FACC AG has received approval of the first article parts and the go-ahead for series production of bypass ducts for Pratt & Whitney Canada PurePower PW814 and Pw815 engines.
Russia’s Rostec and Rosneft state corporations have agreed on a strategic partnership with Italy’s Finmeccanica to build the AW189 super-medium helicopter in the Russian Federation.
Challenger 605 operators are pragmatic realists. They say there are other large-cabin aircraft with fine French bloodlines, plus sporty performers from Savannah and rugged heavyweights from Brazil, but no other business jet can top the Bombardier Challenger 605 for its blend of cost effectiveness, low operating costs and cabin comfort, plus dispatch reliability and everyday utility.
Do you allow your passengers to use portable electronic devices (PEDs) below 10,000 ft.? Should you? Try these two scenarios on for size: Scenario One: You are about to depart on an FAR Part 91 trip with the person who signs your paycheck. “Mr. Big is working on a very important spreadsheet,” you hear from the cabin crew. “He insists we take off right away, but he will not be putting his computer away.”
N856JT, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-25, crashed into wooded terrain near Owasso, Oklahoma, on Nov. 10, 2013, about 1546 CST. Investigators collaborated on a meticulous analysis of this accident.
What are the driving factors that affect the value of a business aircraft, such as the Gulfstream G550? Using a G550 with an in-service and Certificate of Airworthiness date of 2007, a microeconomic review shows what impacts value for this aircraft.
In its report on the Inhofe MU-2-B accident, the NTSB points out that the airplane was not equipped, and was not required to be equipped, with any type of crash-resistant recorder.
Piaggio’s latest version of the Avanti turboprop twin, the EVO, was awarded European certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Dec. 9. U.S. certification from the FAA is expected within the next few weeks as well as Indian certification as the first two Avanti EVO aircraft will be delivered to Indian customers. The EVO has a number of significant modifications that boost efficiency, reduce operating costs, provide greater levels of comfort for passengers, and reduce internal and external noise.
A portable electronic device (PED) is a lightweight, electrically or battery-powered piece of equipment. These devices are typically consumer electronic devices capable of communications and data processing, such as a tablet, e-reader or handheld computer games. Please note that mobile phones are not considered PEDs in this context and thus may be used only when the boarding door is open and during taxi to the gate after landing.
Big things are happening at the Penton Business Aviation Network. As the clouds of the recession are finally lifting (no kidding this time), and once again business aviation is on the upturn, I must invoke the name of one of my favorite 1980s classics, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades!” “ B&CA is doing what?!”
RUAG Aviation recently completed the first upgrade in Europe of a Falcon 2000 with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics replacing the aircraft’s Pro Line 4 cockpit. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and FAA-approved upgrade is also available for the Falcon 2000EX. RUAG carried out the upgrade at its Lugano, Switzerland, facility during a 3C inspection, which was itself the first performed at that location.
Nothing has a greater impact on flight operations safety than hiring and retaining the best people. That’s why top-notch airlines, military organizations and business aircraft operations go to great efforts to evaluate personal integrity, professional attitude, willingness to embrace team effort and coolness under pressure during the hiring process. The objective, even in single-pilot aircraft operations, is to identify pilots who view themselves as team players as well as leaders.
Fokker Services, part of Fokker Technologies, has been selected by Boeing to carry out a green completion of a 737-800 for an undisclosed Asian head of state. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive at Fokker Services Netherlands in October 2015, with a scheduled redelivery in August 2016. The company is currently working on completion of a green ACJ319 for an undisclosed customer, for delivery in the first quarter of 2015. Its previous VIP conversions include Airbus A318, A319 and A320 aircraft, as well as Bombardier CRJ series and Fokker aircraft.
Signs of a recovery in the business aviation sector are reinforced by predictions of a 13-consecutive-month increase in flight activity when the December figures come in. Analysts at TRAQPak estimate there will be 1.4% growth in overall flight activity year over year in December, following a 3.7% increase in November vs. the same month a year earlier. TRAQPac is the intelligence data arm of Argus International. The results by operational category were positive across the board, with Part 135 reporting the largest growth, up 8.6%.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) will invest more than $1 billion in research and development over the next 4 1/2 years to develop the next generation of high-performance aircraft engines, the company announced in early December. The investment includes a $300 million repayable contribution from the government of Canada under the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Initiative program.
Honeywell Aerospace scored two firsts for the region at the recent Middle East Business Aviation show in Dubai when it signed up construction and management giant Saudi Oger as the launch customer in the region for its Boeing Business Jet avionics maintenance plan, and an unnamed launch customer for its BBJ 131-9B auxiliary power unit maintenance plan. It also appointed Arab-owned, U.S.-based GDC Technics to retrofit its JetWave satellite communications system in Airbus and Boeing VIP aircraft.
Chinese companies are steadily adding to their portfolio of Western general aviation manufacturers ahead of the anticipated boom that will follow the opening of low-level airspace there. Two little-known acquisitions came to light at last month’s Airshow China in Zhuhai:
Two major milestones coincided within days of each other at Turbomeca, the French manufacturer of helicopter engines: the 40th anniversary of the first flight of its Arriel engine, and the entry into service of its latest engine, the Arrius 2B2 Plus. The Arrius B2B Plus entered service this month on an Airbus Helicopter EC135 T3 with Italian mountain rescue operator Aiut Alpin Dolomites.
Boeing has named David Longridge as president of Boeing Business Jets following the promotion of Capt. Steve Taylor to chief pilot of Boeing’s Flight Services unit. Longridge, a 21-year veteran of Boeing, most recently served as sales director based in the U.K., leading the British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and TUI accounts. He was previously a sales director for BBJ when the group was founded in 1996. Taylor leaves BBJ on a high note. While at BBJ, the organization sold 28 jetliners to be outfitted as VIP aircraft.
Downloaded CVR and FDR preliminary information from an Embraer Phenom 100 that crashed 1 mi. short of the runway at the Montgomery County Airpark outside Washington, D.C. on Dec. 8 revealed that the aircraft’s automated stall warning system sounded continuously for the final 20 sec. of the flight, according to NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt. The accident killed the pilot and the two passengers on the jet as well as a woman and her two children in one of three houses struck by debris.
Surf Air, the all-you-can-fly startup airline operating within California, hopes to launch similar operations in Texas and Florida within the next year, and wants to eventually begin near-hourly service between the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, executives said in interviews. The airline, run by former Frontier Airlines CEO Jeff Potter, placed a firm order in August for 15 Pilatus PC-12 aircraft with 50 options. The first arrived last month, giving Surf Air a fleet of four aircraft, each with eight seats.
Airbus Helicopters has delivered the 2nd Super Puma AS332 C1e to the Bolivian Air Force (FAB). At the end of 2013, the FAB purchased six of these light-medium helicopters to fight drug trafficking and perform civil security and public service missions throughout the country. The first helicopter was delivered in August of this year and the four remaining helicopters will be delivered between now and 2016.
