ARINC Engineering Services has selected Rockwell Collins' Pro Line 21 integrated avionics system to upgrade the U.S. Navy's fleet of UC-12 King Air aircraft, and the Iowa-based avionics manufacturer is busy marketing a similar retrofit program to civil operators of the Beech twin turboprop. For the Navy program, ARINC is serving as the purchasing and installation agency, while L-3 Communications is the prime contractor.
VDC Electronics is now offering its BatteryMINDer, BACT model 12104, battery and alternator condition tester as a separate retail product from its line of pulse-mode battery chargers, maintainers and desulphators. Previously, the company would send customers the BACT as an incentive to register their charger systems. Now you can buy one or several for line vehicles, tugs, GPUs or field maintenance equipment. The compact BACT attaches to the battery terminals, and comes with Velcro to mount it to the top or side of the batteries.
The FAA released a rule strengthening its ban on false or misleading claims about type-certificated products. It says the rules are designed to ``prevent people from representing that these items are suitable for use on type-certificated products when in fact they may not be.'' The rule also clarifies what constitutes a misleading claim and provides a means for the FAA to investigate and enforce possible violations.
The NBAA and the Associao Brasileira de Aviao Geral (ABAG) will jointly host the 4th Annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (LABACE2006) from Aug. 10 to Aug. 12, 2006, on Congonhas Airport in So Paulo, Brazil. New in 2006, the event will be located at Varig's 2,400-square-meter (25,833-square-foot) hangar on the airport, with static aircraft outside on the ramp. For more information about the results of LABACE2005, held earlier this year, visit the official site at: www.labace.aero.
Steve Fushelberger began work Sept. 26 as vice president of marketing for Cessna Aircraft. Fushelberger will report to Roger Whyte, senior vice president of sales and marketing. Phil Michel, the previous vice president of marketing and one of the company's key executives for many years, will continue with the company until his retirement in April 2006. Most recently, Fushelberger was vice president of public affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Cos.
Honeywell shipped the initial prototype HTS900 turboshaft engine to Bell Helicopter for design integration into the Model 407X helicopter, meeting their initial delivery commitment. ``This new engine includes a newly designed dual-channel full authority digital engine control [FADEC] that reduces pilot workload and simplifies maintenance procedures,'' said Nasos Karras, vice president for Honeywell's Helicopter Business.
Can FADECs be retrofitted to older engines with hydromechanical control systems? It's not an easy assignment, as Deepak Kamath, a control systems manager at General Electric Aircraft Engines, told B&CA. ``It's a matter of economics. In general, [FADEC retrofits] are hard to justify because it takes a lot of effort and funding to go back and re-certify an engine with a FADEC that was originally certified with a hydromechanical control system.''
Historically military aviation obtains new technology first and then it trickles down to business and commercial operators. The use of several all-electric full-flight helicopter simulators at the U.S. Army's just-opened Flight School XXI at Fort Rucker, Ala., continues that tradition.
Many economists believe that the devastation caused by the recent hurricanes will have only a temporary negative impact on the U.S. economy, and an informal survey of business aircraft sales professionals indicates that they remain confident that the used airplane market will continue to be robust.
Europe's first Embraer E-170 full-flight simulator is operational at Swiss Aviation Training, Zurich. Made by CAE of Canada and owned by Embraer, the simulator can be used for both Embraer 170 and 190 crew training, since the two models count as a single type for rating purposes. Swiss Aviation Training has been providing type conversion training for flight crews, cabin crews and maintenance personnel worldwide since the E170/190 program's inauguration.
Sporty's has assembled an Airplane Cleaning Kit that is safe to use on any airplane and will make short work of this big task. The kit contains one gallon each of three solutions specifically formulated for the unique challenges of cleaning an airplane. Gallon-size containers of cleaning solution can be diluted (20:1) to create enough solution to last an entire season. Carbon-X Stain Remover de-bugs and de-greases. It removes exhaust deposits, fuel stains, oil and grease from the underside of the fuselage, engine cowlings and wheel wells.
There are moments during every takeoff when an abnormality requires that the pilot make a split-second decision whether to continue or abort a takeoff. Unfortunately the safety margin grows razor thin, if non-existent, when a pilot decides to abort the takeoff nearly at V1 speed, especially on a weight-limited runway length. There are a plethora of reasons why the ``deck is stacked against the pilot'' trying to match the accelerate-stop data generated by the test pilots during certification.
NBAA and GAMA staffers met with airport officials and business aircraft operators at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport (TEB). NBAA Senior Vice President, Government Affairs Lisa Piccione and NBAA Northeast Regional Representative Dean Saucier were joined by GAMA Vice President for Government Affairs Brian Riley for a meeting with TEB Airport Manager Lanny Rider and, separately, with representatives from NBAA member companies.
GAMA's board of directors named Jack Pelton vice chairman. Pelton is chairman, president and CEO of Cessna Aircraft. He will continue as chairman of GAMA's Flight Operations Policy Committee. Alan Klapmeier, CEO and president of Cirrus Design Corp., was named chairman of the Security Issues Committee.
David W. Almy has joined the National Air Transportation Association in the newly created post of vice president of membership, marketing and communications. Almy recently concluded more than 12 years with the NBAA where he was senior vice president of marketing and communications.
An informal survey of several lenders that serve the needs of used aircraft buyers indicates that the financing side of the business has prospered as sales of previously owned aircraft have risen. However, today's market for financing differs in several notable ways from the go-go days of the late 1990s.
American Legend Aircraft Co. delivered its first Legend Cub light-sport aircraft to Rich Giannotti of Brookhaven, N.Y. Legend unveiled its Cub design in March and won FAA Special Light-Sport Aircraft certification for the aircraft in late July. The two-place aircraft is powered by a 100-hp Continental O-200 piston engine with electric start.
With more than 1,000 pages of updated and expanded information, AC-U-KWIK's World Edition 2005-2006 provides a comprehensive worldwide airport, FBO, hotel, support services and charter guide. Tabbed pages mark the beginning of each of the three sections: United States and Canada Airports/ Services, Interna-tional Airports/Services and Global Charter. A Windows-based CD-ROM that provides access to AC-U-KWIK's global database is included at no additional charge. Price: $99.95 AC-U-KWIK P.O. Box 12901 Overland Park, KS 66282
Kestrel Aerospace of the United Kingdom is building a VTOL tilt-ducted fan Personal Aerial Vehicle (PAV) that it plans to fly at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2006. The composite construction vehicle is a scaled-up version of its 2.1 meter long by 2.2 meter wide (6.9-by-7.2-foot) Lancer UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which was due to fly by mid-September of this year. The prototype PAV will measure approximately 4 meters by 4 meters (13.1 by 13.1 feet; it will be a single seater with two- and three-seat tandem versions currently at the design stage.
The following NTSB information is preliminary, subject to change and may contain errors. Aug. 4 --On a night instrument approach to Centennial Airport (APA), near Denver, a cargo carrying Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 impacted terrain approximately four miles from the runway near Parker, Colo. The aircraft came to rest inverted with the nose of the airplane resting on the bottom of a 20-foot deep ravine. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured.
American Express is teaming with Bombardier to allow participants in its Membership Rewards program to redeem points for private jet travel through Bombardier's Skyjet and Flexjet programs. Under the arrangement, American Express card members can redeem 390,000 points for a $5,000 credit toward a private jet flight. American Express is cutting in half the points necessary for receiving credit through the end of the year.
Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated (GHA) announced that it has STC approval for installation of Rockwell Collins' IDS-3000 integrated display on Dassault Falcon 200 and FJ44 Eagle II Citation 501-series aircraft. The Falcon 200 installation includes four eight- -by-10-inch active matrix LCDs -- two primary flight displays and two multi-function displays -- that replace the aircraft's original flight instruments. The new equipment integrates additional information for the flight deck to provide greater situational awareness.
