Regarding “An End to Surrender,” (Viewpoint, September 2011), throughout recorded history, is there any government that restricted or inhibited the movement of its citizens that is still 'in business'? Didn't the migration from Europe start as a search for a freedom from whatever was restricted? It would amaze me if this actually becomes food for thought for another column. Business Aviation is a tool that helps drive American businesses forward, spread the word!
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt broke ground Sept. 18 on a new $69 million air traffic control tower and Tracon facility at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The facility will include a tower cab with eight local control positions and a radar facility that controls air traffic in a 30-mi. area around the Cleveland metropolitan region.
Rated at 900-lb. thrust for takeoff, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F-A is the smallest member of the PW600 family that also is installed on the Cessna Citation Mustang and Embraer Phenom 100. The engine features a conventional, two-spool design with an inner shaft attached to the wide-chord front fan that is powered by a single-stage low-pressure turbine. The outer shaft has a single-stage, axial flow compressor and a single-stage centrifugal flow high-pressure compressor.
After four years of declines, the business aviation market is expected to begin a sustained period of slow but steady growth in 2012, according to information released by Honeywell in Las Vegas just prior to the start of last month's NBAA Meeting and Convention.
FlightSafety International has received FAA approval for its corporate cabin attendant training program. The company can now deliver Part 135 records of training with approval from the operator's principal operations inspector. The training meets the majority of domestic and international regulatory requirements, including FAA 14 CFR Part 135.331, as well as International Civil Aviation Organization and International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations recommendations.
Hawker Beechcraft has received a type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the manufacturer's Hawker 800XPR. The performance-enhancing package for the popular twinjet received FAA approval earlier this year, and deliveries have begun.
San Francisco-based XOJet has placed an order with Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support for up to 12 Hawker 800XPR aircraft upgrades. The agreement includes firm orders for seven aircraft to be delivered next year and options for five more, for a total value of $50 million. The 800XPR, recently certified by both the FAA and EASA (see below), is a major upgrade of the 800XP All seven aircraft in the firm order have been selected, and they range in model years from 2000-2006. Upgrade work is under way at Hawker Beechcraft's centers in Mesa, Ariz.; Wichita; and Houston.
The Latitude's new Garmin G5000 system has three 14-in. screens and four touch-screen controllers quite similar to the system being installed in the new Citation Ten. The displays feature RGB LED backlight lighting that automatically adjusts for correct white balance for the life of the display. The screens have a 10,000:1 dimming ratio that accommodates the brightest daylight and darkest night ambient light conditions.
I plan to share your very profound article and wisdom (“An End to Surrender,” Viewpoint, September, page 9) with my many Coast Guard aviation search and rescue colleagues, as well as my friends and family who depend on air travel. It is no longer a pleasure to travel in the sky, whether you are at the front of the bus or in the back. Alexandria, Va.
Landmark Aviation officially began operations on Oct. 8 at Tampa International Airport, Fla.. The facility includes 44,500 sq. ft. of hangar space in addition to a passenger lobby, pilot lounge, executive conference room, snooze room and flight planning center. Services include fueling, ground handling and concierge, as well as hangar and office rentals.
The Eclipse 550's Avio cockpit has left- and right-side, 10.4-in. portrait configuration PFDs, plus a 15.3-in. landscape configuration MFD in the middle. Functions are controlled by line select keys with soft labels on each display, inner and outer knobs at the corners of the displays, a few stand-alone switches in the instrument panel and slide-out multifunction keyboards in front of the pilots' knees.
In a new study by Forecast International, “The Market for General Aviation/Utility Aircraft 2011-2020,” the market research firm projects that manufacturers of general aviation and utility aircraft (not including business jets and light sport aircraft) will produce over 24,000 aircraft worth approximately $28 billion in the coming 10 years. The Newtown, Conn.-based company notes that slow economic growth in the U.S. and Europe, the two primary markets for turboprop- and piston-powered general aviation/utility aircraft, has hurt growth in those segments.
A drag-reducing upgrade kit developed for Boeing MD-80 operators has received supplemental type certification from the FAA. Developed by Long Beach, Calif.-based engineering company Super98, the first part of the kit is initially designed to reduce fuel burn by 2.5% or more, with a further 1% benefit available from a more extensive upgrade. Fuel savings were verified in flight tests of an instrumented MD-83 in late 2010 and earlier this year.
The upgraded Hawker 800XPR was EASA certified on Sept. 28, just weeks after FAA certification. The upgrade package is available only through factory-owned HBS facilities. It offers significant performance and capability improvements by replacing the aircraft's original engines with new technology Honeywell TFE731-50R powerplants and improved aerodynamics with genuine Hawker winglets. Customer deliveries have commenced. Capable of producing 5,000 lb.
Rated at 5,730 lb. thrust for take–off, the Latitude's P&WC PW306D engines will have virtually identical interior parts to the 306C powerplants fitted to the Citation Sovereign. FADECs provide carefree engine management and thrust/temperature/rpm limit protection.
Outstanding Viewpoint (September 2011) on the Department of Homeland Security. Needs to be said, and shared with a broader audience. Gazzola Consulting LLC McLean, Va. 22101
Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. (MSFL) has cemented its position as China's business aircraft purchasing powerhouse with two new deals signed at the 2011 NBAA Meeting and Convention for 33 aircraft, worth well over $1 billion. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dassault will see the delivery of 20 Falcon 7X and Falcon 2000S jets, worth an estimated $800 million at list prices. These deals come on top of MSFL's existing order for five Falcon 7Xs, worth another $250 million.
The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) continues to push manufacturers and operators to take a closer look at pressurization system failure warning devices, no doubt spurred in part by a remarkable incident involving an oxygen-starved pilot whose confusion may have been a lifesaver. It happened on July 16, 2009, when a string of system and human failures led to an undiagnosed pressurization system problem in Beechcraft King Air C90 (VH-TAM) while on a routine flight out of Perth Airport in Western Australia.
Aviation Research Group/US reports its TRAQPak data indicate that September 2011 business aircraft activity was down overall 4.4% from August 2011. Looking at the results for operational categories, all posted a negative month with the fractional market showing the steepest decline, down 7.3%. The FAR Part 135 market was down 6.1%, followed by Part 91, down 2.7%. The aircraft categories also showed a decrease in flight activity from the previous month with midsize cabin aircraft posting the biggest month-over-month decrease, down 5.2%.
The Veterans Airlift Command (VAC), based in St. Louis Park, Minn., has received a donated Eclipse jet. The VAC provides free air transportation to post-9/11 combat wounded veterans and their families for medical and other compassionate purposes through a national network of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots. It relies solely on the contributions of donors for finances, aircraft and pilot services. Eclipse Aerospace will upgrade the aircraft to Total Eclipse standards and return it to active service with the VAC.
Conklin & de Decker will hold its 12th annual Aircraft Acquisition and Planning Seminar in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Dec. 6 and 7 at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. The meeting is designed to help the aircraft buyer, owner or aviation professional understand how to make informed aircraft purchasing and owning decisions.
It seems that over the past year the world has experienced every type of major disaster — and many small ones as well. From floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, hurricanes and tornados, there is no telling what Mother Nature will throw at us next. I predict locusts or frogs. If you cannot fly away before a natural disaster strikes, riding out the storm can be a nerve-racking experience. While the wind and rain howls is not the time to wonder if your insurance policy has you covered.
The 2011 Purchase Planning Handbook (May 2011) gives the Learjet 40XR Normal Range (four passengers, available fuel and NBAA IFR [200 nm alternate] reserves) as 1,862 nm, but the previous year's figure for that same aircraft was 1,590 nm. This seems to be a significant change in range data over a 12-month period for an aircraft that was certified in 2003, enhanced in 2004, but has received no additional changes to its airframe since. Can you please shed some light on what caused a 272 nm increase in range since last year?
