The Hawker 1000 is the longest range, longest fuselage legacy Hawker ever built. It also has advanced features, including a split-bus electrical system, jammed flight control protection and Honeywell SPZ-8000 integrated avionics system. It's a pilot's airplane, one that's easy to fly and one that has very docile engine-out handling characteristics, in large part because of its bleed-air powered rudder bias system. It's the only Hawker ever to have an aft baggage compartment, one with 50 cubic feet of storage and externally accessible by means of a separate door.
Intelligence | 13 ?228-137? Pratt & Whitney Launches New Engine Family ?228-137? FAA Expands Corridor Integrated Weather System ?228-137? U.S., European Aerospace Trade Groups Plot Conduct, Environmental Strategies ?228-137? NATA Surveys Impact of FAA Inconsistent Rule Interpretations ?228-137? Sentient Reorganizes Into Business Units ?228-137? PiperJet First Flight Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 7 | Viewpoint By William Garvey
U.S. and European aerospace trade group leaders plan to hold an international forum on business conduct each year to review their progress toward mutual cooperation and also develop strategies, according to a joint statement from the Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K. They also have also decided to organize an environmental summit in Paris this fall to coincide with an annual European industry conference.
A confident Embraer has posted record second-quarter revenues of $1.6 billion, as well as a 58-percent year-on-year rise in net income to $134.3 million. The Brazilian manufacturer also recorded a significant gain in operating income, which grew to $113.2 million from the $48.7 million posted in the same period in 2007 despite increases in research and development and general administrative costs. The company's operating margin rose 3.3 percentage points to 6.9 percent.
Aviation software application developer ForeFlight LLC has selected Universal Weather and Aviation's UVTripPlanner as the worldwide airport data provider of ForeFlight Mobile v2.0 - the first flight planning application designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch. ForeFlight Mobile v2.0 is a fully native iPhone application that can be installed on any iPhone using v2.0 iPhone OS. Each screen has been designed around a pilot's flight planning workflow while providing quick access to UVTripPlanner's worldwide data and airport diagrams.
Just in time to greet Olympics-bound traffic, Jet Aviation opened a brand-new FBO facility at Beijing's Capital International Airport (PEK). The Aug. 5 opening coincided with the arrival of private aircraft for the Olympic Games, whose torch lighting ceremonies were Aug. 8 and officially ended Aug. 24.
Clifford Development of Kalamazoo, Mich., has completed the first flights of its Citation S550 reengined with 3,000-pound-thrust Williams FJ44-3As. The 30-minute maiden flight was used to evaluate aircraft handling and engine controllability. Follow-up flights examined the interface of aircraft systems with the engines and the aircraft's response to more powerful engines. Subsequently, the aircraft moved to California's Mojave Airport for 100 hours of flight tests in anticipation of supplemental type certification, which is expected early in the fourth quarter.
A Cessna 441 Conquest (N441HK) impacted the terrain about one-eighth mile east of the runway at Sun River Resort Airport, Sun River, Ore., about 1015 PDT. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed during the accident sequence, and the airplane, which was owned by the pilot's corporation, was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire. The personal flight, which departed Bakersfield, Calif., about two hours and 15 minutes prior to the accident, was being operated VFR.
Jet Professionals is the largest firm of its kind, providing staffing for corporate aviation operations worldwide. Raymond Stebler, director of staffing solutions, says applications are coming in at a brisk rate while placement opportunities for pilots and flight attendants are waning in a slow economy. "Especially among large corporate operators," he says. "They're being much more careful about hiring."
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. is now offering the new Garmin FlightLevel Extended Warranty coverage as an aftermarket option for the G1000 avionics-equipped Beechcraft Baron G58 and Bonanza G36 aircraft. The extended warranty coverage offers complete system-wide maintenance protection for everything from cockpit displays to remote line replaceable units, and is designed to give owners comprehensive protection against unexpected product failures when their standard two-year factory warranty expires.
Piper Aircraft took an historic one-hour first flight of its first jet July 30 from Piper headquarters in Vero Beach, Fla. During the next several months, the proof of concept aircraft will fly 250 to 300 hours to verify cruise speed and altitude performance along with low-speed handling characteristics, according to Robert Kromer, Piper's vice president of sales and marketing.
"The whole airspace structure is different," NetJets-Europe Flight Operations Director Joaquim Bauer said. "We operate according to JAROps [the EASA codification of air regulations]. For example, transition levels differ from country to country. The tightness [i.e., the constrained operating area] is very different, too. There are a lot of noise complaints due to the population density. EASA is streamlining the rules. There are stricter guidelines, but this is good, as it standardizes things and makes it easier to implement new procedures."
The delivery of an AS355 NP to Phoenix Heli-Flight, in July, marked Eurocopter Canada's 500th helicopter delivered in the Canadian marketplace. Meanwhile, south of the border in Houston, the Texas Department of Public Safety took delivery of an AS350B2 at a ceremony at the Airborne Law Enforcement Association convention on July 17. According to Larry Roberts, American Eurocopter vice president of Commercial Affairs, this is the 10th AS350 in the DPS fleet.
The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has upgraded its "Register of Civil Aircraft" database to hold more detailed civil aircraft registration and airworthiness data in conformity with international regulations. The Register contains more than 21,000 live records, with comprehensive registration and airworthiness information on each airplane and its engines. The public face of the register, called "G-INFO," is accessible through the CAA Web site: www.caa.co.UK/ginfo. Users can call up the full registration history of each U.K.-registered aircraft.
ALTHOUGH I LIVED IN Washington for more than a decade, it was by circumstance, not intention. That is to say, my jobs were there, but they weren't Washington-centric. They had little to do with the deal-making, political maneuvering and money munching that energizes the place and keeps the armies of lobbyists, lawyers and legislative legions occupied. If I had been a player, my game time would likely have been brief.
FirstFlight, Inc., based at Elmira/Corning Airport, N.Y., announced Aug. 11 that it completed its acquisition of charter operator New World Jet Corp., which has offices in Islip, N.Y., and Teterboro, N.J. FirstFlight had previously announced its intention to buy the former Gold Jet subsidiary. With the deal closed, the company said the combined aircraft fleet will place FirstFlight among the top jet aircraft charter management companies in the United States and extend its geographic footprint with predominantly large- and mid-cabin jets.
THAT I WOULD ONE DAY build my own biplane was perhaps inevitable. Now I am three and a half years into a built-from-plans, all-wood personal fighter whose 1926 technology continues to throw light on the challenges that manufacturers face today. One small change in a delicately balanced system can have a profound knock-on effect. It's not easy stuff.
Pentastar Aviation, Waterford, Mich., named Randy DeAngelis as vice president of Flight Operations responsible for flight crews, flight dispatch and following as well as the company's Safety Management System.
