Phoenix-Based Honeywell 757 Flight Test Aircraft Visits Midwest Airports

By Mark Nankivil

This past Sunday my son and I were over at the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum at St. Louis Downtown (KCPS) doing some work.  While bringing items into the Museum, I noticed what appeared to be a 757 westbound at relatively low altitude north of the airport.  It looked unusual but as I was watching, the 757 turned to the south to line up with the airport's short Runway 23, which is indeed unusual!  I grabbed the camera out of the car and ran out onto the ramp thinking this will be something to see.  The aircraft started the approach but it turned out to be a practice approach as the power came back up and the aircraft climbed out.  Looking through the camera, I could see a pylon on the right forward side of the fuselage, just aft of the cockpit and "Honeywell Flight Test" lettering emblazoned on the side of the fuselage.  I was hoping for another approach but that was not to be as the aircraft flew off to the east and out of sight into the haze.  A later check on Flight Aware showed the 757 having departed Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona (home base for Honeywell Flight Test) earlier in the day, and after the practice approach into KCPS it flew on to Scott AFB/Mid America Airport.

 

On Monday, Carmelo Turdo and I took a trip to visit our friends at Mt. Vernon Outland Airport and stopped at Mid America Airport on the way, finding the Honeywell Flight Test 757 at the main terminal there.  We went in and asked permission to take photos of the aircraft.  The flight crew was quite nice to grant us permission to do so, and even gave us a tour of the interior of the aircraft.  The external pylon on the fuselage is used to test smaller jet engines that are made by Honeywell such as the AL502, LF507, TFE731 and HTF700 turbofans used on numerous business and regional jets and the CFE738 turbofan engine which is produced in partnership with General Electric.

Boeing 757-225 N757HW was originally built for Eastern Air Lines and flew with Eastern until their bankruptcy, going on to Airtours International Airways and later MyTravel.  Acquired by Honeywell in 2005 to replace their Boeing 720 N720H, the aircraft was heavily modified for its new mission as an engine testbed, flying again in 2008.

The aircraft's visit to the area was to promote recent enhancements of Honeywell's Ground Proximity Warning System that would alert the pilot in the event of an approach to a runway too short for the aircraft being flown.  This capability has seen renewed interest with recent incidents by a C-17 in Florida and a Dreamlifter in Kansas when these aircraft landed at the wrong airport.  The approach to CPS was a test of this feature, as Runway 23 is all of 2,799 feet long - normally too short for a 757.

The Aero Experience would like to thank the Honeywell Flight Test flight crew and Richard Burke with Mid America Airport for the opportunity to photograph this unique and interesting aircraft.
 

 

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013: The Detroit Tuskegee Airmen Glider Club

Fred Harl and Carmelo Turdo

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 continued the tradition of attractive a diversity of aircraft, exhibits, pilots and visitors, and The Aero Experience will showcase many of them in the months to come.  Continuing with our themes of the Tuskegee Airmen and sailplanes from the previous several posts, we now present the Detroit Tuskegee Airmen Glider Club. The club is part of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum in Detroit, Michigan, and flies three (of twelve built) Schweizer SGM 2-37 (TG-7A) motorgliders donated by the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1993.  Besides airshow appearances, the aircraft are used for Young Eagle Flights, flight training for museum scholarship winners and other goodwill missions.  The aircraft remains in the glider category, and by virtue of the on-board motor can self-launch and tow other gliders. After reaching altitude, the aircraft can fly well with the engine off using conventional glider piloting techniques, or can be flown at over 100mph using 4 gallons of fuel per hour.  Other versions of this aircraft are used for surveillance missions with loiter times of up to 12 hours.  Here are some views of the three aircraft during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013:

         







  

  

World Soaring Masters Held in Muncie, Indiana Attracts World's Finest Competitors

By Mark Nankivil

Your scribe had the honor of being the contest director for the 4th World Soaring Masters held in Muncie, Indiana September 20th through the 22nd of this year.  Hosted by the League of Silent Flight (LSF) on the National Flying Site of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and sponsored by JR Radios and Horizon Hobby, this event is a premier radio controlled soaring contest with many of the best fliers in the U.S. and other countries attending.  One of the few sailplane events around with cash prizes, the level of flying and competition is top notch and a very competitive.

Flying started on Friday with an interesting day of weather to add a challenge to the day's flying.  Flight tasks were 12 minutes and an 80 point landing (graduated tape).  The morning started off with a breeze and light lift that took some effort to find and use.  As the day wore on, it progressively got windier as a storm front approached from out of the west-northwest.  A break in the flying was called when the rain came, but after the storm blew through, there was time for one more round of flying to take place prior to a steady rain settling for the evening.  That post storm air was glass smooth and was a distinct change from conditions prior to the storm.  Even with the rain and some challenges with the winch lines, we managed to achieve 6 rounds of flying for the 46 fliers in attendance.

Sequential group launch at the winches

Action at the landing tapes

Saturday morning was decidedly cooler than Friday, and low clouds blew through early in the morning leaving blue skies and puffy, white clouds.  Lift was initially hard to find but soon the thermals were popping and models were skying out to high altitudes.  Along with the lift, though, came some impressive sink.  For many either riding or chasing lift downwind, the flight back to the landing tape was cut short by the sink.  The day ended with another 8 rounds being flown.

Sunday started off with a beautiful but cool morning and clear skies.  The first few groups of fliers were stuck with flying in smooth but lift free air which required a high launch and precise flying with a well-trimmed model to get the most from the launch height.  It wasn't long though before light patches of lift were being found and the fliers were starting to achieve their 12-minute target times.  Three more rounds were flown for a total of 17 rounds to complete the Preliminary fly offs.  From those scores, the top 10 fliers were selected for the Championship Fly Offs, 5 rounds defining the prize winners.

 

As the day worn on, the breeze settled down and the lift progressively got stronger and more well defined by the start of the finals.  The first two fly off rounds found everyone skying out in different parts of the sky and the scores were settled by the accuracy of achieving the precise 12 minute target time and a high landing score.  The third round started off much the same way, but as some of the fliers drifted well downwind with the lift, the sink and a strong following breeze moved in to keep some of the fliers from getting back to the field, let alone to the landing tapes.  Others decided that getting back to the field and the landing tape was worth taking a hit with their scores due to the shorter flight times.  In many ways, the third round settled the final results. The final two rounds were full flights for everyone though Ben Clerx found his sailplane not responding to controls while coming in to land.  After a few descending circles, the model came to rest in an adjacent cornfield, thankfully with no damage.

The top 10 fliers, with 1st through 5th winning trophies along with cash prizes, were:

1st - Michael Smith (California)

2nd - Kyle Paulson (California)

3rd - Gavin Trussel (Ohio)

4th - Jim McCarthy (Illinois)

5th - Mike Fox (Iowa)

6th - Michael Regan (California)

7th - Ben Clerx (California)

8th - Peter Goldsmith (Illinois)

9th - Larry Jolly (California)

10th - Jim Frickey (Kansas)



World Soaring Masters Champion Mike Smith with his Vixen and 

$2,000 prize



A huge thank you goes out to JR Radios and to Horizon Hobby for sponsoring and creating such a great event.

 

Here are some more scenes from the World Soaring Masters: 



Father & Son - Frankie Burnowski times for his Father Rich who is

intently guiding/watching his model well downwind



Husband and wife team of Peter & Caroline Goldsmith

Yes, Caroline flies too!

An Icon 2 coasts into the landing pattern

A Supra 2 heading to the landing tape

Pike Perfect with flaps down coming into landing

Mike Smith’s Vixen

A Maxa4 on approach

A V-tailed sailplane coasting towards the landing tapes

An Aspire making one last circle prior to the landing approach…

…and settles in for a smooth approach to the landing tape

Maxa 4 turning finals

A Supra 2 floating over the field prior to setting up for a landing

Maxa 4 circling in for a landing

Paul Perret’s original design about to stab the landing tape

Doug Pike calmly (on the outside!) guides his glider in for a

high landing score

Intense focus as Gavin Trussel guides his model in for a high

landing score during the finals



Blayne Chastain focusing on a high landing score



Gil Gauger (L) and Karl Miller (R) talking over their just completed

flights

The Top 10 and their sailplanes

The new video below posted by Horizon Hobby's John Diniz captures the flavor of the competition: