As refining technology has advanced, new ways have been found to elevate low-grade fuels to higher levels, thereby increasing the efficiency of the refining process and allowing more fuel to be extracted from a given quantity of crude. These fall into two categories:
Boeing is discussing the possibility of a supersonic business jet with several potential partners. According to Boeing Business Jet President Borge Boeskov, the aircraft must be capable of supersonic travel over land and across the Pacific. Executive Jet has consistently said it would have interest in an SSBJ. Boeskov said that it would likely take about 10 years or more for a supersonic business jet to be ready for customer deliveries.
The United States Air Tour Association (USATA) and eight ``family-owned'' air tour companies are suing the federal government over recently imposed restrictions on air tour operations over the Grand Canyon. Calling the regulations ``an unconscionable act of aggression by the Clinton administration,'' the suit challenges the government's legal authority to impose the flight restrictions.
Signature Flight Support (Orlando) -- Recent promotions include: John ``Cy'' Farmer to regional vice president for the Florida region, Al Pichon to regional vice president for the Mid-Atlantic region and Brent Russell to regional vice president of the Northeastern region. Warren Hartquist received the National Air Transportation Association's General Aviation Service Technician of the Year Award.
The pilot of the CitationJet never saw it coming. Flying single pilot, he departed Atlanta's Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) at about 10:30 a.m. on an IFR flight plan to Harrisburg, Pa. The weather in the area that April morning included scattered to broken clouds at 3,500 to 4,000 feet msl, broken to overcast at 4,000 to 4,500 feet msl, and visibilities in the seven-to 10-mile range. Atlanta TRACON initially assigned the CitationJet a 280-degree heading and 3,000 feet, then turned it to 360 degrees with a climb clearance to 14,000 feet.
Worldwide Flight Services doubles its technical service line with the acquisition of Oxford Airport Technical Services (ATS). Oxford ATS specializes in servicing passenger boarding bridges, conveyor systems, cargo/material handling systems, ground power units, pre-conditioned air systems and GSE vehicles. This is Worldwide Flight Services' third purchase in the past year. Its other acquisitions were Miami Aircraft Support and Aerolink.
British Aircraft Interior Systems has begun construction of an 85,000-square-foot aircraft seating production facility in South Wales. When completed, the new plant is expected to create 450 jobs.
CAMP Systems has created an online maintenance bidding/quoting service called AviationBid.com. The system enables operators to develop de-identified electronic RFPs for work, and to receive bids back from participating MRO providers. CAMP's fee is 2.5 percent of the job. The system allows operators and prospective bidders to communicate electronically to define work scope and, at the operator's option, to send maintenance records directly to bidders. Bids are returned in a standard format, allowing operators to easily compare bids.
Aviation fuel is a ``fungible,'' meaning that everyone produces it to a common specification for transport and distribution and that different brands can be mixed without compromising integrity. In the case of aviation fuel, transportation over long distances is generally accomplished via pipeline, so the fungible standard that all aviation fuels have to meet is the ``pipeline spec.'' This means that Texaco Jet-A can be mixed with Phillips Jet-A and Chevron 100LL can be mixed in the pipe with Exxon-Mobil 100LL and so forth.
Orlando-based Aviation Teachware Technologies says its iGATE PC-ATDs (Personal Computer-based Aviation Training Devices) offer flight schools, FBOs and universities a ``low-cost, high-tech simulation solution.'' The system combines Aviation Teachware's ELITE IFR simulation software with an ergo-nomic, digital instrument panel to provide realistic instrument training to all levels of pilots in aircraft ranging from single-engine Cessna and Piper trainers to more complex twins and turbine aircraft. Price: $16,995 Aviation Teachware Technologies
DaimlerChrysler subsidiary debis Capital Services has purchased Raytheon's $800 million loans and lease portfolio on some 300 general and business aviation aircraft. Raytheon has been trying to slash debt, eliminate money-losing operations and focus on core business in the wake of a nearly 70-percent decline in the company's stock price since fall 1999. The declines came as a result of disappointing earnings, higher than projected costs and unanticipated project delays at the manufacturer.
U.K.-based charter operator Gold Air International has started operations from its new base at Dublin International Airport in Ireland. Gold Air now is using Park Air's lounge and handling facilities, but plans to build its own FBO at the site in the coming months.
Honeywell has introduced the first Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) for helicopters. The Mark XXII EGPWS is being tested on a Sikorsky S-76 and features higher resolution terrain database, tail-strike warning and auto-rotation altitude awareness call-outs. The company hopes to have the new system certified and begin deliveries in the fourth quarter this year.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey has named one-time air traffic controller and union leader John Thornton to head the agency's Free Flight Phase 2 initiative. Thornton is charged with expanding the coverage of existing Phase 1 elements and will oversee the introduction of new functions, such as implementation of data-link service and the addition of high-altitude airspace sectors to air route traffic control centers that do not currently have them. Thornton helped found and served in various management positions with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
FlightSafety International's Manchester, England-based Embraer ERJ-145 simulator has received CAA/JAR certification. The company's ERJ-145 simulators in St. Louis and Wilmington, Del., now have their Level D certification from the FAA.
Safe Flight has been granted an STC for the installation of its N1 Computer in the Cessna Citation Excel. The N1 Computer displays real-time target N1 thrust settings for takeoff, climb, cruise and go-around. Programmed with the aircraft's flight manual performance values, the computer helps maximize performance and operating efficiency while reducing the risk of engine-damaging overspeed and overtemp conditions. Price: $9,980 (without installation) Safe Flight Instrument Corp. 20 New King St. White Plains, N.Y. 10604-1206
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) sets standards for fuel composition and quality in the United States. The ASTM D-1655 standard covers Jet-A, Jet-A1, and Jet B. (Similar to JP4, Jet B is a wide-cut fuel with a greater volatility range than kerosene fuels. A movement is in place by the industry to remove Jet B from D-1655 and place it in its own specification. While it is still used in Canada, there is very low volume for Jet B in the United States, and some new aircraft are not even certified for it).
Think for a moment about the role fuel plays in our lives. From the fuel we use to heat our homes and cook our food (which in turn ``fuels'' our bodies), to the fuel we burn to generate our electricity, motivate our cars, and power the airplanes we operate, our modern society runs on hydrocarbon-based fuels.
Cornerstone Logic, a software and engineering company, released Version 4.0 of FBO Manager. FBO Manager is a Windows-based, business software package used to manage day-to-day activities for FBOs. A free, fully functional trial version is available at www.cornerstonelogic.com
Operators with questions about Honeywell avionics now can get them answered 24/7 by the company's new customer response center. Honeywell's Commercial Electronics Systems division says the center has received more than 14,000 monthly calls since inaugurating part-time operation in February. Honeywell also says its new Mark VI and Mark VIII EGPWS systems for turboprops and light business jets have won TSO approval from the FAA. The Mark VIII already has been STCed for IAI Westwinds.
