Summit Jet Corp. has joined the National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) as a regular member. The company's Summit Aviation unit, which is based at Republic Airport on Long Island, N.Y., is a leading jet and helicopter management and charter company. NARA also has added five new associate members to its roster: Aerius Aviation Capital Partners Inc.; Center Capital Corp.; Edwards & Angell LLP; Enterprise National Bank; and Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz P.C.
Heliport Amsterdam went operational Aug. 3. The first official Dutch heliport is a 10-minute drive from the Amsterdam city center. The new terminal offers administrative office space and a VIP lounge with the comforts of a modern airport facility. The heliport can accommodate helicopters as large as the Sikorsky S-76. Helicopters with an overall length of more than 16 meters (52.5 feet) must request parking in advance. Jet-A is available and there is limited indoor overnight parking.
TAG's $18 million passenger terminal at Farnborough will open in January 2006. The three-story, 45,000-square-foot building is distinctive for its boomerang shape and VIP appointments. Len Rayment, who heads TAG's Farnborough FBO operation, said, ``There will be three or four private lounge areas, a secure lounge, a small bistro, a presentation room for up to 40 people with audio visual facilities and smaller private meeting rooms.
CMC Electronics has started delivering its SureSight M-Series enhanced vision system (EVS) sensors to Pilatus Aircraft for use in the company's PC-12. Proof-of-concept flying of the EVS has been completed, and FAA certification flight testing of the system on the single-engine turboprop was to begin in August, according to Tom Aniello, vice president and chief marketing officer of Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd.
Jeppesen is offering U.S. Precision Lightning Network data as separate maps that are updated every 10 to 15 minutes; the maps also include lightning data with infrared and visible satellite images. The display software allows Jeppesen to show past lightning strikes as well as current strikes, so users can see trends in the activity. This is helpful in determining if a thunderstorm is growing or decaying and showing the movement of the active cells. The data maps include both cloud-to-ground lightning as well as lightning within clouds.
Used by U.S. Air Force and Navy pilots, these kneeboards are constructed of injection-molded nylon with a non-glare finish, making them lightweight and durable. Features include a wide elastic strap, contoured bottom with non-slip foam strips, and rounded corners for comfortable use, plus two full-width clips, two pencil holders and a built-in pencil sharpener. The clips are designed to hold single sheets up to the thickest bound NACO approach book.
Pentastar Aviation has promoted Thomas Seeber to president and CEO. Seeber has been with the Waterford, Mich.-based FBO since 2000, Before joining Pentastar Seeber worked for Coopers & Lybrand and subsequently ran his own company, the Aspen Group.
Banyan Air Service recently completed a 12,000-hour inspection on a Learjet 35. Based at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport, Banyan also accomplished 300-/600-/1,200-hour phase inspections on the aircraft at the same time. According to Terry Schuler, Banyan's Learjet crew leader, the 12,000-hour inspection involves a wing demate as well as removal of the engines, rudder, elevators and horizontal stabilizer to permit x-rays and eddy current inspections to detect cracks.
Air Care Solutions has added hypoxia awareness to its FACTS emergency procedures training. All FACTS locations now have a reduced oxygen breathing device (ROBD) that allows crewmembers to experience their individual symptoms of and reaction to hypoxia in a controlled and monitored environment without using a decompression chamber. Rather than physically exposing a subject to lower total pressure in a decompression chamber, crewmembers wear a mask connected to the ROBD, which can induce hypoxia by reducing the proportion of oxygen by diluting the air with an inert gas.
Eclipse Aviation has patented a new fire suppressant agent it claims can replace halon, the favored agent to suppress aircraft engine fires (see ``Ozone Friendly Firefighter,'' page 44). Although halon is harmless to humans, non-corrosive and does not contaminate delicate equipment, it has been outlawed by the Montreal Protocol international environmental treaty because it damages the ozone layer. New halon production ended in 1994, but the aviation industry has been exempted from the protocol pending the development of a suitable replacement agent.
The following NTSB information is preliminary, subject to change and may contain errors. July 6 -- Shortly after takeoff from Fiumicino International Airport (FCO), Rome, Italy, an Erickson Air-Crane S-64F on a maintenance test flight following initial assembly after overseas shipment, impacted terrain and was destroyed.
The Ninety Nines has run into a potentially catastrophic risk to its historic collection. For over 50 years, the international women's aviation organization has been collecting artifacts that represent the successes and failures of women throughout aviation history.
In late July, German authorities arrested AvCraft CEO Ben Bartel on tax evasion charges; collaring the American executive at Frankfurt's international airport. Authorities said the charges against him claim he set up a company in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying E7 million in taxes. He has been released, but an indictment may come soon. AvCraft took over the 328JET program from Fairchild Dornier in 2003 and promised to restart production; however, the company filed for insolvency in early 2004, citing high production ramp-up costs.
Honeywell has won a contract from Airservices Australia to supply its Ground-based Regional Augmentation System (GRAS) to enhance the accuracy and integrity of the GPS. GRAS uses a network of VHF sites that transmit radio signals to correct inherent GPS navigation errors.
ARINC Engineering Services selected Rockwell Collins' Pro Line 21 integrated avionics system to upgrade the U.S. Navy's fleet of UC-12 King Airs. ARINC is the purchasing and installation agency for the program while L-3 Communications is the prime contractor.
Anything. Anywhere. Anytime.'' That was one of the tag lines used in ``Air America,'' the 1990 action-comedy B-flick in which the stars play pilots who fly a Fairchild C-123 Provider into and out of seemingly impossibly short, unimproved landing strips hacked out of the jungle. Four to five decades ago, a half dozen aircraft firms, such as Fairchild, Antonov and CASA, plus de Havilland, Dornier and Israel Aircraft Industries, built tough, twin-engine STOL utility aircraft capable of such missions.
Ask maintenance technicians about their most aggravating aircraft problem and you are guaranteed to hear about endless hours chasing intermittent faults. One of the few things pilots and technicians share equally is the aggravation caused by elusive gremlins, an indefinable glitch, the ghost in the machine. Conversely, few subjects cause more friction between pilots and technicians than the repetitious appearance of a mysterious malady.
Tuff-Seal interlocking tiles use a patented, hidden interlock system to create a secure, watertight and virtually seamless hangar floor surface. The tiles reduce noise, dust and humidity, insulate subfloors and are more comfortable to stand and work on. The manufacturer says the tiles won't break, crack, deflect, loosen or shift even under heavy loads, nor do they require frequent repair or replacement, and yet can be easily removed and re-laid in other areas.
When an airliner slides off the end of a runway, the NTSB often calls upon NASA for help. Why? The ``space agency'' actually has a history of researching runway surface conditions going back to joint projects with the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s. It seems that with the higher tire pressures and faster landing speeds of the then-new jet transports, hydroplaning became a serious problem, which the engineers set out to correct. That effort was reinvigorated as NASA later searched for optimum runway surface designs for the space shuttle runway at the Kennedy Space Center.
THE ISLAND WEATHER that morning in July 2004 was clear with scattered clouds, light winds out of the east and temperature in the mid-80s. Visibility across the Caribbean was great and expected to stay that way. A chamber-of-commerce kind of morning, and a great day to fly.
Pro Star Aviation of Londonderry, N.H., hopes to receive this month an STC for its installation of a Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite in a Cessna Citation III. Besides the new displays, the installation will include an EFIS, a second air-data computer, TCAS II, GPWS, updated FMS and the hardware needed to make the older jet RVSM compliant. The test aircraft has been flying since May, and Pro Star officials hope to bring it to the static display at the upcoming NBAA convention.
Flight Options said its 75/25 program will expand to include the Citation X and Embraer Legacy, in addition to the Hawker 400XP and the Hawker 800XP. The program allows owners to use two different aircraft in the Flight Options fleet with the purchase of a single share. Basically, 75 percent of their hours are in one aircraft and the remaining 25 percent would be flown in another aircraft of the client's choice.
Ever wonder what types of germs are hiding in aircraft air systems? Those individuals using Cirrus Healthcare's AirRight personal, disposable filtration device need never find out. The company claims the system helps protect passengers from inflight viruses and bacteria. The filter attaches to the air nozzle above the passenger seat and directs a filtered stream of air onto the user's seating area. One disposable AirRight is good for four flights. Price: $7.99 Cirrus Healthcare Products, L.L.C. 60 Main St.
Ross Aviation, LLC and Centre Partners acquired Scottsdale AirCenter, an FBO at the Scottsdale, Ariz., Airport (SDL), their second acquisition since the partnership was formed in December 2004. The local management team, headed by General Manager Tommy Walker, has managed the FBO since its opening in 2003 and will continue under the new ownership. Ross Aviation previously acquired the Denver Air FBO at Jefferson County Airport (BJC) in Broomfield, Colo.
