Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) are coming on strong for one simple reason. Anyone who has ever flown an Instrument Competency Check (ICC) ride under the hood in VFR conditions knows that "One peek is worth a thousand cross-checks." One quick look at the outside world instantly clears up any confusion regarding aircraft attitude, proximity to terrain and obstructions, and distance to go to the runway, among other critical elements of situational awareness.
NATA has developed Operational Control Workshops designed to help FAR Part 135 on-demand operators comply with the FAA's newly revised A008 OpSpec for Operational Control. For over a year, the FAA has been conducting an ongoing investigation of Part 135 operational control issues associated with aircraft leases between charter operators and aircraft owners, and the use of alternate business names. The investigation led to the issuance of new guidance by the agency.
Mike DeWeese, line service supervisor at Million Air Houston, was honored with the first "Houston Friendly Award" presented by the Houston Airport System. This award will be given quarterly to honor individuals who demonstrate excellence in customer service to passengers traveling though Houston's airports.
Quest Aircraft Co. has won Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) from the FAA for the its Kodiak, a single-engine utility turboprop. TIA means Quest and FAA officials can now conduct final inspections to ensure that the first production aircraft, s.n. 001, conforms to specifications. The Kodiak is designed to be an aerial truck, carrying passengers and cargo off short, unimproved landing strips in rugged terrain for a variety of missions.
Several vexing problems with the new international aircraft registry remain to be solved before business aircraft buyers and sellers will be comfortable with the system, but Mike Nichols, NBAA's director of tax, economics and operational services, believes that progress is being made in addressing the industry's concerns. "It's fair to say we are making steady progress," said Nichols recently. "It's probably slower than any of us would like to see, but that's just the nature of something like this."
When the Garrett TFE731 engine made its debut on the Falcon 10 and Learjet 35/36 in the early 1970s, it revolutionized high-performance, light jet business aviation. Compared to turbojet engines that powered light jets of that era, the new turbofan TFE731 burned one-third less fuel and its FAR Part 36 Stage III sound levels provided welcome relief at noise-sensitive airports.
Lufthansa Technik AG, Hamburg, Germany, announced that Uwe Mukrasch will join the board of directors as chief executive human resources with additional responsibility for information management.
Cessna delivered the 100th Citation CJ3 on Aug. 28 to Jeffrey Mark, CEO, principal owner and cofounder of Mark-Taylor Residential Inc., an Arizona-based real estate development corporation. A pilot for 16 years, Mark has owned a Cessna CitationJet, a Citation CJ2 and Citation CJ3. He said his previous Cessnas have flown him to both U.S. coasts, Alaska, Costa Rica and Mexico, among other destinations. He said he expects this CJ3 to perform similar missions.
Schedulers and dispatchers will now be able to reach for the eFlyBook, a light (13.7 ounces) and compact tablet display, to check reference books, charts, directories and their current FAR/AIM instead of pulling a heavy book, binder or cumbersome folding chart from the reference shelf. ARINC, partnered with MyAirplane.com, announced the device as a cockpit tool for general aviation pilots, but it's even more likely to find its way to the operations desk.
CharterMatrix.com, part of Private Jet Charters, launched a service for all travelers that lets them take advantage of available seats on charted flights by using a new searchable online tool. The company says that this tool takes the dynamics of searching and pricing a flight to a different level by allowing customers real-time availability. The software will allow travelers to customize their searches by state, city, region and airport.
Bombardier delivered 75 new aircraft in the second quarter, compared with 81 in the same period a year ago. The 75 units consisted of 48 business jets (compared with 41 a year earlier) and 26 regional aircraft (down from 39 in the corresponding period), plus one CL-415 amphibious aircraft.
The National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) plans to hold its fall membership meeting on Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Fla. As usual, the NARA meeting has been scheduled to take place adjacent to the NBAA annual meeting and convention, which will be held in nearby Orlando from Tuesday, Oct. 17 through Thursday, Oct. 19.
DAC International is the exclusive stocking distributor for DMA-Aero's full line of test equipment. DMA-Aero has several models of RVSM- and DRVSM-compliant air data test sets (ADTS). The top-of the-line MPS 38 controls three pressures separately and independently to verify angle of attack when "smart" pitot tubes are used in conjunction with pitot and static pressures. DAC International 6702 McNeil Dr. Austin, TX 78729 (512) 231-5323 www.dacint.com
In a new contract from Airservices Australia, Sensis Corp. will supply multistatic dependent surveillance over Tasmania, with coverage down to the ground at Hobart and Launceston airports. The system initially will provide en route surveillance with multilateration and ADS-B, with accuracy of better than 150 meters (490 feet). Full-scale operations will begin in 2008, and maintenance will be simplified for the Australians with a Sensis remote control and monitoring system.
THE WEATHER WAS HARDLY atypical for a summer afternoon in Florida -- warm, breezy and VMC with low scattered clouds, but there were thunderstorms in and around the St. Augustine area. It was Aug. 25, 2006, and Ward and Barbara Walter were among the many aloft over the Sunshine State. They were southeast bound from Bloomington, Ind., making their way to Governor's Harbour Airport on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas where their vacation home was located. They planned an intermediate stop in Melbourne before heading out across the Atlantic.
The majority of corporate operators who incur taxes while operating in Europe outsource the recovery of refunds to a company specializing in the process. VATAmerica, a member of the NBAA, has a dedicated aviation division with extensive experience in processing VAT (and, with limitations, Mineral Oil Tax -- MOT) refunds. Customers of Universal Weather and Aviation Services who use Universal to manage various expenses while overseas can obtain VAT accounting automatically from VATAmerica.
CAE recently won a four-year contract extension valued at $30 million (U.S.) to provide pilot training for Flight Options through 2010. Flight Options will send its pilots to the CAE SimuFlite training center at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The training will cover the entire Flight Options fleet, which includes the Beechjet 400A, Hawker 400XP, Hawker 800XP, Citation X and Embraer Legacy.
The Singapore Airshow has awarded a $38 million contract to Eng Lim Construction to build its new site in Changi North for its first event in 2008. BAE Systems, Boeing, EADS (including Airbus), Rolls-Royce International, ATI, Honeywell, L-3 Communications, United Technologies Corp., Bell Helicopter Textron, Saab, SIA Engineering, Sukhoi and anchor exhibitor ST Engineering have registered to participate. The Singapore Airshow replaces Asian Aerospace, a biennial event for the past 25 years, which was relocated to Hong Kong.
Professional baseball players have not merely been airplane passengers; many have become pilots. For some big leaguers, the convenience of charter flights during the baseball season helped convince them to take up flying themselves. During the 1970s especially, a variety of ballplayers -- including New York Yankee captain Thurman Munson, Detroit Tiger pitcher Denny McLain and Los Angeles Dodger players Don Sutton, Rick Monday and Reggie Smith -- earned their wings.
The "adjacency" of the electronic games industry to the aircraft simulation business is only part of the reason for the startling realism available in today's newest simulators, but it's an important one. Coupled with enormous advances in computer clock speeds and throughput, current software ensures that today's sims are as close to real as a fool-you device can get. Off-the-shelf data now available commercially means easy access to satellite imagery and other geodata that comes complete on a couple of DVDs.
RAC is issuing this Safety Communiqué to provide updated information. This Safety Communiqué also announces revisions to the various model-specific AFMs. Due to design similarities, this information is applicable to all listed models (which includes all Raytheon Mitsubishi Model MU-300; Beechjet Model 400, 400a (including Hawker 400xp); Model 400t (T-1a and TX) aircraft.)
Flaps fully extended and landing gear down and locked, the King Air B100 descended to Runway 33 at North Central State airport in Pawtucket, R.I. The right main landing gear touched down approximately two feet prior to the runway, and collapsed when the wheel struck the elevated runway edge. The airplane subsequently came to rest upright off the right side of the runway. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
