Business & Commercial Aviation

According to the Office of Inspector General, Jeffrey Krantz was charged and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Hartford, Connecticut, to wire fraud for his role in the sale of counterfeit aircraft parts. Among other things, Krantz allegedly bought and sold obsolete electronic parts for use by commercial buyers and the U.S. military.

Van Nuys Airport (VNY) and Signature Flight Support hosted an open house celebrating the grand opening of the new 1,528-sq.-ft. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility. Since its opening on May 21, 2015, more than 75 international flights have been successfully cleared, providing direct benefits for business travelers, the local economy, and reducing airspace congestion in Southern California.

Vertis Aviation, based in Switzerland, has added a Doha, Qatar-based Bombardier Challenger 604 to its managed fleet of aircraft. The Challenger 604 is a new model for the company and complements the larger Boeing Business Jet managed by Vertis out of Dubai, the company said.

The acquisition also involved Firstmark Aerospace, which makes navigation, flight control, fuel measurement and other electromechanical components; transducer maker Firstmark Controls; ABI, an aviation safety equipment supplier; and Centroid, which makes electronic components for the defense industry.

The Menominee, Michigan, manufacturer reports having signed MOUs in hand for the new helicopter, first announced last year, and designed for the ab-initio flight training, light commercial, and private owner market.

FlightSafety International is building a full-flight simulator for King Air 350 aircraft for its Learning Center in Atlanta. The new FS1000 simulator will be equipped with the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system. It is expected to enter service in early 2016. Training will include FlightSafety’s Operational DayFlow training methodology, which presents critical procedures and tasks according to the phase of flight.

Redesign of the wing is the major driver behind a two-year delay in entry into service of the Bombardier Global 7000 long-range, large-cabin business aircraft, to the second half of 2018, says CEO Alain Bellemare.

Wade Eyerly launches Beacon, an all-you-can fly membership carrier that takes customers from the Westchester County Airport, outside New York City to Boston Logan, beginning with nine roundtrips per day.

For less than $3 million, the Cessna Citaction CJ2 provides high value in light jet transportation. It offers excellent airport performance, reasonable block times on typical missions, unbeatable reliability and unmatched product support from Cessna.

Earlier this summer a visiting amateur photographer was enchanted by marshes near my home and wondered aloud if I might fly her about for a closer look. Thereupon, a relative told her to forgo the airplane and get herself a drone instead. She thought about that once she returned home, and presently the UPS man delivered a DJI Phantom 3 to her door.

In October 1996, the NTSB issued Safety Recommendation A-96-120, which asked the FAA to require FAR Part 121 and 135 operators to train their flight crews in recognition and recovery of, “unusual attitudes and upset maneuvers, including upsets that occur while the aircraft is being controlled by automatic flight control systems.”

The FAA has granted more than 1,000 Section 333 exemption approvals for the operation of commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in U.S. airspace. The approvals have been issued to companies and individuals for a wide range of activities including motion picture production, precision agriculture, real estate videos and photography, inspection of power distribution towers and wiring, railroad infrastructure and bridges, among other things.

1. CARE Moves to New Showhouse Constant Aviation Rotable Exchange (CARE) have moved into their new 20,000-sq.- ft. showhouse and increased available parts inventory by an additional $3.5 million, bringing their total inventory to over $48 million with over 54,000 line items. Additionally, CARE has placed inventory nationwide to assist in decreased shipping time providing customers with 24/7/365 support for all their purchasing and sourcing needs. Constant Aviation Rotable Exchange (CARE) (800) 4400-9004

Selected accidents and incidents in July 2015. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

Shipments of commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) will exceed 2.6 million units a year by 2025, according to a new forecast by Tractica. According to the Boulder, Colorado, market researcher, the industries using the drones will include film, media, agriculture, energy, mapping, mining, and disaster relief. Meanwhile, companies, universities and government agencies are actively assessing the opportunity for drones in other capacities.

The decentralization of the FAA will continue, with area managers throughtout the county getting increasing responsibilities. These 18 mangers for the 48 continental states may add another level of bureaucracy between the aviation community and FAA headquarters. Britten Norman’s utility twin “Islander” has flown over 60 hr. in extensive testing. Factory export price of the Continental IO-360-powered fixed-gear, 10-seater is $49,000 and the manufacturer recently announced 15 deposits on pre-release orders.

Training Accident

In July, the New York City Council introduced legislation targeting the city’s helicopter tour operators for increased regulation “to reduce noise and air pollution for New Yorkers who live and use public parks along the tourist-helicopter routes.”In doing so, the bill’s sponsors aligned themselves with a number of groups, including “Stop the Chop NYNJ,” a neighborhood coalition that sees sightseeing-helicopter operations as both a source of noise and pollution, and as “a danger to health, the environment and national security.&rdqu

​Aerion Corp., Reno, Nevada, announced that Matthew (Matt) Cram, previously an attorney for Aero Law Group PC, is Aerion’s vice president of Contracts and will have responsibility for commercial contract activity for the Aerion AS2, as will as other legal affairs for the company.

Graphs illustrate the performance of Citation M2 under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions.

The world of nondestructive testing can be a bit foreign to most maintenance technicians. To learn more about the technology, visit: American Society for Non-Destructive Testing - www.asnt.org ASTM International – www.astm.org NDT Resource Center – www.ndt-ed.org

Commercial aviation’s first touch screen primary flight displays have received FAA certification as standard equipment on Beechcraft King Airs

RAI Jets has partnered with Chicagoland Aviation to expand into the Chicago area. RAI is a Sturgis, Michigan, private charter aviation company. It will provide an alternative to commercial airline travel between Kalamazoo and Chicago. RAI Jets is experiencing the rising trend for charter jet service, it said.

Swift Fuels said that its 94 MON, or motor-octane-number, aviation gasoline will be available in select regions in the U.S. and Canada. The unleaded fuel is FAA certified and meets ASTM standards for aviation gasoline, the company said. An estimated 40% of the nation’s aircraft fleet will be able to use the fuel. Many piston-engine aircraft requiring a minimum octane rating at or below 94 MON are eligible to buy the appropriate supplemental type certificates to use the fuel, the company said. However, it will not replace 100LL sold at airports for high-performance aircraft.