The TBM 900’s Pratt & Whitney Canada 1,825-hp PT6A-66D engine, flat rated to 850 shp to ISA+49C, gets a single power lever control that operates much like an automotive manual gear shift lever with an “h” pattern. The right side of the “h” controls condition modes, including feather, high and low idle, and cut off. The left side of the “h” controls power modes, including forward and reverse thrust, plus ground fine pitch, taxi power functions. Normal operating prop speed in flight is 2,000 rpm.
Building off the success of IS-BAO, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) is rolling out a similar program for business aviation handlers that will be designed to meet new international safety management system (SMS) directives. The audit program, to launch July 1, will fold in parts of the National Air Transportation Association’s (NATA) Safety First Ground Audit Program. The NATA program will cease to existing once the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) is released.
The TBM 900’s Garmin avionics package has been thoroughly upgraded. Pressurization control now is automatic by means of an FMS function, version 14 software makes possible display of weather radar imagery on the MFD map, and a solid-state GWX70 Doppler turbulence detection radar replaces the GWX68 magnatron unit. Several cockpit components, including the overhead panel, landing gear control panel and ice protection controls, plus the pressurization and bleed air control panel, circuit breaker panels and power quadrant, have been redesigned for better ergonomics.
Recently I was again reminded that time is passing and that different lives can be lived, well, unevenly. The confirmation arrived in an email my brother sent to all family members announcing that, after 28 years on the job, he’s retiring. He’s not the first of the seven siblings to punch out, but he’s the youngest by far.
Avfuel is expanding its international reach with two more fixed-base operators joining its network. Rizon Jet at London Biggin Hill in the U.K. and Air Service Basel at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Switzerland both have partnered with Avfuel. The FBOs will offer Avfuel’s contract Fuel and Avtrip Reward Points programs. They will also have access to various Avfuel operational systems and training.
Ease into a large chair in any one of the Challenger 850’s three roomy cabin sections and you’d be hard-pressed to tell you’re not in a Global 6000. The cabin has the same 6.0-ft. height and 8.1-ft. width as Bombardier’s current flagship. The 1993-2004 Canadair Special Edition and 1995-2011 Challenger 850 are the two main commercial designations for 50-seat CRJs that Canadair and Bombardier delivered green for custom conversion into business aircraft.
"Under Pressure” (June 2014, page 45) was a great article on tires, but your Learjet 60 accident synopsis gives the reader the impression that this was a typical accident for a post-V1 abort. It was not. You wrote that the thrust reversers were activated but omitted that the TRs subsequently stowed (damaged squat switches) and caused the airplane to accelerate as the engines spooled up above the N1 limit for reverse.
Gulfstream Aerospace donated a G100 business jet that was retired last year from the company’s fleet to Savannah Technical College. The donation continues a 15-year partnership between Gulfstream and the college. Through the partnership, more than 400 students have become Gulfstream employees. In addition to the G100, Gulfstream donated fly-by-wire components, including manifolds and actuators, from the G650 and a flap assembly and fuselage panel assembly from the G450. Savannah Tech, which has a nearly 30,000-sq.-ft.
The FAA in June gave its first approval for commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASes) over land, clearing energy giant BP to operate the AeroVironment Puma AE, a UAS that is 4.5 ft. long with a 9-ft. wingspan, to conduct surveys over Alaska’s North Slope. The agency had previously approved certificates for use of UASes to conduct aerial surveillance over Arctic waters, but this latest certificate of waiver enables BP to use the Puma to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay.
Aerion, the supersonic business jet concept long promoted by billionaire Robert Bass, has undergone a major redesign. The designers have brought forth the new Aerion AS2, which features a Gulfstream G450-sized cabin with a galley, forward and aft lavs, 5,000-nm range and three new production engines — yet to be identified — producing 15,000 lb. of thrust each. “You could say it’s our follow-on aircraft,” Bass observed during the EBACE unveiling.
It was sad to read we had lost Jim Christiansen (Intelligence, June 2014, page 14). I first met Jim 30-plus years ago at a management seminar for small flight departments that he facilitated with Dick Van Gemert of Xerox. He was generous with his time and shared his knowledge and expertise freely with those of us who were new to our positions.
The business jet fleet in Greater China is expected to grow by 74 aircraft this year, bringing the total number of executive aircraft in the region to 445 aircraft. That represents an 20% increase over 2013. That is the conclusion of Hong Kong-based Asian Sky Group in its latest and most in-depth report yet on business jet activities and trends in the region.
Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA), Aviation Action Safety Programs (ASAP) and Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs complement each other. All provide useful data for an operator’s safety management system (SMS).
Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga., named John Liotta, director of Product Support Sales for the East Coast of the U.S. He is responsible for maintenance sales to Gulfstream operators and reports to Mike West, vice president, Product Support and New Business Development. Tony Swift is the company’s first field service representative in Africa and will be based in South Africa.
