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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 0084.PDF
Having gained JAR/VLA certification in Australia, Eagle's new owners now plan to build the XT-S in Malaysia PAUL PHELAN/CAIRNS TIME DID NOT STAND STILL for the big light-aircraft manufacturers while they sought and gained product-liability reform. This ultimately allowed them to re-enter their former markets, but by that time, US production had dropped from its early- 1980s peak of about 70 light single- and twin- engined aircraft a day, to a trickle produced by a handful of manufacturers including Beechcraft, Maule, Mooney and Piper. The hiatus led to the virtual dismantling of that industry's vast sales and marketing, flying- school and product support networks, making it unlikely that it would ever be rebuilt exacdy as before. Even before its decline, some of die industry's potential market had already gravitated to otiier options including ultralight (also known as microlight), experimental and homebuilt air craft. These presented options ranging from die most fundamental airframes based on improve ments to hang-glider-style structures or con ventional Auster or Piper Cub configuration, to aerodynamic and structural designs more advanced than any current US Federal Aviation Administration-certificated light aircraft. Converts quickly found that capital and oper ating costs were significantly lower, die regula tory regime was far less restrictive, there was a much wider range of products to choose from, While light-aircraft manufacturers waited for product-liability reform, a host of alternative designs came to the market. and maintenance was vastly simplified. As one Australian flying school points out: "If you treat die engine and die instruments as sin gle components, the [composite-built] Jabiru parts count is 200. On a Cessna 172, it's about 7,000. Then you have far lower fuel consump tion, engine-overhaul costs and airframe main tenance, lower weight-related airport and airways charges, even reduced hangar space. It all adds up to more affordable basic training, and that's a trend that's going to be more and more important when people decide how and where they're going to learn to fly." The new global market for uncertificated recreational aircraft has since flourished to such an extent diat only a handful of very-light-air craft (VLA) manufacturers have so far shown any interest in the fresh opportunities for cer tificated primary trainers, which opened up when new standards were established by Australian, Canadian, European and US civil- aviation audiorities. Australia was among the first states to tighten airworthiness and construction standards in the fast-growing VLA industry. While allowing the manufacture and sale of existing factory-built ultralights to continue under a sunset clause, its regulators halted the introduction of new facto ry-built designs under existing standards. These were replaced with new rules under which own ers could choose one of two courses. They could register their machines with their own sports flying association, where they would be restricted to personal use and pilot training, with the association responsible for pilot licens ing and airworthiness oversight; or they could be operated under Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) rules. If they chose the latter course, their aircraft had to be fitted with certificated engines and propellers, maintained by licensed engineers, and flown only by CASA- licensed pilots. Their reward for adopting the higher level was that aircraft complying with the new rules could be certificated to higher gross weights, while their ultralight versions remained limited to 450kg. Importantly, although they could not carry paying passengers, they could also be used in flying schools, for pilot hire, for non-passen ger operations such as photography, aerial spot ting, and ".. .for other commercial activities for which the design is approved". 30 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 8 - 14 January 1997
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