The V-22 Ospry tiltrotor aircraft made an appearance at the convention. Due to the incredible downwash produced by this aircraft, any operation with the motors operating, needed to take place well away from the crowd and parked aircraft. The aircraft, based at Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico, performed demonstrations in Friday and Saturday.
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V-22 Ospry at EAA Convention
Veterans Programs at 2010 EAA Convention
The theme of the 2010 EAA Convention was a Salute to Veterans. The Disabled American Veterans had their B-25 Panchito there to promote their program of veteran services. Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band played there, and will be back at the 2011 event. Gary and his band have been associated with DAV, and support their programs and mission.
A Parade of Veterans took place on Friday of the convention. A bit of mis-coreography put several flags between the veterans and the speakers. 80 World War II veterans were taken to Washington DC for the day on the American Airlines Honor Flight to see the WWII memorial.
Butterfly Gyroplane Qualifies as Ultralight Aircraft
Originally introduced at the EAA Convention in 2003, the Butterfly has been revised to include a new light weight pre-rotator electric motor, and a few other modifications, to allow the aircraft to be flown under ultralight rules. It has a 5 gallon fuel tank, and flies at 62 MPH. The pre-rotator motor is actually designed for model aircraft, and runs on 36 volts. it puts out 2.7 HP and weighs only 2.2 lbs.
Visit their web site for information on this aircraft, and their other models.
Dominican Republic Tourism
The Dominican Republic had a very significant display at the 2010 EAA Fly-In Convention. They provided information on the ease of flying to the island, as well as the customs procedures. They state that Miami provides services all the was to the DR, and English speaking controllers are at the destination. The 14 airports have no landing fee for aircraft under 30,000 lbs, and is only about $6 for a Cessna 172 at one of the larger airports. Flight plans can be filed by radio for domestic flying.
Goodyear Blimp
The Spirit of Goodyear blimp was on the scene at the 2010 EAA Fly-In Convention. It was based at a location north west of Pioneer airport. I took a walk over to see it up close, and there are several photos over in this web site’s photo gallery. One item I hadn’t known was that the exterior advertising lights are individual LED arrays. There are 3,780 arrays with a total of 82,656 LEDs.
The ship is 192 feet long and about 60 feet tall, and normally cruises at 30 MPH.
Airships have been used by Goodyear for advertising since 1925. The flight instruments are similar to a fixed wing aircraft with a rate-of climb, air speed, attitude, and turn-and-bank indicators. Above the panel are valves for helium and air, fuel quantity and pressure, and a fuse panel. Externally there is a high definition gyro-stabilized television camera, along with a microwave transmitter.
The support crew of the blimp consist of an airship mechanic, electronics technician, ground mechanic, rigger, crew chief, and an assistant crew chief.
AvMap Aeronautical Navigator
AvMap introduced their EKP V portable navigation unit at last year’s convention. It was expected to be released in November, 2010 at about $2,000. The release appears to be delayed, but it is a very versatile unit. It has a 7″ display with 800 X 480 resolution, it has WAAS GPS functionality, maps with terrain avoidance, aircraft checklists, simulation mode, customizable display and it’s compatible with XM weather.
A docking station allows interface with an autopilot, EIS, EFIS and other devices. A progressive joystick and smart wheel selector provides a unique controller for interfacing with the unit, and a full visual keyboard can be activated.
Visit www.avmap.us for more information
Samson Motors Switchblade
There have been several new designs presented at the EAA Convention that are planes that can convert to road vehicles. The desire for a vehicle that can provide transportation at your destination, or during inclement weather is surely high on the list for potential pilots.
Samson Motors is developing a two passenger three-wheel vehicle. When in flight, it will be powered through a ducted fan. Last summer, the ground handling of their Switchblade prototype was being worked on. They have an X-Plane simulation developed, and they are still working on getting the body, suspension, engine and transmission finalized. There is still a lot of work to be done before this design becomes a flying prototype, but it’s an interesting concept. For more information, visit their web site.
Ford Participation at EAA Convention
Ford Motor Company has continued to expand its presence at our convention. Last year they not only presented the opening day Chicago concert and the Fly-In Movie Theater, they also had a large display area with moderator Hank the robot. Ford provided a unique Shelby-Roush designed Mustang with design features inspired by the SR-71 reconnaiss
ance plane. The car sold for $375,000 at the annual Young Eagles auction.
Ford also hosted a Crusin’ Legends car show featuring car clubs across the midwest, and a parade of Model-Ts.
Other Ford displays were the bucking bronco, people could try hands-free parallel parking, shuttles around the grounds, autograph sessions, and free ice cream delivered to campers.
Even though Ford is an automotive company, they have an aviation history with the Ford Tri-Motor plane, and their massive production of B-24 bombers during WWII.
Sikorsky Firefly Electric Helicopter
Sikorsky Aircraft Innovations project had their Firefly electric helicopter demonstration at last year’s EAA Convention. It is based on an existing design, and just had the power system replaced with a motor and batteries. The plane only has about a 15 minute endurance since it’s only a test project to learn about the system efficiency, reduced complexity, reduced maintenance, noise and vibration.
For more information, visit link
Pure Electronic gnition for Certified Aircraft
The first electronic ignition system STC for Lycoming and Continental engines are being developed my http://www.electroair.net. The system replaces one magento and provides a 20 deg spark duration and up to 30 deg of spark advance to five better engine performance and fuel savings. Several thousand of their previous generation unit are in place in experimental engines. It takes about 5 hours to install.