A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA; Booth 3826) of Addison, Texas, announced several safety enhancements for its MU-2 twin turboprop this week at NBAA 2016, including a new angle-of-attack (AOA) indicator and an updated icing awareness video.

 


The FAA-approved AOA indicator system, developed by Alpha Systems, has been adapted to incorporate all MU-2 flap settings and provides “visual and audio indications of angle of attack for all approach and departure phases of flight,” said Mark Korin, CEO of Minnesota-based Alpha Systems.

 


The AOA display is set above the glare shield, so “it is always in the pilot’s vision, and the audio warning when AOA is too high will provide an additional safety tool for the pilot even when concentrating outside the airplane during, for instance, a circling approach,” noted Ron Renz, flight-test engineer for the project. AOA kits for both long and short body models of the MU-2 series are available from the MU-2 Parts Center.

 


MHIA’s MU-2 Product Support Division also announced the next version of the MU-2 icing awareness video will be available in early 2017. The FAA mandates MU-2 pilots watch the video at least once every two years, and since the first was produced in 1997, no MU-2 accidents have resulted from icing. The new video is just over one hour in length and contains more current information on airframe icing than the original.

 


Meanwhile, the FAA has introduced a new regulation governing training, experience and operating requirements for MU-2s. The new rule, Part 91 Subpart N, replaces and updates the old standard, Special FAR 108. Operators in compliance with SFAR 108 remain in compliance with the new rule, but meeting the standards in the future might be affected as qualifications for MU-2 trainers have been changed under the revised regulations.

 


Additionally, the new rule moves mandates on training programs from the code of federal regulations to an Advisory Circular. “This will benefit the MU-2 community since modifications to the training program (such as changes to the stall recovery procedure) will be more easily corrected with AC updates in the futures,” said Pat Cannon, manger of MHIA’s Part 91 Subpart N program.

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