Visionaire rolled out its proof-of-concept (POC) Vantage single turbofan aircraft at Scaled Composites Incorporated's Mojave, California facility in November. James O. Rice, chairman of Visionaire, claims to have 44 $10,000 non-refundable deposits for the $1.6-million, six-place aircraft, scheduled to receive FAR Part 23 certification in December 1998. F. Thomas Stark, the firm's president, told B/CA that the next four aircraft to be built will be type-conforming test articles, with two dedicated for flight test and two slated for ground test.
We were VFR some 20 miles north of Cedar Rapids, Iowa in a block of airspace that serves as the unofficial flight-test range for Rockwell's Collins Avionics Division. Captain Henry M. Bulanda maneuvered the company's flying test bed, a unique Sabreliner 50, into an unusual attitude while I remained head down, eyes closed. Seconds later, the g-loading went to zero, and Bulanda called out, ``It's your airplane!''
Boeing, which has dabbled in marketing new-production business jets for years, may be plunging in for the long haul, judging from the announcements at the NBAA convention in Orlando last month. At a news conference held by Boeing Business Jets, the joint venture formed this summer by Boeing and General Electric (B/CA, August, page 24), officials said they have orders for at least four corporate versions of the new-generation Boeing 737s. These are in addition to two going to GE and one to an unnamed customer.
Jet Aviation's Basel, Switzerland facility is building a hangar designed solely for aircraft painting. The hangar, able to accommodate aircraft up to the size of Boeing 737-800s, is expected to be finished by mid-1997
Once again, the NTSB has asked the FAA to require a relatively rapid refit of all transport- category aircraft interiors with modern flame-retardant materials.The recommendation comes out of the Safety Board's investigation of the June 8, 1995 engine explosion and fire aboard a ValuJet DC-9-32 at Atlanta.
It's an overwhelming majority for ``those opposed,'' in the nearly 10,000 comments the FAA received on its controversial proposal to sharply restrict commercial air-tour flights over the Grand Canyon. Close to 4,000 of the responses are ``individual'' comments, while an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 comments are form letters primarily from people who have flown on air-tour flights over the canyon. Comments on the proposal were due November 14.
While the new Hawker's powerplants have roots in the PW305s on the Hawker 1000, the newest version is nearly as different from its forebear as the Horizon will be from its predecessor.
The debate continues-should American Eagle be permitted to operate regional jets? About 20 percent of American's pilots are vehement in their view that it would cost ``Big Bird'' jobs. But there is another group that fears their employer would lose out competitively if Eagle is not permitted to fly jets. Actually, the existing Allied Pilots Association (APA) contract with American permits the Eagle operation of jets-as long as they do not exceed 70 passengers and 75,000 pounds. Additionally, the entire Eagle fleet cannot average more than 50 seats.
For an employee identification security system in an instant, Polaroid Corporation suggests its PhotoPad Scanner with IDware software. This software/scanner combination transforms a PC and a Polaroid ID camera into a photo ID system. PhotoPad scans color and black and white photos up to four by six inches --both 35-mm and instant format--and is compatible with Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. An image can be scanned and fashioned into IDware in 60 seconds or less, with or without additional security devices such as signature, bar code and magnetic stripe.
On January 1, 1997, Terry D. Stinson will start serving as president and chief operating officer of Bell Helicopter Textron. Stinson, who joined Textron Aerospace in 1991, replaces Lloyd Shoppa, a 32-year veteran with Bell who was president for one year. (Shoppa will be vice chairman until he retires in August 1997.) Also as of January 1, P.D. Shabay becomes executive vice president of operations, and Fred N. Hubbart becomes senior vice president of commercial and foreign military business.
One of the marvels of modern business has been the advent of miniaturized electronic devices that allow people to compute and communicate while on the move. But while portable electronic devices (PEDs) have made life easier for those seated in the back of corporate aircraft, PEDs have been suspected of causing problems for those in the airplane's front seats.
Cabin and cockpit emergency simulation training can once again be trucked to you. Like the fabled phoenix, the latest version of HBAcorp's mobile aircrew emergency simulator has risen from the ashes, and has been dubbed FACTS-III. The Olympia, Washington-based training company built the new-and improved-truck-mounted mobile training device after it lost its FACTS-II in April in a head-on collision with another vehicle near Kingman, Arizona. (See Intelligence, May, page 22.)
The Horizon program will be the launch application for Honeywell's new Primus Epic avionics system. But equally significant is the extent to which Honeywell will be integrating, and even controlling, basic aircraft functions. The cockpit will center around five eight-by-10-inch flat-panel liquid crystal displays, including two primary flight displays, two multi-function displays, and an engine indication and crew alert system (EICAS) display with seven synoptic pages for various aircraft systems.
Richard J. van Gemmert, president of New World Jet Corporation at Long Island MacArthur Airport, has a considerable amount of completion experience and some interesting views about how the business should develop in the future. Van Gemmert has introduced a number of management innovations to business aviation and has shared much of it with the community. His suggestions parallel trends in the business that already exist, particularly the growing dominance of OEMs in the completion market.
British Aerospace obtained a temporary restraining order in late October forbidding TriStar Airlines from flying its four BAe 146s. The carrier was back in the air a week later flying a single 146. More aircraft could follow. Don Martin, president of the Las Vegas-based start-up, said there was ``dispute over lease status,'' but that negotiations with the lessor were continuing.
The list of STCs for PATS, Incorporated auxiliary fuel tank installations in airliner-size business jets recently got longer with FAA certification of a system in a corporate McDonnell Douglas MD-87. PATS officials in Columbia, Maryland said the MD-87 system has 10 tanks, providing an additional 25,460 pounds of fuel and extending the range to 4,200 nm. The company currently holds auxiliary tank STCs for the DC-9, MD-80/90, Boeing 727/737/757/767, Canadair Regional Jet, and Fokker F70 and F100.
The new $14.5-million Hawker Horizon-like the Raytheon Premier I-will have a composite fuselage and metal wings. The eight- to 10-passenger aircraft is being designed to fly 3,100 nm with NBAA IFR reserves at 0.82 Mach. It will be powered by two P&WC PW308As that will produce 6,575 pounds of thrust at takeoff. Honeywell's new Primus Epic was selected as the avionics system. Empty weight is 20,930 pounds, and MTOW is 36,000 pounds. First flight is slated for late 1999, with deliveries beginning in spring of 2001. (See our feature article beginning on page 50.)
NTSB investigators continue to search for clues into the cause of the October 30 crash of a Gulfstream IV while attempting to take off from Runway 34 at Illinois' Pal-Waukee Airport. Killed in the accident were pilots Martin L. Koppie and Robert H. Whitener, flight attendant Catherine Anderson and passenger Arthur F. Quern, chairman and CEO of AON Risk Services Companies in Chicago. The aircraft, N23AC, belonged to Alberto-Culver in Wheeling, Illinois. The accident was the first fatal crash of a G-IV and the first fatal crash of a U.S.-operated business jet this year.
An online helicopter parts locator site has been opened by the Helicopter Association International. Buyers pay no fee to search for parts on Helicopter Online's page for HELPS (Helicopter Parts Search). Parts sources are identified by name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail address and Web site. There is also no charge for sellers to list their parts and pricing, unless the listed inventory exceeds 10,000 parts. In that case, for each 10,000 parts, a monthly charge of $25 is set for HAI members and $50 for non-members. HELPS is located at http://www.rotor.com.
After a 10-year struggle, the Piper Aviation Museum Foundation found a site to serve as a permanent Piper aircraft museum-a three-story building plus three hangars at W.T. Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
FlightSafety International has closed its Alliance, Texas helicopter flight-training facility and allied itself with Petroleum Helicopters Incorporated to establish a facility at Louisiana's Lafayette Airport. The new operation will provide initial and advanced helicopter pilot courses on both piston- and turbine-engine helicopters, along with a selection of maintenance technician training programs. The new facility is under the management of FSI's John Naschle and PHI's Mike Hurst.
Peter Simmonds became this statistical data company's new research director after Harry B. Adams, who held the position for 20 years, retired at the end of September. Adams continues as a consultant.
Just as automobile air bags are coming under increasing criticism for their danger to occupants, the FAA has proposed a rule that will allow the British Aerospace Jetstream 41 to be fitted with them. The airplane currently does not comply with the ``Head Injury Criterion (HIC)'' of FAR Part 25.562 for the front row of passenger seats facing the forward passenger-cabin bulkhead.
