bushpilot

China hurts Cessna Skycatcher Seems that the decision by Cessna to build the Skycatcher in China has lost them some ground. The following is an industry report from last month - and now Cessna have closed their controversial blog - stopping comments being posted on that decision: Cessna Defends Its China Choice On SkyCatcher Blog Mon, 07 Jan '08 Commenters Aren't Buying It... Or, Apparently, The Plane Criticism of Cessna's choice to build the upcoming SkyCatcher LSA in China has grown steadily since the American planemaker announced its decision in December. The company's VP of Marketing, Tom Aniello, responded to those grumblings in a posting last month on the Cessna SkyCatcher blog... acknowledging the debate many of us have heard around pilot lounges, aviation events, and on the pages of several publications. Not surprisingly, Aniello defends the decision -- and stresses the Model 162 will be a true-blue Cessna, despite the "Made In China" label. "Much of the feedback we heard was emotionally charged... However, a great many remarks appeared to be based on incomplete or inaccurate information," Aniello asserts. "We thought you might appreciate some additional insight into Cessna's business decision..." The rest of the posting lays out the 50-plus-year track record of Shenyang Aircraft Company in producing both complete aircraft, and also components for companies including Boeing, Airbus, and Bombardier, and discusses at length the economic forces at work in today's global economy. Aniello closes with assurances that the SkyCatcher will truly be a Cessna, fully backed by Cessna. One month later, most of the 213 responses (at this writing) have been from people who aren't buying the company's arguments -- and say they'll never buy a "Chessna," or any other plane assembled in China. A few, more pragmatic responses acknowledge Cessna's compelling financial reasons for doing so... but still lament the company's decision. The new Skycatcher webpage (replacing their blog) is: www.cessnaskycatcher.com/home/124.html

Hey John - Very helpful article! Thanks. Cheers Chris

Thanks Brent, Will go dig through the POH. I should have said - with my tail wind landings they are ALWAYS uphill. The slope is about 1 in 20 (5%). Your observation on the 2 Cheyennes landing is consistent with my experience. That is - if the wind is blowing up the strip (and up the hill) at 10kts, and I approach over the trees (down the hill and into the wind) and dive it in, I am chasing the slope all the way and getting ground affect. Yet if I go around and then land downwind and up the slope, I come in heaps fast (ground speed) but it cuts through the ground affect quickly and pulls up relatively quickly, due to the uphill roll. So I guess that would also ease the punishment of the brakes. Cheers, Chris

Guys, I use my 700m strip mainly as a one-way, as there are tall gum trees at one end.. It also has a slope - downhill away from the trees. This means that I often land with a tailwind, and sometimes take-off with a tailwind. So I have some Qs for the more learned of you out there: How do I calculate the affect of tailwind on take-off? i.e. the increased TO roll with say a 10kt tailwind? (I have a wind-speed meter) Likewise the increase in landing roll when landing tail? Is there a limit on ground speed at the point of touch-down? i.e. If I land a Jabiru at IAS 60kts, with 10kts of tail, then ground speed is 70kts; are there any issues with wheels, etc. in contacting the ground at higher than 'normal' speed? How do a I calculate the affect of the slope on roll - I know the slope % - on TO down the slope and landing up it? Thanks, Chris

Nice mix of experience Damo.. I also did PPL first, then years of hanggliding, then triking... and now moving back to 3-axis, but still going to keep the trike - for fun. You will get a lot of useful info and feedback from this Forum; so welcome aboard! Cheers, Chris

Not without an assessment and sign-off by engineer at Jabiru - for which they charge; even for a single instrument being added. Something to do with their certification. And as for "superfluous instruments", I'm wondering how superfluous an Artificial Horizon is going to be if you accidentally end up in cloud or fog and have to climb through it.. Illegal if VFR, I know, but I'd rather have a chance of survival....which an AH and some basic training on instruments will provide. Cheers Chris

Your more than welcome Glenn. Best to call ahead for weather check tho... Look forward to your reports on the new toy.. Cheers Chris

Hey Snooky - Well done! Look forward to reading your reports. Ive also been talking with them for a few weeks; the main limitation is the no-options thing; they wont even allow additional instruments - like AH or whatever - saying it has to do with cost containment and certification. So I'm still undecided.. What experience have you had flying Jabs? Did you consider any other a/c? Cheers Chris

Yen - The critical Q here is: How long is that strip???

Hi Ross, Is your Garmin296 mount one of the swivel types? :- http://www.airgizmos.com/prod/pd7/index.asp Are you going to have an Artificial Horizon? It's all looking good! Cheers, Chris

A long time between drinks..:)

Anyone know when the next Recreational Aviation Australia magazine is due? The last issue covers Dec/Jan, so I'm assuming sometime in Feb.

And, suggest you read this related thread: http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6817

Thanks to Mike Ralph (and, indirectly, Doug) for causing, then enhancing this thread - by completing the 'story'. Many lessons for us all.. It was this article that caused me to think that I cannot do without an AH in the 3-axis a/c that I am planning to buy. This is surely the main advantage that flows from sharing real experiences and knowledge with others in the fraternity. Cheers, Chris

I found this comment re Garmin 296 on another forum. Anyone care to comment if it overly ambitious to say this?: "One useful feature of the 296 is the panel page. A friend of mine (ex navy pilot) and I have found we can fly IFR very comfortably and safely on this page, probably due to the 5/sec update with WAAS. Given the long battery life the unit has (it really is long) this is a great back up even if everything in your airplane quits."

Geez Brent, that Cirrus is full-on! Your Jab dash looks very user friendly also... So, bottom line, that TruTrak could be used in lieu of a regular AH, right? Txs Chris

Brent C: Is this it?? TruTrak Pictorial Turn & Bank 3 1/8" $545.00 $530.00 On Sale! In contrast to the turn coordinator, the Pictorial Turn & Bank provides a display that agrees with the artificial horizon, and likewise the real horizon. The dynamic performance of this display is equal to that of an artificial horizon. 12-28 volts 2-1/4" Dimensions - 2.5â€ÂH x 2.5â€ÂW x 3.5â€ÂD 3-1/8" Dimensions - 3.4â€ÂH x 3.4â€ÂW x 3.6â€ÂD Weight- 6 oz

Thanks Mike - That publication is a good read. Wow, Ozzie - yet another sweaty palms story from you! But some great lessons there. And, Brent C. - solid advice as usual. Thanks all. Guys (or others) -a Q for you: Some people tell me that the instruments function on the Garmin 296 GPS includes reasonably effective AH and VSI - enough for 'emergency support'. Do you have a view on this? Brent - Can you tell more about the TruTrak Graphical electric turn coordinator?: What is it actually and where did you get yours. Not much on the Web. Thanks, Chris

I think there can be different levels of airpark facility - with the 'top' level having many of the services mentioned by the previous posts, down to a more basic level - with: * Grass taxi-ways and strip * Taxi access to each house block i.e. all blocks with airstrip frontage * Housing blocks of minimum 1500sq metres, providing space for individual hangers * Shared refuelling facility * Space for visiting a/c parking And not much else. By keeping infrastructure to a minimum, it should be possible to do this type of development, with say 20 building blocks for a premium of only 50% or so over a similar residential development, without a shared airfield. [20 blocks at 1500sq m = 30,000sq m total + 16,000 sq m for airfield (800m x 20m) ]. The infrastructure costs for the building blocks - drainage, water, power, etc., should be about the same as the grass airstrip infrastructure - surface improvement/ compaction, drainage, etc.

I'm interested in this 'death spiral' scenario.. That is, is an Artificial Horizon likely to be helpful at all for a VFR pilot that inadvertantly or unavoidably ends up in cloud? We are told that the senses are confused once we loose sight of the real horizon reference point - and we will likely ignore the A-H. Is this actual? Are there people out there (on this Forum) who have had the experience? Cheers, Chris

I did the same; must have sold a few extra copies of current issue of AF! The thing that was interesting to me was the differences in the versions of the situation as it unfolded, given by the directly and indirectly involved parties. A credit to the compiler of the article that it was presented factually - and just shows how we can change our interpretation of an event, once we start to reflect on it.. It must make accident investigation very difficult.

I figure that "Light Sport Aircraft/Aviation" is the simplest - and fits logically with "General Aviation". So to the unitiated we can talk "Light Sport", just as we spell out "General Aviation" when talking about our big brothers... to the unitiated. It's a bit like "sedan cars" and "sports cars"; one is for 'function', the other is for 'fun'....

Geez - That doesnt sound the best look in the business!:;)2: You'd reckon AvMap would do a bit better than that.. Maybe I should go look at the Lowrance 2000! (Good reviews and viewable in direct sunlight - They say..) http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Aviation/AirMap-2000C/

Does anyone out there have an AvMap installed in a Jabiru? The Jab. factory has told me that they dont think there would be enough room to mount an AvMap on a bracket....

Thanks to all. This is what makes this forum so powerful. People helping others with a common interest. Cheers, Chris