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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 1033.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION Mooney to launch mid-range model Mooney Aircraft says that it will reveal the first exam ple in May of a new aircraft designed to fit between its cur rent MSE and TLS types. The company claims that the new aircraft "...will com bine the larger cabin of the turbocharged TLS" with a non-turbocharged 225kW (280hp) Teledyne Continental 10 550G engine. Mooney chief executive Jac ques Esculier says: "The mar ket has long been looking for an aeroplane with the comfort and capacity of our larger cabin and the speed and economy of a non-turbocharged, six-cylin der engine. "This addition to our prod uct line will accomplish this by offering outstanding perform ance and comfort levels for a price that continues Mooney's tradition of value," he adds. Esculier forecasts a cruise speed "in excess of 190kt [350km/h]", which "...will make it the fastest single- engine retractable on the mar ket among normally aspirated production aircraft". • NTSB castigates FAA over crash The crash of a US Federal Aviation Administration aircraft on 26 October, 1993, was caused by poor judgement by the pilot in command and failure of the aviation agency to supervise properly the pilots of its 55-aircraft fleet, according to the US National Transporta tion Safety Board (NTSB). The aircraft — a Beech Super King Air 300F — operated by the FAA's Flight Inspection Area Office at Atlantic City, Ex-examiner faces certificates charge A retired US Federal Avia tion Administration exam iner has been charged with conspiracy to sell fraudulent FAA pilot certificates. If con victed of all charges, Edward McCorvey of Atlanta, Georgia, faces up to 33 years in prison and fines of up to $370,000. Two others who operated flight schools in the Miami, Florida, area were also named in an indictment as were two QUESTAIR CLAIMS FIXED-GEAR RECORD Questair, of Greensboro, North Carolina, has completed initial testing of its prototype Spirit high-performance hitplane. The Spirit, powered by a 150kW (200hp) Teledyne Continental 10-360 engine, was flown at a true airspeed of 230kt (425km/h) at 25,000ft (7,600m), making it "the fastest fixed-gear aircraft in the world", the company says. The Spirit is derived from Questair's retractable-gear Venture kitplane.The two-seat aircraft has a climb rate of about 2,000ft/min (lOm/s) to 25,000ft, thanks to a McCauley three-bladed propeller, which also acts as a speedbrake on final approach, Questair says. The prototype is equipped with instrument-flight-rules avionics, including autopilot, global-positioning system, moving map and lightning-detection sensor. others charged with obtaining bogus certificates from McCor vey. One defendant is em ployed by the Hialeah, Florida, police department. Most student pilots who ob tained fraudulent certificates relinquished them voluntarily to the aviation agency after being notified of the investiga tion. The FAA is revoking the certificates of pilots who have failed to turn them in. • Lancair fixes training deal Lancair International has ap pointed Portland, Oregon- based Flightcraft to provide flight-training for the pressur ised and unpressurised ver sions of the Lancair IV high- performance kitplane. The move is intended to help builders of the all-composite Lancair IV meet the require ments of aviation-insurance underwriters. Redmond, Oregon-based Lancair will also conduct initial airworthiness inspections of builder-completed aircraft in a bid to satisfy insurers. "This training programme and factory-approved air worthiness inspections will set a new industry standard in high-performance aircraft train ing and airworthiness certifica tion," says Lancair. The Lancair IV is the first kit-built aircraft — and only the fourth piston-single type to have a pressurisation option. • New Jersey, crashed into a mountain 120km (65nm) west of Washington DC, killing the three FAA staff on board. The crew of the twin-engined turboprop had completed a flight inspection of an instru ment-landing-system localiser. NTSB officials raised ques tions about FAA flight opera tions soon after completing the investigation. In late January, the FAA said that it was strengthening the oversight of its pilots. It also said that the organisational structure of field offices would be changed, so that supervisors could more easily resolve conflicts between flight personnel. The NTSB report notes that the aircraft had neither a cock pit-voice recorder (CVR) nor a ground-proximity warning sys tem (GPWS). The pilot-in- command (PIC), the report notes, "...had a history of sub standard flying performance, poor decision-making related to instrument flying and poor communication with cockpit crewmembers". The report adds that his supervisors "...were aware of, but did not adequately address, repeated indications that the PICs airmanship and judge ment were deficient". It recommends that the FAA improve its pilot supervision and develop a programme in which personnel who bring safety-related concerns to the attention of management are able to do so without fear of retribution. It also says that FAA-owned aircraft should have CVRs and GPWS. • NEWS IN BRIEF HANGAR SALE AlliedSignal has sold its gen eral-aviation turbine-pow- ered-airframe maintenance hangars to California-based Carlisle Enterprises and Chi cago Equity Capital. The hangars are in Los Angeles, California; Houston, Texas; Agusta, Georgia; Springfield, Illinois; and Little Rock, Ar kansas. AlliedSignal will continue to supply parts and technical support. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 April, 1994 19
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