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.
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.
There is something strangely prehistoric about the way many of us continue to fly what we grew up calling a “non-precision” instrument approach. After flying across continents and oceans with navigational precision measured in decimals, we push the nose over a thousand feet per minute “or so” and wait for the minimum descent altitude (MDA). That altitude is measured with an altimeter accurate to plus or minus 75 ft., plus whatever temperature tolerances may exist, and based on an altimeter setting that may be an hour or more old.
The onion and celery bits in the chocolate mousse were surely cautionary signs, but ones I chose to ignore, along with the dessert. Our ersatz flight-attendant-by-default had inadvertently presented our catered boxed meals upside down, which quite literally made a mess of lunch. But otherwise I was heady with anticipation.
The description of the flight control system in “Pilot Report: Legacy 500,” (May 2014, page 62) as being “all-Brazilian” is inaccurate. Parker Aerospace is the designer and manufacturer of the system. BAE Systems is a supplier to us for the flight control computer. We designed and offered the FBW system to Embraer, which provided the flight control laws.
The business aircraft accident record improved worldwide in the first quarter, led by declines in both the total number of accidents and fatal accidents involving U.S.-registered aircraft, s afety analyst Robert E. Breiling Associates reports. Worldwide, the total number of business aircraft accidents dropped by four to 20 in the first quarter, according to initial Breiling data. Three fewer business aircraft were involved in fatal accidents.
FlightSafety is planning to complete the first phase of construction by year-end, involving a 55,000-sq.-ft. facility that will house up to six full flight simulators, 13 training classrooms, 12 briefing/debriefing rooms and 12 flight-deck simulators. A second phase calls for up to 90,000 additional square feet, depending on customer needs.
The Corporate Angel Network has logged its 45,000th cancer patient flight. The milestone mission took place in late April when a business jet operated by Bank of New York-Mellon carried Todd Blake, a 22-year-old Hodgkin’s lymphoma patient, and his mother Nancy, from New York City where he’s been receiving treatment back to their home in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. There were also six BNY-Mellon passengers aboard traveling to Orlando; the bank has been flying CAN patients for more than 30 years.
Oil and gas helicopter operator Bristow Group has taken delivery of its first AgustaWestland AW189 super-medium helicopter. The first aircraft, G-OENB, was delivered to the company’s base at Norwich, Norfolk on April 18. The AW189 was certified by the EASA in February, with Bristow becoming the aircraft’s launch customer, and the first to operate one of the new super-medium class of helicopter, which also includes the Airbus Helicopters EC175 and the Bell 525, due to fly later this year.
Gulfstream’s G280 continues to rack up speed records, gaining two more while en route to Shanghai for ABACE. The latest records, which bring the total number to 47, were established in two legs between Friedrichshafen Airport in German and Hong Kong. The G280 flew 2,751 nm from Germany to Dubai International Airport in 5 hr. and 49 min. The aircraft averaged a speed of Mach 0.84. The second leg involved a 7-hr., 7-min. flight covering 3,449 nm from Dubai to Hong Kong International Airport, averaging Mach 0.82.
