Investigation Report released

Today the swiss BFU (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) released the Investigation Report concerning the accident to the aircraft Piper PA-46-350P approaching the airport Samedan (Swiss), D-EMDB on 7 April 2004.

read the Report

ADIZ Twist in PA-46 Crash

Pilot chat rooms are lighting up with speculation over the involvement of an apparent ADIZ violation in the crash of a Piper PA-46 near Tipton Airport in Maryland that killed two people last Thursday. The airplane appears to be a JetProp conversion, although the FAA registry lists it as a piston-powered Malibu. So far, the authorities are only saying that the aircraft, owned by Daniel L. Eberhardt, the CEO of a plastic recycling company in Illinois, crashed shortly after takeoff and burned in a wooded area near the airport. However, the recording of an exchange between the pilot of the aircraft and air traffic control indicates the aircraft had been ordered to land "immediately" after allegedly violating the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Tipton has a 3,000-foot runway that was once an army airfield. It is well within the ADIZ and is bordered by part of Fort Meade, the National Security Agency and a wildlife refuge. The federal government closed the airport in 1995 but it was transferred to local authorities and reopened in 1999. According to The Baltimore Sun, the airport has become a popular GA destination for people doing business in the Washington area.

ADIZ Violation Warning Preceded Crash

On the ATC recording, which was obtained from LiveATC.net, a pilot using the registration number (N9130N) of the accident airplane asks for an in-flight IFR clearance. The controller responds by asking the pilot if his transponder is set to 1200, to which the pilot replies in the affirmative. "You're violating the ADIZ, you need to land at Tipton immediately," the controller says. All aircraft operating in the ADIZ are required to transmit a discrete transponder code, which is obtained either before takeoff or when getting clearance into the zone. Under the FAA's zero-tolerance policy for ADIZ violations, the pilot was facing disciplinary action of some sort for the error but the controller offered some hope that all that unpleasantness might be avoided. The detailed investigation of the accident is almost certain to probe whether the pilot, in reaching for that dangled carrot, lost control of the aircraft.
Tipton has a 3,000-foot runway that was once an army airfield. It is well within the ADIZ and is bordered by part of Fort Meade, the National Security Agency and a wildlife refuge. The federal government closed the airport in 1995 but it was transferred to local authorities and reopened in 1999. According to The Baltimore Sun, the airport has become a popular GA destination for people doing business in the Washington area.

Plane lands in wrong city

Seville instead of Santiago de Compostela

Two city trips for the price of one - that's what Spanair's passengers got - without asking.

One of Spanair's pilots lost his way on a domestic flight and took his passengers to the wrong city. The plane did not fly from Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela in the north-west of Spain as scheduled, but to Seville in the south. The distance between the two cities is some 700 km.

According to press reports on Tuesday, the Airline put the mistake down to the fact that the Swedish crew had mixed up the airports' abbreviations. Santiago has the code SCQ, while Seville is SVQ. Spanair had leased the aircraft and its crew from its partner Nordic Airways.

The inability of the crew to speak Spanish had apparently added to the confusion. The 95 passengers were somewhat surprised when they landed. Some of them had already been iritated by the plane's route in westerly direction, out of Barcelona and over the Mediterranean. As soon as the mistake had been cleared up, the plane flew the travellers from Seville to their destination in Santiago.

INVITATION
2. European Meeting of JetProp enthusiasts
as well as
this year's European Technical Fly-In for all Malibu-, Meridian and JetProp owners powered by Smets Aviation Service, featuring Mr. Darwin Conrad, CEO of JetProp

Dear Malibu-Mirage members and JetProp friends,

Following in our tradition of organising an annual meeting of current and potential PA46 enthusiasts and last year's very successful meeting at Piloten-Service RIEGER we are pleased to announce that we have been invited by Smets Aviation Service to hold this year's European Technical Fly-In on their premises in Genk EBZW Belgium.

The meeting will take place in Genk from Friday, 12th May (arriving EBZW 13:00)
to Saturday, 13th May with an option to stay until Sunday, 14th May 2006

Of particular interest this year will be a number of presentations and practical display tips at Smets Aviation Service and the chance to meet Mr Darwin Conrad, the CEO of JetProp who is coming specially to give a talk and answer any questions concerning JetProp and JetProp conversions.

The program has yet to be finalized, but you will receive a copy as soon as it becomes available together with the registration booking form.

We will be making hotel arrangements for you and look forward to the chance of spending an evening or two together sharing experiences over an excellent Belgian dinner with a glass of fine wine (or one of the hundreds of Belgian beers available)!

We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to our Technical Fly-In.

With best wishes

Malibu-Mirage Interest Group
On behalf of the committee

Wilhelm Schröer

Aircraft window breaks – Emergency landing in Bozen
by Wilhelm Schröer

Udo Illig’s return flight home from Venice to Schwäbisch Hall ended unexpectedly on Friday morning with an emergency landing in Bozen after one of the windows of his Piper PA46 plane broke at six thousand metres.

“At 18,000 feet the window on my side of the aircraft suddenly broke and I was sitting in the open air,” the pilot told Südtirol Online. Illig immediately requested permission to make an emergency landing at Bozen Airport, where preparations were immediately instigated.

“It was minus 20° C at that altitude. That is really cold, extremely loud and you can hardly talk. I was just pleased that there was an airport in the vicinity”, said the pilot describing the situation. In his opinion the breakage was probably due to a fault in the manufacturer’s material.

The pilot and his passenger were not hurt. The Bozen Fire Brigade were at the scene. The cause of the break in the window has yet to be established.

Source: Südtirol Online-Nachrichten

Thielert conversion for the PA46, Yes or No?
by Wilhelm Schröer

Dear Malibu-Mirage friends,

It is a somewhat heated discussion and thoroughly emotional: Thielert conversion for the PA46 –yes or no?

Would it be technically possible? If so, would it make economic sense? Would there be a market for such a project?

We have been discussing this question in the committee since the end of 2000 –regularly there have been new initiatives and updates –and recently at the Straubing brunch we were able to have detailed discussions with representatives of Thielert, Rieger and Mühlbauer. In the meantime we have received insider information to the effect that JetProp is looking into the feasibility of the project and has even visited the Thielert factory. The momentary situation is as follows: Thielert themselves will NOT support a PA46 project financially, though they will supply engines and development services against payment.

The principle is here quite clear: Thielert is a supplier of engines and regards itself as market leader, due to the lack of competition. If you want to be supplied by Thielert, you have to pay in full. They don’t see the need for investing money up front.

Rieger and Mühlbauer HAVE looked at the financial question: A simple feasibility study which would deal with the necessary questions like effect on performance, construction changes etc. would cost around EUR 50,000. This sum would have to be invested before the project could start. Currently no-one is prepared to invest this money free of charge. Once feasibility has been established, a complete STC procedure would cost some EUR 500,000 providing that a plane is made available for about a year for the initial conversion. The total costs for a Thielert conversion together with the costs for the engine, cooling system, propeller and spare parts etc. would amount to some EUR 150,000 –200,000, IF it works and isn’t too heavy.

However, we don’t have the facts. While the 310 HP Thielert Engine has already completed a number of rounds in the Duke, we are still waiting for the 350 HP engine. In both cases practical experience is effectively zero.

There are still questions to be answered concerning the various cooling systems, of which there are no fewer than eight. And there are unanswered questions concerning the incorporation of the compressors for the pressure cabin and the air-conditioning.

Thielert’s basic engine weighs approx. 275 kg (a comparable Continental weighs in at approx. 220 kg), but JetProp is working on the assumption that a fully configured Thielert engine will in the end weigh in between 350 and 400 kg –which is absolutely out of the the question. According to the JetProp calculations this would mean going without the entire storage room.

On top of all this there are the unresolved issues of performance at higher altitudes, re-ignition at higher altitudes and the heat resistance of the engine.

We have heard from reliable sources that there were considerable problems with the cooling system in the Duke project, besides the generally poor performance. On account of the high revs, this topic has already become a permanent concern with the turbo-diesels.

We have now agreed to carefully follow the progress of the Duke project and wait and see what happens there.

The committee recommends not paying twice to learn the same lessons. As far as we can tell there are too many problems for a Malibu conversion. In particular, the question of weight appears to be critical.

We plan to give you more information during next year’s fly-in. In the meantime we would be grateful for any contributions on this topic and would like to hear your views, which you can air on our Forum.

INVITATION to BRUNCH on Saturday, 22nd October, 2005 at Piloten-Service Robert Rieger GmbH
from Wilhelm Schröer

Dear Malibu-Mirage members and friends,

Following in what is now almost a tradition, we are organising once again a meeting of current and potential PA46 enthusiasts.

This meeting will be taking place on the premises of the company Piloten-Service RIEGER, for whose support we are grateful.

Place and time: STRAUBING, at RIEGER on Saturday, 22nd October, 2005 from 11 am.

The Rieger experts will be exclusively available to us throughout the day for discussions.

In addition the companies MT - Propeller Mühlbauer and Avionik Straubing have agreed to support this event.

There will be a wide range of news and facts as well as innovations in accessories and equipment and there will be a number of presentations and practical display tips.

Appropriate catering will, of course, be provided and there will be numerous PA46s on show, from the Malibu to the Mirages to the turbines.

To assist with planning and preparation, please reply by fax using the attached form by 15th October, 2005.

We look forward to spending a pleasant day with you and remain

With best wishes

Malibu-Mirage Interest Group
On behalf of the committee

Wilhelm Schröer

Problems at HP Aircraft?

TT62 still not airborne.

It was to be one of the most ambitious German aviation projects: HP Aircraft’s TT62. But the problems seem to be more serious than at first supposed. Since its first flight the pressurised cabin twin hasn’t been back in the air. In the meantime the originally targeted price has practically doubled.

The experts agreed: To build a twin-engined plane with a pressurised cabin and two new diesel-V8s that had never before been used in an aircraft and the whole thing driven by engines located at the back of the plane was, in a new construction, a recipe for technical disaster. In addition, the five-seater was going to be fast, economical and cheap.

Now it seems that the critics were right from the start. HP Aircraft in Usedom had wanted too much at once: The first test flight was disappointing and the expected performance data were nowhere nearly achieved. On top of this there were problems with the cooling system, the aerodynamics and the handling. Although the company under the new leadership of CEO Klaus Götsch appeared optimistic at the AERO about getting the problems under control and reassuring aviation enthusiasts and private investors, there are now clear signs of a crisis: The TT62 hasn’t been off the ground since its first 15-minute flight six months ago. The official sales price has risen from the original 450,000 EUR plus VAT to 750,000 EUR plus VAT. Experts expect even this price to rise further and believe a 7-figure number to be more realistic. Commenting on this, TT62 constructor Christian Majunke admitted that a second proof-of-concept prototype was not being built at the moment as the numerous weaknesses which had become apparent in the prototypes had to be analysed and dealt with.

Now it seems that HP Aircraft are paying the price of former promises and boasts that the TT62 would cause no more and no less than a “revolution” in the aviation world. Time alone will tell whether it will be possible to keep to 2007 as the declared start of production and whether the EASA licensing will be complete by that date. As things stand, it is not possible to order the TT62 at the moment. It hasn’t been possible to take out an option at the company’s website for some time now. The latest “News” report was one about the HPA stand at the AERO – not a very good sign.

Original text by kind permission of “Fliegermagazin”.