JUST SOME OF THE NEWS ITEMS PRINTED IN THE JULY ISSUE OF GLIDING INTERNATIONAL

Next update September 20th 2008

FLARM JOINS AEROSPACE LAB ‘ONERA’ Since its introduction in 2004, over 11, 000 Flarm units have been installed in aircraft worldwide. The company has just signed an agreement with ONERA of France, which opens up a whole new world to the Swiss Flarm company. ONERA is a leading aerospace and defence research and technology organisation in France, a state-owned entity, formed in 1946, reporting to the French Ministry of Defence. Onera has 2,000 employees with a proven record of innovation, expertise and long-term vision who have contributed to many of today’s aerospace and defence benchmarks, including Ariane 5, Airbus, Eurocopter helicopters and the Rafale combat aircraft. Thanks to this agreement, the technology which has been developed and brought to international market success by Flarm, can be further advanced and spread into new fields. This cooperation in research and development, compliments flight testing performed by ONERA, and their scientific support on leading-edge collision avoidance technology. This ‘partnership’ means a big impact on the next generation of Flarm’s product and their planned improvements of not only collision avoidance hardware, but also aircraft data communication, traffic information display, navigation and SOS distress signals.

NEED A UNIQUE RING TONE FOR YOUR CELL-PHONE? How about one that sounds just like your electric vario? You can now get a ringtone of a vario singing that sweet tone we all know and love. It’s free. Check out http://www.myxertones.com/get/item/250751/ or the alternative site - http://www.parapentebierzo.com/english/downloads/descargas.htm

HOW NOISY IS YOUR TUG? U.S.A. CONGRESS “SAYS ITS ALL TOO LOUD” The House Subcommittee on Aviation had a hearing in May on aviation’s impact on the environment. Noise and emissions are expected world wide to double by 2025, so aggressive action is needed to prevent that scenario. Gerald Dillingham, told the hearing that NextGen developments will improve efficiency, but more funding is needed for research into better technology. National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne testified that NetJets is investing in the development of an ultra-low-emissions jet fuel. Several representatives of the airline industry noted that given the cost of fuel, the industry is doing all it can to improve efficiency.

IT’S ONLY TAKEN 15 YEARS - BUT EVERYTHING COMES TO THOSE WHO WAIT. The PW-5 altitude limit has been increased from 5000 to 11000 metres. The relevant bulletins are being prepared and will be issued in the near future. (not another 15 years we hope).

FOR TOW PLANES - NEW FUEL PROMISES BETTER RANGE, LOWER COST “Not only can our fuel seamlessly replace the aviation industry’s standard petroleum fuel it can outperform it,” says John Rusek, a professor at Purdue University and co-founder of Swift Enterprises. The company recently unveiled a new general aviation fuel that it says will be less expensive, more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendlier than any on the market. Unlike other alternative fuels, Rusek said, SwiftFuel is made of synthetic hydrocarbons that are derived from bio-mass, and it can provide an effective range greater than 100LL, while costing about half as much to produce. “Our fuel should not be confused with first-generation biofuels like E-85 [85 percent ethanol], which don’t compete well right now with petroleum,” Rusek said. Patented technology can produce the 1.8 million gallons per day of fuel used by GA in the U.S. by using just 5 percent of the existing bio-fuel plant infrastructure, the company said. The synthetic fuel is 15 to 20 percent more fuel-efficient, has no sulfur emissions, requires no stabilizers, has a 30-degree lower freezing point than 100LL, introduces no new carbon emissions, and is lead-free, Rusek said. In addition, he said, the components of the fuel can be formulated into a replacement for jet/turbine fuels. The fuel is now being evaluated by civil aviation authorities.

DO YOU HAVE A NARCO TRANSCEIVER? International Avionics Inc., a Delaware corporation, has acquired what it says is the oldest general aviation electronics manufacturer in the world, Narco Avionics Inc. Narco says that all its customer service, support and dealer network functions will continue to be fully supported and new product research and development will continue at “maximum effort.” Narco was originally incorporated November 11, 1945, and will celebrate its 63rd birthday this year.

LAST ISSUE ON RUSSIA We quoted on the nine hours flight in a Blanik for a world record. We didn’t have any further information on the flight, but a member from Sweden writes to tell us that the pilot Yuri Kuznetsov, was the Russian delegate to I.G.C. for many years. ? He did his Blanik flight in 1967. He told us that it was not particularly interesting to know that it lasted eight hours 50 minutes, but what we didn’t tell you was that he covered 900 kilometres, probably the longest flight ever in a 28:1 glider. The Black Sea was in the way, and he arrived there at an altitude of 2000 metres.

THE WORLD AIR GAMES 2009 website has now been published in English at http://www.wag2009.com/eng/. It proudly displays the new logo which was officially launched recently at a ceremony hosted by the World Air Games 2009 organising committee on the Piazza Castello in Turin (Italy) . The new logo has been inspired by the Mole Antonelliana building which is a symbol of the city and was named after its designer Alessandro Antonelli. The four elements of the logo can also be interpreted as four wings taking off into the sky. One of the events for the airgames that has attracted our attention is the plan to build and fly an ultralight aircraft from a kit set in the town square with a time limit of 24 hours. (We don’t think they plan to fly it off the square (?) )

CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY is the world’s largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2007, Cessna delivered 1,272 aircraft, including 387 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $5 billion.

NEW TOW PLANE FOR CANADA - Canadian glider pilots are seriously criticising the decision of the national ATC to buy this very expensive (Pictured) Wilga tow plane from Poland. . ATC in their defence says the aircraft as well as towing their glider fleet, will provide their 4000 cadets with air experience and transport for instructors to their 54 squadron training sites. The PZL-104 was designed mainly for use in sports aviation, especially for glider-towing and parachute training. The prototype of the initial Wilga 1 variant was first flown on April 24, 1962. The PZL-104 Wilga 2, an export variant for Indonesia, was powered by a 225 hp Continental O-470. While the Wilga 2 airframe proved a successful design, it was decided to use a radial engine, the 260 hp Ivchenko and this led to the PZL-104 Wilga 3 variant. The aircraft has come a long way since then and over 1000 variants of the original design have since flown. But the shiny new one shown here is the latest version. The ATC have not declared what the tow plane cost.