The History of Business Aircraft

When you realize that there are only 500 airfields in the U.S. offering scheduled passenger service, it is no wonder that personal and corporate flights have become an industry in itself. Whether it is the Learjet of a shipping magnate, media mogul with a partly owned Cessna Citation X or the tough talking politician in his Piper Navaho, business aircraft facilitates convenience and efficient travel to engage in and meet important business or personal appointments.

Business aircrafts come in all models, from the single-engine Cessnas and Pipers to twin light planes and the Learjets. Post-war development has equipped planes with the necessary radio communication and navigational capabilities to make round-the-clock, all season business flying a reality.

Business flying first came into being in the late 1920. Open-cockpit biplanes and Stinson, Fairchild and other enclosed cabin designs were employed, but it was the unique Beech planes that became early pacesetters on efficient private flying. The Beech Model 17 ‘Staggerwing’ from 1932 was a picture of luxury and comfort with leather and mohair fitted cabins that could seat 5 passengers. Its cousin, the Model 18 Twin Beech from 1937, was created for the purpose of economy business flying and could seat up to 9 passengers. Its popularity was established with a production line spanning 32 years and over 7,000 units manufactured.

The Grunman-built Gulfstream business aircraft line debuted in 1958 and was widely acknowledged as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of business flying, no doubt due in part to leveraging on its twin Rolls Royce Dart turboprop engines. The $1-million price tag of the Gulfstream I did not deter buyers and steadily established itself in the business aviation market, while a increased performance delivery came with the creation of the Gulfstream II in 1964.

And who could forget the Learjet ‘ William P. Lear Sr.’s innovation from 1963 that is now synonymous with all things business flying, an icon of luxurious business travel. The Learjet 23 was the first mass-produced and individually built and financed small jet aircraft, and was delivered by the Chemical and Industrial Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 13, 1964. March 1966 saw the introduction of the higher performance Learjet 24 which would be the first business aircraft to fly round the world, within 4 days. Record breaking sales were established with the production of the Learjet 35/36 ‘ a modified Learjet 25 with stretched turbofans. The Learjet 36 saw a 1976 global goodwill trip piloted by world famous golfer Arnold Palmer.

The Piper PA-31 Navaho entered the business aviation market in 1964, staking its claim on the twin-engine quarters. It came in three versions that catered for various needs in seating capacity and arrangements, outfitted with user-friendly cabin features including the ability to carry luggage in the engine nacelles. The same year saw the unveiling of Beech’s Model 90 King Air, another twin-engine aircraft that could ferry eight passengers in comfort. As evidenced by its eventual 90 percent share of the market within its class, the King Air quickly became a mainstay for corporate flight departments.

Beech continued to innovate and produced the Beech Model 2000 Starship in 1983. The brainchild of Voyager creator Burt Rutan was a statement of innovative aircraft design with comparable speeds to small business jets, but the Starship flopped commercially. Too expensive at $5 million, only 53 Starships were produced.

Meanwhile, the Gulfstream III, Learjet 55 and Learjet 60, introduced over the years from 1979 to 1990, established winglets which greatly reduced drag and thus saving fuel. This resulted in increasing intercontinental flying ranges of 4,174 miles with the former and continues to see improvements today.

In between in 1985, the Gulfstream IV was released to the industry and immediately shook its foundations and grabbed it by the neck. Ferrying up to 19 passengers in luxurious interior fittings such as luscious sofas and oak furnishings, it was built with celebrities and business moguls in mind. The Gulfstream IV and IV-SP were the result of customized user requirements. Built at a cost of $24-million, it made possible cost-effective long distance flights of close to 7,223 miles, with lengthier fuselage and less moving parts on its wings. To add to its legend, Gulfstream chairman Allen Paulson sensationally broke and established countless flight records whilst flying across the world, such as clocking in 8.5 hours faster than the Boeing 747SP jumbo jet for a trip around the world in January 1988 that lasted under 37 hours.

Beech continued to establishing itself as a source of cost-effective and reliable business aircrafts above the turboprop aircraft market via its Model 400/400A Beechjet, with the acquisition of the Mitsubishi Diamond production rights. Their competitor Cessna also made its mark with the Citation X, as it became recognized as a speedy production aircraft, clocking speeds of Mach 0.92.

Prices of business aircrafts continue to escalate while striving to satisfy ever-changing market demands for comfort and speed. Compared to a Beech Staggerwing which cost only $15,000 in 1932, $30-million is the asking price of many a business jets today. However, there is no visible lack of demand despite prohibitive costs, as in any business ‘ where there is demand, the sales will come.

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The History of Bush Flying

Remember pilots pictured with silk scarves fluttering in the wind, flying their vintage airplanes on adventures to dangerous corners of the world, saving people? ‘Busy flying’ might be legendary in its illustration, but it is very much alive and true in its representation.

One of the last visages of pre-modern aviation, bush flyers are a precious commodity in Canada, Australia, Alaska and the jungles of South America and Africa, providing isolated communities with supplies of food and medicine, and communication with the outside world. Not only do their planes have to be adaptable to the tough and changing terrains and seasons in each country through periodic mechanical changes, bush pilots have to brave the same harsh elements, lack of work safety quotient and uncertain financial rewards.

The challenging life of a bush pilot was perhaps best summed up by C.H. ‘Punch’ Dickins, a veteran Canadian bush pilot, as, ‘a pilot and mechanic, who is ready and willing to take any kind of a load to any destination, on or off the map, within the limits of their aircraft, and the financial resources of the customer.’

Bush flying became a popular post-war option for the bravest and thrill-seeking veteran American and Canadian military pilots as they sought an income from their technical abilities. However, only those who could handle and maintain their aircrafts would become fixtures on the bush flying circuit, despite the relatively low barrier to entry in obtaining low cost aircrafts for use like the Curtiss JN-4 Jennys and HS-2L flying boats. Imagine a situation where a bush pilot were to be stranded in uninhabited regions such as the Artic tundra or empty desert with its relentless heat. Plane repair abilities would be of life-saving importance and many modern bush flights include flight engineers.

In October 1920, a fur buyer requested the Canadian Aircraft in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to fly him home to The Pas, in one of the first documented paid bush flight. The journey included harrowing flights over swirling lakes, thick jungle bushes and deep swamps and bogs, before becoming the first plane to touch ground on the final destination.

This opened up the possibilities of exploring uncharted global territories such as the Artic regions. It also presented greater markets for bush pilots, including oil exploration in the Artic Circle, mine claims, forest fire patrols, timberland and waterway aerial mapping. Bush flying extended the reach of airmail service to isolated regions and provided medical transport for the same workers and hunters.

These developments called for better and more reliable aircrafts for bush flying, in order to push the commercial viability of bush flying. The result was the 1926 creation from the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, of a markedly improved and safer single-seat high-cabin monoplane known as the German Fokker Universal. The steady plane with strong wooden wings and a tough steel tube fuselage consisted of a revolutionary shock absorber that allowed landing on uneven terrains and simultaneous floating or skiing capabilities. On a plane driven by the Pratt & Whitney radial engine, a bush pilot would fly in an open cockpit with passengers or cargo stored in cabins built under the aircraft’s wings.

From 1926 to 1931, over half of the 44 Fokker Universals made in the U.S. were used by bush pilots, preceding wide-spread usage by U.S., Canadian and foreign airlines.

November 12, 1935, witnessed the first flight of the reliable Noorduyn Norseman from Canada, created specifically for bush flying. The aircraft facilitated long-distance flights and delivery of fuel to isolated regions with cargo room designed to accommodate an industry standard 45-gallon fuel drum and up to ten passengers. Convenience was also a key feature with pilots having ease of cockpit entry and exit without having to climb over cargo. To date, many of the 900 manufactured Noorduyn Norseman are still being flown.

Today, using aircrafts such as the Beech Staggerwings and Bonanzas and even helicopters, bush flying now includes flying big game hunters, nature photographers and archaeologists to exotic locations, on top of the now common flights to remote settlements for supply deliveries. The sturdy and versatile de Havilland Beaver is a huge favorite of bush pilots, with its adaptability in skis, floats and wheels usage.

The dangers that bush pilots brave have made them a no-no for insurance companies. However, it is the same dangers that so attract bush pilots to take up the challenge of venturing into the unknown. In bush flying, what you do not know may kill you, but what you may find certainly enriches and brings excitement to your life.

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The history of Aerobatic Flight

All eyes below are fixated to the antique World War II as Stearman falls from above, the downward spiral towards disaster. The vintage biplane fell faster and faster still, the growl of its powerful motor grows louder. The pilot was obviously doomed looses control and almost crashed when suddenly, a few inches from the tarmac, the Stearman roared into the blue sky to the cheering crowd below. This is the exciting world of acrobatic flight!

Aerobatic flight, a special area of aviation, is defined as “precise maneuvering in the three-dimensional space.” Maneuvering is broken into three components – position, speed and the altitude. A manual aerobatic plane’s position is to be precisely controlled in all three axes (yaw, roll and pitch) and could quickly be shifted to any of the other positions.

Lincoln Beachey has been widely recognized to be the “father” aerobatic flight, even if none other than the Wright Brothers as a first step dismissed his exploits as mere “optical illusions.” All these skeptics were changed during a now legendary-multi-city tour Barnstorming during 1914 when Beachey, then known as “the crazy flyer”, dazzled crowds all over the country waterfalls at the wheel of his aircraft, Little Looper. Lighting like Thomas Edison or even Carl Sandburg also became aerobatics fans and even the Wright Brothers recanted his original comment, saying Beachey’s exhibitions such as poetry.

Evolving from the air at the beginning of the race and had military training, these first aerobatic planes are generally oversized but short. These factors produced a performance aerobatic rather dull (today’s standards) for handling aircraft was slow and the ability to mount vertically was challenged.

Despite the improvements of equipment that allows flight capacity reversed (such as improved wings, oil and fuel systems), even the best aerobatic aircraft can not fly for long periods in attitudes abnormal flight. The engine speed and wash from the spinning propeller as a result of an airplane react differently when maneuvered going right than when going to the left of aerobatics-forcing the pilot to learn from their maneuvers in both direction. These limitations are as that no aerodynamic aerobatic plane produced can effectively fight on the side of the claim of the glowing “knife edge” rises or turns notwithstanding.

Strong aerobatic biplanes, Gulfhawk II, aroused much enthusiasm on the air circuit in 1936 until 1948, performing in the World’s Fair, Cleveland Air Race, and All-America’s Miami Air Shows. Originally designed by Grumman, Gulfhawk II has been specially designed to support under the high structure stress aerobatic flight and then changed to support upside-down flying for periods of no more than 30 minutes.

The face of aerobatic flight was changed forever around 1945; Curtis Pitts made the first airplane designed specifically for aerobatics, the Pitts’ Special S-1. Pitts had envisioned an aircraft that would defy gravity and meet its controls, on a smaller plane that war era biplane, which could roll, climb, and maneuver quickly. Pitts has dismissed the concept of big radial engines and designed a sweep-winged aircraft powered by a small, light, horizontally opposed motor with the centre of gravity that made it possible to snap tight

Line Pitts aerobatic aircraft-small (with only 17 feet (5 meters) wingspan), light and very agile with great power-weight-soon dominated aerobatics challenges. The more famous of the Pitts planes, a hand-crafted S-1C known as Little Stinker, flown by another pioneer of aerobatics, Betty Skelton, who did win her first wife’s International Aerobatic Championship at the age of 23 and she won again the next year. At that time there were few women that were aerobatic pilots.

A Dictionary of acrobatic flight, first published in 1961, all securities listed aerobatic maneuver and definition of the position at that time, 3000 in all. Today, that list has grown to more than 15000 maneuvers that the pilots test the capabilities of their aircraft. This shows that the aerobatic maneuvers conform to the natural evolution of the leak that occurred in the course of history – which the planes continue to improve the capabilities; skilled pilots learn to exploit these improvements.

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