Gulfstream Aerospace has received a Type Certificate for the large-cabin, ultra-long-range G550 from the South African Civil Aviation Authority. The approval allows operators to register the aircraft in South Africa. The G550 fleet has accrued more than 650,000 flight hours and made more than 242,000 landings. At its high-speed cruise of Mach 0.85, the G550 will fly Cape Town to London in 12 hr.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) will offer its members a new benefit starting Jan. 1, 2013 — the NATA Workers' Compensation Insurance Program. It was designed to benefit members' businesses and help advance the industry's safety goals embodied in NATA's Safety 1st program. The program is underwritten by Companion Property & Casualty Group and managed by Beacon Aviation Insurance Services, Inc. NATA Alexandria, Va. www.nata.aero
China Daily reports that the country is planning to open airspace beginning next year and implement reforms over the next 10. The country reportedly is launching pilot projects in northeastern, southern central regions and seven pilot cities to open airspace below 1,000 meters to general aviation flights. Airspace restrictions, however, have been problematic for existing operators.
For many communities, building a heliport means new business opportunities, additional revenue and a new type of transportation. For the airport director, it's one more meeting with the FAA and one more stack of paperwork. As daunting as constructing or “renovating” a defunct heliport may seem, the process is easily divided into three manageable steps. The construction and alteration of airports is governed by 14 C.F.R. Part 157. Notifying the FAA in a timely manner is a key part of the process.
FAA is urging the general aviation community to participate in its 34th annual General Aviation and Part 135 Survey for 2011. The survey, available online at www.aviationsurvey.org, provides information to track GA fleet activity, including number of hours flown and reasons for flight. The agency notes the data helps determine funding for infrastructure and service needs, and assesses the impact of regulatory changes and measures safety. The survey also is used to calculate accident rates.
Denmark Jutting out of the Europe like a hand reaching for Sweden, Denmark is the smallest of the Scandinavian countries, at 27,000 sq. mi. (not including its possessions Greenland and the Faeroe Islands), about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined.
Aerodynamically clear F-28 has radically rigid-in-line three-blade rotor with elastometric bearings in the hub. Power goes from engine to main-rotor gearbox via a belt drive with controlled idler. Priced at under $30,000.
Flight Design GmbH and Sandel Avionics Inc. are GAMA's newest members, bringing total worldwide membership to 78 companies. Flight Design is based in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany, and manufactures the EASA type certified CTLS. Sandel Avionics engineers and manufactures terrain avoidance avionics for rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft.
Piper Aircraft appointed BAYMAP Aviation, Ankara, as its dealer for new aircraft in Turkey. BAYMAP is a subsidiary of Korfez Aerial Survey and Engineering Ltd. Co., which is active in Turkey, Libya, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia.
The first civil jet to fly on 100% biofuel meeting petroleum jet fuel specifications will be a Falcon 20 jet owned by the National Research Council of Canada. Tests to date have typically used a 50-50 blend of biofuel and regular kerosene jet fuel. The ReadiJet fuel, derived from mustard oilseeds, is made by Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG). The two companies announced the tests at the ILA Berlin Air Show, where they exhibited in the Alternative Aviation Fuels Pavilion. The fuel was made under contract to the U.S.
Aircraft flight manuals are full of precision airport performance data and numbers obtained by aviation industry's most skilled and experienced test pilots.
Los Angeles-based Jet Edge International has expanded its fleet with a West Coast-based, Wi-Fi enabled 2001 Bombardier Learjet 45. The Jet Edge fleet includes Gulfstream V, Gulfstream 450, Gulfstream IV-SP, Gulfstream IV, Gulfstream III, Gulfstream 200 and Learjet 45 aircraft as well as Hawker 800XP, Cessna Citation X and Bombardier Challenger 300 aircraft via its Platinum Partner status with XOJET.
Cessna has increased the range expectation of its new midsize Citation Latitude from 2,300 nm to 2,500 nm. The Latitude was originally announced in 2011 with an expected range of 2,000 nm, but Cessna engineers responding to customer input pushed the range figure first to 2,300 nm and most recently to 2,500 nm. “As we talked with more customers, getting to 2,500 nm was imperative,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, International Sales, South America. Priced at $14.9 million in 2011 dollars, the Latitude is scheduled for its first flight in mid-2014.
Germany and the U.S. have signed an agreement to develop sustainable aviation biofuels on both sides of the Atlantic. The pact, signed at the ILA Berlin air show by German Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer and U.S. Ambassador Philip Murphy, will serve as a guide to accelerate cooperation to bring “drop-in” biofuels to volume production. Unlike other sustainable fuel programs, drop-in biofuels are similar enough to hydrocarbon fuels to allow them to easily “drop in,” or replace, current fuel sources. The U.S.
Nextant Aerospace has delivered its 16th 400XT business jet to a private buyer in the Czech Republic, the first to be registered in the European Union. The aircraft will be managed by Czech Republic-based Time Air, a provider of charter, aircraft acquisition and management services.
An article in Intelligence (September 2012, page 24) states that Baker Aviation is the “only certified repair station in KADS,” yet our sister company, Elite Turbine Maintenance, has FAR Part 145 authorization (X5ER177Y) and we have been in business for over 13 years at Addison (Texas) Airport. Executive Vice President Aviation Services Elite
U.S. lawmakers will have to address privacy issues raised by the use of UAVs in domestic airspace, a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report says. “The prospect of drone use inside the United States raises far-reaching issues concerning the extent of government surveillance authority, the value of privacy in the digital age, and the role of Congress in reconciling these issues,” says the report, “Drones in Domestic Surveillance Operations: Fourth Amendment Implications and Legislative Responses,” released Sept. 6.
While reading “Gearing Up for the Go-Around” (September 2012, page 40) it dawned on me that pilots are probably (and by a wide margin) the most scrutinized and regulated group of professionals in the world. In principle I am not against this, but too much regulation and excessive monitoring can be extremely nefarious and counter-productive. I will probably be crucified for what I'm going to say right now, but I'll say it anyway.
The Gulfstream G280 won full certification from the FAA and Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI) Sept. 4. Several G280s are in completion with first customer delivery before year's end. Full certification comes nine months after the aircraft received provisional type certification from CAAI. FAA awarded provisional type certification in March. The aircraft was announced in October 2008 as the replacement for the Gulfstream 200 and first flew in 2009. The certification program involved three G280 aircraft that accumulated more than 2,150 hr. and 794 test flights.
FAA is moving to decommission the last direction finders (DF) in the U.S. — 29 in Alaska — saying the technology is “beyond its useful life cycle.” The agency, which decommissioned DFs outside of Alaska in 2007, requested comments on a plan to shut down the remaining DFs. In a recent notice, FAA says their usage for pilot orientation “has become almost nonexistent.” The Alaska Flight Service Information Area Groups (AFSIAG) has documented eight flight assists involving lost or disoriented pilots over the past eight years.
Avioserv San Diego Inc., Dallas, hired Kevin F. Kelly as vice president, engine sourcing and Shane Stringfellow as manager, technical operations. AWAS, Dublin, announced that Richard Sinclair was appointed vice president of sales for the Asia-Pacific region, reporting to Jon O'Connell, managing director, Asia-Pacific sales. He will be based in the company's Singapore office. Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, announced that Raymond Leduc has joined the company as vice president, value streams at its Mirabel, Quebec, facility.
Bombardier's Learjet 75 reached another milestone with power applied to the first production aircraft's electrical systems on the Wichita production line the week of Aug. 21, as the aircraft progresses toward its 2013 entry-into-service. The Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 test aircraft are continuing their development work as the program moves forward.
Aug. 26 — At 1715 EDT, a Mooney M20C (N557M) registered to a private owner, experienced a total loss of engine power on initial takeoff climb from East Hampton Airport (HTO) East Hampton, N.Y. The pilot attempted to return to the airport and the airplane collided with trees. The airplane was heavily damaged due to impact and a post-crash fire. The private pilot and one passenger received serious injuries. It was VFR for this flight that departed HTO at 1714. The pilot stated he conducted a preflight inspection and no anomalies were noted.
Gulfstream Aerospace has added eight technicians and an overnight shift from 10 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. at its Westfield, Mass. Service Center. The technicians can perform work for customers at the Westfield facility or can be dispatched for AOG situations within a 4 hr. drive.
In an Aug. 24 posting to its iPad support knowledge base, Apple listed its international battery safety certifications, thereby meeting the requirements of FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 120-76B. “Basically, the compliance statement means the iPad 100% meets FAA requirements spelled out in the new AC,” said Rick Ellerbrock, director of aviation strategy at Jeppesen. “That deals with United Nations transport safety requirements and also Underwriters Laboratories requirements.
