There are two maintenance questions that are posed to me again and again: First, “Are Mandatory Service Bulletins really mandatory?” and its counterpart: “When the manufacturer updates the maintenance program, do I have to comply with the changes?”
Pan Am orders 25 Boeing 747s for $525 million. The company plans to introduce the 490-passenger Boeing 747 in late 1969. Modified Aero Commanders: Extensive restyling and modifying of Aero commander aircraft are offered now by BACC. Modifications include stylized nacelle fairing, and landing gears doors. Soon to be available will be exhaust system for reduced cabin noise and pilot front entrance door. Kits are available.
The new business aircraft market continued to fly into troubled skies in 2015, with piston engine aircraft deliveries dropping 6.5%, turboprops down 7.6%, and turbofan aircraft shipments flat at 1.6% growth, compared to 2014, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association
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.
Six years ago, the $7 million Embraer Phenom 300 entered service, instantly redefining the value proposition in the light-jet segment. Excluding its shorter lavatory, the dimensions of the main passenger seating area compare favorably with the Learjet 70, including maximum height because of Phenom 300’s 4-in. dropped aisle. Its 66-cu.-ft. aft baggage compartment is the largest in the light-jet class and there is another 10 cu. ft. of luggage storage split between the nose compartment and lavatory. Its runway performance is closely matched to Citation CJ4.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Gulfstream Aerospace has won FAA approval to install mandated avionics upgrades, called Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A+, on Gulfstream GIV-SP aircraft. FANS 1/A+ uses automation and satellite-based technology to improve aviation communication, surveillance and traffic management. The active fleet of GIV-SP aircraft totals 325. “Like our solution for GV aircraft, this system was developed by Gulfstream and Honeywell to fully integrate the GIV-SP flight deck,” says Derek Zimmerman, Gulfstream Product Support president.
The BCA Purchase Planning Handbook includes specifications for single-engine piston, multiengine piston, single-engine turboprops, multiengine turboprops and jets. Jets are separated by weight class with a separate category for ultralong-range jets.
More data have been generated, collected and processed by the human race in the last 36 months than during the previous 3,000 years. Further, every day of every month the worldwide flood of information on every conceivable subject increases exponentially.
The Air Charter Safety Foundation is a partisan of using data to make aviation safer. ACSF was spawned by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) in 2007 to enhance safety in business and general aviation charter operations. One of its first accomplishments was to develop a common safety audit standard for the air charter industry.
From legendary STOL aircraft linking remote communities to a round-the-world quest in a flying machine powered on nothing but the sun’s rays, the innovations of Swiss engineers, pilots and explorers have done much to improve our collective quality of life on this planet.
Since 1968, Air Zermatt has been rescuing stranded mountaineers from alpine peaks and out of crevasses near the Matterhorn. The extreme conditions of these rescues required innovative solutions that Air Zermatt rescue service has developed and refined.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Italy’s Tecnam has rolled out the P2012 Traveller, a piston twin aimed at meeting demand for a new small airliner to replace types such as the Cessna 402Cs operated by Cape Air. Capua-based Tecnam says Cape Air will be the launch customer for the new model, but adds that details of the Nantucket, Massachusetts airline’s commitment are confidential until the first flight, expected this summer. According to Tecnam, Cape Air has been involved in joint development of the 11-seat aircraft and members of its leadership team were present at the roll-out on April 1.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
A new forecast by the FAA predicts that the number of turboprops, business jets and rotorcraft in the active general aviation fleet will increase over the next two decades, although the largest segment of the fleet, fixed-wing piston aircraft, is expected to shrink. The agency said the long-term outlook for general aviation is favorable, though the active fleet should increase by just 0.2% per year from 2015 to 2036.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Bombardier Business Aircraft’s Bombardier WAVE (Wireless Access Virtually Everywhere) has been awarded a supplemental type certificate from Transport Canada. Bombardier WAVE is a high-speed Ka-band Wi-Fi service for Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft. Certification follows extensive flight hours and rigorous testing aboard Global business jets, the company said. The equipment allows passengers to stage a video conference, browse the Internet or stream online shows.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Five years ago, the FAA forecast the number of small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operating in U.S. airspace would grow to 25,000 by 2020 and 30,000 by 2030. In its latest forecast, the agency revised that number somewhat. Now it expects sales of some 7 million small hobby and commercial drones a year by 2020. At the same time, the FAA has released is latest update on UAS sightings by pilots, controllers and the public. The 583 reports submitted between Aug.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Light jet charter operator JetSuite is adding 10 Embraer ERJ 135LR aircraft to its fleet of Embraer Phenom 100 and Cessna Citation CJ3 jets.The first of the 30-seat ERJ 135s has been delivered by Embraer, with the rest to follow by mid-2017. The aircraft will be available for booking, with charter flights beginning this month. The new jets can be chartered for $8,000 per hour plus sales tax, which equates to less than $300 hourly per seat for 30 passengers.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Cessna Aircraft announced that it is now making Safe Flight’s angle-of-attack system standard equipment on all Cessna Skyhawk 172 aircraft and optional on its Skylane 182 and Turbo Stationair 206.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Blackhawk Modifications in Waco, Texas, has appointed Wipaire’s Leesburg, Florida, facility as an authorized dealer and installation center for Blackhawk XP series engine upgrades. The facility recently completed the installation of Blackhawk’s newly FAA-certified engine upgrade, the 867-shp PT6A-140 engine upgrade for the Cessna Caravan.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Clay Lacy Aviation has partnered with SmartSky Networks to offer hardware sales, certification and installation of the SmartSky 4G network on Gulfstream G200, GIV-SP and GV aircraft. SmartSky’s technology delivers a secure signal that locks onto each aircraft in the network, the company said. Passengers will be able to stream, chat, call, game and video conference. Visit: http://smartskynetworks.com/earlybird2016/
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
On April 14, the Corporate Angel Network (CAN) launched its 50,000th flight, carrying one-year-old cancer patient Baron Yerbe and his parents back to Atlanta after receiving his treatments at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York. Diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer, at three months of age, the little boy has been undergoing treatment available only at Sloan Kettering. The flight, conducted by NCR, flew from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to Cobb County International Airport - McCollum Field.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Safran’s nearly three-year delay in development and certification of the Silvercrest engine has slowed Dassault’s Falcon 5X considerably, but Cessna says it’s had no impact on its Hemispheres program. The new engine has been in the running to power Textron Aviation’s newest Citation. But in a statement, a spokeswoman says while it has not yet announced an engine provider, the Hemisphere program is on schedule, with first flight expected in 2019.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Nearly two years after the last E-4B flew from Boeing’s Wichita, Kansas facility — along with Boeing — a new large aircraft completions center has opened inside the former Boeing hangar. Emerald Aerospace is leasing two of three large hangar bays where Boeing employees once performed modification and maintenance on commercial and military aircraft, including E-4Bs and VC-25s, or Air Force One — all military versions of the civilian 747. And as it grows, Emerald intends to lease the third hangar bay.
