“The Cri-Cri is the first-ever four-engined all electric aerobatic plane, and was first shown at the Green Aviation Show at Le Bourget in June,” reports EADS. “The plane became airborne at 11:12 CET. Take-off and climb were smooth, no vibrations could be felt and manoeuvrability was excellent. All systems performed well and the plane returned safely after seven minutes.”

The aircraft is of light composite construction with a T-tail configuration, fixed but faired undercarriage, full-span ailerons and a high aspect ratio wing.

Didier Esteyne, who piloted the Cri-Cri, said: “This aircraft flies very smoothly, much more quietly than a plane with conventional propulsion, but we are still at the beginning and have a lot to learn. We are allowed to start aerobatic manoeuvres only after five hours of flight and 15 landings.”

Jean Botti, EADS’s Chief Technical Officer warns us not to be too optimistic yet: “The Cri-Cri is a low-cost test bed for system integration of electrical technologies in support of projects like our hybrid propulsion concept for helicopters. We hope to get a lot of useful information out of this project.” In the near future batteries will not able to propel larger aircraft.

The aerobatic aeroplane incorporates numerous innovative technologies such as lightweight composite structures to minimise airframe weight and compensate for the additional weight of the batteries, four tiny brushless electric motors with counter-rotating propellers, mounted in fore-and-aft push/pull pairs on twin nacelles, which deliver propulsion without CO2 emissions and significantly lower noise compared to thermal propulsion, and high energy-density Lithium batteries.

EADS says: “The combined utilisation of these environment-friendly technical innovations enables the Cri-Cri to deliver novel performance values: 30 minutes of autonomous cruise flight at 110 km/h, 15 minutes of autonomous aerobatics at speeds reaching up to 250 km/h, and a climb rate of approximately 5.3m/sec.

“With research projects on algae based biofuel, a helicopter hybrid propulsion system combining electrical power with piston engines and the all electric Cri- Cri, EADS is exploring technologies for environmentally friendly air travel.”

After a battle lasting for over a decade, the following verbatim transcript from yesterday’s Queensland Hansard will be causing some celebration around the Sunshine Coast:

Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane-ALP) (Premier and Minister for the Arts) (9.35 am) I am pleased today to update the House on the state government’s position on the Sunshine Coast’s Regional Council’s proposed relocation of the Caloundra Aerodrome. After considerable assessment, the Queensland government has formed the view that the Caloundra aerodrome should not be moved.

The decision provides certainty for the 220 workers and 20 small businesses that are operating at the aerodrome. I note the nodding from the member for Caloundra. I think he would agree with me that it provides certainty for all those businesses and it also provides certainty for the iconic air museum which attracts thousands of visitors every year.

I know that this is an issue of great importance to the local community and we have listened to the concerns. Shifting the acrodrome does not stack up for the community and it does not stack up economically. We have looked long and hard at the options on this issue. The studies we have undertaken reveal that the cost of relocating the facility could easily exceed $100 million. Clearly, in these tough economic times, that is a cost the Queensland taxpayers should not and cannot bear.

These studies have also found that the cost to assist the 20 existing businesses, 13 leaseholders and the museum to relocate could amount to a further $15 million. Aerodrome businesses, the museum and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council have sought certainty on this matter. I hope for all of them that this decision provides that certainty. The decision also provides the certainty the council needs to finalise the Caloundra South structure plan.

End of quote.

Congratulations to the Caloundra community and its aviation identities and businesses. Congratulations to the Queensland government too despite how long it took. You will all no doubt now be awaiting the council’s announced strategies to start complying with the Deed of Transfer in which it contracted among other things to ensure that the aerodrome always remains an aerodrome; to maintain it in a satisfactory state, to provide access to all aviation users, and to use its local government zoning powers to protect it from any further incursions by inappropriate development. Readers, as well as many councils around Australia who dream of flogging off their airports to commercial developers or their own personal mates, should also take a look at the issues surrounding the Caloundra matter.

Much of the history surrounding this issue is contained in the links below, to  relevant AviationAdvertiser articles

Also killed was Australian pilot Darren Moore from Leonora WA, a flying operations inspector recently employed by the PNG Civil Aviation Authority. Mr Moore had been aboard as part of his training for a type rating (a licence endorsement approving a pilot to fly a particular type) on the Cessna Citation, and was due to fly the return leg as pilot in command under supervision, a process that meets regulatory requirements for a minimum number of flying hours under supervision before being approved to fly solo in command. Flying operations inspectors need to be qualified on various aircraft types so they can check the proficiency of other pilots.

Maritime pilot Chris Hart, 61, also killed in the crash, had flown to Misima to meet and pilot a vessel through the Great Barrier Reef to Australia, and the un-named fourth victim, an employee of medical evacuation company International SOS, was believed to be from New Zealand.

The lone survivor of the crash, an Australian believed to have been co-piloting the aircraft, was flown from Misima to Australia for treatment of “heavy bruising” injuries.

Reports from PNG say the aircraft approached Misima’s in heavy rain but ran off the sealed strip, possibly due to braking difficulties on the wet runway, and crashed into coconut palms, bursting into flames. A local man, Henson Jasper, is reported to have risked his life rescuing the sole survivor.

A team led by PNG Air Accident Investigator Sid O’Toole has arrived at Misima to begin an investigation. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has offered assistance in the crash investigation.

Its manufacturer Cessna had set the type’s life limit for airline operations at 22,500 hours after it decided not to develop an ageing aircraft maintenance program for the Conquest. However that limitation only applied to aircraft in commercial airline use in the USA while the Australian prohibition also extended to private and general aviation charter operations.

The decision had little effect on the USA’s Conquest’s fleet because the type is flown there principally in private or corporate use where they typically accumulate moderate total hours, and none are known to be in use on scheduled airline services.

But in Australia Conquests are often flown on high daily utilisation work such as freight, charter and medium haul corporate operations. Australian aircraft were therefore far worse affected, with five having been grounded immediately and others fast approaching the 22,500 hour limit.

TAE, which owned a high time Conquest of its own, began working on a Conquest life extension program in 2008. In collaboration with aeronautical design company Aeronautical Engineers Australia (AEA), and a detailed engineering analysis of the Conquest and its components was completed.

The life extension modification program they developed offers Conquest operators an extended life for the airframe which permits continued use past CASA’s 22,500 hour limit. The STC extends the Conquest’s life to 40,000 flight hours or 40,000 cycles, whichever is reached first. The STC extends the life of the Conquest aircraft by replacing and/or modifying critical structural components such as fuselage frames, reinforcement of other components and external straps to spread loads and provide redundant load paths.

There is also a new, rigorous maintenance program, which has been developed using modern damage tolerance philosophies.

The reprieve came with Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s (CASA) approval announced this week of the STC developed by TAE and AEA. CASA says it worked closely with the partnership on the development of the life extension plan. The original prototype, owned by TAE was the first aircraft to have the STC approved, a further two aircraft are now undergoing STC work. Several more are now booked in to follow them, and TAE expects that In the next five to ten years several more aircraft will be approaching the llmit.

CASA’s Director of Aviation Safety, John McCormick, said the development of the program demonstrates the technical expertise and vision of the Australian aviation industry.

Coupled with the STC modification is TAE Aviation’s system of maintenance, which reduces the cost of Conquest maintenance while giving operators more scheduling flexibility.

Australia’s Conquest fleet profile averages 1.5 flight hours per cycle, as opposed to the USA’s fleet profile of approximately 1 flight hour per cycle. The life extension modification gives operators significant benefits in terms of reduced inspection intervals because TAE Aviation’s system of maintenance is predominantly cycle based. The system of maintenance is available to all Conquest operators, including aircraft below CASA’s 22,500 hour life limit.

TAE says the new system of maintenance will significantly reduce costs by:

• Increasing the time between scheduled phase inspections to 150 hours

• Replacing the requirements contained in the Supplemental Inspection Documents (SIDs) with a system based on a mixture of cycles, hours and calendar time

• In addition, fuselage inspections will be cycle based due to pressurisation fatigue issues

• Empennage inspections will be hourly based due to flight loads

• Undercarriage inspections will be cycle based due toblanding loads

• Wing inspections will be hourly based due to flight loads

• Corrosion inspections will be based on calendar time

As part of the package Conquest operators can also take advantage of aircraft downtime by planning an avionics upgrade during the structural STC modification program. TAE Aviation is able to install the Avidyne and S-TEC Alliant Integrated Flight Deck System into the Conquest during the modification program. A range of design alternative installation options is also available with leading brands such as Garmin, Avidyne, Sandel, Honeywell, Shadin and Rockwell Collins products.

The complaint specifically alleges that the fan stages on Engine Alliance’s GP7200 engine and on UTC’s PW1000G engine (also known as the Geared Turbofan) infringe the Rolls-Royce patent. The complaint also alleges that a number of other UTC aero civil engines infringe the Rolls-Royce patent, and the manufacturer is seeking damages and injunctions.

The GP7200 engine is one of the optional powerplants offered on the Airbus A380 superjumbo, the other being Rolls-Royce’s Trent 900 selected by Qantas and another nine of the 13 airlines that have ordered the A380.

Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G will power Bombardier’s C Series single-aisle jet, and is a contender for potential re-engining of Airbus A320 and Boeing’s 737 “families.”

Pratt & Whitney has said it believes the named engines do not infringe the Rolls Royce patent, which they believe is invalid and unenforceable. “Pratt & Whitney believes the lawsuit lacks merit and will vigorously defend itself,” says P&W.

The origins of the case date back to the late 1990s, when the UTC  applied to the US Patent Office to have the Rolls-Royce swept fan blade patent struck out. UTC’s legal efforts failed and the validity of the Rolls-Royce patent was upheld in the United States.

Rolls-Royce expects that the case will be heard before a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia in the first half of 2011.

The world’s biggest helo manufacturer was guided to the decision by helicopter operators, and not all of them Bell addicts either, but they’re happy to keep Bell up to date with market expectations and their collective wisdom. A few years ago Bell introduced its 427 model, but it was restricted to VFR only. Bell then contemplated an IFR version of the 427 because there’s not much point in twin capability if you can’t fly IFR. At that stage Bell was re-energising its Customer Advisory Board, which comprises about a dozen aviation company representatives from all around the world – GA charter, police, electronic news gathering, EMS, tourism – and these people meet two or three times a year in Mirabel, Texas, to discuss Bell’s performance over the previous months, product support, spare parts availability and other issues; and they also discuss future developments.

At one meeting Bell proposed the 247-I (for IFR), but the Board told them in effect: “if that’s all you’re going to do to develop a new light twin helicopter it’s probably not where you should go. We want an aircraft that has these specified speed, range, endurance, payload and other capabilities, meets all the latest safety standards, has a flat floor that is larger in area than Eurocopter’s EC135’s, and can be quickly reconfigured for a variety of mission configurations, with fuel under the floor for a crashworthy fuel system, and no control runs inside the aircraft.”

“So that’s how the aircraft was born,” recalls Peter Crook, Hawker Pacific’s Sales Manager Rotary Wing. “Bell listened to the industry instead of just saying ‘we’ve made this aircraft, it has these and these capabilities, go and see what you can do with it.’”

And it was worth waiting for, says Crook: “Development mostly targeted the EMS market because Bell didn’t have a light twin in that market, but we felt if we could meet the EMS market’s needs we could go into all the other markets as well. The aircraft can operate into confined spaces, it can carry a lot of equipment, and it can fly in all weather. So if it fits EMS and accomplishes its missions the next tasks are easier, and it will also fit corporate work, some offshore operations, as well as media and law enforcement.”

New certification standards

The 429 looks a little like an overgrown Jet Ranger, but it’s an all-new aircraft from the ground up. It’s powered by two Twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1 engines rated at 730 shp and fitted with an electronic engine control (EEC) with hydromechanical backup which provides automatic starting as well as the automatic emergency OEI (one engine inoperative) settings. The 429’s certified to FAR 27 amendment 44 which covers helicopter and fixed wing up to 7,000 lb MTOW (3,175 kg). Empty weight is 4500 lb, but the demo aircraft weighed in at 4700, and for EMS fit-outs will take up some of that with oxygen bottles, defibrillators and winches (if optioned.)

The aircraft is now certified by FAA, Transport Canada and EASA, for either single or dual pilot IFR. Standard fit ex factory is as a single pilot machine, meeting the latest JAR/OPS performance Class 1 requirements. It is “Category A” certified, which means it can operate at maximum gross weight in OEI situations. This is becoming more and more of a requirement, because although CASA doesn’t require it in Australia at the moment, most end users do. The only addition required for two-pilot operations is a second primary flight display (PFD) on the left hand side, and the aircraft is certified to be flown single from either side if the second PFD is fitted.

“Class 1” is the performance requirement from the regulatory authorities for IFR to maintain obstacle clearance in the event of an engine failure. It’s a different takeoff and a slightly different climbing profile. In the takeoff the aircraft leaves the pad and does a “back-up,” usually a little to the left or right depending on which side of the aircraft the pilot is flying from. Initial climb is to about 100-120’ as calculated in the flight manual, and in this aircraft it’s calculated by the computers and shown on the display units. The aircraft is backed up anywhere from ground level up to the takeoff decision point, and if an engine failure occurs there’s enough power reserve to return onto the pad. From that decision point or anywhere beyond it, if you have an engine failure, the pilot rotates nose forward and flies away. Climb to decision point is maybe 30 seconds.

A Category A landing is similar with a steeper than normal approach and with the pilot maybe coming a bit to the left so he can see the pad from the right (or vice versa), and as he passes his landing point he’s committed because he has enough power to complete the landing. If there’s an engine failure prior to reaching the landing decision point he can rotate nose forward, fly away, and go to an alternative landing point.

The aircraft is also certified to FAR Part 27 Amendment 44/2008 (safety standards.) This means it’s certified to the highest standards for G loadings, which are about 50% higher than the former standards. One reason the 429 took a little time to get to market was that all the devices that are available on other Bell helicopters – hooks, hoists, EMS fitouts etc, are also available on the 429 but all had to be re-certified as supplemental type certificate (STC) kits on this aircraft because they had to meet the higher standards including G tolerances. This certification also allows an optional 272 kg retractable “human external cargo” hoist to carry passengers routinely without being restricted to emergency situations.

The 429’s basic structure is all metal, but the side panels, rotor blades, tail boom and non-structural fairings are fatigue-tolerant composite. It thus retains the airframe integrity of all Bell helicopters, along with roll-over bulkheads behind the pilot seats and over the hat rack in the rear cabin. The four-blade main rotor hub is a lighter weight development of the system used on the 407 and 412.

The tail rotor is also a four-blade assembly, and both main and tail rotors have vibration and noise reducing swept tips, and low tip speeds.

Featuring the biggest cabin in its class at 5.8m³, the aircraft can easily carry two crew, two medics and two litter patients. Big doors are standard 52 inches (132 cm) and deck height allows one-man litter loading. Rear-loading optional clamshell doors are available, but while they allow greater flexibility in landing zone selection, some US EMS operators who ordered them later found they don’t use them because the main doors easily allow any loading they require and the rear doors impose a 12-13 kg weight penalty.

Performance plus

VNe (never exceed speed) is 155 kt, and maximum cruise speed is 150, says Crook: “We’ve been cruising at max weight and pulling 85% torque, and truing out at 150 kt.”

Not all twin-engined helicopters have the performance to meet the Cat A standard. However the 429, right up to gross weight, has the necessary performance up to an unusually high outside air temperature of 38.5°C – or in other terms, at gross weight up to an elevation of about 2,850’ at ISA. Or with a 15 kt wind it’ll provide that performance up to its maximum certified operating temperature of 51.7°. It could hover in ground effect at just over 14,000’ if we had any mountains of that stature, and out of ground effect at over 11,000’. Certified service ceiling is 20,000’, or 9,600’ with one engine inoperative with a 30 minute power rating – or alternatively with max continuous its S/E power rating is 8,400’ – at MTOW, which means this aircraft can be legally flown IFR over any route in Australia and be able to maintain LSA on one engine – an exclusive capability in this category, says Crook.

The aircraft’s system can also calculate weight and balance of the aircraft automatically. You just input seat occupants, fuel, baggage and its location, and it does the calculation for you. There’s no need for ballast as the aircraft’s fuel system provides a very stable aircraft that lands in a flat attitude, and the 429 is certified for 35 kt winds at any azimuth including cross and tailwind for hovering, takeoff and landing. It’s also approved for slope landings 10° up, left or right and 5° nose down without limitations.

A fuel capacity of 217 USG (821 lit), all under floor, equals just on 2.5 hours endurance with standard three-cell tanks. An optional 39 USG (148 lit) additional cell provides another 30-odd minutes, and all fuelling is at a single port on the lower fuselage.

The aircraft we previewed was S/No 3, which had been used in some of the certification trials and is now in a corporate configuration but still has all the hardpoints, so its empty weight is a little higher than usual at 4,700 lb (2,132 kg.) In executive transport configuration six passengers can be comfortably seated in the aft cabin, plus a pilot and passenger in the cockpit. For VIP ops the aft cabin can be fitted with four 54.6 cm luxury seats with arm rests. Behind the third row of seats is a spacious 2m³. baggage compartment with access from either side.

The wide cockpit doors allow easy entry, and there’s plenty of room to move the cyclic while getting into the seat. The seats are adjustable vertically and fore and aft, and even offer lumbar support for long flights. The pedals are also adjustable if you pull out a pin on each, adjust it, and drop the pin back into place. This is more easily done before boarding.

Magic imagery

Up front there’s been such a startling makeover that it doesn’t look much like a helicopter at all until you note the flight controls.

Bruce Laurin, Bell Helicopter test pilot, shows me around.

The main glass cockpit Rogerson Kratos primary flight display (PFD) instrument screens are liquid crystal display units (LCDU), designed for JAR-OPS compliance to be visible from any realistic angle, and they’re ergonomically positioned to make sure nothing (such as a cyclic) is in the way of either pilot’s view. There are two screens for single pilot IFR but the demo aircraft had the second PFD, which is required for two-pilot operation.

The screens are also designed with embedded computers to save maintenance costs, enabling troubleshooting because it provides screen comparison to identify a fault, and the icing on the cake is a dual digital three-axis autopilot with stability & control augmentation system (SCAS.)

A highlight of the avionics from where the pilot sits is the power situation indicator (PSI) which combines conventional engine limiting indications of torque, N1 and turbine temps into a “first limit indicator” (FLI) which eases pilot workload by providing a visual depiction of current power situation and its relativity to limitations. A box around the parameter label indicates which parameter is currently controlling the power margin indication. Max continuous power (MCP) is always at the 12 o’clock position on the scale, and the engine needle is controlled by the parameter with the least remaining margin in relation to the MPC. The clear and easy-to-read graphic presentation on the MFD (multi-function display) takes a lot of the sweat out of maintaining situation awareness and balancing control inputs against limitations in high-power operations.

The MFD in the centre is dedicated to engine functions. The three-axis autopilot, linked to the two-unit Garmin system, provides functions ranging from heading hold to GPS nav and coupled approach, altitude preselect and hold, and airspeed hold. It does not provide hover hold, but an optional “four-axis” system does. The two Garmin 430 units, intercom system, standby instrumentation, transponder and dual digital autopilot system designed by Bell, complete the avionics array.

Not being one of the helicopter-anointed, I have plenty of time to observe the processes as Laurin shows how it’s done while also making it look easy. Although engine start is not FADEC controlled, the PSI system warns the pilot of any anomalies, and starting is not a demanding task.

For the unfamiliar the power management instruments are almost hypnotic, and also become informative as you adjust to the new PSI imagery. The system uses turbine speed (NG), turbine outlet temp (TOT) and total torque to indicate available power, and displays the data graphically in an arc with the No 1 engine displayed as a solid needle inside a hollow needle representing No 2. While both needles are joined they display the status of the parameter that is closest to its max limit, which is usually the torque. If the needles are split there’s a problem and two separate digital dials will display each of the three parameters on both engines. There’s also a digital readout of total torque prominently displayed at top centre.

I’m also told that a power loss on either engine will result in the good engine immediately going automatically to max power for 30 seconds, giving the pilot time to identify the lost engine and respond. After 30 sec the good engine is automatically reduced to max continuous, allowing the pilot leisure to adjust it to maximum OEI cruise power.

Most of our flight was at 1,500’ over Melbourne, at a fuel-efficient and un-noisy 75% power which produced 140 KIAS. I was told that 95% would take us to 150. Cabin noise throughout the flight was moderate, even when I removed my headset to do some photography, and vibration was as much a non-issue as I’d seen in any helicopter, as was translational lift shudder. While I was busy trying to breathe some life into a momentarily dysfunctional digital camera, we briefly came to a halt, entering a hover over St Kilda Road, holding it for about 30 seconds, and then accelerating back to cruise. And the whole manoeuver was so smooth that I only learned about it from a fellow-passenger after the flight!

A stability & control augmentation system (SCAS) is designed to introduce an electrical input into the flight control system that augments the pilot’s manual input, but cancels out undesired control movement including over-correction in flight. The SCAS is normally on in flight, but even if it’s turned off the aircraft remains very manageable and stable.

The twin Garmin nav systems allow the pilot to navigate and communicate on one unit while setting up the next operation on the other. Working on a “zone basis” the system provides everything the pilot needs to know for each zone, including radio frequencies, airspace category, restricted areas, flight route depiction, relevant instrument approach procedures and airport charts.

“What’s the best news about this aircraft for pilots?” I asked Laurin and Crook back on the ground:

“Speed, smooth, quiet, and lots of power. With a full load on a hot day in a Jet Ranger, it can be a bit doughy when you pull up on the collective. But put seven people and full fuel in this machine and it hardly notices; it actually goes somewhere. It’s even been known to do a straight-up vertical takeoff almost fully loaded, climbing at 1,600 fpm while pulling only 92 percent torque – so there’s lots of power, the most comfortable seats I’ve seen in a helicopter, excellent safety credentials, easy to handle, and it’s a real pilot’s dream to fly.”

The TGF flights, for which Airbus has brought together numerous parties, are due to take place over a six to eight week period commencing in the fourth quarter of this year. They will cover the optimisation of the taxi-out procedure at John F. Kennedy airport, as well as the en-route leg over the Atlantic. Overall it is estimated that each A380 flight can reduce CO₂ emissions by around three tonnes, compared with existing procedures.

“These transatlantic flight trials will help to move the industry towards more efficient operational concepts and sustainable growth over the longer term,” says Charles Champion, Executive Vice President of Engineering at Airbus. He adds: “What we trial today with the A380 will contribute to setting tomorrow’s standards, thanks to system-wide Air Traffic Management improvements prepared by programmes like SESAR and NextGen.”

TGF operational contributions

The FAA will support Air France to start each trial with a fuel-saving ‘reduced engine taxi’ from the gate to the runway at JFK. This will be enabled via estimates of taxi time, allowing for A380 taxiing powered by only two of its four engines. Meanwhile, NATS and Nav Canada will facilitate the Atlantic portion of the flight which will reduce CO₂ emissions through an optimized trajectory where more flexibility will be arranged for speed, altitude and lateral routing. This trajectory takes advantage of the A380’s high optimum cruise altitude of 39,000ft and above.

Additional AIRE2 projects

Airbus is also engaged as a partner in two further AIRE2 trials: ‘VINGA’ and ‘Green Shuttle’. VINGA, which builds on the experience of last year’s AIRE ‘MINT’ flight trials (with Novair and Swedish Air Navigation Service provider LFV), will now for the first time validate a transition from a curved RNP 0.3 arrival to an ILS approach at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport. This operational implementation will be facilitated by Airbus’ RNP services subsidiary, Quovadis. Meanwhile, the ‘Green Shuttle’ project, in partnership with Air France and the French air navigation service provider DSNA, seeks to optimise all phases of the airline’s ‘La Navette’ flights between Paris-Orly and Toulouse which are operated with A320 Family aircraft.

The Royal Queensland Aero Club, trading as Airline Academy of Australia (AAA), has negotiated a ground-breaking strategic partnership with Australian flight simulator manufacturer SimJET Training Systems, to use and promote SimJET’s range of simulation and flight training devices.

AAA, one of the largest flight training centres in the Asia Pacific region, specialises in training pilots up to airline standard in full-time courses.

The deal will initially provide AAA with access to a Boeing 737-800 simulator and an Airbus A320 procedural training device, both developed in Australia using new satellite-based image systems.

It also will make AAA, based at Archerfield, one of the first flight training academies in Australia to offer such sophisticated training devices, and one of the first in the world to do so outside airlines and global training organisations.

The Chief Executive Officer of AAA, Mr Stewart Cameron, said the partnership with SimJET would add a significant new dimension as it sought to build from a mainly domestic training academy in Australia to a recognised international academy, with focus on Asia, Middle East and New Zealand / Pacific.

As part of this growth strategy, AAA and SimJET will attend together the Asia Pacific Aviation Training Symposium (APATS) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next month, displaying SimJET’s portable Airbus A320 procedural trainer as part of a broader presentation of AAA’s offerings.

“The SimJET devices to which we now have access enable us to offer significantly more to our customers, from procedural activities on the latest model Boeing or Airbus aircraft to multi crew coordination training,” said Mr Cameron.

“We are also exploring the possibility of developing other simulators, including glass cockpit versions of the entry level Cessna 172 which students use at the very start of their flying training,” he said. “No other independent flight academy can offer this.”

SimJET Training Systems, Managing Director Nicholas Kranenburg said his company’s training devices were designed to provide the missing interim step in the training of cadet and new entrant airline pilots who commonly progress straight from the classroom to either a sophisticated full motion simulator or straight onto an aircraft.

While highly-advanced full motion simulators provide training of a standard that allows a full command type rating without the trainee ever leaving the ground, it is well known that they are often operated with the full motion function disabled, because trainers believe many flight procedures can be better trained for without the distraction, and also because of the high cost of wear-and-tear maintenance on their hydraulically or electrically based systems. Such systems typically cost $20 to $30 million, and there is now growing pressure for regulators to acknowledge the role of lower-cost simulation in preparing trainees either for briefer full flight simulator training or airborne training in actual aircraft – a point SimJET hopes to make with its new Australia-designed systems:

“Our devices are designed to increase competency with low experience levels and minimise the cost of training airline pilots,” said Mr Kranenburg.

“We provide full tactile-type cockpits complete with high level visual systems, equal to or better than those currently on larger, full motion simulators. SimJET devices provide a crucial missing step for pilots, delivering relevant procedural training before they step into a full motion simulator or an actual aircraft,” he said.

“Our devices are designed to increase competency with low experience levels and minimise the cost of training airline pilots,” said Mr Kranenburg. “But most importantly, we provide affordable devices which enable pilots to build competence and safety levels before they take to the skies.”

Wagga Wagga’s rich and eventful aviation history, an excellent and thriving airport that’s still a major aviation activity centre, an aviation-oriented community and a modern, regionally-focused university, have won the Riverina city selection as the site for the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame.

The ambitious but well-planned initiative was announced just two weeks ago, and its three instigators attended a formal civic reception last night (Tuesday August 24) in Wagga to join some of the dots and outline the rationale of the Wagga choice, which they say was ultimately a relatively easy one.

Hall of Fame co-founders are recently-retired Qantas Chief Pilot Chris Manning and Paul Tyrrell, CEO of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia. When they discovered that there was no such organisation in Australia they consulted with Aviation identity Geoff Breust, recently retired CEO of  REX (Regional Express) whose enthusiasm for the project equalled their own, and Mr Breust now Chairs the new project.

Mr Breust said the whole plan originated from a casual conversation between Chris Manning and Paul Tyrrell:

“Paul and Chris got in contact with me we had chat. One thing led to another and we’ve now set up the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame, as an incorporated association housed here in Wagga. The location was their idea, because they thought if you take it to a city it’ll get swamped with everything else, if you take it to Canberra it’ll be just another national organisation, and they particularly wanted to put it in a regional centre that’s reasonably centrally located and already has a significant aviation presence.”

Chris Manning explains the philosophy behind the series of decisions that led to the launch:

“You can’t forget your history. Aviation, especially in regional Australia, has played a huge role in opening up the outback, and there’s a tendency to forget that, especially as we become more city-centric. So it’s very important that we keep the memory of those people and institutions alive.

“We’re inclined to glorify the “flyboys” but they’re only a part of it. There are also the commercial people who’ve started airlines, the people involved in air traffic control, in administration, engineering. They should all be honoured and they tend to be forgotten. So apart from the people like Kingsford-Smith and all the usual suspects there area lot of other people who deserve recognition.

“It’s going to be a project with international stature, it’s not going to be a small thing, which is why the project has a fairly conservative timeline. We’re basing it a little on Canada’s Hall of Fame, which is attached to a museum, but the showpiece is an annual dinner of inductees. In Canada that’s a big event, and we expect it to be THE aviation dinner in Australia, hopefully starting next year.”

Paul Tyrrell explains the timetable:

“We decided not to wait for the bricks and mortar, but to establish a ‘virtual’ Aviation Hall of Fame on the Internet so we could get things moving. It sounds like an easy task but it’s quite complex. We’ve started a web site and in the next few weeks and months we’re going to make that a high quality site so people can observe progress as it’s made over the next 12 months. We need to do our research, develop categories and so on. We have to discuss with the new Board how we’re going to develop the web site, but we want to say to the people of Australia: ‘These are the sorts of things we’ll be looking at, in terms of deciding who should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, then we need to build that very carefully and the people from Charles Sturt University will be assisting us.

“We’re meeting with very highly qualified librarians, archivists and historians, these are technical skills that we don’t immediately have on the Board, but Charles Sturt has offered a broad range of skills of just the kind you need behind you when you take on a project like this.”

The Hall of Fame will be operated and managed by the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame Inc – an incorporated association with membership open to all Australian aviation industry associations, unions, professional associations and major airlines. Wagga Wagga City Council and Charles Sturt University are special founding members.

The group’s vision is: “To honour those individuals and organisations whose outstanding contributions have advanced aviation significantly in a national Australian Aviation Hall of Fame, thereby inspiring future generations.”

Its two-point mission statement is also clear:

• “Establish the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame, to formally induct into it people and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to civil aviation in Australia, and Australians who have made an outstanding contribution internationally; and
• “Honour all of those inductees with a public exhibition of their contribution both electronically via a web site and physically in a facility located in Wagga Wagga NSW Australia.”

And its motto is simply: “Honour the past, and inspire the future.”

To progress the project the group expects to establish its ‘web-based virtual Hall of Fame’ by mid-2011, to conduct its inaugural induction dinner by Sept/Oct 2011 with annual inductions thereafter, to establish a physical Aviation Hall of Fame exhibition facility in Wagga Wagga by 2015, and to develop an aviation information repository including a specialised aviation library service, says Mr Tyrrell:

“Our clear aim is to have a world class facility not only in terms of the web sites, but also in the actual material it contains.

“On that basis we won’t be a voluntary organisation doing the research and preparing the displays. We will engage professional services, and for that reason will have a fairly considerable budget which in Year 1 will be about $120,000 so we’ll be seeking support for that over the coming weeks.”

The facility’s eventual location will be identified with input from the community, with a view to appropriate visitor access and surroundings. The cost of a suitable permanent building for this historically significant and important enterprise is estimated in the order of $4 million.

Wagga Wagga airport is one possible site

Aeromil Pacific and Bankstown Airport Limited have finalised the lease of Hangar 14 at Bankstown to expand the Cessna distributor’s presence at Bankstown. Following restoration and renovation work by BAL, the company is expected to begin expanded operations from Site 521 in the last quarter of 2010.

The heritage listed site, adjoining the Bankstown airport passenger terminal, was built for the RAAF during World War II and is part of one of the airport’s original hangars. It remains a functional building in 2010 due to its good internal height, natural light, and full width hangar doors providing access from ramp space at its front and rear. BAL has developed a plan to improve and modernise aspects of the building to meet Aeromil Pacific’s requirements.

BAL’s new CEO Colin Grove said at the completion of the deal: “This is great news for Sydney Metro Airport Bankstown with one of Australia’s leading long established general aviation companies and the exclusive regional Cessna sales agent, Aeromil Pacific, choosing to expand their operations at Bankstown”.

Aeromil Pacific already operates an aircraft maintenance, sales and parts facility at its existing site at Bankstown. It will now expand to incorporate the new location, which will house its operations including maintenance, sales, corporate and charter operations and professional services.

The expansion will provide its growing aviation operations with significantly increased capacity with hangar space of 3,000 sqm, a dedicated apron area for aircraft parking, and a secure car parking area for clients and staff.

The addition of the new Bankstown hangar will also increase Aeromil’s capability to offer considerable additional space for aircraft services and hangarage and extra support which the company says will further enhance personal customer services.

Another aim will be to capture a share of the growing corporate aviation ground handling business, said Aeromil Pacific Managing Director Steve Padgett: “With ever increasing costs to business aviation using Sydney International Airport, we have taken this significant step in order to provide much greater capacity to support our Cessna and other business aircraft customers with maintenance, hangarage, secure parking and importantly, apron availability and FBO facilities at Sydney Metro Airport Bankstown. Through the use of our new facilities, we intend to make it substantially easier for domestic and international business aircraft to use Bankstown, as a viable and attractive alternative destination in Sydney.”

Aeromil Pacific specialises in jet and single engine aircraft sales, flight operations, charter, flight training services, maintenance, spare parts and product support. The company represents Cessna, the world’s number one selling aircraft, and is the exclusive Cessna Authorised Sales Representative (ASR) for the Citation family of Corporate Jets and Caravan Turboprops, and Cessna Sales Team Authorised Representative (CSTAR) for Single Engine aircraft.