FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1993
1993 - 2139.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION Cirrus plans for stronger seats Cirrus Design plans to in troduce crashworthy seats for its VK-30 all- composite kitplane and a fam ily of type-certificated gen eral-aviation aircraft now under development at the Wisconsin-based company. The pusher-propeller VK-30 will be the first kitplane to have seats which meet the US Federal Aviation Administration standards for spinal-injury protection. These are needed for new type-certificated small air craft, says Cirrus president Alan Klapmeier. Many kitplanes do not have room under the seat for strok ing of the seat frame or deflection of the seat pan — which are methods' normally used to provide crash protec tion. Instead, Cirrus de veloped a seat cushion which provides spinal-injury protec tion when mounted on a rigid seat/pan assembly. Laboratory testing identi fied a material, called Confor- Foam, which could absorb the crash energy and Oregon Aero was commissioned to produce a sculptured, upholstered seat cushion and back to fit in a seat frame, pan and backrest designed by Cirrus. Cirrus has stopped selling VK-30 kits as it turns to concentrate on developing a family of factory-produced aircraft using the aerody namic and structural technol ogy which has been devel oped for the kitplane. The company will complete ex isting orders which it holds for kits and continue to sup port VK-30 builders, accord ing to Klapmeier Cirrus' first production air craft will be the single- turboprop ST-50. The pres surised five-seater will be built in Israel by Israviation, but Cirrus will market the pusher-propeller aircraft in North and South America while continuing to develop other all-composite designs to be built at a new factory in Duluth, Minnesota. • NTSB urges action on 10-520 The US National Transporta tion Safety Board (NTSB) is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to issue an emergency airworthiness direc tive (AD), requiring operators of aircraft with Teledyne Conti nental IO/TSIO-520 and -550 piston engines to fit new en gine-driven fuel-pump cou plings within 30h. Some 12,500 engines are affected. The NTSB believes that a worn coupling could have been a factor in the June 1992 crash of an Adventure Airlines Cessna 402 soon after take-off from Grand Canyon West Air port in which the pilot and nine passengers died. The right engine lost power soon after take-off and passen ger videotapes recovered from the wreckage revealed that fuel flow to the engine was low. The NTSB suspected worn wing-tank fuel-inlet valves and the FAA issued ADs directing valve inspections and setting minimum-fuel limits. Cessna redesigned the valves and conducted flight tests with simulated worn valves. These revealed that air could enter the fuel flow, but that power interruption was not abrupt and did not occur until fuel dropped to around 15litres. While these tests were being conducted, the NTSB noticed the Continental service bulletin on the engine-driven fuel- pump coupling. Re-exami nation of the aircraft revealed wear on the drive coupling, which could have prevented it from engaging the fuel-pump drive. The new coupling has a longer engagement length. Teledyne issued a service bulletin in March, calling for replacement of the couplings and the FAA issued a notice of proposed rule making at the beginning of August. The Board believes that more ur gent action is required. • Koliber 150A will be reborn as the Koliber H in the USA PZL Koliber nears US certification PZL of Poland expects soon to certificate its Koliber 150A in the USA, where it will be known as the Koliber II. Northfield, Illinois-based Cadmus is to distribute the type and has been securing dealership arrangements for its North American sales region. The Koliber II is the latest version of the licence-built Socata Rallye 100 ST four-seat, single-piston-engine tourer and trainer. Cadmus says that it has submitted all relevant docu mentation to the US Federal Aviation Administration and hopes for Part 23 approval within weeks. The company has agreed to distribute other types produced by the Warsaw-headquartered manufacturer in future. According to Cadmus presi dent Philip Coleman, the Koliber II will be equipped with a new, American, instru ment package for the USA. It will also feature an im proved electrical system; night capability; and instrument fly ing-rules (IFR) avionics. The engine will be a 112kW (150hp) Lycoming O-320. The Rallye and Koliber are distinguished by their full- span, automatic, leading-edge slats, which help their 40kt (80km/h) maximum-gross- weight stall speed and excep tional short-field performance. Cadmus plans to display the aircraft at the National Busi ness Aircraft Association show in Atlanta, Georgia, later in September. The type will cost $89,000, fully equipped, and $99,750, with full IFR fit. • B&LAE: the show grows bigger The Flight International Busi ness & Light Aviation Ex hibition and the associated Met-X'93 exhibition at North Weald, north of London, takes place between 8-11 September. The following companies and aircraft will be at the show, in addition to those listed in our show preview (Flight Interna tional, 25-31 August). Aegon Financial Services, Aero Sonics, Aerospace Communi cations, Air Transport (Char ter), Airline Maintenance, Anglo American Airmotive, Avia Special, Aviat, Britavia, Cedairmil, CFS Aero Engines, Gamston Aviation, Greenland Air, Hamilton Standard, Houchin, Jackson Rudd Asso ciates, LBC Radio, Negretti Aviation, Rothmans (UK), Tradelink, Vendee Air Park. MET-X '93 exhibitors: Ames, Bristol Industrial and Re search, Casella London, Enraf- Nonius, Met-Check. Static park: Beech Duchess Be76, Cessna 152, Husky Al, Piper Aztec Pa23, Piper Chero kee PA28-140, Piper Saratoga HPII, Piper Warrior Pa28II, Pitts Special S2-B, Ruschmeyer R.90-230RG, Rockwell Com mander 114B, TB20 Trinidad, Wilga. Helicopters: Aerospa tiale AS3502B, Rotorway Exec90. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 1 - 7 September, 1993
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
