British air charter broker Air London has opened a U.S. office in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Greg J. McClasky, formerly senior director at Renaissance Cruises, was named president of the new venture--Air Partner Inc. Air London, based at London's Gatwick Airport, already has subsidiary offices in Paris and Cologne, Germany under the Air Partner name.
The sales tally for the Boeing Business Jet stood at 25 aircraft at press time, including two for Geneva-based PrivatAir, which has two more BBJs on option. Meanwhile, Airbus Industrie said it has booked seven commitments since launching a business jet version of the A319. Both companies say there is a market for about 24 aircraft per year.
The order book for the Premier I hit the 100 mark at the NBAA convention in September, and Raytheon also reported brisk interest in the Hawker Horizon, based on reaction to a new, full-scale cabin mockup on display at the show. The Premier I program was announced at NBAA in 1995, and the Hawker Horizon program debuted at the 1996 convention. Both programs have been refined over the last 12 months.
A retrofit kit upgrading Allison 250-C20R engines is scheduled to be available in early 1998. Allison says the Super C20R mod increases hot-day power by up to 20 percent and reduces fuel consumption by up to 10 percent. Allison also is working on a Model 250-C21 with a 500-hp gearbox and a -C22 with FADEC.
Head-up display manufacturers are designing enhanced vision systems allowing aircraft to land safely in Category III weather on a Category I runway in conditions down to 700 feet RVR. For example, Gulfstream Aerospace plans to obtain EVS certification with a GEC-Marconi/Honeywell HUD/EVS and an all-weather window infrared sensor from Kollsman on a G-V. Meanwhile, Flight Visions, together with a sensor manufacturer, is preparing to offer EVS capabilities for its HUD products.
AAI Corp.'s weather systems unit, the prime federal contractor for the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), was purchased by All Weather, Inc., a company established by the ASOS management team, and investment bankers Ridge Capital and North Star Capital. Of the more than 900 ASOS installations, 411 have been commissioned by the FAA or the NWS at U.S. airports, says the company. The company will remain headquartered in Hunt Valley, Md.
The Wide Area Augmentation System is designed to enhance GPS performance by calculating and transmitting a correction to GPS position error. WAAS will use an array of up to 48 ground reference stations, which, like local differential systems, monitor GPS signals and compare their known location to their GPS-derived position. The reference stations feed their position data to wide area master stations that determine the integrity of the information and correct for position error.
Mid-Continent Instrument Co.'s Slim-Line Pro (MD41-1000) series GPS annunciator control units are designed to dovetail with the new approach-certificated GPS receivers. To do the job, these instruments combine navigation source switching to the pilot's primary course deviation indicator or HSI with key GPS selection and annunciation functions. The two-part, one-pound system includes a 2.75-inch-wide and 3.2-inch-deep panel-mount display and selector unit. A separate, remote-mount relay switching unit (also shown) provides up to 24 independent relay poles.
FBOs want to please their customers. But the customers--the business aviation flightcrews and their supporting organizations, the flight departments--must take some responsibility for communicating their needs to the FBOs. In this age of flight phones, datalink services--not to mention cell phones, faxes and e-mail--there is little excuse for not calling ahead and specifying one's needs.
Sikorsky recently obtained FAR Part 29 Category A certification for its S76C+ and S-76B. The certification means that should an engine fail during the initial climb, the aircraft can land or continue climbing (depending on its proximity to the takeoff decision point).
One of the enduring themes of literature is the arrival of an unassuming hero who unexpectedly confronts the forces of evil and ultimately triumphs over them. One of the earliest examples is the biblical account of David and Goliath in which the fearsome Philistine warrior is felled by a simple stone propelled by David's sling. Thousands of similar stories have captured the imagination of generations of readers and moviegoers because the theme of the underdog beating the bad guys is so compelling.
The results are in, and the winner is the state of Tennessee, thanks to the tremendous, positive impact of general aviation, according to a recent study. Tennessee's Department of Aeronautics has produced ``Tennessee Means Business,'' a 12-minute videotape trumpeting the fact that GA generates $3 billion for the state and is responsible for 49,000 jobs every year.
In May 1998, Cessna will replace the standard 600-shp Caravan 208 with the Caravan 675 powered by the same 675-shp P&WC PT6A-114A in the Grand Caravan. Claimed performance improvements are: rate of climb, from 1,050 fpm to 1,225 fpm; 50-foot obstacle takeoff distance, from 2,210 feet to 2,000 feet; max cruise at 10,000 feet and 20,000 feet, from 184 knots to 188 knots and from 176 knots to 181 knots, respectively.
Continental Express in late September moved its entire ground operation at Houston (now George Bush) Intercontinental Airport into a newly renovated Terminal B from Terminal C. The additional space will allow COEx flight operations to be increased by more than 25 percent over the next five years. The carrier currently operates 46 takeoffs and landings at IAH.
Bob Kunkel, director of the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics, was elected chairman of this organization representing state government aviation agencies.
Nav Canada has decided it can manage the airspace ``efficiently and effectively'' with fewer centers. By March 1998, the agency expects to have completed a study to determine the optimum number of ATC center facilities. But before any changes are made, Nav Canada says, ``We will conduct extensive safety and technical studies and ensure the appropriate safety measures are in place.''
A Head-Up Display for midsize business aircraft is being considered by GEC- Marconi/Honeywell. The HUD would be a derivative of the Model 2020--recently certificated on the G-IVSP--incorporating a smaller overhead mounting. A prototype is slated to be ready in early 1998.
Scheduled carriers operating turbine aircraft of 10 or more passenger seats must complete another list of specified equipment requirements in their ongoing transition to complying with FAR Part 121 (January 1996, page 15). Some of those equipment upgrades include: lavatory fire protection in aircraft up to 30 passenger seats, landing gear aural warning in aircraft up to 19 seats, emergency-exit handle illumination in aircraft up to 19 seats, protective breathing equipment in aircraft up to 30 seats and passenger flotation means in aircraft up to 30 seats.
Tulsa, Okla.-based BizJet will install Tracor Flight Systems hush kits that decrease sideline noise of GE CJ610-powered Learjets to 95 dB, allowing Learjet 23s, 24s and 25s to meet FAR Part 36, Stage 3, the company says. Also being offered is an upgrade that makes the CJ610 inlet more resistant to the stresses of drastic temperature change and vibration, Bizjet says.
Standard training for crews of new Global Express and Challenger 604 aircraft now includes physiology training from the University of North Dakota. The two-day course addresses hypoxia, use of supplemental oxygen, vertigo and spatial disorientation. The course includes two simulated flights in the altitude chamber at the UND Aerospace facilities in Grand Forks, N.D.
Engineers at GE Aircraft Engines are discussing updated versions of the CF34 turbofan engine to power the next versions of the Canadair Challenger 604 and 50-passenger Regional Jet. The new engine, to be called the CF34-3C, is expected to feature reduced fuel consumption, greater thrust for takeoff and climb, and lower maintenance costs. Meanwhile, GE and Garrett Aviation are proposing to replace the Rolls-Royce Speys on the Gulfstream II and III with the new 14,000-pound-thrust CF34-8C1 turbofans.
