Executive Jet International ordered 11 additional Gulfstream IVSPs for its Gulfstream Shares fractional aircraft ownership program. The purchase brings Executive Jet's total Gulfstream orders to 29. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery over the next three years.
Raytheon Aircraft's Montek Co. of Salt Lake City will provide a local area augmentation system (LAAS) to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis. Installation is planned for this summer to serve nearby Appleton and Fond du Lac airports, as well as Wittman.
East Hampton, N.Y.--East Hampton Airlines and Meyers Aviation have opened East Hampton Executive Terminal on the south side of East Hampton Airport. The renovated facility offers separate passenger and crew lounges, a flight planning room with a real-time weather terminal, conference room, showers, a full-service kitchen, on-site rental cars, courtesy transportation, and considerable parking and ramp space. Normal hours of operation are 0800 to 1800 daily; on-call 24 hours. Tel: (516) 537-4272; fax: (516) 537-3755.
In 1996, the fleet of U.S.-registered corporate airplanes-those business aircraft flown by salaried/career pilots-amassed the best safety record in decades, said the NTSB. According to the Safety Board, there were seven corporate airplane accidents: three jets, one turboprop and three recips. Of these accidents, three were fatal, resulting in nine deaths (all from turbine airplanes). Factor in the number of flight hours by the corporate aviation fleet, and the result is a rate of 0.14 accidents per 100,000 hours and a fatal accident rate of 0.06.
Are massive cost overruns forcing the FAA to reduce the capabilities of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), an essential element of GPS precision approaches? The FAA emphatically denies the charges, but officials from the Air Transport Association, Wilcox Electric (the company that lost the lucrative WAAS contract to Hughes Aircraft), and other airline interests contend otherwise. In addition to the overrun claim, critics allege that WAAS is no longer intended to provide 200-foot decision height accuracy.
A review of FAA operations by the accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand concludes the FAA has a fundamental lack of cost-consciousness, and that agency managers do not understand financial management or have any incentive to gain such understanding. The study was undertaken at the direction of Congress.
Europe's Joint Airworthiness Authority released guidance material for obtaining approval of GPS as a stand-alone navigation system for use in airspace designated for Basic Area Navigation (B-RNAV). The JAA's AMJ 20X2 Rev. 1 document allows virtually any TSO C129-approved GPS receiver to be used for B-RNAV provided that it is upgraded with certain enhancements, such as the FAA's additional requirements for primary-means, oceanic navigation. However, the predictive RAIM requirements are tougher.
Members are being sought for the National Aircraft Sales Association, a new organization intended to serve as a ``united voice'' for aircraft dealers and brokers, according to Ed Seib, a director of the group. In a statement, association president John R. Forehand said, ``Our purpose is to give expanded opportunity and benefits to an entrepreneurial group that has long been overlooked. Services and cost efficiencies not otherwise available will now be possible.
Operators looking to bring their Gulfstream IIs and IIIs into compliance with FAR Part 36, Stage 3 noise levels may embrace a hush kit scheduled to be available from Dallas Airmotive in early 1988. Although an OEM Stage 3 hush kit has been available for G-IIs and G-IIIs for several years, it hasn't been a ``hot seller,'' primarily because it results in a performance penalty unacceptable to the majority of operators.
The Aircraft Electronics Association Convention and Trade Show, to be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center on April 20-23, will give avionics and instruments repair facility owners, managers and technicians a one-stop opportunity to see and experience the newest general aviation technology. Participants will be able to browse at more than 150 exhibits and attend technical workshops led by numerous manufacturers. Shop-owner issues will be covered in a line up of general sessions.
Telford Aviation (Bangor, Maine)--Scott Hansen has been named vice president of sales and marketing for this charter operator, aircraft management and general services company.
FAA is reviewing a noise-compatibility program proposed under FAR Part 150 by Arizona's Laughlin Bullhead International Airport. The agency is scheduled to approve or disapprove the proposal by October 13. Public comments should be submitted to the FAA by April 15. Phone: (310) 725-3614.
There are more than 1,200 mineral springs in France, many of which have been used for medicinal purposes since prior to the arrival of the Romans. Some local folks claim ``les bains'' can even roll back the clock on the effects of aging. Glance at the performance improvements of Dassault's Falcon Jet 50EX and you might believe that Dassault discovered the true fountainhead among those springs.
Max Karant--journalist, general aviation champion and retired first senior vice president of the AOPA--died on February 1 at the age of 83. During his tenure at the AOPA from 1948 to 1978, Karant's legendary battles with government officials came to symbolize the association's defense of GA flying in the face of growing airline and military flight operations.
This month, the Lynton Group, a diversified aircraft services company with offices in London, England and Morristown, N.J., launches HeliShare, a helicopter fractional ownership program, using its newly acquired Eurocopter AS355N. The AS355N will be offered for sale in one-quarter shares to owners needing transportation throughout the Washington, D.C./New York/Boston corridor.
Saab Aircraft AB has registered some new 340B and 2000 sales, albeit in small numbers. Anchorage-based Peninsula Airways (Pen Air) has taken delivery of the first of two pre-owned 340Bs, and Slovakian regional Tatra Air has placed firm orders for two 2000 50-passenger high-speed turboprops.
Business aircraft manufacturers' maintenance and operations workshops are fast approaching. M&O meetings scheduled for this year include: Cessna Citation, April 28-30 in Wichita; Gulfstream Aerospace, June 2-5 in Savannah; Raytheon Hawker, May 18-21 in Colorado Springs; and TBM 700, May 22-23 in Ft. Lauderdale. See B/CA's Calendar for more details. Falcon Jet and Learjet are not hosting M&O meetings in 1997.
Sure, we're all in aviation because we love it. But at the end of the day, we also have to face cold, hard economic reality. B/CA gets calls every week from readers wondering how much money pilots make in general, and how a particular pilot's salary, bonus and benefits compare to his or her peers. We've done salary stories in the past, but this time, we went straight to the source--our pilot readers--for answers. Our data reveal the average annual salary a corporate pilot is $61,548. The median salary reported is $57,100.
U.S. commuter airlines turned in their best safety record in 15 years during 1996, the NTSB reports. Those scheduled FAR Part 135 carriers with 30 passenger seats or less posted a fatal accident rate of 0.032 per 100,000 departures. That compares to 0.037 fatal accidents per 100,000 departures for Part 121 scheduled carriers with aircraft of more than 30 seats.
Nearly 20 years ago, B/CA established a section in its annual Planning&Purchasing Handbook devoted to aircraft that were under development but had not been flown or flight tested enough to substantiate the kind of detailed performance numbers that are included with the aircraft listed in the Handbook's charts.
The new interim Display Channel Complex Rehost (DCCR) computer system at Chicago Center was on the outs with air traffic controllers shortly after the equipment was dedicated in late January. Reportedly, the trouble resulted from two failures of the interface between the system's display computers and the machines that collect flight information from radar--not the computer equipment itself. The first outage lasted only six minutes, but the second required the usage of backup systems for two hours.
