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.
All eight persons aboard a Hawker 800 were killed about 1000 CDT when the crew apparently experienced control problems while attempting to land at Owatonna Airport, Minn. The airplane ran off the end of the 5,500-foot runway and crashed, resulting in massive destruction that left the tail and part of the empennage largely intact, but reducing the rest of the twin-engine aircraft to small pieces. A heavy line of rain and thunderstorms had passed through the Owatonna area, which is about 30 miles south of Minneapolis, not long before the Hawker (N818MV) reached the area.
(Hartford, Conn.) - Tim Lakata has been named director of Learjet sales for the Northeast United States. Based in Hartford, Lakata will oversee all Learjet sales for Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
Hypoxia is a silent killer and pilots often are unaware of their condition because lack of oxygen affects their judgment. Technicians who fly regularly or who participate in pressurization system maintenance flights need to be prepared as well for this invisible, tasteless danger. To help increase awareness of hypoxia's threat, the military exposes pilots to high-altitude pressure simulators.
*Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga., announced that Mark Burns has become president of Gulfstream Product Support and General Dynamics Aviation Services, replacing Larry Flynn, who's moving on to take over sales and marketing.
Boeing has teamed with a Canadian company to develop a commercial heavy-lift aircraft that combines helicopter rotor systems with a neutrally buoyant airship. Calgary, Alberta-based SkyHook International has contracted Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems Rotorcraft Division outside Philadelphia to design the JHL-40 and build two production prototypes for certification in Canada and the United States. The aircraft is expected to fly in 2012.
MJET -- providers of integrated engineering, completion, customization and maintenance services for commercial and business aircraft -- has begun its first corporate conversion of a Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet at the company's facility at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal. The reconfigured aircraft, which will be operated by Corpac Canada Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, is scheduled for delivery in January 2009.
ERA Training Center has begun operating its facility at the Lake Charles, La., Regional Airport, near the headquarters of ERA Helicopters. The 7,600-square-foot facility houses two FAA-approved Flight Training Devices for the Eurocopter AS350B2 and EC 135, and will be dedicated to training personnel involved in EMS, airborne law enforcement and business aviation rotorcraft operations.
