MIDWEEK UPDATE 13 NOVEMBER 2019       15: Wings Park Fly-in. For more information contact Donald Hicks Donald@aqpm.co.za 16: Golden Mile Estate Gyro and Trike Fly in, Witbank. Contact Rob McFie 082 498 8590 16-17: Wavecrest Fly-in. For more information contact Donald Hicks Donald@aqpm.co.za 16: Aero Club of South Africa annual awards. For more information contact AeCSA office 011 082 1100 E-mail: office@aeroclub.org.za 16: Johannesburg Light Plane Club, Centenary Poker Run. Baragwanath Aerodrome.    22: World Canopy Piloting Championships Wonderboom South Africa. 23: SAPFA Springs Speed Rally - Springs Airfield. Contact Jonty Esser cell: 082 855 9435 e-mail: jonty@promptroofing.co.za 30: The Elders Flight, Rand Airport. SMS Felix Gosher on 066 485 0407 30: SAA Museum at Rand Airport - Airline Collectibles Fair. 30 to 1 December: SAC Ace of Base Vereeniging Airfield. Contact Annie Boon e-mail: chunge@mweb.co.za   18 - 19: SAC Gauteng Regionals Annie Boon chunge@mweb.co.za 25: Rand Airport Challenge Rally - Rand Airport Contact Frank Eckard e-mail: frank.eckard@mweb.co.za cell: 083 269 1516 25: SAPFA AGM - Time: 2 PM Rand Airport Contact Rob Jonkers e-mail: rob@aerosud.co.za cell: 082 804 7032    43 Air School is a dedicated flying training organisation, catering for the private, general commercial, airline and military sectors. Its leading Approved Training Organisation (ATO) has branches in Port Alfred, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg, and soon Europe. So far, more than 6000 pilots graduated, helped by 75 full-time instructors. Recently 43 Air School was voted the best Aviation Company and runner up Aviation Safety at the CAIA Awards by the South African Civil Aviation Authority. The Virus SW121, selected for flight training by 43 is an aircraft fully EASA Type-certified for day and night VFR and intentional spins, running on automotive fuel, giving us the flexibility to use these aircraft also for our expansion plans into Europe and India in the near future. Attie Niemann, the CEO of 43 Aircraft Sales, said: "In my 40 years in the aviation industry I have never seen anything as efficient as these aircraft. The technology in manufacturing gives these aircraft a major advantage in efficiency on all fronts. We are proud to partner with Pipistrel and 43 will be developing programs to integrate the aircraft into our training programs in the future.   "I am very pleased to see this new option for private owners, flight Schools and flying clubs" said Christophe Briand, Owner of Flight Design France and Flight Design West, The Regional Centre for Western Europe. "We see many new applications where a customer would want to use an established and dependable aircraft with a well-known company behind it" "In France the CTLS is very popular for training, our highest time aero club has accumulated more than 5000 hours of flight training on the CTLS. The CTLS-ELA has demonstrated its robust structure, suitability for training and cost efficiency of less than 50€ per hour operating cost for training in aeroclubs and with professional flying schools. We even have long term lease options to offer", said Christophe.   This accomplishment demonstrates a level of reliability that exceeds EASA's stringent requirements for single-engine helicopters performing commercial operations. "We believe this milestone is a testament to the R66's outstanding performance and confirms its place as a leader in the helicopter industry," said Kurt Robinson, President of Robinson Helicopter. Certified in October 2010, the first production R66 was delivered the following month. Since then, over 960 R66s have been produced, providing dependable performance to operators all over the world. Not only has the R66 proven itself on a daily basis, but it has also risen to the unique challenges of flying to the North Pole and circumnavigating the globe multiple times. When asked about the R66, Robinson dealer Les Gillespie of Gardner Aviation (Peachtree City, Georgia) said, "The R66 has quickly become our dealership's number one selling helicopter. Our customers compliment its power, space, and stylish looks. With all the available options like SAS Autopilot, extended range fuel tanks, and glass touchscreen panels, the R66 can be configured to meet the needs of any pilot or helicopter flight department."   Intermountain Life Flight currently operates five AW109 GrandNews and one AW109K2 light twin. Intermountain Life Flight is the only IFR EMS operator in Utah with its own low level IFR infrastructure and proprietary heliport approach procedures. As part of the Intermountain's not-for-profit health system, Intermountain Life Flight makes 4,000 transports annually and operates seven bases at hospitals across the state providing specialized services including High Risk OB, Complex Cardiac Care and Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump. As the leading air service in the Intermountain West, Intermountain Life Flight is the only civilian-operated air ambulance service in the U.S. to have an FAA-approved external load hoist rescue operation, which can be used for mountain hoist rescue operations in mild weather. Intermountain Life Flight began service on July 5, 1978 as the nation's seventh air medical program. During the past 40 years, Intermountain Life Flight has transported more than 108,000 patients, flown over 15 million miles, and completed more than 400 hoist rescues. The GrandNew's outstanding performance of in terms of speed and range, its large cabin doors for easy access, high safety standards and modern avionics make the light-twin helicopter ideal for EMS (Emergency Medical Service) missions. With a top speed of over 300 km/h and a wide and versatile cabin able to accommodate a combination of 1-2 stretchers and medical personnel, the GrandNew can reach the patient and rapidly transport them to the nearest suitable hospital. The state-of-the-art avionics includes an advanced autopilot, collision avoidance and systems to improve visibility at night or in the presence of smoke, smog and fog guaranteeing maximum flight safety and reducing the work load of the crew who can then focus on the mission. Over 390 helicopters of the Grand/GrandNew series have been ordered by more than 240 customers in over 40 countries around the world for rescue tasks, passenger transport, law enforcement, offshore transport, electronic news gathering, maritime patrol and pollution monitoring.   The EGP design creates a safe, compact, and powerful drive for the Aerorunner. Preliminary testing has demonstrated that EGP is almost four times as powerful as similarly sized propellers, creates its own stability due to internal inertia that is absent in a propeller, all while using less energy. Unlike competitors, safety guards are built in and integral to the EGP design. The results are a visually stunning, energy efficient, PAV (Personal Air Vehicle) with exceptional stability. The Aerorunner is comparable in size to a road-going sports bike with controls like a motorcycle, carving out paths as you fly. The GSX allows a level of freedom and excitement that once only existed in those childhood dreams… Flying vehicles has been a viable propulsion technology, and Aviator Cycles can now provide that patented propulsion system. Aviator Cycles will produce the first truly all-terrain vehicle which travels equally well over roads, water, sand, snow, and off-road trails.   The launch took place at the EuroDASS Future Capability user conference, which was attended by senior military and industry figures from the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain. The existing DASS equips the Typhoon with protection from threats including Infra-Red (IR or heat-seeking) and radar-guided missiles. Integrated sensors and jamming equipment also provide situational awareness and a digital stealth capability, achieved through advanced electronic deception techniques. The system has protected crews for over 20 years, including on peace-keeping operations in Libya and Syria. However, the Typhoon's traditional position of air dominance could face threats in the future from the rapidly evolving nature of air and surface threats such as Integrated Air Defence Systems (IADS). Praetorian Evolution is the proposed roadmap for the DASS to ensure the Typhoon retains its world-class level of protection for decades to come. It will also look beyond the traditional protective role of DASS. In the future battlespace, the role of Typhoon will evolve and its DASS will need to do more to keep the fighter at the heart of the future fleet mix, alongside 5th generation and future platforms. It will propose a number of advanced new capabilities including multi-platform Electronic Warfare and combat ISR functions such as high-precision targeting and advanced combat ID. As the DASS for Eurofighter Typhoon evolves to meet these future requirements, the EuroDASS partners recognise that value-for-money must be at the heart of this fundamental upgrade. Praetorian Evolution's all-digital architecture will ensure ease of future upgrades, while life cycle costs will be optimised. This will also be an opportunity to take advantage of the latest hardware advances to increase the reliability and reduced integrated logistics support requirements. The launch follows the announcement earlier this year of the Eurofighter Typhoon Long Term Evolution (LTE) study. The Praetorian Evolution roadmap will feed in to this by delivering options for long-term technical solutions and enablers which will sustain the growth path of the platform in the future.   Boeing formally delivered the aircraft on Oct. 29 to the U.S. Navy during a ceremony at the Boeing Military Delivery Centre in Tukwila, Wash. From Tukwila, the aircraft flew to the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, where U.S. Navy leaders officially turned the aircraft over to the United Kingdom. At JAX, Royal Air Force crew will work with the aircraft before flying it to the United Kingdom in January 2020. All nine P-8A aircraft will be based at Lossiemouth, Scotland. As part of a collaborative program with the U.S. Navy, pilots and maintainers from the United Kingdom's RAF have been stationed at Naval Air Station JAX since 2012. Called "Project Seedcorn," the arrangement has allowed RAF members to fly the P-8A with Patrol Squadron Thirty (VP-30), the Navy's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Fleet Replacement Squadron, to maintain their maritime patrol skills in advance of receiving the P-8A. The P-8 is a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. In addition, the P-8 performs humanitarian and search and rescue missions around the globe.   USA, Atlanta: A Republic Airways Embraer ERJ-175 on a flight from Atlanta, to New York La Guardia, with 6 people on board, was climbing out of Atlanta when the crew declared an emergency reporting they had a trim runaway. The crew stopped the climb at about 14,000 feet and positioned for a return to Atlanta's runway 10. They subsequently reported, while cleared for a right downwind to runway 10 that they were in a stalling situation and subsequently added they couldn't get their pitch down as they were trying to descend nonetheless. ATC could clear anyone out of the way and advised that all runways were vacant for use. The crew advised they were able to take a turn and received vectors to runway 10. Instead of descending the aircraft began to climb again, then descended, the crew advised they received a system warning to cut out, got the problem under control and were now okay although they had been fighting with the aircraft for a while. The aircraft then joined the final for runway 10 and landed safely about 19 minutes after departure and about 15 minutes after the emergency call. Canada, Tweed, Ontario: The 14 December 2017 accident that killed the pilot and all three technicians aboard an Airbus Helicopters AS350B2 was the result of a preform bag and its carabiner attached to an external platform separating from the platform and striking the helicopter's tail rotor, according to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) final report. The Hydro One Networks-owned helicopter was conducting power line maintenance near Tweed, Ontario, and crashed during approach to landing. That strike caused significant damage, severe imbalance, and intense vibration that caused the tail rotor, tail rotor gearbox, and vertical fin to separate before the helicopter hit terrain. It further noted that two of the three rear-seat passengers did not have their seatbelts fastened.  China, Hong Kong: A Chinese airline has suspended a pilot for breaching safety rules after a photo of a woman sitting in an airplane cockpit emerged on social media. Air Guilin confirmed that the incident took place during a flight from the southern city of Guilin to Yangzhou, eastern China on 4 January. In a statement the airline said it had suspended the unnamed pilot from flying duties "for life" for violating civil aviation rules, while other members of the flight crew had been banned indefinitely, pending further investigation. Canada, Vancouver: An Air Canada Boeing 787-8 on a flight from Toronto was on a visual approach to runway 08L when the crew initiated a go around due to low visibility and requested and was granted an ILS CAT 3 approach to runway 08L. On short final the crew received a "NO AUTOLAND" message and went around again, during the go around an "insufficient fuel" advisory was displayed. The crew declared PAN PAN in order to receive a straight in approach to one of Seattle's runway 16 while runways 34 were in use. The aircraft landed safely on Seattle's runway 16L. The Canadian TSB reported the aircraft landed with 2800kg of fuel remaining, 800 kg above minimum fuel.    A North American F-86D Sabre fighter sets a new world speed record of 698.505 mph. Photo © U.S. Air Force / commons.wikimedia.org  |
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