Regarding “Righting the Wronged,” I hope the fact that James Inhofe is a sitting senator had nothing to do with his being allowed to keep his license after 7 hr. of remedial training following the incident. I only say this because he is 77 years old and I've seen quite a few elderly pilots who should not be flying, or at the very least not be allowed to carry passengers. Oregon
Cessna promised to certify its new Citation Ten as the fastest business jet on the market with a speed of Mach 0.935, topping the Gulfstream G650's Mach 0.925. Cessna's original Citation X held the fastest business jet title at Mach 0.92 until Gulfstream unveiled the G650. Cessna unveiled the Ten follow-on during the 2010 NBAA Convention.
Nextant Aerospace is ramping up production of its 400XT program, recently acquiring a facility to quadruple its space at Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Airport and accommodate a rate of up to 48 aircraft annually. The company expects to deliver 32 of the aircraft by year-end and has estimated that its order book approaches 70. The program has at least a year's head start on the Hawker 400XPR, which Hawker Beechcraft bills as the “only factory-direct aircraft upgrade program for the Hawker Beechjet 400 series.”
Airport groups are calling on the FAA to improve a draft Advisory Circular (AC) on airport safety management systems (SMS). The FAA released the draft circular at the end of June as a continuation of a 2010 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), however, wants the agency to convene an informal industry working group to improve the draft AC to provide “clear, practical guidance to airport operators regarding how to establish an airport SMS program and utilize the program to enhance airport safety proactively.”
Constant Aviation has completed the STC for the Wi-Fi system along with Aircell's Gogo Biz Inflight Internet system in Hawker series business jets. “With close to 600 Hawker 800A/XP, 850XP and 900XP aircraft based in the U.S., it made sense for us to make this STC a priority. . . . The investment made into our engineering capability has allowed us to make new STC projects and modifications a priority for our customers,” said Derek Morris, avionics modifications manager at Constant.
The deadline for the FAA to start a pilot project to build six UAV test sites around the U.S. has passed, putting bidders around the country on hold. The FAA has said it would choose the six sites by the end of the calendar year, but the selection process may be held up by the presidential campaign, lest privacy concerns surrounding the use of UAVs become an issue.
Steering clear of potentially hazardous storms is about to get much easier. The new generation of three-dimensional weather radars, such as Honeywell's RDR 4000 Intuvue, promise virtually to eliminate the black art of manual tilt control and radar return interpretation that can enable storms to lurk undetected. The Gulfstream G650 is the business aircraft to be equipped with the Intuvue radar, and more applications are expected.
For unemployed U.S. military veterans seeking a career in aviation, a new Veterans Retraining Program (VRAP) now available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs may allow veterans to participate in Jeppesen's FAA Dispatcher Certification program for high-demand aviation occupations. The program provides licensing of dispatchers along with the same body of knowledge that is required for the Airline Transport Pilot License, applicable to many aviation careers. Those interested in the training program should visit www.jeppesen.com/faasdispatcher.
VrefOnline.com, the Internet home of Vref Aircraft Value Reference, now includes helicopters. Vref is used by aircraft dealers, brokers, financial institutions and flight departments for airplane pricing. Helicopter data include average retail and wholesale pricing for each helicopter year model. Evaluations can be tailored to a specific serial number by adjusting for times and condition. An annual subscription is $195 per year and includes airplanes, helicopters and the Market Leader newsletter. Vref www.vrefpub.com
KeyAir, headquartered at Oxford, Conn. (OXF), has added a Falcon 900EX, based at Westchester County Airport (HPN) to its managed charter fleet. Key Air provides worldwide jet charter, aircraft management and FBO services at Oxford and at KeyAir Twin Cities (ANE) just outside Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
King Air B100, a limited production model built from 1976 to 1983, offers the cabin of a King Air 200, 240-kt. block speeds and rock bottom operating costs. It was developed in the early 1970s when Beech Aircraft sought out Garrett to be a second engine supplier for its turboprops to spur competition with Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Yes, Virginia, Scandinavia is part of Europe, and two of the countries featured here — Denmark and Sweden — are members of the European Union. What that means, if you're headed to either of those countries, is that your flight will come under the EU's notorious Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and taxed from point of origin to destination (i.e., not entry into EU airspace).
Hawker Beechcraft recently launched its Portuguese language website at www.pt.hawkerbeechcraft.com and from the home page of its corporate website (www.hawkerbeechcraft.com). It is the third in a series of language translations the company is making, following the improved Chinese and Spanish websites that were launched in 2011. Among the highlights are: a 360-deg. virtual flight, an aircraft comparison tool and a color selection tool where customers can browse through a variety of color samples and designs and select their own interior fabrics and exterior paint schemes.
Most maintenance managers long for the days when they were technicians on the hangar floor. Sure, there were blazing hot summers, freezing cold winters, cramped compartments and impossible tasks; but the thing we miss the most is ability to concentrate on one task at a time. As soon as you step into a management role, you instantly become a multitasker. There never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done, with the same attention to detail of the most basic maintenance task.
“Righting the Wronged” (Washington Watch, September 2012, page 65) reminded me of a similar flight I had in October 2008 in a Cessna P-210. Departing Olive Branch, Miss., the weather en route to Dalhart, Texas, my first fuel stop, required an instrument flight plan, which was filed and accepted. Flight Service gave me the weather information as well as the NOTAMs available for Olive Branch and Dalhart.
GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce believes time is running short for the FAA to make substantial changes to the certification process, which he says is resulting in up to 18-month delays in products reaching market and costing jobs. Given potential budget cuts that Congress may be facing, he says changes in the way FAA operates — including using the designee program the way it was designed — must be made soon. “FAA absolutely has to change right now,” he says, noting the agency has the budget and congressional authority to make the changes.
Embraer is adding a Phenom 300 production line at its Melbourne, Fla. Plant. Assembly is set to launch with many of the major components, including the fuselage and wing, already on site in Melbourne, Embraer executives told BCA. The first aircraft is expected to be completed and delivered in early 2013. The Melbourne site is producing Phenoms at a rate of two a month, and plans call to build that up to a mix of eight Phenom 100s and 300s per month.
Banyan has recently launched a mobile website to make it easier for their customers while they are traveling. Everything an operators needs from customer support to maintenance and avionics upgrades and services is now available. Enter www.banyanair.com into your phone's browser. Banyan has also received an STC from the FAA for the installation of the Honeywell Aspire 200LG Satcom system on Gulfstream GII, GIII and GIV aircraft.
ATP has introduced its ATP Online Store, an online solution for purchasing and immediately accessing aviation technical and regulatory publication library subscriptions. The store integrates seamlessly with the ATP Aviation Hub online service to provide subscribers with immediate access and the capability to browse over 1,100 maintenance libraries from over 50 manufacturers and purchase the documentation they need online. Customers using ATP's Navigator V Desktop Platform also can quickly and efficiently download and install new libraries within minutes of purchase.
Embraer Executive Jets has created two new iPad apps — eTechPubs and Customer Support and Services Guide — which provide customer convenience in accessing all technical and customer support information. eTechPubs offers real-time information and should ease the workload of maintenance technicians. The information is updated wirelessly and customers with a valid tech manual revision service can use the eTechPubs app to dowload all technical manuals to a single iPad for free.
Bell Helicopter delivered two 407GX aircraft to Helicopter Flight Services, Inc., a New York-based company offering tours, charters, aerial photography, lift work and custom projects. Helicopter Flight Services is the first to operate a Bell 407GX in a sightseeing capacity. The company also operates five Bell 407 aircraft.
Nextant Aerospace established an Asian foothold with the sale of 10 of its Nextant 400XT remanufactured business jets to Asia Pacific Jets and the formation of a distributor partnership with that company. The Asia Pacific Jets order calls for the aircraft to be delivered over three years, with the first two delivered by year-end. Singapore-based Asia Pacific provides medical evacuation and corporate charter services.
The DOT Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is calling on the FAA to improve management of a program that requires airports to assess potential wildlife aircraft strikes. “The FAA has not developed robust inspection practices, and its inspectors do not have the technical expertise to effectively oversee the program,” the report says of the FAA's Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Program.
Hawker Beechcraft is beginning avionics installation on its first customer-bound Hawker 400XPR, jump-starting the upgrade program that had been slowed by the company's ongoing financial struggles.
