As Wynand Meyer, director of UAS International Trip Support’s Africa division in Johannesburg puts it, “Africa is the next big development,” as it’s the last continent still fresh for modernization of its infrastructure — mainstream as well as aviation.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) claims to represent more than 100,000 pilots among nearly 100 member associations and unions, 16 of which are based in Africa.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
One of the modest news announcements at last year’s NBAA Convention was that of the creation of Global Jet Capital, a business jet leasing and lending organization. Backed by three global investment firms — Franklin Square Capital Partners with Blackstone advising, AE Industrial Partners and The Carlyle Group — and overseen by business aviation veterans Shawn Vick and Bill Boisture, the future looked promising. When looking back from the 2015 NBAA Convention, set for November 17-19 in Las Vegas, that promise will have been fully realized. And thensome.
Pilatus Aircraft's first jet will be able to operate from short, unimproved landing strips and will feature a large cargo door, providing flexibility to operators.
Headquarters and production buildings are largely heated with renewable energy produced by locally grown and waste timber that is converted into gas in a complex process at a wood gasification plant.
How does a company that designs and manufactures specialized, turbine-powered aircraft deep within the Swiss Alps recruit a workforce with the skills necessary to compete on the world stage?
Knowing something about the International Civil Aviation Organization is important for all pilots, even those who never fly outside their home country.
Appointed to IBAC’s top post in September 2012, Kurt Edwards previously served in high-level positions with the International Affairs and Environmental offices of the FAA. He also led the FAA’s outreach efforts while based in Brussels and Paris.
Recently appointed to his ICAO position in Montreal, Creamer was director of the FAA’s Europe, Africa and Middle East regional office, located in the U.S. Embassy in Brussels.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
Textron Aviation has delivered its 2,500th Cessna Caravan. Accepting the keys to the single engine utility turboprop at ceremonies in Wichita in late September was Jim Rowe, head of Bering Air of Nome, Alaska. The carrier is taking delivery of eight Grand Caravan EX aircraft this year, and retiring an equal number. The aircraft is powered a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 rated at 867 shp. Bering’s Caravans operate around the Arctic Circle, hauling people and supplies in temperatures as low as -60F.
Embraer is introducing the E2VS, short for Embraer Enhanced Vision System, a two-part package that includes Rockwell Collins’ HGS-3500 compact head-up guidance systems and its new triple-band EVS-3000 enhanced vision sensor. E2VS could be a breakthrough for business aviation.
AAR, Wood Dale, Illinois, announced that Steven B. Harrison has been appointed president of AAR Airlift, which is headquartered in Palm Bay, Florida, and has operations worldwide.
By William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno, Molly McMillin
AGUSTAWESTLAND HAS CERTIFIED ITS Limited Ice Protection System (LIPS) on its AW189 super-medium, twin-engine helicopter. But the clearances, announced by the company Sept. 29, will not allow helicopter operator Bristow from beginning search and rescue duties in the U.K. with the aircraft until a full ice protection system (FIPS) is introduced, which AgustaWestland hopes to certify next year.
Making timely and correct decisions is an important part of many jobs, but few professions require this skill at the level of a pilot flying a large, transport category airplane.
Aerion is looking for a home and an engine, but is satisfied it has found the right partner in Airbus. That was the message Brian Barents, the company’s co-chairman, delivered to those gathered by a Wichita Aero Club luncheon recently. He told the Sept. 21 audience that his Reno, Nevada-based company has hired a firm to help it select a site for assembling the 1.5 Mach AS2 supersonic business jet.
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas was the destination most in demand for those shopping for charter travel with the Air Charter Guide Worldwide Trip Builder in September 2015, according to an analysis of Air Charter Guide data.
Originally designed specifically for mission aviation organizations, the Kodiak 100 has earned a strong following among government, business and private aviation departments.
In October 2015, the average Jet-A price at U.S. FBOs is $5.08/gal., according to a survey conducted in this month by Aviation Research Group/U.S. Inc. Compare Jet-A and avgas fuel prices by region based on both the ARGUS survey and an analysis of the lowest fuel prices reported by FBOs on acukwik.com.
Wire strikes by helicopters happen often, and too frequently result in fatalities. The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team found that approximately 16% of all rotary-wing accidents involve wire or obstacle strikes. Meanwhile, an FAA study of wire-strike accidents between 1994 and 2004 found 41 of 124 of those involving civil helicopters were fatal.
Business aviation flight activity in the United States tends to rise as fall takes hold during the month of October, according to ARGUS International Inc. At the NBAA Regional Forum in St. Louis, Travis Kuhn, associate product manager for ARGUS's TRAQpak, identified several reasons why flight activity recorded by the FAA spikes in October.
Given sufficient forward speed, a power transmission cable will easily slice through a helicopter’s windshield. So, should a pilot fail to spot a wire ahead, Magellan Aerospace’s Wire-Strike Protection System (WSPS) can be the final line of defense for the impact that follows. A typical installation consists of a roof-mounted cutter and one or more cutters mounted on the helicopter’s fuselage. A deflector running vertically along the middle of the windshield guides the cables into the high-tensile-steel cutting blades.
Believing aircraft instruments when they are at odds with our bodily sensations is difficult. After all, the brain is taking in thousands of inputs a second from the body’s sensors, but information from the aircraft instruments only enters the computations when we attend to them.
