AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2015 - 14
LETTERS
to bring me back to currency. I
have even gone as far to peruse
Trade-A-Plane to see what the
realities are. I was pleasantly
surprised to read your "just-intime" article. That brought me
that significant step closer to
again establishing myself as PIC.
I've even felt confident
enough that I've entered AOPA's
You Can Fly sweepstakes; you
never know, someone's going to
get the call!
Not only are these old
aircraft being reimagined, but I
have to believe that many an old
pilot will be, too.
Tom Leetz
AOPA 5314952
Elgin, Illinois
Gone, baby, gone
HANGAR TALK
In your story on some poor
aircraft designs, you remark
of the nonstandard flap/gear
switches in Beech Barons and
Bonanzas that were finally
corrected in 1984 and lateryear models. While true for the
Model 33, 35, and 36 Bonanzas
and Model 55 and 58 Barons, it
is inaccurate for the Model 58P
and 58TC, which commenced
deliveries in 1976. Because
those aircraft had new type
certificates under different
regulations (Part 23, I believe)
the gear and flap switches were
in the standard location (gear
on left, flap on right). I owned
for a short time a 1979 Model
35 (nonstandard) and a 1977
Model 58TC (standard gear/
flap switches) at the same
time, and it took a little extra
diligence in their operation.
Both were fantastic airplanes
exceeding the POH airspeeds
at selected power settings,
especially the 58TC.
One interesting note on the
TC. Since it was basically an
unpressurized P Baron, it had
an amazingly strong airframe.
It had thicker skins and a stronger spar so it didn't come under
the spar AD of the standard
Model 58. A demonstration
of that strong airframe was
the TC's maneuvering speed,
which was an astounding 170
knots. I normally cruised at
about 61 to 62 percent power at
12,000 to 14,000 feet at an indicated 165 to 168 knots (at 5,600
to 5,800 pounds). In other
words, I always cruised below
maneuvering speed.
Larry Weitzman
AOPA 504833
Placerville, California
PILOT BRIEFING
28 NEWS 32 OSH 2015 34 BUDGET BUY 38 SAVING AIRPORTS 40 TEST PILOT
Who's first, Airbus or Cri-Cri?
Electrifying battle above the English Channel
47 FLY-INS
HUGUES DUVAL flies the Cri-Cri E-Cristaline
airplane (above); Airbus' electrically
powered E-Fan twinjet (inset).
BY THOMAS A. HORNE
IF THE GOAL was publicity, then
both organizations claiming
to be the first to fly an electric airplane across the English
Channel were winners.
Airbus' electrically powered E-Fan twinjet crossed
the English Channel on July
10. Airbus said that the E-Fan
was the first electrically powered airplane to make the
flight-from Lydd in the United
Kingdom to Calais, France. That
was later qualified as being the
first twin-engine electric aircraft to take off under its own
power and cross the Channel.
Airbus still claims it is in the
record books.
Hugues Duval says he
made a Channel crossing the
day before-in his Cri-Cri
E-Cristaline airplane, powered by twin 15-horsepower
Electravia electric motors.
Duval said that his flight did
not begin with a conventional takeoff. Instead, his
Cri-Cri was launched midair from a Broussard MH1521,
a 1950s French observation
and liaison warbird powered
by a 450-horsepower Pratt &
Whitney R-985 Wasp radial
engine. Authorities prevented
Duval from taking off from an
airport for "administrative reasons," Duval said. There was no
word on whether Duval will
alter his claim to be the first airlaunched electric airplane to
cross the Channel.
The Cri-Cri was released
from the Broussard at a "quite
high" altitude (the Broussard's
ceiling is 14,500 feet) near Kent,
England, according to Duval,
who asserted that Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale,
and the Aero-club de France,
will grant him recognition as
being the first to cross in an
electric airplane. Duval also
landed in Calais.
Duval said that the launch
procedure will carry as much
validity as the Wright brothers'
use of a drop-weight catapult
did back in 1903. The Wrights'
being catapulted down a launch
rail was considered the legitimate start of a flight back then.
Airbus' achievement has
been marred by allegations
that it pressured electrical
giant Siemens into demanding
that Slovenian manufacturer
Pipistrel not use its electric
motor, citing safety concerns.
(Siemens is an E-Fan sponsor,
and provides electrical components to Airbus.) Siemens
demanded the return of the
motor, and banned Pipistrel
from using it in the future.
Pipistrel had been planning a cross-Channel flight
of its own, using its Alpha
Electro two-seat trainer,
which is powered by a Siemens
60kW/80-horsepower motor.
The drama has taken on
David versus Goliath overtones.
Huge conglomerates like Airbus
and Siemens are pitted against
the tiny Cri-Cri.
EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org
26 | AOPA PILOT September 2015
Clarification
I am sure that by now you
have been made aware that
the Wright brothers did not
use a drop weight catapult for
their 1903 flights at Kitty Hawk
("Who's First, Airbus or CriCri?" September AOPA Pilot).
They launched by the power of
the Wright Flyer engine alone.
Later, back in Dayton, they
"I was honored just to get the chance to
sit in the pilot seat of a B-25," says Editor
in Chief TOM HAINES after his weekend
of learning about and flying the iconic
Mitchell bomber. "To get a chance to
fly it was breathtaking and had me in
awe of the young men who took them
to war-and those who work so hard
today to keep those memories alive."
Haines earned a second-in-command
type rating in Panchito for his story,
"JOINING THE RAIDERS," p. 58. "While
flying the lumbering bomber was a
thrill, I confess that one of the highlights
of the weekend was climbing into the
nose compartment in flight. The view is
stunning. The gun (alas, now disabled) is
still there. Flying down the Atlantic Coast
near Georgetown, Delaware, I could
imagine it might be a Mediterranean beach and those glints in the distance might be
Messerschmitts. Scared and exhilarated all at once and completely dependent on the
pilot upstairs to get us there and back. What a responsibility those young men had.
It's an experience I won't forget."
14 | AOPA PILOT December 2015
used a catapult system so they
could get airborne in a much
shorter distance.
David Bormuth
AOPA 1247165
Plain City, Ohio
You got us there, but Cri-Cri
pilot Hugues Duval invoked the
catapult as a way of justifying
the legitimacy of his flight as the
first Channel crossing by an allelectric airplane. And while the
Wrights set many records on
their catapult-launched flights
in Dayton, it may be a failed
analogy for the Cri-Cri. After
all, the Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale isn't in the
business of judging "firsts," just
distance and speed records. -Ed.
Errata
In the October 2015 AOPA
Pilot, there were two errors
in "To Infinity and Beyond."
SpaceShipOne is not known as
Launcher One; Launcher One is
not a part of the human spaceflight program. Also, there are
"well more than one dozen
female ticket holders," according to Virgin Galactic's Will
Pomerantz, who says Virgin does
not reveal the exact numbers, but
female ticket holders are significantly more than one dozen as
stated in the story. AOPA Pilot
regrets the errors.
In "Diesel Rounds the Bend,"
October 2015 AOPA Pilot, we
incorrectly identified who flew
a Cirrus SR22 powered by a
Graflight V-8 to EAA AirVenture
2014. Dick Rutan did not fly that
aircraft to AirVenture.
We welcome your comments.
Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
or email (pilot@aopa.org). Letters may be edited for length
and style before publication.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2015
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