There is no substitute for training in emergency situations, especially for over-water operations. Looking for hands-on (and feet) training in aircraft emergency egress and survival? The following are some of the providers for training services for corporate and business aviation. FACTS Training International Olympia, Wash.www.factstraining.com Stark Survival Panama City, Fla.www.starksurvival.com Survival Systems Inc. Groton, Conn.www.survivalsystemsinc.com
European Union interior ministers came away from a meeting in Luxembourg stressing a need for the European Union to speak with one voice on security matters such as terrorism threats, Homeland Security Today reported Oct. 8. The interior ministers heard from U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute, who was invited to join the meeting to explain a recent travel alert from Washington warning U.S. citizens to be vigilant of terrorist attacks when visiting Europe. In the wake of the U.S.
Pratt & Whitney filed a complaint against Rolls-Royce in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut in the wake of Rolls-Royce’s filing of an amended complaint against P&W on Aug. 26 claiming Pratt & Whitney infringes a Rolls-Royce patent relating to swept fan blades. “Pratt & Whitney’s position is that Rolls-Royce has engaged in unfair behavior to mislead the United States Patent & Trademark Office to obtain a patent that it now alleges Pratt & Whitney infringes,” said Pratt & Whitney’s Chief Intellectual Property Counsel George Romanik.
The Reuben H. Fleet Foundation Fund of the San Diego Foundation has donated $50,000 to the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. “This is a wonderful gift from a fund established by an aviation pioneer,” said NAHF board member Betty Darst. The grant will be used for exhibit development and revitalization, as well as technology and website upgrades. Fleet, who was enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975, organized the first airmail service in May 1918 from Washington, D.C., to New York City and formed Consolidated Aircraft Corp. in 1921. The Reuben H.
The FAA is proposing a $455,175 civil penalty against Corporate Air of Billings, Mont., for allegedly operating a Beech 1900C airliner in Part 135 operations when it was not in compliance with FAA regulations. The FAA alleges Corporate Air failed to maintain the aircraft under the company’s general maintenance manual, which includes the Pratt & Whitney Canada maintenance manual for the aircraft’s turboprop engines.
Intermountain Healthcare has signed for three AgustaWestland GrandNew helicopters with options for two additional aircraft. Operated by Intermountain Life Flight, Intermountain Healthcare’s aviation division, these aircraft will join two A109K2’s already in service performing critical medevac missions in Utah and Northern Nevada.
The McGraw-Hill Companies tapped Gregory Hamilton, a 28-year company veteran to take the helm of Aviation Week as president. Hamilton succeeds Tom Henricks who led the group since April 2006. Hamilton will be in charge of a variety of Internet sites and services, conferences and publications, including Aviation Week & Space Technology, BCA and The Weekly of Business Aviation. Hamilton has held a number of positions during his tenure with Aviation Week.
The FAA proposed broad new rules for helicopter operators Oct. 7, which, if finalized, would require stricter flight rules and procedures, improved communications and training, and additional onboard safety equipment. Under the proposed rules, air ambulance operators would use the latest onboard technology and equipment to avoid terrain and obstacles. The proposal also contains provisions that, if finalized, would require commercial and FAR Part 91 operators to develop procedures for flying in challenging weather, at night and when landing in remote locations.
Congratulations on your article “Operating in Mexico” (August 2010, page 30). In my opinion it is an excellent summary of the present situation and clarifies many concepts about flying to our country.In particular, as director of planning of Cabo San Lucas Airport (MMSL) and on behalf of Mr. Romo, our CEO and owner, I thank you for the inclusion of our facility and the concepts of it in your report. By the way, the altitude at MMSL is 690 ft. not 459. Thank you very much.
Gulfstream’s large-cabin G450 business jet recently established a city-pair speed record between Savannah, Ga., and São Paulo, Brazil. The aircraft, flying to LBACE, completed the 3,922-nm flight in less than 9 hr. The G450 departed Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport at 8:07 a.m. local time with six passengers, one flight attendant and international captains Eric Parker and Jaime Bahamon on board. The aircraft landed at the Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo 8 hr. and 50 min.
Air Ambulance Worldwide announced has started a medevac and air ambulance service operating Piaggio Aero P.180 Avanti aircraft in an air ambulance configuration. The first U.S. medevac flight for a P.180 in the U.S. was from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. to Lancaster, Penn. on August 27. The West Palm Beach, Fla. selected P.180 after an evaluation process that took into consideration aircraft performance and its cost effectiveness in the medevac role.
It would be an understatement to say 2010 has been a bad year for business aviation. A grim economic outlook in January got worse as the year progressed. In recent weeks, Cessna Aircraft — which had aircraft order backlogs stretching four years into the future in 2008 — has trimmed production schedules again and announced yet another round of layoffs that will cost 700 more workers their jobs. When the latest cuts are implemented, Cessna’s employment will have fallen from 16,500 in late 2008 to approximately 7,400.
Tailwind Technologies, the parent company of Hartzell Propeller Inc., has purchased assets from Kelly Aerospace Energy Systems LLC, of Montgomery, Ala. Price of the transaction was not disclosed. The new Tailwind-owned company is named Hartzell Engine Technologies LLC, and will be led by Mike Disbrow, who currently serves as senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer support at Hartzell Propeller in Piqua, Ohio.
Ever wish you had a single, handy bound atlas you could use for quick navigation reference? Add TRI-NAV charts to your operations desk library and you can reach out to grab one of three atlases that cover the north, south and western United States in a format that adds to IFR charts the information normally found only on Sectionals, such as tower and local radio frequencies. You can update the information every 28 days via the Internet.
Sandel Avionics has delivered its recently TSOed HeliTAWS helicopter terrain safety system to two rotorcraft operators, MSP Aero of Minneapolis and Metro Aviation of Shreveport, La. MSP Aero is installing the safety equipment in a fleet of Agusta A109 helicopters operated by North Memorial Medical Center of Robbinsdale, Minn., while Metro Aviation will install its HeliTAWS in one of its Eurocopter AS350s.
Business jet marketers in the United States might envy their counterparts in Australia in the recessionary era of low sales. “Business aviation has gained momentum in the last three years, with development in all facets of it, especially the big iron,” Mike Keenan told BCA. Kennan is sales manager at Cessna dealer Aeromil Pacific at Bankstown Airport in a suburb of Sidney. A veteran aircraft salesman, he also serves as chairman of the Australian Business Aircraft Association.
European Maintenance Service AB has opened the first Cessna-authorized Citation Service Center in Scandinavia. Located at Gothenburg Säve Airport in Sweden, the 3,000-sq.-meter Nordic Citation Service Center will serve customers throughout Scandinavia. The center will provide maintenance for 500, 525, 550, 560, 560XL and 680 series Citation business jets and can house up to eight aircraft at a time.
Bell 407 direct operating costs have been lowered as a result of the manufacturer removing 14 life-limited parts from the rotorcraft’s maintenance manual. The removal of these items, plus an adjustment to the on-condition section, will result in a reduction of more than 12% per flight hour to the published direct maintenance cost estimate, according to Bell.
Aug. 16 — At about 0645 MDT, a Bellanca 7GCBC (N5034K) crashed approximately 10 nm south of Douglas, Wy. The commercial pilot and his passenger received serious injuries, and the airplane, which was owned and operated by Laird Flying Service, was substantially damaged. The local FAR Part 135 aerial wildlife spotting flight departed Douglas about 10 min. prior to the accident. It was VFR and no flight plan was filed. According to the FAA inspector who interviewed the passenger, the pilot was maneuvering about 300 ft.
Honeywell’s annual Business Aviation Outlook issued Oct. 17 forecasts delivery of approximately 11,000 new business jets 2010 through 2020, generating estimated industry sales in excess of $225 billion. This represents approximately a 10% increase in total expected industry sales value versus the prior ten-year horizon forecasted in Honeywell’s Business Aviation Outlook in 2009.
Hawker Beechcraft and Machinists union negotiators reached a tentative deal, Oct. 13, on a seven-year contract that calls for a 10% reduction in base pay and increased health care contributions from workers, but keeps two-thirds of the union jobs in Wichita, Kan. The union recommended its members accept the agreement, saying, “These have been extraordinary negotiations, during extraordinarily bad times. This community has suffered from layoffs and job losses. With plant closures and threats of relocation, we kept one goal in mind: It’s about having a job.
JetFlite International has been providing private air service for 20 years from its Farmingdale, N.Y., operation at Republic Airport and now adds a West Coast facility with Long Beach Air Center, which will operate as a JetFlite FBO.
Eclipse Aerospace Inc. (EAI) has developed a new windshield application and is completing engineering requirements for an existing Airworthiness Directive (AD) that would enable the Eclipse 500 very light jet to return to operations at 41,000 ft. The wind¬shield application and AD requirements were among the last of the original upgrades the company had promised when it acquired the assets of the now-defunct Eclipse Aviation. Those upgrades had been left undone by the former company.
