Start-up Adept Airmotive, based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is designing a new 320 hp liquid-cooled six-cylinder to run on leaded or unleaded avgas, automotive gas or bio ethanol, says Raymond Bakker, the firm’s COO. The Adept 320T is a clean-sheet 120 degree, short-stroke, 24-valve V-6 that displaces only 3.2 liters, weighs but 320 lb dry, including radiator. It produces rated takeoff power at 51 in Hg MAP (manifold absolute pressure) and 5,500 rpm, thus it uses a reduction gear box to drive the prop. Seventy percent cruise power is achieved at 3,800 rpm.
The Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) AirVenture rapidly is becoming the U.S. national airshow, with a broad-spectrum demographic that includes a large, but low-profile group of turbine aircraft owners and pilots. Stéphane Mayer, Daher-Socata CEO, says 70 TBM700/850 operators were at Oshkosh this year.
BRENT BOWEN was selected as dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, Ariz., campus. Bowen formerly was professor and head of the Aviation Technology Department from Purdue University. He also has formerly served as professor and chair of aviation science with Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology and directed the office of Air Transportation Policy and served as senior fellow with the National Center for Aviation Safety Research at Saint Louis University.
Cessna Aircraft has logged nearly 200 hr. on its Jet A-fueled Turbo Skylane JT-A aircraft since it first flew in May, and company executives say the aircraft remains on track for delivery in the third quarter. The manufacturer unveiled plans to develop the diesel-powered Skylane at EAA AirVenture 2012 in Oshkosh, hoping to tap into a growing demand for alternatives to light aircraft powered by aviation gasoline, particularly in parts of the world where aviation gasoline (avgas) is not readily available.
The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee approved a $594.4 billion bill to fund the Pentagon and its wartime operations in fiscal 2014 that guts the administration’s request to purchase 20 Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos for the Afghan Air Force under the Light Air Support (LAS) program. The draft of the defense spending bill would slice $416.8 million for LAS and also remove all funding for the purchase of Mi-17 helicopters for Afghanistan.
The founders of Marquis Jet have struck a potential $1.4 billion deal with Beechcraft to launch new “private membership” venture, Wheels Up, which will be anchored around a fleet of the Wichita-based company’s King Airs. The agreement with Beechcraft—the largest of its kind for a fleet of business turboprops—includes firm orders for 35 King Air 350is, with options for up to 70 more. The deal also includes a comprehensive maintenance and services contract, covering both scheduled and unscheduled visits, as well as labor, parts and consumables.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association President and CEO Pete Bunce predicts the next wave of technology will come from engine manufacturers. Many recent advances have been driven by avionics, but with the high costs of certifying new engines, “we have been stagnated in propulsion for years.” But that’s changing, he says, with new diesel, hybrid and battery technologies on the horizon. “This revolution we saw in avionics is now going over to propulsion,” Bunce says, which makes it all the more important to streamline certification processes.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is holding its 10th general aviation rally Aug. 12 in in Albuquerque, N.M. The rally, held in partnership with Aspen Avionics, Bendix/King by Honeywell and Eclipse Aerospace, is expected to attract hundreds of attendees, including representatives from local aviation manufacturing companies, businesses that use general aviation and military members. Gov. Susana Martinez (R) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) are among the scheduled speakers.
GOODRICH certain externally-mounted hoists on various helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0521; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-010-AD; Amendment 39-17486; AD 2013-06-51]—requires performing a cable conditioning lift and a load inspection test, deactivating or replacing any hoist that fails the load inspection test, and recording the results of the load inspection test. This AD is prompted by a report of a failure of the overload clutch resulting in in-flight failure of a hoist containing a dummy load during a maintenance flight.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) opened its 2013 AirVenture on July 29, welcoming FAA controllers to help bring in the thousands of aircraft to the week-long event. But the effects are sequestration were apparent without any military flights on the airshow schedule, or any forums involving the heads of either the FAA or NTSB.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332L2 and EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0487; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-056-AD]—proposes to require inspecting the torque value of the bolts that secure the front and rear main gearbox (MGB) suspension bar attaching fittings, and re-torqueing the bolts to the proper value if the torque value is out of tolerance. This proposed AD would also require, if the torque value is out of tolerance by more than 20%, inspecting the bolts, frames, and related equipment for a crack and repairing or replacing them if cracked.
ANDY JOHNSON has taken the role of manager of FlightSafety International’s facility in Savannah, Ga. Johnson has served with FlightSafety since 2007, most recently as manager of the facility in Orlando, Fla. He also has served as assistant manager of the Cessna learning center in Wichita, Kan., and had a 27-yr. career in the U.S. Navy.
Lycoming Engines plans to sustain, support and improve gasoline-fueled aircraft piston engines for the immediate future, says Michael Kraft, senior vice president and GM of the company. It is cost-prohibitive for Lycoming to develop clean-sheet aircraft piston engines, so the company is testing its existing line-up to determine which models will run on the unleaded aviation and automotive fuels such as UL91 Avgas and 91 and 93 octane automotive gasoline.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1155; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-115-AD; Amendment 39-17445; AD 2013-09-04]—requires inspections of the nacelle fire detection wires and the MLG yoke for damage; replacing nacelle fire detection wires, if necessary; repairing the MLG yoke, if necessary; and installing brackets and associated hardware to secure the fire detection wires.This AD was prompted by reports of chafing found on the main landing gear (MLG) yoke.
CHIP WHITE was named manager of FlightSafety International’s facility in Orlando, Fla. White joined FlightSafety in 2000 as an instructor in the St. Louis facility and also has served as manager at FlightSafety’s facilities in Long Beach, Calif., Columbus, Ohio, and Savannah, Ga.
The Experimental Aircraft Association’s search for a new president appears to have halted. Jack Pelton, who last fall agreed to take the position of chairman after former President Rod Hightower stepped down, says the association currently is not searching for a successor to Hightower, and suggested that he may not be replaced. He noted that the board is looking at the possibility of a different leadership structure, led by board chairmen. Pelton, who has steered the association since Hightower’s departure, is serving a three-year term.
GE Aviation has named China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. (Caiga) as an authorized service center for the H80 turboprop engine family in China. The Caiga Customer Service Center will perform line maintenance inspections and routine engine maintenance for H75, H80, and H85 engines and engine components. The authorization builds on an existing relationship between GE and Caiga, which select the H85 to power its new five-seat, light single-engine turboprop under development.
Icon Aircraft earned a 250-lb. weight exemption from the FAA for its Icon A5 LSA amphibian, enabling the firm to grow the aircraft from 1,430 lb. to as much as 1,680 lb., Kirk Hawkins, company founder and CEO, said during EAA AirVenture 2013 in Oshkosh. “Credit FAA for getting this done. We needed enough of a weight increase to not compromise weight for safety. There are arbitrary and tight weight standards for LSA [light-sport aircraft]. But, you can’t get for free. There’s no free lunch in aircraft design,” says Hawkins.
Beechcraft is weighing bids for the sale or sales of its Hawker 4000 and Premier aircraft programs, along with tooling and associated facilities, as the reshaped company looks to downsize its footprint and focus on its core lines of businesses.
Cessna has begun offering a new “Sovereign Shield” program for model year 2013 Citation Sovereign aircraft that covers scheduled maintenance and parts costs for the first five years or 1,500 hr. The program is offered as Cessna is in the transition from the original Sovereign to the updated model due to enter service later this year.
Gulfstream, with the help of affiliated company Jet Aviation, combined for its strongest quarter in the past six quarters thanks to an even spool up of both green and completed deliveries. But executives expect that performance to cool slightly in the third quarter as supplier costs increase and the mix of deliveries shifts.
