The financial and operational benefits of NextGen modernization will be slower to emerge than previously expected, according to a March progress report from the FAA. There is no doubt that NextGen will eventually deliver impressive savings and greater efficiency. However, due to a combination of factors the FAA has shifted out by two years its forecast for achieving these benefits. The latest guidance is part of the agency's NextGen implementation plan, which is issued annually.
I just finished reading Patrick Veillette's “Upset Recovery in Sims” (April, 2012) on the limitations of upset prevention and recovery training in standard hexapod flight simulators and wanted to express how much I appreciated your commentary. It is one of the best explanations I have read regarding what simulators can and cannot do in this arena of training, and the inherent dangers of such training without regard to the valid training envelopes of flight simulation training devices.
Embraer and China's Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. (MSFL) jointly announced that the first of 13 Legacy 650 aircraft ordered by MSFL has been delivered. The milestone is the culmination of a Memorandum of Understanding between Minsheng and Embraer, signed last July, covering the full range of Embraer's executive jets, which was shortly followed by MSFL's 13-aircraft Legacy 650 order.
BBJs aren't just B737s any more. Boeing's Team BBJ has a clear goal for this year, encapsulated by the slogan: “12 in 12.” Specifically, the makers of Boeing VIP jets plan to deliver a dozen executive airplanes in 2012. These include eight of Boeing's Brobdingnagian 747-8s, two BBJs and a pair of BBJ 2s. In late February, Capt. Steve Taylor, president of BBJ, delivered the first 747-8 to Wichita for installation of an “Aeroloft,” an aft-mounted sleeping berth designed by Greenpoint Technologies for up to eight people.
Used business jet metrics continued to improve in February with the number of sales transactions increasing 7.6% and the average time on the market declining by 82 days to 346 days, according to business jet market analyst JetNet. Business jet asking prices also inched up 3% (to $4.053 million) and the overall number of business jets for sale as a percentage of the fleet dropped 0.5% to 13.9%. The percentage of fleets for sale has declined across the board. But not all metrics were nearly as positive for business turboprops and helicopters.
I do hope your optimism in “Different Juice, Same Mission” is the future reality instead of the potential permanence of the subdued aviation industry. I do wonder if your proofreader is currently commuting to work in a Desoto after failing to catch the misspelling of the battery powered automobile as “Telsa” rather than the correct name, which is “Tesla.” via email
FAA officials estimate that they will select six test sites for integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the national airspace by December. The agency has been accepting public comments to help it shape the test sites. The comment period ran through May 8, officials said in a Web-based conference April 10. The agency will consider a few factors when choosing test ranges — including geographic and climatic diversity, the location of ground infrastructure and research needs — and it will consult with the Pentagon and NASA.
Gulf Coast Avionics, based on Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla., has announced the addition of two international satellite operations. The latest locations include Gulf Coast Avionics Peru in Lima, Peru, and Gulf Coast Avionics España located in Tarragona, Spain. Gulf Coast Avionics is a supplier of avionics, instruments and pilot supplies to customers worldwide and is an FAA Approved Repair Station.
Bombardier has opened a new office in Shanghai. Albert Li, general manager and head of Bombardier Aerospace China, and Andy Solem, vice president, sales, China and North Asia, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, will be based in the new office, which will house Commercial Aircraft teams. Bombardier also expects to base support personnel for Learjet, Challenger and Global business jet operators in the location.
Arab Wings of Amman, Jordan, is the first operator in the Middle East to take delivery of a Global 5000 jet with its Vision Flight Deck. The new jet joins Arab Wings' fleet of business jets, which includes Challenger 604 and Challenger 605 aircraft. Founded in 1975, Arab Wings is one of the first and longest-standing private, executive jet charter operators in Jordan and the Middle East.
Next month, Poland and the Ukraine will co-host the 14th European Football Championship, a month-long extravaganza of matches between national teams for the coveted Euro Cup. The event is expected to attract millions of fans from all over the world, many of whom will converge on Warsaw, Poland's capital, and with 1.7 million residents, its largest city, as well as a political and financial hub.
The FAA has removed the requirement for individuals granted Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate to have their Letter of Authorization in their possession or readily accessible while exercising pilot privileges. This rule, which goes into effect July 20, 2012, does not change the long-standing FAA operational requirements under 14 CFR section 61.3 regarding FAA certificates that must be carried while exercising pilot privileges, including FAA medical certificates.
Aviation's Washington alphabetters have beat back threats of user fees, NextGen charges, tax shifts from air carriers, new levies from deficit-heavy states, GPS encroachment, and a steady litany of White House denouncements and all the ugliness they imply. So, it came as a terrible surprise when the industry was recently blind-sided by the IRS with what could amount to a huge, even debilitating tax increase — without having to go through Congress or a statehouse. The target this time: aircraft management fees.
ATP, Brisbane, Calif., announced that Ted Haugner has joined the company as director of Sales, reporting to Rich Marino, president of ATP. He will oversee all aspects of ATP's extensive sales and customer service channels. Business Jet Access, Love Field, Dallas, has appointed Briana Nansen as executive Flight Solutions representative and Rudy Morin as Service Planning coordinator.
Prospects for President Obama's proposed $100-per-flight user charge are continuing to fade, at least this year, as 28 U.S. senators expressed their opposition to the proposal. In a March 12 letter, the senators wrote the president expressing concern that the proposed charges would create a disincentive for pilots to use air traffic control services or fly in controlled airspace. “By discouraging ATC use, the proposal may inadvertently create a less safe aviation environment,” they say, endorsing the current aviation excise tax system.
FAA Flight Standards Deputy Director John McGraw has noted that “Congress [is] being a lot more directive and specific in the struggle to balance environmental interests and operations.” McGraw says he is unsure how the FAA is going to be able to respond to the number of rulemakings that Congress has charged the agency to undertake, and says it may take the agency some time to get through all of them.
Sikorsky plans to demonstrate its fly-by-wire and autonomous flight technologies on a newly purchased S-76, according to Igor Cherepinsky, who leads the effort in the company's Innovations Division. Cherepinsky says he hopes for first flight late this year or early in 2013. A date has yet to be set for an optionally piloted or unmanned flight; Cherepinsky says the program is event-driven, not “marketing-driven.” The aircraft will contain the company's latest fly-by-wire technology.
Bombardier's Learjet celebrated a milestone when the 400th manufactured Learjet 60, a Model 60XR, was delivered Feb. 28 to Cinépolis, a corporation based in Morelia, Mexico. Cinépolis operates 265 cinemas in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and India.
David Grant, president of SyberJet, the commercial name for MT LC, is wasting no time in resurrecting and reinvigorating the ill-starred SJ30 program, only a year after acquiring the assets of bankrupt Emivest Aerospace in April 2011. He and his investment team believe so strongly in the basic merits of the aircraft that they are launching the SJ30-Plus, a substantially improved third-iteration of the former Swearingen Fanjet with more powerful engines, better hot-and-high takeoff performance, improved fuel efficiency and up to 200 lb. more tanks-full payload.
The business aviation market is showing early signs that the momentum at the end of last year is carrying into 2012 with key indicators improving in January, according to initial analyst reports. Used aircraft sales continued to strengthen, and prices jumped dramatically in January for the first time in months, according to Jetnet's latest report. Business aircraft flights, meanwhile, reached their highest levels of activity in nearly a year, according to FAA and Morgan Stanley data.
Helicopter Association International President Matt Zuccaro is appealing to the FAA to take action to “remove people who shouldn't be in the air.” During a “Meet the Regulators” session at February's Heli-Expo in Dallas, Zuccaro noted that some companies operate at unacceptable safety levels, but their actions get the most attention and hurt the entire industry. He conceded that it may be strange for a community to ask for more enforcement, but he notes that the industry must deal with the fallout of operators flying with thin safety margins.
