The NBAA expressed strong opposition to a European court's ruling in December 2011 that a plan by European regulators to tax carbon emissions from aircraft should apply to all aircraft operators across the international aviation community, including those based in the U.S. In a decision announced Dec. 21, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said European authorities are authorized to obligate all operators, including the airlines and general aviation, to comply with the program, known as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS).
December business aircraft flight activity slows down over the holidays. TRAQPak data indicates that December 2011 business aircraft flight activity declined from November 2011, falling 6.1% from the previous month. A look at the individual operational categories shows a decrease across the board led by Part 91, which was down 8.9% from the previous month. Fractional activity followed, down 3.4%, and Part 135 finished down 2.3%. All aircraft categories were down month over month with large-cabin aircraft showing the most significant decline off 8.1% from November.
Eurocopter released improved performance specifications for its new EC175 helicopter scheduled to enter service by year-end. The company announced a baseline payload/radius-of-action with 16 passengers at 135 nm when configured for offshore oil and gas missions, a 30% increase compared with the initial performance baseline. For longer-range missions, EC175 can transport 12 passengers to a radius of action of 190 nm. An 18-passenger configuration option is under development with the goal of achieving a radius-of-action of 100 nm.
U.S.-registered business jets and turboprops suffered 57 accidents — 13 of which were fatal — in 2011. Up from the 48 accidents (including seven fatal) in 2010, according to the latest information released by safety expert Robert E. Breiling Associates. FAA's latest statistics show business aircraft flight operations have increased 3.95% from December 2010-November 2011 over the same time period a year earlier.
Signature Flight Support has announced Signature TailWins and the Signature Flight aviation card. TailWins is a loyalty program for pilots, crew, schedulers and dispatchers, and corporate flight and travel departments offering one of the highest rates of rewards currently available, according to the company. Products and services include watches, destination travel, apparel and technology purchases. The aviation card is underwritten by U.S. Bank and Multi Service Aviation. It offers a convenient payment method for all aviation purchases.
The FAA is facing a looming workforce crisis. A wave of controllers hired after the 1981 strike is getting ready to retire, says FAA. “Some 18% of air traffic controllers are eligible to retire, and we will need around 1,000 new controllers per year for the next 10 years,” the agency says. The issue is even more acute for air safety inspectors, close to 50% of whom will be close to retirement in the next five years.
Regarding “Security Outlook, All eyes are focused on LASP II,” (January 2011, page 45) I doubt whether any business aviation insider believes the TSA's next NPRM for the revised LASP will be published successfully anytime soon.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, this page of the magazine was in the capable hands of Arnold M. Lewis, Jr., a very good reporter who had been hired away from the Wichita Eagle newspaper to edit The Weekly of Business Aviation newsletter and write for Business & Commercial Aviation.
ExecuJet Aviation Group is capitalizing on the slow recovery to expand its network exponentially, the company says. Founded in 2001 at Zurich, the services provider grew its network by nearly 200% in 2011 with the addition of 10 FBOs. The additions increased ExecuJet's chain to 16 bases worldwide.
CAE has opened Mexico's first business jet and civil helicopter training center. Full-flight simulators for the Bombardier Learjet 40/45 and the Bell 412 were recently qualified to Level D-equivalent standards by Mexico's Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC). The new center is located at Aeropuerta Internacional de Toluca, which is easily accessible from Mexico City. Toluca is the seventh location in CAE's business aviation training network and the ninth for civil helicopter training. CAE www.cae.com
The Bombardier Global Express XRS is the largest cabin purpose-built business aircraft yet to enter service. More than 200 units have been delivered since 2004 and operators say the aircraft has matured into a rock-solid reliable business transportation asset with more range and better cabin comfort than the original Global Express certified in 1998.
FAA issued Advisory Circular 90-114 regarding usage of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology in compliance with FAR 91.225 and 91.227. These regulations require aircraft operating in certain classes of airspace to be equipped with ADS-B Out beginning Jan. 1, 2020. The circular contains guidance on compliance, including an overview of the ADS-B system, general operating procedures and performance requirements.
During the Thanksgiving weekend, my eldest took his significant other — a delightful, super smart, 10,000-watt Michigander — into New York City to show her Manhattan in its most glittering season. The day's adventure included sightseeing, an overpriced meal, ice-skating in Wollman Rink and then, of course, a hansom cab ride through Central Park.
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) says the three-year ban on U.S. FAA certification of foreign repair stations is stifling U.S. jobs and international expansion. The finding comes from a survey ARSA conducted in October to gather data on the long-term ramifications of the congressionally mandated ban. Congress called for the ban in 2007 after the TSA missed an August 2004 deadline for issuing repair station security rules. The ban took effect Aug. 3, 2008, and companies have since been waiting in line for approval while the FAA has had its hands tied.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) does a great job, in my opinion, with its analyses of business aircraft accidents — those involving Part 23 airplanes typically flown by pilots whose primary business is not flying aircraft, but rather using aircraft in furtherance of their non-aviation interests. The TSB's mission in these investigations is not to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability, but rather for the purpose of advancing transportation safety.
An A&P for 32 years, I have worked freight, general aviation and corporate, have seen some of the onerous issues noted in Mike Gamauf's “Tool Control Programs — Leave No Tool Behind” (August 2011, page 42) and feel they need to be addressed. I appreciate Gamauf's comments that individual choice of tools and preferences are different and change as new tools become available and job demands change. Tool control is definitely important, but calling it a cornerstone is overstated.
