Acro Camp 2 Now Filming!

This is a regular blog post that updates listeners and viewers on events in the Airspeed world. Airspeed is an audio and video Internet media source that brings the best in aviation and aerospace to media devices and desktops everywhere. If you’re looking for the audio and video content, please check the other entries on the site. It’s all here! In the meantime, enjoy this update about what’s going on in Airspeed’s world.

In case you hadn’t heard, we’re shooting a feature film this week. Airspeed’s intrepid film crew is at Ray Community Airport 25-30 August shooting Acro Camp 2 with a cast of four new pilots who will fly upside down for the first time.

Follow all of the action at www.acrocamp.com. And, as a special bonus, Jack Hodgson of Uncontrolled Airspace and Around the Field is posting frequent updates at the Uncontrolled Airspace blog.

Selfridge 2011

This is a regular blog post that updates listeners and viewers on events in the Airspeed world. Airspeed is an audio and video Internet media source that brings the best in aviation and aerospace to media devices and desktops everywhere. If you’re looking for the audio and video content, please check the other entries on the site. It’s all here! In the meantime, enjoy this update about what’s going on in Airspeed’s world.

I got to put on my Nomex and hit the Selfridge ANGB Airshow all day on Sunday to help run the CAP static display. I hit the gate at around 0540 and was out on the flight line by about 0730. We put about 130 Boy Scouts through the hands-on portion of their aviation merit badges in addition to putting several hundred other people in one of the wing’s glass C-182Ts.

Temperatures never got much past 80 and there was a good breeze. Good weather for being in Nomex all day. Not so much for photography. I headed out to the show line to shoot the Rhino demo and the heritage flight, but gray airplanes against a dark gray sky don’t work that well. Still, the F/A-18F is a beautiful airframe and it makes great noise.

For those who have asked, I was on the base when Todd Green fell. I was down near Base Ops the CAP display. I probably saw the pass on which Todd fell, but show center, where the fall occurred, was obscured by the roof of the structure under which I was standing. I found out about the fall about 15 minutes later from a friend who was returning from seeing Brett Hunter fly. My thoughts are with Todd’s family and friends. I met Todd briefly at the ICAS convention in Vegas in December.

I also briefly met Bryan Jensen at the same convention. Bryan died on Saturday at the Kansas City Aviation Expo Airshow when he failed to recover his Pitts Model 12 from a maneuver.

It’s been a rough weekend for the airshow community. We lost Todd and Bryan, as well as Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging at the Bournemouth Air Festival in Dorset, England. That makes four fatals this year.

Aerobatics and airshow performance are risky. The performers understand the risks better than anyone else. Safety in operations is a passion for these people. They manage risk in every way they can. I know. I’ve spent time in the box and on the flight line with performers, especially this season. I also attended Airshows 101 at ICAS in December and had other opportunities to see and hear safety discussed in a frank and open way.

Even random data is necessarily clumpy. I’m hoping that the mainstream media realizes that there were no airshow fatalities in 2009 or 2010 and there was only one in 2008. And there hasn’t been a spectator fatality in North America since 1952.

Any accident or incident is one too many. Perfect is the goal. Nobody understands this better than those who participate in the airshow industry. And, as a guy who has flown with airshow performers in an Extra, several Pitts, an F-16D, and two L-39s, I’ve seen the safety culture and commitment firsthand.

What’ll happen going forward? The same thing that happens in with every airshow accident or incident. Performers and others in the industry will scour the circumstances for details and then will debrief it thoroughly, openly, and with brutal honesty.

I remember the debrief scenes from Blue Angels: A Year in the Life. Each pilot ended each critique session, no matter how good or brutal, by saying, “I’ll fix my safeties and I’m glad to be here.” It’s not just rhetoric. And that attitude is not confined to the Blues. It pervades this very special industry.

Futher affiant sayeth not.

The crew for the Acro Camp 2 movie shoot begins arriving later today. Jack Hodgson, the writer, arrives this afternoon. Will, Tori, Shawn, David, and Ruby arrive in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. And the campers arrive Thursday with ground school beginning at 1700. I’ve been up since 0300. I can’t sleep. There’s unbelievable energy surrounding this shoot and it’s not hard to get caught up in it, even when I should be stockpiling sleep.

Watch this space and www.acrocamp.com for more information!

Airspeed Demo Flight: Remos GX NXT

This is a regular blog post that updates listeners and viewers on events in the Airspeed world. Airspeed is an audio and video Internet media source that brings the best in aviation and aerospace to media devices and desktops everywhere. If you’re looking for the audio and video content, please check the other entries on the site. It’s all here! In the meantime, enjoy this update about what’s going on in Airspeed’s world.

California-based CFI Ron Klutts is an occasional contributor to Airspeed. He captured this story at AirVenture Oshkosh 2011.

I've had my eye on the Remos light sport aircraft for a while now and I finally got to go fly it at EAA AirVenture the new GX NXT model.

It was a lesson in perseverance as an airport closure and nasty weather kept us grounded for two attempts. However, the Remos team of Ryan Hernandez and Tommy Lee were patient and kept rescheduling our flight so we could accomplish this demo flight. It was worth the wait.

On our first day, I talked with Christian Majunke, head of design for the Remos GX NXT. One of the key design features was to redesign the glareshield height to allow even better visibility over the nose and to provide more legroom at the bottom of the panel. Normally, these two design goals are at odds because it squeezes the space allowed for the flight instruments. The new Dynon avionics stack reduces the panel space required and allowed the company to lower the glaresheild on the outside of the panel to dramatically increase the visibility as well as provide more legroom space for comfort.



Redesigned fresh air vents in the upper corners of the wing root provide clean and debris-free air by means of a simple design that allows the debris to continue on as the clean air changes direction to flow into the adjustable vents.

We went out to the aircraft to see the features Christian described. Being an all-composite design the lack of riveting and associated bumps and lumps was striking. As you look past the propeller, the engine cowling starts to flare out to provide a spacious interior. The composite construction allows for complex curves to make a comfortable and roomy interior that you don't expect in a two-place aircraft. Nice straight lines on trailing edges and even gaps between control surfaces shows their attention to detail.

Christian explained that the tapering aft of the fuselage allowed for reduced weight and drag reduction made possible by the composite construction. He described the aircraft is rated for +4/-2 Gs and, if it's under a 1,000 lbs., then it becomes +5/-3 Gs. It has a 100-knot cruising speed at a conservative 5 gph fuel flow so, with the 21 gallons on board, it gill give 3.5 hours of cruise with VFR reserve.

The demo aircraft was equipped with two Dynon SkyView displays and a Garmin 696 in the center panel, providing airport diagrams on the ground and a wealth of airport information on the large display.

The center stick appeals to me. It just seems like the right way to control an airplane. The aircraft has dual linked throttles, so the pilot in the left seat can use either left or right hand on the stick and then the other hand can use either left or right mounted throttle. Thus, the aircraft accommodates both pilots who are accustomed to the traditional control configuration of stick-flown aircraft while those who might be more comfortable with a yoke and the left-handedness that that engenders will also find the controls intuitive.

The GX NXT accelerates quickly and Ryan allowed me to perform the takeoff after the photo ship departed. The controls were light but not touchy. It was a brisk climb of 700 FPM despite the mid afternoon departure and warm temps. The Rotax 912 engine started instantly was very smooth despite the RPMs being twice what I'm used to from the engines behind which I typically fly.

Fully articulating tinted sun visors allow the operator to position them horizontally or vertically with ease to reduce sun glare to increase comfort and viewing pleasure.

The Remos features nose wheel steering and a single push lever seen angling up between the seats that activates both brakes. It's very intuitive to use and is a nice change from differential braking.

Ryan showed me the various ways the PFD can be configured to emphasis more on the attitude instruments or engine parameters based on the user preference and flight regime. That's just one of the advantages of the Dynon system. The integrated EFIS and EMS displays along with the transponder reduces panel space as it's all in a single unit.

Our patience paid off on the third day as we had near-cloudless skies in which to shoot air-to-air. Ryan explained that the doors can be removed for even better visibility to enjoy the open air aspect. I preferred the doors on but still enjoyed an amazing view out my door as the plexiglass extends very low and makes for an incredible view.

The Remos GX NXT showed exceptional handling and was an ease to fly and land. Most importantly, it was fun and enjoyable to fly and we need more of that in general aviation to attract and keep pilots flying. If I continued talking to Tommy I think he would have sold me a plane as he made a great case for the economics of it being on a leaseback. Something worth considering so more people can have the opportunity to rent it and enjoy this fun flying machine.

Afte the flight, I asked Christian what feature they left off the plane due to time constraints or any other reason that something would have to be left off to include in the next version. His answer? An Espresso machine, Barrista not included though…. Now that would be a great way to travel.

There’s more information about the Remos GX NXT at www.remos.com.

Story by Ron Klutts

Photos by Jo Hunter (www.futurshox.net)

The Rutan Boomerang

This is a regular blog post that updates listeners and viewers on events in the Airspeed world. Airspeed is an audio and video Internet media source that brings the best in aviation and aerospace to media devices and desktops everywhere. If you’re looking for the audio and video content, please check the other entries on the site. It’s all here! In the meantime, enjoy this update about what’s going on in Airspeed’s world.

California-based CFI Ron Klutts is an occasional contributor to Airspeed. He captured this story at AirVenture Oshkosh 2011.

I was admiring the Rutan Boomerang in the Wednesday of Airventure Oshkosh when I spotted two guys who appeared to be working on it. Intrigued, I approached and introduced myself and that's when I met Tres Clements. He is a manufacturing engineer with Scaled Composites. He lead a team of volunteers who worked over several months to get the Boomerang ready for a tribute to Burt Rutan at Oshkosh.

Unique Design Features

The asymmetric features of the Boomerang are apparent in this view but, as Tres describes the flying qualities, it's more symmetric than it looks. He discovered during the renovation why certain design choices were made and how they solved aerodynamic problems in an unexpected way. With the CG actually between the two engine pods, use of rudder is mostly not required at high angles of attack. The design cancels out much asymmetry during this phase of flight.

Tres recounted how that was one of the benefits in working on this project in getting to know and sit next to Mike Melvill in Burt's personal airplane. While waiting for the air show to end, I had the opportunity to hear Mike recount many stories of flying to airshows in his own Long-EZ and later perform aerobatics in the show and his take on the other performers and safety was always on his mind. The wealth of experience he has gained and was willing to share with others was apparent.

Each engine of the Boomerang has a vertical stabilizer behind it so the propwash adds to the directional control. Adding to the asymmetric look is the lack of a horizontal stabilizer on the right side of the engine boom. Why add weight and more control surfaces if Burt says it's not needed?

Rebuilding the Panel

Tres estimates that the team spent more than 1,500 hours going through the systems to get the Bomerang airworthy again. That included the panel.

Burt used an Apple Macbook as the engine monitoring and data collection system. While the panel still worked when Tres and the team powered it up, the panel needed updating.

Ryan Malherbe from General Atomics helped to make and wire the panel. The center is dominated by a Garmin stack consisting of a GMA 350 Audio Panel, a GTN 750 touch screen WAAS GPS NAV/Comm, and a GTX 327. On the left is an iPad 2 running ForeFlight Mobile HD, supplying VFR/IFR charts and all the airport info and taxiway diagrams needed to keep a pilot informed. An AuRACLE 2120 with dual screens at the bottom of the panel monitors engine parameters.

With room for five and a pressurized cabin maintaining a 7,000 MSL cabin pressure at FL 200, the Boomerang can travel 1,500 miles with full fuel while carrying a payload of 865 pounds, this is a serious go places airplane.

Pictured here are Ryan Malherbe on the left with Tres Clements on the right.

Tres says that Burt didn't want the airplane just sitting in a museum on static display where it might convey the idea that it didn't fly or was unsafe. He felt the best way to get the message out was for the airplane to fly and demonstrate it's capabilities by doing what it does best. To fly and be seen.

So Tres is doing appearances and presentations. He’ll be at San Luis Obispo (KSBP) for the EAA Chapter 170 meeting at Hangar 49 at 11:30 on Saturday 20 August. Tres will discuss restoring and flying the Boomerang and then the chapter will host an after-meeting barbecue.

Photo credits (in order of appearance):

Brandon Inks

Tres Clements

Ron Klutts

Front Seat, Back Seat: Pitts Acro and Transition

This is a regular blog post that updates listeners and viewers on events in the Airspeed world. Airspeed is an audio and video Internet media source that brings the best in aviation and aerospace to media devices and desktops everywhere. If you’re looking for the audio and video content, please check the other entries on the site. It’s all here! In the meantime, enjoy this update about what’s going on in Airspeed’s world.

There’s front seat and back seat. And they mean different things in different aircraft.

In the Pitts S-2 models, the front seat is pretty bare-bones. You have a stick, a throttle handle, and a prop control. On the panel is an altimeter, an airspeed indicator, a manifold pressure gage, a tachometer, and a G meter. And nothing else. Not even a whiskey compass.

And you can’t see much of anything, either. The front seat is up close to the upper and lower wings. You can see forward over the nose through the cobains (the struts that mount the upper wing to the fuselage, not the dead rock star). You can see a little bit around the wings. You can see from side to side when a wing isn’t blocking your view. And the sight gage is about 20 degrees behind you instead of directly at your nine-o’clock.

But here, in the front seat, is where you begin to fly the Pitts. This is where you learn the rudiments of flying this powerful acro monster.

The back seat is better in all but a few respects. You can see much better because you’re further away from the wings. The sight gage is directly to your left. It’s really striking after you’ve been in the front.

But, with the back seat comes a lot more workload, You start and shut down the airplane (and hot-starting a Pitts is MUCH more art than science). The mixture and trim controls are back there. You have to watch the temperatures and pressures. You have to tune the radios and watch the GPS.

It makes sense to start out in the front. For one thing, as long as you have a talented and trusty IP in the back, you can pretty much just climb in and go, thus making lessons a lot more efficient. You learn to be very technical and precise with your airspeed and other elements of landings because you don’t have a lot of outside stimulus to tempt you to just wing it. And, if you’re not very precise with your feet just yet, you have a very short arm from the center of yaw and you aren’t going to make yourself sick on the early flights by failing to be coordinated (although your instructor will likely suffer kidney damage if you’re really wild).

You have to get pretty good at landing the Pitts from the first seat before you move to the back. Landing a Pitts from the front is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. You line up on the runway and set airspeed for precisely 95 KIAS. At about 50 AGL, you make one last check for deer on the runway and begin the flare. You lose all visibility in front of you. You just wait for the runway edges to sneak into your peripheral vision and then hope that you sink in a landing attitude until meeting the runway a little above stall speed.

If you don’t see both runway edges after a few seconds, it’s time to go around. It’s not hard to land left or right and I can easily imagine taking out an entire row of runway identifier lights.

If you get it down, then it’s full back on the stick to keep the tail down and you tap dance down the centerline while sneaking your feet up onto the brakes to think about slowing it down.

This is what you need to do reliably before you move to the back seat.

Once you get to move to the back seat, you have a new learning curve to deal with, but that happens fairly quickly. And then you can get on with the business of flying acro with better visibility and situational awareness.

There are any number of reasons for starting out in the front seat, but I buy the one that has to do with the instructor. Landing a Pitts from the front seat is very hard. But I would imagine that recovering somebody else’s bad landing (or other botched maneuver) is even harder in the front seat. Thus, when you go to the back seat, your IP is necessarily moving to the front seat. It would be a really good idea if you had made most or all of your major screw-ups in the front seat (while the IP can have an easier time recovering from the back) before moving to the back seat and putting your IP up front where things are not only harder, but where your IP isn’t likely to be called upon urgently until you’ve already served him or her a crap sandwich from which you’ll be expecting him or her to help you escape.

The shots in this post were taken during my last practice session at Ray before going to Jackson for the IAC Michigan Aerobatic Open. I’ve since done the first flight of my back seat transition and I’ll get some stills and video of the transition flights soon.

In the meantime, the Pitts just gets cooler. I can feel a genuine addition coming on!