Pilot September 2017

6 | Pilot September 2017 http://www.pilotweb.aero

Notes

The latest news from the world of general aviation

Colin Hales’ Japan crash

Colin Hales’ attempt to fly

around the world has been

cut short by a forced landing

in Japan, injuring him and

writing off the KR2 (p.10)

Tecnam has delivered a second
P2006T fuselage to NASA for
its X-57 Maxwell LEAPTech
(Leading Edge Asynchronous
Propeller Technology) research
programme, which is aimed at
developing safer, more energy
efficient, lower operating cost
and ‘greener’ GA aircraft.
The X-57 is the first NASA
X-plane to feature a fully
distributed electric propulsion
system, which will demonstrate
an increase in cruise energy
efficiency as well as reductions
in carbon emission and noise.

The wing will house the craft’s

fourteen electric motors, and

will be manufactured and

integrated onto the P2006T’s

fuselage by US company

Xperimental. NASA aims to

demonstrate that distributing

electric power across a number

of motors integrated in this way

will result in a five-times

reduction in the energy

required for a GA aircraft to

cruise at speeds up to 175mph.

It hopes to fly an initial version

of the modified P2006T early

next year.

Tecnam’s second LEAP with NASA

Government drops proposed new laser pen laws

The government has scrapped plans to

introduce tougher laws for laser pen attacks

on aircraft. The pre-general election Vehicle

Technology and Aviation Bill included

proposals that offenders could face up to

five years in prison if they shone a laser at

an aircraft, but this was dropped. The

British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA)

describes the omission as ‘infuriating and

dangerous’. It has been campaigning for

tougher laws in response to consistently

high incidences of laser attacks on aircraft

year-on-year, with 1,200 reports in 2016.

BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton

commented: “It is infuriating to see that the

changes we’d hoped for appear to have

been discarded. Not having this legislation

is dangerous and puts the lives of

passengers and crews at risk. The proposed

tougher laws received cross-party support

so it’s baffling that they have been dropped.

When a laser pen is pointed at an aircraft it

can dazzle and distract the pilot, and has

the potential to cause a crash. Last year’s

incident figures remain dangerously high,

with the equivalent of more than three laser

attacks a day across the UK.”

Tecnam provides the fuselage and empennage, US company Xperimental the wing

CG impression of the

X-57 in flight