Lockheed Jetstar N63AM / PA34-200 G-BASX
Avionics Mobile had supplied my avionics requirements for many years. In 1995 they approached me asking whether I could supply a ‘Target’ aircraft to enable them to demonstrate the ability of Allied Signal’s new TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System). It was ‘simple’, all I had to do was fly directly towards a Lockheed Jetstar Executive Jet equipped with the system so that they could demonstrate how well it worked with potential customers in the jet watching the episode on their screens.
A ‘corridor’ of NOTAM’d airspace was provided North of Luton towards The Wash and I would depart Luton after the jet and fly North and meet the jet head on somewhere near Grafham Water and simply maintain a steady heading and altitude using a ‘discreet’ frequency to ensure all went well.
Phil Druen, Allied Signals Chief Pilot, gave me a comprehensive briefing and we agreed a sequence of events including a ‘recovery’ to base plan if anything went wrong.
I departed Luton a couple of minutes after the Jetstar and headed North at 3000ft in GBASX, our quite elderly Seneca 1 at a sedate 135kts. Passing abeam Cardington I heard Phil inform Lakenheath they were making a ‘180’ back towards Luton. Lakenheath then helpfully guided Phil back towards me which was ‘more’ help than he wanted and so we went ‘discreet’ and with a closing speed of 380kts(!) it did not take long for Phil to announce he had ‘capture’.
I was steady at 3000ft and he was just 500ft higher (we had calibrated and cross-checked altimeters!). It looked pretty ‘close’ to me and there was a ‘bump’ from wake turbulence shortly after we passed. We repeated the flights several times over the next couple of days. Sometimes I saw the jet and sometimes not, it was quite entertaining.
I don’t know how many sales occurred as a result of the demonstration flights but several weeks later I received a case of wine as a ‘Thank You’ for my contribution!