The light aircraft manufacturer has been working toward CAAC validation for some time, reporting in November that it had passed an engineering audit designed to confirm certification specification compliance with the agency. According to Flight Design, plans are also in place for China-based company FX to build the F2-CS23 in Shenzhen. FX entered into a partnership with Flight Design at the beginning of the F2 project.

• READ MORE: Flight Design Passes CAAC Audit

“This is a great achievement and related to the very good cooperation between CAAC, EASA, and our team,” said Matthias Betsch, head of Flight Design’s EASA design organization. “The F2 is the first model of the F Series which follows the safety requirements of the new EASA CS23 certification specification and [provides] outstanding safety, performance, space and comfort for this kind of private-use and training airplane.”

Flight Design is also pursuing FAA validation for the F2-CS23, which earned its EASA type certificate in December 2021. Offering a top speed of 233 kph (126 knots), 2,000-kilometer (1,080 nm) range with 30-minute reserve, and maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 pounds, the model was developed as a certified version of Flight Design’s F2 special light sport aircraft (SLSA). Powered by the Rotax 912iS engine, the F2-CS23 comes equipped with Garmin G3X flight displays.

The post CAAC Validates Flight Design F2-CS23 Type Certification appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

It was a beautiful Indiana winter morning in 1973. What a great opportunity. One of my instrument students owned his own aircraft, a Cessna 210, and was letting me borrow it for fuel to take a quick two-day vacation to Disney World in Florida. My wife and I were so excited. We’d been married for not quite two years, with no children yet—three to come later—and we were inviting our chief of maintenance, Jerry, his wife and their two small children to go with us.

All six of us packed up and had a wonderful flight down, first to Memphis (KMEM), Tennessee, for fuel, then Daytona Beach (KDAB), Florida, for more before arriving at Orlando Executive Airport (KORL). Mickey Mouse, here we come! Well, after one great day at Disney, it was time to head back to the cold, desolate state of Indiana.

• DON’T MISS OUT: Subscribe to FLYING Magazine

The preflight and engine run-up seemed fine—I mean after all, I had the chief of maintenance with me. We both noticed what looked like a flutter on the oil-pressure gauge, but good pressure registered on the gauge.

Takeoff was smooth—the night air crisp and clear—and we were off for Chattanooga (KCHA), Tennessee, for our first fuel stop. I’d filed an instrument flight plan and all was going well, yet it still seemed like there was a flutter on the oil-pressure gauge. The engine was running smoothly, but Jerry and I both decided to stop before the Smoky Mountains and check into this in more detail.

I was about to change our destination with Atlanta Center when it happened. The engine just sputtered and stopped. I called ATC to report our problem, and when restart was futile, I announced to the controller that I had lost my engine and wanted to spiral down to whatever this airport was that I saw below me.

I’ll never forget the next two broadcasts from the controller: First, “I understand you lost your No. 1 engine?”

I reply, “No, I lost the engine.”

“Oh, you’re cleared to do whatever you want. Let me know how it turns out!”

Fun aside now. I’d trained hundreds of students in engine-out procedures in single-engine airplanes. Set up best glide speed, select the best landing spot. Things were a little more difficult than with my students though. It was night, I was in a retractable-gear aircraft that uses the engine-driven hydraulic pump to operate the four gear doors and the gear itself—and I had my family and another person on board.

You don’t want to get too “dirty” with a lot of drag while gliding, but I wanted to use the windmilling prop to assist in putting down the gear. (No gear-up, dead-stick emergency landing for this pilot that night.)

Well, lo and behold, the gear came down before the slowing airspeed stopped the prop. We spiraled correctly and touched down as if nothing was wrong. We coasted onto the FBO ramp and came to a halt near the fuel pump. “Need some fuel?” asked the lineman scurrying up to help. “No,” I said. “It’s a little more problem than fuel for us tonight.” I later found out that my wife was asleep as we glided down and was awoken by the other woman telling her that she didn’t want my wife to die in her sleep. My wife later admitted she would have rather not been awake during a night crash.

• LISTEN: FLYING’s I.L.A.F.F.T. Podcast

To make this long story short, nothing could be done to determine the fix for the airplane that night. We found out later that the No. 6 cylinder ring had cracked and then broken, causing the loss of all oil pressure. Trying to get home that night is another dreadful story, but we made it after sleeping all night in chairs at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. And the airport where we landed? Oh yeah, it was in Eastman, Georgia—you know, of Eastman Kodak Co. fame. Anyway, a new engine was shipped there, and Jerry and I returned a week later to install it and flew home. That too is another story, but I learned about flying from that.

Editor’s note: This article originially appeared in the December 2021 issue of FLYING.

The post A Flutter in the Gauge appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For an airplane with an eye-popping paint scheme, N225HL stayed well-hidden for a couple of months prior to its debut on January 28. Cirrus Aircraft will mark 2021 with the delivery of number 8,000 of its SR-series aircraft, celebrating the milestone with a limited-edition series of eight special SR22Ts. Five-Hotel-Lima is the first of the limited edition to arrive on the scene—and Flying had the opportunity to test it out in early January.

I found that the G6 SR22T had been equipped with all of the possible goodies. Within the high-performance Cirrus Perspective+ flight deck by Garmin, the limited edition includes the Max Viz enhanced vision system, synthetic vision on the primary flight display, and SiriusXM Weather displayed both on the PFD and multifunction display. For connectivity, the limited edition features the new Cirrus Aircraft mobile app driven by Cirrus IQ, which accesses aircraft data in real time from just about anywhere with a mobile or Wi-Fi connection. Flight-data streaming and the ability to text or call people on the ground is enabled with Flight Stream 510.

In a first for Cirrus, the exterior of 5HL features wings painted an electric green—called “Volt”—with echoes of the runway environment that inspired the scheme found on the cowl, empennage, wingtips, and wheel fairings. The limited edition has the Spectra wingtip lighting system, designed in partnership with Whelen, and a custom interior with Volt contrast stitching and leather-covered flight controls and power lever. The airplanes come with a five-year, 2,000-hour spinner-to-tail warranty and a five-year, 1,500-hour maintenance plan—and VIP packages tailored to each new owner. For more details, look to our report in the upcoming March 2021 issue of Flying.

The post Cirrus Celebrates Milestone with Limited-Edition SR22Ts appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Pete Bunce said, “While the year started off strong, the health and safety restrictions put in place to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic began to significantly impact global operations, supply chains and deliveries towards the end of the first quarter.” Bunce’s remarks were part of the General Aviation Manufacturing Association’s report of first-quarter aircraft shipments—Bunce serves as CEO of GAMA. “Many companies then supplemented ongoing activities with the production and transport of health-care materials needed by front-line health care workers and communities across the globe,” actions Bunce said serve as a testament to the adaptability and resilience of the industry’s workforce.

During the quarter that ended March 31, piston airplane deliveries declined 11.7 percent, with 219 airframes; turboprop airplane deliveries dropped a whopping 41.8 percent, with 71 airframes; and business jet deliveries declined 19.1 percent, with 114 airframes when compared to the same time period in 2019. On the rotorcraft side, turbine helicopter deliveries declined 18.3 percent with 85 airframes, while piston helicopter deliveries declined 43.9 percent sending just 37 machines out the door. Of the 404 total delivers in the first quarter, the majority–294–went to North America, 98 to Europe and nine to South America. Second quarter delivery numbers that should appear in late August are expected to reflect the full force of the COVID-19 virus on the industry.

A quick glance at some of the manufacturers showed Textron Aviation delivered 48 Cessna 172s, six Beechcraft King Air 250s and seven Cessna Citation Latitudes, while Robinson Helicopters shipped 50 airframes, including 15 R66s, 14 R44 Raven IIs, 10 R44 Raven Is, six R44 cadets and five R22 Beta IIs. Piper shipped 25 aircraft, the vast majority being Archer IIs. Pilatus shipped 11 PC-12s and seven PC-24s, while Icon Aircraft shipped six airframes and Honda Aircraft delivered seven HondaJets. Cirrus Aircraft delivered 85 aircraft in the first quarter, eight SR-20s, 20 SR-22s, 39 SR-22Ts and 18 VisionJets. Embraer shipped nine aircraft and Gulfstream delivered 23. More specific details of all delivers is available at GAMA.

The post GAMA Reports First Quarter Delivery Numbers appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Tecnam announced a new version of its P2010 4-seat, single-engine airplane, with a new Continental CD-170 diesel engine, ready for certification by EASA. The 170 hp engine builds on the success Continental has had with the previous -135 and -155 hp models of its liquid-cooled, turbocharged, fadec-operated diesel engine series. The type certificate is expected by July 2020.

The P2010 came previously with the Lycoming IO-360 engine, at 180 hp, and its IO-390 engine at 215 hp. According to Tecnam CEO Paolo Pascale, the diesel engine enables the new P2010 to outlast its predecessors in range because of the up-to-50-percent reduction in fuel burn—with a top range of 1,050 nm possible. In a news conference streamed on YouTube on May 27, Chris Kuehn, vice president of sales, support, and services for Continental, elaborated that the new engine-airframe combination will make up to 136 ktas at 75-percent best power operation, burning about 6.5 gph (in jet-A or other approved kerosene fuels) or back down to 4.5 gph at 55-percent power, enabling the jump in range from the 660 nm previously posted by prior versions.

The P2010 comes equipped with the Garmin G1000 NXi flight deck, in a modular format that allows customers to make adjustments and updates based on future developments. The €375,000 standard price extends to the initial deliveries that Pascale projects will come in September or October 2020, to launch customers in Africa and Asia. Kuehn reiterated that the new P2010 was based on feedback from operators around the world stymied by the lack of avgas or its cost. “There are a number of potential buyers,” he said.

The post Tecnam P2010 Gets a Diesel Update appeared first on FLYING Magazine.