KSAT TO KMAF
February 3, 2009
Here is a demo IFR flight from KSAT to KMAF on a Mitsubishi MU-2. The Mitsubishi MU-2 is one of postwar Japan’s most successful aircraft. It is a high-wing, twin-engine turboprop, and has a pressurized cabin.
General characteristics
Crew: 1 or 2 pilots
Capacity: 7 passengers
Length: 10.13 m (33 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 11.94 m (39 ft 2 in)
Height: 3.94 m (12 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 16.5 m² (178 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,422 kg (5,340 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,050 kg (8,930 lb)
Powerplant: 2× Garrett TPE331-25A turboprops, 430 kW (575 shp each) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 500 km/h (313 mph)
Range: 1,930 km (1,206 mi)
Service ceiling m (ft)
Rate of climb: 331 m/min (1,086 ft/min)
Wing loading: 245 kg/m² (50.1 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.106 kW/kg (0.129 hp/lb)
Like all aircraft, the safety record of the MU-2 has been examined by government agencies and found to be acceptable when compared to other aircraft in its class; it was involved in 11 accidents with a total of 12 fatalities in a single 18 month period. Also, as reported by CNBC, there have been a total of 330 fatalities from MU-2 crashes.[5] However, there have been years where the MU-2 had no accidents at all. As of October 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun a safety evaluation of the aircraft and decided that the aircraft has met its certification requirements – it is safe when operated by properly trained pilots who operate properly maintained aircraft. The FAA is in the process of mandating training specific to the MU-2 as it has in the past for other aircraft. When such mandated training was required outside of the U.S. the MU-2 accident record was vastly improved.
Because the MU-2 offers very high performance at a relatively low cost, some of its operators lack sufficient training and experience for such an advanced aircraft.
From an FAA press release:
The FAA began an aggressive safety evaluation in July 2005. The evaluation is performing a detailed review of accidents, incidents, airworthiness directives, service difficulty reports, safety recommendations and safety reports. It also is examining pilot training requirements, the history of the aircraft’s commercial operators and possible engine problems. The goal is to identify the root causes of MU-2 accidents and incidents and determine what, if any, additional safety actions are needed.
In early 2008 the FAA issued a Special Federal Air Regulation (SFAR) directed at MU-2B operations. Pilots flying this aircraft after that date (current MU-2 pilots would have a year to come into compliance) were required to receive type-specific initial training, as well as recurrent training. It also required that a fully-functional autopilot be available for single-pilot operations, and that FAA-approved checklists and operating manuals be onboard at all times. Also unusual for this SFAR, pilot experience in other aircraft types cannot be used to comply with MU-2 operational requirements – for instance, the requirement to perform landings within the preceding 90 calendar days before carrying passengers is altered by this SFAR to require those landings be made in the MU-2.[6]
There is no regulatory relationship between the SFAR requirements and a Type Rating, however both have completion standards located in the practical test standards. The SFAR requires specific training, currency, and operational requirements. Upon completion of the training requirements the instructor places an endorsement in the pilot’s logbook if the instructor feels that the pilot has met the completions standards outlined in the commercial and instrument PTS. If not, training continues until the pilot meets the minimum standards. In comparison, an FAA Type Rating requires the pilot to complete qualified training followed by a checkride and oral examination by an FAA designated examiner. During a Type Rating checkride the pilot must perform all portions of the ride to a mimimum of the ATP practical test standards (regardless of the category of airman certificate held). A Type Rating becomes part of the pilot’s airman certificate.
In 2000 over 500 MU-2s were in use as corporate transports (mainly in the USA), while many have been converted as freighters.
Today, this twin engine aircraft is still seen flying in todays skies and has proven itself to be a very safe and reliable business transport.
Duration : 0:7:58
Cessna Tribute
February 3, 2009
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well-known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary of the U.S. conglomerate Textron.
The company traces its history to June 1911, when Clyde Cessna, a farmer in Rago, Kansas, built a wood-and-fabric plane and became the first person to build and fly an aircraft between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. Clyde Cessna started his aircraft ventures in Enid, Oklahoma, testing many of his early planes on the salt flats. When bankers in Enid refused to loan him more money to build his planes, he moved to Wichita. In 1924, Cessna partnered with Lloyd C. Stearman and Walter H. Beech to form the Travel Air, Inc., a biplane manufacturing firm. This company was based in Wichita. In 1927, Clyde Cessna left Travel Air and formed his own company, the Cessna Aircraft Company. Instead of producing biplanes, he instead decided to focus on building monoplanes. The first flew on August 13, 1927.
Cessna Aircraft Company closed its doors from 1932 until 1934 due to the state of the economy. In 1934, Dwane Wallace, with the help of his brother Dwight, took control of the company and began the process of building it into what would become a global success.
After World War II, Cessna created the 170, which, along with later models (notably the 172), became the most widely produced light aircraft in history. Cessna’s advertising boasts that it has delivered more aircraft than any other company, over 190,000 by the end of 2008.
In 1972 Cessna became the first aircraft manufacturer in the world to build 100,000 aircraft. The 100,000th aircraft was one of 24 Cessnas of various models displayed at Transpo 72.
In 1985 Cessna was bought by General Dynamics Corporation and in 1986 production of piston-engine aircraft was suspended. General Dynamics cited product liability as the cause. The then-CEO Russ Meyer said that production would resume if a more favorable product liability environment developed. In 1992, Textron Inc. bought Cessna and, after passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, resumed production of the piston-engine 172, 182, and 206 designs.
On 27 November, 2007, Textron announced that Cessna had purchased the bankrupt Columbia Aircraft company for US$26.4M and would continue production of the Columbia 350 and 400 as the Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 at the Columbia factory in Bend, Oregon. There had been speculation that the acquisition of the Columbia line would spell the end of the Cessna NGP project, but on September 26, 2007, Cessna Vice President for Sales, Roger Whyte, confirmed that development of the NGP project will continue, unaffected by the purchase of Columbia. Since November 2007, the company has been involved in a public controversy regarding the contracting of production of the Cessna 162 SkyCatcher to the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation of the People’s Republic of China. Currently, Cessna produces 2-, 4- and 6-place single-engine airplanes, utility turboprops, and business jets.
Duration : 0:3:58
