In the third quarter of 2012, Embraer delivered 27 jets to the commercial aviation market and 13 to executive aviation. Deliveries year to date, at the end of September, total 83 commercial and 46 executive jets, seven more than for the same period of 2011.
Eurocopter and Nextant Aerospace are the newest members 0f the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The association now has 80 member companies worldwide.
Industry advocates are encouraged that senior Internal Revenue Service officials have continued a dialogue about recent tax changes stemming from a March agency memorandum, but they stop short of saying any progress has yet been made. In the interim, numerous charter operators have undergone audits and are facing new tax bills in the “high six figures” and some even beyond that since the guidance's release.
A full-scale mockup of the new Beechcraft Model 120 turboprop was shown to Beech distributors and the aviation press in Wichita recently. Powered by two Turbomeca Bastan VI engines, with Ratier-Figeac propellers, the prototype is slated to fly in 1964 with production to begin shortly thereafter.
The all-composite Learjet 85, arguably the most ambitious of Bombardier's several business jet development programs, is incorporating new processes and moving lots of dirt as it advances steadily toward first flight. Once certified and in service, the new model will be the largest, farthest ranging and fastest ever to bear the Learjet marque, and it will be the first FAR Part 25 business jet with a fuselage and wings fashioned mostly from composite material.
China's Kunming Changshui International Airport, located in the southwest China, has installed a custom built-in airport bird control manufactured by Bird-X. The first device used was the BroadBand Pro, an electronic device that combines sonic and ultrasonic broadcasts to repel birds up to six acres. The ultrasonic frequencies are nearly silent to humans. The second device was the Mega Blaster Pro, a highly powerful sonic bird control system that uses intermittent distress calls to create a “danger zone” that frightens birds away for good.
Eclipse Aerospace has announced the addition of an anti-skid braking system (ABS) as a new option for the Eclipse twin-engine jet. The system is available as an option on new production Eclipse 550 jets and will be offered as a retrofit to the existing fleet. In-aircraft testing is complete with certification and availability expected within six months, the company says. The new system will include two brake control valves installed in each wheel well, two axle-mounted wheel speed sensors, a computer, and a software update to the Avio Processing Center software.
The FAA proposes to adopt ICAO noise standards for helicopters. In a Sept. 18 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the FAA says that incorporating these more-stringent noise certification standards into U.S. regulations is consistent with the agency's goal of harmonizing U.S. regulations with international standards. A helicopter certificated under this standard would be designated a Stage 3 helicopter.
Rockwell Collins' Airshow 3-D moving map is now available for download in the iTunes App store. The iPad app delivers a unique, interactive way for business jet passengers to view the world around them and stay informed during their trip. With a simple system upgrade, existing Airshow 4000 or Venue HD cabin management system users can take advantage of the new app.
Honeywell is expanding its partnership with Inmarsat, signing a five-year agreement to serve as a “master distributor” of the GX Aviation inflight connectivity services for the business aviation market. Honeywell previously had signed an agreement to develop and provide hardware for the services using Inmarsat's planned Global Xpress satellite system. But the new agreement marks Honeywell's first entry into distribution of the actual service itself. Inmarsat has selected OnAir and Gogo to provide the service to the commercial airlines.
Board Member Robert Sumwalt, a former airline pilot, concurred with the basic findings of the NTSB in its report on American Airlines Flight 2263 but urged the Safety Board to take a more practical look at training and to dig deeper in its investigations into the “why” of pilot reactions to abnormal situations. What follows is extracted from his concurrence.
Universal Aviation U.K., located at Stansted Airport (EGSS), has completely renovated its 10,712-sq.-ft. FBO. The updates include all-new crew and passenger lounges, a state-of-the-art business center and video conferencing facility, two client meeting rooms, private screening facilities and ultra-modern showers and changing rooms. The facility is home to Universal's ground-support business and its 24/7 European Operations Center, which offers trip facilitation within Europe and globally.
Mark A. Carolla Airlines, Rail, Maritime & International Affairs Consultant Pierce, Pugliese & Carolla Air Analytics LLC (Herndon, Va. )
The “Fast Five” interview with the Reason Foundation's Robert Poole (September 2012, page 25) prompted this letter. Back when I was a kid traveling the New York State Thruway, my late dad used to point out the billboards facing the Thruway and the New York Central Railroad's main line, which taunted, “You'd be there by now if you flew Mohawk!” That was true — and Mohawk Airlines eventually eclipsed the passenger train as a means of getting around the Empire State for day business travelers.
There are nearly 6,900 turbojet and turbofan business aircraft that are 30 or more years old — more than double the figure of just five years ago — and this number grows every year, according to JetNet LLC, an aviation market intelligence firm based in Utica, N.Y. And a sizable chunk of these geriatric jets, such as Cessna Citation 500s, Dassault Falcon 10/20 and Learjet 35/36 models, are pushing 40. At some point, old aircraft no longer will be viable.
Back in B.C. — before computers —days, many flight operations had some sort of a board upon which were pegs or pieces of plastic that got moved from a departure location to an arrival location as crews filed “On” and “Off” reports with the home office. Often I'd leave the office at night with an “Off” report from Anchorage and come in the next morning to see the peg placed firmly in the Shanghai column. That invariably produced a feeling of satisfaction for successfully completing another mission.
Cessna has opened its first U.K. Cessna-owned Citation Service Center at Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster Sheffield. The newly acquired 50,000-sq.-ft. facility, rebranded Doncaster Citation Service Center, offers services from maintenance to modernization and paint. Previously known as Kinch Aviation Services, the business has operated for 15 years and has been an authorized Cessna facility for the past four years. The U.K.
Sept. 15 — About 0023 CDT, a Cirrus SR22 (N436KS) was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Willard, Mo. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to and operated by JL2 LLC as a personal flight operating on an IFR flight plan. The flight originated from Lee's Summit Municipal Airport (LXT) about 2340 on Sept. 14, with the intended destination of Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF), Springfield, Mo.
The next time you publish another hysterical column, please add a warning label stating: “Read in the Privacy of Your Office or Home.” I started reading “Day Trippers” while sitting by my cement pond, and after the first paragraph, I laughed so loud and so hard strangers at the pool literally turned their heads in my direction. A neighbor came by later and I showed him “Legal Humor” (Readers Feedback, September 2012, page 10) and then “Day Trippers.” He laughed as hard as I did.
The first time I saw Neil Armstrong in person was in Bethpage, N.Y., not too long after he, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins plopped into the Pacific, ending their historic Apollo 11 moon mission. He and Aldrin had come to Grumman's Long Island “Iron Works” where their lunar module was conceived, designed and built. A local newspaper reporter, I was excited to witness the visit.
Eurocopter Kazakhstan, a joint venture of Eurocopter and state-owned Kazakhstan Engineering, has received its first EC145 light utility helicopter kits and expects to complete assembly by the middle of this month, says EADS Kazakhstan General Director Silvere Delaunay. The Kazakhstan government has placed firm orders for 14 EC145s from a letter of intent for up to 45 EC145s and 20 EC725 multirole helicopters. Of the 14 orders placed, 10 helicopters are destined for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, while the remaining four will go to the Ministry of Defense.
Honda has broken ground for a 90,000-sq.-ft. factory MRO facility on a 54-acre extension of the company's headquarters and manufacturing site at the Piedmont Triad International Airport.
NASA's Langley Research Center, Mitre and several partners have completed the first in a series of inflight evaluations of cooperative automatic sense-and-avoid (SAA) algorithms for unmanned air systems (UAS), in large part to validate a new testbed that will be used for more advanced trials next year. SAA is regarded as one of the top priorities — and one of the most difficult issues to solve — in the FAA and Defense Department's effort to safely integrate manned and unmanned aircraft in civil airspace.
During one of my six-month sim checks, my cockpit partner, a former U.S. Marine Corps A-4 pilot, was tasked with recovering from a nose-high unusual attitude. He did a nice smooth job of keeping the angle of attack (AOA) comfortably within control margins, but that wasn't good enough for the instructor. Rather, he leaned in and said, “As the only jet aerobatic trained pilot in this sim (he'd done aerobatics in the T-37 and T-38, both U.S.
