I passed through Kaikoura twice in the last three weeks and captured three of Kaikoura Helicopters machines on site. When not on site they are hangared just out the northern end of town.

Below is Robinson R44 Clipper 11 ZK-HLE2, c/n 10466, in landing mode on 23-02-2010. It was acquired new via Skysales Aviation in October of 2004.

Above is Robinson R44 Raven 11 ZK-HLD5 c/n 11972, as seen on 07-02-2010. Also purchased new via Skysales in July of 2008.

Above is the old timer of their fleet. The Bell 206B JetRanger 11 ZK-HBO2 c/n 570. This was listed to Kaikoura Helicopters on 21-05-2002; prior to this it had been on lease from James Scott.

They have recently acquired the Robinson R44 Raven 11 ZK-HLM2 c/n 12466 (which has been a stock helicopter with Skysales) and their Robinson R22 Beta ZK-HKK3 c/n 4134 which they picked up on 22-09-2008 has been traded back to Skysales and was re-registered as ZK-HQZ2 on 10-02-2010.

NASA has nice photo collection. If you like the looks of the Proteus (in my opinion it is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever done), have a look:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/Proteus/index.html

So far I have been looking only the aerodynamics side, but it is quite evident that compromises are needed on the aerodynamics side to achieve the best structural efficiency. I think one good example is Virgin Global Flyer (Scaled Composites model 311). I have not analysed yet the structure, but common sense says that trimaran has weight placed more evenly along the wing span avoiding a very large point load in the middle where the single fuselage would normally exist. The trimaran may have more wetted area than a single fuselage, but on the other hand, weight savings in the very high aspect ratio wing and space gains for the extra fuel are in this concept very important factors.

I find the trimaran configuration quite interesting - several different engine placement configurations for example can be used with this configuration without changing the aerodynamic shape of the concept very much. It is also interesting because it allows placement of the main gear away from the center fuselage and thus provides greater stability on the ground when the aspect ratio is high even if there is fuel placed to the wings very far away from the center of gravity. And as can be seen the same design suits several different missions: Global Flyer is very much like White Knight 2 with SpaceShipTwo under it on the center. Almost the same configuration, adapted to different kind of mission for very different kind of parameters (Global Flyer = long range cruise, White Knight 2 = optimized for climb).

Global flyer drawing Google found from some site
Wikipedia has another great photo, this is from front

The configuration is not really so new and not so unproven either, as people might expect, here is one example where a similar configuration has been used a long time ago:
Northrop Widow
The only difference here is that the Northrop Widow was optimized for different mission than either of the abovementioned and that it had piston engines in front of the outer "fuselages" which were interconnected from the tail section similarly than in Adam A500 whereas the Global Flyer and White Knight Two have two separate tails. It is quite apparent why the tails are separate in these aircraft - because the outer fuselages are placed so widely apart from each other, connecting the tails would have made the tail unnecessarily large which would have caused negative effect for the drag despite it would have had fewer intersections. On the other hand, I have been looking different HALE concepts, and it is quite apparent that the number of intersections is not the major drag source in high altitude aircraft, but the induced drag is, and to minimize induced drag, more intersections can be allowed as the penalty from them is lesser than limiting the aspect ratio would be. This is why there are even some concepts considered at the moment which have wing struts - even if everybody knows that they produce drag, in some concepts, the significance of that drag can be proportionally small whereas the increased aspect ratio has major effect on minimizing the total drag of the aircraft. HALE aircraft have to be quite different than those which are designed to cruise at low altitude, the drag percentages of each contributors are quite different and "one size does not fit all".

It is quite interesting area to explore when the structural efficiency is added to the equation in addition to the aerodynamics and the result is a compromise on both structures and aerodynamics instead of being optimized for either aerodynamics or for structures. The mission parameters tend to heavily affect both and best suited results can be achieved by combining these two and by knowing the intended use exactly, potentially bigger gains can be realized than in a concept that is a general purpose in everything (GA = GENERAL aviation).

Skopje Airport

After numerous delays the Turkish company, Tepe Akfen Ventures, will take control over Macedonia’s 2 international airports, Skopje and Ohrid, on Monday March 1, the A1 network reports. TAV will control the airports until 2030 and will invest 200 million Euros for the upgrade of existing facilities and the construction of new ones. According to the deal signed between TAV and the Macedonian Government 2 years ago, TAV has to construct a completely new modern terminal at Skopje Alexander the Great Airport with the existing runway being enlarged while communal infrastructure, a car park and a cargo building would be built together with the main project. Meanwhile, Ohrid’s St. Paul the Apostle Airport would go under complete reconstruction and modernization with a new car park, cargo building and VIP section to be built. Finally, the project outlines that a cargo terminal would be built in Štip in Eastern Macedonia.

Speaking to the media, TAV said that Macedonia urgently needs a national carrier. Nearly a year after the collapse of MAT Macedonian Airlines several companies have tried and failed to create an airline in Macedonia. Jat’s Aeromak did not receive a license permit while Dubrovnik Airline’s Mont Air license request is still pending, despite the airline’s optimism with one aircraft already painted in Mont Air colours. Finally, Kontiki Travel, a tour operator in Serbia, announced that it was creating Mat Airways although there has been no fresh news on this project of late. TAV says that with fierce regional competition, Skopje and Ohrid airports can only grow if Macedonia has a national carrier. This, in turn, would lead to lower ticket prices for Macedonian travellers. TAV has said that it is trying to attract companies to set up an airline in Macedonia.

In my last post on Falcos at the SAANZ Flyin, I made the comment that the Furio was inspired by the Falco.

The Northern Microlight Flyin at Parakai yesterday offered a good opportunity to compare the old and new "thoroughbreds".

In this view you can see the close resemblance between ZK-LLG and ZK-TBD. Both aircraft are dimensionally very similar with the Furio being about 170mm longer while the wingspans are almost identical. Both have top speeds of around 220 mph with 180 HP motors and rates of climb in excess of 1000 fpm. The Furio is around 60 Kg heavier and has 400 Kg of useful load against the Falco's 300Kg. However the big difference is that the Furio is made from a small number of pre moulded carbon fibre components whereas the Falco is made from wood which needs a lot of work to achieve the compound curves.

15 Furio kits have been sold to date, in counties including Australia, South Africa and the USA. At least 3 other kits have been sold in New Zealand, with the second aircraft, Neil Sutherland's ZK- NJS close to being finished at the Falcomposites hangar at Ardmore. This aircraft is painted Ferrarai red. Another example is being built in Queenstown and is also well advanced.

The Furio's lines are every bit as stunning as the Falco's but modern moulding techniques have made attaining the curves much easier. ZK-LLG even has the name "Furio" moulded into the top of the wing without effecting the smooth surface!

And finally another view of the Furio landing after a its demonstration at Parakai.

The Furio has a website if you are interested: http://www.falcomposite.com/

On my recent doddle around the top of the South I came across these two Cessna 185's

ZK-VKE Cessna 185A c/n 185A-0297 was registered to Hugh Bethell ; now of Waikari, North Canterbury; on 04-07-2005. It was spotted on the Pirikawa strip alongside SHI north of the Clarence River on February the 8th. Its colour scheme has changed slightly since its arrival here. The dark blue fuselage strip was originally a dull yellow. It served in PNG from new in 1962 until moving to Australia in the 80's. It ferried into Auckland on 22-04-2005.

Below is the Cessna 185D ZK-CKO c/n 185D-0790. Imported new into NZ by Rex Aviation and registered on 16-02-1965 for delivery to Wanganui Aero Work. After another half a dozen owners it was listed to F J Larsen of Upper Waitotara on 09-08-1973. By 1978 it was relisted to F J & J W Larsen and traded under the name of Ngamatapouri Air Service. A name change under Jim Larsen to Remote Adventures Ltd of Wanganui was listed on 08-01-2004.

It is based at Takaka and caters for walkers of the Heaphy Track and the odd charter. It is also still seen at Jim's farm inland from Wanganui.

An earlier blog on this aircraft can be seen at :-
http://design-plane.blogspot.com/2008/01/zk-cko.html

Rijeka Airport

In January, passenger numbers at Croatian airports declined significantly compared to the same month in 2009. All of the major airports, with the exception of Osijek and Rijeka saw passenger numbers slide. Zadar and Pula suffered the most with passenger numbers declining by 38.3%. Split saw 22.832 passengers, a decline of 15.7% compared to January 2009. The country’s largest airport, Zagreb, experienced a 10.4% decrease, handling 124.676 passengers last month. The reduction in passenger figures can be somewhat justified. In January 2009 Croatia hosted the World Handball Championships which caused an increase in passenger numbers. The cities that hosted the event were Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula.

On the other hand, Osijek and Rijeka, the two cities which did not host last year’s event managed to increase their passenger volume by 122.2% and 35% respectively. However, it should be noted that Osijek only handled a total of 80 passengers compared to 36 last year, explaining its remarkable growth.

Below you can view January’s 2010 results for Croatian airports:

Airport	Passengers JAN 2010	Passengers JAN 2009	Change (%)
Zagreb	124.676	139.119	▼ 10.4
Dubrovnik	17.957	18.053	▼ 0.5
Pula	1.239	2.009	▼ 38.3
Split	22.832	27.079	▼ 15.7
Zadar	1.769	2.867	▼ 34.9
Osijek	80	36	▲ 122.2
Rijeka	636	471	▲ 35.3

The link below should take you to the original blog seeking the whereabouts of the Auster J1 c/n 2341.
http://design-plane.blogspot.com/2010/01/whereabouts-unknown-auster-j1-cn-2341.html

Well I had the pleasure of checking out its bits and pieces the other day.
It is in very good hands with Steve, not too far from Nelson.

Joining overhead at Omaka late on Monday morning.
By my count there are eighteen aircraft (or representations) in this view above.
Care to name them ?
64 kts and 470 feet and turning finals for 30.
Woodbourne is in the distant left.

Jat wants ATR instead of Airbus

The French Minister of State for foreign trade Anne-Marie Idrac has arrived in Belgrade for talks with Serbia’s Ministry for Infrastructure with the aim of resolving Jat’s 12 year old order for 8 Airbus A319s. Idrac, in contrast to statements made by East European Airbus vice president Andreas Kramer, said that Jat Airways can purchase regional aircraft from France in exchange for the 8 Airbuses. “The agreement in 1998 is still in force but is not active due to many reasons. One of the reasons I’m in Belgrade is in order for discussion to begin with the aim of resolving this issue”, Idrac was quoted by the Beta news agency. Idrac added that if Jat were to purchase smaller regional jets it would have to sign a new agreement, although she did not specify with whom.

Serbia’s Minister for Infrastructure, Milutin Mrkonjić, said that Serbia was interested in finalising the dispute between Jat and Airbus. He said that he hopes Airbus will be a new partner in Jat’s fleet renewal process.

Jat is keen on modifying the Airbus order to ATR aircraft. Its previous attempts to do so have been rejected by Airbus. Jat has a mixture of Boeing and ATR aircraft in its fleet. It has never had any Airbus aircraft in its ownership.

Told you it was easy !
cessna185 wins the prize with J31.

It is indeed the arachnid nesting area under the port wing of a BAe Jetstream J31.

In this case it is ZK-JSI which is parked up along with ZK-JSA at Nelson airport.

Both are still currently registered to Inglis Aircraft Ltd.

The above shot is a copy of a photograph on display in the Collingwood museum.
It is listed as "McGregors' Gypsy Moth at Rockville 1930".
Rockville is about 5 or 6 clicks southwest of Collingwood; heading towards Bainham.

DH.60G Gipsy Moth ZK-AAS c/n 1111 appeared on the NZ register in August of 1929 with Hamilton Airways Ltd after import by the agents Air Survey & Transport. In the above photo it carries the fleet number 2 and has some other script on the engine cowling. By November 17th of 1930 W L Oldham appears to have been the operator; It was damaged at Mangere on (next day) 18-11 1930. It was obviously rebuilt following extensive damage. It went to the Wellington Aero Club on 04-01-1933. It suffered some damage at Rongotai on 02-09-1933 but was finally cancelled following extensive damage inflicted during a forced landing near Cape Campbell on 25-12-1936.

P.S. Lying in bed last night and reading the latest copy of NZ Aviation News (as you do) I came across a brief mention of this aircraft in the "Air Mail" section.

Normal flight operations on Friday

A strike by Croatia Airlines’ cabin crew has been cancelled after the airline’s management and cabin crew union came to a decision late on Wednesday evening after talks which lasted 12 hours. Thus, all flights will operate by their usual schedule on Friday when the strike was expected to begin. The two sides agree that they will commence new negotiations regarding the modification of the collective work agreement. Croatia Airlines’ management initially planned to introduce a 10% pay cut, a 30% per diem decrease and the loss of other benefits such as meals, annual bonuses and solidarity bonuses. The new terms will be known after talks between the 2 sides resume although the president of Croatia Airlines’ cabin crew union said that the two sides compromised and met half way.

The news will be welcomed by Croatia Airlines’ passengers. The Croatia Airlines cabin crew union said it was forced to go on strike due to unacceptable behaviour on the part of Croatia Airlines’ management.

A nice easy one to finish the month with.
What aircraft type do we have here ?

Here’s some notes from a release sent to me by Chris Regis of Paradise Aircraft, maker of the all-metal P-1 SLSA I’ve featured here in the past.
Paradise started in Brazil in 1985, and has its HQ and a big new factory there, as well as the U.S. presence which Chris wrangles along with his dad, Gen. Mgr. Paolo Oliveira.

I also did a story then about Dylan Redd, a paraplegic young man who flies a specially-modified all-hand-control P-1.
Chris is one of the people I look forward to running into at airshows. His constant smile and genuine, sunny disposition bring a lift to the heavy workload.
Back to Paradise, which has just partnered with Travers & Associates, an aviation insurance brokerage established in 1950.
The company covers P-1s based in the USA with favorable rates.
Chris Travers, Sales Mgr. for the insurance company, says: “Paradise aircraft are one of the most insurable Light Sport Aircraft in the world. The outstanding safety record, parts availability, and docile nature also make them one of the least expensive Light Sport Aircraft in the industry to insure.”
Specifics: "A Paradise P1 valued at around $100,000 will cost approximately $1,400 per year to insure for personal use, which would include $1,000,000 in liability coverage.”
I posted Mike Adams’ (V.P., Avemco Insurance) comments here the other day. Insurance underwriters have to make it their job to understand the inherent risks of aircraft coverage, so Travers Insurance’s enthusiastic support of the P-1 is not to be taken lightly.
Chris Travers goes on to say he’s impressed with the 33 knot (full flaps) stall speed and stability of the P-1.
Insurance folk also like welded steel tube crash cages and beefy landing gear too: LSA that have them, including the P-1 (solid aluminum mains), have lower bodily-injury claim rates.
Travers, like Avemco, quotes rates based on the plane’s market value, pilot experience, and other risk factors.
“Because Paradise Aircraft are typically safe and reasonably priced, our rates tend to be very affordable. We work with sport pilots to put together a comprehensive program based on their experience and how often they fly."
I really enjoyed flying the P-1 at Sebring '09. Very stable, easy to land, comfortable, plenty of room behind the seats for storage. The P-1 is a sturdy, proven design worth looking into.

I didn’t get the idea of somebody spending countless hours in building a scale rc helicopter model instead of buying one from the store until I built one myself. It came to me that building a scale rc helicopter is a fun of its kind and is not less thrill than flying one.

It gives a lot of accomplishment feeling when you plan, create, machine and build a scale rc helicopter from zero. When you complete building it and everything fits together to give the right look and feel, the happiness you get from it is just immense.

The larger the size of the scale rc helicopter the more realistic it will feel and look but the cost involved will increase in proportion to its size. Scale rc helis can come in 1/30th to ¼ scale sizes, you can choose the size according to your budget. Good scale rc helicopters are made and designed not only to look like actual helicopters but to perform, sound and fly like the real ones too.

There are numerous competitions around the world that are arranged to judge the most closely resembled scale rc helicopter. The professional scale helicopter modelers go to every detail of not only the outside of the heli but all the minor details of inside of the cockpit as well.



Building a scale rc helicopter can e as simple as buying a kit or it can be as difficult as creating everything from scratch which includes planning and designing. However, if your aim is to fly a scale model helicopter, your best bet is to learn it on Pod and Boom helicopter.
A pod and Boom helicopter is consists of a Pod in the front which encapsulates the machinery of the helicopter. At the rear end of the Pod extends a long tube pipe which usually made up of aluminum, called Boom. The Boom holds the tail rotor of the helicopter.
So, the Pod and Boom helicopter is the basic helicopter design which serves as the base for a scale rc helicopter. Scale Remote Control Helicopter is nothing but a Pod and Boom heli covered in a scale fuselage.

You must have understood by now that the right way to build and fly a scale rc helicopter is to first fly a Pod and Boom Helicopter but still I give you the main reasons to chose them as your first basic learning choice:



-It becomes very simple to put a scale fuselage on the pod and boom model once you understand the mechanics of it. If you try put together the scale helicopter fuselage in the beginning, the whole process becomes complicated and frustrating. Because you will be required to make some dynamic and static adjustments to your scale model after it is built and when you try flying it the first time. Understanding the ins and outs of the pod and boom basic model makes the whole process understandable to you to the extent that you can do all that adjustments easily.

-Good quality large fiber glass fuselage do not come cheap, in fact a good one can cost you more than the pod and boom kit. You crash your scale fuselage in your first flight and nothing is more disheartening than this because even a small crash will make it useless.

- You need to have a Pod and Boom basic model helicopter in any case even if yu want to fly a scale model, so why not clean your hands on the basic model, understand its mechanics and then buy a scale model fuselage to fix it on the pod and boom model. This is the right way of doing it.

The important thing in deciding which pod and boom rc helicopter kit to buy is that you must make sure that the fuselage of the scale rc helicopter you want can get fixed on the rc helicopter kit you are buying.

If you want to become an aerobatic rc helicopter pilot than scale rc helicopter models are not the choice for you, because the fuselage adds extra weight on the basic model and that is a hurdle in making advanced aerobatic maneuvers.



The choice of material is also a point to consider when buying. The best remote control fuselage and pod covers are made from under mentioned materials:

Carbon Fiber is much expensive material used to make fuselage and pod covers and that is why it is not usually used. However it is the lightest and strongest material. We have seen the price of carbon fiber to come down in recent years which makes it certain that it will be used in making fuselage and pod covers commonly. Be careful in grinding and repairing a fuselage made up of carbon fiber because its dust can cause severe lung infections.

Fiber Glass is the best material for making large rc helicopter fuselages. It is more expensive than other materials used and also is heavier. Cold weather and vibration tolerance is good in fiberglass and it is also easy to make it look like new after little damage.
Polystyrene is used for building mini rc helicopters. It is cheap but provides good cover for small and light rc helicopters.

Polycarbonate is also a light and inexpensive material but used for small rc helicopters. Cold temperatures make polycarbonate brittle in nature that’s why it is not advisable to fly them in winters.

x-plane.com website had looked a bit boring lately, Austin's long and interesting changelogs are hidden deep under the menu structure, looks like a design of a web designer lately.

But luckily yesterday I realized that Austin had added a link on top of the page. Small link on top of the web designer blob and that goes directly into an interesting page. Now today there are two links (as there is 9.50 beta for X-plane available too), but this one was particularly interesting in the topic of this blog: The Laminar Research X-1 Cavallo is conceived

Unhappy cabin crew to go on strike

It is a week of strikes in the aviation industry. First Lufthansa’s pilots launched a 4 day strike which was suspended late on Monday evening. On Tuesday, the air controller’s union in France began a strike creating delays at Paris airports. Furthermore, British Airways cabin crew voted in support of a strike and Greece’s air controllers are also heading towards a second strike in as many weeks. Croatia Airlines is the latest to be added to the ever expanding list. Cabin crew of Croatia’s national carrier will stop work on Friday, February 26, over a 10% salary decrease. Last ditch negotiations between the management and cabin crew failed, although it did better with 4 other unions which will not be striking.

The cabin crew are unhappy with a proposed 10% pay cut, a 30% per diem decrease and the loss of other benefits such as meals, annual bonuses and solidarity bonuses. The leader of the cabin crew union announced that the union has already agreed to a 5% pay decrease but will not agree to 10% or a per diem decrease of any kind. A total of 160 cabin crew members will be on strike on Friday although, due to law regulations, 20% of cabin crew will have to work which would allow 11 flights to be carried out, Croatian business magazine “Lider” reports. However, as each strike day continues a smaller amount of cabin crew will be required to work.

An airline statement reads that the strike will cost it 600.000 Euros per day, which the cabin crew have labelled as misleading. The airline’s modified schedule for this Friday can be viewed here. Croatia Airlines will publish Saturday’s schedule (February 27) today at 15.00 CET on its website.

I have been thinking over and over again why Diamond has chosen the Wortmann high lift airfoil FX63-137 on its aircraft. However, I am suspecting what might be the reason (not confirmed though since anybody on Diamond booth e.g. in Oshkosh is usually never able to answer to my questions). Here is my theory about it:
- The FX63-137 has high L/D at fairly high alpha and thus Cl (as the airfoil is such that the Cl rises rapidly as a function of alpha). This is maybe not the best configuration for cruise where a low drag bucket at low Cl is desirable. On an airfoil which has best L/D at low Cl, the climb has more D component (because high lift devices cause drag) and while getting more L with high lift devices. It might be close to the optimal climb optimisation on the chosen aspect ratio on those planes and compromise is drawn to cruise and it is not seen as a bad thing because competition is not faster but usually slower, it does not take so much to win e.g. a C172 in efficiency and speed after all. So it might be that with a lower drag cruise airfoil e.g. DA42NG with the very heavy diesel engines might have somewhat poorer climb rate on single engine situation or it might not climb alltogether if the airfoil was not optimised to provide low drag on high Cl.
- Comparison between the DA40 and Cirrus SR20 kind of potentially shows this: the Diamond shows significantly better climb rates with a quite similar AR and quite similar wing loading (SR20 takes some toll on that, but not that much in comparison if a light loaded SR20 and heavy loaded DA40 is compared), despite of the fact that the SR20 has more sophisticated flaps and the SR20 has 20 hp more engine power available.
- This can be also evidenced on best climb rate speed: with similar wing loading, the best climb rate speed is much higher on the SR20 than it is on the DA40, which partly indicates that the sweet point in the L/D occurs at lower alpha on SR20 than on DA40. SR20 also requires quite accurate angle of attack and thus speed to climb optimally whereas the DA40 is not that critical which would also indicate that the low drag bucket of the FX63-137 is broader than on the (according to UIUC data site) Roncz airfoil on the SR20.

So this is just my home-brewn theory style thinking, is based on collected information and my experience with flying the Diamond DA40, DA42 and Cirrus SR20 and SR22. I might be wrong as always, but here is some food of thought if you have been thinking why there is this airfoil with high L/D at high Cl and the airfoil also has fairly high pitching moment which some find undesirable because of for example trim drag.

No deal with Croatia Airlines

Europe’s largest national carrier, Lufthansa, has dismissed media speculation that it will purchase Croatia Airlines, a fellow Star Alliance member. The Croatian website “Tportal” has been informed by Lufthansa that it has not been negotiating with Croatia Airlines about a possible acquisition. Lufthansa refused to comment on additional speculation surrounding the possible purchase. In a statement, the airline said: "We have very good cooperation with Croatia Airlines that we hope will continue. At present, we are concentrating on the integration of Austrian Airlines, British Midland Airways and Brussels Airlines into the Lufthansa Group". Croatian daily “Jutarnji List” reported that Lufthansa was interested in taking over Croatia Airlines after an interview with the CEO of the Croatian national carrier who said that his company had financial problems and could only be saved through privatization.

Meanwhile, about 4.000 Lufthansa pilots have gone on strike for 4 days in a dispute over job security. The carrier has cancelled about 3.000 flights and has warned of delays both domestically and internationally. The strike will also disrupt flights operated by low cost subsidiary Germanwings. Croatia Airlines announced that the strike would not affect the Croatian national carrier, although it will affect the airline’s passengers transiting through Germany to onward Lufthansa flights. Zagreb Airport said that only the Lufthansa flight from Zagreb to Frankfurt scheduled for 14.35 had been cancelled on Monday. Croatia Airlines said it would be willing to accept Lufthansa passengers on their routes between Germany and Croatia. The strike has since been suspended.

I was stimulated to blathering by a couple comments on my 2-part post on Santa Monica Flyer's Charles Thomson the other day.
Thanks always for all comments: very helpful and thought-provoking.

Comment from Anonymous:

Bad rap for the 172 in general. It's one of the safest airplanes to fly, and it has the track record to prove it.
I like the Piper, but let's give it a few years in the air and then compare it to a 172.
Sounds a little like the arrogance of youth. You might want to be careful with that while you're in the air.

Another Anonymous said...

Awesome looking plane! I want to come fly it. Good luck to you!!

Thanks to both of you. Starting off, I never meant to give the impression Charles Thomson was bad-rapping the C-172. He was justifiably critical of the Skyhawk that broke in flight and delivered him directly to the scene of a nasty crash afterward.
Fortunately there were no major injuries.
But imagine losing power at 1,000 over dense suburban L.A...no thanks.
Obviously Charlie was knocking that particular airplane, and old trainers in general, not the C-172 in particular.
It's no secret our economically-challenged GA training industry has increasingly been forced to use often-dilapidated airplanes just to stay in business.
And of course many fresh versions of the 172 abound since Cessna, as a quick trip to Wikipedia confirms, reintroduced the design in 1996. (Yikes. It's been that long already?)
More than 43,000 Skyhawks in total have been built! There's no bad-rapping such an incredible success story: it's the most-produced civilian airplane in history.
I share the universal high regard for the C-172 and C-150/152 designs. Got many hours in both types myself. They've done their job magnificently!
Still, let's do some straight talking. Of the scores of Cessna 172 photoships I've rented for P&P shoots over the years, the majority were, well, kinda ratty.
Most were flight training airplanes. Often they smelled bad, looked worse, parts were falling off, paint was turning to powder, screws inside and out were missing, and while they weren't unsafe (I'm still here), they sure were way past their prime, (or midlife...or even seniorhood.)
That's not a rap against the airplane.
It is a rap against the extended service life too many schools are forced to put on those airplanes.
Of course, why would a flight school spend $200,000 or more on a new 172 when so many used Skyhawks and 150/152s are available for far less?
That rationale extends to LSA too: If schools can pick up three or four decent C-152s or 172s on the used market for every new $100,000 LSA, why wouldn't they continue to do so? The economics here are a no brainer.
Still, we're talking about perceptions here.
If you're 16, or 18, or 21, do you want to learn to fly in an airplane twice as old as you are? Or if a young newbie's school has newer 172s, but he/she can save $25 or more per hour of instruction by learning in an LSA, which choice do you think they're likely to make, at least for primary instruction?
The notion of students, young and old, being turned on by shiny new airplanes is a human one. We can be excited about that, because God knows GA needs fresh juice.
As the commenter above points out, we don't know how LSAs will hold up.
That's not really at issue though. Sure, the stellar training longevity of Wichita Tin may never be equalled by any LSA. Right now, the job is to keep GA alive, and growing again.
So let's get down with the idea of turning students on to flight again.
I submit that Light Sport can, and already is, doing exactly that.

Here's a fascinating example of why I love the Net and how it can affect our lives for the better.
Surfing around for LSA tidbits to share with you, I came across an excellent YouTube video.



The poster (mikehoverstreet) spent a fair amount of time crafting this thorough Anatomy Of An Incident discourse, including a scrolling commentary on post-crash theories as well as his ongoing uncertainty about why the accident happened.
There are multiple benefits for us here:

* The pilot's no-ego willingness to take responsibility in the service of greater understanding, (even though many commenters place blame on the instructor!)
* Multiple observations and postings that serve up a consensus on the actual cause
* The value of sharing insights - both in the vid itself and in the many comments, most of which were clearly posted by experienced pilots.

My challenge to you: After you've seen the video, but before you read the comments posted below, study the crash and the slo-mo versions again until you have your own theory as to what happened.
Then read the comments.
Do they jive with your own conclusions?
Were you surprised?
In the pre-web past, how else would we have learned from this incident, unless we read it in an article or were one of the fortunate few in this pilot's circle of acquaintances?
Viva la Internet!

Union blasts Government exploits

The independent Serbian aviation union has called upon the Serbian Government to help Jat Airways in its time of need. The union states that the Government has acted irresponsibly towards the airline and its employees. “Somehow foreign carriers in Serbia receive better slots, slashed handling prices and discounted fuel. Unlike other Government owned companies, Jat has never had the right to control its own finances”, the statement from the union reads. “The Serbian Government should only look at the way their British and Austrian counterparts have acted by bailing out their respective carriers numerous times. Everyone wants to take something from Jat but nobody wants to give something back. It’s time that the management of the carrier is not chosen purely on the basis of their political affiliation and privatisation is a must”, the statement reads.

Meanwhile, Jat’s CEO Srdjan Radovanović has admitted that his optimistic 2010 recovery plan is unlikely to be carried out in full due to “unforseen circumstances”. Radovanvić states that Jat’s Macedonian subsidiary Aeromak has failed to receive necessary permits from the Macedonian Government, despite being guaranteed such rights in 2009 from the Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communication himself. The Sky Srpska project in Banja Luka, in which Jat will play a part of, has also been delayed. The CEO states that the airline will probably finish the year with a loss and should be happy with anything over 1.2 million passengers.

Despite its troubles, the airline is said to have had a better than expected February with passenger number anticipated to rise. In March, the airline will launch its summer timetable and select a new company to provide its on board catering service. Despite the lack of information, the lease of 2 Boeing B737-700 aircraft has not been cancelled and has so far not been delayed.

The Falco (Italian for Falcon) was designed by Stelio Frati in Italy in 1955, and it certainly has stood the test of time as an aircraft with wonderful lines - try putting some other 1955 aircraft up against it! It has been called "The Ferrari of the Skies" and it surely has Italian flair. In the 1970's the design was purchased by Sequoia Aircraft Corporation of Richmond, Virginia, USA. They have produced kits for the Falco up until today.

The Falco provided the inspiration for the New Zealand designed and built all composite Furio.

Two of New Zealand's Falco's were at the recent SAANZ flyin at Tauranga, looking stunning.

New Zealand's first Falco was ZK-TBD which was built by Syd Jensen at Kerikeri. Commenced in 1980 progress was rapid and outstripped the supply of kits from Sequoia Aircraft. It was completed by 1984 but was not registered until 15/4/86. The aircraft moved with Syd to Taupo where I saw it in Peter Dyer's hangar in the 1990's painted white. It was sold to Graham Hodge of Christchurch on 1/2/95 and it was based at West Melton. Enter Giovanni Nustrini of Technam Aircraft whose father Luciano bought his Falco I-ERNA to New Zealand and registered it as ZK-RNA in 1986, and who was tragically killed in the aircraft in 1999. Giovanni Nustrini really wanted a Falco of his own and he bought ZK-TBD on 18/5/02. He then tidied it up and painted the aircraft yellow.

There are interesting stories to be told about Syd Jensen and Luciano Nustrini in other posts.

And the other North Island Falco at Tauranga was George Richard's ZK-SMR, also in yellow and for sale. ZK-SMR was first registered on 9/12/03 and is based at Parakai. George has a very good website detailing the building and flying of his Falco - go to http://falco.co.nz/ .

There are 2 other Falco's currently registered in New Zealand - Arthur Dovey's ZK-JPG at Wanaka, and Bruce Fraser and Russel Woods ZK-FWA at Christchurch (I am not sure if this aircraft has been completed).

Can anyone provide more information on Falcos in New Zealand?

Soon in Belgrade and Zagreb

Spain’s Spanair will commence services from its hub in Barcelona to Belgrade and thus reinstate flights between the 2 cities after almost 20 years. The 3 weekly service will commence on April 15. The airline originally planned to commence flights from Madrid as well, however these plans have been put on hold. The airline is still to receive an operating license from the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate although this formality is expected to be finalized within the next 2 weeks.

JAT Yugoslav Airlines’ services to Spain were one of the last European destination expansions it carried out. Flights to Barcelona commenced on March 28, 1986 and were terminated in December 1991. JAT also operated flights to Madrid.

Spanair will conduct the new service using its Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline also announced that it will introduce 3 weekly flights from Barcelona to Zagreb from April 19. It will be in direct competition with Croatia Airlines on the route. All flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

Trevor Parker's Pazmany PL 2 ZK-TLP was at the SAANZ flyin at Tauranga, looking immaculate as usual. This aircraft must have been at every AACA/SAANZ flyin that I remember and is a past Grand Champion. Trevor built ZK-TLP at Te Aroha during the late 1970's and 1980's. I was also living at Te Aroha during the late 1970's and I saw first hand the excellent standard of the build. The PL 2 is a much more complicated aircraft to build than the recent Vans models and was built from scratch using a set of plans.

ZK-TLP was first registered on 18/12/87 and it is powered by a Lycoming 0-320 engine of 150 horsepower which gives a 135 knot cruise. Trevor told me that the aircraft has now flown more than 1600 hours and has flown the entire New Zealand coastline apart from about 50 kilometres in the Catlins area.

There have been 2 other Pazmany aircraft built in New Zealand: PL 1 ZK-PAZ which was exported to Australia as VH-TEZ, and PL 4A ZK-PLF which is still current.

Crisis over for Skopje and Ohrid

The Macedonian capital Skopje and the lakeside resort Ohrid registered an increase in both the number of flights and passenger traffic in January 2010, when compared to the same month in 2009. A total of 953 flights were operated out of Skopje’s Alexander the Great Airport and Ohrid’s St, Paul the Apostle. This is in comparison to last year when the total number of January flights stood at 905. The number of passengers at both airports amounted to 47.355, an increase of 13.5% compared to last year when the 2 airports boasted a total figure of 41.723 passengers. Thanks to Skywings International (operating under the name Air Lift Service), the airports saw a 156% increase in the number of charter flights.

Despite the void left by the collapse of MAT Macedonian Airlines, the 2 airports are recovering from the global financial crisis which hit passenger figures in March 2009. While Macedonian airports did not see an immediate increase in passenger numbers following the visa liberalisation for Macedonian citizen, the effects are now starting to be felt. The following table displays the current share of flights each scheduled airline holds out of Skopje:

Airline	Share (%)
Adria Airways	17.7
Austrian Airlines	17.7
Malév	12.9
Jat Airways	11.2
Montenegro Airlines	11.2
Turkish Airlines	11.2
Croatia Airlines	9.6
Czech Airlines	8