In April, the FAA announced the initiation of advanced Technologies and Oceanic Procedures at the Alaska ARTCC, which enables more direct routing and eliminates the time-honored paper strips for controllers. Atlantic and Pacific traffic already benefits from the new ATOP systems, which provide conflict alerts and allow controllers to ensure aircraft separation beyond radar and radio coverage. The work station environment for controllers is modern, automated, and efficient, and the system is capable of digital satellite data link communication and surveillance.
Boeing has raised its prediction for the size of the airline aircraft market over the next 20 years, but the majority of the jump comes from including Russia and the rest of the Commonwealth of Independent States for the first time. The manufacturer's Current Market Outlook estimates 28,600 aircraft will be delivered through 2026, compared with last year's forecast of 27,200 to be delivered through 2025. The latest total includes 1,060 aircraft for the CIS. Last year's forecast saw a similar jump -- 1,500 -- compared to the 2005 forecast.
A frequent question posed by flight crews wanting more information on ice particle-caused rollbacks is, "What type of atmospheric condition creates this problem?"
To further its nationwide reach, JetDirect Aviation Holdings of Berwyn, Pa., has acquired Novato, Calif.-based air charter operator Sunset Aviation for an undisclosed sum. Sunset operates a fleet of 25 aircraft, giving JetDirect a total of 130. Sunset's fleet includes Cessna Citation IIs; Hawker 800XPs, Beech Baron 58s and King Air 200s; and Pilatus PC-12s. Sunset also operates full-service maintenance facilities at three bases in California.
Embraer revised its Legacy 600 executive jet maintenance planning guide that is expected to reduce an operator's scheduled maintenance labor costs up to 18 percent over the previous iteration. Since the guide was first published in 2001, the maintenance man-hours-per-flight-hour ratio for the super midsize jet has dropped by 50 percent to 0.65 mmh/fh.
Geneva Aviation, a DART subsidiary, has developed the P-132 avionics console and the P-123 supplemental avionics console for Eurocopter AS 350 series helicopters to meet the growing demand for more space. The P-132 allows installation of a 10-inch stack of radios and other avionics controls typically required for law and ENG work. The P-123 supplemental console also mounts between the pilot and copilot seats.
Not surprisingly, outspoken Pogo Air Chairman and CEO Robert Crandall has a perspective on the FAA reauthorization debate. Crandall, retired CEO of American Airlines, offered his thoughts to B&CA via e-mail. Air taxi operator Pogo hopes to begin operations this year with a fleet of Eclipse VLJs.
Your April feature article "EADS Socata TBM 850," (page 62) poses an interesting challenge to emerging VLJ aircraft. In this article, Socata continues to categorize all VLJs into one group, yet all VLJs are not created equally. This is especially true when comparing the Eclipse 500 VLJ to the TBM 850. The assumptions presented create an excellent opportunity to highlight the real capabilities of the Eclipse 500 very light jet. A simple analysis reveals the true comparison of the Eclipse 500 vs. the TBM 850.
*Aerospatiale Corvette airplanes -- Conduct repetitive inspections of the left-hand and right-hand hinge fittings of the nose landing gear for cracks, and replace any cracked hinge fittings with new ones. *Bombardier Challenger CL-600, -601, -601-3A, -601-3R and CL-604 airplanes -- Identify the part and serial numbers of the selector valves of the nose landing gear and the nose landing gear door. Conduct related investigations and take corrective actions, if necessary.
The FJ44 Stallion and Eagle II modifications of Uvalde, Texas-based Sierra Industries have been certificated by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which now gives owners of early model Citations registered within the European Union the ability to retrofit their aircraft with Williams International FJ44 engines.
NTSB, Washington, D.C., named Thomas E. Haueter as director of the agency's Office of Aviation Safety. He has served as acting director since November 2006.
The Challenger 605's Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite is considerably more capable, more reliable, weighs less and draws less power than the Pro Line 4 package installed in the Challenger 604. The four 10- by-12-inch LCD screens offer 55 percent more display area than the six 7.25-inch square CRT displays in the Challenger 604. The new LCDs offer improved pixel resolution, color contrast and considerably greater reliability. The entire layout is a close relative of the Pro Line 21 cockpit in the Challenger 300.
The NORDAM Group has won the CJ4 cabinetry contract from Cessna, its first from the Wichita aircraft manufacturer. All the CJ4 work will be done in NORDAM's brand-new 120,000-square-foot facility in Wichita. The new facility opened in April and NORDAM will deliver the first CJ4 cabinet shipset in July.
I enjoyed Robert Searles' article on naming airports after historical figures. I am kind of a student of aviation history and never in my 40-plus years have I seen an article cataloguing so comprehensively how and why so many U.S. airports are named after individuals. Congratulations on a job well done and keep up that fine reporting so that the next generation aviators appreciate what those before them accomplished.
Hawker Beechcraft, Wichita, named George Sellew as vice president, treasurer. Dan Weatherford has been named chief pilot, Hawker sales demonstration and Peter Kennedy is chief pilot, Beechcraft sales demonstration.
There's been a half century trend toward reducing the number of flight crew members required to fly airplanes. Radio operators, navigators and flight engineers have gone the way of whistle-tuned transceivers, sextants for shooting stars and ignition system oscilloscopes. For the past three-plus decades, copilots also have been disappearing, as well, from FAR Part 23 turboprop and turbofan aircraft, leaving only a single pilot in the cockpit to handle all tasks.
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation has a new online program called Pinch Hitter that is intended to familiarize non-pilots with basic cockpit layouts so they can become more comfortable when flying as a passenger. The course lets users get some virtual flying practice by controlling the ailerons and rudder, and landing the airplane. It includes tips on what to do in the event of pilot incapacitation. Intended only for the non-pilot, it is not to be used as a "learn to fly" course for student pilots. The running time is 45 to 60 minutes. Price: Free
Statements from witnesses who knew the pilot of a Beech Baron that broke up over Georgia on April 22 suggest that the crash that killed the pilot and all four passengers probably resulted from the pilot's obsession with performing aerobatics in the aircraft. A friend of the accident pilot told investigators the deceased was planning to purchase the 1989 aircraft. N5647C took off from Jack Edwards Airport (JKA) in Gulf Shores, Ala., and broke up in flight about two hours later near Hamilton, Ga.
Alcoa executives responsible for the company's $3 billion per year aerospace business say they agree with Morgan Stanley analysts that the upturn in the commercial jet market is likely to extend until 2010 or 2011. The latest prediction is more positive than an earlier assessment that the upturn will end in 2008 or 2009, partly due to a growing economic rationale for fleet replacement - the need for greater fuel efficiency.
One aviation firm with some good news on the environmental front is Aviation Partners, Inc. (API) of Seattle, which designs blended winglets for a variety of business jets and airliners, including the Hawker 800 series, the Gulfstream II and the Boeing 737. API says installation of its winglets reduces an aircraft's fuel usage by approximately 7 percent.
Flexjet has made its first GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) profit since start-up in 1995, and is to add 24 aircraft per year for the next three years, says Michael McQuay, president of Flexjet and Skyjet USA. Flexjet now has 660 fractional owners and 110 card members. Its current fleet numbers 93 aircraft. McQuay says that "the Challenger 300 is the hottest product we offer and will eclipse other Flexjet fleet groupings this year.
FlightSafety International, La Guardia Airport, New York, announced that Patrick Coulter has been promoted to manager of the Toronto Learning Center. Rick Armstrong has joined the company as vice president, FlightSafety Simulation.
You may have heard this from someone else by now, and I would not normally bother with what is essentially a trivial error, but I think you (and perhaps the readers) will find this interesting. Robert Searles Reflections article in the April issue says that Renton, Wash.'s airport is named after Will Rogers and Wiley Post. In fact, as a glance at the Seattle VFR terminal area chart will show, it is the seaplane base (W36) on Lake Washington at the north end of that airport that is named for Rogers and Post.
When US Airways' FOQA program revealed that aircraft arriving in Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (KCLT) via the Runway 23 back-course localizer had a higher incident of unstable approaches, it was able to demonstrate to the FAA that the procedure was a primary factor in the unstable approaches. The FAA agreed with the data and as a solution installed a new ILS. In another study, the carrier found certain airports had a high incidence of steep descents on arrival.
