Oracle Turbo Raven defies gravity

by Mike Reightly

BEND, OR-Virtually every ag pilot out there has found himself in a

situation where he would liked to have had that little bit of extra power.

This is true whether it's trying to milk an airplane off the ground to

clear the fence row at the end of the strip or stagger through the first

turns over a field with a heavily loaded airplane. You've all been there

talking to the "old girl" while you rode the ragged edge barely out of

ground effect. Pull back a little too much and you stall, push forward and

you land.

More power on an ag airplane however just creates a vicious circle. Having

enough engine up front to allow the airplane to fly halfway comfortable

always breeds ideas of squeaking a little more load on board and then you

are right back where you started; needing more engine power again!

Effectively countering the physics of gravity is the gist of what it means

to fly. Most pilots can only dream about one day flying an aircraft where

the effects of gravity are minimized. No doubt Wayne Handley dreamt about

that very thing too during his 25 years as an ag pilot in the Salinas

Valley of California. Wayne had his share of time in lumbering aircraft

from Stearmans, to Weatherlys, and then Air Tractors, all with round

engines. Many of you have heard the story and may have seen the video clip

of Wayne's episode while flying for a movie set and making a wrong turn

into a box canyon. With full power applied to the Ag-Cat that he was

flying, the canyon walls closed up quickly and he had no choice but to

stick the aircraft on the side of the canyon wall. He miraculously walked

away.

Most of us now know Wayne as a world class airshow pilot with one of the

top acts on the circuit and many showmanship awards to his credit. Wayne,

however, has always maintained his roots in the ag aviation industry as a

spokesman for the NAAA on flight safety through its PAASS program, speaking

at many conventions from Winnipeg to New Zealand. One of the popular

segments of his airshow act is a routine called "Agrobatics" that combines

airshow maneuvers with simulated ag flying. No doubt Wayne's performances

have been enhanced from those many years of flying on the edge in an ag

aircraft where really knowing the limitations of your aircraft is essential.

In any business, including ag aviation, a progressive approach is necessary

to keep pace with changing times. The air show business is no different.

Showmanship is the name of the game and every performer is always working

on new ways to polish and improve their act. Wayne has always had one of

the more professional acts with his well-known airplane dubbed the "Raven".

Many of you have seen the Raven in action as Wayne takes it through wild

gyroscopic maneuvers, including one of his trademarks moves, the inverted

flat spin. Wayne did hold the world record for number of rotations in an

inverted flat spin at 67, but recently he broke that record with 74

rotations! (See Guinness TV, May 14, 8:00 PDT on the Fox network.)

Despite the impressive performance and handling of top air show aircraft,

including the Raven, they all still have to contend with gravity. Maneuvers

are structured around when the aircraft will run out of power and have to

turn out or fall out of a climb.

Never to rest on his laurels, Wayne was determined to take his act to a new

level. About five years ago Wayne started thinking about the possibilities

for an innovative new act. Could he develop an aircraft that had a positive

thrust to weight ratio? In essence, an aircraft that had more thrust than

it weighed. Only the most sophisticated military aircraft had the ability

to maintain a climb in the vertical attitude. An aircraft that could hover

and accelerate vertically certainly opened the door for a whole new act. In

fact, the aircraft had the potential of challenging the entire air show

community to reach for a new level of performance.

As Wayne started putting the wheels in motion for his new idea, the first

engine to be considered was a Garrett. Obviously the Garrett offered

several advantages being a direct shaft turbine. It was at a California ag

convention that the idea was first discussed between AlliedSignal and a

relatively new player in the ag propulsion business at that time, Ag-Air

Systems of Bend, Oregon. Ag-Air Systems had completed two Garrett Thrush

conversions that managed to catch the attention of the industry with its

clean and well-thought out installation. It was ultimately determined that

the Garrett lacked some fundamental design characteristics, such as air

inlet considerations and no inverted oil system capability.

The program became seemingly dormant for about three years while Wayne

worked on recruiting a sponsor. Fortunately, Wayne found himself teaching

aerobatics to an individual named Mike Conrardy, personal pilot for Larry

Ellison. Mr. Ellison has quite an impressive stable of corporate and other

aircraft from Marchetti jets to a Gulfstream V. He also happens to be

founder and CEO for Oracle Corporation; second only to Bill Gates of

Microsoft in the world of software. Best of all, he is a real aviation

buff. Mike introduced Wayne to Mr. Ellison, who took a keen interest in

Wayne's idea that resulted in an Oracle sponsorship.

Wayne chose a small company in Scappoose, Oregon, Composites Unlimited, to

do the composite work. From the basic airframe of a Giles G-202, Composites

Unlimited modified the two-seater to one seat that would accommodate extra

fuel and smoke tanks. The tail feathers and ailerons were modified to offer

better anti-torque control in the hover position.

Ag-Air Systems was called on to design the propulsion installation and the

cockpit controls. Not only was it an honor for Ag-Air Systems to be

selected for this project, but it represented a significant design

challenge. The project entailed a healthy responsibility to be entrusted by

Wayne to bring the key element of propulsion into the program.

The composite work on the airframe was started in June of 1997. The

fuselage was moved to Ag-Air Systems' facility in Bend in September for the

initial mock up phase of the powerplant. It wasn't too much more than a

hollow composite tube with tail feathers.

In the mean time, Wayne had decided to use a 750 horsepower Pratt and

Whitney PT6A-25C engine. The -25C is in essence a -34 with an inverted oil

system. This was the first PT6 installation that Ag-Air Systems had

attempted. Unfortunately, with a project of this nature, most engine

manufacturers keep their distance as a result of the "L" word.

Subsequently, a lot of research was done by Ag-Air Systems.

The secret weapon in the design arsenal of Ag-Air Systems is none other

than Bill Hubler of Valley Air Service in Caldwell, Idaho. Hubler was

designing turbine conversions for both PT6 and Garrett engines on his fleet

of five turbine Thrushes long before turbines were even fashionable. It was

Hubler's Garrett installation that was the basis of what became the Ag-Air

Systems Garrett installation. The popular Ag-Air Systems battery retrofit

for the Garrett Thrush also originated in the "Hubler Skunk Works".

The airframe was being shuttled between Scappoose and Bend for composite

work and engine installation. It became apparent that with a mountain pass

to negotiate this would be impractical in the dead of winter. Now, Mike

Reightley and the design crew at Ag-Air Systems was going to be challenged

with a host of issues not usually associated with an ag aircraft.

The aircraft is designed around an 8g maneuvering and 16g ultimate load

factor. An ag aircraft's design is usually around 4.0g maneuvering and 6.2g

ultimate load factor.

For an aircraft no bigger around than a fuel pod with wings, there couldn't

be a panel filled with more hardware. The aircraft is full-IFR capable, has

the King radio stack with GPS, oxygen system, smoker system and an

elaborate fuel transfer system that allows Wayne to transfer 144 gallons of

fuel where ever he wants it in the aircraft. The heat system components

were provided courtesy of Leland Snow; fresh air ducted from ahead of the

exhaust with windshield defrost. The aircraft weighs in at approximately

1900 lbs. with pilot and fuel. The 93" Hartzell propeller develops

approximately 2400 lbs. of thrust. It was an engineering feat to fit all

the requested equipment into such a small confine, meet all the guidelines

of airworthiness and make it maintenance friendly.

The aircraft was ready for its first engine start in late March of 1998.

With the helping hand of Bill Hubler, the PT6 engine lit the first time and

ran perfectly; a major step completed successfully. After a couple of weeks

of wrap-up, the aircraft was ready to go to the Bend airport for final

assembly by Composites Unlimited.

The big day came in early April. Wayne employed the services of two test

pilots for a more objective opinion. Dave Morss was selected for the

initial flight because of his extensive experience testing experimental

aircraft. The first flight went beautifully, only needing minor rigging

adjustments. The balance of the evaluation flights were flown by Len Fox

and Wayne. Overall, the aircraft performed exceptionally well, requiring

only minor changes during its first 50 hours of flight testing. After the

test program the aircraft went back to Composites Unlimited to be prepped

for one of the most stunning paint jobs ever seen on an aircraft,

finalizing the birth of the "Oracle Turbo Raven".

The Turbo Raven made its debut on the air show circuit in late September.

The participants of the California ag convention got a real treat when

Wayne flew the aircraft to Santa Maria in early November. Wayne put on a

mini-airshow demonstrating the aircraft's anti-gravity capabilities.

Wayne showed the ag pilots how the Turbo Raven handled short strips by

going from brake release to vertical in 175 feet of runway, climbing a

sustained rate of 4000 fpm vertically. The roll rate was impressive at over

400 degrees per second. Wayne had also developed a unique short field

landing where he approached the end of the runway at 2000 feet, then put

the propeller into reverse, descending almost straight down at 90 knots. At

300 feet Wayne came out of reverse for a perfect greased-on landing.

With the phenomenal climb rate of the Turbo Raven, Wayne had his sights set

on the world Time-To-Climb record for a propeller-driven aircraft to the

required altitude of 3000 meters (9,842.5 ft). The world records were held

by Chuck Yeager for a turbine aircraft set in 1985 at a time of 1:48. The

all-time record for any propeller-driven aircraft was held by Lyle Shelton

in "Rare Bear" at 1:31 set in 1972.

To insure the best possible atmospheric conditions, Wayne chose Salinas,

California on January 20, 1999 for the attempt. Dennis and Bob Perry of

Serv-Aero Engineering made their hangar available to host the event. With

an audience that had assembled in the pre-dawn hours, Wayne launched from

the end of the runway hoping for a time of 1:20. Returning from the flight

all smiles and to everyone's amazement, Wayne's time went under 1:10. Just

to prove the point, he refueled and went one more time only to shave off

another couple seconds; a whopping 23 seconds under the all-time record for

a propeller-driven aircraft both civil and military and 40 seconds off

Yeager's record! The Turbo Raven achieved a climb rate of just under

10,000 fpm! Not a bad start for a brand new aircraft. And, a remarkable

accomplishment for all those involved with producing this special airplane.

Wayne has already kicked-off his air show season with events scheduled

through Thanksgiving. Without question, Wayne Handley and the Oracle Turbo

Raven will be one of the big attractions on the air show circuit. Wayne

deserves to be where he is today. He is a 100% class act both in and out of

the cockpit. Ag-Air Systems is extremely proud to have been a part of this

program. The success of it is an example of the kind of ingenuity that

exists in the ag aviation community.

Ag pilot born to be a showman - Wayne Handley

by Jack Cairns

My third crop duster personality is Wayne Handley. It may be somewhat

redundant with all the publicity Wayne has received lately, about breaking

the Time-to-Climb world record with his latest state of the art acrobatic

aircraft, powered by a 750 hp PTA6-25C turbine, in an aircraft that weights

less than 1900 lbs.

I first met Wayne twenty-five years ago when he was a member of the

governing board of the California Agricultural Aircraft Association (CAAA).

Later, he was named the president of that organization and served with

distinction as head of the largest group of ag pilots in America at that

time. In 1978, he was named Ag Pilot of the Year, given the George Baldrick

award and made a lifetime member of the CAAA. More recently, Wayne has been

a spokesman traveling worldwide for NAAA's PAASS program. He was also pilot

and narrator for the NAAA videos, "Turn Smart" and "Drifting Toward

Extinction, Or?".

In a way, Wayne Handle was born to be an ag pilot. He came from the Salinas

Valley in California, considered by most growers to be the fresh produce

center of America. As a young student, he would often ride his bicycle out

to the country to watch crop dusters work their fields. That's when he

decided to become one and learned to fly.

The making of a future ag pilot has no common denominator, but any high

school student wanting to become a pilot must work hard and learn math,

physics, chemistry, English, and yet have time for sports and develop a

leadership ability. Wayne accomplished all those things, becoming a class

president and also starring on the football team as the quarterback.

After two years of junior college, where he was a quarterback, the Navy

offered him the chance to become a Naval aviator. He went on to become a

fighter pilot. (This writer chose the USAF and like Wayne, eventually

became an aerial applicator, the generic name for a "crop duster").

After serving four years in the Navy, Wayne started flying for an operator

near Salinas who trained him from the ground up. After three years, he

qualified as a journeyman ag pilot and started his own operation in 1968,

leading to a successful fifteen years in the ag business.

Upon his retirement from the crop dusting business, what else would we

expect an ex-Naval aviator fighter pilot to do? Remain flying! In 1990

Wayne purchased a Pitts biplane and started perfecting an air show act that

would show his expertise as an ag pilot and his acrobatic skill

specializing in doing dangerous inverted spins, setting a world record that

still stands! Wayne called his show "Agrobatics".

In 1995 Wayne was appearing at a Hillsboro, OR air show, along with my old

friend Sean Tucker. I drove from my home in Vancouver, WA on Friday and

located Wayne and Sean. After I greeted them, Wayne drove this old decrepit

crop duster to a choice seat in front of the crowd. Wayne flew his usual

superb low flying act in his Raven monoplane, and Sean demonstrated how to

hang his biplane on the prop while facing outward and turning in a circle

in the vertical position at 500 ft. AGL.

I gotta tell my readers, that if you have never seen these two bird men

fly, you better make plans to attend when either one or both of these

ex-crop duster perform at an air show, even if it's a hundred miles away!