AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015 - 39

PILOT BRIEFING
TEST PILOT

| BY BARRY SCHIFF

New twin coming
from Ukraine

1. Arrange the following airplanes
in order of their length, longest first
and shortest last.
a. Airbus A-380
b. Antonov An-225 Mriya
c. Boeing 747-8
d. Hughes H-4 Hercules
(Spruce Goose)
2. Why did all trans-Atlantic air service terminate in May 1937?
3.. From reader Paul Reinman: What
well-known production airplane
never flew out of or into the U.S. airport at which it was manufactured?
4. The expression "he or she is on
cloud nine" describes a feeling of
elation and joy. What is the meteorological origin of this expression?
5. From reader John Schmidt:
During a parade on August 7, 1919,
along the Champs-Élysées that celebrated the end of World War I,
French pilots were ordered to join
the infantry and participate on foot.
At the Airshow
CAF Honors Vets

The Voice of General Aviation

Aerostar Jet
ted smitH's dreAm

7. From reader Ed Drury: What is
believed to have been the first diesel-powered airplane in the United
States?
8. True or false: A turbocharged
engine developing 36 inches of manifold pressure and 2,700 rpm at sea
level produces 300 horsepower. The
same manifold pressure and rpm at
20,000 feet msl results in the same
horsepower.
ANSWERS on page 40

An ArtisAn FAmily

www.aopa.org/pilot | February 2014

February 2014

WHy IS tHe CBP StoPPIng
InnoCent PIlotS? p. 66

Shark Hunt!

traCkIng great WHIteS
From tHe aIr p. 76

Cessna 180 Skywagon | Shark Hunt! | Customs and Border Protection Update
www.aopa.org

ILLUSTRATION: JOHN HOLMES

6. A pilot is performing an onpylon (not an around-pylon) turn
and notices that the pylon is moving
behind the wing tip. He should
a. climb and increase airspeed.
b. climb and decrease airspeed.
c. descend and increase airspeed.
d. descend and decrease airspeed.

Rare Aircraft

Stop the Madness

AOPA Fly-Ins

new regIOnAl events

dATeS And locATionS
Announced
p. 32

Cessna 180

This provoked the pilots, who considered themselves "heroes of the
air." What did pilot Charles Godefroy
do in protest?

FAVORITE 'AOPA PILOT' COVER OF 2014

Mike Fizer's image on the February cover of a Cessna 180
Skywagon flying in California was the reader-favorite AOPA Pilot
cover in 2014 according to a recent online poll (www.aopa.org/
News-and-Video/All-News/2015/February/Pilot/pilot-covervote.aspx). Second favorite was June's Stearman "Above the
Everglades" photographed by Chris Rose. Third was April's Beech
18 on floats "Timeless Traveler," also by Chris Rose.

SOFTEX-AERO, located in north-central
Ukraine, received Ukrainian certification
for a pusher-prop four-seat twin last fall and
plans to bring it to market soon. The price
of the V-24 aircraft-aimed at the training,
small business, and utility markets-has not
been announced. The four-year-old company must seek certification in Europe and
follow that with certification by the FAA
before sales can begin in the United States.
The company also plans a five-passenger,
145-knot gas-turbine helicopter, the V-51.
The V-24 can be powered by Rotax
912 or 160-horsepower Lycoming IO-320
engines, with future plans to fit turboprop
engines. With Rotax engines the aircraft
can cruise at 118 to 135 knots true airspeed,
depending on power setting, while a cruise
speed of 160 knots is claimed when powered by the Lycomings. The turboprop
is proposed to cruise at 220 knot true
airspeed.
Stall speeds for the V-24, which has a
36.7-foot wingspan, are 53 knots with flaps
down and 70 knots indicated airspeed with
flaps and gear retracted.
A variety of avionics are promised,
including a glass cockpit from MGL
Avionics in South Africa. A specification list
shows the aircraft can withstand plus 4Gs
and minus 2Gs, unusual for a utility trainer.
The aircraft first flew in 2012 and was
shown at Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany
in 2014, as well as the Middle East Business
Aviation show in December 2014.
The V-51 helicopter will use the
370-shaft-horsepower Rolls-Royce M250
engine, and has a maximum gross weight
of 3,196 pounds, with an empty weight of
1,653 pounds. The company provided no
information on pricing or certification
dates.
-AKM

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 39

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015