By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
After years of criticism for foot-dragging, the FAA on Aug. 29 instituted Part 107, which regulates unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). And industry has expressed satisfaction with the rules which enable routine commercial drone operations. The so-called Small UAS Rule, “represents a low and reasonable barrier to entry,” says Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs at DJI, by far the largest maker of small drones, which by definition weigh less than 55 lb.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
The National Mediation Board (NMB) on Aug. 22 dismissed challenges filed by Flexjet and Flight Options against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The allegations stemmed from the December 2015 election in which the pilots of the sibling fractional aircraft operations chose the Teamsters to represent them as a single unit, after the two companies merged under the One Sky umbrella. The NMB recognized the merger as of Sept. 30, 2015.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
The Quest Kodiak recently received type certification in Chile, its 23rd such approval. The company reports several additional certifications are imminent.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
European business aircraft brokers and operators have been the victims of cyberattacks in increasing numbers, said London-based BACA, the Air Charter Association. It appears a “sophisticated criminal community” is targeting the business aviation sector and has hacked into broker and operator internal communication systems to gain access to bank accounts and trading information, BACA said. Attacks have taken place throughout the UK and Europe, it said. The rise in attacks was reported during the 438th meeting of the BACA Council, it said.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
In yet another indication that business and general aviation has yet to fully recover from the great recession of 2008, Textron Aviation is offering voluntary retirements to its employees as a way to cut costs and is also closing its service centers in Wilmington, Delaware, and at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta. Employees received a letter about the early retirement option on Sept. 8 and until Sept. 22 to apply.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
SpeedNews plans to explore the major issues facing the business aircraft industry at its 21st annual Business and General Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference Oct. 4-5 in Los Angeles.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
With just the Model 70/75 still in production, and the light jet market still enduring long term depression, there is open speculation as to what Bombardier might do about its Learjet division.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Bombardier Aerospace's first Global 7000 ultra-long-range business jet has been registered on Transport Canada's Canadian Civil Aircraft Register. The aircraft was registered August 29. The company is concentrating on preparations for first flight, planned to take place this year. “We’re focused on flying as soon as possible,” said Bombardier spokesman Mark Masluch, who declined to give further details.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Platinum Air Center has opened at Jack Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The new FBO, owned by Arve and Emily Henricksen, is temporarily operating out of a 3,500-sq.-ft. modular complex. Construction of a $5 million facility and hangar, to be located adjacent to the modular facility, will begin in early 2017 with plans for completion by mid-2019. Plans include a 44,000-sq.-ft. FBO containing a 140 x 160-ft. hangar with 28-ft.-high doors.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
The Bell 429 light-twin helicopter fleets of Turkish National Police and Turkish General Directorate of Forestry have reached a 95% operational availability rate, Bell says. The model continues to be successful supporting public safety and assisting to prevent fires and preserve Turkish forests, it says. Turkey has been a successful market for Bell, garnering more than 50% of the total market for the past five years. Twenty-six Bell 429s are in use in Turkey for parapublic, EMS and corporate missions.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
CNN has launched its first unit using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for newsgathering, called CNN Aerial Imaging and Reporting (CNN AIR). With two full-time UAS operators, the unit will use tethered and free-flying small UAS to integrate drone imagery into reporting for CNN news services, Turner Broadcasting System and parent company Time Warner. Since 2015, CNN has been developing uses of UAS for newsgathering in partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).
I realized I was falling into an all-too-common, part-time, contract copilot trap. I could put everyone on the aircraft at risk if I blindly assumed that my basic FAR Part 61.55 legal compliance truly prepared me to belt into the right seat.
In August 2016, Teterboro Airport again was the business aviation airport viewed more than any other by acukwik.com users, according to site traffic data. Dig into the data to spot more trends.
As the value leader in the single-engine turboprop class, the M600 has potential to carve out a considerably larger share of this market segment for Piper.
At the end of a remarkable chain of inaccurate weather forecasts and missed communications opportunities, two Boeing 737-800s operated by different Australian airlines had to bust minimums within minutes of each other to prevent really bad outcomes.
BCA breaks down mission costs — direct costs, fuel expenses and per-mile costs — as well as flight times for turboprops heavier than 12,500 lb. and jets lighter than 20,000 lb.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed a way of reinforcing composites using tiny carbon nanotubes (CNT) that testing has shown can increase strength by 30%.
Designers attempt to give exceptional capabilities in all areas, including price, but the laws of physics, thermodynamics and aerodynamics do not allow one aircraft to do all missions with equal efficiency. Tradeoffs are a reality of aircraft design.
Graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of Piper M600 [PA-46-600TP] under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance.
