New 360-channel VHF transceivers with 50-kc spacing by Narco are: 6-lb. Mark 7 (left), $1,195 and the 12.5-lb. Mark 10, which is combined with a 190-channel navcom receiver. Lightweight DME — the 14-lb., $2,250 UDI-2 by Narco — has a panel-mounted unit with frequency selector and 100-nm range Vortac distance indicator, a small antenna and a remotely installed power supply.
The FAA Civil Aerospace Medicine Institute (CAMI) has released a report of the first systematic investigation of how modern Web-based weather products are actually used by general aviation pilots. A data-gathering emulation of 18 pages of the National Weather Service website was written by CAMI's W.R. Knecht to present two similar, challenging weather scenarios to 50 GA pilots in a simulated cross-country VFR flight. Each pilot made two flights, separated by several months.
StandardAero Business Aviation says it is the first maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider certified to perform the installation of Honeywell's Primus Elite flight deck system in Falcon 900C and 900EX aircraft. The recently issued STC enables StandardAero to replace five aging CRT cockpit displays with five modern, integrated, state-of-the-art Honeywell Primus Elite (DU-875) LCD units. The retrofit can be performed at any one of StandardAero's four facilities: Springfield, Ill.; Augusta, Ga.; Houston or Los Angeles.
Jet Aviation has received approval to lease additional land at Singapore's Seletar Aerospace Park, where it plans to build a second hangar and an engine overhaul shop. Jet Aviation Regional Sales Director Luke Chiang says the Singapore government's Jurong Town Corp., which manages Seletar, has granted Jet Aviation a lease on a plot of land next to its current facility. The new hangar will be 6,000 sq. meters (64,000 sq. ft.), twice the size of its existing facility and able to accommodate eight Gulfstream G650s simultaneously, says Chiang.
Private operators posing as commercial charter providers in Europe, North America, and the Middle East are soliciting money from the “ignorant public” and, certificated operators claim, are endangering their passengers while creating unfair competition for the legitimate, rules-abiding members of the industry.
An April poll from the Aerospace Industries Association shows strong support among Americans for the FAA and its satellite-based NextGen air traffic control system. The poll indicates that as many as 68% of Americans support new technologies to improve air safety and 65% favor maintaining or increasing FAA funding levels, while 19% favor cutting the FAA budget.
Ian Becker (Boys Town, Neb. ), San Diego, Calif. (Boys Town, Neb. )
The arrival of BCA every month is a highlight in my life, and the February issue is another stellar example of this. Viewpoint has a way of segueing from an interesting tidbit, or familial tale, into a serious deliberation concerning general aviation. It never fails to spike my sinews and provide a good old-fashioned jolt! And it inspired me to share an idea.
The market for previously owned business jets and turboprops is moving in the right direction, according to the most recent statistics provided by JETNET, the Utica, N.Y.-based provider of corporate aviation information.
Falcon 50EX operators with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics can now upgrade to Pro Line 21 via an STC from Rockwell Collins. The Falcon 50EX Pro Line 21 retrofit features four large, configurable 10-by8-in. LCDs and Rockwell Collins' Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS). With IFIS, pilots will have access to high-resolution electronic charts, XM graphical weather (including but not limited to NEXRAD), lightning data, satellite images, winds aloft data and enhanced navigation maps.
HondaJet certification flight testing confirmed that the light business jet exceeds the maximum speed promised to customers, says Honda Aircraft. The first FAA-conforming prototype has achieved 425 KTAS at 30,000 ft. and a maximum Mach number of 0.72 above that altitude. The performance commitment for the production HondaJet is 420 kt., the Greensboro, N.C.-based company says.
I enjoyed “The Reluctant Aviator” (Flight Log, March 2011, page 68) very much (I enjoy Mike Gamauf's regular maintenance articles as well). My father always seemed a little ambivalent about my aviation career and I was well into my career when I learned why.
The Gulfstream V is one of the highest performance large-cabin business aircraft on the pre-owned market. Between 1997 and 2002, the Savannah firm built 194 units before replacing it with the GV-SP, commercially known as the G550.
Bring me men to match my mountains, Bring me men to match my plains, Men with empires in their purpose, And new eras in their brains. “The Coming American,” by Sam Walter Foss, 1894*
Cessna established a Citation service facility in Prague, located at sister company Bell Helicopter's service facility at Prague Ruzyne International Airport. Cessna and Bell are Textron companies. Certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in February, the center has begun performing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance operations.
CAE sold two helicopter full-flight simulators to customers in Italy and China as rotary-wing training continues to show signs of being a growing market. Rotorsim, a joint venture between CAE and helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, has ordered a second AW139 simulator for its training center in Sesto Calende, Italy. The CAE 300-series simulator, with a 210-by-80-deg. dome display system and six-axis electric motion system, will be delivered in 2012.
Looking for guidance on the use of electronic manuals? Advisory Circular AC 120-78 — Acceptance and Use of Electronic Signatures, Electronic Recordkeeping Systems and Electronic Manuals — provides guidance on the acceptability of electronic maintenance manuals, including inspection procedures, quality operations and training manuals. The AC also provides guidance on the acceptance and use of electronic signatures, and electronic recordkeeping systems.
I read with some distress “Backdoor Rulemaking” (Washington Watch, April 2011, page 61). The purely economic arguments made in the column did nothing to diminish the need for hard time duty limits for all crews. Multiple studies have shown the extreme danger of fatigue in air operations; some have even scientifically equated a 17-hr. day to being legally drunk (0.05% BAC).
Operators of Dassault Falcon 50s equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics and Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP aircraft equipped with Pro Line 4 avionics can now access more than 2,300 airports with Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) approaches through two new STCed upgrades from Rockwell Collins. The enhancements are available through the avionics manufacturer's network of dealers.
Rolls-Royce recently celebrated the rollout of its 2,000th BR710 engine. The powerplant was manufactured at the company's Dahlewitz, Germany, plant. The engine, which has thrust ratings between 14,750 lb. and 15,500 lb., powers Bombardier Global and Gulfstream G500/550 models. The BR710 was certified in 1996.
The FAA's new Air Traffic Control System Command Center is now operational. The new 64,000-sq.-ft. facility is co-located with the Potomac TRACON in Warrenton, Va. Construction began in 2008. The previous command center was housed in a leased facility in Herndon, Va., where it moved in the early 1990s when it outgrew the FAA's Washington headquarters. The new facility is on the site of the old Vint Hills Farm military base, which was a listening station during World War II. The center is responsible for managing the overall use of the national airspace system.
Whether inadvertent or intended, illegal charter hurts everyone in an industry that is always trying to raise the safety bar. So claims Dennis Keith, president and founder of Jet Solutions, a Dallas-based charter operator with nearly 200 aircraft on its operating certificate.
Whatever your motivation it is clear that your intent in reporting on David Sokol's resignation (AWIN, March 31) was to besmirch his character. There is not one iota of evidence suggesting insider trading by Sokol; get your facts straight prior to launching a tirade. While you may be building a résumé that will have your considered for employment by NBC, the New York Times or CNN, reporting honestly and fairly would serve mankind far better than your guttersniping.
Concern about potential GPS receiver overload jamming by high-power cell transmitters operating on a frequency band adjacent to GPS frequencies has spread across the national fabric — far beyond aviation users and GPS manufacturers.
