When all is said and done, the ``aviation business'' is really a part of the ``communication business.'' B/CA's readers use airplanes safely and efficiently to bring people together so they can effectively exploit all the advantages of face-to-face contact.
As part of its dowry, Allison Engines was able to present merger suitor Rolls-Royce with a new type certificate for the turbofan engine that will plug a hole in the low end of the British manufacturer's product line. Earlier this year, Allison was awarded FAA type approval for the AE 3007C engine that powers Cessna's 0.9 Mach mid-size Citation X business jet. (And, of course, Allison now is a member of Rolls-Royce's family.)
FAA has eased some of the flight restrictions it imposed earlier this year on the Robinson R22 and R44 light helicopters. Now, pilots with at least 200 hours in helicopters and 50 hours in the R22 or R44 are exempt from prohibitions on flight under these conditions: when surface winds exceed 25 knots, when gusts exceed 15 knots, or when moderate, severe or extreme turbulence is reported. The restrictions continue to apply to lower-time pilots (B/CA, April, page 24).
June 27 is the deadline for comments to the FAA on its far-reaching proposal to upgrade FAR Part 135 regional airline rules (B/CA, May, page 11). Under the provisions of the proposal, scheduled carriers using aircraft with 10 to 30 passenger seats would have to meet Part 121, the standards that now apply to scheduled operations in aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats. For further information, contact the FAA's Alberta Brown at (202) 267-8248.
FAA issued a rule to remedy a discrepancy between a 1974 AD on ``No Smoking'' placards and also recently amended FAR Part 25 regarding that signage. The agency revised the AD to clarify that operators need only comply with either the AD or Part 25, not both. Initially, the AD required worded placards to be mounted on lavatory doors on all transport-category airplanes, while Part 25 requires placards in words or symbology to be mounted on or near the door.
North Dakota recently enacted a bill limiting a ``resident'' general aviation manufacturer's product liability to just 10 years, eight years shy of a similar measure Congress passed in 1994 (B/CA, August 1994, page 7.) State officials hope GA manufacturers will be attracted by the law. It applies only to aircraft under 12,500 pounds, and buyer and seller must agree to adhere to North Dakota law. Also, purchasers must buy product-liability insurance.
FAR Part 135 operators with 11 to 50 employees to whom alcohol-testing rules are applicable must begin implementing the rules on July 1. Key elements of the rules are as follows: The random-testing rate is 25 percent of the total number of eligible employees. An alcohol level of 0.04 or higher on the job means a violation. And, a recent change to the rules allows the use of less-expensive non-evidential breath- and saliva-testing devices for alcohol-screening tests. Evidential breath testing is still required to confirm positive results.
Without a doubt, the Falcon 50EX's substantial performance improvements are a direct result of its three new AlliedSignal TFE731-40 turbofan engines. The -40 has a 4,700-pound sea-level, standard-day thermodynamic thrust rating, enabling it to maintain its 3,700-pound takeoff thrust to 32C. In contrast, the -3 engine has a 4,050-pound thermodynamic thrust rating that only provides enough temperature margin to maintain 3,700 pounds to 22C.
Beginning with the June delivery of Serial Number 307, Cessna Citation Ultra business jets will be available with a single-point refueling/defueling system. Cessna says the system, which adds only about 27 pounds to the aircraft's empty weight, is not retrofittable to the more than 40 Ultras now in service. Other changes being incorporated into new Ultras include an ``environmentally friendly'' cooling fluid and an optional wide-door installation.
A quarter century ago, the last model of the Ercoupe, one of the most innovative general aviation aircraft ever built, rolled off the production line. An outgrowth of the pioneering general aviation research performed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the 1930s, the all-metal, low-wing two-seater was designed to be an airplane that anybody could fly safely.
The following is a quiz, reprinted from the FAA Aviation Safety Journal, designed to test your knowledge of the new airport signs. (The answer key follows.) (1) Holding-position signs have a: (A) White inscription on a red background (B) Black inscription on a yellow background (C) Yellow inscription on a black background (2) Taxiway-location signs have a: (A) White inscription on a red background (B) Black inscription on a yellow background
Besides sleep debt and physical exertion, the following is a list of the other numerous causes of fatigue, many occurring simultaneously. Note that many are controllable, and every effort should be made to minimize the effects of these factors that can debilitate us: Noise and vibration. Self-medication, especially antihistamines. Hangover, even 12 hours after the last drink. Illness, such as a simple flu or cold. Hypoglycemia. Hypoxia, present above 5,000 feet on long trips.
The flight-test program for the Gulfstream G-V will involve four aircraft, with the first to fly in November. Flight-test aircraft No. 2 is scheduled to fly in mid-December; No. 3 at the end of January 1996; and No. 4 in April 1996. Certification should follow six months later. All four G-V test aircraft will eventually be used as demonstrators and will be available for purchase.
After more than a decade of gloom and declining sales, the general aviation manufacturing industry is finally showing some signs of resurgence. The most tangible evidence is construction of Cessna Aircraft Company's new single-engine production facility in Independence, Kansas, but other examples abound.
After a five-month study, a nine-member team of FAA engineers and airworthiness inspectors and experts from other government agencies discovered no design flaws in the flight-control system of Boeing 737s. The study of the aircraft was undertaken since, to date, the NTSB has been unable to determine the cause of the 1991 crash of a United Airlines 737 at Colorado Springs, Colorado and a USAir 737 near Pittsburgh in September 1994. The two crashes killed 157 people.
Bombardier and AMR Combs will offer shared ownership of Learjet 31As, 60s and Canadair Challengers via a new, Dallas-based firm: Business JetSolutions. By October, 16 aircraft are set to be in the program. Ownership is being sold in 100-hour blocks (one-eighth shares). Rob Gillespie is president of Business JetSolutions, while AMR Combs' Dale Niederhauser is president of JetSolutions LLC, the operations arm of the program. Dennis Keith, previously director of flight ops for Frito-Lay, was tapped to head the sales and marketing effort.
The range of the proposed G-IVB is now about 4,450 nm--some 150 nm less than Gulfstream originally had hoped. Late in 1994, the company said it might introduce a longer-range replacement for the 4,200 nm-range G-IVSP (B/CA, October 1994, page 21). Gulfstream said additional range would accrue from increasing the wing span of the G-IVSP and incorporating the winglet design of the G-V. A decision on whether to develop the G-IVB is expected this summer.
Imagine, for a few minutes, that you're contemplating an approach to an airport where the ceiling is indefinite and the visibility is RVR 700. The destination airport has a Category I precision approach landing system, requiring minimums of at least RVR 2,400 or one-half-mile visibility. It's as dark as a pitch pot and the approach lights are NOTAMed out of service. If you were flying a current generation civil aircraft, you would have no option but to divert to an alternate having better weather and, hopefully, high-intensity approach lighting.
Total deliveries of new U.S.-built general aviation airplanes in the first quarter were up 14.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 1994, but deliveries of new business jets were off 9.6 percent, says the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. In the first three months, total deliveries compared to those of a year earlier (in parentheses) were: jets--47 (52); turboprops--52 (37); and recips--108 (92). Meanwhile, GAMA's new Piston-Engine Revitalization Action Plan to help revive sales of light aircraft is due out in August.
A rule setting minimum experience levels for two pilots flying together in FAR Part 121 operations becomes effective August 25. The rule increases the amount of flight time pilots need to meet ``initial operating experience'' requirements. Also, pilots will no longer receive experience credit for observing another pilot; pilot trainees actually must perform the duties. Lastly, the PIC must carry out all takeoffs and landings during certain weather conditions and at particular airports if the copilot has less than 100 hours in type.
Photograph: Gray clouds and occasional rain do not slow the pace of the Paris Air Show. The Paris-Le Bourget International Air&Space Show bills itself as the world's largest and most important aerospace exhibition, a claim that is hard to dispute. The biennial event throws open its doors again this month, with the promise of more than 200 aircraft on display and dense crowds packing the 210,000 square feet of exhibit space in the enormous halls.
Photograph: Orenda believes that over the next 10 years, more than 5,000 aircraft will be candidates for its V-8 engine retrofit. The Orenda Division of Hawker Siddeley Canada hopes the claimed combination of strong, high-altitude performance of its engines and low maintenance and acquisition costs, will help them turn a marketing corner. Specifically, the division is looking for the company's line of aviation-oriented V-8 engines to capture a segment of the market that heretofore has been dominated by small turboprop engines.
A new noise ordinance at California's Long Beach Airport permits limited operations by most business jet models. The new noise policy follows several years of legal wrangling and out-of-court negotiations between the aviation industry and the airport authority (B/CA, March 1990, page 24). Provisions of the policy set noise limits for day, evening and night, and establish a ``noise budget'' for aircraft operations. Also, the policy sets up a GA noise committee to work with airport officials to ensure compliance with the ordinance.
The Transportation Department rescinded the requirement that calls for pre-employment alcohol testing in transportation industries already mandated to comply with DOT alcohol-testing rules. Earlier in the year, the DOT had asked the U.S. Congress to repeal the legislative mandate that places pre-employment testing in the overall alcohol-testing requirements (B/CA, May, page 11). Meanwhile, industry advocates are still arguing for the DOT to lower the random drug-testing rate from 25 percent to 10 percent (B/CA, January, page 11).
Socata, the subsidiary of Aerospatiale that produces single-engine aircraft, recently acquired Mooney's 30-percent interest in the TBM-700 single-engine turboprop. The company dissolved TBM S.A., the joint-venture holding company, and TBM N.A. in North America. Aerospatiale General Aviation in Grand Prairie, Texas will now provide TBM-700 support and marketing. Mooney helped launch the TBM-700 in 1987 by providing technological and marketing support.
