Mark Jones's deep expertise on Hawker series aircraft has proven to be invaluable to his employers, fellow maintainers, pilots and the jet’s manufacturer.
Many of the checklists designed for business aircraft are lengthy, especially when addressing critical phases of flight, and they can increase a pilot's workload, thereby detracting from the primary task of managing the aircraft's trajectory. The challenge becomes compounded whenever the list is temporarily halted for whatever reason.
Going behind the scenes to see how much work is involved in creating an avionics product and bringing it to market gives one an appreciation and respect for the work of the designers, engineers and technicians who make this happen.
Universal Avionics' InSight Integrated Flight Deck system allowed the writer to instantly form a mental image of our proximity to terrain and obstacles.
Despite the seemingly glacial-pace of air traffic management evolution, the FAA has begun upgrading its services and capabilities, including controller-pilot data link communications to help make the flow of traffic safer and more efficient.
The enduring innovation of Universal Avionics products is closely tied to its core characteristics of designed by pilots, and built by pilots for pilots.
According to Honeywell, there are 700 HTF7000-powered aircraft in service with 1,400 engines that have collectively logged more than 2.6 million hours.
While Honeywell Aerospace's forward view is firmly fixed on the super-midsize business jet market, the Phoenix-based OEM continues to produce its stable of smaller turbine engines.
Rick Stoulil, chief pilot for Hormel Foods Corp., says: "The way the HTF7000 is set up, it works great. It is equipped with autothrottles and is very responsive [on spool-up] with very little lag. And it's really fuel efficient.
The director of maintenance of a large U.S. charter/management company with experience with HTF7000 turbofans half jokes that, while the engine runs well, you do not want to borescope it.
The turbofan for the USAF Fairchild-Republic T-46 advanced trainer was rated at 1,330 lb. thrust and was assigned the designation F109. But the program was canceled after the first 28 F109s were delivered.
The first prototype of the $2 million Gulfstream II business jet took off Oct. 2 from Grumman's Bethpage, New York, airfield. It flew for 52 min. at 200 kt. and landed at the company's Peconic River Airport in Calverton, New York. Learn what else was news in November 1966.
R. A. “Bob” Hoover, called the “greatest stick-and-rudder pilot who ever lived” by Lt. Gen. James Doolittle, USAF (Ret.), died peacefully of heart and kidney failure early Oct. 25, 2016, at Torrance Hospital, near his home in Palos Verdes, Calif. He was a favorite performer at air shows around the world, thrilling his audiences with his precision aerobatic maneuvers in the North American Aircraft P-51 Mustang and Aero Commander Shrike.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
The first Legacy 450 mid-light business jet assembled in Embraer's Melbourne, Florida, facility made its first flight in early October and is on track for delivery to a customer in December.
