In a sense, aerospace provided a platform for worldwide recognition of LEDs when film director Stanley Kubrick teamed with watchmaker Hamilton to create a clock with glowing red digital numerals for his 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey."
According to the Aircraft Electronics Association's year-end market report, total worldwide business and general aviation electronics sales for 2016 amounted to some $2.2 billion, which was down 6.4% from 2015 figures.
For an aircraft to be listed in the Purchase Planning Handbook, a production conforming article must have flown by May 1 of this year. The dimensions, weights and performance characteristics of each model listed are representative of the current production aircraft being built or for which a type certificate application has been filed. The basic operating weights we publish should be representative of actual production turboprop and turbofan aircraft because we ask manufacturers to supply us with the average weights of the last 10 commercial aircraft that have been delivered.
For as little as $14 million, you can buy an early serial number 2003 Gulfstream G550, a large-cabin business aircraft that is capable of flying eight passengers more than 6,700 nm. These jets sold new for more than $45 million.
BCA subscribers, log in to download the entire 2017 Purchase Planning Handbook, including airplane comparison tables as well as Avionics Marketplace charts, which are available only in digital format.
In May 1967, BCA reported on new controlling ownership of Lear Jet, Cessna’s Tandem Twin Super Skymaster and certification of the first Riley Turbo Heron owned by ... a former publisher of BCA.
Firing an employee is one of the most unpleasant of all managerial tasks. It is emotionally draining, and there is an additional administrative burden involved to ensure that laws and company policies are followed in the process. Review the issues at play from the perspective of a director of maintenance.
Much of flying is an act of faith. You are placing your trust in those who designed and built the aircraft, in those who maintain it and in those who trained you to defy gravity for a living.
The 505 Jet Ranger X meets Bell’s targets and is an able successor to the iconic Model 206. And with a base of about $1.2 million, the 505 should prove to be a popular competitor in the entry-level, light-turbine helicopter market — a market its predecessor helped create.
If business aviation is to grow in the new economy, it has to be expanded to a larger demographic of users beyond blue-chip flight departments and high-net-worth individuals.
We are not talking about Brexit, although it looks like there will be be lots of change for the British to embrace when the UK abandons the European Union.
The flow of relatively young, high-time business jets exiting the fleets of fractional ownership companies could allow whole ownership for first-time buyers while supporting a vigorous charter business that could nearly cover the cost of ownership.
The ongoing fight over the privatization of the U.S. air traffic control system, an idea Cessna Chairman Emeritus Russ Meyer last year characterized as “a disaster for general aviation,” has produced some curious, possibly concerning, signs within the opposition.
Business jet operators are flying more than 4.3 million missions per year, the highest since 2009 and even more than in 2008 prior to the Great Recession.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
A startup with backing from Boeing and JetBlue Airways is designing a hybrid-electric regional aircraft that could enter service in the early 2020s. Zunum Aero aims to revitalize regional air transport by offering dramatically lower operating costs with an aircraft that can compete with highway travel and high-speed rail to provide fast, low-cost door-to-door service. The Kirkland, Washington-based company is planning a family of 10-50-seat aircraft, beginning early in the next decade.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Daher has another upgraded version of its PT6-powered TBM 900 series. The new TBM 910 features a Garmin G1000 NXi flight deck, new cabin seat shapes and additional fittings. Deliveries will begin after certification, which is expected shortly.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Quest Aircraft's Kodiak 100 has received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The award raises the total number of countries in which the utility single-engine turboprop is certified to more than 50. The award will allow European operators with large payloads to access many more airstrips and locations that would previously have proven difficult, said Quest CEO Rob Wells.
