Shortly after takeoff from Larnaca, Cyprus, at 9:07 a.m. on Aug. 14 2005, the flight crew of a Boeing 737 airliner bound for Athens, Greece, was alerted by the cabin altitude warning horn. Instead donning their emergency oxygen masks the crew began troubleshooting what they believed to be a system problem. Convinced that the problem was only with the indicating system, the crew called maintenance control to discuss the problem while completing their climb to assigned altitude.
Fractional ownership company NetJets has signed an agreement with Embraer Executive Jets to convert 10 purchase options for Signature Series Phenom 300s into firm orders, Embraer announced. Deliveries will begin in January 2016. At current list prices, the contract is worth $89.55 million, which will be included in the backlog from the fourth quarter of 2014. NetJets signed a purchase agreement with Embraer in October 2010 for 50 firm orders and 75 options. If all options are exercised, the deal would be worth more than $1 billion at list prices.
Proposed tax rule changes recently issued by the Texas state comptroller go beyond the plain meaning of the tax code in Texas, and seek to impose significant new burdens on aircraft owners and operators, the NBAA says. The rules would “significantly change the standards for creating aircraft ownership and operating structures [and] under the proposal, a new rule might determine when operators could qualify for the ‘sale or resale’ exemption through aircraft leasing,” according to the association.
Fan Jet Falcon orders now number 40 according to Pan Am Business Jets Division. First production model flew on New Year’s Day and has accumulated some 15 hr. at this time. Pan Am will receive two demonstrators plus four customer airplanes in May. FAA certification is also scheduled for May.
Whoa. Wait a minute. Stop the presses! Wasn’t unleaded automobile gasoline (so-called “pump gas”) approved for use in some engine/airframe combinations years ago, at least for the smaller piston engines, e.g., the Lycoming O-360 installed in thousands of Cessna 172s and other light planes?
Robert Breiling, head of the half-century-old Boca Raton, Florida, safety consulting firm that bears his name, just shakes his head when he reviews the causes of recent accidents and incidents. It’s the same story, different day.
1. AOPA Offers Program on Forced Landing Survival Skills The AOPA has released a new video and printed guide to help pilots and passengers survive conditions following an aircraft forced landing. The program, “Survive: Beyond the Forced Landing,” covers best practices for general aviation flights that result in off-airport landings. It also reviews survival communications, preferred gear and offers advice for detection from rescuers. The video and 16-page guide cover the importance of flight plans and flight following, among other topics.
Development of Bombardier’s top-of-the-line Global 7000 and 8000 business jets seeing significant advances with flight testing of its all-new GE Passport engine now well underway. The engine maker planned to put the new powerplant through water ingestion and fan blade certification tests about now, just weeks after first flight, which occurred Dec. 30.
Moone y International has delivered the first M20TN Acclaim Type S aircraft to be issued a Chinese registration. The handover took place in December following reassembly in China of the aircraft, which was built and flight-tested in Kerrville, Texas, and then disassembled and shipped by sea. The formal delivery occurred just two weeks after Mooney received its Validation of Type Certificate (VTC) by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Jet-A Region High Low Average Eastern $8.50 $3.74 $6.04 New England $7.09 $3.72 $5.32 Great Lakes $7.74 $3.78 $5.32 Central $7.41 $3.79 $4.84 Southern $7.79 $4.14 $6.03 Southwest $6.71 $3.03 $5.14 N
Development of Bombardier’s top-of-the-line Global 7000 and 8000 business jets seeing significant advances with flight testing of its all-new GE Passport engine now well underway. The engine maker planned to put the new powerplant through water ingestion and fan blade certification tests about now, just weeks after first flight, which occurred Dec. 30.
Continental Motors Group has set sights on its new home market to retrofit diesel engines for China’s fleets of training aircraft. China’s AVIC International Holding Corp. acquired Mobile, Alabama-based Continental in 2011 and then went on to acquire the assets of German diesel aero-engine maker Thielert Aircraft Engines, now Technify Motors, as well, and place it under Continental’s banner.
Embraer’s business jet deliveries were down by one in the last quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period a year earlier, and closed out the full year down slightly as well. The Brazilian manufacturer delivered 52 business jets in the 4Q14 and 116 executive jets — 92 light jets and 24 large models — for the year. That compares with 53 executive jets delivered in 4Q13 and 119 for that year. At the close of 2014, the company, which also manufacturers commercial, military and utility aircraft, reported an order backlog of $20.9 billion.
Triumph Group has taken over production of Spirit Aerosystem’s money-losing Gulfstream G650 and G280 wing work in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The deal was effective Dec. 30. The business will operate as Triumph Aerostructures-Vought Aircraft Division-Tulsa and will be included in Triumph’s Aerostructures Group segment. Triumph received $160 million from Spirit in the transaction along with about $60-80 million in inventory, tooling, machinery, equipment and other assets needed to run the business.
Atlas Air Serviced delivered the first Cessna Citation M2 in Europe to Muller Co-Ax ag from Forchtenbert in Baden-Wurttemberg. The business jet landed at Bremen Airport after flying from Independence, Kansas. The M2 has a range of up to 1,300 nm which enables it to fly direct from Frankfurt to Moscow or Hamburg to Lisbon.
The fleet of Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft in service for the oil and gas industry had accumulated more than 10 million flight hours as of the end of 2014. Of the estimated 2,300 rotorcraft used in oil and gas missions today, about 25% are produced by Airbus. In the Americas the company’s helicopters have accumulated more than 4.12 million flight hours, followed by Europe (3.27 million flight hours) and Asia (over 1.82 million flight hours).
Growing interest from cargo operators in autonomous aircraft is leading a drive for single-pilot operation of freighters. That’s the observation by John Tracy, chief technology officer and senior vice president of Engineering, Operations and Technology at Boeing. And, he says, “Technologically the tool kit is filled.
Veteran aviation journalist Molly McMillin has assumed the post of Managing Editor of Penton’s Weekly of Business Aviation and of business aviation content for the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN). “I am thrilled to be able to continue serving the business aviation community I respect so much, in this newly expanded role,” McMillin said upon her appointment. She will continue to be based in Wichita, Kan., where she has spent most of her career.
NetJets Europe has taken the lead in a consortium of 15 companies called Advanced Approaches for all Airports (A3), which intends to demonstrate new approach and landing solutions to increase capacity within the continent’s airport network while reducing emissions, fuel burn and noise. The organization has been formed under the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) program.
Landmark Aviation at Oakland International Airport has obtained authorization as a Part 145 Certified Repair Station. In addition to its FBO services, it now operates as a full-service MRO. It has added limited airframe, engine and accessories ratings to its offerings, which includes avionics services and a mobile on-demand aircraft-on-ground support team. The location serves the Bay Area and many parts of Northern California.
Lower oil prices could give a boost to small general aviation aircraft, small and midsize business aircraft, fractional ownership companies and service providers if they are sustained, an aviation consultant says. On the flip side, cheaper oil may negatively impact the commercial aviation market. The lower end of the general aviation market, including piston aircraft and small and midsize business jets, could benefit from lower fuel prices and an improving economy, said Brian Foley of Brian Foley Associates, based in Sparta, N.J.
Garmin International says it received certification for its Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast equipment for the Gulfstream G150. The Garmin GTX 3000 Mode S Extended Squitter remote transponder and GDL 88 ADS-B datalink combine to fulfill the ADS-B requirements. The GTX 3000 and GDL 88 provides operators a seamless path to meet the demands of air traffic modernization initiatives around the world, Garmin said.
FACC AG received approval for series production of bypass ducts for Pratt & Whitney Canada PurePower PW814 and PW815 engines. FACC delivered the test articles to Pratt & Whitney Canada in Quebec in November, where they were assembled with the engine. On the PW800 program, FACC will deliver throughout the service life of the engine family and has a planned order volume of about $150 million. Gulfstream has selected the engines for its G500 and G600 business jets.
