTP, which has also been painted with this tagline. ZK-JTP did not carry this logo in earlier days, so perhaps the fleet is being prepared for a return to the Australian register.

ZK-JTP now:



and in earlier days (27Jan2007)

Adria Airways A320

Adria Airways carried 15% less passengers in the first quarter of 2009 when compared to the same period last year, while the drop in revenues also stood at 15%, the flag carrier's chairman Tadej Tufek said on Thursday, May 21. Tufek expects that the falling passenger figures trend will end in the second quarter, when a drop in revenues at the annual level is to stand at 5%.

Tufek explains that the economic crisis had hit the majority of European flag carriers, who are fighting it with price dumping. He added that people are economising and this also shows in the number of travels. Recently Adria Airways launched its new flights from Ljubljana to Madrid. According to Tufek, the new route between Ljubljana and Madrid is expected to carry about 5.000 passengers annually. In 2006, Adria Airways opened the Ljubljana to Barcelona service, which has been operating with two flights per week since this April. With the new route, the company wants to attract both business passengers and tourists. Madrid, which lies in the middle of Spain, is a good springboard for visiting other parts of the country, he added. Flights to Madrid operate twice per week using the CRJ900. Ticket prices start at 185 Euros.

Montenegro Airlines Embraer E195

Montenegro Airlines will be receiving its new Embraer E195 aircraft this Saturday, May 23. The E195 will be the second aircraft of its type in the Montenegro Airlines fleet, with the airline still having one on order and a further 2 options for purchase available. The brand new E195 is being leased from GECAS (GE Commercial Aviation Services), a subsidiary of General Electrics, which leases new aircraft to airlines around the world. The new aircraft has a total of 116 seats. With its arrival to Podgorica on Saturday, Montenegro Airlines’ fleet will count a total of 6 aircraft.

Meanwhile, the airline has received some more good news. It will become a member of the Association of European Airlines (AEA) in October at a ceremony in Dubrovnik. The AEA is an alliance of 36 of Europe’s largest airlines. Among its members are TAP Air Portugal, British Airways, Air France, KLM, LOT, Tarom, Malev, Turkish Airlines, Iberia, Alitalia, SAS and many others. From the EX-YU region Croatia Airlines, Jat Airways and Adria Airways are all members. Currently, Ivan Mišetić, Croatia Airlines CEO is the president of the association. The membership will allow Montenegro Airlines to be more involved in the process of aviation regulation which is set by the European Union in Brussels.