Bombardier Aerospace recently delivered the 400th Challenger 300 super-midsize jet to Russian charter operator BJET. The company also operates a Global 5000 and 6000, a Challenger 605 and Challenger 850 and a Learjet 60. The Challenger 300 can seat eight-to-10 passengers and has a range of about 3,065 nm. The 300 entered service in 2004 and its dispatch reliability has been consistently about 99.7, according to Bombardier.
The FAA has authorized Blackhawk Modifications to sell and install the XP42A Upgrade Package on Cessna Caravan 208A aircraft. The package includes a factory new P&WC PT6A-42A engine rated at 850 shp. It also uses a new, wide-chord, 100-in. diameter Hartzell four-blade propeller; a new composite cowling and high-efficiency inlet duct; a new 40% larger oil cooler; new Blackhawk DigiLog engine gauges and new exhaust stacks.
Eurocopter, Marignane, France, appointed Matthieu Louvot head of Support and Services reporting to Dominique Maudet, head of Global business and Service.
On the night of Dec. 20, 1995, American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757 carrying 151 passengers and eight crewmembers, crashed on a 9,800-ft. mountaintop while attempting a straight-in approach to Runway 19 at Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport at Cali, Colombia. Only five passengers survived the accident, one of whom died later in hospital.
One of the challenges of aviation's so-called Golden Age was the installation of radios. After all, how would you connect to the circuit to ground? The answer turned out to be using the metal airframe as a substitute for good old terra firma. Still, early radios were plagued with interference and noise issues. One solution was to add braided wire shielding to prevent stray electric fields from interfering with the radio transmission.
A total support solution for Eurocopter helicopters in deployed operations was launched recently by Eurocopter, DAHER, DCI, Eurotradia and Vector Aerospace. Designated E-HOTS (Eurocopter Helicopter On Theatre Services), the consortium consolidates the five partners' expertise and pools their resources providing a turnkey support package that covers a range of services for rotorcraft in any deployed operation such as humanitarian and crisis relief missions, conflict zones and oil and gas exploration.
Executive AirShare, Kansas City, Kan., announced industry veteran Steve Gentry joined the company as senior sales director and will be based at the company's Love Field, Dallas facility. Gentry previously held positions at CitationAir, Bombardier FlexJet and a national turboprop fraction program. He is a pilot with more than 600 flight hours.
Europe is fielding a competitor to Robinson's Helicopter's mighty mite, the R22. Bruno Guimbal, an aeronautical engineer with Eurocopter, believed there was a market for a small, piston-powered helicopter with excellent performance — something well below his employer's line. And so he, too, set out on his own. By 2005, his two-place Cabri G2 was flying and setting world records — height attained without a payload 6,658 m (21,838 ft.); duration of a climb to 3,000 m (9840 ft.) of 6 min., 42 sec.; and duration of a climb to 6,000 m (19,680 ft.) of 22 min., 6 sec.
TWC Aviation, San Jose, Calif., promoted Jack Mulder to director of Operations. He has been with the company for seven and has chief pilot, director of Training and was a line pilot.
ExecuJet, Zurich, appointed Paul Desgrosseilliers general manager of the company's Haite Aviation Services, the company's joint venture with the Sichuan Haite Group, based in Tianjin, China.
Ed Iacobucci, founder of DayJet, the on-demand air-travel enterprise, died June 21. He was 59. Although Iacobucci is best remembered in the aviation community standing proudly next to one of his Eclipse 500s, DayJet was built on his expertise in the information technology industry. The former IBMer founded Citrix, the original cross-platform system that delivered enterprise software on a central server, and under his leadership the company grew to become a tech giant.
Bell Helicopter is re-entering what it calls the Short Light Single (SLS) turbine market with a new, as yet unnamed successor to the ubiquitous JetRanger. Since production of the latter ended in 2010, both the Robinson R66 and Eurocopter EC120 have rushed to fill the void. The new aircraft, which is to make its first flight in 2014, will be powered by a 450-550 shp Arrius 2R, similar to the EC120's power plant and the first Bell product to use a Turbomeca engine. The new aircraft will be a mix of metal and carbon fiber construction.
First it was Mexico denying operators overflight permits for alleged nonpayment of navigation fees. Now, it's Venezuela. Applying for overflight permits from the Venezuelan civil aviation authority Instituto Nacional de Aeronautica Civil (INAC), some international business aviation operators in the past year have been surprised when they subsequently received huge invoices for allegedly overdue navigation fees from previous trips. These can amount to tens of thousands of dollars, often charged for flights never made in Venezuelan airspace.
June 21 — At 1240 EDT, a Cessna 172M (N9926Q) crashed during takeoff at the Oakland County International Airport (KPTK), Waterford, Mich. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The Cessna was registered to and operated by Flight 101, LLC, Waterford, Mich., as a FAR Part 91 personal flight. It was operating VFR with no flight plan and the local flight was originating at the time of the accident. Control tower personnel saw the airplane lift off from Runway 09L and attained an altitude of about 100 ft.
ForeFlight digital navigation charts and information are now available for Canada. The complete set of NAV CANADA charts, optimized for iPad display, includes Visual Navigation Charts (VNC), Visual Terminal Area Charts (VTA), and the Canadian Flight Supplement (CFS). ForeFlight Mobile now offers flight-planning capabilities; preflight weather information including METARs, TAFs, and radar from Environment Canada; and, inflight access to navigation charts, weather and moving map capabilities.
Flight Displays, Alpharetta, Ga., announced that Reed Macdonald has joined the company as chief operating officer responsible for overseeing all aspects of company operations including oversight of research, product design, manufacturing, logistics, customer service, accounting and finance.
Satcom Direct is a value-added reseller for OnAir's GSM mobile phone service, Mobile OnAir, on VIP and business aircraft enabling passengers and crew to use their mobile phone the same way they do on the ground while flying in regions that authorize mobile phone use during flight — although not during takeoff or landing. Satcom Direct also signed an agreement with Honeywell to be a distribution partner for Inmarsat GX Aviation Ka-band service and a distributor of GX avionics equipment.
The brooding, blarney and bluster that attend to my surname notwithstanding, the truth is that half my ancestry is German. You see, my given name derives from Wilhelm Gunther, my grandfather, who emigrated alone to the U.S. as a nearly penniless teenager and went on to achieve great success as a commercial printer and paragon of his community. He also loved sports, drove cars too fast, crashed boats with curious regularity and watched proudly but surely with an aching heart as his two sons donned uniforms of his new country and left to defend it from the old.
Piaggio Aero has announced a reduced maintenance program for its P180 Avanti/II aircraft. The C and D check, due respectively at 1,500 and 3,000 flight hours, have been extended to 1,800 and 3,600 flight hours, respectively. These newly approved intervals allow the operator to match the airframe inspection schedule with that of the P&WC PT6-66A engines on the aircraft.
L-3 Aviation Recorders, Sarasota, Fla., announced the Ed Senen has been named the division's president responsible for managing the daily operations of the division. He reports to Kris Ganase, president. Senen succeeds Michael Smith, who is retiring after 15 yr. with the company.
Beechcraft's factory-owned Hawker Beechcraft Services facilities were authorized to install the CenTex Halo 250 gross-weigh increase modification for Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft. The Halo 250 conversion adds 920 lb. of payload capacity through an increase in maximum takeoff weight from 12,500 lb. to 13,420 lb. Waco, Texas-based CenTex Aerospace developed the modification, which received FAA certification in October. The increase can be installed via a normal category supplemental type certificate (STC) or a commuter category STC.
This year's European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) gave some hope for change in the generally grim economic atmosphere long settled over the continent. At the close of the May 21-23 gathering at Geneva's Palexpo exhibition center, the organizers tallied 12,353 attendees, a figure that's just 285 shy of the previous year's gathering and the third highest in the event's 13-year history. As for the sellers, there were 460 Exhibitors, or 31 fewer than in 2012, and out at the adjacent static display there were 52 aircraft.
Christian von Strombeck ( Director of Operations, Susi Air Jakarta, Indonesia )
I am a long time reader of BCA and find it one of the most informative publications on the market. One of the highlights of the year is the May issue with the Purchase Planning Handbook, especially since it provides a very neutral benchmark to compare aircraft performance.
