GAMA's vice chairman Edward Stimson will represent general aviation on the FAA's research, engineering and development advisory committee. Acting FAA administrator Barry Valentine recruited six additional new members from other segments of the aviation industry-from airport management to aircraft manufacturers. Since 1989, the 30-member committee has counseled the FAA administrator on research and development matters, including aircraft safety, human factors, air traffic services and airports.
Norton Performance Plastics' Composites Operation has been selling quartz fiber radomes since the early 1990s on the claim that their approximately 20-percent higher cost will be offset by durability. That claim is now being tested.
The early numbers are in on the 70-passenger de Havilland Dash 8-400A, and they are impressive. Direct operating costs are expected to be a mere five to six cents per available seat mile over a 400-mile leg. It also is expected to do up to 1,000 miles out of Denver on an ISA+30C day with a full passenger load-not that anyone would want to do that. Climb to 25,000 feet from sea level on a standard day is pegged at 15 to 16 minutes.
The definition of long-range flying is in the process of immediate change. Thirty years ago, long range was defined as coast to coast in the United States-about 2,500 nm. Twenty years ago, it was transatlantic-up to 3,500 nm. Until recently, some business airplanes could fly as far as 4,500 nm in favorable circumstances. This year, however, will mark the beginning of business flights over very long ranges up to 6,500 nm.
Version 6.1 of II Morrow's Apollo Precedus handheld GPS navigation unit contains additional features over previous units. The upgrade includes an HSI and display of geographical boundaries and coastline data. The unit also has zooming capabilities. VFR only. Price: Version 6.1 upgrades start at $50 and ultimately depend on what Precedus version a customer has and what up-grade is desired. II Mor- row, Inc., 2345 Turner Rd. SE, Salem, Ore. 97302. (503) 581-8101; fax: (503) 364-2138.
Operators of about 200 Raytheon 1900Ds must replace the right-side exhaust stack on both Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6 engines over the next 1,000 hours time-in-service. The FAA said it has reports of damage to cabin windows and wing skin caused by exhaust heat. Parts are being provided at no cost to operators until June, after which the cost will be $6,452 per aircraft.
Raisbeck Engineering recently received an STC enabling Boeing 727-200s to meet FAR Part 36, Stage 3 without installing hush kits or new engines. The STC involves changes to the aircraft's high-lift system to minimize drag, and consequent revisions to takeoff and landing speeds and distances. Raisbeck says the changes do not alter fuel consumption or empty weight. The price of the kit, which will be available in mid-April, is $695,000, with installations available at Raisbeck's Seattle headquarters.
An expected increase in maximum takeoff weight from 6,000 pounds to 6,284 pounds for the new Agusta A109 Power will add to the twin-turbine aircraft's payload options with only a slight performance penalty, according to Agusta officials. The company also said that a HUMS (health and usage monitoring system) will soon be available for the Power. While the projected DOCs for the Power were originally $395 per hour, Agusta said that due to TBOs that have already been extended, it expects DOCs to actually be $386 an hour.
The cost of transporting government personnel would drop 25 percent if air taxi aircraft were used in place of their counterparts now being flown by the military, according to a study by The Air Charter Guide. The study was based on five different aircraft types currently in use by the services, ranging from the King Air 200 to the DC-9. The Air Charter Guide, published in Cambridge, Mass., is a directory of charter operators.
Sikorsky said it has started assembling parts for its 19-passenger, 22,000-pound MTOW S-92 Helibus medium-lift helicopter. Rollout of the General Electric CT7-powered aircraft remains on schedule for January 1998 and first flight is scheduled for later that year, the company said. FAA Certification is planned for 2000. Three prototype aircraft will be built (B/CA, March 1996, page 22).
Now that Fairchild Dornier has committed to launching its 32-seat 328JET, the company says the first-production aircraft will enter service in early 1999. Features of the aircraft include a high-speed cruise of 375 KTAS, a takeoff field length of 3,950 feet and two Pratt&Whitney Canada PW 306/9 turbofan engines. The manufacturer is touting the 328JET as being suitable as a corporate jet, ``with its widebody cabin available at one-third to one-half the price of large business jets'' or as a corporate shuttle.
Raytheon King Air 300-series operators are among the most pragmatic people in the business aircraft community. For them, the King Air 300 or 350 is the ultimate airborne passenger van: It's reliable, it's versatile, and its capabilities are unmatched by any other type of aircraft. We spoke with more than 40 operators, and asked them what they liked, what annoyed them and how well the aircraft is supported by Raytheon. Their responses were surprisingly consistent, taking into account individual variations in day-to-day use.
With its SJ30-2 prototype flying, its factory in Martinsburg, W.Va. under construction, its development funding in place, and its executive staff reading like an excerpt from a ``Who's Who'' of business aviation talent, Sino Swearingen faces the second quarter up and running. In mid January, Mike Potts joined the company's newly amassed executive crew as director of corporate communications. He worked in various communications capacities for Raytheon, nee Beech, for 18 years.
International Business Aviation Council (Washington, D.C.)-The Council has elected the following new officers: chairman-Dennis E. Green, flight department manager, Imperial Oil Co., Canada; vice chairman-Brian Humphries, managing director, Shell Aircraft Ltd., United Kingdom; treasurer-Jose Eduardo I. Brandao, director, Embrasa, Brazil; corporate secretary-William H. Stine, senior manager, international flight technology, NBAA.
Litebeams, Inc. now offers port-able blue-green, cold-cathode lights designed for use at night at temporary or permanent landing sites. An optional radio receiver permits pilots to activate the lights from their aircraft. The lights use alkaline C and D cell batteries, 12-volt Gel Cell batteries or lithium batteries for cold-weather operation. Price: From $215 to $850. Litebeams, Inc., 223 W. Palm Ave., Burbank, Calif. 91502. (818) 843-2711; fax: (818) 843-2794.
Roger D. Sperry and David R. Edwards have left Bombardier's Learjet unit and were expected to join Galaxy Aerospace Corp., the new firm headed by one-time Learjet president Brian Barents to market and support Astra and Galaxy business jets. Sperry, former Learjet vice president of sales, is slated to head marketing for Galaxy Aerospace. Edwards is expected to become general counsel. Michael Graff, president of Bombardier's Business Aircraft unit assumed responsibility for marketing Learjets.
FAA will evaluate the results of a test begun in summer 1996 wherein air traffic controllers at Boston's Logan Airport have automatically been receiving an alert and an aircraft identity code when a Resolution Advisory is commanded on that aircraft's TCAS display. Pilots are supposed to inform controllers by radio when they are initiating an RA maneuver, but they often forget or are too busy to do so. This ATC alert capability was made possible by TCAS Software Change 7.0 (B/CA, October 1996, page 60).
Available from Armor Fueling Systems are new above-ground fuel storage tanks featuring Underwriters Laboratories-approved single-wall steel construction. Each tank, which is adaptable to all fuels, is surrounded by six inches of steel-reinforced concrete and has secondary containment for environmental protection. Fueling systems range from a 500-gallon ($3,995 uninstalled) to a 10,000-gallon ($24,995 unin-stalled) capacity. Payment options, such as a key-lock system; attendant/employee, proprietary card system; cash or credit card sale, allow 24-hour self-serve.
Now that Atlanta-based SeaGil Software has tied the knot with Marietta, Ga.-based Flight Watch International, the maker of BART scheduling/dispatching software is busy making further refinements of this Windows-based management system. The company is currently integrating its FLAP (automated flight analysis program) into its BART suite. SeaGil President Anthony Byrne says the company is also looking to integrate a moving map system and voice-activated flightcrew log accessing.
United States Aviation Insurance Group of New York launched a plan that could net eligible operators as much as $30,000 per year toward their annual training costs.
Deliveries of new corporate turbine aircraft in 1996 exceeded 1995's total by 8.9 percent-462 units compared to 424, according to figures compiled by the Weekly of Business Aviation. Specifically, compared to 1995 (shown in parentheses), U.S. and non-U.S. manufacturers shipped 320 business jets (303) and 142 business turboprops (121). All the airframe manufacturers, except for Learjet and Raytheon, posted gains in jet aircraft output over 1995.
March 19 is the first of a number of staggered compliance dates for which FAR Part 135 scheduled operators of turbine airplanes with 10 to 30 passenger seats must start meeting Part 121 large airline requirements, including activating an FAA-approved training program. The rule also mandates crew resource management training and allows certain Part 135 operators more extensive use of simulators (B/CA, March 1996, page 19).
FAA has published Advisory Circular 91-63B, which describes the conditions under which a temporary flight restriction may be imposed and the agencies from which the FAA will accept requests to establish a temporary restricted area. The document updates and corrects certain information in now-canceled AC 91-63A, dated October 31, 1990. Copies of AC 91-63B are available free from the DOT. Fax your request to (301) 386-5394.
