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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 0763.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION Former astronaut killed in Cirrus VK30 test crash GRAHAM WARWICK/ATLANTA FORMER US astronaut Ro bert Overmyer was killed on 22 March while flight-testing a Cirrus Design VK30 kitplane. Overmyer was conducting full- flap stall tests of a VK30 proto type equipped with a new wing when the crash occurred near Duluth International Airport, Minnesota. A former Space Shut tle pilot, he had joined Cirrus as a test pilot in November 1995. Cirrus had announced plans to develop a replacement wing for some 28 VIGO kits supplied to customers between 1987 and 1993, when the company discon tinued production to concentrate on certification of its SR20 light aircraft. Overmyer was responsi ble for SR20 certification flight- testing, but Cirrus does not expect the accident to delay the programme. The VK30 is an all-composite pusher-propeller aircraft. The prototype which crashed was powered by an Allison 250-B17 turboprop, which had been installed as part of a research pro gramme unrelated to develop ment of the stronger wing. A VK30 kitplane, modified by its owner for aerial photography, crashed at Lake in the Hills, Illinois, in mid-1994. Cirrus has flown two SR20 prototypes and certification is scheduled for 1997. The VK30 formed the basis of the STSO sin gle-turboprop business aircraft nowr under development by Israviation of Israel. • Helipro Shortsky enters service HELIPRO International's shortened Sikorsky S-61 "Shortsky" has entered heli-log- ging service with two Canadian operators. The first aircraft, a converted S-61N, entered service with VIH Logging on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in mid-March, just a month after the type's first flight (Flight International, 28 February-5 March, P9). A second aircraft has entered service with Canadian Heli copters, also on Vancouver Island. The operator has ordered two S-61L-to-Shortsky conversions, with the second scheduled to arrive by early April. British Columbia-based Hayes Forest Services Group, mean while, has traded in a newly ac quired S-61N for a Shortsky, to be delivered in the second quarter. Bellingham, Washington-based Helipro has removed 1.27m from the forward cabin of the S-61L/N, providing a 450kg increase in external-lift capacity. The conversion has received US and Canadian supplemental type-certification for passenger and cargo use. Helipro is now seeking UK and European certifi cation for Category A single- engined operation. The company says that off shore-support operators of the S- 61N on the North Sea and in South-East Asia are interested because the conversion reduces empty weight and improves both hot-and-high and one-engine- inoperative performance. The latter is attracting North Sea operators facing new rules re quiring Cat A certification, Heli pro says. , • SJ30-2 windtunnel testing completed SINO SWEARINGEN Aircraft has completed windtunnel testing of the SJ30-2 business jet at the University of Washington, Seattle. Model tests were intended to fine- tune the revised design. The SJ30 prototype, meanwhile, is being modified to the stretched SJ30-2 and re-engined with uprated Wil liams Rolls-Royce FJ44-2 turbofans for configuration-verification flight- testing. Two production versions of the SJ30-2 will be used for certifica tion testing. Polish 1-23 to fly by year-end ANDRZEJ JEZIORSKI/WARSAW THE WARSAW-BASED Avia tion Institute (IL) is plan ning a year-end debut for its 1-23 all-composite light aircraft. The Institute completed wind- tunnel testing on the aircraft in 1995, and is now carrying out structural tests on aircraft com ponents in preparation for the first flight at the end of this year. The 1-23, to be produced in co-operation with manufacturer PZL-Swidnik, will be the first all-composite aircraft built in Poland. The light aircraft will also be the first Polish aircraft on which "pre-preg" composite production techniques are used — all composite work in Poland to date has involved "wet" lay-up of components. The ILs design and develop ment work on the four-seat air craft is being funded by a grant from the Government Scientific Research Committee. The aircraft has a conventional, low-wing, monoplane configura tion with retractable under carriage. Power comes from a single, 130kW (180hp) Textron Lycoming 0-360 piston engine with a Hartzell constant-speed propeller. The cheapest version of the aircraft could be equipped with an 85kW (115hp) Lycoming 0-235 engine as an alternative powerplant. The IL hopes for US Federal Aviation Regulations Part 23 cer tification in the utility category for pilot training and basic aero batics, and in the normal catego ry for private flights under visual and instrument flight rules. The Institute hopes to offer the air craft with AlliedSignal Bendix/- King avionics. The 1-23 is to have a maxi mum take-off weight of 1,050kg, with a maximum range of 1,430km (770nm). Maximum speed will be 160kt (300km/h), with a cruise speed of 140kt. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3 - 9 April 1996 27
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