A U.S. Air Force tactical airlift pilot during the Vietnam conflict, I crisscrossed the length and breadth of the war zone on a regular basis. My C-123K Provider was a 60,000-lb. workhorse whose curious pairing of two Pratt & Whitney R2800 radials and two General Electric J-85 wing-mounted turbojets made it surprisingly well-suited for its mission.
Piper Aircraft held a PiperJet Altaire supplier gathering in June as the company moves toward certification of the single-engine business jet, with first flights of conforming test articles in 2012. Piper says certification and first deliveries will occur in 2014. Aerospace suppliers represented at the June 16 event included Castle Metals, Garmin International, Kollsman, L-3 Communications, Millennium Concepts, PCI, Goodrich Cabin Systems, PPG Aerospace, Triumph Aerospace, and Williams International.
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.
Honeywell is not the only company developing cockpit systems with active ingredients drawn from human factors sciences. Derek Jensen, senior engineering manager of flight deck user interfaces at Rockwell Collins, says his team engages customers early on and joins engineers, pilots, advisory groups and OEMs in evaluating functionality.
While members of the GA Avgas Coalition continue gnashing their teeth over increased calls by various environmental groups to curtail the use of leaded avgas (BCA, June 2011, page 22), pilots and airports across the country are taking things into their own hands by adding lead-free, ethanol-free premium autogas, an FAA-approved aviation fuel since 1982.
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 Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group — which has decades of experience performing a variety of completion, maintenance, repair and overhaul services — is also Canada's authorized sales representative for Cessna Aircraft. Recently, Andrew P. Pearce was appointed to grow the company's aircraft sales presence in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Middle East.
Air Methods Corp. has agreed to acquire OF Air Holdings Corp., parent of Omniflight Helicopters Inc. Omniflight provides air medical transport services throughout the U.S. using community- and hospital-based service delivery models, using a fleet of approximately 100 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Omniflight is headquartered in Addison, Tex., 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.
In its 25th year of making business jets, Bombardier Aerospace plans to deliver 150 Globals, Challengers and Learjets by year-end, according to information provided by the manufacturer. And because the company plans to alter its fiscal year's end to coincide with the calendar year, those deliveries are to take place over an 11-month period. Bombardier entered the business jet business when it acquired Canadair in 1986. Additionally, the company is planning to deliver 90 commercial aircraft this year.
Investigators with the French Bureau d'Equetes et d'Analyses (BEA), the agency charged with investigating the crash of Air France Flight 447, now are focusing on a breakdown in situational awareness on the part of the flight crew and possible pilot error as contributing factors in the June 2009 mishap that killed 228 people when the Airbus A330 crashed into the South Atlantic. The latest findings broaden the scope of the inquiry well beyond a fly-by-wire flight control malfunction, possibly caused by iced-up pitot probes.
I'd like to thank BCA for running excerpts from the magazine from 50 years ago. My father was an instructor with Capital Air Lines and I grew up in the airline environment. He brought BCA and Aviation Week home from work and I read them from cover to cover. I remember many of the articles, advertisements and photos you spotlight each month. Somewhere, I still have airplane cards that were a series in one of the magazines, so long ago. The inspiration of your fine publications encouraged me to successfully pursue a career as an airline pilot.
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.
New research from Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) and Corporate Jet Investor indicates that the majority of business aviation financing experts expect demand for financing to increase in Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the next five years. None of those interviewed anticipate demand for financing in those regions to fall. The findings are based on a poll of 48 aviation finance experts that was conducted at the International Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance 2011 conference earlier this year.
The FAA certified the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 250 in June. Announced during last year's NBAA convention, the King Air 250 is derived from the King Air 200, but offers improved efficiency and field performance with BLR Aerospace composite winglets and a lighter weight design. The company launched the King Air 250 after surveying more than 3,000 customers.
Maximum Manuals has developed a package to enable charter operators to apply for approval and implement use of the Apple iPad as an Electronic Flight Bag. Maximum Manuals' iPad EFB Program includes a submittal package for application to the FAA, a training program for flight crews, supplemental language for company documents and full support throughout the approval process to obtain A061 Ops Specs.
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.
Pilots often characterize flying as “hours and hours of boredom, occasionally punctuated by moments of terror.” Modern cockpit automation increases the risk that pilots will be lulled into a dull state, unaware of subtle changes that may portend increasing risks.
Regarding the May 2011 Cause & Circumstance “Thunderstorm Break-up,” I think the Board has been unusually hard on the controller when he did provide all that was requested of him. The pilot received three preflight briefings from AFSS and was provided information regarding the severe weather conditions along his planned route. He expressed concern about these conditions and altered his route of flight farther south so he could maneuver around and through “holes” in the weather.
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%.
Hawker Beechcraft has developed new retrofit packages for the Hawker 750 and King Air 200GT and is approaching milestones in its upgrade programs for the Hawker 450 and 800.
FlightOne of Telluride, Colo. Has added a Citation Ultra to its charter certificate. The aircraft will be based permanently at Telluride Regional Airport (TEX) along with the company's King Air B200. FlightOne serves the Colorado western slope and all Colorado ski resorts.
A new rule — that applies to electrical and electronic systems installed on aircraft certificated under FAR Parts 23, 25, 27 and 29 — establishes two levels of lightning protection for aircraft systems based on the consequences of system function failure: catastrophic and hazaderous/major consequences. This regulation, which goes into effect Aug. 8, also addresses lightning protection for systems according to the aircraft's potential for lightning exposure.
JetSupport announced it added the Dassault Falcon 7X to its EASA Part-145 maintenance approval certificate. JetSupport's certificate now covers business aviation aircraft types ranging from the Cessna Citation series to all Dassault Falcon aircraft. JetSupport is based next to the new business aviation terminal at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands.
