This Year’s 61st Air Venture was typical of those past. New airplanes, products, personalities and a fabulous air show seen by more than 500000 visitors.

It seems that every year there are anniversaries and first-time aviation events to be celebrated .This year was no exception.

One of the icons of aviation, Mooney, celebrated 60 years, and although the company is currently not manufacturing, there are over 7000 aircraft in service.

Several dozen North American AT-6/SNJ flew in to celebrate 75 years under its wings. About 19000 T-6s were built between the US and Canada, and more than 1000 are still flying.

The legendary Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PT6 engine celebrated its golden anniversary.P&WC has delivered more than 52000 PT6 engines in 90 variants, into 130 different aircraft, and they have flown in excess of 390-million miles.

Missing from this year’s Air Venture were the current military aircraft that could usually be found on the grounds. Due to the Federal budget cuts, they were a no-show.

There were two history-making events that had been fantasies for as long as can be remembered .The ability to really fly, that is, launch into the sky without the drawback of an airframe was finally achieved by Jet man.

The other event was one that Henry Ford predicted in 1940:”Mark my words” he said,”a combination airplane and motorcar is coming. You may smile, but it will come.”

Seventy-three years later it turns out Ford was right. The ability to drive down the highway and effortlessly transition into the air and fly became a reality at Air Venture with the first public flight of the Terrafugia Transition.

Jet Man

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Jet Man! Yves Rossy, aka Jet man, entered the history books as the first and only person in aviation history to fly with a jet-propelled wing. Rossy\’s flying machine, called the Jet wing,consists of a small eight-foot folding wing made of a carbo-Kevlar composite ,with four jet engines, each putting out 49,4 pounds of thrust.

Jet man launched from a helicopter at 6500 feet and flew above the crowd for almost 10 minutes before activating his parachute to land.But; before he landed he managed to do a few aerial somersaults.

A hand -held throttle controls the engines, but Rossy uses his body to man oeuvre the aircraft, moving his shoulders, legs and arms to climb, descend and steer.

Since 2008, he has flown trips over the English Channel and Rio de Janeiro .He has also flown in formation with a Dakota owned by his sponsor, the Swiss watchmaker Breitling .But the Oshkosh flight was his first at a US air show.

Aircraft, Car or Both?

The first show day saw the maiden flight of Terrafugias Transition, which has been displayed as a development prototype at Oshkosh for several years.

“EAA has watched and encouraged Terrafugias efforts ever since it made its first appearance at Oshkosh in 2006,” said Jim Di Matteo, EAAs vice president of Air Venture features and attractions.”To see the Transition take the next step and make its first flights before a large-scale public audience gives us a glimpse of what’s possible in personal transportation.”

The Transition is a light-sport aircraft that combines driving and flying in one state-of-the-art vehicle. Glass cockpit avionics, carbon fibre construction and innovative mechanisms make the Transition fun to fly, drive, and convert. A steering wheel, gas, and brake pedals make it familiar to drive, while a stick and rudder pedals provide control in flight.

The aircraft drove from the exhibit area with the company’s chief test pilot, Phil Meeter, at the controls. Once on the ramp, the wings unfolded, and Meteer stepped out of the cockpit to conduct a pre-flight before driving down to the end of the runway for takeoff.

The airplane lifted off effortlessly, and flew around the field several times, then, after landing, the wings folded up again, and Meteer drove off the field to meet the crowd at Philips 66 Plaza.

Honda jet

Honda jet had let it be known that it was bringing an FAA-conforming jet to opening day.

Not only did it bring what it said it would, but CEO Michimasa Fuji took to the podium with EAA Chairman Jack Pelton in front of a red jet-the company’s third FAA-conforming airframe was in Honda\’s exhibition hall.

Four are used for flight testing and two for ground structural testing.

Piper Celebrates Anniversaries

July 21 marked the 30th anniversary of the first flight of the pre-production Piper Malibu.July 29th marked the 60th anniversary of the inaugural flight of the twin-engine prototype Piper Apache.

Piper Aircraft delivered the factory-fresh 800th M-Class piston-powered single-engine pressurized Piper Mirage to Muncie Aviation Co. at this year’s show.

The six-place Piper Mirage is powered by the Ly coming TIO-540-AE2A 350 -hp engine and has a 213 knot maximum cruise speed with a range of 1343 nautical miles. It is equipped with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite.

Piper also had two Twin Class aircraft on show: a Seneca V and a Seminole, both with Garmin G1000 avionics suites. Each model received a type certificate this year.

Piper reported a steady three-year increase in sales and delivered 86 aircraft, and had a revenue of $77-million for the first half of this year, compared with 76 aircraft, and $69-million recorded for the same period last year.

Beech crafts Entire Line

Beech craft brought its entire current line of commercial aircraft: King Air 350i, King Air 250, King Air C90GTX, Baron G58 and Bonanza G36, and A 1943 Beech craft Staggerwing.

This was the first time at Oshkosh for the company’s AT-6 light attack aircraft, which covers a wide -mission spectrum including training, manned intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and light precision attack, while offering non-traditional capabilities for homeland defense and civil support missions.

Cessna’s Single-Engine Line-Up

Cessna has introduced three new single-engine products to the general aviation market in the past twelve months.”Cessna’s three new aircraft all offer distinct strengths and capabilities,” said Jodi Noah, Cessna senior vice president of single engine/ propeller aircraft. The Grand Caravan EX, the Jet-A-fueled Turbo Sky lane JT-a, and the Cessna TTx all took cent re stage.

“Speed, performance and utility are all hallmarks of the newest Cessna single engine aircraft, said Noah.”The TTx delivers unmatched speed and luxury for our single engine pilots. Customers continue to rave about the performance and efficiency of the JT-A ,while the versatile Grand Caravan EX remains the hands-down favorite as the powerful utility aircraft of choice in the global marketplace,” Noah added.

The all-composite TTx currently holds the title of the fastest commercially produced and certified fixed-gear single engine aircraft in the world. The aircraft recently received type certification and is already being delivered to customers.

Upcoming TTx units will be equipped with flight into known icing (FIKI) DE-icing systems .This proven DE-icing technology extends the mission capabilities of the TTx.

The first production flight of the Jet-A fueled Turbo Sky lane JT-A took place in May 2013,and it has since logged almost 200 hours.

Diesel Sky hawk Conversion Project

Redbird announced a new initiative to convert Cessna Sky hawks to diesel power using Continentals 135-hp Centurion 2.0 .The project is called Red hawk and is aimed at the training market as an alternative to conventional avgas fueled trainers.

The target price is under $ 200000 .According to EAA Chairman Jack Pelton who flew Red hawk 1 at the show, the diesels overall operating costs would be about 15% less than the equivalent gasoline engine.

Pelton called this significant and one likely to have extensive market impact, particularly in parts of the world where av gas or any aviation fuel other than Jet A is unavailable.

Another Fuel Alternative

With the continuing rise in the price of av gas and the escalating cost of pilot training ( in part due to fuel costs) ,as well as the issues of lead emissions ,there may be a viable alternative on the horizon.

Aviat Aircraft introduced a 180-hp Husky that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) .This duel fuel hybrid is the first piston-powered aircraft that the pilot can switch from av gas to CNG with the flick of a switch and a throttle adjustment.

The advantages are huge: CNG is cleaner, it’s 138 octane, and costs less than a dollar for the equivalent of one gallon of 100LL.

The Aviat Husky CNG, flew more than 1000 miles from Aviats headquarters in Afton,Wyo., to be at Air Venture.It is a standard Aviat Husky A1-c that has been fitted with a CNG fuel tank in addition to its standard fuel tanks.

The aircraft is powered by a 200 hp, four cylinder Ly coming aircraft engine with a cruise speed of 143 mph.The flight endurance at 65% power setting is approximately seven hours.

Cirrus Delivers in 2015

Cirrus president Pat Waddick ,announced that the first customer deliveries of the SF50 Vision Jet will occur before the end of 2015.He cites new technologies such as the massive fuselage lay-up moulds ,an autoclave oven, a robotic seven-axis trim and drill station ,and more for increase in production activates.

Cirrus also announced the selection of the SR22 as the pilot training aircraft for the Royal Saudi Air Force. Saudi Arabia is the third national air force to select the SR series aircraft as trainers.

Shakedown at Ashkosh

In April, mandated Federal budget cuts which included grounding military participation in most air shows went into effect. The FAA announced that it expected to save $25-million from closing 149 towers because they would not be staffed with air-traffic controllers.

In May, the FAA demanded the EAA sign a contract and make a payment of $ 447924, in two parts -half immediately, and the balance one week after the event, to cover the cost of salaries for 80 controllers, transportation, and etc.Failure to pay would result in the FAA not providing ATC services.

“We have consistently regarded the FAAs move as holding Air Venture and GA hostage this year,” said Jack Pelton ,the EAACs chairman .”This affects Air Venture and numerous other aviation events throughout the nation in an unauthorized and unjustified manner. That is why we are seeking review, and relief, from the court.

“The EAA had no choice, but to pay the ‘ransom.’ Diminished or cancelled ATC services, would threaten safety.

“During the event and the arrival and departure periods, Wittman Regional Airport, becomes the world’s busiest airport. It would be irresponsible and an unacceptable risk to attempt to hold Air Venture without full appropriate ATC support,” Pelton concluded.

Cancelling the event would probably be fatal for the organization.

Anthony A Juma is the Editor and Director Commercial & Flights Operations at Wings Over Africa Aviation Limited. This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Private Charter Flights into Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/flight-news.html

Anthony A Juma is the Editor and Director Commercial & Flights Operations at Wings Over Africa Aviation Limited. This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Private Charter Flights into Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/flight-news.html

Author Bio: Anthony A Juma is the Editor and Director Commercial & Flights Operations at Wings Over Africa Aviation Limited. This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Private Charter Flights into Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/flight-news.html

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