Business & Commercial Aviation

These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Embraer Legacy 450 under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance.

Cirrus Aircraft says its Vision SF50 personal jet should earn type certification by year-end and deliveries 4-7 seat aircraft will begin shortly thereafter. Although several single-engine turbofan models have been proposed and some prototypes flown over the years, the SF50 will become the first to actually reach production. In late August, the FAA issued a Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) for the aircraft.

Three interior packages are available for the Kodiak. The standard Tundra Interior configuration includes nonslip floor coverings, durable composite side panels, sidewall cargo net tie-down points, and two pilot and four passenger chairs. There are eight passenger headset jacks, passenger service units and reading lights, plus a full ventilation and heating system. A two-place, crew-only oxygen system is included.

Well proven over the last 12 years in service aboard business aircraft, the HTF7500E is a twin-spool, medium-bypass-ratio turbofan. Up front, there’s a single-stage, wide-chord, damperless fan, driven by an uncooled and shrouded three-stage low-pressure turbine. Aft of the fan, air is routed to the compressor through an inertial separator that causes most FOD to pass out the bypass duct rather than be ingested by the engine. The compressor consists of four axial compressor stages, with two variable geometry stator stages, and a single centrifugal compressor.

The Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 are the launch platforms for Rockwell Collins’ new HGS-3500 compact head-up guidance system and uncooled, tri-spectral EVS-3000 enhanced vision sensor. Embraer and Rockwell Collins are pursuing Enhanced Flight Vision System certification for the combined HGS/EVS system that will enable operators to fly down to 100 ft. AGL/1,600 ft. RVR minimums on low-visibility instrument approaches.

Designers attempt to give exceptional capabilities in all areas, including price, but the laws of physics, thermodynamics and aerodynamics do not allow one aircraft to do all missions with equal efficiency. Trade offs are a reality of aircraft design.

It’s obvious that most of the traditional aviation community — the FAA included — was caught off guard by the speed and exponential growth of the UAV onslaught. And it’s only just begun.

ABS Jets has received approval from Embraer and the Czech Republic to perform base maintenance on Embraer’s Phenom 300. With the approval, ABS Jets can maintain all types of Embraer Phenom aircraft. ABS Jets is based in Prague and Bratislava, Slovakia.

Early aircraft composites were relatively thick and primary structures were much larger than their metal counterparts. With the introduction of exotic materials like boron, carbon fiber and better layup process, the material got thinner but also more dependent on both process control and post-forming inspection. The ability to detect voids is essential, but there is still no way to detect residual strength in the bond without testing it to destruction.

Gulfstream Aerospace has opened a new paint facility at its sprawling site in Savannah, Georgia, to support in-service aircraft. The 88,000-sq.-ft. building includes more than 72,000 sq. ft. of hangar space, offices, back shops and storage areas. “Demand for new Gulfstream aircraft is strong and so is the demand for enhancing aircraft already in service,” said Joe Rivera, Gulfstream Savannah Service Center vice president and general manager.

Unexpectedly free for a few hours during my visit, I borrowed my brother’s car and wheeled over to what had been a familiar, nearby place. What I found was unrecognizable. Where once were wide open spaces, now stand a series of office buildings, a sprawling hotel, colleges with stadiums, a county park, and even a 17,000-seat coliseum. Ah, progress.

The AW609 tiltrotor aircraft being developed by Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland showed off its speed capability recently. On Sept. 15 the manufacturer reported the aircraft has flown from Yeovil in southwest England to its facility outside Milan, Italy — a distance of 627 nm (1161 km) — in 2 hr. and 18 min. The flight started with a vertical takeoff from Yeovil, then climbed to its en route cruising altitude of 25,000 ft.

Astronics Corp. has introduced a Max-Viz enhanced vision system specifically for experimental and homebuilt aircraft, which often operate from unimproved airstrips with wildlife and other obstacles. The system is priced at $6,000. The uncertified Max-Viz X1 complements synthetic vision systems and allows pilots to see temporary obstructions, such as wildlife and construction barriers not in the SVS database.

An upgrade to its new Rockwell Collins PlaneView280TM software, has resulted in slower approach speeds, shorter landing distances and enhanced flight management system performance for the Gulfstream G280. “The G280 was already a top-performing aircraft in its class,” said Dan Nale, senior vice president, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. “With this upgrade, the aircraft’s performance is even better.

Rockwell Collins is introduced its Pro Line Fusion for commercial rotary wing platforms at the China Helicopter Exposition in September. The avionics system has been selected for 20 aircraft, including business jet, air transport, tiltrotor and military flight decks. It has also been flight tested as a UAV ground station.

Authorities in Italy have performed fact-finding flights with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in nonsegregated airspace using civil procedures. The Mediterranean ATM Live Exercise (MedALE) trials — involving air traffic controllers from Italian air navigation service provider ENAV — follow up on the European Defense Agency’s Midcas (Mid-Air Collision Avoidance System) program. The MedALE trials saw the use of an Alenia Aermacchi Sky-Y remotely piloted air vehicle flying in nonsegregated airspace from Italy’s Grazzanise air base.

JetFuelX has launched a free jet fuel price management tool for aircraft owners and corporate flight departments.

John Tucker, a founder of Midcoast Aviation and one-time president of Butler Aviation, died Aug. 30. He was 82. A former U.S. Marine Corps aviator and St. Louis native, Tucker helped launch Midcoast in 1971 and served as its president and CEO for the next 20 years. Under his direction, the FBO and airport terminal service provider grew from 17 employees to 1700. He also served on the board of the National Air Transportation Association and received numerous awards from the aviation community. He was also a leader within the St. Louis business community.

The National Business Aviation Association says it is ready to follow up on a recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board following a fatal runway overrun accident last year.

The number of used business jets in North America fell in July when compared to the same time a year ago, while business turboprop sales increased. Outside North America, the sale of used business jets declined in July, while turboprop sales remained flat, according to data compiled by JetNet. Sales of used business jets totaled 179 in North America in July, compared to 193 in July 2014. The sale of light and medium-size business jets fell during the month, although sales of heavy jets increased.

Jet Aviation Basel plans to expand its operation that produces furniture, aircraft interior components and integrates systems or corporate and VIP aircraft interiors.

Sales of Jet A fuel have mostly increased or remained flat during the first half of this year, a new Mid-Year Fuel Sales Survey shows. Respondents were asked to compare sales of Jet A fuel for the first six months of 2015 to the same period in 2014.

OneJet, the start-up carrier that services small and medium-size markets using Hawker Beechcraft 400A business jets, has added Nashville, Tennessee as a new destination.

Mubadala Development Company, an investment vehicle wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, has purchased the minority (1.95%) share in Piaggio Aerospace formerly held by Piero Ferrari. T he Italian planemaker is now its 100% controlled by Mubadala. Carlo Logli, Piaggio’s CEO, said, move “represents a tangible sign of Mubadala’s steadfast commitment in our company and trust in our new technologies, programs and products.” Mubadala has been a shareholder in Piaggio Aero since 2006.