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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0561.PDF
IN BRIEF CHINA HOSTS General aviation events are planned for China in May and Malaysia in August as Asia's general aviation community aims to bolster regional promotion efforts. Consulting firm and sales agent Uniworld is sponsoring the China General Aviation Forum in Beijing on 25-28 May. The event is designed to help general avia tion companies identify business opportunities in the fledgling Chinese market. The Malaysian arm of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is planning a general aviation exhibition at Subang airport near Kuala Lumpur on 27-29 August. The EAA is to showcase Subang's general aviation facilities and attract manufacturers from abroad. BRAZIL SALE MD Helicopters (MDHI) has sold an MD 600N light single-turbine helicopter to Pera Aero Taxi of Brazil for charter work in the Amazon jungle. MDHI's new Russian distributor, meanwhile, has ordered an MD 530N turbine single and one MD Explorer tur bine twin. SUPERIOR K-MAX Oregon-based Superior Helicopter has taken delivery of its fifth K-MAX. The single-seat external-lift helicopter will operate the SkySaw, an underslung aerial power saw with 10 0.9m (3ft)- diameter blades, mainly used for powerline sidewall trimming. ENSTROM LINK Enstrom has doubled the war ranty on its helicopters to two years and 1,000h, citing increas ing reliability. The company has also introduced a simpler single- piece tailrotor pitch link for the single-turbine Model 480. GENERAL AVIATION SAFETY EMMA KELLY / PERTH Australasia to address helicopter vulnerability Spate of night time accidents prompts operators to seek ways of improving safety Australasian helicopter emergency service operators will meet this month to discuss how they can address safety issues that have plagued the sector on night opera tions in recent years. The initiative, launched by the Helicopter Association of Australasia (HAA), follows a num ber of accidents involving emer gency helicopter operators on night missions. Four helicopters have crashed in the region on night missions since 2000, result ing in the loss of eight lives, according to HAA. "Considering the low number of hours flown at night by the 38 search and rescue and emergency service operators in Australia and 12 in New Zealand, the trend is alarm ing," says Rob Rich, HAA president. He adds that the loss rate in the USA is also showing a marked increase. In the latest incident a CHC Helicopter Bell 407 crashed into the sea off Queensland at night in October 2003, resulting in the loss of all three crew on board. "The common factor is that all these flights were operating under night visual rules," says Rich. Although Australia has compre hensive night visual flight regula tions, the HAA believes that these need changing, while New Zealand does not have specific rules and relies on the operator's operations manual and training system for risk management. Instrument flight rules (IFR) operators seem to encounter fewer problems than the night visual operators, says Rich. "We seem to have forgotten the lesson the UK and USA learned several decades ago - that night visual-only capa ble helicopters must be crewed by pilots who are IFR trained and cur rent, either by simulated IFR condi tions or in a suitable simulator. Night visual flight in marginal weather or over areas with few lights, such as water or the Australian outback, is really an IFR operation," he says. Operators will look at issues including whether helicopters are properly equipped, weather limits, response times, crew fatigue, crew training, operating procedures and existing regulations. The HAA hopes the initiative will result in new industry standards, with CASA and the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority attending as observers. The introduction of night vision devices in Australia, which would improve safety, is being held up by the lack of suitable legislation, he says, calling for a joint HAA-CASA team to launch a project. POWERPLANT Re-engined A210 for USA German manufacturer Aquila is to announce a second engine option for its A210 two-seater all-compos ite trainer at this month's Berlin air show. Berlin-based Aquila says it will replace the 80hp (60kW) Rotax 912 with a 120-125hp engine for US customers. The Textron Lycoming IO-235 and Teledyne Continental IO- 240 are under consideration. SEE FEATURE P58 OUTSOURCING China's Changhe to produce A109 components AgustaWestland is preparing to source A109 components in China before moving forward with plans to establish an assembly line at Changhe Aircraft Industries. The two manufacturers signed a framework agreement last year that envisaged a Chinese A109 assembly line being established in 2004. But follow-up talks have progressed slowly and an AgustaWestland source says it is still not ready to set a start-up date for the assembly line. Instead, AgustaWestland plans to award Changhe a supplier con tract within the next few months and help the company gradually build A109 capability before an assembly line is established. Once it has the capacity to assemble A109s, Changhe will also be put in charge of sales in the local market. Textron, meanwhile, is opening an office in Beijing this month to better support activities in China of aerospace manufacturing sub sidiaries Bell Helicopter, Cessna and Lycoming. 26 4-10 MAY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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