Around-the-world pilots Jean d'Assonville (left) and James Pitman celebrate their arrival on American soil.

On Friday, September 2, a unique airplane touched down at the Torrance, California, airport. Its pilots, looking as you’d expect a pair who have been on the road since the first week of August, were less impressed by making California than surviving the high-traffic conditions in the corridor above Los Angeles International. Their nonchalance was well earned: They’d just arrived, after a fashion, from the airplane’s birthplace in Johannesburg, South Africa.

An around-the-world trip is difficult enough, but for pilots James Pitman and Jean d’Assonville there’s an additional challenge. The airplane they’re sharing on this global jaunt is the first of its type, the Sling 4. This South African design neatly splits the difference between a lightweight two-seater and a full-size four-place airplane. In some ways, it’s a 2+2, though the back seat comfortably fits two adults.

On August 7, the Sling 4 departed South Africa for points east. With stops in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, Guam, the Marshall Islands and Hawaii before making the long overwater flight toward the U.S. west coast, the flight encountered just the usual number of bureaucratic delays and no mechanical issues. “In fact,” says Pitman, “you could say the flying was the easiest part. The airplane has been fantastic. But we have had various challenges on the ground.” Indeed, in Hawaii, a misunderstanding on the need for a High Frequency (HF) communications radio forced the crew to quickly rent and adapt an Icom radio and long-wire antenna—stretching from the top of the rollover bar to the tip of the tail and turning back toward the left wingtip—to meet U.S. requirements for long overwater flights.

For Pitman and d’Assonville, the mission is more one of personal endurance than it is worrying about the Rotax 914-powered aircraft. So far, the longest legs have been around 3900 kilometers (just more than 2400 miles) covered in 22.5 hours. With 119 gallons of fuel on board in a combination of larger main wing tanks and a small fuselage tank, the modified Sting 4 has 24 hours’ endurance. (The production Sting 4 and the kit derivative will have 40 gallons’ fuel.) On the first half of the trip, Pitman and d’Assonville had block-to-block average speeds from 108 mph to 138 mph, variable according to winds aloft and predicted fuel usage on any given leg.

Time for champagne.

By Tuesday, September 6, the crew was ready to depart California for the second half of the journey, homeward bound, with intended stops in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, Congo and then returning to Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg. All told, the trip will cover 44,377 km (27,735 statute miles) and conclude on September 24. “That’s a long way, we knew that,” said d’Assonville at the welcome dinner in Torrance. “I bought a little blow-up globe to help me get my head around [the distance]. It’s over the Pacific Ocean that you realize what a huge world this is.”

You can follow the remainder of the flight here.

The bound charts include a broad-scale topographic map, as well as an IFR-style map annotated with ground features like highways, waterways and shorelines. A yellow square depicts the location of the city associated with a mapped airport.

Updates are done by the user manually. You can elect to receive a mailed sheet showing the changes, or have that list emailed to you. You can earmark the atlas with the changes to keep the entire system legally current.

Price for one TRI-NAV atlas is $99 with $10 off each additional atlas.

Much more information can be found on the TRI-NAV website.

As with the previous Zulu headset, the new one supports Bluetooth connectivity, can be configured for stereo or mono audio-in, and can be powered with batteries or used as a panel-mount that employs ship’s power.

Price for all models is $900.

For more information, visit Lightspeed’s website.

Columnist Lane Wallace

At an informal press conference held this morning at Sun ‘n Fun, EAA President Rod Hightower announced several general initiatives for the association. “We’re going to become broader,” he said. “We’re going to increase our depth.” As part of that expansion process, supported, he said, by the addition of 115 new EAA members every day, EAA is going to begin offering its main publication, Sport Aviation, at “select” retail venues, including pilot shops. He said that it was not in the immediate plan to enter general retail sales at major bookstores.

Supporting the expansion of the association’s focus, Hightower introduced Lane Wallace as Sport Avaition’s newest columnist. Wallace will resume her “Flying Lessons” column, which was most recently in Flying magazine. “When [EAA] approached me about a column, the request was to report on the passion of flying. And I’m all about passion,” she said.

Other announcements include the association’s intention to create “pathways” to help convert what it says is great success with the Young Eagles program into enthusiasts who will continue through flight training and ultimately aircraft ownership.

For more information, visit EAA’s website.

Superior's parallel-valve Lycoming cylinder.

Cylinder assemblies for the Lycoming 360/540 series and Continental 520 series are now being shipped by Superior Air Parts. This marks the “next phase of product reintroduction,” according to the company.

“This is very exciting for everyone who has been involved with bringing the popular family of Millennium Cylinders back into production,” says Timothy T. Archer, CEO, Superior Air Parts. “Everywhere I’ve gone, the first question everyone has asked has been when would the Millenniums be available? Well, I can very happily say they’re available at your Superior dealer today.”

The Lycoming 360/540 and Continental 520 cylinders join other series currently in the distribution pipeline, including cylinder assemblies for the Lycoming O-235, Continental O-200 and Continental IO-550. The recent addition of the parallel-valve Lycoming cylinders will serve owners of the O/IO-360 and O/IO-540 engines. Superior’s recent reintroduction of the large-bore Continental cylinder will also serve owners of the O/IO-470 engine.

Superior's Millennium cylinder for the Continental IO-520.

“As you would expect, the process of gearing up production by our suppliers has taken longer than we hoped, but the major hurdles are behind us,” Archer said. “Right now our biggest challenge is being able to plan our production so that we can keep our dealers stocked. From what they’re telling me, the more customers hear that the Millennium’s are available, the harder they are to keep on the shelves.

“It’s a great problem to have but right now it’s a balancing act to match the economics with the production and orders to make sure we meet all the needs,” Archer added. “Our suppliers are working hard with our quality control team to get cylinders in, approved and back out to our dealers as quickly as our high standards will allow.”

Next up for the company is to restart production of whole engines, including the XP series of Experimental engines and the Vantage series of type-certificated engines for production aircraft.

For more information, visit Superior’s website or call 800/277-5168.

Tuition is $399 per person. For more information on the CAFE Foundation, visit the company’s website. A registration form for EAS V can be found here.

Here is the preliminary program. Check this web page for updates.

CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium V

EAS V PRELIMINARY PROGRAM, FRIDAY, APRIL 29

Brien Seeley, President, CAFE Foundation: Opening Remarks

Dr. Ben Santer, Climate Scientist, LLNL: Update on Climate Change

Dean Sigler, CAFE Blogmeister: Greater Expectations: The Revolution in Electric Aircraft

JoeBen Bevirt, CEO, Joby Aviation: Electric Aircraft That Transform Your Commute

David Calley, CTO, Motor Excellence: Ideal Electric Aircraft Motors

Pietro Perlo, Chair WG Auto EU Tech. Platform: Cross-cutting Technologies for Road and Air Electrical mobility: Smart Systems Integration

Brien Seeley, CAFE: Suburban Air Vehicles: Aviation’s Future

Murry Rozansky, ESA: Soaring into the Electric Future or “ Engines! We Don’t Need no Stinken’ Engines!”

Patrick McLaughlin: Motor Controllers for Electric Aircraft

Yueming Li and Ning Pan, UC Davis: Current State of Supercapacitor Research

Nicholas Roy, MIT: Autonomous Electronic Flight Controls; Making Flying Safe and Easy

Ilan Kroo, Professor, Stanford University: Design Concepts for Small Electric Aircraft

Larry Ford, Vice President, CAFE Foundation, DEBUT: The Amazing Aircraft of the 2011 CAFE Green Flight Challenge

Eric Darcy, NASA-JSC/NREL: Best Extant Global Battery Technologies

David Birkenstock, PressureThrust.com: Goldschmied Propulsion Exploration

Forum: Goldschmied Propulsion, Panel: David Birkenstock, Dennis Bushnell (NASA), Barnaby Wainfan (Northrop Grumman), John Roncz (Gemini Technologies), Sumon Sinha (Mississippi State–Deturbulators)

Karl Young, CEO, X-Cap: 10X Supercapacitor Energy Storage Using Carbon Nanotubes

Richard Glassock, Smart Skies Project, Australia: Hybrid Electric Aircraft and Automated Airspace

Dave Hawes and Gary Gerber, Emoteq: High-torque Wheel Motors For Electric Aircraft

[Continuing on Sunday.]

Dennis Bushnell, NASA Chief Scientist: Emerging Technologies for Electric Aircraft, Frontiers of the Responsibly Imaginable

Robert Englar, Professor, Georgia Tech Univ.: Pneumatic ESTOL Technologies for SAVs

Forum: V/ESTOL Technologies, Panel: Robert Englar (Gerogia Tech), Craig Hange (NASA), Tina Jameson (Cal Poly), Greg Jones (NASA)

Jack Langelaan, Penn State Univ.: Autonomous Energy Capture During Flight

Ken Goodrich, NASA: The Ideal Flight Deck: Rethinking Piloting

Forum: Rethinking Piloting; The Quest For 7 Sigma Safety, Panel: Ken Goodrich (NASA), Richard Glassock, Steve Williams (CAFE), Jack Langelaan, Penn State Univ., Damon Seeley, Nicholas Roy (MIT)

Steve Visco, CTO, PolyPlus: New High Energy Density Lithium Chemistries

Krish Ahuja, Professor, Georgia Tech Univ.: Quiet Propulsion Technologies

Forum: Quiet Propulsion Forum, Panel: Krish Ahuja (Georgia Tech), David Calley, Casey Burley (NASA), Feri Ferassat (NASA), Bill Macy, (Stratasys 3D FDM)

This just in from Zenith Aircraft:

The FAA Kansas City Manufacturing Inspection Office has evaluated the Zenith Aircraft Company Zodiac CH601 XL aircraft kit changes, specifically the 6-ZU Upgrade Package. The MIO has notified AIR-200 that they have found no significant change compared to the original Amateur Built Fabrication and Assembly Checklist, and meets major portion requirements (“51% rule”).

Zenith Aircraft Company offered a comprehensive upgrade kit to customers in 2009 in response to a number of accidents involving structural failures in a number of aircraft.  Since these “accidents did not indicate a single root cause, but instead implicated the potential combination of several design and operational aspects,” [according to the FAA Zodiac Special Review Team Report.]

Zenith Aircraft Company offered Zodiac XL builders and owners with a comprehensive Upgrade Package kit to significantly beef up the Zodiac aircraft and to restore confidence to the hundreds of builders, owners and pilots around the world, while also educating pilots to respect the design limitations of light aircraft.  Zodiac aircraft with the installed Upgrade Package kit have been renamed “CH 601 XL B” models.

There are many Zodiac XL aircraft still currently under construction be amateur builders across the country and the FAA’s re-evaluation of the kit assures builders that their kit aircraft, with the installed upgrade package kit, still meet the 51% rule, a requirement for registration as “amateur-built-experimental.”

Zenith Aircraft Company has since replaced the Zodiac XL model with the new CH 650 model which introduced a new larger bubble canopy and new styling, including a new swept-back rudder tail design.  The all-metal CH 650 kit may be built from plans (blueprints) or from a complete kit.  The CH 650 design meets the definition for LSA, meaning it can be operated with a Sport Pilot certificate, and a factory-built S-LSA model is also available.

For more information, visit Zenith’s website.

This just in from Glasair Aviation:

Glasair Aviation expands its unique Two Weeks to Taxi Program to include an amphibious Sportsman 2+2, with limited introductory pricing of $199K.

The Sportsman 2+2 amphib has a useful load of 950 pounds and a full fuel payload of 650 pounds – more than a Cessna 182 or 185. Sea level water takeoffs at gross weight break the surface in as little as 15 seconds; the 42 knot stall speed ensures smooth splashdowns; and with a cruise speed of 110 knots, range is 600 miles. All of this performance is achieved with an economical 4 cylinder Lycoming engine. “If you like landing on water, the amphib Sportsman will impress you with its unmatched performance and value,” said Mikael Via, President of Glasair Aviation.“The Sportsman was designed to be used as a family aircraft, with seating for two adults in the front and two kids in the back,” said Via.  In about one minute the rear seats can be removed, converting the aircraft to a spacious bushplane that can accommodate enough camping gear to head off into the wilderness for a month. It can also accommodate large sets of golf clubs, skis, fishing or hunting equipment. “It’s a go-anywhere, do-anything airplane and it’s fun to fly,” Via added.

Glasair’s unique Two Weeks to Taxi program is the first ever developed to provide pilots with access to an organized, systematic course that takes them on a step by step building program that ends with their airplane taxiing from the hangar. Customers have exclusive access to a variety of tooling, organization and quality assurance measures unavailable anywhere else. Combining lean manufacturing processes with educational assistance accelerates the Sportsman build time significantly without violating the spirit or intent of the FAA’s 51% rule.

Pilots who have completed the program openly state that, for them, Two Weeks To Taxi is the only way to build an airplane because the process not only provides certainty in terms of cost and completion, but also a level of confidence and satisfaction. Select your instruments, avionics, engine and propeller – even your paint scheme, if desired.

For more information, visit www.glasairaviation.com or call 360/435-8533, x 232.

This just in from Sporty’s President and COO, Michael Wolf:

Last year, we issued a Trends Report for 2009, highlighting shifts and developments in general aviation products based on our own research, marketing and sales experience. Now, with 2010 almost in the rear-view mirror, we want to share with you some trends we saw for the year.

1. It’s all about the iPad. Pilots were early adopters of the Internet, laptops and GPS so it makes sense that they feel totally comfortable with technology. Lightweight and compact, the iPad was built for cockpit use and pilots have made this gadget their own in huge numbers. Sporty’s hosts a growing collection of apps at sportys.com/apps. With all that said, paper charts are still quite popular. Pilots like the security of a no-battery backup.

2. Name that tune. In-flight music is almost an essential, at least for passengers. Accessory adapters, Bluetooth on headsets, and other gear which brings music to the cockpit are all very popular.

3. JC Penney had a bad third quarter. Tiffany & Co. had one of its best. Same with headsets. Despite economic conditions, premium-priced headsets such as the Bose A20 are hotter than ever. In fact, Hal has said that the most surprising thing in his career has been that pilots would pay $1000 for a headset, and now they are paying slightly more.

4. Retrofit glass panels are the must-have upgrade for owners of older aircraft. Sporty’s on-site avionics shop, Cincinnati Avionics, has kept busy this year with numerous Garmin G500 and Aspen Evolution installations. Still, round gauges are not dead. We estimate that the majority of our customers — and that’s the majority of GA pilots — have yet to fly glass.

5. Modular flight bags are the new thing. Consumers’ desire to personalize and customize many of their belongings now extends to flight bags. A contributing factor is that electronic devices can be padded and protected and not just thrown in a duffel bag. That was the impetus behind Sporty’s Mission Bag, launched this year.

6. When is GPS not enough? Even with GPSs everywhere, pilots still want and need a backup Nav/Com, and they want it to do more than ever. Sporty’s SP-400 is becoming a must-have backup.

7. New student enrollment in the University of Cincinnati’s Professional Pilot Program, which Sporty’s manages, is up significantly this year. More and more young people are choosing aviation as a career path, and preparing now for an expected hiring boom.

8. Portable traffic systems are hot–not just as stand-alones, but as an add-on to a portable GPS. This combination creates a real portable MFD–navigation, charts, weather, traffic, terrain.

9. Sales activity at Sandy’s Airpark, Sporty’s fly-in community at the Clermont County/Sporty’s Airport (I69), remains slow in the face of a weak housing market.

10. Consumers have more power in a tough economy. This trend continues. At Sporty’s we are practiced at making customers happy, but we never thought that being able to talk to a real-live person (and a knowledgeable one at that) when a customer calls with a question would turn into such a compelling selling point. You’ll never hear a recorded voice say, “Please enter your 16-digit customer number” at Sporty’s!

11. Portable eBook readers became mainstream in 2010, and in many cases eBooks have outsold their paper cousins. eBooks are an ideal tool for pilots on the go – portable, buyable anywhere there’s Internet access and (pilots love this) less expensive than regular books. Sporty’s introduced four eBooks in 2010, and Sporty’s eBook offerings will continue to grow in 2011.

12. Teaching people to fly is still what Sporty’s is all about, and providing the finest educational materials has kept Sporty’s strong for the past 49 years. Sporty’s Complete Pilot Courses, which evolved from the original three day ground schools in the 1960s, are now available on DVD, online and on mobile devices. In 2011, expect to see some exciting news about Sporty’s signature product.

As we begin a new year (Sporty’s 50th anniversary), our hope for all of us is that 2011 will be happy, healthy and prosperous. We remain grateful for your support during the year, so Happy Holidays – Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Buon Natale and Merry Christmas in other languages we don’t know to all our friends worldwide.

Now with the AC Plug-In Charger, TCW makes it possible to keep the IBBS battery recharged without tapping current from the airplane’s main battery. (In the normal IBBS installation, a wire is connected to an “always hot” terminal to trickle-charge the battery, but this can over time deplete the main ship’s battery.) Offered at $105, the PIC connects via the supplied circular connector feeding the IBBS, plugs into an AC outlet, and maintains the IBBS’s charge state without impact on the aircraft battery.

For more information, visit TCW’s website.

The AF-Pilot seamlessly integrates with the AFS systems and can feed back mode annunciation and other data; the connection is not a “one-way street” from the EFIS to the autopilot. The autopilot itself is a refined version of the TruTrak DigiFlight II VSGV, featuring trim annunciation (also displayed on the EFIS), GPS Steering and GPS Vertical capabilities. With the AF-4500 system, the autopilot will fly fully coupled lateral and dual-axis approaches (both GPS and analog nav, such as VOR, localizer and ILS).

The AF-4500 include integral mapping, synthetic vision, a fully featured engine monitor, angle-of-attack display and much more.

AFS has also announced that its new AF-5600 big-screen EFIS will be available late this year.

For more information, visit Advanced Flight’s website.