The side-facing bench seat, or divan, may well become one of the most visible casualties of the FAA's 16-g seat rule. Aircraft and seat manufacturers alike say it is very difficult to certify benches for use in takeoff and landing, given the constraints of the rules. ``Unless the FAA modifies its position, basically, you won't see side-facing divans,'' says Roger Koch, president of Aircraft Modular Products, a Miami company that produces seats for several business aircraft manufacturers, including Cessna and Dassault.
One of Raytheon Aircraft's themes at Paris was focused on efforts to improve customer service. ``Because of the success we had achieved over the years, we were too set in our ways,'' said CEO Art Wegner. ``The company had become internally focused rather than concentrating on the needs of our customers.'' He said the head of customer service and support functions would now report directly to the executive office. Wegner claimed, ``This is the first step in creating a customer-service operation that is second to none in the industry.''
Schweizer Aircraft is making inroads into the helicopter-training market with its 300CB, an approximately $184,000 basic model with which the company hopes to capture a share of a market dominated by Robinson Helicopter's R22. The Elmira, New York company introduced the 300CB at this year's Helicopter Association International Meeting (B/CA, March, page 20). Helicopter Adventures, one of the largest helicopter-training schools in the United States, has begun taking delivery of 10 300CBs, and most of them will replace Robinson R22s.
Edward W. Stimpson, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), was awarded the Aero Club of Washington's Trophy for Aviation Excellence. Stimpson was recognized for his dynamic leadership in furthering the enactment of the General Aviation Revitalization Act (product liability legislation). In accepting the honor, Stimpson said, ``While I am deeply honored to receive this award, I recognize that passage of this important legislation was the result of the entire general aviation industry working together for the common good.''
Phoenix-headquartered Garrett Aviation recently purchased Carrier Aircraft Interiors, a Los Angeles-based interior design and refurbishment company founded by Bob Carrier in 1956. A Garrett official said Carrier Aircraft (keeping its name and with Bob Carrier at the helm) will provide interior refurbs primarily for mid-size corporate jets, while the Garrett facility at Van Nuys, California will focus on interiors for larger corporate aircraft.
A Cessna Citation V simulator is now on line at Dallas-based SimuFlite Training International. The device, approved to FAA Level C standards, was originally scheduled to be operational more than three years ago (B/CA, January 1992, page 22). Meanwhile, SimuFlite is adding Honeywell integrated avionics trainers as part of a Challenger 601 simulator expected to be on line in November and a Gulfstream IV simulator, scheduled to be operational in January 1996.
There are notable differences between Learjet 60-0005, which we flew two years ago, and the current factory demonstrator 60-0048 that we flew in late May with Robert W. Agostino, Learjet's director of flight operations. After engine start using a GPU, we noticed the new aircraft's interior is noticeably quieter because of the improved cabin-air distribution system and upgraded acoustical insulation.
It's time to reach out once more to your representatives in Washington to let them know what you think about the various schemes designed to improve the operational efficiency of the FAA. Over the last few months, several plans have taken shape on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, and they're scheduled for formal review now.
On May 11, a Cessna Citation X brought New York closer to Los Angeles when it completed a coast-to-coast run from Teterboro to Van Nuys, California and back to White Plains, New York-all in one business day. Performance specifics were 4+49 hours en route from New Jersey to California, averaging 448 knots ground speed, and 4+10 hours en route from California to New York, averaging 525 knots ground speed. Despite hindering weather and wind, the aircraft demonstrated performance promises and remained on schedule.
Photograph: On June 12, Mesa initiated scheduled service with the first of two 79-passenger Fokker 70 regional jets (in the livery of America West Express). Mesa Air Group directors have rejected a Continental Airlines offer to take over ownership of Continental Express in exchange for a 32-percent stake in the company. The transaction would have given Continental effective control of the regional airline group.
The first supplemental type certification (STC) for installation of a head-up display in a business jet was issued by the FAA in May to Elliott Aviation of Moline, Illinois. The STC applies to the installation of a Flight Visions FV-2000 Advanced HUD in a Cessna Citation II operated by Deere&Company. The system consists of a glareshield-mounted optical projection unit, a HUD computer and a control-display unit (CDU). Elliott says the installed price of the FV-2000 Advanced HUD on a Citation is about $100,000.
The Canadian Business Aircraft Association (CBAA) annual convention returns to Vancouver, British Columbia from August 7 to 10, with a new twist. For the first time, the CBAA meeting is being held in conjunction with Airshow Canada, a major biennial trade show at Abbotsford, British Columbia, about 40 miles east of Vancouver.
Martin Harwit, beleaguered director of the National Air&Space Museum, resigned in May, citing what he termed the ``controversy and devisiveness'' that resulted from the museum's preparation for the display of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. Veterans protested the museum's plans to display the aircraft along with a description they felt did not give sufficient weight to Japanese aggression and did not reflect the anticipated number of Allied casualties if it had been necessary to launch a land invasion of Japan.
``Absolutely there is a market for a small jet, but it must be much cheaper than the 50-passenger [Canadair] Regional Jet,'' says Michael Boyd of Colorado-based Aviation Systems Research Corporation. From past studies he has done for other manufacturers, Boyd believes there is a market for 600 to 800 airplanes over the next 10 years. He cites the heretofore hush-hush 35-passenger Fairchild 35, a study initiated in 1989 by the previous owners of the San Antonio manufacturer.
The Collins Pro Line 4 received high praise from Learjet 60 operators. The avionics package frequently made the top-five list of favorite features. Some users ranked ``avionics'' as the best attribute of the airplane. Early aircraft, however, were prone to water leaks through the gasket of the angle-of-attack probe housing, causing shorted air-data computers and other avionics malfunctions. A few operators also reported some EFIS problems, but these complaints were not widespread.
David Collogan, B/CA's Washington editor and editor of the Weekly of Business Aviation, received the Aviation Journalism Award from the National Air Transportation Association, an FBO trade group. The award was presented to Collogan for his 25 years covering the aviation industry in general and his particular support of the FBO and air-taxi industry. Congratulations, Dave, from everyone at B/CA.
National Ocean Service is now publishing helicopter route charts on a new plastic material called Polyart, instead of paper. Although this material resembles paper, it is much more durable, preventing tearing. Unlike other aeronautical charts, helicopter charts do not have a predetermined void date. They remain in effect usually two or three years-until major changes occur. The first Polyart charts now are available for Los Angeles and New York.
New developments that Gulfstream announced at the Paris Air Show include the establishment of briefing sessions for first-time owners of Gulfstream aircraft and the formation of a financial-services subsidiary. The briefings are designed to familiarize new owners with the support services and facilities offered by Gulfstream. Sessions are scheduled in Savannah for July 25-26 and October 24-25. The new Gulfstream Financial Services Corporation will provide a variety of financing alternatives for buying or leasing new or pre-owned Gulfstreams.
Photograph: The prototype fly-by-light engine control system on a Bedchjet. The promise to have control-by-light systems in production aircraft is no fly-by-night quest. In an address to the Society of Automotive Engineers' General, Corporate and Regional Aircraft Meeting in May, Raytheon Aircraft Chairman and CEO Arthur Wegner discussed his company's progress to date to develop control-by-light (CBL) systems and their applications to general aviation in the next decade.
At the Paris Air Show, Eurocopter introduced an AStar powered by a 858-shp Turbomeca Arriel 2, offering 124 more shp compared to the standard AStar's Arriel 1D1s. Dubbed the AS350 B3, the new helicopter uses the wider chord tail rotor from the twin engine AS355 N and is equipped with a FADEC. Eurocopter also introduced a more powerful BO-105 twin. Designated the BO-105 LS A3, the new model is fitted with the main and tail rotors designed for the BK 117 C1. Meanwhile, the new single-turbine EC 120 made its first flight on June 12.
From the FAA's Aircraft Certification Service offices near Seattle, the 16-g seat controversy looks a little different than it does from industry's perspective. Led by Ronald Wojner, the organization views itself as a catalyst for safety. ``Our role is to be the spark plug for pushing incorporation of higher standards of safety,'' Wojner said in an interview with B/CA.
AlliedSignal has introduced a handheld GPS and VHF communications transceiver-all in one. The Bendix/King KLX 100 combines an eight-channel GPS receiver and a 760-channel comm in a single case. Features of the KLX 100's GPS section include moving-map graphics, an LCD dot-matrix display, the ability to store up to 500 user-defined waypoints and separate North American or international Jeppesen databases. The ``S.O.S. Beacon'' feature can transmit a digitized voice, giving latitude, longitude and other aircraft information.
As expected, Japan's Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) took a roughly 30-percent stake in the General Electric CF34-8C turbofan engine being designed for Canadair's new, stretched regional jet, the CRJ-X (B/CA, May, page 18). Under a recently signed agreement, IHI will design and manufacture 25 to 30 percent of the engine. IHI is one of Japan's largest engine makers, and already is a revenue-sharing partner in the GE90 airliner turbofan program.
AlliedSignal says its new RDR 2100 vertical-profile weather radar system, introduced at the Paris Air Show, features four times longer magnetron life, greater capability, longer range and six times more power than the system it replaces. The vertical-profile feature of the RDR 2100 can be viewed separately or simultaneously in a split-screen mode. Shipments of the RDR 2100 are expected to begin in August. The new RDR 2100 retails for $46,500.
Increasingly, internationally recognized standards for the manufacture and preparation of products for use in maintaining and servicing aircraft has received serious consideration in the aviation industry. The ISO 9000 quality standards have recently received considerable attention in the air-transportation community, and the several ISO standards-9001, 9002 and 9003-often have been compared to U.S. FARs and standards the JAA is developing in Europe.
