CESSNA UPS PRICE FOR
162 SKYCATCHER
IN NOVEMBER, CESSNA SENT A LETTER to
everyone holding purchase deposits on the
162 Skycatcher informing them that the
price for delivery of the light-sport aircraft
would increase to $149,900 in 2012. The
Skycatcher was unveiled at AirVenture in
2006 with an initial base price of $109,900,
and Cessna reportedly received more than
1,000 deposits for the airplane over the next
couple of years. Inflation adjustments had
increased the base price now to just less
than $115,000.
Under the new higher price for 2012,
Cessna has included a number of what was
previously optional equipment including the
Garmin GDU 375 flat glass multifunction
display, an intercom, EGT, sun visor, and
other items. Cessna also is increasing the
warranty from one to two years. If the
optional items, which will be standard under
the new price, are included in today’s price,
the value would be $130, 100.
ALPHA TRAINER
IN RESPONSE TO WHAT IT CALLS aircraft priced
beyond the reach of the average person or
flight school, Pipistrel unveiled plans for the
Alpha Trainer, a new, fully equipped light-sport aircraft aimed squarely at the commercial
flight school/private owner markets and
aggressively priced at just under $80,000. The
Slovenian manufacturer based the design on its
established Virus SW with a number of
enhancements for the flight-training world.
A 15-gallon fuel capacity gives the aircraft a range of at least 400 miles, or five
hours’ endurance with reserve, at normal
cruise. Power comes from the Rotax 912 UL
80-hp engine, which, with the fixed-pitch
prop, should equal a Cessna 152 cruise
speed of 108 knots and a 1,000-fpm climb
rate. The $80,000 price tag includes an airspeed indicator, altimeter, vertical speed
indicator, engine instruments, Garmin aera
500 GPS with AirGizmos dock, Icom
IC-A210 radio with two headsets, and a
Garmin GTX 327 transponder.
NEW DIESEL AIRCRAFT ENGINE
MAKES FIRST RUN
A MID-RANGE DIESEL ENGINE designed specifically for medium single- and some twin-engine GA aircraft ran for the first time. The
Flat Vee, designed and built by Engineered
Propulsion Systems (EPS) of New
Richmond, Wisconsin, is a 4.4-liter liquid-cooled flat eight engine with a 180-degree
“V” and a target output of 350 to 400 hp that
will run on both diesel and Jet A.
Steve Weinzierl, EPS vice president,
said the engine is lighter because it was
designed from the beginning as an aircraft
engine and was not a conversion from an
auto engine. The Flat Vee was strategically designed for GA singles such as the
Cessna 182 and the Cirrus SR22.
The next step for the project, which
includes Dick Rutan as a flight advisor,
is to further test and develop the engine
and try to fly it to Oshkosh in 2012; however, Weinzierl believes that will be
“a tall order.”
// Congratulations to Van’s Aircraft, which
reported the sale of its 4,000th RV-7/7A
empennage kit. The RV-7/7A first appeared in
January 2001 as a replacement to the
RV-6/6A, of which more than 2,400 were
completed and flown. According to Van’s
“completed RV counter,” 7,497 Van’s airplanes
have been finished and flown.
// The FAA issued a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) stressing the hazards of
water contamination of fuel tank systems to GA
pilots, owners, operators, and maintenance and
service personnel. The fuel tank system consists
of all tanks, components, lines, fittings, etc. from
the fuel tank to the engine.
“Water may enter the fuel tank system via
any penetration in the wing fuel tank and from
moisture condensation inside the tank,” warns
SAIB CE-12-06. “Water in the fuel may come
out of solution, settle, and make its way to a
drain location in the form of a blob, pea, or
BB-shaped translucent mass found at the bottom of the sampler cup.” A full slate of
recommendations is included in the SAIB.
// With NReg, Australian developer Wavefront
Technology’s new iPhone app, users can
obtain aircraft information for all registered
aircraft in the United States, sourced from a
hierarchical database pulled from data pub-
lished weekly by the FAA. NReg allows users
to find details of an aircraft owner, as well as
details of all aircraft owned by a particular
owner. The app costs $2.99 and can be pur-
chased through Apple’s App Store.
// The Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale (FAI) has certified that the
University of Maryland-Clark School’s
Gamera human-powered helicopter team set
world records for flight duration and flight
duration with a female pilot. The FAI certified
the 4.2-second flight of May 12, 2011, and the
11.4-second flight of July 13, 2011, which supersedes the first. Gamera was designed and built
by a team of students at the Clark School, and
piloted by biology student Judy Wexler.
