VisionAire's proof-of-concept Vantage single-engine business jet has entered the flight-test phase of its development program. The aircraft, which St. Louis-based VisionAire has been developing for nearly 10 years, is being flown by (and was built by) a team from Scaled Composites in Mojave, California. First flight was on November 16, 1996. Powered by a 2,900-pounds-thrust P&WC JT15D-5 turbofan, the Vantage is slated to receive FAA certification in late 1998. Production aircraft will be built in Ames, Iowa.
Business aviation is largely responsible for the $1.3-billion economic impact that New Jersey's 48 general aviation airports have on the state, according to a video recently released by the New Jersey Division of Aeronautics. The 17-minute tape, titled ``Without General Aviation,'' notes that 78 percent of all flights into the state's non-airline airports are business related. And, 16,000 jobs, for a total payroll of $450 million, can be attributed to GA activity.
Phoenix Aviation of the Bahamas and Texaco International Aviation Sales, with the support of the FBO Resource Group, recently opened The Nassau Jet Centre. The new facility has a 14-acre concrete ramp. Its 10,000-square-foot, two-story main building includes a crew lounge and flight-planning center. Catering is available, and local golf courses and health clubs have extended their offerings to flightcrews. Twenty-four-hour security and 24-hour customs are part of the package, FBO officials say.
Atwater, CA-Trajen Flight Support has opened a full-service FBO at Castle Airport, the former U.S. Air Force base closed in September 1995. Trajen, which also has an FBO at Sacramento's Mather Airport, provides line services on a 24-hour basis. The operation also offers Exxon fuel, overnight hangaring, separate passenger and crew lounges, WSI weather and flight planning, planeside vehicle access, on-site auto rental, courtesy transportation for crews and catering. An ILS is scheduled to be operating near the beginning of this year. (209) 725-1455.
The off-again/on-again sale of bankrupt manufacturer Fokker to Korea's Samsung is off again. The Dutch firm's bankruptcy trustees said Samsung was not prepared to bear the costs of extending agreements with major suppliers for the production of new Fokker 70s and 100s.
Stevens Aviation, which had hoped to start this month selling King Air C90s retrofitted with 600-hp Orenda V-8 piston engines, will have to wait several months for certification of the engine due to problems with the crankshaft. Orenda is now hoping to complete FAA certification in the second quarter. In fall 1996, Stevens placed an order for 140 engines and planned to start taking orders for the mod in December (B/CA, September 1996, page 26). The original certification target date was December 1995.
Buyers of new Global Express and Challenger 604 aircraft now will receive MedAire medical advisory services and training programs at no extra charge. For each Challenger 604, the service includes a one-year subscription to Medlink Worldwide and injury-management training for three crewmembers. The Global Express comes with a five-year subscription to Medlink Worldwide and training for five crewmembers. Both aircraft also will come with a MedAire first aid kit with automatic refill services.
Embraer has started delivering its new 50-passenger EMB-145 to Continental Express, the first U.S. customer for the regional jetliner. The airline ordered 25 of the aircraft with an option to buy 175 more. Both the standard and extended-range versions of the Allison-powered EMB-145 received Brazilian certification in November 1996. FAA certification was expected on December 16 and European certification this month.
BBA Group, the U.K. company that currently owns the Signature Flight Support FBO chain, plans to purchase International Airmotive Holding Company, the parent firm of Dallas Airmotive and International Turbine Service. Dallas Airmotive is an engine repair and maintenance firm, while ITS is a major parts distributor. Management teams for both Dallas Airmotive and ITS will remain in place, and day-to-day operations at both companies will continue unabated, said BBA company officials.
Certification of the McDonnell Douglas MD600N helicopter has again been delayed by an accident during flight testing, and it is now expected later this month. In early November 1996, one of three test aircraft was damaged during high-speed landing tests. According to the NTSB, the aircraft made a run-on landing at about 30 knots, and the tail boom was severed. In May 1996, another MD600N suffered a severed tail boom after an emergency autorotation and was destroyed in a post-accident fire.
Jane's Information Group has released a seven-volume set-Jane's Airports and Handling Agents 1996-97-as a comprehensive guide to airport services in each region of the world. Softcover books are available for Europe (two volumes-shown), United States/ Canada, Middle East/Africa, Far East/Asia, and Central and Latin America. The series contains data on over 1,700 airports and more than 2,500 handling agents and FBOs.
Some business aircraft manufacturers have gotten a jump on planning their 1997 maintenance and operations workshops. Meetings scheduled to date include: Cessna Citation, April 28-30 in Wichita; Gulfstream Aerospace, June 2-5 in Savannah and Raytheon Hawker Jet, May 18-21 in Colorado Springs. Dassault Falcon Jet and Learjet Incorporated will not host M&O meetings this year. See B/CA's Calendar for more details.
Mesa Air Group will retain its headquarters in Farmington, New Mexico, but will consolidate its training academy in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, the company has decided. The carrier said in August 1996 that it was evaluating a number of headquarters options as it transitioned to an all FAR Part 121 operation and placed orders and options for up to 48 Canadair Regional Jets, which could double the size of the company over the next five years.
On February 2-4 in Anaheim, California, some 10,000 helicopter professionals will converge for the 49th annual Heli Expo, presented by the Helicopter Association of America.
The United States' top 1995 regional-airline city-pair would be a high-speed rail market in most other parts of the world. At only 129 miles apart, Seattle-Portland, generated nearly 600,000 passengers during the year, a 22-percent increase over 1994 and more than any other domestic city-pair.
CAL Corporation is teaming with Airshow Incorporated to introduce systems that will provide satellite-based communications capability for uplinking data to the cockpit and the cabin. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada-based CAL will design and build the satcom portion, while Airshow of Tustin, California will provide the system for displaying the information. The development effort is expected to take approximately six to eight months.
Sino-Swearingen started flying the first prototype of the SJ30-2 twin-engine, entry-level business jet from San Antonio in early November 1996. Serial Number 001 is scheduled to be joined by two other flight-test prototypes later this year. Two non-flying airframes will be built and used for structural testing. Initial flight tests are being conducted using 1,900-pounds-thrust William-Rolls FJ44-1A turbofans. The aircraft will be refitted with 2,300-pounds-thrust FL44-2As when that engine becomes available later this quarter.
FAA is discussing the process for selecting five airports for privatization, but the agency believes it will be some time before it receives an application. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 1996 authorizes privatizing one large hub, three smaller hubs or non-hubs and one general aviation airport through sale or lease.
Non-OEM aircraft vendors-including repair stations, PMA manufacturers and parts distributors-have formed a national association known as the Non-OEM Vendors Association (NOVA). The group held its first formal meeting on November 21 in Orlando. NOVA's stated mission is: to educate the aviation industry about the benefits of using non-OEM vendors, to establish organized representation of issues unique to its members, and to promote the integrity of all aviation vendors. An estimated 100 companies would initially qualify for membership in NOVA.
