Blue Sky Network introduced the portable HawkeyeLink Bluetooth device that enables hands-free Iridium phone calls and two-way messaging on users' smartphones in an aircraft or helicopter. After downloading the custom BSN app, HawkeyeLink uses Bluetooth technology to connect to an Android smartphone. Crew and passengers as far as 30 meters away can now use their phones over the Iridium network for communication anywhere in the air.
Hawker Beechcraft, Inc. replaced CEO Bill Boisture with turnaround specialist Robert S. “Steve” Miller. Boisture remains chairman of Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) the operating subsidiary of Hawker Beechcraft, Inc. Miller is currently chairman of the board of insurance giant AIG and is a director of Symantec Corporation. In an interview with BCA Miller said his experience in helping companies deal with difficult market conditions would benefit HBC after a three-year-old downturn that devastated sales and backlogs of small and medium-sized business jets.
Duncan Aviation has developed an iPad-compatible wireless interface for cabin management systems. The iCabin application connects an iPad to an aircraft's CMS, providing passengers with a remote for sound, video and cabin lighting on aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi capability. The fully customized iPad application doesn't interfere with other onboard systems or change functionality, says Duncan. It also may be used to control most audio and video equipment. A wireless cabin control application for Android devices is also being tested.
Proponents of a new airport for the southeast of England that would address a worsening capacity bottleneck are going to get a hearing for their controversial plan. The airport, to be built on reclaimed land in the Thames estuary, is billed by some as an alternative to adding runway capacity at existing London airports.
Feb. 12 — At about 1120 UTC, a Gulfstream GIV (N2SA), operated by Trident Aviation of Wilmington, Del., crashed at Bukavu-Kamenbe Airport (BKY), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The domestic private flight departed Kinshasa with an intermediate stop at Goma to enplane passengers and refuel. During the landing at BKY, the airplane overran the runway, went down an embankment and came to rest in a ravine. Of the 12 persons onboard, there were four fatalities, including the pilot, copilot and two passengers.
The FCC is withdrawing LightSquared's conditional waiver to operate its proposed 4G voice and data network in bands adjacent to those used by GPS. “The commission clearly stated from the outset that harmful interference to GPS would not be permitted,” the FCC says.
The 2012 HAI Heli-Expo wrapped up with 19,023 total attendees, 650+ exhibitors and 60 helicopters on the show floor at the Dallas Convention Center. Next year's show will be held in Las Vegas, Monday, March 4 through Thursday March 7.
Gulfstream Aerospace donated $50,000 to the Corporate Angel Network, the charitable organization that arranges free flights to treatment for cancer patients aboard corporate jets. Gulfstream was one of the first corporate flight departments to join as a CAN participant in 1982. Joe Lombardo, executive vice president, aerospace for Gulfstream parent General Dynamics, serves on the CAN board of directors.
Cessna Aircraft rolled its 400th Citation Mustang off the assembly line at its Independence, Kan., facility in January — a little more than five years since the Mustang's first delivery in November, 2006. Cessna says the Mustang's most common use is corporate business or personal travel. Its second most common use is air taxi service.
I am the director of operations of an air charter company in Spokane, Wash., that operates a PC-12, and happened to fly into Butte the day after the accident, so “Butte Pilatus” (Cause & Circumstance, January 2012) was really close to home. Now that the findings are finally published, I plan to feature your article, which was very well done, at our next flying safety meeting. We're planning to have an interactive discussion during the meeting.
SureFlight has opened a new aircraft completion center in Coatesville, Penn. The center will enable the company to expand its completion capabilities, including both interior and exterior services. The company added Andy Waynick as manager of interior completions to lead the team at the new center. He previously held interiors management roles with West Star, Atlantic Aero and StandardAero.
Rockwell Collins is increasing its global regional trip support with the addition of several new European flight planning features to its Ascend Flight Manager online program. The additions enable European operators to select pre-approved Eurocontrol routes and create routes to submit for Eurocontrol validation. Rockwell Collins also is providing a message management service that monitors and alerts flight departments about any Eurocontrol message related to their flights.
Landmark Aviation added three aircraft to its managed charter fleet: a Hawker 800XP based at Landmark's Washington-Dulles location, an Embraer Phenom 100 based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and a King Air C90 based in Sioux Falls, S.D. Landmark has a managed fleet of 71 aircraft throughout its network. Headquartered in Houston, Landmark operates a chain of FBOs and provides charter, management and MRO services.
Dallas Airmotive officially opened its Singapore Regional Turbine Center (RTC) on Feb. 13. The new Center, located at Singapore's Seletar Aerospace Park, will offer authorized Honeywell major periodic inspection service on TFE731 engines and line maintenance on Honeywell TFE731, CFE738, HTF7000 engines and on 36 series, RE100 and RE220 APUs.
Development of LEDs began more than a century ago, but the first practical versions were produced in General Electric labs in the 1960s. Until 1968, visible and infrared LEDs cost on the order of $200 per unit, and thus had little practical use. In 1968, Monsanto mass-produced visible red LEDs suitable for indicators. Hewlett-Packard advanced the concept for uses in alphanumeric displays, which were integrated into HP's early handheld calculators.
Universal Avionics Systems Corp. and Air Training International Ltd. (ATI) are partnering to provide Future Air Navigation System (FANS) operational training for the UniLink UL-800/801 Airborne Datalink System. “ATI's experts are skilled in providing a tailored curriculum that will be of exceptional benefit to FANS operators,” said Dan Reida, Universal's vice president of Sales, Marketing and Support. Upcoming mandates have prompted increased interest in Universals UniLink among operators in regions affected, specifically in the North Atlantic.
Gulfstream also reported that the three Gulfstream G280 aircraft currently in the flight-test program have flown more than 1,835 hr. during more than 685 flights as of Jan. 25. The fatigue test article has completed more than 12,500 of 40,000 cycles. Serial Number 2001 recently completed rejected takeoff tests. Serial number 2003 finished all function and reliability activities and is now being transitioned to testing optional avionics features, including the Head-Up Display (HUD II) and Enhanced Vision System (EVS II).
Jet Aviation Dusseldorf completed refurbishing its third hangar. Heating, lighting and electrical systems were installed, in addition to transparent insulated gates, converting the former tenant-only hangar to a 2,450 sq. meters (26,372 sq. ft.) combination maintenance and tenant hangar.
Cessna Aircraft has boosted the range of its new midsize Citation Latitude to a maximum of 2,300 nm. The range increase, up from the original announced range of 2,000 nm, was driven by customer requests, the company says. “The increased range will give the aircraft more flexibility to fly a wider variety of missions and meet our customer requirements for comfort and performance,” says Trevor Esling, vice president, sales — Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. The company also secured a launch customer in Europe for the aircraft — EFO Aviation GmbH & Co.
CitationAir said it will exit the fractional ownership business and focus on aircraft management and its Jet Card business. CitationAir began selling shares in 2000 and has grown into the fourth largest fractional program. It notified customers that it was suspending sales of its Jet Shares fractional program and Jet Access membership program.
FlightSafety International announced that its new Level D qualified AgustaWestland AW139 simulator will feature the company's latest advanced including a 220 deg. by 60 deg. field-of-view glass mirror display. The simulator's VITAL X visual system is optimized for training low-level flight operations, offers increased scene content, improved weather features and enhanced levels of detail for optimum cueing. It will also feature Honeywell's EPIC avionics suite that integrates a 4-axis digital AFCS with the rotor systems to provide complete autopilot functionality.
CB VATAmerica has launched the European Aviation Fuel Tax Advisor app for the iPad, iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The new app is part of the company's continued efforts to help business aircraft operators eliminate European VAT and excise taxes on fuel. Users can select the country of fuel uplift (all EU countries, plus Norway and Switzerland), the operator's home country, operator type, amount of fuel and the fuel cost in local currency.
The FAA has approved data link air traffic control communications over the global high-frequency data link (HFDL) network of ARINC Inc. The technology is know as FOH, an acronym for FANS Future Air Navigation System) 1/A over HDFL. The decision means that aircraft already using HDFL for long distance operational communications will eventually be capable of using the ARINC service to communicate with controllers as well.
Bombardier Aerospace will open a full-scale company-owned and operated service center in Singapore in 2013. The company says the new service center will be the cornerstone of Bombardier's customer services offerings in the Asia-Pacific region. The new facility will be the second service center operated by Bombardier outside of North America, bringing the total number to ten worldwide. It will be capable of performing a variety of light to heavy maintenance tasks on all Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft.
Several federal agencies objected to LightSquared's plan on the grounds that it had the potential to degrade or deny GPS signal reception. So, they recently petitioned FCC to pull the plug on LightSquared.
