Ben Sclair (General Aviation News Living With Your Plane Lakewood, Wash. ), Publisher (General Aviation News Living With Your Plane Lakewood, Wash. )
Congratulations on the B&CA redesign. I very much like the new logo as it lives up to what everyone has called the magazine for years . . . as you note in your Viewpoint (October 2013, page 11). The flow and look of the digital edition is striking. It's very comfortable and easy to read. General Aviation News Living With Your Plane Lakewood, Wash.
Lowell Deering (Mission Aviation Fellowship Papua, New Guinea )
I enjoyed “A Classic Accident Chain” (Cause & Circumstance, December 2013, page 51). It describes the situation succinctly. You have highlighted a number of latent issues, which are good to think about. I work as a senior pilot and trainer with Mission Aviation Fellowship. We operate a number of Twin Otters doing charter operations in New Guinea, and the situation you describe in the article could be something we might face one day, and some of the latent issues are factors that we face already.
Toward the end of 2012, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen spoke of pitfalls facing the industry. Chief on his mind was budget. Washington was in deadlock and facing a fiscal cliff, sequestration and a government shutdown. Many of these prospects played out, much to the detriment of industry — from sequestration cuts that threatened the contract tower program to a shutdown that froze many aircraft deliveries, some flight training and all certificate renewal efforts. “2013 has been a challenging year for our industry,” Bolen says.
Bell Helicopter is planning to build its SLS helicopter at a new facility in Lafayette, La. Bell CEO John Garrison jointly announced with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal plans for Bell to lease a newly built 82,300-sq.-ft., $26.3 million hangar facility at Lafayette Regional Airport. The facility, to be constructed on a 14.5-acre site, will be funded by the state of Louisiana.
Elliott Aviation, Moline, Ill., hired Lawrence Harting as FCM general manager and vice president of Flight Operations. He will oversee day-to-day operations of over 60 employees at Elliott Aviation's Flying Cloud facility and be in charge of Elliott's flight department including charter and aircraft management operations.
The autothrottle system provides automatic thrust control from the start of takeoff through climb, cruise, descent, approach and go-around or landing. In normal operation, the flight management computer provides the A/T system with engine N1 limit values. The A/T moves the thrust levers with a separate servomotor on each thrust lever. Following manual positioning, the A/T may reposition the thrust levers to comply with computed thrust requirements except while in the THR HLD and ARM modes.
Spirit AeroSystems is “deep” into the process of selling its Tulsa production facility, a move that should mean significant bottom-line improvement as the supplier shifts focus to growing airliner programs and tackles issues uncovered in a sweeping strategic review, say analysts at Canaccord Genuity. “The company is deep into its planned sale of its Tulsa operations,” Canaccord analyst Ken Herbert writes in a Dec. 5 research note.
Due to an editing error, on page 51 of the B&CA's November issue (Another Weather Tool”), 2nd paragraph of 1st column, reads: “It is not uncommon, in an environment of fast-moving weather that WARP and on-board NEXRAD displays show weather in different geographic locations. With fast-moving weather, this happens because the weather data is routed to the cockpit via two different avenues.” It should have read:
Beechcraft King Air turboprop poised for its first flight at press time, will be delivered to customers in the fall this year. The pressurized twin is powered by the increasingly popular PT6A-6 turbines, which provide a design performance of 270 mph cruise and 1,400 mi. range. Beech reports a backlog of $10.8 million for the King Air. Basic airplane still costs about $300,000.
Scheyden's new True Aviator is functional in the cockpit and is the only timepiece to offer an Aide Memoire Bi-Directional ATIC bezel as a paperless reminder of the Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS) recordings, according to the company. It comes with engraved airport identifiers. The lower gauge is a multi-feature digital IFR timer than can be used for timing instrument procedures or assisting with time checklist items. The upper gauge features a Liquid-Filled Magnetic Compass that provides awareness on the ground.
Directional Aviation Capital has completed its acquisition of Dallas-based Flexjet from Bombardier for about $195 million and an agreement to buy up to $5.6 billion in Bombardier business jets. The final purchase price was a little higher than the originally announced $185 million, an adjustment that Bombardier attributes in part to an assumption of an estimated $70 million in customer advances by Directional Aviation Capital.
Gulfstream Aerospace's G280 super midsize aircraft has topped 30 city-pair records with a recent speed record set en route to the recent Dubai Airshow. The aircraft departed Kuala Lumpur International airport Nov. 15 at 5:23 p.m. local time and arrived at Dubai World Airport 7 hr. and 34 min. later. The aircraft averaged a speed of Mach 0.80 during the 3,356 nm trip. Earlier this year a G280 set another record during travel to the Middle East, flying from Singapore to Abu Dhabi in 7 hr. and 40 min. That trip was 3,301 nm.
Daher-Socata has named WingsOverAsia as a TBM Aircraft Sales Representative to market the TBM throughout Asia on a non-exclusive basis. WingOver Asia is a private/executive aircraft flight support and aviation lifestyle services provider. The company also privides worldwide flight operations and ground handling along with turnkey aircraft acquisition support.
I am an owner-pilot who previously operated a Citation Bravo but currently own and operate a CJ4. I have enjoyed reading your editorials for years and find your magazine's articles very informative and educational. Keep up the great work. Hamilton, Ont.
Here's are an aviation fact that might have escaped your notice: Clownfish eat frozen shrimp (though the latter thaw quickly upon water contact). Okay, not av data really, but I learned it after talking to a fellow from the New York Aquarium Service, which takes care of the little fish in the five lobby tanks at Jet Systems, the Westchester County Airport FBO headed by a big fish, my friend Mike Dolphin. The fish men come weekly to change the water, toss in shrimp and scoop out the dead urchins and eels, and whatever.
During the final approach and landing phase, it is essential that the activities of the Pilot Flying be closely monitored. The approach shall be stabilized no later than 1,000 ft. above field elevation. Boeing defines a stabilized approach as follows: Aircraft in the final landing configuration Power setting appropriate for aircraft configuration Airspeed no greater than target +20 kt. and trending toward target On glidepath or assumed 3-deg. glidepath Note: Descent rates above 1,000 fpm should be avoided.
FltPlan is offering its free Weight & Balance program via its website and mobile apps for over 400 makes and models of aircraft in its database. The program is available on the full website, on the Android app or on the iPad app. The Android and iPad apps' Weight & Balance features integrate with a users online information. It can be imported direction to an app, with no need to re-enter the aircraft parameters. The data can be used offline when no Internet is available.
¡Ross Aviation has acquired the assets and FBO of Louisiana Aircraft at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (KBTR). The FBO will continue to operate as Louisiana Aircraft and Landon Petty will continue to serve as its general manager. The facility is located on 17 acres and offers 113,500 sq. ft. of hangar space. This was the company's sixth acquisition in 2013. Ross Aviation has 19 FBOs in eleven states including Hawaii, New Jersey, Florida and Washington.
Clay Lacy Aviation, working with Envoy Aerospace, is hoping to secure certification next year for a Universal Avionics package that would enable Gulfstream IV and IVSP aircraft to meet new equipment requirements for North Atlantic crossings. Clay Lacy plans to begin installation of the package — which includes FANS 1/A+, CPDLC, Link 2000+ and ADS-B — in January. The package initially will be installed on a G-IVSP, with certification expected to follow in April.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Enhanced Consumer Protections for Charter Air Transportation” on Sept. 30, 2013, and then the federal government promptly shut down.
Jet Aviation's Teterboro repair station is now authorized to provide base, line, repair and overhaul maintenance support to Gulfstream G650 aircraft. This authorization also extends to Jet's Cayman AMO, Bermuda AMO and EASA repair station authorities. “We have made a significant investment in tooling, training and data to support the needs of our clients moving to this new aircraft type,” said David Smith, director of quality Assurance, MRO services. Jet Aviation www.jetaviation.com
By the time you read this, Beechcraft may have completed the sale of its shuttered Hawker 4000 and Premier aircraft lines, along with tooling and associated facilities. The company had been weighing bids and in negotiations for the sale since last July and hoped to close the deal by year-end. CEO Bill Boisture said earlier that it would be unlikely that production of those aircraft would restart under new ownership, but rather that a support company would acquire all rights to maintain the existing fleet of 400 Premiers and Hawkers 4000s.
Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga. Announced that Beth McClurg was appointed director of real estate for Gulfstream Aerospace. McClurg will be responsible for Gulfstream's development and construction projects, lease transactions and property acquisitions worldwide. She will develop and execute a long-range strategic real estate plan.
If you're planning to fly to this year's Winter Olympics, set for Feb. 7-23, or Paralympics slated for March 7-16 in Sochi, Russia, NBAA wants you to start making arrangements yesterday. Many special procedures will be in effect for the entire winter season, beginning on Jan. 1 and continuing through April 30. As a result, the majority of business aircraft flights to Sochi International during the Games will be drop-and-go operations.
