Roger Wolfe has a hard time picking a favorite: Is it the '65 Cobra replica with a Roush Racing 427, or maybe his very first performance car, the '66 Corvette. And there's that soft spot he has for Panteras, like the '73 he modified for racing and restored himself. A real sweetheart, that one, with the Ford 351 Cleveland block. Like the business jets he deals with as CEO of Landmark Aviation, Wolfe likes to go straight and fast. And he has the cars to do it with.
Saudi Arabia-based Wallan Aviation's new Cessna Service Center is due to open late this month or early March, at Thumama Airport, 14 miles Northeast of Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. "We will begin with Part 145 approval, then receive our Cessna license. We will start with Citation 500s, 525s, 550s, 560s, 650s and 680s, and later offer full servicing for the Citation X," said CEO Capt. Saad Wallan. The company has also ordered five Citation Mustangs for delivery from 2008, one of which is a firm sale to a Middle Eastern client.
There's a lot of lip service paid today to "Voice of the Customer" feedback initiatives, but in the business aviation community most traditional, industry-wide customer satisfaction surveys have been limited in scope and reach, plus they're comparatively unscientific in design and execution. Some are pure popularity contests sponsored by trade publications, simply intended to spur candidate companies to buy advertisements to sway or encourage votes. Others are so small in size that the probability of error increases to statistically irrelevant levels.
B&CA summarized the major complaints about fractional ownership arising in this report into six points and asked the industry's leaders -- NetJets, Flight Options, Flexjet and CitationShares -- to respond to them. NetJets CEO and founder Richard Santulli, generally recognized as the progenitor of the fractional ownership concept, spoke for his company. CitationShares had not responded by the time we went to press. Complaint 1:
The complicated, and a little contentious, NTSB Pinnacle accident hearing ran from 0930 until after 1300, Jan. 9., with only a few short breaks, crisply enforced by Chairman Mark V. Rosenker, and ended with a flurry of last-minute revisions to the conclusions and recommendations. The final tally was 28 conclusions, the probable cause, and 11 new safety recommendations and nine restated safety recommendations. The webcast of the proceedings was available at www.ntsb.gov as we went to press.
Paula Raeburn is the executive director of the Florida Aviation Trades Association, an advocacy group for community-based aviation in the state. Raeburn had this to say about SATSair: "It is truly a company with forward vision for expanding air travel options to the Florida business community and pleasure travelers. Their successful business plan, which began in Danville, Va., has grown to serve other areas and is the ideal complement to traditional commercial air travel in Florida.
A Cessna 414 (N400CS), operated by Flight Source LLC, was destroyed with it hit terrain at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (JST) in Johnstown, Pa. The fight was on an IFR flight plan between Morgantown Municipal-Walter L. Bill Hart Field (MGW), Morgantown, W.Va., and Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey. This was a positioning flight operated under FAR Part 91.
Airbus has delivered the first VIP A340-600 (the longest commercial aircraft in the world) to Jet Aviation, Basel, for completion. The ultra-long-range aircraft is owned by the private business group Saad Air Ltd. and will be operated by National Air Services. Both companies are based in Saudi Arabia. Airbus says that the aircraft will seat around 80 passengers and will complement Saad's A320 Prestige. According to Airbus, "Saad Air is in negotiations to double its fleet in the near future, with a wide range of aircraft types."
COMPANIES BUY BUSINESS aircraft to build their markets on a national and international scale. Progressive communities support airports and the aircraft that use them in order to attract out-of-state companies to contribute to, and perhaps join, the local economy.
When NetJets founder Richard Santulli insisted on personally responding to B&CA's bulleted list of shareholder complaints, we used the opportunity to expand the list of questions. Herewith are those questions and his responses: B&CA: Is NetJets profitable?
For less than $2 million, you can buy an early 1990s CitationJet that carries a pilot and two to three passengers up to 1,400 miles in four hours flat. These aircraft are holding their values well in the resale market because they're reliable, easy to fly and relatively inexpensive to maintain. Cessna delivered 359 units between 1993 and 1999. In 2000, it replaced the CJ with the CJ1.
In a new alliance between FlightSafety International and Garmin International, the former will become the preferred online trainer for Garmin's panel-mounted avionics products. Initially, training will center on the G1000 system installed in increasing numbers of single- and twin-engine airplanes, not to mention light jets.
Aviation industry and White House officials objected to the House passage of a bill, H.R.1, that calls for implementing a number of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, including a mandate for screening of all air cargo aboard passenger aircraft. The House passed the bill 299 to 128 as part of the Democrats' "First 100 Hours" pledge. The bill would require that 35 percent of cargo carried on passenger aircraft be screened this year, 65 percent in fiscal 2008 and 100 percent by the end of fiscal 2009.
Brazil's aeronautical and civil aviation regulators, buoyed by the success of the emergency air traffic control plan implemented over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, plan to recycle the plan to avoid flight cancellations and delays during the upcoming Carnival holiday. Carnival Week, Feb. 15-20, traditionally generates the year's heaviest air traffic. As part of the plan, the agencies will monitor flight and airport operations airline schedules and reservations, and will also take stock of the number and condition of aircraft on standby to avoid cancellations.
Thank you for "The Pilot Mechanic," December 2006, page 44. It's nice to see an article that pays respect and shows the value of a nearly invisible minority. I'm proud to be one of the few. Thanks again for the excellent article.
(Hounslow, Middlesex, United Kingdom) -- Giles Latchford has been appointed head of aviation for this financing company. Latchford will be responsible for expanding the firm's financing business for light aircraft, helicopters and business jets. He has more than 11 years of aviation experience, including establishing and running a commercial aircraft leasing company that specialized in regional jets.
A final rule released by the EPA exempts airport fuel trucks from onerous spill prevention requirements and clears up some other concerns with the 2002 Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations. The rule also extends the operator compliance deadline for SPCC plans until July 1, 2009. "From all signs, [the EPA] has done almost everything we asked them to do," said Eric Byer, NATA vice president of government and industry affairs.
-Raytheon 1900 airplanes -- Conduct repetitive inspections of the forward, vertical and aft flanges of both the left and right wing rear spar lower caps for cracks. Repair any cracks found, and report the inspection results to Raytheon. -Hartzell and McCauley propellers -- For propellers serviced by Oxford Aviation Services Limited (CSE Aviation) in the United Kingdom between September 1998 and October 2003, inspect the propeller blades and other critical propeller parts for wear and mechanical damage.
I just read Kent Jackson's December 2006 Point of Law ("Pilots with Wrenches," page 88). His points are very good, but I have a question that deals with some of the more current helicopters. Many newer four-blade helicopters have a blade-folding system that consists of an expandable bolt that can be removed and the blade can be folded next to the other. Of course the blade can be moved back into place and the expandable bolt reinstalled and secured with a safety latch. Can this be done by the pilot?
A Frontier A319 passed within 50 feet of another aircraft while executing a missed approach at Denver Airport on Jan. 5. The Frontier aircraft had broken out of cloud on approach when the crew sighted a Key Lime Air Swearingen Metroliner on the runway.
The Arabian Horse Association organizes its show competitions along the lines of traditional riding styles that are typical of most breed associations. So Kevin Hendrickson's 19-year-old daughter Stephanie could compete in hunter or Western and ride English or Western saddle along with the rider garb typical of either one. Instead, Stephanie competes in both. And wins.
AmSafe Aviation, the Phoenix-based maker of restraint products, hopes to win certification in March of a safety belt with an integrated inflatable airbag for use in the Pilatus PC-12. The first application will be for a military customer, but the system is expected to be used by general aviation operators as well.
The business aviation editors at AVIATION WEEK, of which B&CA is a proud member, have begun a new blog for the community on a revamped and renamed website -- www.aviationweek.com. The blog, Business Aviation Now, is dedicated to business aviation in all its forms.
Landmark Aviation has received an STC for the installation of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated display system (IDS) in a Dassault Falcon 50. Gary Bosemer, avionics and airframe sales manager for Landmark Aviation, said, "This system integrates additional information on the flight deck in large-format, flat-panel displays that offer numerous operational enhancements, such as graphical weather, electronic charts and maps, and flight management system overlays."
