Good day all

Now that everything is slowly starting to return to some sort of normality I’d like to take this opportunity to wish one and all a very happy and prosperous 2018. The year is starting off slowly with regards to aviation events with only one event taking place this weekend that we know of. Please forward details of all upcoming evets to editor@flightlineweekly.co.za so we can help to make them as successful as possible.

The SAAF Museum will be hosting their first monthly flying training day for 2018 on Saturday 6 January, as always this promises to be a great day out for the whole family.

EAA Chapter 322 monthly meeting will be taking place as always on Wednesday 10 January at Dicky Fritz Moth Hall Edenvale.

2017 Airlines' year of zero passenger fatalities

Last year was another exceptionally safe one for aviation. Not a single revenue passenger was killed during what the general travelling public would regard as an "airline flight". Unfortunately, there were two accidents that killed revenue passengers. Both involved operations by relatively small turboprop aircraft serving remote communities, in Canada and Russia. Five revenue passengers died in these accidents.

The worst accident during the year involved a My Cargo Airlines Boeing 747 freighter that crashed into houses just outside Manas International airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 16 January, killing the four crew on board and 35 people on the ground.

In total, including accidents during cargo operations and other flights, there were nine fatal accidents in 2017, resulting in a total of 39 passenger and crew deaths.

The overall fatal accident rate in 2017 is estimated at one per 4.83 million flights. On this basis, 2017 is not actually the "safest year ever", being beaten to that title by 2015, when there were only eight fatal accidents, giving a fatal accident rate of one per 4.9 million flights that year.

However, 2017 can be described the safest year ever by far from the more restrictive point of view of fatalities suffered by revenue passengers. As noted, above there were only five revenue passenger fatalities in 2017, which gives a meaningless accident rate of one passenger fatality per 900 million carried. With so few fatal accidents and fatalities in any one year now, annual numbers are of little value and a better guide might be the five-year moving average. The passenger fatality rate for the five years to the end of 2017 was one per 23.8 million carried.

On average, from the point of view of passengers, the airline industry as a whole over the last five years was almost eight times safer than it was as recently as 10 years ago, and almost 20 times safer than 20 years ago.

Demand for Piper Products results in largest employment growth since 2009

Piper Aircraft Inc. achieved double-digit growth in new aircraft revenue and deliveries for 2017 as demand for trainer aircraft and M-class products continued to expand. The increase in demand for Piper products and resulting increase in production volume has driven the company headcount to over 900 employees located at the Piper world headquarters in Vero Beach, Florida. During the past 18 months, Piper Aircraft has hired over 300 employees, representing more than a 20% increase in employees.

“With aircraft orders in place for 2018 and several long term contracts for trainer aircraft, the near term forecast is stable. Additionally, our commitment to a level-loaded, build to order business model further enhances stability and creates consistent work load for the team,” said President and CEO Simon Caldecott. “We are driven to continuously improve our products in support of our customers and their needs which helps create demand and results in the need for a strong and committed workforce,” he added.

Piper Aircraft Inc., headquartered in Vero Beach, Fla., offers aviators throughout the world efficient and reliable single- and twin-engine aircraft. The single-engine M-Class series – the M600, M500, and M350 – offers businesses and individuals elegant performance and value. The Twin Class Seneca and Seminole balance proven performance, efficiency, and simplicity in twin-engine aircraft. The Trainer Class Archer TX, Archer DX, Arrow, Seminole, and Seneca aircraft form the most complete technically-advanced line of pilot training aircraft in the world. Unparalleled service and support is offered through a network of 38 dealers and nearly 100 service centres worldwide. Piper is a member of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Garmin G500 TXi, G600 TXi and G700 TXi

Garmin is excited to announce the touchscreen G500 TXi, G600 TXi and G700 TXi flight displays, as well as the engine information system (EIS) TXi. Boasting a clean-sheet touchscreen design and vibrant presentation, the TXi family incorporates greater situational awareness tools and an innovative feature set into a contemporary avionics platform.

Three displays are available, offering optimal flexibility for panel configurations, including a large 10.6-inch display, and two versions of 7-inch displays, in portrait and landscape orientations. The 10.6-inch display can operate as a primary flight display (PFD), multi-function display (MFD) and optional integrated EIS in a highly customized package, while the 7-inch portrait display can be dedicated to any one of those functions. The 7-inch landscape display is available exclusively as a dedicated EIS solution. The G500 TXi system is intended for Part 23 Class I/II aircraft under 6,000 lbs. and the G600 TXi flight displays are intended for Class III aircraft that weigh up to 12,500 lbs. The G700 TXi is exclusively for Part 23 Class IV and Part 25 aircraft that weigh greater than 12,500 lbs. Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the G500 TXi/G600 TXi and EIS TXi systems are targeted for approval in Q4 2017, which will feature a comprehensive approved model list (AML) containing over 600 single-engine piston, twin-engine piston and turboprop aircraft makes and models, offering the most configurable, state-of-the-art glass flight display solution in the market.

The TXi family incorporates a familiar touchscreen design with modern processors that support improved map and chart rendering, faster panning and contemporary single-finger zoom and pinch-to-zoom gestures. Through any combination of the touchscreen or dual concentric knobs, pilots can quickly access and view flight information at a glance. Modernized displays and large fonts offer improved readability, while the simplistic user-interface helps reduce overall pilot workload. Pilots will also appreciate a familiar in-flight experience behind the TXi series as the user interface is harmonious with multiple Garmin products, such as the GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigators.

Multiple panel configurations and display orientations allow pilots and aircraft owners to better leverage their current or future avionics investment. Three display formats support 26-approved cockpit configurations and over 600 aircraft makes/models. Installation configurations vary as the TXi family is also capable of displaying engine information on a dedicated 7-inch display or in split-screen mode on the 10.6-inch display. Up to four displays can be installed in a single cockpit, offering superior scalability in hundreds of aircraft.

Contributing to a streamlined installation and simplified maintenance, the TXi displays are available with integrated attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) and a display-mounted air data computer (ADC), typically alleviating the need to separately locate, mount and wire these sensors. As an additional option for remote mounting, a combined air data and attitude heading reference system (ADAHRS) is available or AHRS and ADC are available separately. Installation is further minimized for aircraft with an existing G500/G600 as the TXi series are compatible with previously installed Garmin sensors. The TXi family will also interface with the new GFC 600 autopilot and is compatible with a wide range of additional third-party autopilots available on the market.

Available as an integrated solution within the 10.6-inch G500 TXi and G600 TXi system or as a standalone 7-inch EIS display, the TXi series display real-time engine indications in an easy-to-read format.

The TXi family supports various features, including lean assist mode, pilot-configurable advisories and more, providing pilots with the opportunity to achieve greater fuel economy, improved engine efficiency and superior engine operation. Compatible with single-engine and twin-engine normally aspirated or turbo-charged aircraft, the EIS TXi system supports Lycoming or Continental 4/6-cylinder engines, offering a broad range of aircraft compatibility. The integrated EIS TXi solution also allows for a variety of integration possibilities with the G500 TXi and G600 TXi glass flight displays.

When the EIS TXi system is paired with a GTN 650/750 and Flight Stream 510, Connext automatically downloads engine and other flight information to the Garmin Pilot app on an Apple mobile device, which is then synced to flyGarmin.com. The flyGarmin website allows pilots to view information such as track logs, cylinder head temperatures (CHT), exhaust gas temperatures (EGT), oil temperatures and more. Pilots can also view flight parameters such as altitude and airspeed alongside an interactive moving map on the website. In addition to wireless engine and flight data downloads to Garmin Pilot, data can also be logged and stored on an SD card within EIS TXi.

When the TXi series is paired with a GTN 650/750 touchscreen navigator, Connext wireless connectivity offers additional capabilities. Flight Stream 510 is an option with the GTN 650/750, which enables Database Concierge, the wireless transfer of aviation databases from the Garmin Pilot app on a mobile device to a GTN and the TXi system. Flight Stream 510 also supports the sharing of a breadth of information with compatible mobile devices running Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight Mobile, including two-way flight plan transfer, traffic, weather, GPS information and back-up attitude information as available.

In configurations where multiple displays are installed, the TXi series offer reversionary mode as a single system is capable of displaying all pertinent flight information, including EIS when installed. Additionally, the 7-inch TXi displays are compatible with an optional back-up battery, which can power the display for 30-minutes in the event the aircraft electrical system fails. Aircraft owners that install a dual 7-inch G500 TXi system on the pilot’s side of the cockpit, with dual ADAHRS and a back-up battery can also forego the requirement for standby flight instruments.

The TXi family boasts a geographical map overlay within the horizontal situation indicator (HSI) on the PFD, which also supports the overlay of NEXRAD, Flight Information Service-Broadcast (FIS-B) weather, Safe Taxi airport diagrams, traffic, terrain and more. For example, pilots can overlay terrain within the HSI map, while simultaneously viewing traffic and flight plan information without significantly diverting their attention away from the PFD. It is also easy to navigate within the HSI map as pilots can simply zoom in/out on the map using a single finger gesture.

The G500 TXi and G600 TXi also support additional features and options:

-Customizable crew profiles allow pilots to configure and save settings such as audio volume levels, backlight settings, map configurations and more so they can be recalled prior to each flight.

-Pilots can overlay and animate NEXRAD radar from FIS-B and SiriusXM Aviation weather on the moving map on the MFD.

Various global datalink weather products are available when paired with the GSR 56.

-Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) in traffic and FIS-B weather display on the PFD/MFD via the GTX 345 transponder or GDL 88 ADS-B datalink.

-GWX 70 weather radar compatibility offers four-color storm cell display, as well as Turbulence Detection and Ground Clutter Suppression as options.

Support for a wide range of third-party weather radars is also available.

Pilots are offered significant savings on database subscriptions as OnePak annual database and PilotPak global database subscriptions are compatible with these displays.

-Smart Airspace highlights the airspace nearest the aircraft’s current altitude and de-emphasizes non-pertinent airspace.

-Pilots can view and alternate between Garmin FliteCharts® or optional Jeppesen charts.

-Jeppesen VFR Manual charts (formally known as Bottlang charts) are available within Europe and European Visual Reporting Points (VRPs) can be overlaid on the moving map.

-WireAware™ wire strike avoidance technology overlays powerline locations and relative altitude information on the moving map and provides both aural and visual alerting when operating near powerlines.

-Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT) is standard on the G600 TXi and presents a 3D depiction of terrain, obstacles, traffic and the runway environment, providing pilots with an elevated level of situational awareness. SVT is available as an option on the G500 TXi.

-Class B Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) alerting is available as an option.

-Compatibility extended to include the GTS 800/825 Traffic Advisory Systems (TAS) and the GTS 855 Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), as well as select third-party traffic systems.

-Patented TargetTrend™ and TerminalTraffic™ is available with select traffic systems and provides pilots with a more intuitive method of judging target trajectories and closure rates.

-Compatible with the GRA 55 radar altimeter, as well as select third-party radar altimeters.

-Optional support for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) operations.

-An optional dedicated PFD controller provides pilots with an additional source to make adjustments to the heading bug, barometric setting, altitude bug and more.

-A back-up GPS antenna is also built into the displays, providing redundancy in the event a primary GPS navigator fails.

-The G500 TXi and G600 TXi touchscreen flight displays and EIS TXi are targeted for approval in Q4 2017 via a comprehensive AML that contains over 600 aircraft makes and models. System variants that come with new sensors and variants that support existing G500/G600 sensors are also available. Pricing and availability of the G700 TXi touchscreen flight displays for Part 25 aircraft will be announced at a later date. The TXi family also comes with a two-year warranty, which is supported by our award-winning avionics product support team.