Jet-Powered Aerostar Debuts

Seems people just can't resist modifying the Piper Aerostar. The last couple of years, we've seen the Speedstar single-engine turboprop development at Oshkosh:

And now, it seems a twin-jet version has arrived. Here's video of it's first flight:



And here's a shot of it on display at Oshkosh:

American is Getting A320s...and an Opportunity to Evolve the Livery

It was announced a few hours ago that American Airlines is ordering at least 260 A320-series aircraft. Deliveries will begin in 2013. Now more than ever, the airline should be thinking hard about updating it's livery.

Here is an examples of how the present livery will look on an Airbus fleet:

Aviation-Design.Net:

Design © mikephotos
Template © mikephotos

It's not that the current livery is bad or outdated from a design standpoint...it's that a livery based on polished aluminum is most suited to aircraft that are built primarily from that material. As more aircraft types integrate composite materials in their construction, the attractiveness of polished aluminum quickly becomes overshadowed by the painted gray composite panels surrounding it.

This much is certain - American's livery is changing whether they want it to or not. If they continue to do nothing, it will continue to evolve into a drab and unattractive mishmash of various dull gray and white paints. If, however, they become proactive and update their livery now, they will strengthen their brand in both the short and long term.

There's no shortage of opportunity, American. The time is right to evolve the brand. Eagle's E-jets are already a nightmare of painted whites and grays with no visible aluminum whatsoever...let's make sure that look doesn't continue to infest the mainline brand.


Aviation-Design.Net:

Design © Almaden
Template © Almaden


Aviation-Design.Net:

Design © Ryan Powers
Template © Ryan Powers


Aviation-Design.Net:

Design © Yves Mayer
Template © Yves Mayer


Aviation-Design.Net:

Design © Yves Mayer
Template © Yves Mayer


Aviation-Design.Net:

Design © Ryan Powers
Template © Ryan Powers


Aviation-Design.Net:

Design © R P Abraham
Template © R P Abraham

Gulfstream Declares War on Aircraft Recognition

In what appears to be an outright declaration of war on consistency and straightforward aircraft recognition, Gulfstream has yet again renamed the IAI Galaxy. In an attempt to enhance "cultural sensitivity", and despite remaining unchanged, the G250 will henceforth be known as the G280:

Although no mechanical modifications have been mentioned, weight and balance restrictions are sure to be introduced as the dataplate continues to grow and shift the CG rearward:

Cockpit Photography

Photographing cockpits and instrument panels can be pretty challenging. All too often, the light coming through the windows is overpowering, and the top half of the image becomes blown-out, like this:

I was sure this shot was going to be rejected by the Airliners.net screeners, but perhaps because they understand the challenges in shooting cockpits, they accepted it into the database. The shot has always bothered me, though, since everything above and to the side of the glareshield is invisible. I would have greatly preferred to frame the panel with a blue sky background.

So, for a subsequent photo shoot, I decided to try a different technique. 

This time, rather than expose the shot for the panel, I exposed it for the sky and scenery beyond. I did this by setting my camera to 'Auto', aiming it through the front windscreen just above the panel, depressing the shutter release halfway, and making a note of the suggested shutter and aperture settings.

Then, switching to 'Manual', I duplicated those suggested settings.

At this point, if I were to snap a shot of the panel, the sky/scenery beyond would look great, but the panel itself would be far too dark. So I activated the flash to illuminate the panel.

Here, we see the Waco RPT cockpit using my old technique:

...and here, we see the same view using the new technique:

A big improvement, to be sure. And I was using only the basic, built-in flash on the D90. A nice ring flash would make an even bigger difference.

New USAF Designation - Cirrus T-53A

Heads up, NIFA competitors...there's a new USAF aircraft to study. The Cirrus T-53A:

As Flying Magazine reports, the USAF Academy will start taking delivery of 25 aircraft this summer, and deliveries will continue through 2012.

USA Today Does it Again

It's always been apparent that USA Today's primary motivation when covering aviation-related stories is fear mongering and sensationalism. Today's coverage of a plane crash in California demonstrates that their reporters don't even let official sources stand in the way of a sensationalist headline:

USA Today - Your coverage and your reporters are a shameful embarrassment to the journalism community.

Starships For Sale

If you're in the market for a Beechcraft Starship, you're in luck - two of the five in active service are presently on the market.

The first, N8285Q/NC-50, is listed for $1,400,000 in Washington state. The airframe has 2695 hours, and the seller points out that the "jet quiet" cabin is a third larger than a King Air 350 at 2/3 the price.

The second, N8244L/NC-29, is listed for $1,600,000 in Oklahoma City. It was a marketing plane for Beechcraft that was featured on many magazine covers stories and in many articles. It is the only Starship with the original factory N number. The airframe has a higher total time (3985 hours), but you won't care, because included in the sale is NC-43, a parts aircraft sans engines.

But wait - there's more!

The seller is also including "plenty of tires" and a third set of props. He/she also points out that Starfleetsupport.com has parts and support available to Starship owners.

If you love the Starship but can't quite swing the cash for one of these examples, be sure to explore Bob Scherer's site. There, you can find downloadable flight manuals, parts catalogs, wiring diagrams, and all kinds of historical information.

I also recommend picking up a copy of The Starship Diaries, by Dallas Kachan. It's a fictional account of a very successful Silicon Valley resident who purchases a Starship and then "slowly meanders around the planet with no fixed route, and no fixed return date."

Study: Fast Food Enhances Pilot Performance

In what appears to be a link between our nations fast-food addiction and our aviation safety record that is second to none, unhealthy foods have been shown to enhance pilot performance.

As reported by Ultra Fitness Dynamics, a University of North Dakota study has shown that "commercial airline pilots who ate a diet that was high in fat or carbohydrates performed significantly better on a flight simulator than did pilots who ate a diet high in protein."

The report went on to describe that cognitive function and sleep were also enhanced with such a diet.

The implications are clear - when you board your next flight, you want to see your pilots straining their waistbands, smacking their lips, and covered in grease.

And while no operator-specific correlations have been linked to the study, the Yum! Brands senior management team can likely rest assured that they are in good hands:

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © James Richard Covington

Royal Navy Dubs New King-Air Trainers "Avenger"

Having retired their 30+ year-old Jetstreams, the Royal Navy will soon be taking delivery of their replacement - converted Beechcraft King Air 350ERs:

What's interesting about these aircraft from a NIFA/Aircraft Rec perspective is their name. Soon, a King-Air 350ER in Royal Navy colors will be an "Avenger".

Aviation Coverage in the Media

Oh, US media...when will you learn to check your facts when covering aviation stories?

Another example, this time from Fox News:

The media's lack of attention to detail is not limited to aircraft identification. It seems that every time a 737, A320, or regional jet has an issue in the air, the media soon starts talking about how the aircraft in question is dumping fuel. A capability, of course, that the aforementioned aircraft models lack. And it's not uncommon to witness a reporter bash corporate aviation, claiming that corporate pilots are "less experienced" and undergo less training than their airline counterparts.

I never notice this level of blatant disregard for accuracy in non-aviation coverage. But in the world of aviation, it seems that the opportunity for quick sensationalism trumps the opportunity for disciplined reporting.

The problem is not that reporters speculate, sometimes incorrectly, at the content of aviation-related news. Speculation can be constructive. The problem occurs when reporters either present this speculation as fact, or fail to specify that it is, in fact, speculation.


Example:

An airplane crashes. You're the reporter. You vaguely remember hearing your neighbor's stepcousin-in-law mention that this particular airline flies Airbus L-1011 aircraft.

Which do you report?

A) An airplane has crashed
B) An Airbus L-1011 has crashed

Far too often, reporters choose the equivalent of B and either present it as fact or fail to clearly specify that it is speculation.

That is the problem with the media. It amounts to a severe lack of discipline and professionalism. Qualities that, in most other professions, would justifiably lead to termination.

History - Tupolev TB-1 Lands in Dearborn, Michigan

It's amazing what one can find in forgotten boxes in the attic. During a recent move, I uncovered this framed news clipping, given to me by a relative:

As the Milwaukee Sentinel reported on October 29, 1929:


The four flyers of the Russian plane, "Land of the Soviets", were greeted Monday by Henry Ford after their arrival from Chicago at the Ford Airport at Dearborn. The automobile manufacturer congratulated them on their achievement in conquering the storms of the northern Pacific ocean and placed the facilities of his airport at their disposal.


The Soviet airmen were guests of the engineering department of the Ford Motor Company at a luncheon in the engineering laboratories.


Monday it was announced they would continue the tourney to New York Wednesday morning. Meanwhile they will be feted by various Slavish organizations of Detroit. They will be presented with ten farm tractors which will be shipped to Russia to be used in cultivating the soil of the soviet union.


More than 5,000 persons were at the airport when the plane arrived.

Cessna T-128T Caravan

It seems there could be a new military designation for the Cessna Caravan. Flightglobal reported that Cessna has won a USAF counter-insurgency contract for six Cessna T-128T and 26 Cessna 208B Caravans to be delivered the Afghanistan air force.

While the designation may be new, military Caravans certainly are not:

(images courtesy USAF)