TOP stories
We have to look at this as a wonderful opportunity to get more and more people involved in aviation,' says Experimental Aircraft Association's president Tom Poberezny after the announcement of the FAA's new sport-pilot license and the accompanying category of light-sport aircraft (LSA). The sport-pilot landmark legislation drastically revises the licensing requirements, allowing all sport pilots to train in about half the time that is required for a private pilot's license as well as enabling them to fly in a new class of much less expensive aircraft.
'We're not going to see huge changes beginning on September 1, 2004, [the date the new federal guidelines took effect],' says Poberezny, 'but we'll see incremental growth.' Not only is the number of pilots expected to increase, but also the number of new aircraft entering the LSA category may ultimately prove to be the real news. While most of the traditional certified aircraft manufacturers will be hard-pressed to convert any existing models into LSAs, this isn't the case with some kit and homebuilt aircraft.
According to Poberezny, 'There's a real tremendous interest in the kit and homebuilt companies to transition to certified LSAs.' The new legislation creates a streamlined industry regulation to speed up LSA-eligible aircraft toward certification, drastically reducing the time and expense of typical FAA certification. LSAs could start arriving on the market as soon as early nextyear. For more information, contact the FAA at (202) 267-3437.
Cessna Versus Cirrus
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has more good news. Its last sales data indicate that the slump is over, and the outlook for the remainder of this year and into 2005 is bright. The latest GAMA data also indicates that the relatively newbie Cirrus outsold Cessna, which has been forever the world's giant in aircraft production, for the second quarter in a row this year in the single-engine category.
Cessna CEO Jack Pelton made reference to the company's second-place seating in a recent press conference at Oshkosh, Wis., stating that certification delays in getting Cessna's Garmin-equipped glass-cockpit-fleet certified and out the door had caused a temporary slowdown in aircraft deliveries. 'Cessna has and will continue to deliver more single-engine aircraft than anyone,' he says. Emphasizing his company's historical domination, Pelton delivered the keys of the 150,000th single-engine Cessna to come from Kansas since the beginning of production of the 172 in 1956 to Sporty's founder Hal Shevers. Given the scale of Cessna's achievements over the years, Cirrus barely shows up on the radar.
But proponents of both the Cirrus SR20s and SR22s argue that the fast, high-tech composites represent the future of single-engine aircraft. Cessna fans, on the other hand, point out their favorite high-winged airplane manufacturer's nearly five-decade track record of producing the most popular singles in the world. Cirrus is currently slightly ahead of its 2004 projection of selling 550 airplanes this fiscal year and has ramped up production to turn out 12 new aircraft a week. Cessna Aircraft expects imminent certification of its glass-paneled Stationair 206 to propelthe company toward its much-anticipated 2004 projection of selling 600 airplanes. Insiders admit the sales race is too close to call. For more info, contact Cessna at (800) 4-CESSNA or Cirrus at (218) 727-2737.
The Staying Power Of Glass
In the meantime, virtually all major aircraft manufacturers continue the shift toward glass panels. Cessna introduced plans for a Garmin-G1000-paneled 172 to debut in 2005. Tiger Aircraft showed off its AG-5B with glass at the EAA AirVenture. Beech announced that its Bonanza and Baron airframes will come standard with Garmin G1000 panels and Garmin's new autopilot, the GFC 700, in mid-2005. Piper is rolling out its Warriors, Archers and Arrows with Avidyne glass cockpits, and Mooney is bringing its Ovation and Bravo GXs to market before the year's end. Diamond is expected to finalize U.S. certification of the DA42 Twin Star this year, also with an all-glass Garmin cockpit.
The general-aviation glass cockpit business is divided between Avidyne and Garmin, both adding to their systems 'talents. Avidyne announced TAWS via the new Honeywell KGP650, new weather data via XM Satellite Weather, and the addition of JeppView electronic approach plates. The company says that a new flight director is also coming. Garmin rolled out the GNS480, a repackaged version of the UPSAT-developed CNX80, the first box on the market to provide WAAS-enabled precision GPS approaches. Adding to the Garmin suite of new avionics enhancements is the certification of its GDL90, the very first Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transceiver for general aviation. It allows for a variety of data transmission, with rates up to one megabit a second. The FAA currently has plans to install more than 30 ADS-B ground stations in the United States within the next 18 months in an effort to implement technologies formulated during ADS-B testing in its Alaska-based Capstone project, allowing for a significant overhaul in America's national airspace. All in all, it's looking more like the new technology is here to stay. For more, contact Avidyne at (800) 284-3963, or Garmin at (913) 397-8200.
