NEW ZEALAND TURBOPROP GETS FAA NOD

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Just some news off AOPA site today..... wonder which DZ's will be purchasing.


NEW ZEALAND TURBOPROP GETS FAA NOD
A new single-engine turboprop has entered the U.S. market. Pacific Aerospace Corp. of Hamilton, New Zealand, has received an FAA type certificate for the PAC 750 XL. The airplane is powered by a 750-horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6-34 engine and has a useful load of 4,400 pounds. The company plans to deliver its first U.S. aircraft in June.

http://www.utilityaircraft.com/

[vdschoor 0]

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Just some news off AOPA site today..... wonder which DZ's will be purchasing.

I know Skydance in Davis, CA has ordered one.. sounds like it is finally coming then.

First delivery in June, just in time for the American Boogie! hehe..

Iwan

[chuckbrown 0]

Good news. This looks like a great plane. Too bad about the pilot of the first one.

[piisfish 140]

there is one coming to switzerland in Beromunster...
that will be definitely cooooool

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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- Belts for 17 skydivers

- Pilot-controled jump door (Wonder how?) Isn't that just a lexan door?

Buck

[lummy 4]

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I know Skydance in Davis, CA has ordered one.. sounds like it is finally coming then.

Ray's the US distributer for the PAC750, he had BETTER be getting at least one ;)

I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. eat sushi, get smoochieTTK#1

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- Belts for 17 skydivers

- Pilot-controled jump door (Wonder how?) Isn't that just a lexan door?

Could be a very fancy door, not just a lexan door probably.

I remember at Skydive Texel they have the Caravan with a pilot controlled door, VERY nice aircraft!!

Iwan

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I remember Mullins' pilot controlled door in his old Helio Stallion......he used a long stick with a hook

[Aviatrr 0]

Is this the same type as the one that was lost somewhere between Hawaii and the mainland(I think that's where it was) a few months back? If so, any word on the cause of that?

Mike

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Hey Mike,

Sorry for the PM stuff the other day. I was evidently in a weird ass mood that day...

But to answer your question, yes, this was the type that went down in the Pacific. I'm not sure what the cause was on that..... I'll check NTSB, but I'm sure it's still in the prelims......

Buck

[billvon 3,120]

>I'm not sure what the cause was on that.....

Ran out of gas.

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To quote Karl Withers..."Ain't got not gas in it!"

The first plane went down off the coast of Hawaii from a lack of fuel. Not quite sure how it happened, but pilot friends of mine have speculated that disruption in the feed from the tanks to the engine may have caused it. I believe the initial report indicated something like that too, or it could have just been a mis-approximation in the consumption (e.g. strong head winds)....

Don't know myself, but I hope the Kiwi invasion happens, and smaller "cessna" dzs get a chance to become turboprop dzs!!

Kahurangi e Mahearangi,
Kiwi, RB #926, AFF-I, FAA Snr. Rigger, RN/BSN/Paramedic

[billvon 3,120]

>and smaller "cessna" dzs get a chance to become turboprop dzs!!

We were a smaller Cessna DZ for a while _and_ we were a turboprop DZ! We had a Caravan.

[pyke 0]

Sorry billvon - I wasn't trying to offend anyone.

I didn't realize caravan's were turboprops...but then again, I've only jumped from one about 3 times in my life.

hopefully the fact that they are built in NZ and shipped over will be cheaper in the long run (given the exchange rate) than what a cessna goes for...

that was all I meant!

Kahurangi e Mahearangi,
Kiwi, RB #926, AFF-I, FAA Snr. Rigger, RN/BSN/Paramedic

[kevin922 0]

The one that went down WAS skydance's plane.. being ferried over. They hypothisize that the problem was with the fuel system that was jerry rigged on the outside of the plane to add for extra fuel. It happened at night so the pilot really couldn't see much anyway (as far as being able to see fuel flying out etc).

Anyway that plane was skydance's, they have another on the way..

[Aviatrr 0]

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>I'm not sure what the cause was on that.....

Ran out of gas.

There have been a couple different theories...one that it was fuel exhaustion, and one that it was fuel starvation. I've done several flights of aircraft with special fuel tanks added for ferry flights over long stretches of water, and can see transferring becoming an issue...so I tend to believe the fuel starvation thing more than exhaustion. Then again, the systems I used had triple redundant fuel transfer capability...so it could possibly be user error more than an equipment problem.

Mike

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NTSB Identification: LAX04WA080
14 CFR Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Accident occurred Friday, December 26, 2003 in Pacific Ocean, New Zealand
Aircraft: Pacific Aerospace Corp 750XL, registration: ZKUAC
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

On December 26, 2003, at 0910 Pacific standard time, a Pacific Aerospace Corporation 750XL, New Zealand registry ZK-UAC, ditched in the Pacific ocean in international waters about 300 miles southwest of Monterey, California, near coordinates 35 degrees 28 minutes north by 118 degrees 10 minutes west. The ditching was precipitated by a loss of engine power following a report by the pilot of a problem transferring fuel. The airplane was owned and operated by Utility Aircraft Corporation, Woodland, California, under the pertinent provisions of the New Zealand Civil Aviation Regulations. The airplane sank and is presumed to be destroyed. The New Zealand Airline Transport licensed pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries and was not recovered. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed. The ferry flight departed Hilo, Hawaii, at an undetermined time en route to Oakland, California.