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Magazine Issue

Business & Commercial Aviation, April 2016

VOL. 112 NO. 4 April 01, 2016

Viewpoint

Showtime: The Future of Air Shows

Mar 28, 2016

Even though no spectators attending a British air show had been killed in more than a half century, the repercussions from the crash at the Shoreham Air Show appear to be formidable.

Readers' Feedback

Reader's Feedback (April 2016)

Mar 23, 2016

SOPs — Timely Topic I thoroughly enjoyed your article “Sticking With SOPs,” (March 2016, page 52) You nailed it! I’m having it scanned and distributed within NTSB. Just wanted to thank you for ad–dressing this important and timely topic. Robert Sumwalt Member National Transportation Safety Board Washington, D.C. Get Out of the Way

Intelligence

Bombardier Delivers Its 75th Model 75

Mar 23, 2016

Bombardier Business Aircraft delivered its 75th Model 75 Learjet in late February, two years after the first Learjet 75 entered service.

Flight Data Services, SKYTRAC Partner

Mar 23, 2016

SKYTRAC has joined with Flight Data Services for enhanced Flight Data Management Services.

Bell Begins Biggest Order Deliveries

Mar 23, 2016

Bell Helicopter delivered 175 aircraft in 2015, including 99 Model 407s, 52 Model 429s and a dozen each of 412 twins and Long Rangers.

FAA Issues NPRM On Part 23

Mar 23, 2016

The FAA last month issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Part 23 that would overhaul airworthiness standards for small general aviation aircraft.

Piper Signs Agreement For Up To 100 Archer TX Airplanes

Mar 23, 2016

Piper Aircraft recently received an order from ATP Flight School for 15 additional Archer TX training aircraft.

FAA Begins Reviewing ARC Recommendations for Micro UAS

Mar 23, 2016

The FAA this month begins weighing recommendations from an aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) regarding its handling of light or “micro” unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Sabreliner Major Milestone In AeroVue Integrated Flight Deck

Mar 23, 2016

Sabreliner Aviation reaches significant milestone with the AeroVue integrated flight deck program. With the completion of critical design review, Sabreliner begins cockpit preparation on the initial aircraft.

Meridian Air Charter Adds Falcon 7X To Fleet

Mar 23, 2016

Meridian adds a Falcon 7X (N221HJ) to its charter fleet of business jets. This ultra-long range aircraft was completed in 2008, and seats up to14 passengers. It also has the capacity to sleep up to seven for long-haul trips.

Civil Helicopter Demand Forecast Down From Last Year

Mar 23, 2016

Honeywell Aerospace forecasts demand for 4,300 to 4,800 helicopters for civilian use over the next five years. That’s roughly 400 aircraft lower than last year’s five-year forecast.

NTSB Rules On 2014 King Air B200 Crash In Wichita

Mar 23, 2016

The National Transportation Safety Board has ruled that the probable cause of the fatal Oct. 30, 2014, crash of a King Air B200 into the FlightSafety International training center in Wichita was the pilot’s “failure to maintain control of the airplane after a reduction in left engine power” and “inappropriate rudder input.”

West Star Earns STC For Honeywell Software Upgrades

Mar 23, 2016

West Star Aviation receives an STC for the upgrade of the Honeywell CAS-81A/TPA-81A or CAS-100A/TPA-100A with 7.0 software to the CAS-100B/TPA-100B with 7.1 software.

Diamonds Go To Australian College

Mar 23, 2016

Australian International Aviation College has added eight Diamond Aircraft to its fleet of DA20 C1 and DA40 CS aircraft.

New REMOS GXiS To Debut At Aero Friedrichshafen

Mar 23, 2016

Germany aircraft manufacturer REMOS plans to unveil the next generation of its high-wing composite GX aircraft at the Aero Friedrichshafen 2016 trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

China To Overtake Japan In Civil Helicopter Market

Mar 23, 2016

China will likely overtake Japan this year as the largest civil helicopter market in the Asia-Pacific region, even as its rapid growth of the recent past abates to more realistic levels.

Solar Impulse Back In The Air

Mar 23, 2016

Solar Impulse 2 has completed its first test flight following a battery system upgrade and ahead of restarting its solar-powered round-the-world flight attempt in April from Hawaii.

TBM Sales Territory Expanded

Mar 23, 2016

Keystone Aviation in Salt Lake City, Utah, has expanded its North American sales territory for the Daher TBM turboprop aircraft. It has added four Canadian provinces and one additional U.S. state, Alaska, to its area of responsibility.

Falcon 5X To Enter Service In 2020

Mar 23, 2016

Dassault Aviation’s new Falcon 5X business jet will not enter service until the first half of 2020 due to difficulties in developing the Silvercrest engine at Safran’s Snecma motors division.

Business Aviation Operations Up In Europe

Mar 23, 2016

Business aviation departures in Europe rose 2.3% in February when compared to the same time a year ago, due to a boost from the leap year, according to WINGX’s Business Aviation Monitor.

Jet Aviation Acquires Avjet Corp.

Mar 23, 2016

Jet Aviation will acquire Avjet Corp., a Los Angeles-based jet charter and management company, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will expand Jet Aviation’s aircraft management and charter services on the West Coast.

True Blue Power Lithium-Ion Battery For Bell 505

Mar 23, 2016

Wichita-based True Blue Power, announced that its lithium-ion engine-start battery will power Bell Helicopter’s 505 Jet Ranger X.

Gogo Customers To Get Duncan AOG Service

Mar 23, 2016

Duncan Aviation has been selected as the exclusive aircraft-on-ground (AOG) service partner for inflight connectivity specialist Gogo Business Aviation.

Business Jet Market Falls To 2008-09 Levels

Mar 23, 2016

Key business jet market indicators, measured by a monthly UBS Business Jet Market Index survey, point to a weakening global market and have fallen back to levels tracked in 2008-09.

Passenger Numbers Grow For VistaJet

Mar 23, 2016

VistaJet experienced double-digit growth in passenger and flight traffic in 2015, the European private jet charter and aircraft management company said.

GE Creates ‘GE Aviation Digital’

Mar 23, 2016

GE Aviation has created a digital organization that brings digital operations from across its aviation businesses into one.

EASA Certification For Challenger 650

Mar 23, 2016

Bombardier’s Challenger 650 business jet has been granted full type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency.

BendixKing Aero Wave 100 System Upgraded

Mar 23, 2016

BendixKing has enhanced its inflight Internet connectivity for general aviation aircraft, according to BendixKing.

Petroleum Air Services Now A Bell Authorized Center

Mar 23, 2016

Petroleum Air Services has been appointed the first Bell Helicopter Authorized Customer Service Facility in North Africa, the helicopter manufacturer said. Petroleum Air Services provides fixed wing and helicopter transportation to the oil and gas and travel industries in Egypt.

Product Upgrades From Disabled Aircraft Services

Mar 23, 2016

Disabled Aircraft Services, based in Buffalo, Minnesota, has introduced upgrades to its line of PlaneSkate products designed to move aircraft with a flat tire from a runway, taxiway or ramp.

ERAU, Universal Helicopters Extend Training Agreement

Mar 23, 2016

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Campus and Universal Helicopters have extended a 2010 agreement to exclusively provide helicopter training to Embry-Riddle students.

AW&ST Laureates Recognize Textron Aviation In Business Aviation

Mar 23, 2016

Aviation Week & Space Technology’s 59th annual Laureate Award for business aviation went to the CEOs of Textron Aviation and Textron Corp.

Banyan Air Service To Transition Tech Info Library

Mar 23, 2016

Banyan Air Service signs an agreement with Aircraft Technical Publishers to transition Banyan’s technical information library from CD-based services to the ATP Aviation Hub.

Jet-A And Avgas Per Gallon Fuel Prices March 2016

Apr 01, 2016

Jet-A and Avgas Per Gallon Fuel Prices March 2016

Fast Five

Fast Five: Questions for Brian Barents

Mar 24, 2016

Questions for Brian Barents, co-chairman of Aerion Corp. in Reno, Nevada.

Air Safety

Lessons from the Bedford Gulfstream Accident, Part 2

Mar 24, 2016

We are told that on May 31, 2014, the professional pilot world got a wake-up call when two pilots crashed their Gulfstream IV (N121JM) at Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, and killed all on board. The NTSB rightfully called their performance an act of intentional, habitual noncompliance, but that was being charitable.

DOM Notebook

Managing Your Aircraft’s Spare Parts

Mar 24, 2016

While this may be the age of same-day shipping, computer-controlled inventories, global distribution networks and numerous third-party parts suppliers, chances are good that your airplane will break at the worst possible time and the part that you need will be in a building buried in a blizzard half a continent away. Meanwhile, the boss is packing for an imminent trip to close a do-or-die deal. You may be willing to bet your career on the part showing up in time to launch on that mission, but be sure your resume is up to date, just in case.

Accident Free: Are You Lucky or Truly Safe?

Cockpit Cognitive Biases Can Cause Real Trouble

Mar 24, 2016

They are those convenient intellectual shortcuts we use to streamline our decision-making processes. Cognitive biases help us process information expeditiously when we're under pressure.

Cause & Circumstance

Icing and Failed Equipment: Pilot Pushes Weather and Rules

Mar 24, 2016

“At first I thought it was a jet practicing maneuvers, but it didn’t pull up. I then realized it was a small jet that appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed with black smoke trailing it and what appeared to be fire," said a Mulvane, Kan., woman who witnessed the crash of a Cessna Citation 500 near Wichita in 2013.

Icing Review Homework from the NTSB

Mar 24, 2016

The NTSB, after finding icing as a probable cause of the loss of Citation 500 N610ED, urged pilots to review icing basics — specifically those in FAA Instrument Flying Handbook and the Aeronautical Information Manual.

Accidents in Brief

Accidents In Brief

Mar 24, 2016

The following NTSB information is preliminary about these selected accidents and Incidents in February 2016.

Operators Survey

Operators Survey: Dassault Falcon 7X

Mar 24, 2016

BCA is conducting a second 7X Operators Survey now that the aircraft has had time to mature and dozens of product improvements have been made. Consistent with our findings in our March 2011 Operators Survey, Falcon 7X operators contacted for this follow-up report say the aircraft provides substantially more speed, range and cabin comfort compared to midsize and large-cabin aircraft they previously flew.

Technology

Cybersecuring Your Aircraft

Mar 23, 2016

When a hacker last year claimed to have tapped into an airliner’s entertainment system and then wormed his way into the flight control system, the major avionics companies were quick to internally debunk the claim, but they were less outspoken in public. That’s because the bourgeoning number of federated boxes that are increasingly common in connected cockpits are outside their direct control.

A Pilot’s Cyber Primer

Mar 24, 2016

I am a gear head — a mechanical guy; a dying breed. From age 15 I did all of my own tune-ups. And then one day I bought a car that had no distributor. My precious timing light and dwell meter were instantly buggy whips in a horseless world. And I was technologically back to square one. I felt helpless as my slow downward drift into cyber bewilderment began.

THE IN AND OUT

Mar 28, 2016

Industrial grade anti-virus software that verifies data and application integrity at every boot is the hallmark of a top-notch systems supplier.

On Duty

News Of Promotions, Appointments And Honors (April 2016)

Mar 28, 2016

News of promotions, appointments and honors involving professionals within the business aviation community

Product & Services Previews

BCA Business Aviation Product And Service Previews

Mar 24, 2016

BCA shares the latest products and services for the business aviation industry.

50 Years Ago

Business & Commercial Aviation News from April 1966

Mar 24, 2016

The Model 23 Learjet, Fan Jet Falcon and Piaggio-Douglas PD808 appeared in the pages of the April 1966 issue of Business & Commercial Aviation. In 1966, the industry was already looking back on itself. BCA reported that historians cited United States Steel's purchase of three Viscounts from Vickers in 1955 as the beginning of the turbine era in business aviation.

Safety

Microbursts: How to Protect Yourself from a Wayward Wind

Mar 24, 2016

The DC-9 captain told the NTSB investigators that there had been thunderstorms all around the airport and the crew used the aircraft's weather radar to scan the area while taxiing to Runway 19. He said the largest echo was east-northeast, that the cell contoured when he switched to that mode, and the gradient was very steep.

20/Twenty

Used Airplane Report: Nextant 400XTi

Mar 23, 2016

The buyers’ market for light jets is stronger than at any time in decades, with upward of 200 aircraft available. Well hidden among all that…

Market Sector

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Business & Commercial Aviation, April 2016

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Viewpoint

Readers' Feedback

Intelligence

Fast Five

Air Safety

DOM Notebook

Accident Free: Are You Lucky or Truly Safe?

Cause & Circumstance

Accidents in Brief

Operators Survey

Technology

On Duty

Product & Services Previews

50 Years Ago

Safety

20/Twenty