AirVenture Gets Off to a Stormy Start

The “World’s Busiest Control Tower” at Wittman Field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was a little slow yesterday, compared with the usual frenetic EAA AirVenture pace. A sequence of severe lines of thunderstorms blitzed on Saturday, causing much of the usual incoming traffic to hunker down en route. The torrential rains also saturated the acres of grass parking grounds to the point that Sunday’s arrivals were limited to aircraft with hard-surface parking slots and those with oversize “tundra” tires. In addition, scores of campers were left waiting at the entrance gates until their reserved campsites dried out on Sunday.

Late yesterday afternoon, EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski told AIN those responsible for reopening the event site were pleasantly surprised with how quickly the post-frontal winds and sunshine were drying everything out. Indeed, the field re-opened for limited arrivals around 4:30 p.m. CDT yesterday, and today, the official opening day of AirVenture, promises busy traffic. More good news: the forecast for the remainder of AirVenture is among the best in recent memory—typical Wisconsin summer fare of temperatures in the mid-80s, low humidity, and smooth, clear skies as far as the eye can see.

Attendance figures are expected to set records. So now that the celestial floodgates have closed, the tsunami of antiques, warbirds, homebuilts, and other aircraft is set to take over.

Bye Aero Racks Up Commitments for All-electric eFlyer

Bye Aerospace said yesterday at EAA AirVenture that it has received 624 “customer commitments” for its series of all-electric eFlyer training aircraft: 170 deposits, 318 memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and 136 MOU options. Major new orders include a commitment for 60 eFlyer2 two-seat aircraft from Norway’s OSM Group and 100 eFlyer4 models from BlackBird air taxi.

CEO George Bye said that the company’s technology demonstrator aircraft recently began flying with a 20 percent more powerful Rolls-Royce Siemens SB70 V10 motor that can deliver speeds of up to 90 knots while consuming 35 kilowatts of power and the ability to carry 450 pounds of passenger payload for flight durations up to three hours. Other planned aircraft features include a new three-blade propeller, Garmin G3X avionics, and a BRS emergency parachute system. 

According to Bye, the market for both the two-seat eFlyer2 and larger eFlyer4 could be up to 60,000 units, though the company had set a target of 20,000 aircraft. Direct operating costs for both aircraft were $23 and $30 per hour, respectively.

He said the company is focused on selling into the aircraft training market where much of the fleet is populated by aircraft that are 50 years old and the cost of training—more than $150,000 for airline pilot candidates—discourages many students. “Pilot training is our top priority,” Bye said.

Diamond Inks 11-aircraft Order from Blue Line

On the eve of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Diamond Aircraft Industries inked an order for 11 aircraft—10 single-engine DA40 NGs and a DA42-V1 twin—from North Carolina flight training center Blue Line Aviation. Lifestyle Aviation, a major North American distributor for the Chinese-owned manufacturer—as well as for Cessna, Cirrus, Mooney, and Piper aircraft—facilitated the deal. The aircraft will be delivered over the next 18 months and bring Blue Lines’ Diamond fleet of jet-A-burning aircraft to 20. The buy comes less than a year after Blue Line ordered half a dozen DA40 NGs and one DA 42-VI.

“We chose the modern jet-fuel-burning aircraft because they provide a strategic competitive advantage,” said Blue Line founder and owner Trey Walters. “We fly 100-plus hours a month per aircraft, so that has been a huge benefit for us.”

Calling Blue Line “among our most loyal customers,” and Lifestyle Aviation “essential” in the transaction, Diamond CEO Scott McFadzean said, “We look forward to continuing growing the Diamond brand together with our partners in the United States.”

In July, Diamond announced it will provide all new aircraft buyers three free months of SiriusXM aviation weather, information, and all-access programming.

Redbird Making It Easier To Earn Instrument Ticket

Redbird Flight Simulations has announced its accelerated Guided Instrument Flight Training (GIFT) instrument rating program, the latest addition to the GIFT product line. At a reception yesterday at EAA AirVenture, the company said the new product helps pilots advance faster and more cost-effectively through to their instrument rating.

Sales representative Alex DeBlaze explained how the program enables an instructor to work with a student on any of hundreds of variations, including mission-specific procedures, such as an ILS at his or her home base airport. “Then the student can practice the approach repeatedly in the simulator, without the instructor, and then review progress,” he said. The GIFT instrument rating program also has a revamped “video-game-like” scoring system designed to entice students to improve their scores.

Redbird also announced Corvus, a new ADS-B element in its training, enabling connectivity with electronic flight bag (EFB) applications such as Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight. The simulator provides data akin to what an ADS-B receiver delivers to the EFB. It represents own-ship positioning of the simulated aircraft, as well as broadcasting AHRS information and TIS-B traffic data.

Also new from Redbird is an application rehost of the Pro Line Fusion avionics system for selected Redbird devices. It combines Redbird’s aircraft-specific hardware with a rehost of the Collins Pro Line Fusion software for an affordable option in training for advanced avionics.

Garmin Adds GNC GPS/comm to Product Line

Garmin announced new products for the general aviation market at EAA AirVenture yesterday, including the GNC 355 GPS/comm.

Designed for Class I and Class II aircraft (6,000 pounds mtow or less) and the experimental category, the GNC 355 fits between the new GPS 175 and the GNX 375 units in the product line-up. It adds the communications radio to the navigator found in the GPS 175, offering localizer performance with vertical (LPV) approach capability. Garmin expects the GNC to earn its supplemental type certificate next month and become available for shipping and installation.

It has the standard 6.25-inch by 2-inch size so it will fit easily into most panels. The user interface has been optimized for the GNC 355 screen size, and it retains Garmin’s menu structure from similar navigators and comm radios, including one-touch access on the touch screen, so the transition should be easy for pilots.

According to Garmin Carl Wolf v-p of aviation sales and marketing, “The GNC 355 gives value-minded customers a simple upgrade path to a GPS navigator with a number of capabilities including WAAS/LPV approach guidance, wireless connectivity, a modern comm radio, and, with its standard mark-width form factor, pilots can easily add the GNC 355 without overhauling the panel of their aircraft.”

The GNC 355 is priced at $6,995; the European version with additional frequency spacing capability costs $7,695.