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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
The FAA noted a major milestone in the shift from ground-based to satellite-based navigation. The number of published WAAS-based Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) approach procedures has surpassed the number of Category-1 ILS approach procedures. The tipping point came during September, the agency said. For the past 60 years, Category-I ILS has been used at airports throughout the National Airspace System (NAS) to guide aircraft to as low as 200 feet above touchdown.
For a total investment of about $3 million to $4 million, you can buy and equip a late model Beech King Air B200 so that it cruises faster, plus just as high and just as far as a $5.2 million 2009 Beech King Air B200GT. The rejuvenated King Air B200 can depart at its MTOW, climb directly to FL 350 in 26 minutes and cruise at 297 KTAS while burning 590 pph. Compared to a new King Air B200GT, that’s one minute quicker to FL 350 and 15 knots faster once level at that altitude.
During the course of this, Business & Commercial Aviation’s 50th anniversary year, we’ve published quite a lot of information pertaining to business aviation during our first, 1958. For those readers who have been noting the historical factoids, we’d like to reward you with BCA 50th Anniversary picture frames, as long as supplies last. To obtain yours, provide answers to the questions below and e-mail them, along with your address (and any comments that come to mind) to: [email protected].
Industrial Investors, the Russian firm that bought the assets of bankrupt Adam Aircraft, has cut its monthly support from $6 million to $1 million because of the impact of the near-collapse of Russian capital markets that resulted in substantial margin calls, according to a highly placed source at AAI Acquisition. Rather than risk total collapse of AAI Acquisition, Jack Braly, president and CEO, announced a “strategic realignment” on Oct. 28 to keep the VLJ maker solvent.
BLR Aerospace, the Everett, Wash.-based developer of airframe aerodynamic enhancements, expects to receive FAA certification of winglets for King Air 90s early next year. Priced at $45,000, the airfoils will be installed at BLR’s network of dealers (which include many Hawker Beechcraft Services authorized locations), according to Dave Marone, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.
French industrial group Daher will take over Socata by purchasing a 70-percent stake from EADS, which will retain a 30-percent share for the near future. The deal, which is expected to close in early 2009 barring unexpected regulatory obstacles, includes an agreement for Daher to have the first right to buy the remaining EADS stake if EADS decides to unload those shares after a three-year period, says Patrick Daher, chairman and CEO of the Daher Group. The sales price to privately owned Daher has not been disclosed.
At a family reunion one Sunday afternoon in 1927, Clyde V. Cessna offered rides in his OX-5 Swallow to all comers. When the line formed, it was headed by Cessna’s 10-year-old nephew, Dwane Wallace. That airplane ride set the course of Wallace’s future career.
General Dynamics completed its approximately $2.18 billion acquisition of Zurich-based Jet Aviation Nov.5 from Dreamliner Lux S.a.r.l., a company controlled by the Permira Funds. The companies announced plans for the acquisition in August. The transaction gives General Dynamics a worldwide business-jet support flight-support services presence. Jet Aviation is one of the world’s leading business-aviation services companies. Approximately 5,600 Jet Aviation employees operate 25 airport facilities throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North and South America.
While an overhaul facility like Stevens or Yingling may do the math when marketing its upgrades, Rockwell Collins applies a calculus to the determination of whether to proceed with an STC for Pro Line 21 packages. Because the company develops and holds ownership to all STCs in order to ensure performance of its products, this is no trivial exercise. John Peterson, the company’s manager of aftermarket marketing for business and regional systems, describes it this way:
In the first few days after the onset of the worldwide financial crisis, business aircraft financing activity nearly ground to a halt. In October, Nicholas Chabraja, CEO of Gulfstream’s parent company, General Dynamics, reported that the absence of credit had “seized up” demand for business jets.
DeCrane Aerospace , Georgetown, Del., named John A. Martin to vice president and general manager for PATS Aircraft Completions, a division of DeCrane.
Michimasa Fujino, the president and CEO of Honda Aircraft Co., Greensboro, N.C. is charged with the development, production and sales of a light business jet that will never be mistaken for another — the HondaJet. And it is most appropriate that he receive a Vision award because this unique aircraft and the new company created to produce it are direct results of his personal vision.
Four general aviation advocates lost their bids to return to the House of Representatives in the November congressional elections. Reps. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), Nick Lampson (D-Texas), Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.) — all members of the aviation subcommittee — and Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.), a former subcommittee member who jumped to the House Ways and Means Committee, all lost hotly contested races. On the plus side, Reps. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), the subcommittee chair. and Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) the senior Republican on the panel, both won re-election handily.
Textron’s Bell Helicopter announced its 100th commercial helicopter delivery in India. ABIR Infrastructure Private Ltd. received the keys to a Bell 412 during the India Aviation air show in November. ABIR Managing Director K. Gnyandeep said, “ABIR is experiencing rapid growth with an established name in multiple business lines in India.
2009 Jan. 11-15: American Association of Airport Executives 23rd Annual Aviation Issues Conference, Kona, Hawaii. (703) 824-0500. www.aaae.org Feb. 11-12: Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) Forum 2009, Hong Kong. www.nbaa.org Feb. 18-19: NBAA Leadership Conference, Doubletree Hotel, New Orleans. www.nbaa.org March 6-7: PAMA 2009 Aviation Maintenance & Management Symposium, American Airlines Training and Conference Center, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. www.pama.org
