By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
In early April, Bell Helicopter signed a letter of intent (LOI) with PT Whitesky Aviation of Indonesia for 30 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters. The aircraft will be used for air taxi operations throughout the nation which is made up of more than 14,000 islands.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Executive AirShare is moving its headquarters to a 10,000-sq.-ft. facility in Lenexa, Kansas, to accommodate growing flight operations, sales, accounting and executive teams, the company said. Executive AirShare’s aircraft, pilots and maintenance teams for Executive AirShare and its subsidiary Executive Flight Services, an aircraft management and charter company, will continue to operate out of the Atlantic Aviation’s fixed base operations at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City. They employ nearly 200 workers, including 96 pilots.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
The FAA has selected two unleaded aviation fuels for further testing as it works to develop an acceptable lead-free “drop-in” replacement for 100LL avgas. The new fuel formations for Phase 2 testing are from Shell and Swift Fuels. The test data will help the companies acquire an ASTM International Production Specification for the fuels. It also will eventually allow the FAA to authorize the existing general aviation fleet to use the unleaded replacement. Testing will begin this summer and conclude in 2018.
As development of the Aerion AS2 continues, the highest priority is the engine. Co-chairman Brian Barents discusses with BCA's William Garvey the key factors involving the selection of an engine manufacturer.
Even though no spectators attending a British air show had been killed in more than a half century, the repercussions from the crash at the Shoreham Air Show appear to be formidable.
They are those convenient intellectual shortcuts we use to streamline our decision-making processes. Cognitive biases help us process information expeditiously when we're under pressure.
The Model 23 Learjet, Fan Jet Falcon and Piaggio-Douglas PD808 appeared in the pages of the April 1966 issue of Business & Commercial Aviation. In 1966, the industry was already looking back on itself. BCA reported that historians cited United States Steel's purchase of three Viscounts from Vickers in 1955 as the beginning of the turbine era in business aviation.
I am a gear head — a mechanical guy; a dying breed. From age 15 I did all of my own tune-ups. And then one day I bought a car that had no distributor. My precious timing light and dwell meter were instantly buggy whips in a horseless world. And I was technologically back to square one. I felt helpless as my slow downward drift into cyber bewilderment began.
“At first I thought it was a jet practicing maneuvers, but it didn’t pull up. I then realized it was a small jet that appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed with black smoke trailing it and what appeared to be fire," said a Mulvane, Kan., woman who witnessed the crash of a Cessna Citation 500 near Wichita in 2013.
The NTSB, after finding icing as a probable cause of the loss of Citation 500 N610ED, urged pilots to review icing basics — specifically those in FAA Instrument Flying Handbook and the Aeronautical Information Manual.
While this may be the age of same-day shipping, computer-controlled inventories, global distribution networks and numerous third-party parts suppliers, chances are good that your airplane will break at the worst possible time and the part that you need will be in a building buried in a blizzard half a continent away. Meanwhile, the boss is packing for an imminent trip to close a do-or-die deal. You may be willing to bet your career on the part showing up in time to launch on that mission, but be sure your resume is up to date, just in case.
BCA is conducting a second 7X Operators Survey now that the aircraft has had time to mature and dozens of product improvements have been made. Consistent with our findings in our March 2011 Operators Survey, Falcon 7X operators contacted for this follow-up report say the aircraft provides substantially more speed, range and cabin comfort compared to midsize and large-cabin aircraft they previously flew.
The DC-9 captain told the NTSB investigators that there had been thunderstorms all around the airport and the crew used the aircraft's weather radar to scan the area while taxiing to Runway 19. He said the largest echo was east-northeast, that the cell contoured when he switched to that mode, and the gradient was very steep.
We are told that on May 31, 2014, the professional pilot world got a wake-up call when two pilots crashed their Gulfstream IV (N121JM) at Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, and killed all on board. The NTSB rightfully called their performance an act of intentional, habitual noncompliance, but that was being charitable.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Business aviation departures in Europe rose 2.3% in February when compared to the same time a year ago, due to a boost from the leap year, according to WINGX’s Business Aviation Monitor.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Campus and Universal Helicopters have extended a 2010 agreement to exclusively provide helicopter training to Embry-Riddle students.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Disabled Aircraft Services, based in Buffalo, Minnesota, has introduced upgrades to its line of PlaneSkate products designed to move aircraft with a flat tire from a runway, taxiway or ramp.
