A business aviation airport is being proposed for Marion, N.C, about 30 miles east of Asheville. McDowell County Manager Charles Abernathy told B/CA the airport would like to attract corporate aircraft, saying the facility would have a 5,500-foot runway, a 1,200-square-foot terminal and would be jointly operated by McDowell and Burke counties. Federal and state agencies have approved the majority of the funding, he said.
Riding cabs in Washington, D.C. is inevitable for corporate aircraft crews, since that's the fastest way to get downtown from the front door of Signature Flight Support. Recently we have received some complaints from readers who said they have experienced price gouging by drivers from Senate Cab. Those readers told us that after failing to get satisfaction from the cab company itself, they contacted the D.C. Taxi Cab Commission, the agency that is supposed to handle consumer complaints. They also got the runaround here too.
The operators of Naples Municipal Airport in Florida, Greeley-Weld County Airport in Colorado and French Valley Airport in Temecula, Calif. have requested proposals for the construction and management of new general aviation terminals. There was no word at press time on when building would begin.
Certification of this $1.5-million, single-engine version of the venerable A109 is expected in mid 1997. A Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6B-37 engine will supply 1,002 shp for takeoff and 872 shp maximum continuous power. The skid-equipped Koala has eight seats (including crew), or can be fitted with two stretchers for EMS work. Total interior volume is 175 cubic feet. Empty weight is 3,085 pounds, and maximum takeoff weight is 5,730 pounds, yielding a useful load of 2,645 pounds (or 2,910 pounds with an external load).
Continental has framed two new Continental Connection affiliations in Gulfstream International Airlines and Colgan Air Inc., stretching its code-sharing agreements with non-owned regional carriers. Gulfstream, based in Miami, also code-shares with United in Florida and the Bahamas, and is offering 160 daily flights on routes throughout Florida and the Bahamas, including Freeport, Nassau, Treasure Cay, North Aleuthera and Marsh Harbour.
In a changeover from its original intentions, AvFuel Corp.'s plans to make its new FBO safety training video series available on loan are tabled until year-end. Earlier this year, the Ann Arbor, Mich. company said it would produce six videotapes that would be free to AvFuel dealers and available on loan to non-AvFuel dealers (January, page 81). AvFuel now says none of the tapes will be offered on a lending library basis until all of the tapes have been produced. Thus far, two tapes have been produced.
Facing stiff competition in the 30-seat turboprop market and an ever-increasing aversion among passengers to propeller-driven aircraft, Fairchild Dornier acted swiftly and boldly, launching the first 32-seat regional jet in February 1996. The 328JET swaps the turboprop's Pratt&Whitney Canada PW119Bs for a pair of wing-mounted PW306/9 turbofans with a takeoff thrust rating of 6,050 pounds each. The first prototype is expected to fly in January 1998, with certification and service entry to follow in early 1999.
It's ironic that Boeing could be considered a newcomer to the business aviation field, particularly because of the number of narrow-body Boeing transports already in corporate service. However, a joint venture with General Electric formed in July 1996 marks Boeing's biggest ever push to attract corporate customers, and the first time it will do so with a dedicated airframe.
Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Pacifica Aerospace Corp., an affiliate of Aviation Equipment Co. in North Hollywood, Calif., recently received its FAA repair station certificate, authorizing the company to overhaul and repair composite control surfaces, engine nacelles, thrust reversers, inlet cowls, fan cowls, exhaust plugs, nozzle exhaust sleeves and core cowls.
Flight Safety Foundation will have participants ``walk the walk'' at its June 5 and 6 workshop, when it takes them through a simulated accident scenario. The ``Disaster Response Planning Workshop for Business Aviation,'' to be held at the Atlanta Airport Hilton and Towers, will cover how to equip a disaster management team, next-of-kin notification procedures, legal issues and more.
Next to join the reborn line of Cessna piston singles are the normally aspirated 206 and the turbocharged T206, which are expected to be certificated by the end of this year. First flight of the new T206 was on August 28, 1996. Cessna is continuing to test fly the turbo model, and expects to fly the straight 206 in mid summer, followed rapidly by certification.
FAA and Transport Canada type approval of the 600-hp Orenda V-8 piston engine is now scheduled for mid September, after which delivery of production engines will begin, according to the Toronto company. STC work is underway for King Air 90s, Twin Commanders, Cessna 421s and Piper Navajos. The company hopes to conduct the first flight of a King Air with the Orenda engines this month. Separately, Orenda plans to build a manufacturing facility for the engine in eastern Canada.
Contact the following companies for ground-side communications access for your satcom equipped business aircraft: Aeronautical Radio, Inc. Stephen Means Senior Director Marketing 2551 Riva Rd. Annapolis, Md. 21401 (410) 266-4276 Fax: (410) 266-2329 American Mobile Satellite Corp. 10802 Parkridge Blvd. Reston, Va. 22091 (703) 758-6000 Fax: (703) 758-6111 Avicom Japan Ltd. Engineering Department
Avcard (Hunt Valley, Md.)--Warren E. Boin, Jr. was appointed vice president of marketing and business development for this provider of credit services. Previously, he was senior vice president of marketing for Signature Flight Support.
-- Century Jet-Formerly known as the Paragon Spirit, the single-engine Century Jet is being developed by Century Aerospace Corp. of Albuquerque, N.M. At press time, the company was in the process of securing financing that will enable it to build its first conforming prototype, an approximately 15- month process.
-- AASI Jetcruzer 500--Following an initial public offering in late 1996 that raised more than $30 million, Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures, Inc. is continuing development of its single-engine turboprop Jetcruzer 500. The Long Beach, Calif.-based company has built and certificated three prototypes of the non-pressurized Jetcruzer 450, which will serve as the basis for development of the six-place Jetcruzer 500.
The second annual Corporate Jet Transactions forum is scheduled for July 16-18 at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York. Sponsored and organized by the Strategic Research Institute of New York and The CIT Group of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the seminar is designed to increase attendees' skills and knowledge in the financing, acquisition and ownership of corporate aircraft.
B/CA's commitment to provide you with accurate, useful, comparative, apples-to-apples data on aircraft, avionics, modifications and accessories is as old as the magazine itself, now in its 40th year of continuous publication. Before electronic calculators and desktop computers, B/CA's editors spent weeks each winter in a marathon numbers-crunching ritual surrounded by stacks of business aircraft specification sheets, options price lists and pilot operating handbooks, as well as mountains of scrap paper and barrels of coffee.
Aviation editor/publisher/writer Robert B. Parke is hanging up his passport--at least for business use--and is wrapping up a 45-year career in publishing. Parke has been a special features writer for B/CA for 18 years, turning out articles on varied topics in his characteristic literary style with a measure of humor. Lately, his assignments for the magazine kept his suitcase in service both throughout the United States and abroad.
Advanced Aerodynamics&Structures, Inc. (AASI) 3060 Airport Way Long Beach, Calif. 90806 (310) 988-8618 Aero International (Regional) 1 allee Pierre Nadot, F-31712 Blagnac Cedex, France +5-62-21-62-21 Agusta Via G. Agusta, 520, I-21017 Cascina Costa Di Samarate (VA), Italy +331-229-111 U.S. Subsidiary: Agusta Aerospace Corp. 3050 Red Lion Rd. Philadelphia, Pa. 19114 (215) 281-1400
Kal-Aero has been refurbishing business jets for more than 30 years, and now Gulfstream Aerospace has given the company its official stamp of approval by naming Kal-Aero an authorized provider of interior and refurbishment services for all Gulfstream aircraft. The Battle Creek, Mich. company has refurbished G-IIIs and G-IVs for the past three years.
Kal-Aero received an STC to install P&WC PT6A-135 engines on the Conquest I. The Battle Creek, Mich. company said the mod boosts cruising speed to 300 knots, improves climb rates, and enables the aircraft to maintain 450 shp to 28,500 feet (30,300 feet with new, Hartzell BlackMac Props). The retail price of the re-engining starts at $425,000. The Black Mac props bump the minimum cost to $450,000. Down time is seven days. Modified aircraft are known as Conquest 1500s.
