Numbers published in the fourth quarter 2008 edition of the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest provide sobering evidence of how the economic crisis has brought down aircraft values during the past several months. The Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest’s Marketline newsletter declared, “The end of the third quarter of 2008 brought havoc and chaos to our national and global economies. Corporate aircraft sales could not dodge the violence of the economic meltdown. In the wake of economic failure, the aircraft market is searching for stability.”
Air taxi operators come and go, often without the sort of media coverage that typified DayJet’s coverage. IndigoFlyer, a charter operator founded in 2001 and based in McClellan, Calif., says it launched a PSOD air taxi service in August 2007 using Cirrus SR22s. Its service area is the mid-California area defined by the following airports: Sacramento McClellan, Mather in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento Executive, San Jose International, Palo Alto, Reid-Hillview in San Jose and San Carlos in San Mateo.
American Eurocopter delivered an EC145 to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) at a Dec. 5 ceremony — the first EC145 for the department whose fleet already includes 13 Eurocopter AS350 AStars. Powered by two Turbomeca ARRIEL engines, the Texas DPS multi-mission EC145 features a MEGHAS glass cockpit with digital autopilot for both single- or dual-pilot missions. The avionics integration and completion were performed by Metro Aviation, which also operates a variety of Eurocopter helicopters including the EC145.
In spite of Eclipse Aviation’s difficulties, most operators remain enthusiastic about the Eclipse 500’s qualities. Almost all the operators we contacted took delivery of their aircraft before the May 2008 price increase to $2.15 million went into effect. Virtually all of them bought their aircraft for $837,500 to $1.6 million, plus inflation adjustments and options. Not unexpectedly, most of them said that acquisition price topped their list of favorite features.
After succumbing under the load of more than $1 billion in liabilities, forcing it to seek protection from creditors in accordance with Chapter 11 of Title 11 — Bankruptcy — of the U.S. Code on Nov. 25, 2008, Eclipse Aviation seems likely to sell substantially all of its assets to EclipseJet Aviation International in the next few weeks.
The FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) believes that pilots who are knowledgeable about physiological phenomena encountered in the aviation environment are better prepared to deal with potential fatal inflight events such as loss of cabin pressure, hypoxia, trapped gas problems and decompression sickness. FAR Part 61.31 (g)(2)(i) requires high-altitude physiology training for the PIC of a pressurized airplane that has a service ceiling or maximum operating altitude above 25,000 feet.
Sierra Industries, the Uvalde, Texas-based Cessna Citation re-engining specialist, delivered its first Super II in late November 2008. The modified Citation II — which features 2,820-pound-thrust Williams International FJ44-3A engines — flew nonstop from San Antonio to Northern California.
A Predator B unmanned air vehicle (UAV) will be based at a special operations center at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., about 13 miles from Grand Forks International Airport, where the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) maintains an air branch with manned rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. The latest Predator, CBP’s fourth, is to patrol the U.S.-Canadian border. The aircraft, which has a 64-foot wingspan, was to begin operations late this month, but as of mid-December, there had been no agreement with the FAA on restrictions to be imposed when the UAV is flying.
That’s Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game to you and me, but to Jaime Kourmoulis, director of human resources at AirMed, it’s a doorway to virtual world of incredible vistas, warriors, witches, monsters, weapons and spells. If you’re one of the thousands of people around the world who play Warhammer, one of the newer online multiplayer games out there of the dozens available, you may run into a sorceress “toon” name Khloe (yep, that’s with a K) of the guild Midnight Sun who’s been moving up there into the higher levels. That would be Jaime.
It’s a tough time to try to sell a business aircraft, perhaps the most difficult resale market since the 2001 to 2004 slump. And most analysts believe the resale market will get worse before it improves, perhaps sinking to levels not seen since the early 1980s. The rollercoaster ride will continue for an uncertain period of time because dealers aren’t confident enough in market demand to start building inventory at wholesale prices. Without such a wholesale price floor, it’s tough to establish profit margins and thus retail prices.
As Washington gears up for Barack Obama’s inauguration, aviation leaders should join ranks to ensure at least one Bush administration vestige is embraced by the new administration. We’re referring to “Managing Risks in Civil Aviation: A Review of the FAA’s Approach to Safety.” This insightful report was produced by a top-notch Independent Review Team (IRT) of safety and regulatory experts at the request of DOT Secretary Mary Peters in the wake of an air transportation fiasco in early 2008.
It was no coincidence that the keynote address at the G-20 meeting of representatives of the world’s largest economies in Washington, D.C., last November was delivered by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
For the second time in three years, the DOT Inspector General has determined that FAA officials at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) have misclassified or underreported errors. The report was requested by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which protects government whistle-blowers.
The fourth quarter edition of Market Leader newsletter called the present market for previously owned aircraft “unprecedented,” adding that current conditions may be among the worst in recent memory. “Never before have we seen such a surplus of inventory coupled with a scarcity of buyers due to a global economic malaise,” declared Vref editor Fletcher Aldredge.
An airline client of MedAire’s MedLink Global Response Center was five hours into a 10-hour flight high over Kazakhstan when a 20-year-old passenger who was eight months pregnant suddenly went into premature labor. Volunteer medical personnel onboard helped deliver a healthy baby girl who apparently wasted no time making her entrance. A member of the flight crew contacted Medlink doctors for post-delivery advisories on monitoring mother and baby for any indicators for a precautionary landing.
A history major at Georgetown University, O’Brien reported news at several local TV stations before applying for the science correspondent’s job at CNN. Interviewed by CNN’s chief science producer, a molecular biologist, it was quickly apparent O’Brien “didn’t know squat about science.” He brashly argued that his ignorance combined with his natural curiosity and interviewing skills made him the perfect candidate for the job — and he got it.
Less than 5 percent of the “loss of pressurization” reports indicated any symptoms of hypoxia. However, given that an encounter with hypoxia can quickly turn fatal, any discussion of loss of pressurization would be incomplete without mentioning the early warning signs and symptoms of this quick and deadly killer.
Littleton, Colo.-based Avtrak has opened an office in Lowell, Mass., to support its growing customer base in the Northeast United States. The company provides aviation maintenance management solutions, consulting and logbook services to the corporate aviation community. The Avtrak GlobalNet service has been providing real-time, Web-based tracking since 1999 and currently supports more than 4,000 aircraft worldwide representing more than 140 different aircraft makes and models.
Michael O’Keeffe, senior vice president of aircraft sales for Banyan Air Service — the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based aircraft sales and support organization — declared recently: “From all the feedback I have gotten, I believe we are in for a very rough ride, at least over the next 12 months, unless some [economic] stimulus package or investment tax credit is enacted to encourage people to spend money.”
At the behest of the NBAA, AOPA and many individual operators, the TSA is extending the time period for public comment on the agency’s Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal until Feb. 27.
Iridium Satellite subscribers grew 37 percent to 309,000 for third quarter 2008, adding subscribers at a 47-percent rate of increase in the first nine months year on year. CEO Matt Desch said Iridium continues to be “the fastest-growing voice and data mobile satellite services company.” OpenPort, initially developed for the maritime market to provide greater bandwidth and higher data transfer speeds, will be adapted for aviation.
Reader Plates LLC now offers downloadable FAA/NACO terminal approach procedures formatted for exceptional readability and ease of use on electronic book readers. With Reader Plates a pilot can carry every FAA/NACO arrival, departure and approach plate for every airport in the United States in a portable electronic book reader for $299. The plates are specifically formatted for use on the Sony PRS-505, which provides a high-resolution sunlight-readable screen.
We were a cocky bunch of young Naval aviators, and maybe even a bit more so than our predecessors since we had the extra distinction of being jet fighter pilots, something relatively new to the U.S. Navy in 1952. Like every other Pensacola fledgling back then, I learned the fundamentals in radial-powered SNJs, and then tried catching the three-wire on the old USS Cabot, steaming in the Gulf. After making the fighter track, I was suddenly screaming across the flat, pine-covered landscape, first in F6F Hellcats and then in early F9F Panther jets.
Fred Reid, president of Richardson, Texas-based Flexjet told the Dallas Morning News in December that even though fractional jet ownership is “a better business model than any airline,” the economic downturn is hurting the business. “Some people are exiting the private aviation fractional ownership or branded card solution to go to retail charter, which is less reliable and slightly less expensive,” he says. “Some are going back to commercial.” But in the long term, he insists, “It’s a very vibrant business model.
