Turbo Airvan Australia’s Ute gets more muscle

Now with big backing from Mahindra, Gippsaero is making waves with its new turbocharged GA8 TC-320 Airvan. The extra muscle and quieter cabin add great value

It’s now nine years since I trekked with Pat Hanly around Botswana on an aircraft sales tour. The occasion was a successful attempt at convincing a collection of hardnosed tour operators that the then new Australian manufactured GippsAero GA8 Airvan was going to earn them some money.

Pat had already paid his dues selling Mooneys, and had established an unusual reputation in the business for being a straight talker, and a guy who can be trusted to deliver on his promises. Whilst Mooney production has been knocked hard by the 2008 recession, his energy was redirected towards selling a model that people needed, rather than desired. Since 2002, Pat has sold 24 Airvans - all at the expense of Cessna’s 206 Stationair, which has been a well-entrenched if somewhat elderly industry standard.

When Cessna returned the 206 to production in 1998, the utility piston gap between the Australian aeroplane and Cessna’s finest bush carrier had widened. Cessna took their 206 upmarket rather than appeasing the relatively small but hitherto loyal operators who relied on the Stationair to earn them a living. The spiffy leather and carpeted interiors with fashionable fabrics might have widened the market at home for Cessna and made the aircraft more appealing to the company’s core private buyers, but the ‘improvements’ also added weight, thus lessening the 206’s utility.

Airvan in turn upped the game for this class of aircraft. When it was introduced, there was little that utility operators could find to criticize, apart from the price, and lack of a track record. The GA8 presented them with a seven-passenger cabin, centre aisle, vast rear loading door, and a pair of crew doors and picture windows no tour operator- in this day of digital photography- could resist.

The lack of a cargo pod on early versions was also an operator criticism, and the picky ones even mentioned the Airvan’s lack of a certified autopilot. Having substantially shallower pockets than Cessna, improving the GA8 has been a somewhat slow process. A cargo pod was only certified and introduced in 2006 - the autopilot a little later. By this time, the aircraft had begun to sell in decent quantities, helped by a substantial order from Cessna’s home country in the form of 33 aeroplanes for the US Civil Air Patrol.

In Africa, tour operators in Moçambique and Botswana were quick to see the benefits of two additional seats, although there were natural reservations about the Airvan’s longevity and resistance to low time pilots in harsh wilderness conditions. These two concerns proved groundless as some of the worldwide fleet head beyond 6000 flying hours, with Botswana operators regularly flying their aircraft over 70 hours per month during their busy season.

It’s a considerable testament to the product that nine years on, Airvans are still selling. It has been impossible to distort the type’s role in the bar room with such a cross-section of operators relying on the aircraft to earn them money; and when GippsAero announced the certification of their new turbocharged model in 2010, Pat Hanly ordered a demonstrator, mindful that its extra 200lb carrying capacity and enhanced cruising speed would open a few more doors in remotest Africa.

At around R6 million, investing in a demo model is not a decision to take lightly, but given Pat’s sales record, he was confident he could find a buyer for the first model of its type in Africa. When it arrived in Coega (probably the first aircraft delivered via the new port), the Airvan was unpacked without panel instruments. SA Mooney is the only distributor that imports aircraft and installs the panel, and indeed ZS-BMT is the first Airvan to be fitted with a flat screen Bendix KFD840 Primary Flight Display. Everyone knows that in today’s over-legislated world, carrying out an STC approval is an exercise mired in a vast weight of paperwork. Thankfully Bendix King/Honeywell underwrote the cost of the STC. The KFD 840 costs some US$12,000 plus installation. In addition, BMT is fitted with a GMA340, GNS530, GNS430, a GTX327 transponder, and that most desirable of cockpit aids: an S-Tec 50 autopilot.

Overall, there’s very little to tell about the new turbo GA8 TC320. Improvements have been subtle engineering changes like the fuel filtering system - instead of having separate fuel bowls they have a cast aluminium system. Horizontal stabiliser bearing support brackets have been changed to enable easier servicing and to provide greater longevity. There’s also a changed nosewheel with high flotation tyres. The turbocharged model also brings a standard three-blade prop and sizeable cowl flap to handle the greater temperature variations. The cowl profile is the same, bar the flap and air intake, which has bestowed a more purposeful look, rather than the ‘fish’ shaped nose bowl on normally aspirated examples. There has also been a modification carried out to the front seats that enables greater rearwards travel.

For those used to Cessna’s higher performance singles, the GA8 appears to be a substantial aeroplane. Powered by a 320hp TIO-540 engine, it requires a step to climb into the front seats - not unlike a Caravan. The panel itself has always had an RV quality with its unadorned but not unattractive metal finish with exposed rivet heads. Finished in a suitably neutral grey, the centre section is angled towards the pilot. It’s very different to a Cessna’s tailored panel where the Wichita models continue to benefit from almost car-like instrument panel finishes. The Australians, budget challenged, have not had the luxury of years of accumulated wealth and a common panel design. However, it works and in many respects suits the Airvan’s utilitarian character.

An airliner-sized centre console handles the elevator trim, power, propeller and mixture. The handbrake plunger is mounted on top, and a somewhat out of sight, out of mind, cowl flap lever is located at the back. This operates in a simple ‘up’ for open and ‘down’ for closed, and will likely be forgotten by normally aspirated GA8 pilots not paying attention to their climb and descent checks. In fact the cowl flap has a significant effect on cruise speed - at least five knots, which for a sub 140-knot aeroplane makes quite a difference. A good old three-position mechanical flap lever will bring a smile to old and new hands alike, and will probably receive a nod of approval as well from maintenance engineers used to ordering replacement flap motors at huge expense. Indeed, the Aussies have made liberal use of substantial plungers and levers around the cockpit - it’s probably an ‘Aussie-thing’ - and in my view, all the better for it.

There’s an overall sense of the pilot having his own workspace in the Airvan. The cockpit is very wide, and the expanse will almost make a busy charter pilot feel he’s on the first airliner rung. As I was to discover, the ‘big’ aeroplane-feel stops right there, and despite its half-Caravan size, operators universally agree, the GA8 has provided a welcome and easy step up from a 206 in terms of general handling qualities, making life easier for young pilots.

From cold, the big Lycoming starts easily. The usual juggling over mixture and throttle setting is called for when cranking from hot, and should not present any problems to pilots used to busy drop-off and pick-up routines. The door shutting travails of Cessnas are largely forgotten with the Airvan’s expansive front doors for both front-seaters, and a vast sliding door at the back. The front doors open and latch against the cowling for taxying on those really hot days - lovely and a real bargain during those 30-degree-plus days often found in sub-Saharan tourist areas. The rear door slides beautifully and is easily closed and latched from the inside or outside. The rear door can also be opened and closed in flight, making the GA8 an excellent photography or skydiving platform - it is a tremendous feature.

Nosewheel steering is heavyish but the ride is springy on the pliant, single-tube main legs and oversize tyres. Manoeuvrability is fine. The nosewheel leg appears over-engineered but is designed for the aircraft to continue operating in the event of the oleo losing pressure. A large internal spring takes care of normal shock loads in the event of an oil leak and until the aircraft can get to a handy AMO. However, there hasn’t yet been a reported Airvan oleo failure.

The big question of course is how the Airvan operates at gross weight, and just how far it will fly with varying numbers of filled seats and luggage?

The turbocharged model has what at first seems to be a 200lb increase in gross weight. However, the landing weight is limited, which means the 200 pounds has to be shed before returning to the ground - that’s 33 gallons, or just under two hours of fuel. The cargo pod handles 440 pounds, and the rear cabin luggage area 300lbs. I would expect commercially flown Airvans to weigh in slightly less than the privately-owned ZS-BMT, so 1,900 lbs of payload is perhaps a practical rounded-up figure for how much can be loaded into the GA8.

Each tank in the thinnish but obviously efficient wing holds 44.9 gallons of Avgas for a total of 340 litres. That translates to 540 pounds of fuel, leaving a useful load of 1360 pounds with full tanks. That allows for seven and-a-half 180lb people to occupy the eight seat cabin without luggage. This begs the question of whether operators will want to load six passengers plus a pilot over a distance of up to four and-a-half hours or so. It is doubtful any operator will use this aircraft for lengthy trips because of its relatively low cruise numbers and lack of a toilet. However, the cabin is easily comfortable enough for this length of time - certainly more than a Cessna 206 or 210.

Thus, the Airvan is perhaps optimised for up to two-hour legs with six passengers. This doesn’t allow a pod full of heavy luggage, but if six passengers can get by with 20lbs of luggage each, the Airvan will work nicely, provided any ladies are honest about their weight. Whatever the limitations, the Airvan is obviously far more flexible than Cessna’s finest station wagons.

Charter operators are used to juggling numbers with their weight and balance calculations - and being obsessive about costs - but what about private owners? A number of GA8s have been purchased by private operators - many of them enthusiastic conservationists. The aircraft is very much at home in the bush, and loading unusually-sized cargo into the aircraft, even in the form of drugged wild animals, presents no challenges. The Airvan is also a tremendous method of transport for a family wanting to holiday in the bush with children and perhaps a couple of friends. Like all unpressurised utility aircraft though, it is advisable to depart early in the morning so passengers will enjoy the splendid views from the huge windows without suffering turbulence-induced motion sickness.

Perhaps the easiest thing to write about the Airvan is the plain vanilla handling that even a Cessna 172 pilot would feel at home with. Get used to the slightly heavyish controls and high lift wing, which feels every bump, and a conversion will be easily signed off. Trimmed correctly, the GA8 flies itself off the ground without drama, and will climb comfortably at light plane speeds around the 90-100 knot mark. Level off, then allow the aircraft to accelerate in the cruise and the temperatures to stabilise, before shutting the cowl flap, and the airspeed indicator nudges all the way to 138 knots TAS - about the same a trusty Cessna 182.

I wish all flight reports were as simple as the Airvan’s. It is a highly predictable aeroplane to fly - mechanically simple to control with the three-position flaps, and easy to pin down circuit and approach speeds. The only small anomaly is the relative neutral stability in pitch, with little need for major trim changes with flap application.

This is a solid and simple aeroplane to fly, with no vices, and is also easy to land using a classic Cessna technique of raising the nose at the flare and allowing the speed to bleed off to touch down on the mainwheels, just like a common-or-garden 172.

If GippsAero can be accused of anything, it’s their slow approach to improving its product lines. Much of this is because it simply does not have the financial clout to develop the airframe quickly. The robust cargo pod for instance was long overdue, as is the turbocharged version of the GA8. There are some enduring grumbles about braking efficiency and seat comfort. The company, of which Indian conglomerate, Mahindra, acquired a controlling interest in 2009, is now not short of investment, and so has been steadily improving various weaknesses.

Typical of these are the passenger door slider and fuel filter system, as well as other small tweaks. GippsAero has also been let down by poor service issues from Lycoming, which is   in today’s distressed GA industry. However, this is not a type specific gripe, but is related to US supplier issues.

Although the Airvan is possibly as close to a conservationist’s nirvana as it is possible for a light aircraft to get, the manufacturer and South African agent, Airvan Africa, is just as keen to see the new turbocharged model appear amongst the fleets of tour operators in the region. Pat Hanly, who has built a trusted reputation selling the GA8, as well as Mooneys in Southern Africa, reckons there’s a market for up to four new Airvans a year.

With continuing improvements and the ongoing development of the Rolls Royce-engined turbine GA10 model (and twin turbine development of the old Australian GAF Nomad utility aircraft), the aeroplane’s future seems to be assured.

Despite its sticker price, it seems to have become the aspirational type in the areas most suited to its unbeatable qualities of carrying people around in the most spacious cabin, with the ease of handling found in the most popular small singles.

It obviously works, as Cessna has been completely out-manoeuvred in many wilderness tour areas - Maun, Botswana being a prime example.