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Diamond Aircraft Industries Inc. is the largest general aviation manufacturer of single engine aircraft in Canada and the third largest in North America. Incorporated on January 12, 1992, the Canadian manufacturing facility operates in concert with its European counterpart located in Austria. Diamond Aircraft Industries Canadian operations were established in June of 1992 to develop, certify, and manufacture a light, all-composite, two-place aircraft, based on the already popular DV20 design, to serve the particular needs of the North American flight training market. Some 40 changes were made to the Katana DA20 manufactured in Canada from its Austrian DV20 predecessor, making the aircraft more durable for student use, more comfortable, and providing greater value for the customer. Major changes included a wider cabin, electric trim, doubling of the electrical system capacity, and North American standard airframe hardware. In the first year of production the Katana received the prestigious Flying Magazine Eagle Award for Best Light Airplane. Further developments of the Katana series aircraft include the introduction in 1998 of the Katana DA20-C1. Powered by the Teledyne Continental IO-240-B3B engine, performance and utility have been enhanced. Diamond's Research and Development facility in Austria has also developed a Rotax 914 turbo-charged version of the Katana Xtreme which was introduced to the North American market in mid-1997. In October 2000, Diamond's four-seat DA40-180 received JAA certification. It received FAA certification in April 2001. Diamond is also actively involved in the provision of sub-contract composite components to various industry sectors. |
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What Role Does the City of Houston Play In Ensuring Security Safety at Our Airports? What other involvement does the City of Houston have with regards to Airport Security? More of his presentation topics included: a brief history on airport security, screening checkpoint operations then and now, physical security concerns at airports nationwide today and where the industry may be heading, fingerprint criminal history record checks - how do they figure into the picture?, security technology and how it may be used, and what now? What can we expect? |
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Fractional ownership, as offered by FlexJet and other fractional operators, enables buyers to purchase a share of a business aircraft, which is operated on a turn-key basis by the operator. The operator is exclusively responsible for crew staffing and training, aircraft dispatching and maintenance and all other phases of operation. Fractional ownership has been one of the most influential developments in business aviation during the last decade and is responsible for a significant portion of the recent growth in business aircraft production. Mack's presentation was very informative and timely. Additionally, Bombardier FlexJet picked up the tab for lunch. Thanks, Bomdardier!! |
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Chris Sweeney spoke about the the FBI and its involvement in aviation. Q. What role does the FBI play in the investigation of an aviation accident?
Q. What other involvement does the FBI play in regards to aircraft?
Read more about the FBI at www.fbi.gov |
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Debra Winegarten lives in Austin and divides her time between her ‘full time’ job as an instructional designer and an author. "Katherine Stinson: The Flying Schoolgirl" is her first solo work, which she wrote to tell the story of the fourth woman to earn her pilot’s license in the United States in the early 1900’s, nine years after the Wright brothers made their historic first flight. Winegarten is committed to telling stories of women who altered history through daring unconventional actions and by bucking the norms of traditional roles for women. The book is available on-line at www.sociosights.com |
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Bruce has experienced many fascinating flights—specifically flying aerobatic aircraft. He shattered the 9,000-meter Time to Climb world record by more than seven minutes at AirVenture 2000; his sights were next set on the 6,000-meter record with his Exxon Flyin’ Tiger in Angleton, Texas. He also set a new Altitude in Horizontal Flight world record when he flew his 1,563 lb, modified RV-4 to nearly 34,800 MSL powered by a normally aspirated 400-hp Teledyne Mattituck Lab IO 555 engine. The old record, set in 1984 by a turbocharged Mooney, was 33,744 feet and Bohannon had to exceed that by 3 percent, and sustain level flight for 90 seconds, to break it. |
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Our speaker on May 7 was Don Wylie, President of Aviation Safety Training, a division of Texas Air Aces, Inc. Don also serves as Chief Pilot, flying Advanced Maneuvering Program (AMP) and formation training flights. He also oversees flight operations, training programs, pilot hiring and flight safety. Following 22 years of active duty with the United States Air Force, Don retired as a lieutenant colonel. Completing 251 combat missions in Vietnam in the F-4 Phantom, he was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, 16 Air Medals and two Meritorious Service Medals. Don is a "Gold Seal" certified flight instructor with more than 8,200 hours of flight instruction. He has trained more than 1200 corporate, airline, and general aviation pilots utilizing Aviation Safety Training's "upset" recovery course. Aviation Safety Training has enjoyed recent recognition on the Discovery Channel and cover stories in Aviation Week and Flying magazines. |
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Our speaker on April 2 was Bob Blouin, Senior Vice President of Operations for the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). |
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View the pictures from this meeting. Our speaker for March 5 gave us an opportunity to experience a "real Hoot" ! Retired NASA astronaut and Navy Captain Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson presented his personal experience of 50 years of life in aviation and space. Hoot started by showing a picture of his father holding him in his arms standing in front of his MOTHER'S piper colt airplane! His mom and two other women bought the plane, never having flown in anything but wanting to learn. From Piper Colt to F-4 Phantom over Vietnam, Hoot has always loved flying. He has many awards for combat bravery and victories and came back to the mainland U.S. as a test pilot and instructor in the F-14A after his graduation from the Navy "TopGun" Fighter Weapons School. Capt. Gibson was hired by NASA in 1979 and flew 5 shuttle missions. During his presentation, Hoot related the particular difficulties in docking the shuttle orbiter with MIR during Shuttle mission STS-71 in 1995. Each vehicle weighs 250,000 Lbs. and the closure rates and adjustments must be precise and slow to allow for that weight. In addition, MIR had 8 large solar arrays and it would have been easy to blast them completely off the station with the shuttle maneuvering thrusters. Of all the very difficult things he had to do while at NASA, Hoot said that the absolute most difficult thing he did was learn Russian. He related how strange it felt for him - having trained for years to learn the weaknesses of the Russian fighter aircraft and their pilots in order to kill them - to make the switch and see them as a friendly companion and peer in space. Hoot Gibson was a great presenter and his time at the podium went quickly. Afterwards, he was nice enough to sign photos and other items for those who wanted his autograph and there were many who did. |
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WOMEN IN FLIGHT:
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Our speaker on January was Paul Schweizers of Schweizer Aircraft Corporation, manufacturer of quality rotor and fixed wing aircraft. Paul is the son of one of the founding Schweizer brothers and is co-owner and president of the 450-employee family business. Paul H. Schweizer received a long applause after his presentation. I think everyone in attendance learned a lot about his company and how it quietly is progressing through some of the highest priority military projects in current existence. An example is Schweizer's development of a completely pilotless helicopter! This unit has flown and they have won a $100 million dollar Navy contract to further develop the unit to its final form - a small turbine unit which launches and lands automatically from the ship of deployment. Wow. Anyone who has ever flown a rotary wing aircraft knows what that really means..... it's a wonder! The craft will be used for short range, low altitude targeting and other classified missions. The Navy has set aside $1,000,000,000 to buy them..... Too bad Schweizer is a closely held company. Paul was nice enough to bring two signed copies of his fathers new book "The Schweizer Family Adventures in Aviation" and those were given as door prizes. They can be purchased, unsigned, on the Schweizer Aircraft web site and Paul said that if we call him, he will try to get his father to inscribe them as requested. Another interesting trivia bit was the fact that Schweizer had purchased the rights to the Grumman AgCat and produced every one of them from serial number 1 in 1958. I could have lost a lot of money on that bet as I think most of us would have bet Grumman produced them.... at least for a while. It was a great meeting and we were fortunate to have another person who is living history of where aviation has come from in our nation and who continues to influence where it is going. From the company's web site...
In 1930, the company’s founders, Ernest, Paul A. and William Schweizer were 18, 17, and 12 years old, respectively, when they built their first glider in the family barn in Peekskill, New York. Little could they have imagined that what began as a childhood hobby would lead to their creating an aircraft manufacturing corporation nine years later – or that they would live to help celebrate its sixtieth birthday. Now in their eighties, the founders still serve on Schweizer Aircraft Corp.’s board of directors, while sons Leslie, W. Stuart, and Paul H. share ownership and management of the 450-employee family business. Schweizer Aircraft has other noteworthy distinctions. It is the only aviation company in the U.S. founded prior to World War II that is still owned and operated by the same family. This makes it the oldest privately owned aircraft company in the United States and perhaps in the world. No longer a producer of sailplanes, today Schweizer Aircraft has three core businesses: aerospace subcontracting, helicopters, and reconnaissance aircraft. Today Schweizer produces subcontract components for companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Sikorsky. In 2000 that work will account for over one-third of Schweizer Aircraft Corp.’s gross sales. In 1983 Schweizer was licensed by Hughes Aircraft to manufacture the Model 300C helicopter. This marked the company’s first foray into manufacturing entire helicopters after having produced helicopter components for many years. In 1986 Schweizer purchased the Model 300C program in its entirety; and in subsequent years, the company expanded its family of helicopters with the Model 330 and the Model 300CB helicopters. And at the Helicopter Association International "Heli-Expo" convention in Las Vegas, Schweizer introduces its newest product, the Model 333 helicopter. "We owe our success to our loyal and highly skilled employees and retirees who have made Schweizer sailplanes, airplanes and helicopters a significant part of aviation history", said President, Paul H. Schweizer. "Schweizer Aircraft has deservedly received a reputation in the aviation industry for producing high-quality products. I believe our products are the safest and most durable products within their market niches. This is true for our sailplanes, for the Ag-Cat, and for all of our helicopters. Schweizer employees can take great pride in these accomplishments, as together, we celebrate sixty years of achievement." |
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Our speaker on December 3 was Errol Bader, Vice President of US Sales for 
Our speaker on October 1 was Mack Graham, Director, Key Accounts, with
Our guest speaker on July 2 was Boeing 737 Captain Pete Fusco who spoke about his recently released book Moondog's Academy of the Air and other Disasters, and related topics. The hilarious book chronicles Fusco's efforts to earn a living flying, which included the world's worst flight school, a brush with charter flying for the mob, the mythical beast known as the C-46 and a tour of duty during the heyday of Miami's corrosion corner. The book reads like a talented blend of Ernie Gann and the good years at Saturday Night Live. Fusco will have copies of his book for sale at the luncheon. They are also available on line at 
Our guest speaker on June 4 was Bruce Bohannan, 9,000-meter Time to Climb world record holder.
Our speaker on March 5 was Robert "Hoot" Gibson, the first U.S. Shuttle pilot to dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Hoot is also well known for competing in the Reno Air Races. 
