Beginning in the fourth quarter, all Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21-equipped Hawker 800XPs in the fleet can have the new Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS) installed under a retrofit program planned by Raytheon Aircraft. Downtime for the upgrade would be 15 working days. Price for the modification is as yet undetermined. Retrofits will be performed exclusively at Raytheon Aircraft service centers and authorized Hawker aircraft service facilities.
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DO ALL kinds of things that drive the voters crazy. They waste money on programs of questionable value. They stick their noses into issues that have nothing to do with their legislative responsibilities. And sometimes they do things so mind numbingly stupid that their constituents are left to sputter in wordless exasperation -- kind of like the duck in the AFLAC commercials.
The Experimental Aircraft Association's 2005 AirVenture held July in Oshkosh, Wis., drew more than 700,000 attendees, up 7 percent from the 2004 event. The seven-day AirVenture attracted more than 10,000 aircraft to Wittman Regional Airport, including almost 3,000 show airplanes. The convention also hosted 789 exhibitors and visitors from 65 nations. The 2006 show is scheduled for July 24 through 30.
The Vref Light Jet Index -- a compilation of quarterly prices recorded for the 1991 Beechjet 400A, 1993 Cessna CitationJet, 1990 Citation II, 1990 Citation V, 1982 Falcon 10, 1985 Westwind II and 1991 Learjet 31A over the past 10 years -- shows that the average value of these light business jets has remained steady at approximately $2.2 million since late 2004.
Raytheon unveiled its speedy VLJ-slayer Beechcraft King Air C90GT at the Experimental Aircraft Association's recent AirVenture. Based on the King Air C90B, but powered by two 750-hp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135-As, flat-rated to 550 hp, the C90GT delivers a 25-knot increase in max cruise speed and up to a 50 percent reduction in the time to reach its 30,000-foot service ceiling. The max cruise speed jumps from the C90B's 246 knots to over 270 knots. With the increase in available power, the entire usable cruise altitude envelope shifts upward.
Raytheon Aircraft Co. has teamed with Hainan Airlines to set up an authorized service center for Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft. The center is based in Haikou City, China, and will be capable of performing all maintenance on Beechcraft Premier I and Hawker 800XP aircraft.
The U.K.'s most southeasterly airport, Lydd (EGMD/LYX), has been renamed London-Ashford Airport. A brand-new FBO passenger terminal opened in late July. The ground floor of the FBO terminal covers 120 square meters and is operated by FAL Aviation UK Ltd. The facility has VIP lounges, conference rooms, flight planning office, crew rest areas, and customs and immigration services. The FBO's Charlie apron is new as is the 13 acres of Bravo apron.
To promote safety and keep flying fun, the $5 Education Program makes aviation manufacturers' DVDs available to pilots for only five bucks each. Partnering in the program are Garmin, Honeywell, Insight, JP Instruments, Ryan International and NASA, among others. Price: $5.00 Sporty's Pilot Shop Clermont County/Sporty's Airport Batavia, OH 45103 (800) 776-7897 www.sportys.com/5educationalprogram
NATA has published its 2005 survey of general aviation service employee compensation. The survey includes salaries and benefits for pilots, line-service personnel and maintenance technicians.
The FAA has released a final rule on a new second-in-command pilot type rating. The new rule, effective Sept. 6, will bring the U.S. FARs into compliance with international standards on pilot certificates. The SIC final rule requires pilots who plan to fly outside of U.S. airspace and land in foreign countries to obtain the SIC pilot type rating. The final rule provides two means for obtaining the SIC rating: SIC familiarization training and an SIC training program, both detailed within the rule.
GAMA said general aviation billings for the first half of this year rose 31.6 percent with shipments up 38.1 percent compared to the same period in 2004.
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to move toward imposing spill prevention rules, ``Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures'' (SPCC), on aviation businesses. The agency's position is that airport fuel trucks are ``mobile or portable storage containers'' when parked, and subject to SPCC secondary containment requirements.
The barely identified and misspelled gentleman in the photo accompanying ``Give Flight to Words'' (Flight Log, August, page 88) is Colin Fisher, the former and fine spokesman for de Havilland/Bombardier Regional Aircraft.
A fully integrated, convenient collection of Jeppesen's leading products, NavSuite is composed of JeppView electronic charts and various flight planning applications. NavSuite is offered at three different service levels -- NavSuite IFR, NavSuite Continental and NavSuite Global -- to address the specific needs of general and business aviation pilots. These applications have been specifically engineered to work together with functionality like RoutePacks that allow packets of data to easily flow between the applications.
OurPLANE, Inc., a Canadian fractional aircraft provider, ordered 10 Eclipse 500 VLJs and took options for 10 more. Including options, the order is worth more than $26 million. The company, based in London, Ontario, currently operates 22 new Cessna and Cirrus aircraft in Canada and the United States. The company plans to offer the Eclipse 500 to general aviation pilots who are qualified to pilot the twin-turbofan and to small and midsize businesses without pilots through OurPLANE's Executive Program.
And Epic Aircraft Investors Resources LLC said it joined forces with Tam-Air of Georgia in Eastern Europe to develop a seven-place composite VLJ (see ``Oshkosh Debutantes: The VLJs,'' page 54).
Raytheon Aircraft Co. (RAC) has received an STC from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) that certifies the Hawker 400XP for steep approaches into London City Airport (LCY). The company says it will pursue a bilateral agreement for FAA certification through EASA. RAC's Hawker Aircraft Services facility will install the STC at the Hawker Service Center in Chester, England. A total of 21 aircraft from the NetJets Europe Fleet are slated to receive the upgrade in the coming months.
Raytheon Aircraft Co. reported sharply higher sales for the second quarter, but new aircraft bookings were down from 2004's peak. The Wichita manufacturer had sales of $687 million, up 21 percent from the same period a year ago. RAC posted operating income of $33 million, compared with $23 million in same quarter a year ago, with the increase attributed to higher sales volume and aircraft mix. The company delivered 79 commercial aircraft in the quarter, compared with 75 a year ago.
Cessna Aircraft is poised to more than triple the size of its single-engine piston fleet in China. The Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) ordered 42 Model 172 Skyhawks for ab initio training. Twenty of the aircraft are to be equipped with the all-glass Garmin G1000 avionics package and the remainder fitted with analog flight instruments. Delivery is slated to begin in early 2006. The new aircraft will increase CAFUC's training capacity from 600 students a year to more than 1,000 students.
BBA Group has acquired International Governor Services, of Broomfield, Colo. Under terms of the acquisition, the British conglomerate made an initial payment of $18 million, with further payments of up to $10 million possible, subject to business performance over a three-year period. IGS specializes in overhaul and repair of small turbine engine controls including fuel controls and governors used on a wide range of popular business jet and turboprop engines.
The Aircraft Product Support Division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) has selected Aircraft Components Co. (ACC) to provide overhaul services for many Mitsubishi MU-2 components. The agreement between Addison, Texas-based MHIA and the Tulsa-based FAA-approved repair station, covers the repair and overhaul of struts, actuators, motors and other similar parts.
Made of composite materials, the new Ready Ratchet is a unique tool that exceeds national specifications for torque, yet is lightweight and easy to use. When not in use, sockets store in a slide-out tray within the ratchet's handle. Available in three-eighths-inch or one-quarter-inch standard or metric sizes, Ready Ratchet can be found at independent hardware stores or purchased online. Price: $19.95 Ready Products, Inc. 5855 Olympia Fields Ct. West Chester, OH 45069 (866) 942-9230 www.ready-tools.com
Despite concerns about a new Internal Revenue Service rules interpretation that severely limits deductions for aircraft expenses when aircraft are used for ``entertainment,'' the IRS provision is not hurting Cessna's sales. Although Cessna Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton calls the requirements of the IRS ruling ``an undue burden'' on aircraft operators, he said most big public companies that are used to complying with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation should have no problem meeting the new IRS requirements.
TAX LAW SHIFTS LIKE the weather, and those shifts are rarely logical, but there are a handful of guiding principles that don't change. Principle one: The IRS is insatiable. Principle two: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. Principle three: Simple rules yield rough justice.
