Page 23 - Volume 15 Number 10

An F-16 Fighting Falcon overran the Runway 36, resulting in a collapsed nose gear and damaged engine inlet.Spitfire kit aircraft. The Vintage Wings of Canada museum brought its Fairey Swordfish “Stringbag” biplane from World War II. Because 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Navy’s entry into aviation, it was proclaimed that the airport would be known as “Naval Air Station Oshkosh” for the week, and numerous events and aircraft centered on a nautical theme, including showings of practically every aircraft type in the Navy’s inventory.Sikorsky Innovations showed its 250-knot X-2 coaxial research helicopter, soon to be installed in a museum. Pioneering homebuilt aircraft designers Chris Heintz of Zenith Aircraft and Burt Rutan from Scaled Composites had many examples of their designs flown in by builders for display.Production Aircraft AnnouncementsKestrel Aircraft announced the selection of Honeywell’s TPE331-14GR turboprop engine for the production version of Kestrel’s single-engine composite airplane, currently flying in test-bed form with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6A. Blackhawk Modifications proclaimed certification for its 850-shp XP42A conversionBeechcraft’s King Air 90GT, 250 and 350 models, the Premier 1A, Cessna’s Mustang and Caravan, Piper’s Altair single-engine jet and Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision SF50 jet. Embraer proudly showed its Phenom 100 and 300 light jets and announced record sales for the entire Embraer line. The reborn Total Eclipse twinjet was repeatedly flown and HondaJet demonstrated its over-wing-engines light business jet prototype and announced flights of the conforming certification test aircraft. Daher-Socata marked its 100th Anniversary as a company, dating from the Morane Saulnier origins in 1911; strong demand for the TBM850 Very Fast Turboprop fuels speculation of a follow-on NTx twin jet, perhaps based on the Grob SPn. Pilatus Aircraft, which always pursues a unique thematic for the Oshkosh event, presented its PC-12NG as the centerpiece at a retro-1950s “Pilatusville” bistro.As always, many developmental aircraft were shown, including a fanjet-equipped conversion of an Aerostar piston twin, shown by Aerostar Aircraft. Boosted to nearly 400 knots by Pratt & Whitney 615F-A engines of 1,460 pounds thrust, it fulfills designer Ted Smith’s dream of an ultimate Aerostar. Quest Aircraft’s well-establishedof the Cessna Caravan 208B, boosting horsepower by 175 to 850 shp and vastly improving high-and-hot, known icing and high-gross operation for Caravan operators. Meanwhile, Evektor Aircraft of the Czech Republic announced its twin-PT6A turboprop EV-55 Outback utility plane, and GripsAero division of Mahindra Aerospace announced the selection of the Rolls Royce M250 turboprop engine for its GA10 utility single, an expanded version of the GripsAero GA8 piston-engine bushplane.Also seen at the show were one of Bombardier’s Learjets, HawkerOCTOBER 2011The Commemorative Air Force’s Boeing B-29 bomber, “Fifi,” returned after a 16-year absence, given new engines under the sponsorship of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum.TWIN & TURBINE • 21