Pilot -julkaisun August 2023 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

CAA ‘asleep at the wheel’? In a joint letter addressed to the Secretary of State for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority has been accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ regarding its statutory duty of providing adequate oversight of flight training schools. Following the collapse of FTA Global and Tayside Aviation, Approved Training Organisations Bristol Groundschool and the Wings Alliance joined with the publisher of online magazine Flyer and the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) in addressing a letter to the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP demanding Department for Transport action over the financial risks in UK flight schools. Some of former FTA and Tayside students are owed up to £90,000, and the chance of getting anything back from the liquidators is low. ‘There is no reason for an ATO…

FLIGHT TESTSherwood eKub “The reason why it doesn’t have a compass,” said Guy Gratton “is that the electric motor creates a massive electromagnetic field within the cockpit”. “I guess it’s lucky I’m not wearing a pacemaker,” I laughed. Guy grinned and raised an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting point,” he said “we’ll have to measure it one day”. This was my and Keith’s sixth visit to the delightful Norfolk airfield of Little Snoring, home of The Light Aircraft Company (TLAC). There’s always an interesting aeroplane or two to test here, but my machine for today’s flight is unique, being the only eKub in the world – and I’m really looking forward to flying it, as this will make me a member of two very select clubs. Not only will I be…

“We were looking down over London, unable to see any people, with nobody else on frequency at all,” recalls the Ordnance Survey Air Unit’s Roger Nock. As an Air Camera Operator he and his colleagues found themselves unintentionally recording the lockdown of Great Britain from the air throughout 2020. With cities less pollution-hazed and motorways empty, they were aware of their position as potentially the sole occupants of the sky, unheard of in the last century. Meanwhile, fair weather and spare time prompted the public to rediscover their countryside, the Ordnance Survey (OS) reporting app usage and paper sales soaring on the year prior. Roger reveals it also prompted many to look up, wildly guessing at the intent of the only aircraft still plying their trade. Either visibly or via…

The USS Nimitz is straight ahead, a small dot in the vast blue ocean. I lower the gear, lower the hook, and select landing flap. I add a bit more power, 63% N1, to keep my speed at the target 150 knots. I actually have no idea whether I’m lined up with the deck or not: all I see is a dot in the distance, and I need to ask the ‘tower’ to try to line up (“left of centreline” is the answer). I’m concentrating a lot, trying to keep the moving carrier in the same spot, the aspect ratio constant, the speed at 150kt – and all this on an aircraft new to me. “A quick and gentle hand,” I keep telling myself. The angled deck is becoming visible…

NOTABLE NOTES ‘Sustainable’ show The central theme of this year’s Paris Airshow was ‘carbon neutral’ or at least ‘low carbon emission’ p8 NOTABLE NOTES No radio, no entry A consultation is running on Stapleford’s proposal for a Radio Mandatory Zone to protect its IFR training activities when active p11 NOTABLE NOTES No-show scene Sadly, the Private Flyer and AeroExpo events failed to display much that was new, say those who attended p15 NASA and Tecnam pull the plug on their electric aircraft… NASA has – if you’ll allow us the pun – pulled the plug on its much-touted X-57 Maxwell electric test aircraft. The agency appears to have reached the conclusion that the current state of electric aircraft – and more specifically battery technology and the perennial problems of recharge…

Enstrom back at Oshkosh For more than thirty years, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has been a consistent presence at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Now under new ownership, Enstrom claims to be the only certified helicopter OEM to exhibit annually at the event, for despite the Experimental Aircraft Association’s primary focus on fixed-wing aircraft, Enstrom leadership views AirVenture as ‘an invaluable opportunity to network with existing customers and meet potential new clients’. This year, the company intends to show its latest helicopters to the anticipated 600,000 visitors and new owner Chuck Surack also plans to attend. The company will have the new 480B and 280FX models on show, and also the latest all-glass instrument panels. China trials SAF-fuelled heli-ops An Airbus H125 helicopter belonging to China’s State Grid Space Technology…

‘Pratically’perfection The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italia – AMI) celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary with a special airshow on 16-18 June at Pratica di Mare Air Base, just south of Rome. The first day was reserved for Air Force guests and their families, with the free public weekend attended by an estimated 300,000 people. This huge event focused on the air arm’s centenary from its earliest years, through post-war evolution, to its current inventory with a cavalcade of aircraft presented in the air and on the ground. A special ground display guided visitors around dioramas with re-enactors and aircraft, ending with the AMI’s latest weapons system, the Lockheed F-35. There were two ‘special’ participants, the furthest-travelled being Lockheed TF-104G N991SF ‘Black Beauty’. Operated by Starfighters Aerospace, a US government and…

Radio Mandatory Zone for Stapleford? A consultation document regarding the introduction of a Radio Mandatory Zone (RMZ) around Stapleford Aerodrome in Essex was launched on 17 April. The (rather hard to find) consultation document states, ‘The objective of the Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) [is] to introduce [an] Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP) ‘The airspace around Stapleford is Class G uncontrolled airspace and is a high traffic environment for VFR traffic since it is in a bottleneck surrounded by the controlled airspace of Luton and Stansted to the north, Heathrow and London City to the south and Southend to the east… The intention is not to use the procedure operationally when VFR conditions exist (e.g. the normal circuit is active) but only for training… The operational use of the proposed instrument approach…

To see the monthly calendar online, visit www.pilotweb.aero UNITED KINGDOM JULY 2023 22-30 Dunstable Downs, Beds, BGA Club Class Nationals, members.gliding.co.uk/competitions/23 Eshott, Northumberland, Machine Meet, facebook.com/eshottaerodrome23 Shobdon, Herefordshire, HAC Summer Competition, shobdonairfield.co.uk/events/ 23 Stow Maries, Essex, Propwash: Festival of the Air, stowmaries.org.uk23 Woodchurch, Ashford, Kent, Wings and Things, facebook.com/profile.php?id =100086002723262 27-30 Compton Abbas, Dorset, Spitfire Weekend 2, comptonairfield.com/events28 IWM Duxford, Cambs, Duxford Flying Day: The Americans, iwm.org.uk/airshows28-29 Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Metal Seagulls Open Hangar Days, facebook.com/metalseagulls29 Otherton, Staffs, Aeroprakt Fly-in, othertonairfield.com29-30 Easter Airfield, Rossshire, LAA Highland Strut Fly-in, scottishaeroclub.org.uk/events/29-30 Eshott, Northumberland, Northumberland’s Revival Weekend, facebook.com/eshottaerodrome29-30 Middlezoy, Somerset, Somerset Aerofest, mzaero.co.uk29-30 Old Buckenham, Norfolk, Old Buckenham Air Show, oldbuck.com29-6 Aug Aston Down, Glos, 50th VGC International Rally, vintagegliderclub.org/events30 Lundy Island, off N Devon coast, Lundy Sunday Fly-in, bodminairfield.com/events/ AUGUST 2023 1 Popham,…