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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 2908.PDF
BUSINESS & GENERAL AVIATION KITPLANES Lancairaims Sentry racer at military market Kitplane manufacturer Lancair International is flight testing a high-performance turboprop aimed at the racing and military training markets. The tandem- seat Sentry is powered by a Walter M601 and is based on the turboprop-powered version of the Lancair IV-P four-seat kit- plane first flown in September last year. The Sentry has a new upper fuselage, with stepped seating under a rear-hinged canopy, and a taller fin for increased direc tional stability. The rest of the all-composite fuselage remains unchanged from the Lancair IV-R Cruise speed is unchanged at 320kt (600km/h). The kit costs $120,000, with engine and avionics taking the completed price to $325,000-350,000, says sales manager Kim Lorentzen. In the civil market, the Sentry is intended to compete against racing kitplanes such as the Thunder Mustang and Turbine Legend. The V12-powered Thunder Mustang, modelled on the North American P-51, has been out of production while new owners are sought for the company. Only six kits have been sold. The Turbine Legend is a Walter-powered version of the Performance Aircraft Legend racer. Lancair hopes to find a larger market for the Sentry as a mili tary trainer. The Redmond, Oregon-based company plans to demonstrate the aircraft to the Mexican navy, which previously purchased and com pleted nine Lancair kitplanes for use as trainers. Lorentzen says kits sales remain steady at around 100 a year, despite the downturn in the general aviation market. Orders are divided between the two-seat, fixed-gear Legacy (40%); four- seat, fixed-gear ES (20%) and the four-seat, retractable-gear IV/lV-P in piston- and turboprop- powered versions (40%). COMMUNICATIONS GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC Arinc brings broadband and datalink to business Launch customer Gulfstream will be able to provide fast internet and e-mail access Airline telecommunications spe cialist Arinc is moving into the business aviation market with the introduction of broadband and datalink services. Gulfstream has become the launch customer for the company's SkyLink broadband satellite communications service, which will provide in-flight e-mail and internet connectivity. Arinc's SkyLink service is to become operational over North America in the second quarter of next year, using SES Americom satellites. ViaSat is supplying the Ku- band transceiver, which operates at data rates of 8-10Mb/s. Flight tests were conducted late last year using a Cessna Citation X equipped with a steerable tail-mounted antenna. The system will be substantially faster than Inmarsat's 64Kb/s Swift64 service, and will allow high speed, two-way private networking, says Arinc. SkyLink competes with Boeing's Connexion service, already installed on a number of large busi ness jets. Gulfstream will offer the system as an option on new large- cabin aircraft and for retrofit. Datalink services will be available in the first quarter of next year with the launch of Arinc Direct, which will compete with the Honeywell AFIS, Teledyne Controls TeleLink and Universal Avionics UniLink flight information services. Like these business aviation services, Arinc Direct will use the company's ACARS VHF datalink network. Arinc Direct services, including flight planning, two-way messaging, weather reports and flight following can be accessed from any computer, via the internet, without special software. Arinc has teamed with Air Routing International to provide trip planning and ground hand ling via its new datalink service. • Flight Options, the world's second largest fractional-ownership opera tor, is to install AirCell's Iridium- based satellite communications sys tem across its fleet. The initial order is for 50 ST3100 systems, worth $1.1 million, for crew and passenger tele phone and data communications. Systems have been installed in two Bombardier Challengers for evalua tion and the remainder will be fitted over the next 12 months. Flight Options, which already uses AirCell's airborne cellular com munications system, plans to stan dardise its fleet with the ST3100 over the next eight years. AirCell has also introduced the AST3500, a combined cellular/lridium system. Other Iridium satcom systems include Honeywell's Airsat-1 and Blue Sky Network, which repack ages Motorola's satellite telephone. ACQUISITION KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON Piagglo seals triple Avanti contract Piaggio is keen to give greater exposure to the P180 Piaggio Aero Industries has secured a deal for three PI80 Avantis with charter company Euroskylink through the Italian company's UK distributor Sloane Aviation. The deal, for one firm order and two options, marks the first sale into the UK of a multirole-config- ured P180. There are three twin- turboprop Avantis in UK service. The Euroskylink aircraft, the first of which will be delivered next April, will be used for corporate, charter and air-ambulance roles. Piaggio is aggressively targeting the emergency medical services market and predicts a demand for around 10 aircraft over three years. Piaggio is also striving to expand its fractional-ownership fleet in a bid to gain a foothold in the US market. Despite the order earlier this month from New York-based fractional operator Skyline Aviation Services for six PI 80s, Piaggio America admits it must maximise the P180's market exposure by placing it with a large business aircraft operator. The former Galaxy Aerospace adopted a similar tactic two years ago when its placed its Galaxy busi ness jet with US charter and man agement company AvBase. That gave Galaxy exposure to Netjets owners and led to a 100-aircraft order from the fractional operator. Piaggio is believed to be in talks with the world's second-largest frac tional company Flight Options. Two of 26 P180s operating in the USA and five of 27 in Europe are owned by fractional or charter companies. 32 1-7 OCTOBER 2002 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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