Most corporate pilots have received training on emergency egress procedures-opening cabin doors and hatches. Some have gone through specialized training courses that include actual egress practice in which smoke generators and special lighting techniques are used to create an extra measure of realism.
Bombardier's Business Jet Aircraft Division sold five corporate jetliners (a business aircraft version of the RJ) to the Chinese government for $155 million (Canadian).
Pratt&Whitney Canada and China National South Aeroengine and Machinery Co. (SAEC) agreed on a long-term partnership to manufacture and market small gas-turbine engines for aviation. The collaboration will be centered around a China-based, joint-venture company.
Bombardier estimated that implementation costs for its reduced vertical separation minimum data package range from $62,500 to $247,500 for Challenger 600s and 601-1As. Estimated cost is between $17,500 and $32,500 for -3As and -3Rs. There is no charge for Challenger 604s. Early this year, Bombardier became the first business jet builder to receive approval of an RVSM data package (B/CA, February, page 11).
Laptop computers are about to become as ubiquitous on business aircraft as chart cases filled to overflowing with charts and approach plates. On new airplane designs such as the Citation X, Global Express and Gulfstream V, laptops will be standard equipment. Other manufacturers also are taking advantage of PCs to assist in making the maintenance technician's job easier and quicker.
General aviation interests are livid over the Clinton administration's proposal to levy $400 million in user fees to help fund the FAA. Of that amount, $100 million would stem from international overflight fees, while the remaining $300 million would come from domestic U.S. operations. But the government has yet to determine the composition of those fees.
An addition to ARNAV Systems' line of avionics is the new MFD 5200 moving-map display. A 2.5-pound, remote- mount symbol generator and a 2.7-pound color LCD are the two components that make up the system. The five-inch unit displays NEXRAD and METAR weather reports. The STCed system is now operating in Cessna Citations, Raytheon aircraft and Sikor-sky and Bell helicopters. Price: $6,995. ARNAV.
Now available from Securaplane is the XL246-A Emergency Battery System for installation on Dassault Falcon 50s and Gulfstream IIs. The company has se-cured Parts Manufacturer Approvals for both aircraft. The XL246-A features sealed, lead-acid dry-cell (GelCell) batteries that are ``maintenance free'' and have ``exceptional'' high- and low-temperature characteristics. Another plus is enhanced shelf life compared with the Ni-Cad units they replace, says Securaplane. List price: $5,300. Securaplane, 3830 E. 44th St., Tucson, Ariz. 85713. (520) 745-6655.
Jet Aviation Group's Jet Maintenance Pte. Ltd. at Singapore's Seletar Airport recently was named an authorized Learjet service center. Under the agreement, Jet Maintenance will provide ``full technical support'' for all Learjet models. Jet Maintenance, a year old this month, is already qualified as an authorized Gulfstream service and warranty repair center. The company says it also provides ``complete support'' for Falcon, Challenger, Citation and Hawker aircraft (B/CA, March 1996, page 26).
Initially, implementation of the 1,000-foot Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) will be from FL 330 through FL 370 inclusive, within MNPS airspace of the North Atlantic Track region. An item in January's Intelligence (page 13) incorrectly stated the upper flight level.
Sabreliner's SabreTech unit is selling its Miami maintenance base, the facility alleged to have erroneously mislabeled filled oxygen canisters as empty before they were loaded as cargo on the ill-fated ValuJet DC-9. According to accident investigators, the canisters may have caused or contributed to a fire aboard the aircraft that crashed in the Everglades on May 11, 1996. The sale comes several months after St.
Two managers have been hired to fill new positions: Jack Alkema is manager of courseware standards, and Cathleen Stoker is manager of courseware development.
Here are some of the more than 580 static and transient aircraft parked at Showalter Flying Services at Orlando Executive Airport for the 49th NBAA annual convention in November 1996. The show attracted more than 24,565 attendees and 825 exhibitors in 3,107 booth spaces. In 1995, the convention drew 24,884 attendees and 745 companies exhibiting in 2,760 spaces. The 50th NBAA convention is scheduled for September 23-25 in Dallas.
Michael Wuebbling has been appointed to the new position of vice president of customer service and product support for this subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries scheduled to be replaced by Galaxy Aerospace Corporation.
The French government plans to follow up the scheduled merger of airliner builder Aerospatiale and Falcon Jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation by privatizing the merged company. However, the government still plans to retain majority ownership of the new entity (B/CA, November 1996, page 20). The merger, targeted for later this year, will not include Dassault Systems, a unit that specializes in computer-assisted design and manufacturing programs. A name for the merged companies has not been selected.
Arthur Stockmann joined this charter operator and corporate aviation management company as director of operations. Previously, he worked in various management capacities for Xerox Corporation's flight department.
A number of educated, ambitious young aviators have gotten jobs or created flying jobs for themselves because they knew how to do a feasibility study . . . and then kept that job because they knew how to continually justify the aircraft.
It's convenient for those who have felt the sting of FAA enforcement to vilify the agency as a faceless, regulatory bureaucracy unsympathetic to pilots and aircraft operators. But FAA critics often forget that the agency includes many dedicated individuals who have helped the United States develop an unrivaled technical expertise in many areas and who strive to help keep the U.S. aviation system the safest and best in the world.
Most general aviation interests are guardedly optimistic that over the next five years, Meigs Field will prove its value to Chicago officials and, thus, remain open indefinitely. Under an agreement between the state of Illinois and the city, Meigs must remain open for at least five years. Then, Chicago will be free to close the airport. The settlement also calls for the state to fund an ILS and for the city to make repairs to the runway.
