EAA Sweepstakes,
Young Eagles Raffle Winners John and Kim
Sery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, are the lucky winners of a newly refurbished, better-than-new Piper Cherokee 140 in the annual EAA Membership Sweepstakes.
Andrew Roberts, Roanoke, Virginia, won the Harley XL 1200C
Sportster; Gordon and Sheila Parker, Sequim, Washington the John Deere lawn tractor; and
Kurt Rathgaber, Mishicot, Wisconsin, the BOSE Aviation Headset X.
Meanwhile, Cindy McNeight of Smyrna, Georgia, gets her choice between a Jaguar XK8 convertible or a Range Rover Sport after her name was drawn in the annual EAA Young Eagles Raffle.
China's Aviation
Future Discussed at EAA Headquarters
Reuben Ji of China traveled to Oshkosh this week to meet with EAA
President Tom Poberezny and discuss China's future aviation
marketplace. Ji was especially keen to talk about ultralights and
light-sport aircraft, Tom said. They also discussed the role EAA may
play in the future of Chinese sport aviation.
Q & A: Question of the Week
for
EAA Aviation Services:
I was told that gross weight for light-sport aircraft has been raised to 1,480 pounds. Is this so?
Answer:
No, it is not so. There has been no change in the definition of a light-sport aircraft (LSA). The maximum gross weight is
1,320 lbs for landplanes and 1,430 for aircraft intended for use on water.
How can we help you?
To ask a question regarding government issues, e-mail
govt@eaa.org. If you have a question about registration, airmen, aircraft and medical certification, safety records, performance, or any other matter, e-mail
infoserv@eaa.org.
We are
pleased to provide this info to EAA members as a membership
benefit. To ensure that this service continues, renew your
membership or join EAA today by calling 800/843-3612 or
920/426-5912.
July
2005 EAA Desktop
Calendar
An often-seen scene
during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005 was crowds of attendees
surrounding perhaps the main star of the convention White
Knight /SpaceShipOne. Dennis Biela, a member of the EAA Photo Team, used a fisheye lens
to capture this unique image. Visit the
EAA
website to download a copy
for your desktop, featuring
the August 2005 calendar.
EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh 2005:
'One of the Best-Ever'
EAA President Tom Poberezny's
initial reaction to the 2005 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh convention: "One of, if not the best conventions
we've ever had.
I've been to all but one (EAA convention) going back to 1953, and people ask me which ones stand out in your mind and
why. Next year, I can tell them that this one stands out." (read more)
By Any
Measure, EAA AirVenture was a Success Some early estimates seem to verify the initial reactions that 2005 was one of the best EAA AirVentures ever.
The estimated attendance of about 700,000 is nearly a 7 percent increase over 2004. More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, as well as other airports in the Oshkosh area. Total showplanes over the seven-day convention was 2,927, comprised of a record 1,267 homebuilts; 924 vintage aircraft; 386 warbirds; 196 ultralights; 130 seaplanes; and 24 rotorcraft.
(read more)
Sport Pilot Flight Instructor Database Available
EAA's previously announced sport pilot flight instructor database is now available on the EAA sport pilot website. It can be accessed from either the "Becoming a Sport Pilot" or "Instruction" drop-down menus on the sport pilot website. Users can also visit
http://www.sportpilot.org/instructors directly. The database has 72 instructors, 30 of whom have an aircraft available. Instructors are based in 31 states (read
more)
‘VLJs’
Descend on Oshkosh
Since announcing plans to create a small jet back at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 1999, Eclipse Aviation has been at the forefront of what has become commonly referred to as the Very Light Jet aircraft category. And it’s becoming a very popular category indeed, with no less than five hopeful VLJ manufacturers exhibiting at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Eclipse has blazed the trail so far. One of its five test aircraft (N502EA) made the company’s first public flight demonstrations at Oshkosh last week. On July 26, it climbed to the stated service ceiling (FL410) and reached its maximum operating speed
of 285 knots.
Cessna’s entry, the Citation Mustang prototype, was also available for viewing by the public for the first time at AirVenture. The Mustang is projected to have a 340-knot cruise speed and a 41,000-foot service ceiling. Range with IFR reserves will be 1,100 nautical miles. A Garmin G1000 glass panel display provides weather, terrain avoidance, and air traffic advisories. Cessna claims more than 240 orders for the $2.2 million
VLJ.
The public also got its first look at the much talked about HondaJet, which spent about four hours at AirVenture on Thursday. HondaJet’s engines are mounted above the wing on pylons rather attached to the aft fuselage as in other business jets. Honda says it has flown at a maximum speed of 393 knots and reached FL 430 in flight tests. Its two HF118 turbofan engines develop 1,670 pounds of thrust each.
Other VLJ entries on the grounds included Adam Aircraft’s A-700, the Williams FJ-33-powered, 7-place aircraft whose progress is developing, and
Epic Jet (see next story).
Epic Air Unveils VLJ Program at AirVenture
Aircraft Investor Resources (AIR) LLC, also known as Epic Air, unveiled a mock-up of its Epic Jet at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005. The aircraft is being developed in a joint venture with Tbilisi Aviation Machine (TAM) LLC, and will feature a carbon-fiber composite airframe powered by two Williams FJ-33A engines. The company says the seven-seat jet will have a cruise speed in excess of 420 knots, a ceiling of 41,000 feet, and a range of 1,400 nautical miles with IFR reserves. Epic and TAM will create identical production facilities for the Epic Jet, allowing the two partners to completely integrate their production. More information on the jet and other AIR aircraft is available at
www.epicaircraft.com.
A Very Good Year for GA, So Far
New sales figures from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association
(GAMA) confirm that billings for new general aviation airplanes of all types rose sharply in the first half of 2005—up 31.6 percent when compared to the same period last year—while the number of new aircraft delivered to customers climbed 38.1 percent. Shipments of piston-powered airplanes manufactured worldwide in the first half of this year numbered 1,082, an increase of 309 units. Turboprop shipments increased from 110 airplanes in the first half of 2004 to 141 this year. Business jets were also up with first half shipments increasing 36.6 percent, from 238 units last year to 325 units this
year. “We are seeing the influence of industry innovation, a continued healthy economy, and the effects of accelerated depreciation,” said Pete Bunce, GAMA president and CEO. “All segments of the industry are pointing up, which is generating optimism for a continuation of the industry’s recovery.”
For more information, visit www.gama.aero.
New Profiled Aircraft Tubes Help to Ensure Accuracy
VR3 Engineering recently announced the introduction of profiled aircraft tubes. The tubes are “profiled” so that their ends nest precisely with adjoining tubes. Even the most complex engine mount or fuselage can be profiled on VR3’s custom designed, three-axis CNC machine equipped with an end-mill cutting tool. The tube profiler was specifically designed and built for tubing sizes ranging from .375 inch to 1.5-inch diameter. Both ends of the tube are profiled in one setup, ensuring accurate profiles, clocked orientation, and controlled length tolerances. The tubes come ready for weld assembly and eliminate layout and fitting. Cutting profiles are generated direct from 3D models to optimize dimensional accuracy and allow unrestricted profile geometries. For more information visit
www.vr3.ca.
Kodiak Makes First Oshkosh Appearance
Quest Aircraft’s Kodiak drew hundreds of curious enthusiasts at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005. The Kodiak has logged close to 200 hours of flight time in pursuit of its FAA certification. The aluminum aircraft combines superior STOL performance with a high useful load offering proven turbine reliability with the Pratt and Whitney PT6 turbine engine. The creative wing design allows the Kodiak to take off in under 700 feet at full gross takeoff weight of 6,750 pounds and climb at over 1,700 feet per minute. The robust landing gear allows the Kodiak to easily handle unimproved airstrips, and it is designed for floats or amphibs. For more information visit
www.questaircraft.com.
Diamond DA42-TDI Earns FAA Certification
Diamond Aircraft received the FAA certification for the DA42-TDI Twin Star during a ceremony at the company’s display at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005. John Hickey, FAA director of aircraft certification services, presented the type certificate to Diamond Director of Sales Jeff Owen. The aircraft is the first new conventionally-configured twin airplane approved for certification in the last 20 years. More than 35 of the turbo-diesel-powered Twin Stars have already been delivered in Europe. DA42-TDIs have a carbon composite airframe and the integrated Garmin G1000 glass flight deck. Owen presented the first U.S. customers, Utah Valley State College Dean, Tom McFarland, and Dr. Ron Smart, with keys to the new aircraft.
For more information, visit www.diamondair.com.
BE A PILOT Program Registers 250,000th Prospect
At its annual EAA
AirVenture press conference, BE A PILOT reported it had registered pilot prospect
No. 250,000, New
York dairy farmer Richard Roberson. The aviation industry’s promotion program aims to bring more new people into flying by offering an introductory flight certificate and
flying lesson for $49. Other developments: Air show star Patty Wagstaff is helping launch a new campaign encouraging individual pilots to contribute a tax-deductible $100-$2,500
"Friend of BE A PILOT" donation via credit card at
www.beapilot.com. BE A PILOT honored Jeppesen for its long-term financial support amounting to $450,000.
LoPresti’s ‘Boom Beam’ Brightens the Night
LoPresti Speed Merchants’ “Boom Beam” high-intensity discharge xenon lighting system puts out five or six times the candlepower of a conventional incandescent light. The Boom Beam 50LC, unveiled at AirVenture this year, is rated at 750,000 lumens, 50 percent brighter than the company’s standard Boom Beam, and bright enough, says
LoPresti, to read a newspaper a quarter of a mile away. Lopresti warrantees the bulb and all the system components for a full five years. Iinstalled price is $1,000 to $1,200. For the experimental market, the Boom Beam 35L is priced at $399. For more information visit
www.speedmods.com.
Dynon Avionics Upgrades its Popular EFIS
Dynon Avionics announced its new D100 series Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), a multi-function display integrating 10 instruments into one box. Dynon designed the new unit around a larger seven-inch diagonal, sunlight-readable, color 854-by-480-pixel LCD display. The EFIS-D100 includes attitude, altimeter, airspeed, VSI, gyro-stabilized magnetic compass, turn coordinator, turn rate, clock/timer, G-meter and voltmeter. Additionally, EFIS-D100 customers receive a remote compass module, a mounting tray and a USB-serial converter at no additional cost. Options available are the same as those used for the EFIS-D10A series: battery backup, angle-of-attack pitot, wiring harness, an encoder converter and an OAT probe for displaying density altitude and true airspeed. For more information visit
www.dynonavionics.com.
System Combines Preflight and En Route Planning Tool
Seattle Avionics Software Inc. has created the Voyager Flight Software System, which the company says combines superior technology, ease of use, and affordability by integrating all of the flight-planning tools pilots need, on the ground and in the sky. Voyager was developed using software written from the ground up with the Microsoft.Net Framework development tools, providing many significant advantages over competitive offerings. According to the company, this development environment allows true integration of the software, such as a planner or moving map, into a single application. It also allows updates to the Voyager program and additional innovative features to be rolled out more frequently, and offers seamless background Internet connectivity and multi-threading. The company is offering free 10-day full product trials for website visitors,
www.seattleavionics.com.
Chelton Introduces New Software for Experimental Aircraft
Chelton-equipped experimental aircraft will be the first to benefit from the Chelton Flight Systems latest software release, 6.0, launched at Oshkosh. Features include a shaded-relief terrain with relative elevation-based coloring similar to a satellite map; 400+ nm of terrain depiction; automatic PFD reversion; both V-bar and dual-cue flight director; and a basic ADI mode for training applications and transition. Version 6.0 interfaces with WSI weather and displays graphical and textual METARs, TFRs, textual TAFs, winds/temperature aloft, graphical AIRMETs/SIGMETs, and more when installed with the av-100 receiver and with a WSI inFlight subscription. Enhanced VNAV autopilot control, is the first digital EFIS/autopilot combination available for the experimental market, with both LNAV & VNAV coupling. When in VNAV mode, the EFIS offers low-speed envelope protection, and will not allow the aircraft to stall Contact Chelton’s exclusive distributor for experimental EFIS, Direct-To Avionics, for a copy of the new software and any necessary technical support. Existing EFIS systems will need more installed memory to utilize the new features, available through D2A. For more information visit
www.cheltonavionics.com.
Garmin’s GPSMAP 396 Should Be Popular
Garmin International’s latest portable GPS navigator, the GPSMAP 396, is a portable GPS navigator designed for aviation, highway, and marine users. It’s likely to be one of the company’s most popular products, especially when combining into one box a full-color screen and Garmin’s well-accepted user interface with XM WX Satellite Weather service. The result is an “all-in-one” equipment solution for pilots needing in-cockpit weather data. The extra-cost, subscription-based XM WX service allows users to download and display in near real-time satellite-based weather and navigational products like NEXRAD radar data plus text-based METAR and TAF information. Also included in the available data stream are details on the growing number of Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), lightning strike plots and winds aloft forecasts, plus several other information categories. (read more)
TAWS Now Standard With Cirrus
Cirrus is making the installation of Honeywell’s KGP 560 Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) or Terrain Avoidance Warning System (TAWS) standard on all new SR20 and SR22 aircraft. The Cirrus terrain warning system incorporates the latest technology, including GPS position and a terrain and obstacle database to give you a clear picture of the terrain ahead of and below your aircraft, anywhere in the world. For the 2,000-strong Cirrus fleet presently flying, retro-fit kits are available at a reduced cost for installation by a Cirrus Authorized Service Center. Current owners should visit the Special Offers section of the Cirrus Owner’s World website,
www.cirrusdesign.com, for details.
Limited Time Pricing Available on Hummingbird Helicopter Kit
Vertical Aviation Technologies, Inc. has announced a recent change in the price of the Hummingbird four place helicopter kit. This is a unique opportunity for an individual, corporation, or Government to step into a new four-place helicopter for a limited-time price of $123,750. The Hummingbird was introduced in 1991 and is the only four-place helicopter kit available worldwide. Simple in design and easy to assemble, this concept of selling in kit form reduces all costs from the purchase price to operating expenses. The Hummingbird has a useful load of 900 lbs. range of 375 miles. For more information, e-mail
sales@vertical-aviation.com, or visit
www.vertical-aviation.com.
Wagstaff receives Katharine Wright Award
The National Aeronautic Association has named aerobatic pilot Patty Wagstaff winner of the 2005 Katharine Wright Award. Wagstaff is most famous for her work in aerobatics, and is recognized as one of the most skilled aerobatic pilots ever to fly. From 1985 to 1996, she was a six-time member of the U.S. Aerobatic Team. She was also the first woman to become a U.S. National Aerobatic champion, a feat she achieved three times. The award is given each year to a woman who made a personal contribution to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation and space flight over an extended period of time. The award was named in honor of Orville and Wilbur Wright's sister, Katharine, who used money from teaching to purchase supplies for her brothers' experiments, nursed Orville back to health after he crashed in Fort Myer, Virginia, contributed ideas to their experiments and trials, and acted as a public figure to endorse the safety of flying and the Wrights' aircraft.
WAI Membership Staged For Rapid Growth
A generous sponsorship deal between corporate Women in Aviation, International (WAI) members Jeppesen, Mooney Aircraft, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will allow the organization to give every woman student pilot in the United States a one-year complimentary membership. The sponsorship agreement was announced at WAI’s celebrity breakfast held during EAA AirVenture by president Dr. Peggy Chabrian
Women in Aviation, International is a nonprofit 501 C (3) organization dedicated to providing networking, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for women who are striving for challenging and fulfilling careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. For more information about Women in Aviation, International, go to
www.wai.org or call Sue Coon at 937/839-4647.
Two new TrafficScope Units Coming in November
Zaon Flight Systems, designer and manufacturer of the TrafficScope line of portable collision avionics, announced at EAA AirVenture that it would will release two new models in mid-November 2005: TrafficScope XRX and TrafficScope
MRX. The XRX model (list: $1,795) is the world’s first and only stand-alone portable device to sense aircraft direction from within the cockpit, displaying “3-D View” quadrant bearing information, as well as relative altitude and range, all from inside the cockpit and without the need for external antenna arrays. TrafficScope MRX (list: $499) is the world’s smallest collision avoidance device, yet sacrifices none of the features previous higher-end systems have become known for. MRX displays range and relative altitude of the closest threat, with continuous monitoring of the top 10 threats within the 5 NM scalable detection window. Check
www.zaonflight.com for more information.
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