Several months ago, following a call from the author, a package arrived at Chez Luigi titled Corporate Avia-tion Management by Raoul Castro. Castro's four decades of expertise in the exacting vocation of moving executives around in their own aerial conveyances has been reduced to writing-349 pages of it, to be precise. This comprehensive manual should be mandatory reading for every business-aviation flight department, large or small. It should be stored between your aircraft operations manual and your charts, and read just as thoroughly.
The new R22 Beta II is powered by a Lycoming 0-360 engine derated to 131 hp and providing the single-engine piston helicopter with 13 percent more power, according to Robinson Helicopter officials. The company says the aircraft can maintain takeoff power to 7,500 feet and hover in ground effect to 9,400 feet. Other features include a new throttle governor, automatic carburetor heat application, a high-capacity oil cooler, heavy-duty fan, sealed battery, redesigned cyclic grip, and some standard items that formerly were options only.
It's back to square one in trying to determine the cause of two Boeing 737 accidents. A second round of public hearings in November 1995 convinced the NTSB and others involved in the investigations of the 1994 crash of a USAir 737 near Pittsburgh and the 1991 crash of a United 737 at Colorado Springs that more tests are warranted on the rudder power control unit on Boeing 737s. The FAA maintains there are no B737 design flaws (B/CA, June 1995 page 24), and wake vortex flight-tests revealed no clues as to the accidents' cause (B/CA, November 1995, page 16).
One can no more separate aviation and safety than they can Wilbur and Orville. As airframes, engines, avionics and the system in which they operate become more busy and more complex, keeping abreast of safety information is an ever more pressing task.
InspecTech Aero Service has introduced its Freon R-134a inflight or on-the-ground air-conditioning system STCed for Caravans. The compressor is driven by an electric motor, so the system can be on the ground cooling without the aircraft engine running. The air-conditioning package comes with a 300-amp generator. As a safety measure, belt and fan-containment shrouds are installed on the compressor motor. A maintenance crew from the company can install the system on-site. Price: $34,800. InspecTech Aero Service, 2121 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Ste.
SimCom International has opened a simulator-based training center in Scottsdale, Arizona. The new facility, the first remote operation for the nearly six-year-old Orlando-based company, is starting with two flight-training devices (FTDs) to provide courses for pilots of Cessna 300- and 400-series twins and King Air 90-, 100- and 200-series turboprops. When fully developed, the Scottsdale center will have four SimCom-manufactured FTDs-each incorporating wide-screen, ``visual-motion'' technology.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered all outdoor laser displays within 20 miles of Las Vegas area airports to immediately cease operation. The December 11, 1995 action followed an October 30, 1995 laser encounter that temporarily blinded a Southwest Airlines pilot after takeoff from McCarran International Airport. The order remains in effect until laser operators can show compliance with impending FAA interim guidelines designed to prevent visual impairment from laser encounters.
Joseph C. Sprague joined this regional airline as director of marketing for the company's fixed-wing division. He was formerly with the National Air Transportation Association.
British Aerospace, Aerospatiale of France and Alenia of Italy completed their organization of a single European company to market and support their 20- to 120-seat regional aircraft (B/CA, May 1995, page 18). Each of the three companies has an equal share of the new company-Aero International (Regional)-based in Toulouse, France. Absent from the consortium are DASA of Germany, Fokker of the Netherlands and Saab Aircraft of Sweden. In the long term, AI(R) plans to launch new aircraft.
Except for just two locations, all Raytheon Aircraft Services FBOs now are using the same VHF frequency: 130.575. Officials say the company has been working for over a year to obtain an exclusive ARINC frequency for the entire Raytheon FBO network. The two exceptions are Raytheon facilities at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts and Addison Airport in Dallas. Currently 19 locations are in the Raytheon Aircraft Services FBO network.
FAA's proposed revision of flight- and duty-time limitations fails to recognize the difference between on-demand air-charter operations and those of scheduled carriers and, thus, is an unjustified burden on air-taxi operators, claims the National Air Transportation Association. One of the most critical elements, says NATA, is the new category for reserve time that prevents the accrual of rest time when a pilot is ``on-call.'' The proposed rule also reduces the number of duty hours from the current 16-hour limit to 14 hours for two-pilot crews.
U.S. General Accounting Office rejected Rockwell International's formal protest of the Pentagon's decision to award the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) contract to Raytheon Aircraft (B/CA, September 1995, page 34). Earlier, Lockheed Martin, head of another team competing for the JPATS contract, withdrew its protest, expressing little hope that the decision would be overturned. And at press time, the GAO had not ruled on Cessna Aircraft's protest (B/CA, August 1995, page 17).
Seventeen jets were delivered to U.S. customers in December 1995, as compared to 31 in December 1994 (revised). Cessna sold eight aircraft-four Citation V Ultras, three CitationJets, and one Citation VII. Raytheon Aircraft Company listed four-two Hawker 800s, one Hawker 1000, and one Beechjet 400A. Gulfstream also delivered four Gulfstream IV-SPs and a Learjet 60 completed the tally.There were 35 December 1995 resales compared to 83 in December 1994.
Dave was amazed as he parked his car outside the hangar. He was disturbed, actually, by a serious episode of hydroplaning in his much-loved 4x4 on the way to work. Dave knew something about hydroplaning, of course. What pilot didn't? But Dave just hadn't figured that a little water on the road could lift the tires of his vehicle off the pavement enough to cause him a momentary loss of control.
Corporate operators using newly opened Macau International Airport report that services are prompt and efficient. Costs are described as ``reasonable.''
Canadair, The First Fifty Years, a new book by retired Canadair executive Ron Pickler and Larry Milberry, traces the company's roots as a ship builder that produced aircraft designed by other manufacturers to its later-generation status as a major contender in the design and building of business and regional jets. The authors devote a chapter each to the Challenger, Canadair under Bombardier and the Regional Jet and Global Express. Available from Canav Books of Toronto, Ontario, the 392-page book with hundreds of photos costs $45 postage paid.
Through February 29, those who own a portable GPS can purchase an eight-channel Apollo Precedus from an authorized II Morrow dealer, and then trade in their used hand-held GPS directly with II Morrow for a Precedus trade-up accessory package, valued from $459 to $799. Eligible for trade-in are Apollo's own 920 series (sweetened by an additional $150 to $250 cash rebate) and any portable GPS manufactured by Gar-min, Trimble or Magellan.
Watch for rising costs and shortages of domestic and imported refrigerants, solvents and other aircraft products containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). As of January 1, products containing ozone-depleting CFCs no longer are permitted to be manufactured in the United States-with some exceptions. Two replacements for CFCs also will be phased out over a longer timetable: HCFC-22 by 2020 and -123 by 2030. For more information and a list of currently available alternate products, contact the U.S.
Revised rules for Wisconsin aircraft owners requires biennial aircraft registration for aircraft less than 3,000 pounds MTOW and substantially increased late-registration penalty fees on all aircraft. In addition, a separate tax-exempt number has been established for aircraft dealerships, and antique aircraft are redefined as any aircraft built in 1955 or earlier. For more information, contact the state's aircraft registration office at (608) 266-1861.
The newest FBO to open its doors at North Dakota's Hector International Airport (FAR) is Fargo Jet Center. Fargo is operated by Patrick Sweeney, president (left), and his brother, James Sweeney, vice president. The new facility sells Texaco fuel and other line services on a 24-hour basis. A 12,000-square-foot hangar is used for maintenance and storage. A second hangar is scheduled to be built in the spring.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association released the second edition of the ARINC 429 general-aviation data bus specifications. New material in this edition includes EFIS-FMS-EFIS data bus protocols, two graphics protocols defining various navigation patterns such as procedure turns and DME arcs, and several non-standard labels presently being used by general aviation. Copies of the new edition are available at $30 each from GAMA, 1400 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005.
David L. Burner has been elected president and a member of the board of directors of this provider of aircraft systems and services. John D. Ong, who had served as president since July 1994, will continue as chairman and CEO.
