December 19, 2002
PAC 750XL Update
Seasons Greetings,
Good progress has been made since our last update. The PAC 750XL has been climbed, stalled, spun, dived, slipped, skidded, steep turned so often and in so many
configurations that it is impossible to cover in a brief update. That's the easy part though. Every configuration and flight requires documentation and a report. The hours
spent report writing, filing and document accounting is absolutely vital, but doesn't immediately spring to mind when we think "Test Pilot".
On this path to certification, adjustments are made, sometimes a step forward, sometimes two steps back. The trick is to get it all modifications proved or rejected in an
efficient manner.
The PAC 750XL's on the production line are also getting the latest configurations.
The prototype PAC 750XL seems to be at the point where the formal Certification test flights can begin. But the loose ends need to be tidied up, modifications
engineered for production and the plane flown in its production form.
This is where the plane is at the moment. It is anticipated that January will see the last of the test flight phase and the beginning of the Certification flights.
PAC has set dates in the past for anticipated certification. These dates have come and gone, so they are really hesitant to give us an anticipated certification date. On the
one hand, we would love to know that magic date, but on the other hand, we know it is an impossible date to determine, with so many variables. These variables not only
related to the aircraft itself, but also the various government agencies involved. ( And we all know how that works, we have been waiting for over three months to get a jump
door Field Approved for a 206, and this isn't exactly rocket science, considering we have prior approval for exactly the same thing !)
We have reworked our "Skydive Cost Comparisons" page on our web site. www.utilityaircraft.com We have added graphs and broken the spread sheets out into two
sections. You can download the spreadsheets and add any data that might be pertinent to your operation. If you download the file, be sure to look at the graphs that can
accessed at the bottom of the page. These graphs are linked to the spreadsheet, so if you play with the numbers on the spread sheet, it will immediately graph the
change. Please contact us if you have a problem with it. There are also some very recent photos of the XL posted.
Christmas is just around the corner. Hope you had a good year, and wish you well for 2003.
We are looking forward seeing you at the PIA Symposium in Jacksonville.
Regards
Philip Esdaile
Utility Aircraft Corporation
www.utilityaircraft.com
(530) 750-3226
(530) 754-7371 fax
e-mail info@utilityaircraft.com
