American Eurocopter announced that the Ontario, Calif., Police Department has ordered its third AS350 B2. The aircraft, which will enter service in late spring, will primarily be used for aerial patrol and special operations surveillance. The Air Support Unit averages around 1,000 hr. per year on each of its two current AS350 B2s, with 70-80% of flights flown at night.
Aero Dynamix Inc., Euless, Texas, named Tonka Hufford operations manager, project development. He most recently was president of RSG Aviation. Aero Law Group, Bellevue, Wash., has added Paul Lambert to its team of lawyers responsible for clients in sales, leasing, financing and the exchange of business and commercial aircraft.
At the end of the first quarter it appeared that the long-awaited upturn in the market for previously owned, turbine-powered aircraft had arrived. Starting at the end of 2010, many aircraft dealers and brokers reported an increase in inquiries, and by March some reported that sales were beginning to pick up, too.
Delta Private Jets increased its managed fleet by six more aircraft: a Hawker 800XP, Learjet 60, Citation X, Citation Excel, Challenger 300 and Challenger 601-3R.
I always enjoy your Viewpoint column but this is the first time to let you know. I was particularly impressed about your comments about having folks over for dinner (“A Welcome Thaw,” March 2011, page 9). It is truly one of life's real pleasures. It's a practice I've used over the past years and your comments ring true. Keep up the good writing and if you're in Houston I'll be glad to have you over to my house for dinner. Senior Vice President
Decades ago, I was responsible for providing technical support for several out-of-production aircraft models. I had to maintain the manuals for each type and had a full bookcase to care for. The oldest model came out in the late 1940s and its entire manual fit snugly into a three-ring binder. As the aircraft progressed in time, the manuals became larger. The latest model aircraft (1970s vintage) took up about half the shelf space. Volumes of maintenance data, vendor manuals, parts lists and overhaul instructions were in constant need of updating and revision.
Controllers have helped countless pilots circumnavigate dangerous weather. Indeed, this pilot-controller partnership is a fundamental element in severe weather avoidance in the air traffic control radar environment in the United States. Yet, despite what surely must be millions of successful exercises by this partnership, every once in a while the system breaks down. Such is the case in the incident we'll review this month.
I was interested to read “No Hiding” from William C. Kontes (Readers' Feedback, February 2011, page 9). Of course, you can't hide a Falcon 900LX behind a Grumman Tiger, but when you compare its size to a Gulfstream G450, there is a big difference in length, span and weight for similar performance. That's optimization over maximization, an improvement from a younger design.
FAA's plan to restrict use of the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program is “dangerous, invasive and unwarranted” and could have far-reaching implications, says the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). AOPA was one of the more than 600 commenters on FAA's March 4 notice of a tentative decision to limit BARR participation to only those operators with a verifiable threat to their operations.
Hank Krakowski, chief operating officer of the FAA's Air Traffic Organization (ATO), resigned April 14, in the wake of the incidents involving controllers either asleep or unresponsive during late night shifts. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt appointed the FAA's chief counsel, David Grizzle, as ATO's acting COO while a permanent replacement is found. “We are conducting a top-to-bottom review of the way we operate our air traffic control system,” says Babbitt.
Malaysian offshore operator Weststar Aviation Services has taken delivery of the last three of the nine AgustaWestland AW139s it ordered, primarily for supporting offshore oil and gas operations in the country. The three were delivered to Kuala Lumpur's Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport via an Antonov AN124 freighter. Six AW139s will be based at Kertih, with the remaining three at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Pengkalan Chepa. Weststar, reputedly the fourth biggest AW139 offshore operator in the world, provides helicopter services to oil and gas companies.
Embraer has approved two more Phenom 100 and 300 service facilities. Eastway Jet Services in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., plus a third Duncan Aviation facility in Provo, Utah. The Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 also will be serviced at the same facility in the near future, says Embraer. The two other Duncan Aviation full-service facilities are in Lincoln, Neb., and Battle Creek, Mich.
Garmin International and Kuerzi Avionics AG teamed to obtain European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for the installation of the Garmin G500H glass cockpit in the Eurocopter AS350. With this STC, any authorized Garmin aviation dealer can install a G500H in an AS350 in accordance with EASA guidelines. The G500H is an all-glass avionics system designed specifically for the VFR Part 27 helicopter market.
The European Aviation Safety Agency certified Honeywell's TPE331-12JR turboprop engine on the Cessna Caravan. Honeywell claims that with the TPE331-12JR conversion, Caravan operators experience up to 40% more power than with the production engine. They also save as much as $40 per hour in operating costs due to longer maintenance intervals, fewer life cycle-limited parts and better fuel efficiency when compared to the standard OEM engine. The engine also passes Germany's stringent maximum fly-over noise level of 78 dBA.
While studying at Florida Atlantic University in the late 1960s, I'd make a little money and build a lot of hours ferrying new crop dusters and other airplanes to various foreign destinations, mostly around the Caribbean and in South America.
Piper Aircraft is expecting to complete renovations this summer to accommodate production of its Altaire business jet as work continues on the first of four conforming test articles, the company says. Piper updated the status of its first jet offering, the $2.6 million single-engine Altaire, noting that it has selected all “Tier 1” vendors, including tooling specialist Hampson/Global Tooling Services, which has tooling designers on site at the Piper facility. The airframe maker says the Altaire production facility will be ready to manufacture aircraft next year.
In the litigation following the crash of Comair Flight 5191 on Aug. 27, 2006, a federal court allowed into evidence some of the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) reports prepared by the two pilots involved in the crash. Some opponents of Safety Management Systems (SMS) point to this fact as evidence that such programs should not be implemented because they create documentation that can be used against an operation after an accident.
Signature Flight Support has launched a new maintenance brand. Signature TECHNICAir consolidates all Signature-owned maintenance facilities under one unified brand covering the former Executive Beechcraft locations at Kansas City Downtown Airport, Spirit of St. Louis Airport, New Century AirCenter Airport (Olathe, Kan.) and Signature locations at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass.; St. Paul (Minn.) Downtown Airport; and the newly acquired Yellowstone Jetcenter in Bozeman, Mont.
The en route automation modernization (ERAM) system is ready for system-wide deployment based on its performance at operational test sites in Seattle and Salt Lake City. ERAM, which will be the backbone ATC system at the 20 en route centers in the continental U.S., is regarded as a crucial precursor to the NextGen modernization effort. The ERAM program has endured significant delays, but will have no effect on the broader NextGen timetable, a top FAA official said.
Eurocopter is nearing a development decision on a high-speed “compound” helicopter that could replace the EC225. The X3 demonstrator is based on an EC155 airframe, with dual RTM322 turboshafts driving both the main rotor and propellers mounted at the tips of short wings. It first flew in September 2010. The aircraft has reached 180 kt. in flight tests and is aiming to exceed 220 kt. this year. Any X3-based commercial model from Eurocopter would probably be developed in parallel with a conventional design and take about six years to bring to market.
During its most recent gathering at Orlando's Heli-Expo in early March, an industry-wide sigh of relief was heard as the helicopter community celebrated the conclusion of a year during which it managed to survive. Forget growth for the moment, the industry seemed to say, as it focused on how it had weathered the storm and what its plans will be when the clouds clear.
It's just a mess. First there's NextGen and its attendant ADS-B component nobody wants to pay for. Next, a coalition of avionics makers studied LightSquared's proposal to add a big, new Internet service in a frequency adjacent to GPS — and concluded it will wreak havoc on navigation devices. But that's if the increasingly intense solar flares don't do it first. Then there's the occasional need to dodge errant volcanic dust or clouds of radiation. In addition, GPS coordinates in Japan may have moved by as much as 13 ft. following the earthquake in March.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Namibia has become the 69th organization worldwide and the seventh in Africa to join the International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). The IAOPA notes that general aviation is particularly important in Namibia, which is one of the least densely populated countries in the world, with 2.1 million people and a size that is a little more than half that of Alaska.
FlightSafety International was selected as Pratt & Whitney Canada's training provider for helicopter engines, and the first students have already graduated. “Classes are running full,” says Mike Lee, FlightSafety director of maintenance training business development. Training covers six different engine series for a total of 28 models, powering 26 different helicopters from 12 manufacturers. Primary training locations are Montreal, Dallas-Fort Worth, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Paris. FlightSafety has procured training assets from P&WC.
