Cessna Aircraft has signed a letter of intent to acquire Jet Aviation's maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in Zurich, Switzerland and Dusseldorf, Germany. The sale, expected to be completed by year-end, would not include the FBOs at those locations. Jet Aviation, which had spent the past couple of years reviving its struggling completions business, has more recently experienced a downturn in its services division as demand from Europe dipped.
Colorado-based Air Methods has ordered a total of 42 new helicopters from Bell and American Eurocopter. Bell won a contract for 20 407GX aircraft. American Eurocopter received an order for 10 EC-130T2s, six AS350B3e and six EC-135P2e helicopters. American Eurocopter is the largest operator of helicopters for emergency air medical transport in the U.S.
The Fatigue Toolbox The FAA has created a one-stop source for your fatigue resource needs. The site has a comprehensive tool box with training programs, including the award-winning film “Grounded,” and tools such as the Return on Investment calculator, Fatigue Risk Assessment Tool, and newsletters with articles authored by industry leading scientists in the subject of fatigue. You can visit the site at: www.mxfatigue.com
The next year looms as a critical period for the effort to implement NextGen. While some of the core programs are on track to achieve major deployment milestones, the FAA will need to show that it has solved policy and technology headaches that still could stymie progress. The target date for full implementation is 2025, and two of the crucial foundation systems are scheduled to be largely completed by the end of this year. Succeeding with these will boost confidence that other NextGen goals can be achieved as planned. NextGen was launched in 2004.
Pan Am International Flight Academy has acquired Airline Career Academy (ACA), a pilot training academy specializing in JAA/EASA and FAA Ab Initio training. ACA will be integrated in Pan Am's operations to offer professional pilot training programs that enhance Pan Am's core business. Training will continue to operate under the Pan Am brand with no interruption of service. ACA was established in 1995 and trains an estimated 250 pilots annually. The company provides private, instrument and commercial multiengine training with a fleet of about 50 aircraft.
For about $9 million, you can by a new or nearly new super-midsize Hawker 4000 that can fly eight passengers 3,000+ nm at Mach 0.80 and land with 200 nm NBAA IFR reserves. Inspired by the systems architecture of the Gulfstream GIV, this is the only aircraft in its class to have standard dual Honeywell IRSes, dual ACM packs, auto-throttles, an AC electrical generation system and a standard hydraulically powered, emergency AC electrical generator. The aircraft has a flat floor, aft lavatory and inflight access to the aft baggage compartment.
Bombardier's Business Aviation division enjoyed gains across the board with orders jumping 80% in 2012. Bombardier received 343 net orders in 2012, compared with 191 a year earlier. Bombardier's business jet deliveries, meanwhile, were relatively flat in 2012 at 179 aircraft. The manufacturer delivered 163 aircraft in 2011, but that only reflects activity of the final 11 months (an accounting change to a calendar fiscal year shortened the 2011 reporting time frame). The 2012 deliveries were actually at about the same pace — only slightly increased from 2011.
Lou Churchville (Business Development Max-Viz Portland, Ore. )
“The Alabama Bet” (Viewpoint, December 2012, page 9) was a nice piece on Al Ueltschi and your multi-port connections to all the elements. Life really is a web that we often do not recognize in all its interconnectivity . . . let alone what's behind the curtain from where the web springs: the curtain Al just passed through . . . perhaps to spin yet another thread. Business Development Max-Viz Portland, Ore.
I read with interest “Radar in Winter Ops” (November 2012, page 86). You cite the World War II experience of RAF Bomber Command. More recently, Vietnam-era F-105 Thunderchief crews used an Autonetics NASARR R-14A radar. This was a monopulse set with good air-to-air capability, but it was normally employed in the air-to-ground mode where the pilot could obtain contour mapping or terrain-avoidance as well as ground-mapping from 13 to 80 mi. ahead.
Business aviation veteran Jim Christiansen joined FlightSafety International as vice president, international business development. Christiansen will look for opportunities to expand FlightSafety's programs and services globally. He joins FlightSafety after serving as vice president of sales for Hawker Beechcraft, where he managed Hawker business jet sales in the Eastern U.S. He also spent nearly 10 yr. with NetJets in senior executive positions, including as president of NetJets Aviation and senior vice president, national accounts.
Dec. 29, 2012 — About 1148 CST, a Bell 407 (N534MT) lost engine power and crashed while diverting to Reagan Municipal Airport (E41), Big Lake, Texas. The three crewmembers and one passenger received no injuries. The aircraft was registered to and operated by Med-Trans Corporation as a Part 135 on-demand Emergency Medical Services operator. The aircraft received substantial damage. VFR conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on a company VFR flight plan. It originated from a hospital helipad in Ft.
Pilatus is offering a configuration tool featuring the PC-12 NG. Two apps — one for the interior and one for the exterior — may be downloaded and installed on the iPad platform. These new electronic tools allow customers in North and South American to design a personalized aircraft. The interior design app enables prospective owners and enthusiasts to select from one of four BMW DesignWorks USA interior themes specifically designed for those markets. Customers can also make individual adjustments to woods, carpet, leather, plating and other interior materials.
I was downing my eighth chocolate chip cookie when the marvel of today's global air transportation system struck home. Again. The killer batch of double-dark confections were baked by my niece, recently arrived from New Zealand, and there about to return with her brood. Meanwhile, the stack of classic, morsel-dotted blondes were baked in wonderful abundance by my youngest sister, soon to be launching for Abu Dhabi where her physician-husband is working on contract in a clinic.
HeliFlite has purchased its third Sikorsky S-76 helicopter in executive passenger configuration. The purchase is the second aircraft acquired in 2012 by the 14-yr.-old company. The HeliFlite fleet now includes four Bell 430 and three Sikorsky S-76 executive helicopters. HeliFlite exclusively operates twin-engine and dual-piloted cabin-class aircraft, equipped with state of the art avionics.
You pick up USA Today from under your hotel door and the front-page headline shouts about another aviation accident. As you glean the details of the misfortune that befell the crew and passengers, know that your own passengers are possibly reading the same article. Many will want to talk to you, to be reassured by you.
Hawker Beechcraft is proposing to pay Swiss plane-maker Pilatus Aircraft $7.5 million to settle a dispute over Hawker Beechcraft's production of the T-6/AT-6 military trainer. Hawker Beechcraft says the move is neither an admission that it is using “protectable intellectual property” of Pilatus, nor that it owes royalty payments. But Hawker Beechcraft says the proposed payment would be in its best interest because it would avoid a public dispute and prolonged lawsuit at a critical juncture of the company's bankruptcy proceedings.
Kissimmee's Economic Development office announced that Italico Aviation USA, an airplane manufacturer, will open a manufacturing facility at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport in early 2013. The facility will manufacture light sport aircraft (LSAs) and the company plans to create 55 new positions over the next four years with more than $3.2 million in capital investment. The Kissimmee-based headquarters will also serve as Italico's research and development center. Sales and distribution for North and South America will be also handled from the Kissimmee facility.
Along about hour eight of your primary flight training, an instructor sat you down with Advisory Circular AC61-134 and told you to burn its words into your head and soul. Here's the pertinent section:
Baker Aviation recently expanded into their second hangar at Addition Airport (KADS) and was scheduled to move into a third hangar in January. This expansion brings the total turbine aircraft maintenance space to more than 25,400 sq. ft. Baker Aviation Maintenance received its FAA Repair Station certification in 2012 and specialized in airframe maintenance for Hawker, King Air, Beechjet, Citation, Learjet, Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. The Baker facility in Ft.
CAE announced that its CAE-built Gulfstream G450/G550 full-flight simulator in Shanghai, China, has received Level D certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The training program will be offered at the Shanghai Eastern Flight Training Centre, in Shanghai Pudong Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone starting this year. Shanghai is CAE's tenth business aviation training location worldwide. The G450/G550 pilot training programs will feature standard CAE courseware in Mandarin as well as English.
Eclipse Aerospace hopes to contract to replace the fleet of T-1A Jayhawks (Beechjet 400s) flown for the U.S. Air Force Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) program. The company responded Jan. 7 to an Air Force request for information (RFI) for a potential large fleet of very light jets (VLJs) to support the SUPT Multi-place Training Track. The Air Force released the RFI on Nov.
Survival Products, Inc., new life vest XF-35 is FAA-TSO approved (C13F). With a five-year inspection interval, the company says it's the lightest twin-cell vest on the market. Features include: Category of preserver: adult/child combination; Material: urethane-coated nylon, flame retardant; RF heat sealed seams; Inflation system: manual CO2 inflator and an oral inflation tube in each buoyancy cell; Color: passenger yellow or crew molten orange. The service life of the vest is indefinite if the unit continues to pass periodic maintenance inspections. Pack size is 2 in.
Jeppesen now offers route planning capabilities that can be transferred between mobile devices and installed avionics to improve data access for general aviation pilots. The new route planning solution synchronizes smart-enabled devices with certified panel-mount avionics through the Aspen Avionics Connected Panel communication network. Jeppesen route planning data created with Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck on the iPad is then transmitted for review through Aspen's MFD 500 or 1000 units.
For general aviation, the return on investment in NextGen aircraft equipage may not be as apparent as it is for commercial air transport operators, an industry analyst says. The U.S. NextGen air traffic control modernization program could yield $281 billion through 2035, according to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's 2013 Global Aerospace and Defense Industry Outlook. This includes fuel efficiency gains and reductions in weather-related and congestion delays.
