Here are some examples of actual incidents in which Boeing's Aircraft Health Management (AHM) service played a role in keeping 'em flying: A flight en route lost its weather radar, an MEL item that would have grounded the aircraft after arrival at its destination. The fault had been reported to the operator's central maintenance facility via ACARS, analyzed and the necessary part identified, ordered, and transported to the arrival airport. The aircraft landed, the part was installed, and the flight continued after a brief delay.
New noses for the Twin Beech: A Royal Canadian Air Force Beech 18 is a flying test bed for the 500-hp Canadian P&W turbine (top, left). Volpar tricycle gear conversion by Capital Aviation, Springfield, Ill., of the Beech C-45H, delivered to Midland Investment of San Antonio (bottom, left).
Santa Monica, Calif., announced June 2 that it has finally dropped its long fight to ban large business jets from flying into Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO). The handwriting was already on the wall for the airport after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the city's petition to overrule a finding back in January by the FAA that the ban was illegal.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. reopened Hangar F at its Dallas Love Field location to service mid-cabin G200 and G250 aircraft. The 62,000-sq.-ft. hangar increases space by nearly 18% at the site, freeing up space to service more large-cabin jets including the G650 due for certification this year.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company signed a lease with Jet Aviation authorizing it to provide aviation services at Al Bateen Executive Airport later this year. Under the deal, Jet Aviation becomes Al Bateen's first independent maintenance, repair and overhaul provider.
“The future for DCA and general aviation is bright,” said the TSA's Douglas Hofsass (see above). General aviation has been allocated 24 arrival and 24 departure slots there each day, Hofsass said, and the TSA's goal is to fill each of those slots. Several improvements to the DCA Access Standard Security Program (DASSP) instituted in early March have begun to bear fruit, he said. As a result, operations have markedly increased. Before March, the number of general aviation operations averaged two to three a day. Now it is at eight to 10 a day.
Initial testing of GPS receivers confirms aircraft navigation systems will experience significant jamming from thousands of broadband-wireless transmitters planned to be deployed across the U.S. The tests were conducted to determine the susceptibility of GPS receivers to interference from the high-power terrestrial transmitters LightSquared plans to deploy.
The Transportation Research Board's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) has released a Handbook for Analyzing the Costs and Benefits of Alternative Aviation Turbine Engine Fuels at Airports contains an Alternative Fuel Investigation Tool (AFIT), instructions for using the tool, and a report on its development. AFIT is an analytical model designed to help airport operators and fuel suppliers evaluate the costs associated with introducing “drop-in” alternative turbine engine fuel at airports and the benefits measured by reduced emissions.
Air Methods Corp. will acquire OF Air Holdings Corp., parent of Omniflight Helicopters Inc. Omniflight provides air medical transport services throughout the U.S. under community-based and hospital-based service delivery models, utilizing a fleet of approximately 100 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Omniflight is headquartered in Addison, Texas, with operations in 18 states involving over 75 base locations. Air Methods will acquire Omniflight for an aggregate purchase price of $200 million in cash on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
Honeywell is acquiring EMS Technologies, an Atlanta-based network and satellite communications company, for $491 million, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter this year. Honeywell is paying $33 per share in cash, or 13 times EMS Technologies' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), the companies said in a statement. EMS will be split between Honeywell's Automation and Control Solutions (ACS) and Aerospace groups.
HeliSAS, Cobham's Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System, has STCs for installation on the Eurocopter AS350 series and EC130 helicopters. Earlier this year, HeliSAS was certificated on the Bell 206B, 206L and 407. The two-axis system is designed to be engaged at all times: “on” before takeoff and “off” after landing.
The fractional aircraft business is rebounding, Flight Options CEO Michael Silvestro said June 8 at the NBAA Regional Forum at Westchester County Airport (HPN), and he expects to be adding another half dozen or more jets to his 101 aircraft fleet by year-end. “My fractional business is up 400%,” he said, comparing sales activity of the first quarter of this year with the corresponding quarter in 2010. He attributes that increase to “the world feels a little bit better” about the economy, and the fact that there are great aircraft deals out there.
With two limited free-flight “experiments” on unscheduled general aviation operations in China's airspace, otherwise rigidly controlled by the nation's military, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) expressed its opposition to a “free-for-all in the skies.” Despite what earlier reports might have indicated, Cai Jun, head of the air traffic control department reporting to PLAAF general headquarters, quoted in an article in the People's Daily Online, said that low-altitude flight (below 1,000 meters or 3,280 ft.) restrictions for small planes will be reduced but in
Jet Aviation Moscow Vnukovo recently signed an agreement with Vnukovo Invest, a co-owner of Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, to expand its operations into a new hangar, storage and office facility later this year. Jet Aviation began operating at Vnukovo in November 2007 and has offered 24/7 line maintenance and AOG support throughout Russia since 2009.
The Salina Airport Authority's board of directors approved a $218,994 design contract with Wichita-based Howard and Helmer Architecture to handle renovations at the Kansas facility's Hangar 959. Hawker Beechcraft is vacating the hangar, known as Big Bertha. The building can handle narrowbody aircraft and maintenance, repair and overhaul operations.
Business aviation is a valuable asset to New York's Westchester County, contributing to jobs and economic growth, Kevin J. Plunkett, Westchester's deputy county executive, told the audience at the general meeting at the NBAA's Regional Forum held June 8 in White Plains, N.Y. Plunkett noted that HPN alone is home to 80 businesses and 1,300 direct jobs — and that its aggregate airline and general aviation impact was worth over $600 million. The forum drew a record 1,918 registered attendees, featured 112 exhibitors and showcased 34 aircraft on static display.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has opened a new general aviation terminal. The new facility was built to replace the existing facility, says spokeswoman Antoinette Spaans. The GA terminal is located at Schiphol East, about 500 meters (1,640 ft.) away from the existing one, she adds. The current facility handles about 18,000 business aircraft a year. The new terminal will have a gross floor area of 6,500 sq. meters (70,000 sq. ft.), including a 1,000-sq.-meter (10,780-sq.-ft.) terminal and lounge and 3,500 sq. meters (30,670 sq. ft.) of office space.
May business aircraft activity was up 3.6% over April, according to “TraqPak” data from Cincinnati-based Argus. Looking at the results by operational category, all segments posted a positive month, with FAR Part 91 operations leading the way, up 5.5%, says the report. “Part 135 charter activity came in second, up 2%, and the fractional market showed a slight increase of 0.1%,” the company says. All aircraft categories posted an increase over April, with turboprops providing the highest increase, up 5.4%.
Gulfstream Aerospace delivered the 500th PlaneView cockpit, just eight years after the system's first delivery. The company also announced that it has delivered 200 synthetic vision systems and more than 100 enhanced navigation systems as of April. Gulfstream reached the 500th PlaneView mark with the delivery of the 209th G450 aircraft.
Smyrna Air Center, near Nashville, Tenn., has completed its first engine upgrade of a Beech King Air E-90 with 750-shp GE Aviation M601E-11As. The switch from the original Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-28 turboprops was made for AeroMetric, which operates the King Air on geospatial survey work to develop digital elevation models and maps out of Anchorage, Alaska.
FAA corrected a technical error in its regulations governing fractional aircraft ownership programs that were issued in 2003. Specifically, the amendment revises Part 91.1091 (f)(2) to replace the term “check pilot” with “flight instructor.” “Because the section title applies to flight instructors, it is obvious that the use of the term 'check pilot' in (f)(2) should have been 'flight instructor,'” the agency says. The change was effective June 2.
Greenpoint Technologies and Aviation Technical Services (ATS) have signed agreements for two Boeing Business Jet aircraft completions. Installation will be performed at ATS' facility at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., which is located adjacent to Boeing's 777 and 747-8 production lines.
In the wake of the departure of Brian Delauter, the TSA's general aviation branch general manager, the agency hopes to continue building on its collaborative approach with industry, improving access to Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), moving forward on the proposed Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) and refining temporary flight restrictions (TFRs).
Diamond Aircraft is planning to recall furloughed workers and ramp up work on the D-Jet program after receiving a commitment for a “significant investment” targeted for the single-engine jet. Diamond says funding will enable the recall of furloughed engineering and technical staff, the resumption of flight test operations and production of the next test aircraft. The five-seat D-Jet was about two-thirds into the development program and about 22 months from completion when activity halted. Diamond has produced three prototypes.
