C 162 SKYCATCHER Shenyang First Flight 2009-09-17

Cessna is the worlds largest General Aviation aircraft manufacturer. As such their fully resourced move into the sport aviation space by the development of the Model 162 is of great moment in the GA world. It was always a mystery why Cessna chose not to compete with the LSA manufacturers, particularly from Europe. Now all is clear. They could not get the price into the $100K ballpark using domestic manufacturing. The LSA world will be changed forever. The sportaviation manufacturers now have competition from the master with a mainly metal entry of the highest standard.
Last month the first production prototype was flown for the first time by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.

This project which was announced at Oskosh in 2006 is on schedule and first customer deliveries will take place in 2009. This is a serious aircraft with all the trimmings; glass cockpit, Garmin G300 split screen primary flight and multi-function displays, airframe ballistic parachute etc.

The 162 was developed from scratch. It is not a derivative product. It carries no baggage, Ah Hum!.

Cessna made it look easy, on time, thru the Global Financial Collapse, and the loss of two flying prototypes in spin testing accidents (no injuries). Oh, and the price USD 115,000 or so.

Expect to see lots of these soon at an airfield near you.
Here is a Cessna release and an article from China Daily.
First production Skycatcher flies at Shenyang factory

The first production Skycatcher took to the skies for its inaugural flight in Shenyang, China, this past week.
This Skycatcher is the first to be fabricated and assembled on production tooling at Shenyang Aircraft
Company (SAC). During the flight, the aircraft performed a number of handling quality tests. The Skycatcher program continues to make significant progress with the first flight of our very first aircraft produced on production tooling following closely on the heels of our announcement in July of ASTM compliance for the aircraft,” said Jack Pelton, chairman, president and CEO. “We are excited about this program and eager for the
Model 162 Skycatcher to take its place in the industry as the light sport aircraft of choice.”
SAC is fabricating the fuselage and integrating U.S.-made engine, systems and avionics. Following shipment to the U.S., the 162s will be reassembled for delivery at one of three regional locations.

Cessna, in association with King Schools, has also developed a new Web-based training system for sport and rivate pilot certificates that will be available through the Cessna Pilot Center network of flight schools.

From China Daily
Sino-US co-developed sport plane delivered

China’s Shenyang Aircraft Corporation(SAC) has delivered the first L162, a light sport plane, to its co-developer, the US Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna), said a spokesman with SAC Friday. The L162 Skycatcher is a two-seat aircraft, with a gross weight of 0.6-ton and a length of 6.95 meters, said Pang Zhen, manager of the SAC civil aircraft division.
Cessna, as the proprietor of L162, is responsible for the designing, airworthiness approval, marketing and after-sale services.
SAC, as the only subcontractor, takes care of materials purchasing, parts manufacturing, assembling and test-flying, Pang said.

Diamond D 42

The high-tech Canadian-built air trainers replace the school’s old fleet of aircraft in which two student pilots died following a mid-air collision.

The 14 new aircraft, costing more than $8 million, represent a huge commitment for the university, but one it hopes will see its unique Bachelor of Aviation programme really take off.

“These planes will put us back at the cutting edge of the technology. It’s what pilots and companies want,” says Steve Maharey, Vice Chancellor of Massey University.

Two of the school’s old piper aircraft collided in mid-air three years ago after their student pilots failed to see each other.

The aircraft designed by the Diamond Company are built in Ontario canada and carry the latest state-of-the art safety features, including a special air traffic warning system.

“Risk can never be totally eliminated. The only way to be totally risk free is not to fly,” says Ashok Poduval of the Massey Aviation School.
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Not only does the new aircraft have a special traffic advisory system which warns of other aircraft in the area, it also has amazing visibility, says ONE News reporter John Newton who took a flight.

“It just enhances all aspects of flying as compared to what we’ve currently got,” says Craig Whyte, chief flight instructor.

Massey is the only university in New Zealand with an aviation school and one of just a few worldwide to offer degrees in aviation together with pilot training.

“There is no falling behind in the aviation industry and these planes return us right to that front edge again,” says Maharey.

To be a professional aviator today, the university says students not only have to learn to be a pilot but also how to handle a machine that’s technologically advanced.

The new fleet of air trainers meets those needs.

The $8 million consists of orders for 14 new aircraft:

D 40

DA40 – four-seat single-engine aircraft
Wingspan: 12.03m
Length: 8.05m
Engine: 180 horsepower
Max. take off weight: 1200kg
Max. speed 157 knots (290km/h)

DA42 – four-seat twin-engine aircraft
Wingspan: 13.41m
Length: 8.56m
Engine: 180 horsepower x 2
Max. take-off weight: 1785kg
Cruise speed (80 per cent power): 165 knots (306km/h)
Economy cruise (60 per cent power): 151 knots (280km/h)

From; http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/new-aviation-training-aircraft-take-off-2828348

Airport Security?

In an important finding The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general said Wednesday the national security threat posed by general aviation is “limited and mostly hypothetical.”

General aviation accounts for 77 percent of all domestic flights and includes air cargo transport, emergency medical flight operations, flight school training, and corporate and private aviation.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, asked the IG to investigate after a Houston television station alleged “security breaches” occurred at three local airports when reporters were able to approach airfields or aircraft without identifying themselves.

In a direct reference to the television report, titled, “Is Houston a Sitting Duck for Terrorism?” the watchdog’s report contains a section titled “Houston Is Not a ‘Sitting Duck for Terrorism.’ ”

“We reviewed the allegations and determined that they were not compelling,” wrote Homeland Security IG Richard Skinner. Reporters were unaware of some passive security and monitoring measures the airports had taken, such as 24-hour video surveillance, locked or disabled planes, and controlled fuel access.

Guidelines and alerts the Transportation Security Administration issued, “coupled with voluntary measures taken by owners and operators of aircraft and facilities, provide baseline security for aircraft based at general aviation sites,” Skinner wrote.

Besides the three Houston-area airports approached by the television reporters, the IG’s staff visited a number of large and small, public and privately owned general aviation facilities in metropolitan areas where people could be at risk in the event of a terrorist attack launched from the airports.

The IG noted TSA has tailored its security strategy to the range of airfield environments and classes of aircraft and operators, rather than introducing overly broad regulations that are costly to implement. The agency also analyzes credible intelligence information to prioritize existing threats and identify practical, targeted measures to reduce risks in the aviation sector.

“Although [TSA's Office of Intelligence] has identified potential threats, it has concluded that most [general aviation] aircraft are too light to inflict significant damage, and has not identified specific imminent threats from [general aviation] aircraft,” the IG stated.

“Significant regulation of the industry would require considerable federal funding,” Skinner added.

The watchdog did not make any recommendations to TSA, and agency officials did not submit formal comments in response to the report.

“The current status of [general aviation] operations does not present a serious homeland security vulnerability requiring TSA to increase regulatory oversight of the industry,” the IG concluded.
See http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0609/061709kp1.htm for report