Nice update on bonus depreciation ( Washington Watch, August 2014, page 66). One thing that irks me to no end is this idea that bonus depreciation will actually “cost” the government $287 billion over 10 years. Depreciation deductions are timing advantage and over time, the same 100% will be deducted by taxpayers. There is no way that a change in the timing of these deductions will cost that much money to the government, impossible!
I just finished reading “Operators Survey: King Air 250” (September 2014, page 28), a very enjoyable article about a wonderful plane. As a Blackhawk King Air 200 operator, I wanted to add a few things.
RUAG is now providing real wood flooring as an option for owners and operators looking to enhance the quality of their cabin environment. Developed by Austria’s LIST components and furniture GmbH, the wood flooring can be installed by RUAG on various aircraft types.
FlightSafety International is offering online training for the ground school portion of its Gulfstream G550 recurrent pilot training course. The course is offered to pilots who operate their aircraft under FAA or EASA regulations. It replaces two days of the recurrent training course normally taken at a Learning Center and includes a 13-hr.
Pelican Products Inc., introduced the Pelican ProGear 238R lightweight, rechargeable LED flashlight that uses Fraen patented dual reflector optics. The flashlight has three modes — high, low and strobe. A battery canister is included that will accept two disposal CR123 lithium batteries to allow for alternative or extended use.
CAVU Companies released the new version of EFB-Pro for iPad/IPhone with two new features. The Fuel Tankering module helps operators decide whether tankering fuel is an economical option. Landing fee rebates with minimum purchase are also factored into the solution and calculations are aircraft specific.
Landing slots are normally allocated a maximum of 15 minutes, although on special event days with peak demand slot are limited 5-minute with rotors running. Users exceeding these times are subject to short-term parking charges. Landing fees vary by size of helicopter. Helicopters comparable in size to the Airbus EC130 and the Bell 206 incur a landing fee of £325 ($540). For unplanned short-term parking, the hourly rate is £300 ($498). Helicopters comparable to an Agusta Westland 109 or Airbus EC135 will incur a landing fee of £725 ($1,20
Chicago Helicopter Express (CHE) has proposed building an extensive heliport along the south branch of the Chicago River to conduct helicopter tours. Its plans passed a critical chokepoint last April when the City Council approved the development. As envisioned, the $12.5 million heliport will have 14 helipads, a 17,500-sq.-ft. hangar, a terminal and an aircraft refueling station.
Despite the obvious benefits of city center helicopter operations, Washington, D.C.’s South Capitol Street Heliport (09W) has been closed to private and commercial helicopter operations since 2005. Only medevac and law enforcement flights are permitted there. A number of organizations — the NBAA, Helicopter Association International (HAI) and the Eastern Region Helicopter Council (ERHC), among them — think the time has come to open the facility to civilian traffic. Eleanor Holmes Norton agrees.
In 1958, the Helicopter Association of Great Britain issued a report stressing the necessity for a heliport, preferably on the banks of the River Thames within 15 min. of Westminster. Westland Helicopter took the initiative to build one on the southern bank, just beyond the Battersea Bridge, an area then surrounded by factories. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5cbiIqupkM to view footage of the surrounding location at the time. Obviously noise impact among the factories wasn’t an issue in that era.
NetJets, Cincinnati, named Robert Molsbergen president of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Executive Jet Management He will also serve as chief operating officer of NetJets Inc.’s international aircraft management business.
FlightSafety International, New York, promoted Tracy Clough to director, International Teammate Resources. Neil Whiteman has joined the company as vice president and senior counsel for FlightSafety Services Corporation.
Sun Air Jets, Camarillo, California, announced the addition of Greg Paxson to their Maintenance Management team. Greg will fill the role of Part 135 Director of Maintenance. Dave Anderson, Sun Air’s current Part 135 director of maintenance, will move laterally and fill the role of Part 145 accountable manager.
Summit Aviation, Middletown, Delaware, hired Jeremy Bennett as manager of Business Development. Christin Sherwood is the new Over-the-Counter Parts sales representative.
Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Georgia, appointed John R. “Bob” Ranck as the designated successor to Buddy Sams, senior vice president, Government Programs and Sales. Sams will retire at year-end. Ranck will become a member of the Gulfstream Leadership Team and report to Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream, in January 2015.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of Citation Sovereign+ under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Textron Aviation senior sales engineer Dave Champley provided the data for all charts. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they do not take into account ATC delays, and less than optimum routings and altitudes.
The Sovereign+’s avionics suite, featuring Garmin G5000 equipment, is the most-advanced flight deck ever developed for a Citation. It’s also the most-capable G5000 system in any current-production business aircraft. Yet, the Sovereign+’s cockpit is also one of the least cluttered of any business aircraft flying. Frequently used systems all have dedicated cockpit control panels. Some manual functions are automated and seldom-used functions, such as cockpit and cabin temperature control and cabin lighting, are controlled through avionics system submenus.
