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March 19, 2021

Airborne 03.19.21: AERO South Africa, Des Barker, F-16 Demo Team

Also: SE Aeronautics, Airline Passengers Busted, NTSB Wants More Regs, New K-MAX

Due to the ongoing pandemic AERO South Africa Delayed to July 2022. Messe Frankfurt South Africa has taken the decision to postpone the AERO South Africa exhibition and conference to July 2022. The three-day event will take place at Wonderboom National Airport and is supported by AERO Friedrichshafen. The launch event in 2019 was reportedly well received by the General Aviation Sector and it is hoped that the new dates will allow sufficient time for the impacts of the pandemic to settle. The International Council of AirShows reports that Major General Des Barker (South African Air Force, retired) died Wednesday afternoon in an aircraft accident. Barker's wife reported to ICAS that Des was cond

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AERO South Africa Delayed to July 2022

The Three-Day Event Will Take Place At Wonderboom National Airport

Hiopefully; we'll be hearing this kind of news less and less in the months ahead, but due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, Messe Frankfurt South Africa has taken the decision to postpone the AERO South Africa exhibition and conference to July 2022. The three-day event will take place at Wonderboom National Airport and is supported by AERO Friedrichshafen. The launch event in 2019 was reportedly well received by the General Aviation Sector and it is hoped that the new dates will allow sufficient time for the impacts of the pandemic to settle.

Flying From Sunrise To Sunset, The Skyfront Perimeter 8 Flew 205 Miles

Skyfront broke the multirotor drone flight time record by staying airborne for 13 hours and 4 minutes and traveling a distance of 205 miles. The world record-breaking flight was achieved by the Skyfront Perimeter 8—the company’s most advanced eight rotor drone. The event was captured via the drone’s onboard 360 cameras. The rationale behind their flight is the Skyfront proprietary fuel-injected hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain. The powertrain replaces the battery and reportedly extends flight times by a factor of twenty. It is optimized for power and efficiency and is integrated into the UAV design to reduce weight and power consumption.

Meeting Will Be Conducted Virtually

The National Transportation Safety Board has announced its intentions to hold a public board meeting March 23, 2021, 0930 Eastern time, to consider a draft report on recommendations for the implementation of stricter regulatory requirements for some types of revenue passenger-carrying general aviation operations. The NTSB has a long history of concerns about the safety of various revenue passenger-carrying operations, including sightseeing flights conducted in hot air balloons, helicopters, and other aircraft and parachute jump flights. These operations are not subject to the same maintenance, airworthiness, and operational requirements as other commercial flight operations.

From 2017 (YouTube Version): Cicaré Helicopter Displays SVH-4 Single-Seat Training Device At HAI…

Cicaré Helicopters displayed the SVH4 single-seat simulator training device at HAI 2017 in Dallas this year. Mike Creed, CEO, DEA General Aviation (USA/China) for Cicaré Helicopters, told Aero-News CEO and editor in chief Jim Campbell that the SVH-4 can be used by student pilots for up to 10 hours credit towards their FAA Private Pilot certificate. Creed said that the ground-based SVH-4 can revolutionize helicopter training, and DEA General Aviation has purchased 48 of the devices for use in the U.S. market. He said th

The Licenses Are Valid For Five Years

After completing a comprehensive review, the FAA approved the renewal of two Launch Operator Licenses for Orbital Sciences, LLC, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. The licenses are valid for five years and authorize the company to conduct flights of its Pegasus launch vehicle from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Orbital Sciences must still receive FAA authorization for specific launches. The Pegasus operates by being attached to a carrier aircraft and launched while airborne to deliver payloads to low earth orbit.

Kaman Delivers New K-MAX to Black Tusk Helicopter

The Aircraft Can Lift Up To 6,000 Pounds

Kaman Air Vehicles has delivered a new medium-to-heavy lift K-MAX helicopter to Black Tusk Helicopter Inc. of Squamish, BC, Canada. Black Tusk performs various external lift projects of every scale, ranging from aerial timber harvesting, ski tower setting, firefighting, and hydroelectric projects. “Black Tusk is a highly respected operator and we appreciate the confidence they have placed in Kaman and the capabilities of the K-MAX,” said Roger Wassmuth, Senior Director of Business Development. “Operators are choosing K-MAX for its proven repetitive lift capability with unmatched performance in the most demanding environments.”

Despite Multiple Attempts, They Were Unable To Recover From The Spin

On March 5, 2021, about 1010 Pacific standard time, a Aermacchi Impala MB-326M airplane, N155TP, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Edwards, California. The flight instructor sustained serious injuries and pilot receiving instruction sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The operator reported that the purpose of the accident flight was to conduct spin training. While conducting a left rotation inverted spin, the pilot and flight instructor noticed that the airplane did not feel normal, and the rotation of the spin appeared to accelerate.

AD 2021-06-06 Prompted By The Determination That Visual Inspections Do Not Adequately Detect A Crack

The FAA is superseding Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2021-05-52 which applied to certain Bell Textron Canada Limited (Bell) Model 505 helicopters. Emergency AD 2021-05-52 required a one-time visual inspection of the pilot collective stick and grip assembly (pilot collective stick), a fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI) if no crack was found during the visual inspection, and depending on the inspection results, removing the pilot collective stick from service and reporting certain information to Bell. Emergency AD 2021-05-52 also prohibited installing any pilot collective stick on any helicopter unless the inspections had been accomplish

Aero Linx: The Arizona Pilot’s Association (APA) The Arizona Pilot’s Association (APA) was organized in 1978 to give Arizona’s general aviation community a voice in aviation matters. Our mission remains much the same today as we continue to promote general aviation through advocacy at various levels of state and federal government, as well as through partnering with other aviation organizations in advocating our common interests: promoting aviation safety, pilot education, and public understanding of general aviation; preserving, maintaining, and even re-opening Arizona’s backcountry and recreational airstrips; broadcasting Arizona aviation news; and connecting Arizona pilots

Airport Rotating Beacon A visual NAVAID operated at many airports. At civil airports, alternating white and green flashes indicate the location of the airport. At military airports, the beacons flash alternately white and green, but are differentiated from civil beacons by dualpeaked (two quick) white flashes between the green flashes.

“Faced with the global unpredictability around event restrictions and international travel, we believe that we made the best decision for the event. This way we can provide a platform that is safe for exhibitors, visitors and staff and encourages high participation.“ Source: Annelie Reynolds, Show Director for AERO South Africa, discussing the organization's decisaion to postpone their next event until the summer of 2022. FMI: www.aerosouthafrica.com