This website uses cookies
More information
Business Air News Bulletin
Business Air News Bulletin
The monthly news publication for aviation professionals.
Related background information from the Handbook...
The monthly news publication for aviation professionals.

Request your printed copy

Tamarack welcomes CitationJet winglet showdown
An Active Winglet-equipped Cessna CitationJet will be flown by 30-year pilot and aircraft owner Wick Zimmerman, and an unmodified flat-wing aircraft will be flown by Mike Laver, owner of Carolina Turbine Support.

Tamarack Aerospace has organised a fly-off between an unmodified CitationJet and a Tamarack-transformed CitationJet. The event has been set up as a real-world comparison between Tamarack Active Winglet performance on a Cessna CitationJet and a ‘flat-wing’ CitationJet without Active Winglets. The fly-off is scheduled to commence on 26 January from Portland, Maine to West Palm Beach, Florida. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is documenting this weather-permitting event, with multimedia journalists aboard both aircraft. The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) will document the race for the potential setting of a record speed between this city pair in for this type of aircraft.

Tamarack CEO Nick Guida is confident in the Tamarack-transformed jet's ability to perform. “This will be the first fly-off comparing an Active Winglet aircraft and a flat-wing aircraft operating under the same conditions,” he shares. “Active Winglet mods on Citations can result in up to a 33 per cent fuel savings, depending on weather conditions and other variables, so the Active Winglet competitor may make the approximate 1,292-mile trip without a stop.”

The Active Winglet-equipped Cessna CitationJet (N44VS) will be flown by 30-year pilot and aircraft owner Wick Zimmerman, CEO and co-founder of Outside the Lines, an Anaheim, California headquartered design and build company specialising in bespoke water features and fountains. The unmodified flat-wing aircraft will be flown by aviation veteran Mike Laver, owner of Carolina Turbine Support, a Tamarack transformation centre and authorised Mitsubishi MU-2 service centre based in Aiken, South Carolina.

“The fly-off is very exciting. I'm going to do my best to win the race,” says Laver. ”This kind of race has never been done before, and it will put to rest once and for all any question about the value of these Active Winglet installations. I'll pay attention to how high and how fast the Active Winglet jet performs.”

“I am looking forward to the aviation community seeing how my Active Winglet equipped aircraft performs against the flat-wing,” adds Zimmerman, who reports several cross-country flights that have required multiple expensive and time-consuming fuel stops before he invested in Active Winglets. “Active Winglets also make a dramatic difference getting into and out of places that are high and hot,“ he continues. “For example, when we're operating out of Salt Lake City, the takeoff and climb is a game-changer. With Tamarack Active Winglets, we went straight up to 40,000 in just under 26 minutes. We were still climbing at 500-plus feet per minute when we levelled off. You could hear the controllers gasping.”

Tamarack Active Winglets are comprised of a wing extension, a winglet and an autonomous load alleviation system. The sustainable Active Winglet technology features an instantaneous and autonomous adjustment to turbulence, affording smoother and safer flights, quicker climbs, fewer stops, up to 33 per cent reduced fuel use and more stable approaches.

Laver decided to participate in the race before his Carolina Turbine Support business became a newly minted Tamarack transformation centre located in December last year.

Other News
 
NTSB finds Tamarack Winglets not to blame in 2018 accident
March 14, 2024
The NTSB finds that Tamarack Winglets were not to blame in the 2018 Indiana fatal accident; an extremely unusual NTSB reconsideration and reversal applauded by Tamarack.
Mayo partners with Stevens for maintenance in Denver
March 12, 2024
AeroLEDs gains FAA green light for Part 23 lights
January 14, 2024
SmartWing-equipped King Air 350 claims NAA and FAI records
December 5, 2023
Norwegian Air Ambulance signs for H135 and H145 HEMS helis
December 5, 2023
Three H135s and two five-bladed H145s will be used for life-saving missions in Denmark, and next year it will add a further two new H145s to Norway operations, with numerous sets of night vision goggles from ASU.