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Aviation History
1992
1992 - 0866.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION AASI Jetcruzer prototype almost ready BY GUY NORMS IN LOS ANGELES Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures (AASI) hopes to complete assembly of the pre- production prototype Jetcruzer turboprop-pusher business air craft by the end of April. It will then be dis-assembled and taken to Camarillo Airport, California, where it is expected to make its maiden flight by early May. "The first aircraft will be a flyable prototype, to confirm the results of the proof-of-concept Jetcruzer tests. The second will be a static-test airframe, the third will be a second flight-test aircraft to support the first and demonstrate interiors, and the fourth will be a fatigue-test airframe," says AASI chief execu tive Darius Sharifzadeh. AASI expects to go ahead on the manufacture of production aircraft shortly after the first flight. Production of between five and eight aircraft in the second batch is expected to begin in June, to meet an order- book standing at 11 aircraft. The company aims to make 2.1 air craft a week when sufficient orders have been obtained. US Federal Aviation Admini stration (FAA) certification to Part 23 standards is expected in the last quarter of 1992. Some of the FAA certifi cation effort is being concentrated on large-scale use of composites in the six-seat turboprop. To meet the requirements for high-energy ra- diated-field and lightning-strike protection, AASI has embedded aluminium mesh into the car- bonfibre-epoxy/Nomex honey comb-sandwich fuselage struc ture. A copper shield is used in the equipment-bay cover for protection of the avionics. The Jetcruzer is also expected to be the first Part 23 aircraft to be required to meet the newly introduced FAA ruling that crew seating should be able to take Jetcruzer assembly aims for first flight in May Cessna starts Citation X wing tests Cessna has begun windtun-nel-testing of the final wing configuration for its Citation X high-speed, long-range business jet. Changes include a 0.6m- span increase, to 19.5m, and the removal of a slight kink in the leading edge. The alterations re sult from studies conducted at Boeing to fine-tune the design. Boeing has also been con sulted on the design of the aircraft's dual-redundant hydrau lic flight controls, as the Cita- NEWS IN BRIEF GULFSTRETCH A Gulfstream IV has set a new world distance record for business jets with a 5,500- mile (8,850km) flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas. The 5 March flight, with nine pas sengers and three crew aboard, took lOh 4min. The Gulfstream IV now holds 78 speed and distance records for its class (C-1K, Group III). tion X will be the first Cessna with powered flight controls. The "thick-skin" wing design is another departure for the com pany, says Cessna's manager, en gineering projects, Paul Kal- berer. Wing skins will be milled from solid rather than being fabricated, he says. . Cessna is applying airliner principles to the selection of systems. Allied-Signal Aerospace is to provide integrated starting, the first time Cessna has speci fied a combined auxiliary power unit and air turbine starter for a business jet. It is developing a similar integrated starting sys tem for Dassault's Falcon 2000 business jet. Production design is now under way, and Cessna has begun drawing release for the Citation X. The Allison GMA3007 turbofan is to fly on a Citation III testbed in August, ahead of the first Citation X flight, scheduled for June 1993. Certification and first deliveries are planned for mid-1995. D forces of up to 29g. Bill Leeds, vice-president engineering, says most of the strength require ments will be met by the seat maker, California-based 4 Flight. "Most of the major assemblies are coming together; fuel, elec trical and hydraulic systems will be completed in the next few weeks. The systems are quite simple and that will help certifi cation. For example, the leading- edge slats [on the foreplane and all-metal main wing], are all cross-linked," says Leeds. The slats, which are hydrauli- cally actuated but mechanically controlled, will reduce stalling to 59kt (109km/h) when ex tended at maximum gross weights of around 2,000kg. "These [slats] turn out to be incredibly effective," says Jet cruzer chief designer Mike Malis. "We don't get a pitching moment because the wing and foreplane devices deploy at the same time." The first 462kW (620shp) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-27 tur boprop is being prepared for installation, and mock-up har nesses will be completed soon. The Jetcruzer will have an esti mated maximum operating speed of 245kt and a take-off roll of less than 300m (1,000ft). Service ceiling is set at around 26,600ft (8,200m), although the aircraft will not be pressurised so as to keep purchase costs down to $795,000 — between top-of-the-range piston singles and the $1.35 million price tag of pressurised turboprop singles such as the TBM.700. Funding through to certifica tion has been secured through Taiwan investors, led by AASI chairman Song-gen Yeh. • PZL develops heavier M-20 Mewa Polish manufacturer PZL-Mielec is developing'a heav ier version of its M-20 Mewa (Seagull), which will permit an increase of more than 85kg in payload. The growth will follow the intended introduction this year of a new, stronger wing spar which is being adopted for easier manufacture. The planned M.04 variant of the Mewa (a licence-built Piper Seneca II) will have updated 28V electrics to make it compatible with Western equipment. PZL- Mielec hopes to fly the M.04 later this year and to certificate it soon after, under US Part 23 federal aviation regulations. Maximum take-off weight with the new wing spar is ex pected to be 2,156kg, up from 2,070kg. The spar is estimated to have the 12,500h life of exist ing units. Mielec has completed static tests of the spar, which is being fitted to a new aircraft for flight testing. The new wing will be available for retrofit to existing Mewas. The price of the M.04 is predicted at around $350,000. The Polish manufacturer is preparing to offer Textron Ly coming engines for retrofit to earlier models. • 18 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 1 - 7 April, 1992
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