The new Canadair Special Edition (SE) is a transatlantic corporate version of the Canadair Regional Jetliner offering a full-fuel, non-stop range of 3,000 nm. Canadair says the aircraft can carry five passengers and a crew of three from Jeddah to London, or eight passengers from Jeddah to Stockholm. The SE features a maximum gross weight of 53,000 pounds to enable the aircraft to incorporate an additional 4,000 pounds of fuel stored in two new auxiliary tanks located aft. The tanks are designed and installed by PATS, Incorporated of Columbia, Maryland.
The formation of Aero International Regional (AIR) has inalterably changed the architecture of regional aircraft manufacturing. Pending approval by the European Commission and the U.S. Justice Department-which is considered likely-the ATR partnership of France's Aerospatiale and Italy's Alenia, and British Aerospace units Avro Aerospace and Jetstream Aircraft, will become one.
The Astra, since it was certificated in 1985, has earned a position as a performance star in the mid-size business-jet class (although sales have not been stellar). Indeed, it set 22 world records, clearly demonstrating Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) engineering prowess. IAI now has an even higher performance Astra, the SPX, that is slated for certification in late September, less than 14 months after its first flight in August 1994. (The current Astra SP will remain in production.)
Awhile back, Hersch, a German corporate pilot wrote to B/CA pointing out that he enjoyed this column, but certain words or expressions employed in it were not to be found in his personal Funk&Wagnall's. Hence, for purposes of illumination, I proffer a partial list of a few of the terms more frequently used: -- Muckets: Instruments, switches and levers usually located on the control panel. -- Maypop: A smooth tire. -- Redeye: Storm-avoidance radar. -- Training wheel: The one up front on a tri-gear Beech 18.
TAB/Aero's version of a book containing the latest FARs as well as the most current Aeronautical Information Manual is contained in the 600-page, fully-indexed AIM/FAR 1995. The volume also includes an ASOS/AWOS update, a ``Flight Forum'' feature on government interpretation of the FARs, page headings to assist the user in finding data, a table of contents for each FAR part and shading on text revisions since the last issue. Price: $24.95 for hardcover; $12.95 for paperback. TAB/Aero, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294. (717) 794-2191.
Available from DB Systems is the Model 700/800 series digital audio-control panel. The company says digital control of cockpit audio offers ``improved performance with immunity to noise and interference'' compared with analog-type panels. Also, this digital system has fewer wires to install. Input capability is up to five comms and 10 receivers. Individual volume controls are available with each input. Outputs include headphone, cockpit speaker, pilot-selected comm audio and cockpit voice recorder.
A book detailing how the aviation industry can implement international quality- assurance standards known as ISO 9000 now is available. The 337-page volume features chapters on integrating ISO standards with FARs, examples of ISO 9000 recordkeeping forms and other required documents, training criteria, worker responsibilities, quality control and inspection methods, and more. Copies of Aviation Industry Quality Systems: ISO 9000 and the Federal Aviation Regulations are available for $66.25 each from Quality Press, P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201.
Contrary to industry jest, ``cabotage'' is not the garden vegetable that still holds its vitamin C content when boiled. (You know, one of the cruciferous greens we should eat more of.) Rather, cabotage refers to trade or transportation between two points within a foreign country.
The following sources provide information on the effects and hazards of high-altitude flight: -- Mohler, Stanley R., ``A Sudden High-Altitude Cabin Decompression Immediately Threatens Safety of Aircraft Crew and Passengers,'' Human Factors&Aviation Medicine, Vol. 41, No. 6, November-December 1994. Flight Safety Foundation, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Ste. 500, Arlington, VA 22201. (703) 522-8300. -- Reinhart, Richard O., Fit to Fly, 1993. Tab Books Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294. (717) 794-2191.
Northrop Grumman will use a full-scale airfoil section of a Gulfstream business jet to demonstrate a ``smart-wing'' concept. The company is undertaking the project under a research contract administered by the U.S. Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. Researchers aim to show that using new-technology materials and structures to change the wing's shape in flight will net greater payload, longer range and lower operating costs. Northrop Grumman will develop a system of ``smart'' actuators that can change the airfoil cross section.
The Astra SPX has one of the most versatile and capable avionics suites ever installed in a business airplane. All too often, system sophistication can overwhelm the pilot with myriad functions and arcane operating controls. Breathe easy. The Astra SPX's Pro Line 4 avionics, in our opinion, is one of the most intuitive layouts we've yet seen. This is Pro Line 4 at its best.
SoftComm Products' new Model C-45M ``Prince'' headset weighs less than 11 ounces and features eight built-in adjustment points so that every user is a ``perfect fit.'' Oversized earseals surround the ears and block out sound. The adjustable earcups are filled with a foam material yielding an average noise-reduction rating of -23 dB. SoftComm says Prince's advantages are its three-way articulating fulcrum, contoured mike boom, the RF immune microphone and heavy-duty gold-plated plugs attached to 70-inch cables. Price: $98. SoftComm Products, 2310 S.
The medical caregiver's creed states, in part: ``First, do no harm.'' It's a concept the rulemakers at the FAA would do well to embrace as they work to reform the certification and operations regulations governing commuter aircraft (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 95-5). In essence, the proposed rulemaking would impose Part 121 operating standards on scheduled carriers now using 10- to 19-seat aircraft under Part 135, and it would require expensive modification of existing aircraft.
FAA is investigating the circumstances surrounding the issuing and receiving of bogus type ratings. At press time, the agency had removed the certification authority of up to six FAA inspectors, and revoked or suspended the certificates of nearly 30 pilots allegedly involved in the scam-a group that included persons employed as corporate pilots. The agency said there is no evidence that any of those who received the fraudulent ratings used them to actually fly the aircraft, many of which were warbirds and other classics.
The crew of Air Express 1632 was nearing the end of a 14-hour, seven-leg day. One more landing, and they could head for Louisiana's Shreveport Comfort Inn and 10 hours of rest. Well, maybe seven hours of actual rest. Bill Stadnik, in the left seat, had been flying the Brasilia for five years-two of them as captain. Maria Sanchez, the copilot, was just completing her first year with the company and had come to know the Embraer pretty well. Bill was flying this leg from Beaumont to Shreveport. Michael Cray dispensed peanuts and beverages in the back.
Pratt&Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW305A engines on the Learjet 60 rank high among operators' favorite features. The turbofans are flat-rated at 4,600 pounds-thrust for takeoff up to 74F, but APR extends that thrust rating to 88F. The full-authority digital engine controls (FADECs)-a first for a Learjet-automate most functions including start, takeoff thrust setting, thrust adjustments for anti-ice bleeds and even automatic relight, should the need occur.
Consumer concern over commuter safety is waning, East Coast fares are rising and investors are betting on improved earnings for publicly held regional airlines in the June quarter.
Learjet 60 operators, at times, sound as though they are paid sales staff. They crow about the aircraft climbing directly to FL 410 in 11 to 14 minutes. They say it rivals the Learjet 35 for direct operating cost. They claim it offers more cabin comfort than any previous Learjet they have operated.
NTSB sent the FAA 10 recommendations that would require air-tour operators to meet still more stringent requirements. At press time, the FAA had not responded, but the National Air Transportation Association claims tour operators are highly regulated now, and another layer of rules will ``suffocate'' the industry. The Safety Board based its actions on a study of 139 accidents from October 1988 to April of this year. Of the 722 persons aboard, 117 (16.2 percent) were killed.
A proposed noise-compatibility program for Saipan International Airport in the Northern Mariana Islands has been submitted to the FAA. The agency is scheduled to approve or disapprove the proposal under FAR Part 150 guidelines on or before September 25. To obtain more information and to submit comments, contact David J. Welhouse at the FAA in Honolulu. Phone: (808) 541-1243.
After a gestation period going back to mid 1991 and several false starts, Sikorsky Aircraft announced in Paris that it definitely plans to build the 19-passenger S-92 Helibus medium-lift helicopter (B/CA, September 1991, page 30 and April 1994, page 22). With the help of several international partners, including Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Brazil's Embraer, and firms in China and Spain, Sikorsky hopes to fly the aircraft in 1998 and certify it in 2000. G-IVB IS IN A GULFSTREAM HOLDING PATTERN
Australia-Brisbane Oceanic ATC Sector telephone (to be used only if HF comm is lost) is 61-7 866 3483. China-Opening of Macau International Airport, originally scheduled for this month, is delayed several months.
The controversy surrounding the proliferation of unapproved parts came to a head recently at a U.S. Senate government affairs subcommittee meeting. The FAA said the problem is one of the least serious threats to safe flight and has never been identified as the cause of accidents. But, the DOT's inspector general, Mary Schiavo, said unapproved parts could devastate safety. In addition, Schiavo charged that Anthony Broderick, one of the FAA's top officials, tried to interfere with a DOT investigation into the bogus-parts issue.
General aviation subscribers to Jeppesen charts will be selected to evaluate a proposed redesign of approach plates. The redesign includes these changes: approach data arranged in horizontal strips across the top of the plate, critical data in larger boldface type, symbolic depiction of approach lights and modular arrangements of certain data. Subscribers in the GA group are to be selected by year-end. Thirty airlines have already completed an evaluation.
