Today’s FOQA and ASAP voluntary reporting programs owe their origins to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) operated on behalf of the FAA by NASA. The ASRS was conceived by the FAA and NTSB in the wake of the TWA Flight 514 CFIT accident in Virginia while on approach to Dulles International Airport in 1974 with the loss of all 92 souls on board.
It seems to me the time is ripe for business aviation’s next great idea. Supersonic travel? By-the-seat charter? Uber aviation? Drones? I’ve not a clue. However, it is likely to have two characteristics — it will increase aircraft utilization, and worry those who fail to see the opportunity.
If you haven’t yet seen the video of Yves Rossy and Vince Reffet flying formation alongside an Emirates Airbus A380 at 4,000 ft. over Dubai on Oct. 13, 2015, stop reading this now and go immediately to here. This extraordinary aerial ballet will make your day.
Aircraft Bluebook At-a-Glance has reviewed the current market status of the Gulfstream G200 business jet. Research for this study was obtained in part from Aircraft Bluebook, Aircraft Bluebook’s Historical Value Reference, the FAA’s registry website and various trade services.
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.
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?”
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.
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.
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 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.
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
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
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
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
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.
The FAA’s Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program, operated under contract by the Mitre Corp. and launched in 2007 to aggregate and disseminate data from FOQA, ASAP, ATSAP programs and other sources, has so far yielded 19 safety enhancements (SEs) from data contributed by airlines.
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
Susan Sheets Brogan, who served for 20 years as president of the National Aircraft Resale Association and as a business aviation advocate in Washington, died April 7 after a short battle with cancer. She was 63. Brogan worked in collaboration with the National Business Aviation Association and other Washington trade groups to advance the interests of aircraft owners and pilots. A proud private pilot and a former French and Latin teacher, she began her aviation career in 1980 with French aircraft manufacturer Aerospatiale, now Airbus Helicopters.
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.
