Airventure

.opens today! Many aircraft have already flown in over the weekend. Most every type of general aviation aircraft, both past and present will be there along with some military a/c. Up to 10,000 planes. I'll be there along with 500,000 aviation fans. It'll be interesting to see how an Airbus A380 takes off from a 6,700 foot runway on a hot summers day.

To see live action camera feed of aircraft arriving check out this link. For this week, Oshkosh has the distinction of the busiest control tower in the world. To manage the non stop activity, there is a 32 page NOTAM to guide the pilots.

I'll post photos later this week. General Aviation's biggest event!

The Wright Stuff

Not to be confused with The Right Stuff.

Experimental Aircraft are still quite good. Technology evolves, standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before if you will. While Electric planes have limitations and the occasional dabbling of the mad scientist, they are positively space age when compared to these:

heigh

What would you least want to be around when it was fired up for the first time? Flapping Wing Thing; Demon Combine, Bouncing Umbrella or Rocketman?

We've come a very long way.

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Electric planes. They were the domain of RC models. Recently, there's been a number of full size prototype planes taking to the air. With increasing environmentalism and the skyrocketing costs of Avgas it was bound to happen. They're quiet and have less vibration. The downside: Sketchy power, slow speed, limited payload and range. All the things that matter to pilots.

I did a brief rundown since some of these will be prominently featured at Airventure in Oshkosh, WI. I'll be there next week. Coincidentally, I was drafting this missive as the lastest issue of Smithsonian's Air and Space Magazine arrived, also featuring electric planes. They trace the history and recent developments quite well.

During my search for more information, I tried to understand why money and effort were chasing this technology. A good deal of interest, from eccentric inventors all the way to to well funded research teams. The more prevalent are the plug (in) and play types such as the Chinese Yuneec: A twin seat, single engine light sport plane that charges in three hours and runs for two and half hours at a price of $89,000.



The Electraflyer is a motoglider with a battery pack. Cruise speed at about 70 mph with a top speed of about 90. The plane will fly between 1.5 and 2 hours before it needs a recharge. The Italians recently launched the SkySpark with the initial flight video here. Ultralights also get into the act. The more recent entry includes the E-Spyder with a breathtaking speed of 55mph and time aloft at 40 minutes. This is fine if you want to take see what the airport looks like at 500 feet but where else could you go?

Then there's the self powered ones. More exotic than a plane that runs on batteries. The Solar Impulse has a gigantic wingspan of 200 feet and 650 square feet of photovoltaic cells. Even with the plane’s four motors it can only achieve an average speed of around 43 mph. The wingspan is as wide as an Airbus 380 which is the only way it can stay stay in the air at that speed. The "glider like" Sunseeker also uses solar cells. I was especailly intrigued by the German built Antares DLR-H2 . The power to the motor is provided by a fuel cell, hanging under the left wing, fed by hydrogen fuel from a tank under the right wing. The fuel cell converts hydrogen directly into electricity using an electrochemical reaction with oxygen in the atmosphere.

So why bother? Presently, these planes seem underpowered and from a safety standpoint, how do you make a "go -around" at the last minute? An emergency application of power to help preclude an accidental stall? How much utility do they offer?

Not much.

For now it's like a hybrid car. Like many Prius drivers on the road today, you really can't justify the cost. You fly it for it's own sake. Someday the technology will improve and fuel will only get more expensive. Only a quantum leap in power and energy storage will make it commercially viable. I expect it will happen around the same time everyone is driving a fully electric car.

Grissom AFB

A cold front came through leaving in it’s wake gusty winds and an Airmet for moderate turbulence, the kind that can bounce you around during a cross country. There was no pressing need to make today’s flight. DUATS and a call to the flight service station gave indications that the flight should be scrubbed. A reasoned decision was made and before long, the plane was pointed to Grissom Air Force Base. Grissom was recently opened to the public at specific hours and was at the opposite end of three Military Operations Areas. (MOA).

Travelling above the heartland, I’m impressed how farmland spreads pretty much in all directions as far as the eye can see, at least once out of the Chicago area past the class B airspace. The upside to the monotony? In the event of an emergency, there were lots of options.



Grissom AFB was initially established as a Naval Air station for training (including the famous ball player Ted Williams). It later saw duty as an air base for the 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron equipped with the F106 Delta Dart. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) took control in 1957 and it became home to the 305th Bombardment Wing. During the cold war it hosted the B-47 Stratojet and later the more famous and sleek jet bomber, the B-58 Hustler. An F101 Voodoo was also featured. Interesting that it was equipped with only two missiles-no guns. The Air Genie air to air missile was an unguided nuclear missile designed to take down a Soviet nuclear armed plane. All it had to do was get close. Strange by today's standards. Taking down an adversary plane with nuclear weapons. I hope that time has forever passed. The AFB is still known as the 305th but with the dissolution of the SAC, it became a refueling wing in 1970 as it remains today.

You can see some of the Air Force all time greats (and a few ugly ones like the T-37 tweety) if you make the ten minute walk to the museum. Highly recommended. If you don’t love history, you’ll still love the planes. When it comes to general aviation, it’s the journey. This time the destination was as good as the trip.

Update:

Not many veterans have flown both the F-4 and 0-2 in combat. Those intrepid few had these aircraft in which to fight. You can see the pylons for the "willie pete" under the Skymaster's wings.

Lighten Up

Buzzing the neighbor's house: You might get a reprimand from the FAA. You might also get your plane plenty perforated. Flying in Thomson, Georgia could be as hazardous as forward air control duty in Vietnam.

Outside, at least one of the men accosted the aircraft and its pilot, reportedly threatening to shoot down the plane if it flew over homes that low again.

Must be a new dimension in Southern hospitality.



I'm thinking legal altitudes will increase longevity in Georgia. Either that, or a really fast plane.

"Vroom" with a View

What to do with the pesky 727's you have laying around the yard? Well, you could get them airworthy and fly 'em. John Travolta owns and flys a 707.

But there is another option: Turn them into living quarters. No longer do you need to get a second mortgage to cover the plane and the house. The plane is the house. In this photo, part of the hotel in Costa Rica.





Those on a budget can still live in high flying style. Joanne Ussary of Mississippi spent $2,000 for the plane, $4,000 to move, and $24,000 to renovate. The stairs open with a garage door remote, and one of the bathrooms is still intact.

There's even a jacuzzi us in the cockpit. Complete with control yokes. Bag of peanuts and coke are optional.

Trees vs. Planes

I like trees for many reasons. Running a plane into it's branches isn't one of them. So it's important to make sure that the glide path is clear of obstacles , right? Not everyone thinks so. This protest can't last forever.

Man's son returns to tree in protest against airport

I do sympathize with this family's desire to keep a part of their history. It's not typical. The usual problem facing many smaller airports these days is urban encroachment. Airports that start in rural areas have now been subject to ever expanding housing developments. Folks move right next to the field then they begin complaining about noise , traffic flow and in some situations seeking the closure of the fields. According the AOPA, one every week over twenty years.

The continuing loss of public-use airports — one per week for over 20 years — is an obvious threat to general aviation. Most closures result from urban/surburban encroachment, unbridled land development, and a community's lack of political will to save the local airport.

I guess I'm also unusual in that I would consider moving closer to the airport or better still live in an airport community, the kind where you taxi the plane out of the family hangar attached to the house? With trees. Away from the runway.