Sandel Avionics and Kollsman, Inc., have formed a joint development program to integrate Sandel's advanced displays with Kollsman's small-footprint head-up display, the MicroHUD. A follow-on program will add Kollsman's new GAViS, heads-down, forward-looking infrared (FLIR) capability to Sandel's display products. The program's goal is to reduce the size and cost of the display technologies, making them suitable for use by general and business aviation aircraft.
On Aug. 2, 2005, Air France Flight 358 from Paris touched down at Toronto Pearson International Airport, which had been experiencing thunderstorms that day. The Airbus 340 rolled to the end of the 9,000-foot long Runway 24L and continued on, rolling down into a gully where it finally came to a halt and was consumed by flames. All 309 passengers and crew miraculously escaped the fiery crash alive. Preliminary reports indicate the pilot landed long and fast on a contaminated runway and was unable to stop.
Airbus announced a new member of its Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) family, aimed squarely at taking on the long-range sector of the conventional business jet market, not otherwise seen as Airbus territory. With an order for three aircraft (plus three options) from Switzerland's Comlux Aviation, the newly announced A318 Elite is being positioned as a direct challenger to aircraft like the Gulfstream 450, Global 5000 and Falcon 900EX.
MaxViz is pitching a low-cost IR EVS for Gulfstream owners looking for an alternative installation costing a typical $130,000 vs. the $1.2 million price of the factory-installed system, even though the MaxViz EVS lacks the HUD presentation of infrared (IR) imagery. MaxViz holds an STC for a Gulfstream IV installation and says one for the GV is imminent. Its business is growing nicely, having begun four years ago and doubling in volume in each of the past three. At the 2004 NBAA convention MaxViz had 30 dealers, now there are 64.
Hill Aircraft founded by Guy Hill, Sr. in 1955, celebrated its 50th anniversary at Atlanta's Fulton County Brown Field (FTY) facility on Oct. 13, with over 450 invited guests. The event was held in Hill Aircraft's newly renovated facility to celebrate the man, the company and its history. On the ramp side of the building were a 1952 Cessna 195, a 2005 Cessna 172, 182, Grand Caravan and a 2005 Cessna Sovereign. Numerous vintage aircraft and vehicles including a T-6, a 1955 Cessna 180 and a 1955 Ford.
Garmin's GFC700 autopilot is now available for Raytheon's Beechcraft Bonanza G36. Garmin has just received an STC for the GFC700, which can now be integrated in any Bonanza equipped with the company's G1000 large-format integrated display avionics suite. Garmin says the GFC700 is the first entirely new autopilot to be built and certified for this class of aircraft in recent years.
The Hawker 4000 comes with an impressive list of standard avionics equipment, plus an unprecedented level of avionics/systems integration in the super midsize class. The basic aircraft is fitted with five, eight-by-10-inch displays in the instrument panel, twin FMS multi-function CDUs in the center console and twin armrest-mounted cursor control devices. The CDUs are used for FMS programming, radio tuning and control-display functions for certain airframe systems, including some electrical components.
CAE SimuFlite is relocating a Sikorsky S-76 and a Gulfstream IV simulator from its Dallas, Texas facility to the company's new training center in Morristown, N.J. The new center also will house simulators for the Falcon 7X, Falcon 900 EX/EASy and 2000 EX/EASy. CAE broke ground on the center earlier this fall and will begin moving simulators into the facility by summer 2006. The facility initially will incorporate six simulator bays but will be designed to accommodate future expansion.
Walter Extra, veteran aerobatic championship pilot and founder of Extra Aircraft took first place in the four-minute freestyle competition during the 54th annual German Championships in Dinslaken, Germany. He flew in a newly modified, single-seat EA-300S, which is under development . with an experimental Lycoming AEIO 580-X engine and an innovative single-cooler oil system, the aircraft also features the same aerodynamically redesigned cowling as the new EA-300LP. Extra Aircraft is headquartered in Lancaster, Pa.
GMAC Commercial Finance, Southfield, Mich., added vice presidents Kirk Holtze and Bob Wilke to the company's Equipment Finance Division, Business Aviation Finance Group.
Three new vice presidents have been named in the Citation sales organization. Mike Luethye has been designated vice president, national sales west. Gordon Vieth has been appointed vice president, national sales east. Trevor Esling now is the vice president, international sales. Each of the three men, who have held positions of increasing responsibility within Cessna, will continue to report to Mark Paolucci, vice president of Citation sales.
Mercury Computer Systems' compact low-cost multifunction display incorporates synthetic vision technology that integrates data from its internal inertial sensors, GPS, satellite weather, and terrain and navigation databases to provide pilots complete flight, navigation and full 3-D terrain views plus all the functions of a personal tablet computer.
Sino Swearingen Aviation officials formally accepted a type certificate for the SJ30-2 business jet from FAA Deputy Administrator Bobby Sturgell at the NBAA convention. The certification includes day/night/IFR and single-pilot operations. Major items that still need approval include flight into known icing conditions and the aircraft's cabin interior. Meanwhile, company executives say their next major objective is obtaining a production certificate from the FAA.
The Vref Midsize Jet Index -- a compilation of quarterly prices recorded for the Cessna Citation III, Citation VII, Astra SP, Learjet 60 and Hawker 800A over the past 10 years -- shows that the average value of these business turboprops slipped below the $5 million mark in the second quarter of this year and has remained below that benchmark. The dip halts a modest climb that began in this market segment in early 2004. The decline also reflects the relatively flat market for selected midsize jets this year.
The Air Transport Association (ATA), the U.S. airline trade association told the Aviation Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Nov.17., that the airlines are concerned over the impact of Very Light Jets (VLJs) on the safety of commercial airline operations when they are introduced in the near future.
The Vref Midsize Jet Index -- a compilation of quarterly prices recorded for the Cessna Citation III, Citation VII, Astra SP, Learjet 60 and Hawker 800A over the past 10 years -- shows that the average value of these business turboprops slipped below the $5 million mark in the second quarter of this year and has remained below that benchmark. The dip halts a modest climb that began in this market segment in early 2004. The decline also reflects the relatively flat market for selected midsize jets this year.
Pilot Report and Analysis: Raytheon Hawker 4000 Pharmaceutical Flight Support Business Aviation Services Guide Surprise! Spectrum 33 Debuts Russian FBP Evolution Preventing Overruns on Landing
Lufthansa Technik (LT) is preparing for the first VIP A380, even though airlines have booked all the production slots so far. Nevertheless, its completion center in Hamburg, Germany, will be ready, and when the first VIP A380 arrives, Lufthansa Technik will already have had extensive experience helping with parent Lufthansa's fleet of the giant aircraft. LT unveiled its concept of how a complete aircraft could look at NBAA following release of upper-deck concept renderings earlier this year.
Attendance at NBAA's 58th Annual Meeting and Convention in Orlando, Fla. totaled 28,796. The show attracted 1,142 exhibitors, who bought 4,815 10-foot by 10-foot exhibit spaces. Some 110 aircraft were on static display at Orlando Executive Airport. Attendance was down from the 31,259 attendees at the 57th annual event last year in Las Vegas, but the number of exhibitors topped NBAA's previous record of 1,084, set at that same event.
On Aug. 2, 2005, Air France Flight 358 from Paris touched down at Toronto Pearson International Airport, which had been experiencing thunderstorms that day. The Airbus 340 rolled to the end of the 9,000-foot long Runway 24L and continued on, rolling down into a gully where it finally came to a halt and was consumed by flames. All 309 passengers and crew miraculously escaped the fiery crash alive. Preliminary reports indicate the pilot landed long and fast on a contaminated runway and was unable to stop.
Sometimes there's an epiphany, one that presents a path of startling clarity. It can be a gift or a terrible burden, since the result of embrace or of rejection may be life changing for good or ill. As a youngster Frank Robinson had such a moment. He was paging through a newspaper when his eyes fell upon a photo of a machine unlike any other. It was flying but was fixed in place, motionless, by design.
