After reviewing Post # 31767 about the Lance Watson patent application for the design of the single engine Integrity and being directed to the link that showed the patent application had been withdrawn for lack of fee payment in 2002, I concluded there must be more to this story since every Peter Van Dyke/Integrity Aircraft/IAHL Press Release has the blurb about aircraft patents that will astound the aircraft industry. So I called Lance Watson earlier this week. Watson’s cell is 011 61 409 463 613. He is presently visiting his daughters in Perth, which is 17 hours ahead of California.
I started the conversation by asking Lance Watson (LW) to tell me exactly what patents he had on the Integrity airplane. He readily admitted that he had no patents, PVD had no patents, and Integrity Aircraft/IAHL had no patents on the Integrity program, or any other aircraft program. LW also admitted that PVD/LW/IAHL had no Intellectual Property (Design Rights) to the Trislander. I then pointed out that he had told the Australian Committee on Regional Air Service in an August 2002 letter that he had registered a patent on the new single engine installation on a “Patent Pending” basis, and in May of 2003 he testified before the same committee and again said that he had a patent on the design.
LW explained that he had let the patent application be withdrawn in 2002, and he further said that patents were a waste of time and money in the aviation industry since new designs had to meet the civil aviation certifying agencies regulations, and 99% of aviation patents were worthless. I then asked LW was it possible that PVD did not know that the patent had been withdrawn, and actually believed that the company had valuable patents. LW said that there was no way that PVD thought they had any patents. LW then wanted to know why I asked that question, so I quoted the IAHL mantra that has been on every PVD/IAHL PR since PVD became involved with the 360 shell in September 2007. Quote:
ABOUT IAHL: “The Company holds major proprietary and technological patents for certain aircraft that, once implemented, will astound the aircraft industry”
LV laughed and said “Well, Pete is a promoter but he really does not know that much about the aviation industry so I think he compensates by exaggerating claims.” My response was that there is a big difference between exaggerating claims and repeating, in every PR, the claims of valuable patents when you have no patents. LW then added “All I can say is that we have no patents”.
Then we talked about the kits: LW said that he bought 12 kits in 1990, but two of the kits were stolen, so he was left with 10 kits but only 8 wings. After a few years, because of a financial problem, LW said that he sold the kits and a 2 engine Islander to Phoenix Continental Corporation, a Florida corporation based in Pembroke Pines, Florida, affiliated with PVD.
However LW said that he was never paid for the kits or the Islander airplane that he had ferried from Australia to Florida because Phoenix Continental got in to serious trouble with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission about that time. He said that he was eventually allowed to take back his Islander from the U. S. Master (Wilmington Trust) that took over the Phoenix assets, because the airplane had not been properly deregistered from Australia by Phoenix, but he never got paid for the kits.
I then asked how did PVD get the kits, and LW explained that PVD and the other stockholders of Phoenix Continental used a Peter Van Dyke owned shell named Premier Aviation Group, Inc.to move assets out of Phoenix Continental ahead of Wilmington Trust that was placing liens on every thing. PVD took some airplanes to Jamaica to use in a commuter air line, but never got an operating certificate. However PVD was successful in getting the liens released on the kits by convincing the Special Master that the storage fees on the kits exceeded the value of the kits. I asked LW why he continued his involvement with PVD considering what happened with the Phoenix Continental fiasco, and he said that hopefully PVD would get financing for the Integrity program, and that was the only way he would ever get his money back.
LW continues to believe very strongly that, if the Integrity ever gets built, it would have to be built by Romaero in Romania since that company built all of the BN Islanders since 1972, and it would be foolish to even consider trying to get the technology transferred to a U. S. manufacturer. I then asked if he or PVD had an agreement with the present Arab owners of Britten Norman to buy the Intellectual Property (Design Rights) of the Trislander, and he said no, but he did not think it would be a problem once PVD raised the money for the Integrity program. LW went on to say that “Pete is pretty good at raising money and I’m hoping that what I am owed on the kits will be forthcoming from whatever he comes up with.”
Those were the major pints of my detailed phone conversation with Lance Watson.
In summary, no substantive engineering work has been done on the Integrity design because of lack of development money. LW seems to believe that the totality of the design is to cover up the engine nacelle holes in the wing with sheet metal, put a plug in the fuselage for Center of Gravity purposes and start building the airplanes. LW also believes the European Union and the U. S will certify this single engine airplane for twenty passengers because fuel is expensive. Both the EU and the U. S. have a restriction of 9 passengers in a single engine airplane, and I do not think they will relax long standing safety requirements just because fuel is expensive. I think a three year intensive engineering program costing at least $20 million would be required to get the Integrity certified, and it would not be a 20 passenger airplane. That is OK, let Lance Watson dream his dream, but there is very little likely hood that it will ever happen.
However,what is most disturbing about the phone call to LW is to find that no patents ever existed on the Integrity and therefore the spin from Peter Van Dyke about aircraft patents that will astound the aircraft industry are simply not true. Then I found out about the shady dealings with Premier Aviation Holdings and Phoenix Continental Corporation. How could any information put out by Peter Van Dyke be believed by any one?
The U. S. SEC entered a permanent injunction against Phoenix Continental Corporation on 8 September 1997 (Litigation Release No. 15480) and appointed a Special Master to marshal the assets of Phoenix. The Commission’s complaint alleged that Phoenix fraudulently raised $11.3 million through the sale of notes to 130 investors. Phoenix falsely represented that investors funds were fully secured through recorded aircraft liens. The complaint further alleged that the defendants misrepresented Phoenix’s financial position and the size of the company’s fleet of planes.
Michigan also entered Docket # BD 5592 on 18 March 1998 against Phoenix with a Cease and Desist order regarding Unregistered, nonexempt Securities.
The last State of Florida filing dated 14 September 2007 on Premier Aviation showed the corporation to be inactive/revoked for annual report. All of the Florida filing from 2002 until 2007 name Peter Van Dyke as Chairman/President and Registered Agent.
Phoenix Continental Corporation was administratively dissolved in 1998 due to the resignation of the Registered Agent. Substantial liens are recoded against the corporation.
