Business & Commercial Aviation

Especially as a single pilot, organizing items you will need for the flight while still in the chocks or the planning room just makes good sense.

If you are interested in stepping up to a long-range, large-cabin G500, it could be a real bargain.

Selected accidents and incidents in September/October 2016. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, pilots turn their thoughts to braking action performance and procedures.

Flight departments must walk a narrow path to satisfy all regulatory requirements.

News of promotions, appointments and honors involving professionals within the business aviation community.

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.

Jet-A And Avgas Per-Gallon Fuel Prices October 2016

Bombardier WAVE (Wireless Access Virtually Everywhere) Ka-band high-speed internet is now available for Global business aircraft at all Bombardier Service Centers, the company said. Bombardier was awarded a supplemental type certificate for installation on all Bombardier Global 5000 and Global 600 aircraft and previous Global aircraft as a retrofit, the company said. A Global 5000 aircraft was the first customer aircraft to feature a retrofit installation of the Bombardier WAVE at Bombardier's Singapore Service Center.

The number of general aviation aircraft in China will total 10,000 in 2020, according to a new research report called "Development and Market of General Aviation in China 2015-2020." The figure comprises 7,500 fixed-wing aircraft, 2,000 helicopters and 500 other aircraft. The industry compound growth rate will total 30%, and the market size will hit $225 billion, the report predicts.

Daher recently completed its 800th TBM single-engine turboprop, a TMB 930 that rolled off the assembly line at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport in France.

Robert Sumwalt from the National Transportation Safety Board has won Bombardier's 2016 Safety Standdown Award, which was presented at the event held Sept. 27-29 in Wichita.

Gulfstream says it will cease production of the G150, the smallest aircraft in its lineup, after a 10-year run; the last G150 will be delivered in mid-2017.

Singapore-based Zetta Jet has added a Bombardier Global 6000 jet to its fleet, which will operate out of Zetta's North America hub in Los Angeles. It is the first Global equipped with Ka-band high-speed inflight internet connectivity.

On-demand private jet charter operator XOJET and JetSmarter, a private jet mobile marketplace charter consolidator, have formed a partnership, saying it signals the continued evolution of private access.

The long-running fight over Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) entered a new phase recently when the FAA initiated an investigation requiring the California city to explain its rationale for issuing eviction notices to two FBOs at the key business and general aviation facility after the municipality declared its policy included closing the place.

The National Business Aviation Association's annual compensation survey of members shows all Part 91 flight department positions enjoyed an increase in average salaries in 2016.

Comlux, The Aviation Group, has become the first to retrofit an Airbus ACJ319 with Sharklets, the company said. The sharklets give the aircraft a fuel savings of up to 4% and a corresponding range improvement. The retrofit was performed by TAP Maintenance and Engineering as part of the first turnkey project managed by Airbus Corporate Jets.

The consolidation of Europe's business aircraft charter operations continues apace. The most recent pairing is the takeover of UK's Blink by Wijet of France, to create a single fleet of 15 Citation Mustang light jets.

Embraer is cutting 1,463 employees from its workforce in Brazil as it moves to reduce costs in the midst of a challenging market. The departing workers represent 99.5% of those who applied for a Voluntary Dismissal Program, the company reported.

West Star Aviation and Aviation Fabricators are nearing completion of a cooperative effort to develop an STC for a belted lavatory modification for the Hawker 800 and XP series aircraft.

Citing slower business jet engine aftermarket shipments and defense and space business declines, Honeywell International said early last month it expected to report up to 2% lower core organic sales for the third quarter of 2016.

Gogo is overhauling its ground-based connectivity system over the U.S. and Canada to bring inflight speeds in line with its satellite-based offering.

Blackhawk Modifications has announced details of its new engine upgrade for the King Air 350. Blackhawk is developing the STC to permit installation and operation of the Pratt & Whitney 1,200-shp PT6A-67A to replace the 1,050-shp PT6A-60A.