Max-Viz, the Portland, Ore., maker of enhanced vision systems for corporate aircraft, has adapted its EVS-1000 for use on the Gulfstream III. In April, Colorado-based WestStar Aviation outfitted the initial GIII with the system, and delivery of that aircraft was anticipated in May.
As an ex-Navy pilot (and basic aerodynamics ground instructor), I enjoyed Richard Aarons' article on AOA in the April issue of B&CA ("Using Angle-of-Attack Indicators," page 46).
On Jan. 17 of this year the NTSB issued a safety recommendation which noted that during the previous 15 years, Cessna 208s had been involved in 12 fatal inflight icing accidents that killed 33 people and in another nine non-fatal icing-related accidents as well. Accordingly, after reviewing details of the mishaps and studies involving Caravans in the United States, Canada and Russia, the NTSB urged the FAA to:
For the first time, the FAA certified to Level D a simulator with electric motion and control loading. Designed and built by FlightSafety International, the new Citation Sovereign simulator is located at the company's Learning Center in Orlando. FSI has designed, manufactured and delivered 36 electric motion and control loading simulators to date, but the Sovereign simulator is the first in commercial service. The U.S.
Without entering the debate about whether the United States should levy direct charges for use of the ATC system, I have to take issue with the two operators who complained about ATC charges in Canada, Finland, England, etc ("The Battle Over User Fees," May, page 58).
Feb. 9, 2004, Sturgis, Mich. Aircraft: Cessna 402B Injuries: One Serious, One Minor When flying over a friend's house, the pilot-in-command executed a steep left turn for 360 degrees and leveled the airplane just in time to spot a large pine tree about 30 feet ahead. The pilot began to pull up, but not in time. The twin Cessna smacked the tree, causing serious injuries to the pilot, but the pilot-rated passenger took control and landed the airplane without further incident.
During a House Aviation Subcommittee hearing on lost airline passenger baggage, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) complained about the security plan in place at DCA and said more needs to be done to facilitate general aviation access. The chairman, John Mica (R-Fla.) echoed those concerns and said he wanted to have a closed-door meeting with the TSA on the matter.
As business aviation grows, so does the need for more hangar space. With busy air carrier airports straining at the seams, formerly quiet general aviation airports have become an attractive alternative. My local airport -- Waterbury-Oxford (OXC), in Oxford, Conn. -- has seen its business jet hangar space triple in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, some older hangars at many airports are getting upgraded to accommodate business turbines.
The FAA has committed to adopting ADS-B, which stands for Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast. ADS-B provides: (1) automatic broadcast of an aircraft's position, altitude, velocity and other data; (2) enhanced "visibility" of aircraft and vehicle traffic for pilots and air traffic controllers; and (3) use of GPS, allowing less reliance on ground-based radars.
The sharpest questioning at the hearing (see above item) came from the panel's Ranking Democrat, Patty Murray (Wash.), on the safety-inspector workforce at the FAA. Early this year, Murray said, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said the agency would hire 238 safety inspectors during the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, but the number has dropped to 171, down 28 percent from Mineta's estimate and fewer than last year's new hires.
When B&CA presented complaints from the charter industry about certain provisions of the revised A008 Ops Spec to FAA Flight Standards chief Jim Ballough for comment, we were referred to the aviation authority's legal department in Washington for a response.
The U.S. Air Force has solved the safety problem posed by unmanned aerial vehicles' (UAV) inability to "see and avoid" other traffic. Aviation Week & Space Technology reported that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 10 small UAVs were dispatched to New Orleans to assess damage and locate survivors. However, the FAA did not let the unmanned craft fly in the helicopter-congested area. So, USAF operators sawed the wings off the UAVs and taped six of them to the landing skids of manned helicopters.
Pratt & Whitney and Aviation Fleet Solutions (AFS), a Renton, Wash., company that develops aftermarket improvements and modifications for commercial aircraft, have received FAA certification of the QuietEagle, a noise-reduction system for JT8D-200-powered MD-80 aircraft.
The first U.S. customer took delivery of an ACJ, Airbus Corporate Jetliner. The customer, Florida-based Pharmair Corporation will have Landmark Aviation's Associated Air Center complete the cabin interior. Airbus has sold 70 aircraft in the ACJ family, the A318 Elite, the ACJ and the A320 Prestige.
Europe's business aircraft fleet will grow by about 4 percent per year over the next 10 years -- from around 2,000 today to approximately 3,000 by 2015, says a report issued by Eurocontrol on May 3. This means around 1,100 extra flights each day in Europe by 2015, which will add between 0.4 percent per year to predicted growth in flights -- or up to 0.7 percent in a scenario with strong growth in VLJ traffic. The new report, "Getting to the Point: Business Aviation in Europe," says that in 2005, 6.9 percent of the 9.2 million flights in Europe were business aviation.
The 6th Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), held May 3 to 5 in Geneva, showed growing strength, drawing 9,743 attendees, a 27-percent increase over the previous year's 7,667 total. A total of 292 exhibitors displayed their products and services in 1,206 booth spaces on nearly 22,000 square meters of indoor exhibit space at Geneva Palexpo, and 52 static aircraft were displayed at Geneva International Airport.
If any aviation person walks with the angels, surely his name is Roger Baker for he is a man who preaches safety and builds churches--an unbeatable combination if there ever was one. He started Safety Focus Group four years ago after leaving the FAA and a 29-year career served almost entirely in the Flight Standards division. He spent his last 12 years there as the national manager for safety programs. But he got his start building churches when he asked a question at his own Providence Presbyterian in Fairfax, Va.
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the crash of a CL-600 in Colorado on Nov. 28, 2004, was the flight crew's failure to ensure that the airplane's wings were free of ice or snow that accumulated while the airplane was on the ground. The Canadair, Ltd., CL-600-2A12, registered to Hop-a-Jet, Inc., and operated by Air Castle Corporation dba Global Aviation as Glo-Air Flight 73, collided with the ground during takeoff at Montrose Regional Airport, Montrose, Colo. IMC prevailed, and snow was falling.
Adam Aircraft's A700 AdamJet flew to 41,000 feet and reached a true airspeed of 340 knots, the company says. The aircraft was crewed by Senior Turbine Test Pilot Ken Sasine and copilot Dan Brand. Passing through 39,000 feet the aircraft maintains a climb rate in excess of 1,000 fpm. "This flight signifies the continuing progress of the A700 program," said flight operations vice president Bill Watters. "Serial number 001 has demonstrated the aircraft's flight capabilities, s.n.
FlightSafety International and Cessna are developing an innovative pilot training program for the new Citation Mustang. The initial program will include two FlightSafety-designed and manufactured flight simulators, two avionics flight training devices, the industry's first Mentor Services program and distance learning. A joint FlightSafety/Cessna team has worked to develop a Proficiency Index to quantify the proficiency of new Mustang aircraft pilots, many of whom will have little or no jet time.
Avcon Industries of Newton, Kan., is pursuing supplemental type certification of RVSM packages for Learjet 35s and 36s equipped with Collins APS-80 and JET FC-200 and FC-350 autopilots. The Avcon RVSM packages are to feature Kollsman air-data computers and Thommen repeaters.
Kohlman Systems Research won a contract to support Duncan Aviation's RVSM certification program for three Norwegian Air Force Falcon 20s. Kohlman will be responsible for flight tests to ensure air data and autopilot systems are RVSM-compliant as well as to generate the required static source error correction. Kohlman will develop the approval data package that includes the flight test report, compliance report, initial and continued airworthiness report, and airplane flight manual supplement.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has officially released the equivalent of FAR Part 135 operating standards and CCAR 135 is now in the rule book. This is expected to further encourage growth in both business and regional aviation. Asia Business Aviation Association President Jason Liao says that Hainan Airlines' business jet subsidiary, Deerjet, will be operating its five Hawker 800XPs under Part 135 and its managed Beechcraft Premier Is under CCAR Part 91.
Phil Michel, the veteran Cessna Aircraft marketing executive who announced plans in 2005 to retire in April of this year, will remain with the Wichita aircraft manufacturer for an indeterminate period. Steve Fushelberger, who was named in September to succeed Michel as vice president of marketing, left Cessna in mid-March for personal reasons. Michel told The Weekly of Business Aviation he plans to remain on board until a permanent successor is identified, hired and a transition is completed.
Following the collapse of nine months of negotiations between the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association the parties declared a stalemate and the FAA sent its pay proposal to Congress for review. Unless Congress intercedes within 60 days, the FAA will be able to impose its contract terms on the union.
