Business & Commercial Aviation

Graphs illustrate the performance of Citation M2 under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions.

​Aerion Corp., Reno, Nevada, announced that Matthew (Matt) Cram, previously an attorney for Aero Law Group PC, is Aerion’s vice president of Contracts and will have responsibility for commercial contract activity for the Aerion AS2, as will as other legal affairs for the company.

Training Accident

The decentralization of the FAA will continue, with area managers throughtout the county getting increasing responsibilities. These 18 mangers for the 48 continental states may add another level of bureaucracy between the aviation community and FAA headquarters. Britten Norman’s utility twin “Islander” has flown over 60 hr. in extensive testing. Factory export price of the Continental IO-360-powered fixed-gear, 10-seater is $49,000 and the manufacturer recently announced 15 deposits on pre-release orders.

1. CARE Moves to New Showhouse Constant Aviation Rotable Exchange (CARE) have moved into their new 20,000-sq.- ft. showhouse and increased available parts inventory by an additional $3.5 million, bringing their total inventory to over $48 million with over 54,000 line items. Additionally, CARE has placed inventory nationwide to assist in decreased shipping time providing customers with 24/7/365 support for all their purchasing and sourcing needs. Constant Aviation Rotable Exchange (CARE) (800) 4400-9004

The FAA has granted more than 1,000 Section 333 exemption approvals for the operation of commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in U.S. airspace. The approvals have been issued to companies and individuals for a wide range of activities including motion picture production, precision agriculture, real estate videos and photography, inspection of power distribution towers and wiring, railroad infrastructure and bridges, among other things.

Shipments of commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) will exceed 2.6 million units a year by 2025, according to a new forecast by Tractica. According to the Boulder, Colorado, market researcher, the industries using the drones will include film, media, agriculture, energy, mapping, mining, and disaster relief. Meanwhile, companies, universities and government agencies are actively assessing the opportunity for drones in other capacities.

In July, the New York City Council introduced legislation targeting the city’s helicopter tour operators for increased regulation “to reduce noise and air pollution for New Yorkers who live and use public parks along the tourist-helicopter routes.”In doing so, the bill’s sponsors aligned themselves with a number of groups, including “Stop the Chop NYNJ,” a neighborhood coalition that sees sightseeing-helicopter operations as both a source of noise and pollution, and as “a danger to health, the environment and national security.&rdqu

The M2 has been certified to operate at airports with an elevation of up to 14,000 ft., like many found throughout Latin America, the company said.

Pilatus Aircraft has appointed Pilatus Centre Southern Africa as its authorized PC-6 sales and service center for sub-Saharan Africa. The distributor will be responsible for all future sales and maintenance activities of the Pilatus Porter PC-6 within the territory. Pilatus Centre Southern Africa is an independent partner of Pilatus and serves as the sales and service center for the PC-12 in the same region.

Japan has drop tested a low-sonic boom supersonic aircraft in a repeat of an earlier test that ended in deliberate destruction of the model after it veered off course. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) says the “supersonic experimental airplane successfully flew over the boom measurement system” in the restaged D-Send 2 test in July at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden.JAXA says the test is the first supersonic flight of an experimental aircraft using low-boom design techniques to reduce both front and rear shock waves.

RAI Jets has partnered with Chicagoland Aviation to expand into the Chicago area. RAI is a Sturgis, Michigan, private charter aviation company. It will provide an alternative to commercial airline travel between Kalamazoo and Chicago. RAI Jets is experiencing the rising trend for charter jet service, it said.

Redesign of the wing is the major driver behind a two-year delay in entry into service of the Bombardier Global 7000 long-range, large-cabin business aircraft, to the second half of 2018, says CEO Alain Bellemare.

Jeffrey Krantz was charged and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Hartford, Connecticut, to wire fraud for his role in the sale of counterfeit aircraft parts.

Swift Fuels said that its 94 MON, or motor-octane-number, aviation gasoline will be available in select regions in the U.S. and Canada. The unleaded fuel is FAA certified and meets ASTM standards for aviation gasoline, the company said. An estimated 40% of the nation’s aircraft fleet will be able to use the fuel. Many piston-engine aircraft requiring a minimum octane rating at or below 94 MON are eligible to buy the appropriate supplemental type certificates to use the fuel, the company said. However, it will not replace 100LL sold at airports for high-performance aircraft.

Commercial aviation’s first touch screen primary flight displays have received FAA certification as standard equipment on Beechcraft King Airs

Cessna expects to begin deliveries of the utility turboprop single later this year out of its Cessna-AVIC Aircraft facility in China.

Wade Eyerly launches Beacon, an all-you-can fly membership carrier that takes customers from the Westchester County Airport, outside New York City to Boston Logan, beginning with nine roundtrips per day.

The best way to stay clear of the FAA’s sights is to fly perfectly. If that doesn’t work, we need to be ready to document our transgressions with what some have come to call a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. And if that fails, it may be time to get legal help. After all, we are talking about your livelihood.

In the aviation lexicon, two of the most-despised words are “leaks” and “cracks.”

A crew’s ability to recognize and prevent the onset of an upset and to recover should one occur are key factors behind FlightSafety International’s new Upset Prevention & Recovery Training (UPRT) course now offered at its Savannah, Georgia, learning center.

FlightSafety International has introduced simulator-based upset training on a Gulfstream 550 simulator at its Savannah, Georgia, training center that allows pilots to safely practice maneuvers outside of an aircraft's normal flight envelope.

Simulator training is essential, but it alone simply isn’t sufficient to provide flight crews with all the skills and knowledge needed to assure the highest safety margins.

Selling a used jet “As Is, Where Is, With All Faults” is an age-old practice. It is the plain English version of caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. The tradition in aviation is that the seller allows the buyer to inspect the airplane prior to purchase. The buyer pays for the inspection. The seller pays to repair the airworthiness discrepancies found. The shop “returns the aircraft to service” and the buyer flies it home.