Photograph: This 206L-4 LongRanger is one of 18 helicopters that Bell had at DeKalb-Peachtree airport. BELL HELICOPTER AT THE OLYMPICS The Olympics proved to be a marathon exercise in logistics for Bell Helicopter, which provided no fewer than 18 aircraft for the three weeks of the games. ``I don't think we have ever participated on this scale before for this long a period,'' said O.K. Moore, head of Bell's Olympic team.
Fifteen years ago, the promise of glass cockpits, automated flight-management software, and microprocessor-controlled avionics and aircraft systems was one of inclusion. Pilots would be in the loop; they would know all they needed to know to conduct a flight safely, efficiently and effectively. And, should flightcrew vigilance fail, automated systems would rise to save the situation. At that time, about 80 percent of all aircraft accidents were caused by crew performance or lack thereof.
The news is good. More corporate aircraft are now transiting oceans and ranging across borders than ever before. That is the conclusion of international aircraft service providers, or ``handlers,'' such as Air Routing, AMR International Aviation Services, BaseOps, Jeppesen Dataplan (and its affiliate Jeppesen UK), Universal Weather&Aviation and others, who are in a prime position to gauge the extent of international flying activity.
The former Artais Weather Check has become a division of Vaisala, headquartered in Finland. Artais, of Plain City, Ohio, manufactures automated weather observing systems (AWOS). Vaisala, with U.S. offices in Woburn, Massachusetts, also produces weather instruments. More than 300 Artais AWOS units are in operation worldwide, but the controversial and more expensive automated surface observing systems (ASOS) are the ``official'' choice of the FAA and National Weather Service (B/CA, November 1992, page 32 and July 1995, page 20).
Soft-pedal the cockpit noise with Sennheiser Electronic's new six-ounce, HMEC 25KA headset with split headband. It offers over 30 dB of noise reduction, and the active noise cancellation (ANC) feature is powered by two AA batteries inside an in-line battery pack. The ``low-profile'' pack operates the ANC for roughly 30 hours, and features a two-color LED display to register power-on and low battery. Price: $949. Sennheiser Electronic Corp., 6 Vista Dr., Old Lyme, CT 06371. (860) 434-9190.
In the 10 years that I have written Reflections, I have been privileged to talk with a number of first-generation rotorcraft pioneers, including Charles Kaman, Bart Kelley, Joe Mashman, John Miller, Les Morris and Peter WrightBut it has been nearly seven decades since Philadelphian Harold Pitcairn brought the first rotating-wing aircraft to the United States, and many of the memories of the early days of vertical flight are fading fast. That is why it is important to preserve helicopter heritage before it is lost forever.
A reminder for international operators using the routes and altitudes in North Atlantic Minimum Navigation Performance Specification airspace: The deadline date for the mandatory renewal of Letters of Authority (LOA) to operate in MNPS is October 1. In addition, the FAA says that references to training programs in the LOA can now include the notation ``none.'' Also, the LOA equipment list now calls for the part number rather than the serial number of navigation and communications equipment.
This custom completions specialist announced three new appointments: Glen Webb to manager of planning, Bob Bannister to director of engineering and Walter Nubell III to director of material.
Houston Intercontinental Airport is the first airport to offer Automatic Terminal Information Service via datalink. The FAA commissioned the system August 1, but it has been in operation since July 19. The digital system enables pilots to receive ATIS through their Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). ARINC developed the ATIS feature as part of its tower datalink services, which also include pre-departure clearances. Digital ATIS will be available at 56 more airports by year-end, according to ARINC.
Cessna's long-awaited announcement of pricing for its line of revamped single-engine piston aircraft came with few surprises. The standard, VFR version of the Skyhawk will sell for $124,500. An IFR Skyhawk with an AlliedSignal avionics package that includes dual navcoms, ADF, a single-axis autopilot and a GPS will sell for $139,500. The standard Skylane is priced at $190,600, including a basic IFR package. Upgrading to an IFR-certificated GPS, ADF and dual-axis autopilot will add another $8,900 to the price. Cessna plans to build 600 Skyhawks and 300 Skylanes in 1997.
Don Roney was promoted to manager of FSI's San Antonio Learning Center, and Tim Fallon has joined the Tucson Learning Center as regional marketing manager for maintenance training.
Now available from the Aviation Group is the Powervamp portable GPU for turbine aircraft. The 49-pound unit delivers up to 1,500 peak amps and 26 peak volts, and can be carried on board because it has no free acid or gel. Measuring 13.38 inches by 4.33 inches by 17.71 inches, the 24-volt GPU is housed in a non-magnetic stainless steel case. The Powervamp is shipped charged and ready to use, and is engineered for multiple starts before requiring recharge. Price: $2,499. The Aviation Group, 1908 Clemma Ct., Erie, CO 80516. (303) 665-0352.
The 900EX has the most advanced avionics suite ever installed in a Dassault business aircraft. It's also one of the best designs with respect to hand-eye coordination. Knobs, switches and buttons are located close to their associated displays, indicators and dials. Honeywell's Primus 2000 integrated avionics suite incorporates a hub-and-spoke architecture. Dual integrated avionics computers (IACs), at the core of the system, are linked to other components by Honeywell's ASCB digital communications bus and by the more generic ARINC 429 bus.
At Avjobs in Atlanta, aviation job hunters will get the chance on September 20-21 for one-stop job prospecting. Avjobs is an exposition of global aerospace companies that are recruiting people at all levels and all job functions. Sponsored by the Future Aviation Professionals of America (FAPA), the event will attract human resource professionals, pilots, consultants, air traffic controllers, engineers, government officials, placement counselors, flight attendants and more-all trying to make the best match for their businesses.
FAA has adopted a rule that will open the ranks of FAR Part 135 simulator instructors to experienced pilots who no longer are able to maintain medical qualifications. The rule permits those who do not hold a current medical certificate to perform flight checks in simulators and instruct students in simulators and flight-training devices. Previously, flight instructors and check airmen conducting Part 135 training had to have a medical certificate.
When Congress reinstated the excise tax (see Intelligence 1), it broadened the exemption for air-medical operators to include both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft exclusively dedicated to acute-care emergency medical services. The action also lifted a restriction limiting the exemption only to those flights not using federally funded airports or aviation facilities and services.
The National Air Transportation Association, an air-taxi trade group, said the FAA's 10-hour delay in transporting FAA investigators to the TWA Flight 800 crash scene was unacceptable and a sign of things to come. The FAA said agency pilots were out of duty time and had to wait 10 hours before making the flight to Long Island, New York. NATA has opposed FAA initiatives to further limit pilots' duty times, saying the proposals will impair flexibility of air-taxi operators.
Photograph: CPR Prompt, a hand-held unit that ``talks'' a person through the steps of CPR. CPR PROMPTER During any flight, if you've had the training, you may be called upon to administer CPR to someone who has stopped breathing. At a moment like that, the last thing you want is a mental block on that critical lifesaving procedure. This is where CPR Prompt comes in.
Construction of a new Jet South hangar on Southwest Florida International Airport was scheduled to be completed this summer. Half of the 24,000-square-foot structure will be used for maintenance; the other half will be rental space for corporate aircraft tenants of the FBO. (941) 768-3454.
Harold W. Buker, Jr., who was the director of the New Hampshire Division of Aeronautics for 10 years, died July 9 of cancer at the age of 77. During his aviation career, he amassed over 25,000 flight hours in more than 75 types of aircraft. During World War II, he flew several missions as a B-24 captain, until he was forced to ditch into the North Sea and was taken as a prisoner of war. After the war, Buker bought several charter aircraft, including DC-3s and a Learjet, and became one of Robert Kennedy's pilots.
With no new aircraft in the pipeline, rebuilding existing models may well be the next best thing. At least that's what Twin Commander hopes, as it markets it's Grand Renaissance Commander, essentially a completely rebuilt 690-or as one service center de-scribed it, a new airplane with old sheet metal.
Hood River, Oregon-based Advanced Navigation and Positioning Corporation received FAA approval for its transponder-based landing system (TLS), which offers Category I precision-approach capability. The system is operating in Madras, Oregon and Watertown, Wisconsin, and installations are pending in Batesville, Indiana and Sun Valley, Idaho. TLS uses transponder returns received at several ground-based sensors to compute aircraft position relative to the approach. Corrections are transmitted to the aircraft and displayed on the glideslope indicator.
A turboprop commuter aircraft was departing Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The captain and first officer, both experienced ATPs, were rushed to complete the checklists during the abbreviated taxi from the ramp to the departure end of the runway. ``Cleared for immediate takeoff, traffic on final.'' The first officer didn't perform his normal check of the engine instruments during the takeoff roll, as he was still running the takeoff checklist when the tower issued the immediate takeoff clearance.
First quarter 1995 was a rough one for U.S. regional carriers, what with the two accidents in late 1994, and a blistering general press that literally scared passengers away from the so-called ``commuters'' in general and turboprop airplanes in particular.
