The aircraft, a successor to the Extra 330SC, features a wider cockpit, shorter fuselage, redesigned cowling, increased control stick clearance, and improved headroom compared to its predecessor.

• READ MORE: EAA AirVenture Reports Attendance Boost

Extra said the 330SX model is much easier to fly, allowing pilots to achieve higher scores in aerobatic competitions.

“The introduction of our high-performance aileron package delivers superior roll authority,” Extra said. “It ensures that both at a competition level and on the air show stage pilots will benefit with crisper maneuverability at all airspeeds.”

Competition aerobatic pilot Bob Freeman was the first U.S. customer for the aircraft and was scheduled to fly one during the daily airshow at AirVenture.  

• READ MORE: Donation Expands Bob Hoover Academy Fleet

“We were thrilled to officially unveil the Extra SX to North America, showing our prototype SX001 and the Freeman Airshows SX!” Extra said in a social media post.

According to Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assocation, the aircraft has a retail price of $550,000 and deliveries take about a year to fulfill. Extra has sold 10 of the 330SX models and produced five so far.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Extra 330SX Unveiled at EAA AirVenture appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Since Citation Excel deliveries began in 1998, Textron Aviation (née Cessna Aircraft) has delivered more than 1,100 units, making it the firm’s most successful jet in its 96-year history. Based on the XLS series, the newest iteration of the model, the Ascend, offers a number of features designed to extend the winning streak, including the more fuel efficient Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545D turbofans, an upgrade from the Collins Pro Line 21 to Garmin G5000 avionics with standard auto-throttles, increased payload, and more range. Scheduled maintenance interval shave been stretched to 800 flight hours or 18 months, whichever comes first.

The Ascend has new and larger flight deck and cabin windows, upgraded passenger seats, and improved acoustical insulation to soak up sound. The 8-inch dropped aisle has been filled in to create a flat floor. However, the dropped aisle remains an option for customers needing more center cabin headroom.

The Honeywell RE100 now is approved for unattended operation, freeing both flight crewmembers to focus on essential preflight chores. A host of other upgrades endows the Ascend with levels of comfort, quiet, convenience, and connectivity on par with Textron Aviation’s larger super-midsize aircraft. First deliveries are set to begin in 2025.

—With reporting by Fred George

Dassault Falcon 10X

The growth of the Dassault Aviation infrastructure at the Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (LFBD) in western France can be attributed to the success of the Rafale fighter series, and the Falcon 7X and 8X, as well as the recent introduction of the 6X—and its upcoming big brother, the 10X. Dassault began parts assembly in 2022 to pre-pare for the final assembly of the first test articles underway this year. The all-composite wing is being built at a dedicated facility in Biarritz.

The 10X, announced in 2021, has had a long slow buildup, fitting for a jet that will be the largest built by Dassault and introduce the largest cabin of any jet purpose-built for the business aviation sector. That cabin features a new design path for the company, breaking out of the traditional mold with bold colorways and seating that looks more like that of a penthouse living room than an aluminum tube. It has already received several nods in international design competitions, including the Red Dot award from the Design Society of the U.K.

With a range of 7,500 nm at Mach 0.85—and a top speed of Mach 0.925—the 10X is powered by a pair of bespoke Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X powerplants rated at 18,000 pounds of thrust apiece and able to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). On the flight deck, the 10X gives pilots the FalconEye combined vision system, as well as carrying over the digital flight control system (DFCS) made popular on the 7X. As the Dassault pilots finish up flight tests on the 6X and move to the first 10X test platform later this year, perhaps, we’re certainly eyeing them with envy.

Dassault Falcon 6X

Long before pilots will get their hands on the DFCS sticks of the 10X, however, Dassault’s Falcon 6X will entice them to the flight deck. Now type certified under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the FAA, the 6X leads the next generation of Falcons with its dual Pratt& Whitney PW812D engines. Rated at up to 14,000 pounds thrust, the powerplants propel the wide-body, long-range 6X to a range of up to 5,500 nm at Mach 0.80 and a max cruise speed of Mach 0.925.

The 6X preserves the relative short-field performance of its predecessors, with the capability to operate out of 3,000-foot runways with a partial fuel load.

The balanced field length for takeoff is 5,480 feet under ISA conditions at sea level and at the maximum takeoff weight of 77,460 pounds.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Dassault Falcon 6X

The 6X showed off its graceful, powerful ability to maneuver at the Paris Air Show in late June at the hands of pilots Philippe Duchateau and Fabrice Valette. Visitors to the display could sit on the flight deck and witness the four large-format displays, two tablets mounted on either pilot side, and roundly shaped pedestals from which to stabilize while entering data into the flight management system. It’s a well-thought-out cockpit design, with pilot-friendly touches in and around the instrument panel, such as EFB mounts. We watched passersby stroll in front of the nose through the head-up display with the FalconEye cutting through the gray and bringing everything ahead of the airplane into sharp focus.

Gulfstream G700

The race to certify the next long-range mount looked neck-in-neck between the Falcon 6X and the Gulfstream G700. With its paperwork filed and everything over but the shouting, the bird from Savannah, Georgia, first announced in 2019 is expected to begin deliveries in the first quarter of 2024.

The G700, which takes its strength from the Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 powerplants, can carry up to 19 passengers—and sleep up to 13—in as many as five flexible living spaces. The 7,500 nm range (at Mach 0.85) puts it squarely in the ultralong category, routinely cruising at 45,000 to 49,000 feet. In the conclusion of the flight test program, the G700 continued to set city-pair speed records. It flew into the European Business Aviation Conference and Expo (EBACE) and Paris on up to 30 percent SAF and marked a memorable flight from Savannah to Tokyo on SAF at an average speed of Mach 0.89.

And what’s in it for the pilot? A familiar Symmetry Flight Deck up front, paired with Gulfstream’s Enhanced Flight System, that you’d find on theG500 and G600, making the G700 a straightforward transition for aviators stepping up.

Gulfstream G800

The higher model number ascribed to the Gulfstream G800—sister ship to the G700—refers to the increase in range customers can expect when the platform debuts in a couple of years. Yes, topping the charts at 8,000 nm, the G800 achieves this on the same wing as the G700 by shortening the length of the fuselage and reducing the number of living areas to four.

The G800, currently in the heart of its flight test program, achieves the target distance powered by the same Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 powerplants, at 18,250 pounds of thrust each, at Mach 0.85. If you want to go faster—and sacrifice 1,000 nm of range—push it up to Mach 0.90. Or just get there fast by taking a shorter segment at Mach 0.925.

Gulfstream’s flight test crew flew the first test article with a finished interior—used for proving those components in worldwide environments and operating conditions—to the Paris Air Show.

A second test aircraft first flew on July 15 on a blend of 30 percent SAF and reached a top speed of Mach 0.935 during the mission.

Sitting up front, the familiar Symmetry Flight Deck offers pilots a total of 10 display screens up front—four large-format ones across the front left to right, and six smaller touchscreen displays that can be configured in nearly endless ways depending on the phase of flight, pilot preference, or during abnormal and emergency operations.

The predictive landing performance system works in the background to help prevent runway overruns—though the G800 is projected to mark a6,000 takeoff distance at its max gross weight of 105,600 pounds.

Gulfstream G400

Close kin to the G500 and G600, Gulfstream’s next answer to the large-cabin midsize question, the G400, takes its lineage from its bigger siblings. The OEM stretched the fuselage to 36 feet, 4 inches and leveraged Symmetry Flight Deck technology from the larger models to create an advanced jet boasting a best-in-class cabin cross section with up to 2.5 living areas, with 100 percent fresh air that is refreshed every two minutes.

Those fortunate passengers (up to 12, sleeping as many as five) will enjoy the G400’s projected 4,200 nm range at Mach 0.85 settings—that’s Geneva to Minneapolis—and a top speed of Mach 0.90 and a maximum cruise altitude of 51,000 feet. And that’s done more efficiently than on previous Gulfstream models. The combination of the advanced Pratt &Whitney PW812GA powerplants, wing with improved aerodynamics, and avionics management should realize up to 30 percent in greater fuel efficiency as compared to a G450 on a hypothetical 3,000 nm journey with eight passengers at Mach 0.85.

The G400 is in development alongside the G800, with its first test aircraft delivered internally and poised for a first flight later this year. Gulfstream predicts the airplane’s entry into service will be in 2025.

Bombardier Global 8000

The gauntlet thrown down in the ultralong-range market appears to be a spitting match between the Gulfstream G800 and Bombardier’s latest entrant in the Global series, the 8000. Yes, that 8000 translates directly into the expected range of the new luxury plat-form—but the Montreal-based OEM wants to not just equal but win on speed. Try Mach 0.94, according to the manufacturer’s latest claims.

And it wants to achieve that speed without sacrificing passenger comfort. Bombardier has developed what it calls the Smooth Flex Wing to blend control and agility with the ability to ride the bumps well. Like its competitors from Savannah, the 8000’s max altitude is 51,000 feet, and it will maintain a cabin altitude of 2,900 feet at FL410. Up front, the Bombardier Vision flight deck on the Global 7500 will assist pilots in managing both short and long segments. Four large-format displays sit between two EFB mounts, supplemented by the head-up display available for both the left and right seat. A fully loaded Global 8000—at 114,850 pounds—is anticipated to need just 5,760 feet for takeoff, with a landing distance of 2,237 feet.

HondaJet 2600/Echelon

In a follow-up to the introduction of the HondaJet 2600 concept—recently rebranded as the HondaJet Echelon— at the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) convention & exhibition in October 2021, Honda Aircraft has made its next move in bringing the new model into its lineup. In June, the OEM revealed that development continues on the project, with its official “commercialization” or plan to pursue type certification on the clean-sheet light jet.

Intended to be a midsize jet in alight jet’s body, the HondaJet Echelon is aimed at a 2,625 nm range (four passengers and one pilot, NBA AIFR) and 450 ktas maximum cruise speed—but at 20 percent better fuel efficiency than other light jets and a 40 percent improvement over midsize models.

FAA type certification should come in 2028, with entry into service as a single-pilot-operated platform. Up to 11 people can be seated on board, with the option for nine or 10 passengers depending on crew requirements. Supply partners include Garmin for the G3000 flightdeck, Williams International and itsFJ44-4C engines, Spirit AeroSystems providing the fuselage, and Aernnova for aerostructures. Fabrication of the first airframe is underway as HondaAircraft completes initial engineering on the program.

Beechcraft Denali

Textron Aviation marked an important rite of passage in any airplane’s development program—its first appearance at EAA AirVenture in late July. The Wichita, Kansas-based OEM flew its third test article to the show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin—called “P2” in company parlance to designate the conforming airplane with a full interior for that phase of the flight test campaign.

There’s a lot you can understand much more immediately than you can with a mock-up. First, the air-plane feels like it stands roughly the same height as its Beechcraft brethren, the King Air 200 series. Once onboard, the ergonomics of the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck harken to the Cessna CJ series but with the familiarity of the Brand G avionics. The powerplant installation includes FADEC and an auto-throttle—necessary for Garmin Autoland certification.

On the business end, the clean-sheet GE Catalyst engine is proving worthy of the investment in it, according to test pilots. As of May, the program included 26 engines built, with more than 5,400 hours of testing—figures that increase every day. The McCauley prop on the front is helping the combination to achieve even greater fuel efficiency than originally projected. The Denali will be certified with flight into known icing (FIKI) capability, completing what Textron Aviation calls “a jet-like experience.” Still, certification isn’t expected until 2025, recognizing the significant work remaining to bring anew turboprop engine to market.

Extra 330SX

The first production Extra 330SX may not be taking to the skies until next year, but the new single-canopy, aerobatic airplane is already spoken for. At a presentation at EAA AirVenture, company president Marcus Extra introduced Bob Freeman as the first customer.

The Extra 330SX improves upon the 330SC with better cooling up front on the 315 hp Lycoming and a Garmin G3X Touch flight display. The sporty airplane features high-performance ailerons, with 60 percent larger horns and modified wing tips, along with a reduced fuselage length. The combination leads to its stunning roll rate, which the company measures by mounting a Go-Pro in the airplane, taking it out for a series of rolls, then returning that video to the engineering team to calculate the rate.

Other improvements in the cockpit are proposed to deliver greater pilot comfort, including a taller stick with reduced side-to-side travel to better accommodate larger pilots—like Extra, who flew the airplane earlier this summer in a com-petition in Germany for the first time. The first deliveries will take place in2024, with the company ramping up its production space in DeLand, Florida, to meet the challenge.

Van’s RV-15

Van’s Aircraft debuted its first high-wing model at AirVenture 2022. Once more it flew the prototype to Oshkosh for the air show this summer with a few updates made to the still mostly mysterious kit in progress. Most take a bit of sleuthing to determine, but they include changes to the stabilator and anti-servo tab to improve stability and stick forces.

The ailerons have also been reshaped slightly, with hinge points moved, and changes made to the internal control system gearing influence stick throw. Van’s test pilots already report improved stick forces and control harmony.

The prototype stills runs from a fuel tank located in the cabin. Van’s plans to build new wings that will mount the fuel tanks, reported at 60 gallons total, internally, following legacy high-wing designs with this increase in pilot/passenger protection in the event of an accident.

With the wing moving back about 4 inches, Van’s will see benefits to load carrying and CG—and allow for the use of lighter powerplants than the current Lycoming IO-390, though it’s expected to be the core engine.

The airframe features unique, damped landing gear intended to smooth out vagaries in both pilot and runway surface. Van’s is sticking to its previously announced plan* to begin taking deposits 12 to 18 months after the airplane’s debut. It is likely to need at least six more months to get the design pinned down and prepare to build kits.

—With reporting by Marc Cook

*Since this article went to press, Van’s Aircraft has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the timeline for the RV-15 is unknown.

Tecnam P-Mentor

Tecnam Aircraft debuted its P-Mentor at EAA AirVenture 2023, though the airplane is already approved under EASA CS 23, the equivalent to FAA Part 23 certification. The P-Mentor, featured and test flown in FLYING’s Issue 939, should see the agency’s nod in early2024, according to the company.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Tecnam P-Mentor

The P-Mentor is a two-seat aircraft designed to be a primary training platform, equipped with Garmin G3XTouch and GTN 650Xi avionics and boasting almost un-heard-of fuel economy at 3.7 gallons per hour.

This low consumption translates to low operating costs for owners and renters—and means lower carbon dioxide emissions. The P-Mentor’s fuel consumption results in up to nine operating hours between refuelings.

Powered by a FADEC-equipped Rotax 912iSC3 powerplant, the heavier-than-an-LSA P-Mentor shows graceful handling characteristics and docile slow flight and stall behavior. Takeoff ground roll at less than max gross was around 1,000 feet, with a landing roll less than that on a grass strip at the company’s headquarters in Capua, Italy. The comfortable cockpit can also accept a Garmin GFC 500 autopilot for serious cross-country and IFR operations. Several flight schools in the U.S. signed orders for the trainer at AirVenture.

—With reporting by Amy Wilder

Elixir Aircraft

Elixir Aircraft, based in La Rochelle, France, has also posted a sales streak for the training version of its aircraft, with a deal closed in June on more than 100 units—50 on option—with Sierra Charlie Aviation in Scottsdale, Arizona. The agreement caps a growing order book for the OEM as it brings three versions of its single-engine airplane to market.

Most of the models—intended for flight training—feature the 100 hp Rotax 912iS powerplant with a full glass cockpit. Sierra Charlie Aviation plans to integrate the airplanes into its Aviation Career Program, an ab initio course focused on identifying varying learning styles and steering those pilot applicants toward success. The composite airframe is built through the One-Shot manufacturing process to reduce parts count.

Elixir delivered five of its 912iS versions in 2022 for a total of more than 10 made so far by press time. The company was founded in 2015 by a trio of engineers who sought to reduce costs in flight training by lowering parts count and increasing efficiency in training aircraft. The first model achieved initial EASA CS 23 type certification in 2020, with FAA validation pending.

This article first appeared in the September 2023/Issue 941 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post What’s Next in New Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Extra 330SX features high performance ailerons, with 60 percent larger horns and modified wing tips, along with a reduced fuselage length. The combination leads to its stunning roll rate—which the company measures by mounting a GoPro in the airplane, taking it out for a series of rolls, then returning that video to the engineering team who analyze it and calculate the rate.

• READ MORE: Extra Aircraft Reveals New Aerobatic Monoplane

Other improvements in the cockpit are proposed to deliver greater pilot comfort, including a taller stick with reduced side-to-side travel to better accommodate larger pilots—like Extra, who flew the airplane earlier this summer in a competition in Germany for the first time. 

The company has doubled its footprint in DeLand, Florida (KDED) to make room for the production of more models.

The post First Production Extra 330SX Purchased appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The new single-seat monoplane’s wings and empennage are made of carbon fiber and attached to a steel fuselage. The company said its design is an evolution of the Extra 330SC, a renowned aircraft that has won eight world championships.

• READ MORE: Extra Aircraft Opens New Facility in Florida

The latest Extra incorporates several improvements ranging from a cowling with better cooling to ailerons designed to deliver faster roll rates and halt the rolls more crisply than before. A shorter fuselage increases the aircraft’s agility while improved ergonomics make the cockpit a more comfortable place to work.

Pilots, especially those who fly their aircraft long distances to competitions, are likely to notice upgrades including a wider cockpit, increased headroom and more clearance for the control stick. The 330SX also comes with the Garmin G3X Touch system with a 7-inch display as standard equipment.

• READ MORE: Siemens Electric Extra Records Successful Maiden Flight

The company said the 330SX is designed for improved performance “across the flight envelope” including aerobatic competition and air show performances.

The 330SX first flew on June 6 and continues flight testing with final European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval expected soon. Extra is taking orders now with deliveries expected to begin around the middle of next year. The first, with serial number SX-001, was on display at German Nationals in Dinslaken, Germany on July 8. 

The post Extra Aircraft Reveals New 330SX Aerobatic Monoplane appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The new division, Extra Aircraft USA, will provide factory-authorized maintenance and spare parts services for all Extra owners based in North America. It will also be the receiving point where company staff members will perform pre-delivery checks on new Extra aircraft entering the continent from the German factory. 

AOG and Spares Support

“I am very pleased to continue our success in the USA and announce this new Extra facility for our North American customers. We will provide AOG and complete spares support from DeLand backed up by the factory in Germany,” Extra said. “We will also grow our service offerings for scheduled maintenance such as annual inspections and the 1,000-hour inspection as well as unscheduled maintenance,” he added.

The company named Duncan Koerbel, a longtime aerospace executive and aerobatic pilot with 1,000 hours in Extra aircraft, as general manager of its new U.S. unit. Koerbel will work with Walter Extra’s sons, maintenance manager Eric Extra and production manager Marcus Extra, “to position the new factory-direct model to support the fleet well into the future,” the company said.

“It is safe to say I have a working knowledge of our customer base,” Koerbel told FLYING, reflecting on his six years of aerobatics competition and working through the ranks, from primary to advanced, of the International Aerobatic Club.

A T-34 Mentor to an Extra 300S in the Championships

He said his first experience with aerobatics came in a T-34 Mentor while he was working at Beechcraft in the 1980s. He was hooked, but had to wait a few decades until what he called “a unique set of circumstances,” which included his children graduating from college, allowed him to get serious about competing.

• READ MORE: Extra Aircraft Secures FAA Certification on Extra NG

He said he looks forward to flying his Extra 300S to the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, which begin this Sunday in Salina, Kansas.

Extra began building aerobatic aircraft in the 1980s and through years of development gained the rare distinction of producing machines that are essentially off-the-shelf contest winners. Pilots who are serious about competition tend to fly Extras.

“We have an excellent order backlog and continue to be pleased with the demand for our new NG as well as the 330SC which was just flown to its eighth world championship in Poland,” Marcus Extra said. The new operation in DeLand “will allow us to be even closer to our customers.” he added.

Eric Extra said the USA facility will be operational late this year to support the delivery of the next Extra NG and begin spare parts and maintenance operations.

“We have initially leased hangar facilities in DeLand but are exploring a purpose-built option for the long-term future. Marcus and I are excited to continue to grow the company our father founded forty years ago,” he said.

The post Extra Aircraft Opens New Facility in Florida appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Unveiled at Oshkosh 2019, the new Extra NG has now been approved by the FAA, adding to the EASA certification it saw in the fall of 2019. The news signals the beginning of deliveries into the US and other customers, and a new step forward for Extra.

We talked with Walter Extra about the process behind bringing a mostly-composite airframe to life and shared that in a recent article in the December 2020 issue of Flying. While the design retains the underlying premise Extra has built into his aerobatic series of aircraft—”I don’t want to spend my life working on airplanes—I want to fly,” said Extra—it opens up possibilities in strength and form enabled by the nature of carbon fiber. “We have defined our own [safety factors] in the company that adds a little bit of weight, but you never have fatigue, you never have play in joints, so far, touch wood, no structural failures in the history of the company,” said Extra. “We came to a pretty much turnkey quality of product, and that is the way it’s supposed to be.”

The NG is powered by the 315-hp Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A, with two fuel pumps (one engine-driven, one electric) and a 3-blade, constant-speed MTV-9 (MT) propeller. In the cockpit, the Garmin G3X Touch is standard, with analog airspeed indicator and altimeter—and Aresti card holder—as backup instruments. Standard empty weight is 1,400 lbs, with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,808 lbs in the aerobatic category, and 2,094 lbs in the normal category—enough to throw in a bag or two for a cross-country flight in between gigs. Maximum cruise speed is 202 kts, with a maneuvering speed of 158 kts and stall speed (clean) of 56 kts for a wide performance envelope. The NG is rated to plus/minus 10gs.

The post Extra Aircraft Secures FAA Certification on Extra NG appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

I remember flow states, during times of stress in the airplane, when time slows down just a bit—enough to help me manage a given situation deliberately and appropriately.

There is no flow today.

Flashing back to two days ago, I recall a comment that has lodged in my mind, and I work hard to apply those words to the situation at hand: “It’s just a position in the sky that you have to deal with.”

So says Mike Burke, instructor for Prevailance Aerospace in Chesapeake, Virginia, as we’re finishing up the first ground session of a three-day upset-prevention-and-recovery training course that I’ve signed on to; UPRT trains pilots to recognize and recover from unusual attitudes and aircraft upsets. We would be preparing to head out to the airplane to start into it, except for the scuds of what was once Hurricane Isaias trudging across the airport.

The syllabus calls for three instructional sessions, each followed by an hourlong flight in one of the school’s Extras—a 330 or 330LX. Fortunately, I’m in a class of one, and the training is designed to flex for just such occasions because the UPRT flights need to be flown in good VFR conditions, with enough ceiling, visibility and cloud clearance for the tasks ahead.

We soldier ahead through the second ground session. By the time we begin tackling the third, the weather has cleared to CAVU. Vanessa Christie, founder and president of Prevailance Aerospace, helps me strap into the seat-pack parachute we’re required to wear for the aerobatic maneuvers ahead. Though I’ve put on my own pack dozens of times, the company takes the extra precaution of assisting its customers in the move, to ensure that it’s on just as tightly as it needs to be and to help pilots get into the front seat in what may be a relatively unfamiliar situation.

The Extra 330 and 330LX were selected for the training because their aerodynamic margins lay well outside the envelope in which we’ll fly. We’ve specifically reviewed the 330LX’s maneuvering and limiting airspeeds, along with the fact it’s rated for plus or minus 8 Gs with two people on board. Nothing we’re going to do will take us intentionally above 4 Gs or below minus 1 G—so we’re well within the airplane’s capabilities.

I’m up front—the Extra is flown solo from the back—with only a handful of instruments in front of me on the panel. The Sandia attitude indicator has the breaker pulled because I’ll be recovering from each upset visually during this course and to keep us from having to reset it. Burke has all the navigation in the rear cockpit and a native’s familiarity with the airspace near us, which feels the nearby presence of Naval Air Station Oceana (Burke’s a retired Navy pilot). He’ll taxi out and take off so I can focus on the tasks ahead; this isn’t a training session to get me checked out in the 330LX, which takes a certain amount of finesse to handle on the ground. The flights to come will make me want to revisit the airplane, though. It’s a sweet companion for the next few hours we’ll spend together.

The first flight is spent reviewing basic aerobatics—wingovers, aileron rolls and a loop—plus nonviolent upsets, involving recoveries from just past the standard aerobatic limits of 60 degrees of bank and 30 degrees nose up or down. I find it relatively easy to apply the steps I’ve been taught to recover—but I’ve seen these attitudes before in an airplane.

My moment of truth comes on the second day, during our third flight overall. Normally, Prevailance doesn’t plan for two flights in a day for most pilots because of the stress involved for the body and mind. But weather has forced our hand a bit, and I’m game to try the third flight after a good morning session doing spins, more aerobatics and bigger upsets.

The last flight in the syllabus, like the others in the program, flexes to meet the student’s progress at this point. Burke recognizes that I’m beginning to tap out as I slow down during aerobatic moves that were coming together well just a couple of hours prior. When we get to the upsets, he gives me the first—past the vertical and a slow recovery to wings level. Then, after a bit of rest, he sets up a simulation of the rapid-roll sequence experienced by a Challenger 604 crew after they encountered the wake of an Airbus A380 over the Arabian Sea in January 2017.

There is no more flow. I stop in my tracks as he leaves the 330LX inverted. I’m unable to verbalize the first word of the checklist, “uncouple.” Eventually, I flail through a roll to wings level. But it’s clear I have hit my limit. I just smacked right into my personal wall, where the startle factor froze me in place. We spend some time afterward just flying around, and I get my mojo back as we practice a few more upright spins—which I find strangely comforting in their normalcy—and we return to base. Mission accomplished.

The Root Cause

The Prevailance program derives the structure of its syllabus from years of accident analysis and searching for the root causes of those that bent metal and took lives. Scenario-based training—such as that used in the Advanced Qualification Program—has been used in the airline industry and replicated throughout commercial aviation. So, those pilots coming into Prevailance’s course from large flight departments, such as PepsiCo’s, as well as airline flying find familiar territory in the training, which was derived in part using this structure.

Each session picks apart an accident scenario and puts it into context. You might ask the question, what does an Airbus A321 accident have to do with flying my Cessna 172? More than you may think. You have an autopilot now for much of the time, and the first step in breaking the accident chain in most scenarios is to “uncouple,” or release the controls from the grip of the automation. The “uncouple” beginning to the sequence I practiced in the A380 upset is a perfect example. That’s just one correlation and a programmed move that we should be ready for in the event of an upset.

But, in general, we’re not ready. A recent informal poll conducted on Twitter asked pilots: “How prepared do you feel you are for serious emergencies (of any type)?” Fourteen percent said, “Very prepared,” in terms of procedures, flying proficiency and systems knowledge; but 47 percent said they could “sharpen up a bit,” and 33 percent said, “Not as much as I want to be.” Unfortunately, 6 percent said, “I’ll just deal with it.” (Results come from @sharigirltn’s #FlightDeckMonday Twitter poll posted on September 21.) With that attitude, we can almost predict those who will confront a real emergency and fall short.

Instead, we need regular training sessions to tap into those skills and keep them fresh. There’s evidence too that we need at least some of that training to be in the airplane, as opposed to scenarios practiced in the sim alone. “You are much more invested in a positive solution,” Burke says, pointing to the reality that, no matter how realistic the simulation you’re in, you can always revert to the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card: the ability to stop the simulation and go home.

As Christie puts it: “There is no way to replicate the sight, sound and feel of an upset or spin without experiencing it in an aircraft. Only if you’ve experienced both in an aircraft—and put your body into the physiological response of startle—can you replicate the recovery procedures when you need them. Pilots can be surprised in a simulator, but they won’t have the true manifestation of startle and without that, they can’t learn how to mitigate it.”

Use It or Lose It

So I was trained up, right? Good to go? Not so fast. Six weeks later, I’m going through the motions in the airplane I’ve been checking out in, and I find myself working a bit to recover from the first unusual attitude given to me by my back-seater. I struggle to recite cleanly what had come to me readily by the close of the training in my summer session with Prevailance.

We know from trials conducted by various groups that the “stickiness” of mnemonics is critical when expecting pilots to apply them in flight following a training session. In a research study conducted at the Netherlands Aerospace Centre in 2016, seasoned flight crews—both short-haul (Boeing 737NG) and long-haul (747-400)—from the Dutch airline KLM were given ground-training and flight-simulator sessions to determine how well they adopted a course of action meant to mitigate the effects of startle and surprise on the flight deck. The abnormal-situation recovery plan taught within this study followed three steps: relax, observe, confirm—known as ROC. Roughly 70 percent of the crews came away from the training confident that ROC would help ensure they took the proper course of action following a startle event.

If mnemonics are straightforward—simple is not necessarily the right word—and unambiguous, they stay in a pilot’s mind a lot longer than a complex and abstract string. Compare two that you probably have heard before. GUMPPS: gas, undercarriage, mixture(s), prop(s), pump(s) and seat belt (with a C added in there in the event you have cowl flaps or carb heat to manage). It’s applicable in some way to every piston-powered airplane you’ve flown, and it forms a word that doesn’t mean anything else. Contrast that with the DECIDE model, a vintage mnemonic taught in legacy aeronautical decision-making texts. Each of the words within it is too abstract to be memorable, and in case of an event in the airplane, you’re just not likely to pull it out because your brain is already on step three by the time the event is underway.

So, was the sequence I learned in the UPRT course meeting those criteria of straightforward and applicable? Yes, but because this was a relatively newly learned skill, and I didn’t get up and practice right away, I needed additional reinforcement. That delay could translate into our lives from a combination of factors that we all face in some degree or another—such as a busy work schedule, stressful life events, illness or loss of memory as we age.

Indeed, the startle-and-surprise episodes we practiced in the UPRT course were only a few examples of myriad instances in the airplane where a pilot might panic, freeze or act impulsively. This also forms the psychological basis for the course itself, even though only a selection of scenarios is covered in the airplane. “Really, we are solving people problems,” Burke says, not aircraft problems. You can nail the process by which you can move through a startle response and apply it to a multitude of situations.

In the end, that’s what I needed to solve for myself: the very human response I had to the A380 upset and roll sequence. And the practice should continue, repeatedly and regularly, as long as I fly.

A UPRT Syllabus

The basis for the Prevailance Aerospace syllabus is found in the advisory circular covering UPRT, AC 120-109 “Stall Prevention and Recovery Training,” and aimed at meeting the Part 121 flying requirements in AC 120-111, “Upset Prevention and Recovery Training.” Compliance at the airline level is mandatory as of March 2019 under the FAA; the requirement under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency became mandatory in April 2019, including basic UPRT within initial pilot training for the commercial pilot license and airline transport pilot license.

The core of the recovery process lies in this step-by-step procedure:

• Uncouple (autopilot off, if using)/neutralize/analyze
• Push to unload
• Roll to recover
• Power adjusted as needed
• Steps to return to the previous phase of flight, if that makes sense

What can you do if a full-up UPRT course isn’t in the cards right now? Take a look at the following sample accident scenarios, and discuss them with your instructor in your next periodic proficiency session.

* February 2012: At Melbourne International Airport (KMLB) in Florida, a Cirrus SR22 crashed in the traffic pattern maneuvering to follow another airplane.

* January 2017: A wake-turbulence encounter occurred between an Emirates A380 flying from Mali, West Africa, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and a Challenger 604, with the Challenger’s diversion to Muscat, Oman.

* June 2009: Air France Flight 447, en route from Miami to Paris, experienced an upset following thunderstorm penetration.

A Next-Gen Acrobat: Extra NG

Unveiled at the EAA AirVenture 2019 to great fanfare, the latest execution of Walter Extra’s vision is the Extra NG, an almost wholly composite airframe that allows for aerodynamic adaptations beyond what shaped and riveted metal can provide.

“This goes back five years, when my world was perfect,” Extra said in an interview during that event. He explained the basis for the concern he had before in creating an aerobatic airframe using composite materials. “One of the qualities of this construction comes from the tubular fuselage, because steel construction leaves you some remaining strength in case of partial overload, which may happen during an airplane life for several reasons. [The airplane] may incur a load case that the design was not meant for…by somebody running a forklift through the fuselage or by hitting something in flight.”

Extra has wanted to work with carbon fiber, however, because of the design possibilities it shows. “The good thing about carbon is the high [elasticity] modulus and the high degree of stiffness, which enables you to make three-dimensional surfaces with comparably low weight—but if you exceed the strength of the material, the residual strength is zero. The stuff is brittle, and if it breaks next to you, you may not only lose the protecting environment that you have been sitting in before, but maybe [you’ll be] hurt by all these little splinters that all of a sudden work like a saw or a knife. And this kept me away from carbon fuselages for a long time.”

At the time of our talk, Extra was waiting on confirmation on the patent, so he was naturally a bit circumspect in our conversation. “I came up with a very blunt and a very easy technical approach to inhibit the disadvantages I just described. That’s part of the safety concept of this airplane now.”

The drivers of the design are different for an aircraft that’s meant for aerobatics as opposed to going from point A to point B; control balance and maneuverability take precedence in a different way than you may think. “For an IFR platform, you don’t want an airplane that is easy to disturb,” Extra said. “But in an aerobatic airplane, to the contrary, you want a stable platform that you can disturb. And that’s sometimes misunderstood, in my opinion. I always thought that the less attention you needed to fly an aerobatic airplane, the more attention you have left for your sequence, and that keeps you busy enough anyway. The focus, then, is on making an easy-flying airplane. Then when you make a control input and have to cut in, they allow for whatever deviation from the flight path—you need a maximum of maneuverability but you also need reasonable stability. That makes for an easier-handling airplane.”

Elements of the controls make other shapes possible because of the carbon. “There are natural limits to sizes of ailerons because, at some point, the wing is going to twist against the aileron inputs, and then you will not gain efficiencies. You can carry this much further with a high E modulus. And that’s the advantage of carbon.”

The NG’s engine is the 315 hp Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A, tuned for aerobatic flying. “There’s not much choice,” Extra said. The company has used that engine for a few years; it replaced the Lycoming AEIO-540 they had been using. “Rock solid.” To Extra, as a pilot, you don’t want to bother with technical issues. “When I got into aerobatics, it was normal to fly for 30 minutes and then work on the airplane for two hours. At the time, we took the electric starters out, we took the generators out, the batteries out—we didn’t have radios. We made the airplane as user-unfriendly as possible. You needed somebody to prop you, and starting somebody with a hot fuel-injected Lycoming engine is real fun. I got to the point [where] I said, ‘I don’t want to spend my life working on airplanes—I want to fly.’ So, I tried to increase usefulness, and now I think we are down to—it’s safe to say—put fuel in, check oil and wait for the next 50-hour inspection. And in the meantime, just go out and have fun.”

This story appeared in the December 2020 issue of Flying Magazine

The post Surprise Yourself For More Proficient Flying appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

What could possibly make an Extra 300L take off faster, climb better, and become even more fun to fly? How about a new prop? Hartzell Propeller has been awarded a supplemental type certificate for its Talon propeller for installation on the 300L, the company announced on January 25. The three-blade, high-performance 78-inch-diameter prop replaces the stock wood-core, three-blade prop with its advanced aerodynamic design.

The Talon prop gives the 300L a 2.5-percent increase in takeoff performance, according to the company, with a 5-percent decrease in takeoff distance and climb performance. Hartzell also projects higher durability and reduced life-cycle costs, owing to the lighter weight, low-inertia design. The advanced composite construction of the Talon integrates a “co-molded stainless-steel shank,” according to a Hartzell press release. “The outboard half of the leading edge is protected with a co-molded electroformed nickel erosion shield.”

Top airshow performers have already signed on for the new prop. Michael Goulian has started flying with the Talon, and he gives this review: “My flights with Hartzell’s Talon showed an increase in performance, while also contributing to crisper execution of the aerobatic maneuvers that are the hallmark of my show. The smoothness and responsiveness of this propeller is second to none.”

Kevin Coleman is also impressed with the results so far. “Climbing out, it felt really smooth, which those of you who’ve flown a big pumped-up motor know that they’re not always smooth. This is definitely the future of aerobatic airplanes right here,” Coleman said. “It is beautiful the way Hartzell designed these blades. Going into aerobatics, it definitely has more pull. It just goes harder. It gets out of the hole faster which is really good for aerobatics. It has good braking.”

The Hartzell Talon is available from propeller shops, FBOs, or directly from Hartzell. List price for the propeller, spinner, and STC paperwork is $29,301. Time between overhauls (TBO) is six years or 1,000 hours, whichever comes first.

The post Hartzell Puts Talon Prop on Extra 300L appeared first on FLYING Magazine.