The Dassault Falcon 2000 entered service little more than three years ago, amidst an aura of lofty expectations. Dassault promised that the Falcon 2000 would deliver large-cabin business aircraft comfort and quiet for passengers, 3,000-nm transcontinental range at 0.80 Mach and the lowest operating costs of any Falcon in current production, including the Falcon 50. Frills were out. Function was in. The $16.9-million (1995 dollars) Falcon 2000 is the least expensive, large-cabin business aircraft in B/CA's 1997 Planning&Purchasing Handbook.
Sikorsky Helicopter moved assembly of its S-76C+ corporate helicopter back to the firm's primary facility in Stratford, Conn. Previously, S-76s had been assembled in West Palm Beach, Fla. Starting this spring, new S-76s will be flown to West Palm for completion and customer delivery. Sikorsky opted to move the assembly operations as it consolidates production to cope with shrinking demand for military helicopters.
The National Aeronautic Association awarded six people its Elder Statesman of Aviation Award for 1997: Peter Wright, Sr., chairman of the board of Keystone Helicopter Corp. and president of the American Helicopter Museum; Edward W. Stimpson, chairman of GA Team 2000; John L. Baker, former president of the AOPA (1978-1990); William K. Kershner, author of the Student Pilots Flight Manual; Ralph Nelson, founder of the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute; and R.
Ronald Scott, M.D. and his wife, Peggy, aircraft owner-pilots based in San Diego, are betting their life savings on their dream to save lives. The Scotts have developed a successful cancer treatment clinic in San Diego. They plan to build their second, state-of-the-art cancer treatment clinic in El Centro, Calif. to serve the 144,000 people who live and work in Southern California's Imperial Valley agricultural district.
Locus, a Madison, Wis. firm that manufactures stationary Loran receivers, is developing a new receiver module for sale to avionics OEMs for use in combined GPS/Loran receivers. The company hopes to begin testing a prototype this summer. Locus is an advocate of using Loran as an independent backup to GPS as well as a means of transmitting GPS corrections. Company President Linn Roth contends today's Loran technology is quantum leaps ahead of past airborne Loran receivers, and is far more resistant to precipitation static, which limited Loran's utility as an IFR system.
Richard O. Reinhart, M.D. ARE ANTIHISTAMINES SAFE?
Antihistamines have long been used in a variety of over the counter (OTC) medications-primarily for colds, flu and allergies. It's commonly known that these drugs also cause sedation and, as a result, are the active ingredient in many OTC sleeping medicines.
Superunicom is a 24-hour automated attendant that greets inbound pilots with a digitized human voice, provides advisory services (such as weather, wind, altimeter, temperature/dew point and NOTAMs) and gives radio-check services. Arriving pre-programmed, minimal site preparation is required. Superunicom is licensed and authorized by the FCC and the FAA to provide complete unicom services on any airport's unicom/common traffic advisory frequency. (The system adapts its responses for light or heavy radio traffic.) Price: $38,600, plus $100 installation.
A 1998 Pricing and Information Guide for Bell Helicopters is available free of charge from HAS Corp. of Irving, Texas. In addition to specifications and prices for Bell 206B, 206L, 407, 430, 212 and 412 helicopters and their optional equipment, the guide includes telephone numbers for title search companies, toll-free numbers for hotels and airlines, time-zone maps and more. For a copy, phone (972) 556-1285.
Readers Digest Association planned to close its flight department at New York's Westchester County Airport this month. The company, which has published Reader's Digest magazine since 1922 and now produces books, music, videos and special-interest magazines, has operated business aircraft for 31 years. The Digest's Challenger is up for sale, and several of the firm's pilots have been hired by another operator at HPN.
Company officials say initial flight tests of the Fairchild Dornier 328JET are showing substantial performance improvements over baseline data established by wind-tunnel testing and computer models. Examples cited by the company include: ground acceleration, 30 percent better; airborne acceleration and climb rate, each 20 percent better; and fuel burn, 10 percent better. FAA certification is scheduled for March 1999.
Dick Dodson, president of this FBO network, was promoted to president and CEO of parent BBA's Aviation Division, which includes Dallas Airmotive, International Turbine Service, APPH Group and Texstar, in addition to Signature. Larry Jorash was appointed general manager of Signature's Hartford facility.
Elliott Aviation of Moline, Ill. plans to obtain an STC this summer for the installation of AlliedSignal's Enhanced GPWS in Beechjet 400s and Series 200 and 300 King Airs. Installed price for the system in the Beechjet retails for about $125,000 plus the cost of required displays. The system costs about $95,000 plus the price of displays to install in the King Air. Estimated installation down time is one week.
Corporate Aircraft Association, a group that negotiates discount fuel pricing and other vendor discounts on behalf of its flight department members, is offering a free 90-day trial membership. The free memberships, available only to FAR Part 91 NBAA members, are in effect from April 1 to June 30. Outside of this period, annual membership fees in the Carson City, Nev. organization are $300 per company and $25 per aircraft.
BFGoodrich's SKYWATCH collision avoidance system is in high demand, according to avionics shops. SkyWatch essentially is a detuned version of BFG's TCAS 791, a highly popular TCAS I system used by regional airlines.
Typically, powerplant technology has been the forerunner of breakthroughs in aircraft capability. As director of new business development for AlliedSignal Commercial Propulsion, Ed White is devoting considerable time to formulating the company's view on whether there is a market for a new class of entry-level turbine aircraft. The company has already done market surveys and forecasts, and is undertaking more comprehensive analysis this year. He shared some of his research with B/CA. MARKET SIZE
Bradley Brownell joined this FBO as Raytheon 125 program manager in the aircraft services division. -- Bombardier Aerospace (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)-This business aircraft manufacturer has appointed two new sales directors for the Challenger and Global Express: Douglas Greaves, based in New Jersey, for the Mid-Atlantic region, and Don McLaughlin, based in St. Louis, for the Midwest and Plains states. Also, James Swindells was named vice president of completion sales and marketing for business aircraft.
Air-charter operators could not have a better partner in promoting their business than the airlines that form the National Business Travel Association (NBTA). Mark Johnson, president of NBTA and the corporate travel manager at Cessna Aircraft, told air-charter executives at NATA's recent air-charter leadership conference that he could not think of any business that has gone down as fast as airline travel.
SMR Technologies of Sharon Valley, Ohio received STCs covering 29 electrothermal propeller deicers, most of which apply to Beech, Cessna and Piper piston and turboprop twins. The company competes with its former corporate parent, BFGoodrich, which dominates that market. SMR said the price of its system is comparable to BFG's, but it believes its deicers are both easier to install and more durable because of a special erosion-resistant compound that is applied to the face of the deicer, reducing life cycle cost.
Chapp's Checker checklists-13-page, spiral-bound, pocket-size checklists for most Cessna and Piper single-engine aircraft-are the latest development from CCS, Inc. The 3-1/16-inch-wide pages are laid out in sequential order from cabin check, exterior check and engine start right on through tie down. One page covers V-speeds for the particular make and model, and the back page lists general data about the aircraft. Price: $11.95, including mailing charges. (Specify aircraft make and model.) CCS, Inc., 1705 Girard Dr., Louisville, Ky. 40222.
Available now from Norstar Chemical Products is the Star-kit, combining four aircraft cleaning and grooming products into one portable case: 32 ounces of Starshine, a one-step washing and waxing spray; 32 ounces of Starclean oil and grease remover; 16 ounces of Stargloss aircraft paint treatment wax; and eight ounces of Starclear windshield cleaner and polish. The kit includes a wax pad applicator, polishing cloth and bug-remover sponge. Price: $69.92. Distributed by Alpha Coatings, 310 W. 12th St., Washington, Mo. 63090. (800) 875-3903.
As expected, Boeing officially selected Collins to provide the avionics for the Boeing Business Jet. Specifically, the BBJ will be delivered with Collins Series 900 comm and nav sensors (with 8.33 kHz frequency spacing), GLU-920 Multi-Mode Receiver (with GPS), 100-nm range TCAS II and color weather radar with five-mile forward-looking scan for detecting wind shear. Boeing is scheduled to roll out the BBJ in late summer.
EMERGING AIRCRAFT TARGET DATES The following are target dates for emerging aircraft. These dates, supplied by the airframe manufacturers, are subject to change-and frequently do-as a result of design revisions, funding, testing delays or extensions, and/or the resolution of unforeseen problems. Each month, this table will endeavor to show the most-current schedule. Manufacturer Model Milestone Target Date AASI Jetcruzer 500 Turboprop Certification 3rd Quarter 1998
In the third edition of his book, FAA Medical Certification: Guidelines for Pilots, Richard O. Reinhart, M.D. gives readers the impression that he is looking them squarely in the eye and saying, "Take responsibility for your medical status and medical certificate. You are not the pawn of your doctor and the bureaucracy; take control." The author, who is a senior FAA aviation medical examiner and a contributor to B/CA, preaches what he practices by skillfully developing his theme "keep ahead of your health and certification."
FAA is expected to adopt a proposal that clarifies the new rules pertaining to passenger-carrying commercial flights in single-engine airplanes (September 1997, page 28). The most important clarification is that although gyro instruments must have redundant sources of energy, each source need not power "all" the gyros, as currently stated. Also clarified: In one-pilot/autopilot operations, only gyros on the pilot's panel need be working, but on flights using two pilots, gyros on both panels must be working.
