It’s one thing to perform an autorotation correctly in the simulator or during a “canned” training session but quite another matter when the engine quits in flight. It’s during the latter that a pilot is prone to revert to first-learned habit patterns. They had better be the right ones, since action is required within 2 sec.
We might not think about it until we have to land at one, but as business jet captain Katha House pointed out, there are a few airports around the globe that are situated below sea level. “Thermal Airport [KTRM] in the Mojave Desert is 115 ft. below sea level,” she said, “and your altimeter will read zero on the approach, and you’ll still be flying! There’s one in Egypt that’s 436 ft. below sea level, and Bar Yehuda Airport [LLMZ] at Masada in Israel is -1,240 ft., the lowest in the world.”
The FAA in June gave its first approval for commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASes) over land, clearing energy giant BP to operate the AeroVironment Puma AE, a UAS that is 4.5 ft. long with a 9-ft. wingspan, to conduct surveys over Alaska’s North Slope. The agency had previously approved certificates for use of UASes to conduct aerial surveillance over Arctic waters, but this latest certificate of waiver enables BP to use the Puma to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay.
StandardAero’s facility at Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore was recognized as an authorized maintenance repair and overhaul center for Rolls-Royce RR300 helicopter engines. The authorization follows a similar agreement signed in December for StandardAero’s facility in Winnipeg, Canada. The Singapore agreement extends through 2021. StandardAero’s RR300 line will run parallel to the facility’s Rolls-Royce M250 line. The 32,000-sq.-ft. facility is equipped for full repair and overhaul, and test capabilities.
Most major industry sectors flew fewer hours worldwide in the first quarter, a decline that Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) attributes to the harsh winter. JSSI, which has developed a Business Aviation Index to track global flight hours by industry, found that overall, business aircraft flew 2% fewer hours globally. The manufacturing segment marked the most significant drop, down 15%, followed by construction and health care, down 12% and 11%, respectively.
Building off the success of IS-BAO, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) is rolling out a similar program for business aviation handlers that will be designed to meet new international safety management system (SMS) directives. The audit program, to launch July 1, will fold in parts of the National Air Transportation Association’s (NATA) Safety First Ground Audit Program. The NATA program will cease to existing once the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) is released.
Ease into a large chair in any one of the Challenger 850’s three roomy cabin sections and you’d be hard-pressed to tell you’re not in a Global 6000. The cabin has the same 6.0-ft. height and 8.1-ft. width as Bombardier’s current flagship. The 1993-2004 Canadair Special Edition and 1995-2011 Challenger 850 are the two main commercial designations for 50-seat CRJs that Canadair and Bombardier delivered green for custom conversion into business aircraft.
It was sad to read we had lost Jim Christiansen (Intelligence, June 2014, page 14). I first met Jim 30-plus years ago at a management seminar for small flight departments that he facilitated with Dick Van Gemert of Xerox. He was generous with his time and shared his knowledge and expertise freely with those of us who were new to our positions.
Avfuel is expanding its international reach with two more fixed-base operators joining its network. Rizon Jet at London Biggin Hill in the U.K. and Air Service Basel at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Switzerland both have partnered with Avfuel. The FBOs will offer Avfuel’s contract Fuel and Avtrip Reward Points programs. They will also have access to various Avfuel operational systems and training.
"Under Pressure” (June 2014, page 45) was a great article on tires, but your Learjet 60 accident synopsis gives the reader the impression that this was a typical accident for a post-V1 abort. It was not. You wrote that the thrust reversers were activated but omitted that the TRs subsequently stowed (damaged squat switches) and caused the airplane to accelerate as the engines spooled up above the N1 limit for reverse.
Recently I was again reminded that time is passing and that different lives can be lived, well, unevenly. The confirmation arrived in an email my brother sent to all family members announcing that, after 28 years on the job, he’s retiring. He’s not the first of the seven siblings to punch out, but he’s the youngest by far.
