Fairchild Dornier is seeking regulatory approval to operate its 328JET aircraft at London City Airport (LCY), known for its steep (5.5-degree) approach path. To meet the requirements, the 328JET will have to demonstrate a 7.5-degree descent to landing with a full passenger load. John Wolf, Fairchild's chief operating officer, said the aircraft's roll spoiler system will need modification for LCY operations, a process the company hopes to complete by the end of 2001. Dornier 328 turboprops already fly into LCY.
John H. deHavilland has been appointed to the board of directors and president/CEO of the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Strategic Jet Services, Inc.
The Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey has selected NBAA President Jack Olcott as one of its 2001 inductees. Museum President Edmund Nelle Jr. cited Olcott's current position, as well as his experience as an aviator and publisher as reasons for his selection. Before joining the NBAA, Olcott was editor and publisher of B/CA. Olcott and fellow inductees George Meade, a Vietnam veteran and traffic helicopter pilot; the late WWII pilot Roy LaGrone; and the late Isaac Schlossbach, owner and operator of Asbury Park Airport, will be honored in a May 2001 ceremony.
Honeywell is developing a new avionics system designed to make IMC operations as easy as clear-weather flying thanks to the use of ``lifelike graphics.'' Branded the Bendix/King APEX, the new system is earmarked for the business and general aviation market, with versions for single- and multiengine piston aircraft, helicopters, turboprops and light jets. John Murphy, Honeywell's general aviation avionics chief, described the system as a ``breakthrough development'' that uses hardware developed for the space shuttle and the Boeing 777.
With a takeoff thrust rating of 2,400 lb to ISA+7C at sea level, it's readily apparent the -2C engine produces 26-percent more thrust than the -1A engines fitted to the CJ1. The -2C's additional takeoff thrust results from using a larger diameter fan with fewer and wider chord blades, one that turns 1.7-percent faster than the -1A's fan, providing increased mass flow.
Masked by a year-long disinformation campaign, cleverly crafted around the development of the next-generation G-IV, Gulfstream officials startled industry observers by unveiling the new G-VSP. Gulfstream said the aircraft would have a maximum range of 6,750 nm with nine passengers. Additionally, it boasts more usable cabin volume than the Bombardier Global Express and has shorter takeoff distances. ``We absolutely, positively deliver nine-passenger, New York-to-Tokyo range all the time,'' said Gulfstream manufacturing chief Preston Henne.
ARG/US has introduced an interactive management tool called the Comparative Performance Report (CPR) on CD-ROM. Taking into consideration location, equipment, annual flight hours and international activity, the CPR software searches the ARG/US databases for flight departments that are similar to the user's. The report allows the user to compare its financial and operational performance to these flight departments. The interactive function allows you to generate ``what if'' conditions.
Sino Swearingen's expanding dealer network has reportedly placed 18 firm orders and five options for the SJ30-2 business jet, now nearing the start of FAA-certification testing. Kelner Aviation of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada says it has ordered five firm and five optional aircraft. Sino Swearingen Monaco claims orders for eight and Deep Blue in Lensburg, Switzerland is said to have ordered five. The manufacturer now claims 175 orders for the $4.3 million jet, which it hopes to have certified by late 2001.
Nearly 20 years after Corporate Angel Network (CAN) cofounder Leonard Greene flew the group's first cancer patient from White Plains, N.Y., to Detroit for treatment, CAN still faces the same challenge: too many people needing cancer treatment and too few corporate aircraft seats to transport them. While the organization has arranged transportation for more than 12,500 people since that December day in 1981, a small minority of business aircraft operators provides the majority of CAN's lift, and money is always tight.
The DPS450 is a fully automatic, no manual sequencing unit that uses a menu-driven electroluminescent display and tactile membrane keypad with a controller that automatically generates and maintains the input altitude, airspeed or VSI values. The display is fully programmable for a range of test requirements and can be configured for individual aircraft types with limits and referred units of measurement. Barfield will offer the RVSM certifying DPS450 digital pitot-static/air data tester in January 2001. Price: $21,950 Barfield Inc.
Fear of gridlock has led the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to block the increase in slot exemptions authorized for La Guardia Airport under the AIR-21 legislation passed earlier this year. Airlines have agreed to comply with the moratorium for now, but they contest the Port Authority's power to regulate traffic: ``This is something our lawyers are taking a close look at, and the airlines are crafting a detailed response,'' said Dave Fuscus, spokesman for the Air Transport Association.
NASAO has presented the Kenneth A. Rowe Ambassador Aviation Award to Robert Kunkel, who retired in October as director of Wisconsin's Bureau of Aeronautics. In addition, NASAO has named Bruce F. Mundie as its 2000 Distinguished Service award recipient and named Anthony Amato as its treasurer.
TME (UK) Ltd. has designed a body restraint system for use in air-rage incidents. It can be used as an initial restraint device or, if required, as a full restraint system for a violent person. The system attempts to minimize the risk of injury and at the same time gives the crew time to defuse the assailant's anger. The system comes with restraints for the upper body, leg and wrist, and a multipurpose strap. Both the T-shaped body and Y-shaped leg restraints are made of polycarbonate and have a strap made of webbing and spring metal.
The DC-9 left Charleston, S.C., at 0700 headed for Chicago with a stop in Charlotte (CLT). The first officer was flying. CLT weather was posted as ``. . . partial obscuration, 5,000 feet scattered, visibility 1.5 miles in ground fog . . .'' The crew would fly the Runway 36R VOR/DME approach, but as they descended, they talked about various things, including politics and used cars.
NTSB investigators continue to examine why a Bombardier Challenger 604 crashed while taking off from Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport for high-altitude flight-testing. Test pilot Bryan Irelan and flight test engineer David Riggs perished in the accident, while test pilot Eric Fiore was severely burned. The aircraft's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were both recovered at the scene and sent to Washington, D.C. for analysis. Witnesses say that the aircraft left the ground briefly but cartwheeled out of control after experiencing severe wing rocking.
New rules require Australian aircraft registrations to be held by the individual responsible for the aircraft's maintenance. Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it made the change after determining that airworthiness directives and other critical information were being lost in transit. ``With almost 11,600 aircraft on the Australian register, it is very important that the right safety information gets to the right people who maintain these aircraft,'' said Richard Yates, a CASA safety official.
Bombardier's CRJ700 simulator has received interim Level C certification from the FAA and Transport Canada, months before the aircraft itself receives regulatory approval. The manufacturer expects to receive certification of the aircraft before the end of the year. Pilot training is expected to begin later this year, while customer deliveries of the new regional jet aren't planned until first quarter 2001. Bombardier expects the CRJ700 to be approved for Common Crew Qualification with the smaller CRJ100 and 200.
Saying ``the corporate aircraft market is the midst of a second golden age,'' aircraft financier The CIT Group expects the new and used business aircraft markets to remain strong through, at least, the end of 2001. The CIT forecast also says it expects new and used jets to lead the market, with turboprop sales activity to remain ``muted.'' Short of what it refers to as ``some unforeseen natural shock,'' CIT says even a recession is unlikely to have a major effect on the business aviation market until some time in 2002.
Reliance Aviation has purchased TAC Air Service of Miami at the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport (TMB). The construction project includes two hangars, which will increase the FBO's total hangar space to more than 80,000 square feet. Reliance also has added aircraft management, charter and sales.
This year's NBAA convention was the largest civil aviation trade show ever, 12-percent larger than last year's convention and 20-percent larger than the 1998 gathering. Kicking off the festivities, NBAA President Jack Olcott said more companies are using business aviation than ever before, and NBAA membership has reached 6,200 -- a record. ``New products have had the greatest influence on growth, but the environment in which business aviation operates is just as important,'' Olcott said.
Galaxy Aerospace is hoping that negotiations with Executive Jet lead to a firm deal for the sale of 50 Galaxy business jets and 50 options to the fractional operator by the end of the year. One stipulation of the deal is reportedly the establishment of an aircraft support network at Executive Jet's 10 most frequently visited cities.
Kenneth E. Gazzola, executive vice president/publisher of The McGraw-Hill Cos.' Aviation Week, has been named to the board of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. Calling the appointment a ``privilege,'' Gazzola cited the importance of the museum's mission, saying it will ``inspire generations of young people to pursue careers in aviation and aerospace.'' The museum is building a new 711,000-square-foot facility at Dulles Airport that, when completed in 2003, will house more than 280 aircraft and spacecraft.
