Happenings of interest to pilots in Asia

Chinese buy another airplane manufacturer

A Chinese mining company in Sichuan has taken a 75 percent stake in Lisa Airplanes for US$20 million. Lisa, a French company, makes the Akoya, a two-seat sports seaplane. The new owner, Leshan Heima Mining Company, has plans to move the production line to China. Read more.

Diamond in the rough

Diamond Aircraft has laid off most of its staff, it announced on February 25. The Canada-based company produces a range of popular aircraft, such as the Diamond DA40 four-seater, whose buyers include several training schools in Malaysia and Singapore. Read more.

FAA calls for special checks on control cables of Piper aircraft

February 4, 2013 – The United States’ Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has issued a notice to owners of certain models of Piper aircraft to do specific checks of the control cable assemblies during the annual inspection.

The notice, known as an Airworthiness Directive (AD), was issued today (Monday) and is effective from March 11, 2013.

The AD calls for an inspection of the control cable assemblies of Cherokee, Warrior, Archer, Saratoga, Lance and Seminole models which are 15 years or older.

The move will eventually affect tens of thousands of aircraft – the number in the US Registry alone totals 34,000 – as the newer planes hit the 15-year mark and the checks become mandatory.

The FAA estimates the cost of inspecting and replacing the cables of each aircraft about US$2,000.

Piper told Avweb that it “cooperated fully” with the FAA in developing the AD. The AD stems from several incidents in which control cables are believed to have been involved.

Pioneering Thai aviator Sawaetwong dies in crash

Jan 15, 2013 – The creator of the Pattaya Airpark, Nawaporn Sawaetwong, died after his microlight aircraft crashed in a field last Saturday evening.

The late Captain Nawaporn Sawaetwong lived his dream of becoming a pilot and helping others enjoy flying. Image from his Pattaya Airpark website.

Captain Sawaetwong, 55, also known as “Neil” to aviators in the region, was alone in his Kestrel Hawk at the time. An experienced pilot with over 2,000 hours and more than 5,000 landings under his belt, he was a great supporter of recreational flying.

A silver jewelry exporter with a factory in Nonthaburi, he gave up the 20-year-old business, in his own words “to pursue a dream”. That dream was to fly. Having obtained his Private Pilot’s Licence in 1991, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the world of aviation. His subsequent achievements included helping draft the Air law for Ultralights (Kor Bor Ror 43) in 1996,

In 2003, he leased some land to build the Pattaya Airpark, eventually purchasing the approximately 50 acres to create a haven in the area for pilots.

He leaves behind his wife, Potjamarn or “Pao”, and a daughter, Chompoonut, Alexandra, better known to MTV Thailand fans as VJ Alex. Alexandra played a role in the Thai movie “First Flight” about the country’s fledgeling air force.

Merawan extends condolences to his family.

For more on the mishap, read the Pattaya103.com report.
For more on Captain Sawaetwong and his Pattaya Airpark, read this.

Parking fees at Seletar airport up by 10 times

Jan 15, 2013 – Owners and operators of light aircraft at Singapore’s Seletar Airport are now paying 10 times more in parking charges since new rates came into effect last October.

Changi Airport Group, which manages the aerodrome, WSSL, said that the hike, from S$2.20 a day to a minimum of S$25 a day, effective from October 1, was necessary as the previous charges “do not adequately reflect the present economic cost of operating the airport”.

Landing charges were also raised, to a minimum of S$25 per touch down. This and the new parking fees have made flying General Aviation aircraft recreationally from Seletar more expensive. Seletar is the only airport in Singapore open to such pilots.

For more, click here.

Owner retrofits Cessna 172 with airframe parachute

This Cessna 172 has an added safety feature – a full airframe parachute.

Be careful what you grab when getting into the cockpit of this Cessna 172. This handle will deploy a full airframe parachute.

July 31, 2012 – You don’t have to stretch your wallet and get a Cirrus aircraft if you want the peace of mind enjoyed by Cirrus owners.There is a Cessna 172 Skyhawk for sale that comes complete with an airframe parachute.

The 2002 aircraft is listed in Aircraft Shopper Online.

It has 1,401 hours on the airframe and engine since new.

The owner of N5169E wants US$135,900 for it.

For more, click here.

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