Business & Commercial Aviation

June 29 — About 1944 Hawaiian standard time, a Short Bros. SD3-60 (N221LM) sustained minor damage following a gear up landing at the Kalaeloa Airport [John Rogers Field] (JRK) Kapolei, Hawaii. The airplane was registered to and operated by Trans Executive Airlines of Hawaii Inc. The ATP-rated pilot and the Commercial-rated pilot, the only occupants of the airplane, were not injured. It was VFR but an IFR flight plan was filed for the flight check flight that originated from Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii at about 1850.

On twin-engine propeller-driven aircraft where both engines turn counter-clockwise, such as the Fairchild Metro SA227, the right engine is considered critical. (In twins with clockwise-turning props, the left engine is critical.) The down-going propeller blade has a larger angle of attack than the up-going blade and produces more thrust. For engines that turn counter-clockwise, the down-going blade is farther from the aircraft centerline for the left engine than for the right engine.

Years ago, pilots were a bit self-deluding when it came to wind shear. Many didn’t even recognize it as a problem and chalked up the occasional loss of an airplane to pilots who didn’t quite have what it takes. However, that changed on June 24, 1975, when wind shear brought down Eastern Air Lines Flight 66, a Boeing 727, during an approach to New York’s JFK International Airport. Six crew and 106 passengers were killed.

1. CMD’s AML STC Paves Way for ADS-B Aircraft

Learjet’s new turbine engine development “plans” are not much more than thought radiations from Bill Lear’s fertile mind. The company has no such program for study, research or building a mock-up or model of a jet engine. Utility, flexibility and ease, of control make the Hiller SL4 one of the best all-around vehicles in the small reciprocating engine helicopter field. Vision from the front-centered seat is excellent in all directions.

Bell Helicopter’s all new Model 525 Relentless is flying.

Jim Holahan, the founding editor of Aviation Convention News and the monthly Aviation International News, and a former editor in chief of this publication, has gone west.

Jet Aviation Geneva has received CAR-145 approval from the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India to provide base-maintenance services to Indian-registered Gulfstream and Bombardier aircraft.

Spirit AeroSystems Marks 10 Years As A Company

Plane Perfect, an aircraft detail supply company, has formed a partnership with Maule Air to provide cleaning products to the aircraft manufacturer.

Bombardier Business Aircraft’s 19th annual Safety Standdown USA, scheduled for Oct. 6-8 in Wichita, will focus on pilot distractions and practical applications of attention control techniques. Distractions are among the most serious threats to aviation safety, according to the NTSB. Accordingly, the program is intended to help aviation professionals recognize sources of distractions and ways to disconnect from them to avoid problems.

Corporate Angel Network has arranged its 48,000th cancer patient flight, with a flight on June 11. The patient was a 48-year-old with colon cancer. Patient James Etherton was accompanied by his wife, Tammy. Blue Beacon International donated its Cessna Citation for the flight, which flew them from their home in Mechnicsburg, Illinois, to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Etherton needs to fly to New York for treatment once a month. Blue Beacon has participated in the Corporate Cancer Network since 1992.

One Aviation, the newly formed company that combined Eclipse Aerospace with Kestrel Aircraft, is marketing an Eclipse 500 “Special Edition” that includes the features and available options of a new production Eclipse 550. The Eclipse SE carries a base price of $2.195 million and is a factory-renewed Eclipse 500 that includes a dual Avio Integrated Flight Management System, anti-skid brakes, pilot-side Standby Display Unit, PPG glass windshields, new interior and two-tone paint scheme.

Airbus’s electric-powered E-fan demonstrator aircraft made a successful — and heavily promoted — crossing of the English Channel on July 10, but the company’s expectation of being the first to make the passage on electric power alone was snuffed by an enterprising French aviator.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley recently signed a bill removing a 6% sales tax on maintenance performed on general aviation aircraft in the Palmetto state. The tax exemption takes effect on Jan. 1, 2016. There are 37 certified repair stations in the state, but many had been losing out on work as operators took their aircraft to Georgia, Florida or Arkansas to avoid the tax, supporters said. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association backed the bill. In the doing, South Carolina became the 21st state to pass such an exemption.

Bombardier Aerospace says the Global 7000 and 8000 programs are undergoing a strategic review, raising questions about the development schedule for the long-range business jets. “Following the arrival of new leadership in our organization — namely Alain Bellemare as president and CEO, Bombardier Inc. and David Coleal as president, Bombardier Business Aircraft — we are conducting a full review of all aspects of the program, including its schedule,” the company said.

Magnum Aviation, Sun Air Jets Now Signature Select Members

A recent court decision in the battle over aircraft noise in East Hampton, New York, left neither side particularly happy. In late June, Judge Joanne Seybert of U.S. District Court in Central Islip issued an injunction a town law limiting summer takeoffs and landings at East Hampton Airport to one a week.

Rockwell Collins has announced a series of updates to its ARINCDirect Flight Operations System, including the ability to integrate with new tools and the launch of a new vendor alliance charter management program. The FOS release features a more intuitive, mobile-friendly, touchscreen user interface for tablets and smartphones. It also provides access to flight-risk assessment and fatigue-risk-management tools through the Pulsar Infomatics Aviation Fatigue Meter suite and the SAFE tool developed by Fatigue Risk Management Science Limited.

In July, the Lincoln, Nebraska-headquartered business aviation maintenance and modification company reported joining the Robotic Skies network to service “the emerging commercial unmanned aircraft fleet.” “Duncan Aviation has always been in the forefront of new industry trends,” said Don Fiedler, the company’s Business Development for Avionics and Instruments, adding, “We see a promising and growing future for unmanned aircraft systems.” With service centers located throughout North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand and

Elliott Aviation, based in Moline, Illinois, has gained FAA supplemental type certificate for the activation and use of all Gogo Business Aviation Wi-Fi products in Embraer’s Phenom 300. The STC also allows for operation of Gogo’s UCS 5000, an all-in-one smart router and media server. The service includes the Gogo Vision cabin entertainment system. Gogo Vision is an on-demand, inflight entertainment system for business aviation to provide movies, TV episodes, news, weather, flight progress and other information. Elliott is an authorized Phenom 100 and 300 service center.

If you happen to operate a Meyers/Aero Commander 200 — unlikely, since fewer than 130 were built during its production run from 1959 to 1967 — there’s been an encouraging development. GlobalParts.aero, an Augusta, Kansas, parts manufacturer, has acquired the type certificate for the four-place single piston aircraft from its owner in Texas and plans to support the fleet with spare parts. “This opportunity came out of nowhere,” GlobalParts Vice President Malissa Nesmith said.

VistaJet has increased its in-service business-jet fleet to 50 aircraft. All are Bombardier business jets. The milestone will be achieved in June when VistaJet takes delivery of a Global 6000 ultra-long-range aircraft, the company said. The growing fleet reflects VistaJet’s increasing global expansion, said Thomas Flohr, VistaJet founder and chairman.

Sixteen years after delivering its first production aircraft, Duluth, Minnesota-based Cirrus Aircraft is celebrating its 6,000th customer delivery of a new Cirrus aircraft “Our customers, partners and employees are rightfully proud of this amazing accomplishment,” said Dale Klapmeier, cofounder and CEO of Cirrus Aircraft.

Thales is taking the helmet out of the helmet-mounted display and bringing Top Gun technology to the business jet world. Less than three years after acquiring an innovative line of helmet-mounted displays (HMD) from U.S. helmet-maker Gentex, Thales is offering the same technology for applications ranging from civil helicopters and business jets to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, including an a entirely new head-worn display called TopMax. The basic Scorpion combat HMD is already flying on U.S.