AOPA President Phil Boyer thinks the FAA hedging on user fees is a charade, stating on the association's Web site that user fees are indeed under active consideration by the FAA. He said this issue ``has the highest priority within the AOPA. If the FAA does, in fact, have user fees in mind as a way to fund itself, rest assured we will devote all of our staff and resources to opposing it. And when the time comes, we will be calling on our members to get involved with Congress as well.''
Manufacturers and operators of advanced full-flight simulators (FFS) have for years considered abandoning hydraulics in favor of all-electric versions whose cockpit systems as well as their six-axis primary motion system are electrically powered. There are no hydraulic or pneumatic systems. But persistent problems with their excessive noise and weight and imprecise performance kept the all-electric units in the research and development labs -- until now.
While fly-by-wire technology has taken a long time to permeate from military jets to commercial airliners and, now -- with the flight of the Dassault Falcon 7X -- to dedicated business jets, we've had power-by-wire on our civil engines for almost 20 years.
According to Embraer, aircraft manufacturers will deliver 9,680 new business jets worth $144 billion over the next decade even if the per-barrel price of oil continues in the $60 to $70 range. Those figures do not include some 2,500 to 3,000 new VLJs the Brazilian airplane manufacturer believes will enter air taxi service through 2015 as well. In overall units delivered, the company expects that light and very light jets will account for nearly half, and, accordingly, it is proceeding with the development, certification and delivery of two of its own.
Raytheon Aircraft appointed Superior Aircraft Maintenance, Inc. in Medford, Ore., as an authorized service center. Superior is factory-approved to maintain all Beechcraft Bonanza, Baron and King Air products. Superior Aircraft Maintenance plans to break ground this month on an expansion project that will increase the executive terminal to 14,000 square feet and the hangar to 25,000 square feet.
Business aviation did yeoman service during emergencies created by Katrina and Rita. Without arm twisting by government or national organizations, the broadly based community of private and on-demand operators flying aircraft ranging from corporate jets and helicopters to single-engine piston airplanes provided a level of mobility that was effective and truly impressive.
THE CEO STICKS his head into the cockpit when you're 100 nm out from Chicago Midway and asks how the weather looks. Having just received an AFIS report, you respond, ``There's a low overcast, some gusts and it's raining.'' ``Will you be able to land?'' he asks, concern in his voice. ``Well, we'll have to make an instrument approach, and it'll be bumpy, but it should be OK.'' ``I certainly hope so. This is a very important meeting. Very important. We can't be late.''
The Citation 500 pilots were making a VOR approach to Runway 32 at Sault Sainte Marie. After breaking out of the clouds at 2,500 feet and aligning the airplane with the runway, the captain noticed ``maybe compacted snow or maybe ice with fresh snow'' on the runway -- not surprising conditions in northern Michigan in February. When the aircraft was on a two -mile final, a voice came over the Unicom frequency and said that braking action was nil. This observation gave further weight to a NOTAM in effect at the time that stated, ``icy runway, nil braking'' at the airport.
Dallas Airmotive, Dallas, named Joe Talarico as northeast regional engine manager for Rolls-Royce Spey and Tay engine products as well as Honeywell 36 series APUs. Talarico will be based in Millville, N.J.
(Compiled by Fred Haap, Peter Agur, Jack Olcott and David Esler)
BP and Amoco: Flight departments initially combined, Amoco's is about to disappear. Mead and Westvaco: Mead flight department eventually eliminated (see text). General Electric and RCA: RCA flight department absorbed into GE. Honeywell and Allied-Signal: Flight departments combined. L.M. Berry and Southern Bell: L.M. Berry flight department eliminated.
Final construction of the innovative Warrior (Aero Marine) Centaur single-engine, six-seat amphibian has stalled and needs either a cash injection of $2.9 million or an industry resources equivalent, says Warrior's managing director, James Labouchere. Final construction of the all-composite prototype, ``Would be achievable in nine months, followed by first flight a little later,'' he said. The part-completed aircraft, which is U.K. designed, is stored at Sanford, Maine, airport, where the R&D, assembly and flight test program were to be conducted.
3M Aerospace's Scotch-Weld Structural Adhesive Primer EW-5000 is a water-based primer for structural metal bonding with epoxy film adhesives. The low VOC, heat curing, chromate primer helps simplify the manufacturing process and reduce operating expenses as it can service both 250F and 350F curing applications. Scotch-Weld Primer EW-5000 helps improve handling performance, provide protection against bonded corrosion and reduce the environmental impact of their operations.
Textron and its employees have pledged up to $1.25 million for employee and humanitarian aid to those affected by Hurricane Katrina, including a $250,000 grant for a dollar-to-dollar match of employee contributions. The company and its business units also have made a number of material and personnel contributions: Cessna Aircraft donated aircraft transport services to move medical personnel into the affected regions and permitted its employees who are certified disaster relief volunteers one week off with pay to assist agencies providing assistance to those affected.
Jet Aviation, Teterboro, N.J., has recently hired James Lorentzen as regional director of sales for the Western region. He will be based in Orange County, Calif. Francisco Picornell was named director of market processes and solutions based in Central Florida.
Bell Helicopter has named Patriot Aviation as its sales representative in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Patriot Aviation has two locations in the U.K. Its head office, which includes its aircraft sales, charter and engineering departments, as well as a flight training school for helicopter pilots, is located at Cranfield Airport. The company's second facility is based at Staverton Airport in Gloucester.
X-Prize sponsor Peter Diamandis is at it again -- founding the Rocket Racing League, announced at a New York press conference. The plans are to race rocket-powered aircraft, on 3-D courses, in front of large paid audiences, and build a franchise similar to auto racing and professional sports leagues. A proof-of-concept aircraft is already flying regularly -- a Long-EZ powered by two 400-pound-thrust, XCOR Aerospace LOX-alcohol rocket engines, dubbed the EZ-Rocket. It's flown by U.S. Air Force Col. (Ret) Rick Searfoss, former astronaut and space shuttle mission commander.
The Carlyle Group is combining several of its business aviation entities under a single leadership structure and a new name. The business elements include Piedmont Hawthorne, an FBO network, and charter and management operation with 33 locations throughout the United States and Canada; Garrett Aviation Services, the aircraft service, repair and overhaul operation; and Associated Air Center, the well-known outfitting shop in Dallas.
FACTS Training, an AirCare Solutions Group company, recently announced a significant expansion of the Decompression module in the FACTS emergency procedures training programs for corporate crewmembers. Added to all training locations, the Reduced Oxygen Breathing Device (ROBD) provides crewmembers with the opportunity to experience hypoxia in a controlled and monitored environment.
Cessna Aircraft earned FAA type approval for the newest iteration of the venerable 525 CitationJet line, the CJ2+, a follow-on to the CJ2 that incorporates several features that were formerly options and is equipped with upgrades that boost payload and performance. The CJ2+'s maximum payload is 300 pounds more than the CJ2's. Powered by twin Williams FJ44-3A-24 engines, the CJ2+ can climb to 45,000 feet in 34 minutes at maximum takeoff weight, cruise at 413 knots at 31,000 feet and has an NBAA IFR range of 1,550 nm with four passengers.
GAMA, the NBAA and the NATA have teamed up to promote icing safety awareness. The three organizations are jointly sending a letter to operators and FBOs in the business aircraft community, highlighting the extra measures operators should take in a winter climate. The letter also provides references to online resources containing detailed guidance and comprehensive educational tools for icing operations. Pete Bunce, president and CEO of GAMA, said, ``Operations in a winter environment require extra attention from the flight crew prior to takeoff as well as in-flight.
