AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 57

Mitsubishi's civilian aircraft

the Fourth of July. I fuel while Laver
re-files our flight plan; the Indian bureaucracy won't accept BaseOps' plan.
Approaching Banda Aceh's Runway 17
we cross ribbons of white beach bordering turquoise waters, and swaths of prime
waterfront real estate are swept nearly
clean-grim evidence of a tsunami eight
years ago that destroyed 80 percent of the
city and claimed 250,000 lives.
It's monsoon season in Indonesia.
There's a dramatic squall line just east of
the Banda Aceh airport as we depart after
our tech stop. We can't avoid the cell over
the airport at Palembang, however; the
approach is nearly to minimums in heavy
rain and smooth air, but we're soaked the
instant we leave the airplane.
Overall, except for persistent headwinds, I'm amazed at how good the
weather has been for us. We leave Japan
less than a day before Tropical Storm
Man-yi arrived, and minor volcanic eruptions in Japan and in Alaska turn out to
be nothing more than mentions in our
weather packages.

day to myself of the trip; I do laundry, have
lunch with members of the Latrobe Valley
Aero Club, and explore.
Flying north again, valley floors resonate with the bright greens of spring as
we cross the Great Dividing Range, mountains that run a quarter of the way up
Australia's east coast. We cross the resort
area of Noosa Heads and its wide beaches
as we begin our descent into Bundaberg,
where Laver visits with David McKenzie,
a friend from boarding school he has not
seen since 1968. A veterinary surgeon who
"runs sheep," raising some 8,000 head;
McKenzie flew in from Mildura in the
Cessna Hawk XP he bought new.
Transiting the Great Barrier Reef,
we enjoy an unwinding vista of reef
after reef. At Horn Island, airport manager Mike Castrisos offers a ride to the
ferry terminal-our hotel is on nearby
Thursday Island. The next morning we're
back in uniform, waiting on the dock for

When Potsdam Declaration restrictions
preventing Japan from producing aircraft
after World War II were eased, Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries conceived the MU-2 as
a clean-sheet design. Small, laminar-flow
wings allow cruise speeds of 280 to 310
knots. Full-span, double-slotted Fowler flaps
lower the stall speed for good short-field
performance, and spoilers provide roll control. A short-body fuselage has seven to nine
seats, and a longer model seats up to 11 (see
"Mitsubishi MU-2: Addictive Performance,"
May 2011 AOPA Pilot Turbine Edition).
The MU-2 first flew in Nagoya, Japan, on
September 14, 1963. Some 794 were built
through the end of production in 1986; 254
were on the FAA registry in October 2013.
A high accident rate early in its history was
traced to inadequate pilot training; there
has been only one significant accident since
standardized and recurrent training were
mandated by SFAR 108 in 2008.
Mitsubishi later designed the twin-engine
MU-300 Diamond jet and delivered 100
before selling the production rights to
Beechcraft, where it became the Beechjet
400 and evolved into the Hawker 400XP.
Mitsubishi has not offered a civilian aircraft
since, although it is developing a nextgeneration regional aircraft. First flight of
the Mitsubishi Regional Jet is expected in
2015. If Mitsubishi follows the lead of other
regional-jet manufacturers, a business jet
offering is likely to follow.
-MPC

HEADING FOR JAPAN. It's nice to be wearing regular clothes again, and even nicer
to have tailwinds en route to Australia's
Latrobe Valley Airport, where Laver
soloed 45 years ago. He'll spend a couple
of days with his mother and brother, who
meet us at the airport. Here I have my only
www.aopa.org/pilot  AOPA PILOT  |  57


http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013

AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013
Contents
President’s Position
Visual Approach
Letters
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
Foundation Focus
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
What Happens in Vegas...
AOPA Sweepstakes
Aviation Jobs
Gift Guide
Pilot Products
Pilot Products
News
People
Yacht of the Air
Around the World in 25 Days
Aviation Legends Walter Extra
Safety Pilot Landmark Accident: Unpredicted, Unadvised, Unaware
Summit 2013: Meeting Mr. Baker
Technique
Proficiency
Wx Watch
Technology
Ownership
Frugal Flier
Never Again
State and Local Action
Member Products
AOPA Foundation
Member Services
Government Affairs
AOPA Insurance Agency
Fly by Wire
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - President’s Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Visual Approach
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Foundation Focus
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - What Happens in Vegas...
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - AOPA Sweepstakes
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Aviation Jobs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Gift Guide
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Pilot Products
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Pilot Products
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - News
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - People
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Yacht of the Air
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Around the World in 25 Days
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Aviation Legends Walter Extra
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Safety Pilot Landmark Accident: Unpredicted, Unadvised, Unaware
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Summit 2013: Meeting Mr. Baker
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Technique
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Proficiency
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Wx Watch
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Technology
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Ownership
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Frugal Flier
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - State and Local Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Member Products
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - AOPA Foundation
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Member Services
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Government Affairs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - AOPA Insurance Agency
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 106
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Fly by Wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - Cover4
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