Bombardier Aerospace recently received a $537 million order from an undisclosed customer for three Global 6000, two Global 7000 and three Global 8000 jets. Still in development, the Global 7000 and is slated to enter service in 2016, and the 8000 is to follow in 2017. So much for the good news. In January, the Montreal manufacturer announced plans to lay off 1,100 employees in Canada and 600 in the U.S. to contain costs after stretching out development of its CSeries jetliner by at least 12 months and seeing business and commercial aircraft orders decline in 2013.
Gulfstream Aerospace has enhanced its support of operators attending major U.S.–based events with the addition of its biggest and most capable Field and Airborne Support Teams (FAST) vehicle — a specially equipped 74-ft. (22.6 meters) tractor-trailer. The vehicle debuted at this year's Super Bowl at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Using the capabilities of the FAST vehicle, on-board technicians can perform: line-service repairs; engine exchanges; post-flight and storage inspections; unscheduled inspections; and cabin interior repairs.
Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. (IS&S) received an FAA STC for its Autothrottle System and Standby Display Unit incorporated into its Integrated Flight Management System (IFMS). The IS&S-developed autothrottle allows a pilot to control the power setting of the aircraft's engines by setting a desired flight characteristic rather than manually controlling fuel flow.
At the dawn of aviation, among the toughest challenges confronting its pioneers was controlling the aircraft. Otto Lilienthal steered his gliders by shifting his weight and upsetting the balance between the center of lift and gravity. The Wright brothers refined the control in all three axes through a combination of wing warping and coordinated movements of the elevator and rudder using pulleys and cables. As aircraft grew faster and larger, so did the forces necessary to maintain control.
In 2013 Embraer delivered 209 aircraft, 119 of which were business jets. That record compares to 205 aircraft it delivered in the previous year. A breakdown of 2013 business jet production is: 90 Phenoms, up from 77 in 2012 and reflecting improvement at the lighter end of the market, including major orders for the Phenom 300 from fractional ownership providers NetJets, Flight Options and Executive AirShare. The Brazilian manufacturer's larger business aircraft deliveries also increased in 2013 to 29, compared with 22 in 2012.
National Business Aviation Association, Washington, elected Jim Schwertner to the board of directors. He is president and CEO of Schwertner Farms, Inc.
Blackhawk Modifications, Inc., of Waco, Texas and Wipaire, Inc., of South St. Paul, Minn., received FAA approval of the Blackhawk XP42A engine upgrade for operators of Cessna Models 208 and 208A Caravans on Wipline floats. Approval enables operators of these aircraft to install a new 850- hp P&W PT6A-42A turboprop engine in place of the standard 600-hp PT6A-114 or the 675-hp PT6A-114A installed in these two models.
After three consecutive quarterly losses, late 2013 certifications of its new Sovereign+ and M2 helped Cessna Aircraft finish the year with a $33 million fourth-quarter profit — $10 million better than the same quarter in 2012 — and position the company for a 19% growth in revenues in 2014. However, the Wichita planemaker posted an overall $48 million loss on the year, down from the $82 million profit in 2012. Revenues slid from $3.11 billion in 2012 to $2.78 billion in 2013.
There now are more than 50 Gulfstream G650 jets in service, an impressively large number of new aircraft deliveries for just over one year of production. Operators say the airframe, engines and basic systems have been remarkably trouble free, resulting in near flawless dispatch reliability. That's an impressive milestone as the G650 is the first completely clean-sheet Gulfstream since the 1967-vintage GII, doubly so because of the reliability of early serial number airplanes.
When a modern swept-wing aircraft is properly maintained within its certification limits, it is safe. Operating outside of the certification limits or not maintaining the aircraft to its airworthiness specifications can carry a steep price in the high-altitude environment.
Luxembourg-based Luxaviation has acquired Unijet, a leading French business aviation operator, through its Belgian subsidiary, Abelag. Based at Le Bourget in Paris, Unijet provides the group access to Europe's foremost business aviation airport. With the acquisition, the new group increases its staff to 350 employees and its fleet to 60 business aircraft based in Benelux, Germany and France.
The PC-12 you flew in “Finnoff PC-12 Upgrade” is based at Boulder Municipal Airport in Colorado, not California; and Boulder City Airport is in Nevada. Boulder, Colo.
John Leahy is not satisfied with the status quo of ACJ activity and wants to change that. The COO-Customers at Airbus, Leahy recently told reporters that the European manufacturer is making a renewed effort to revitalize Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) sales to take a bigger share of the VIP market away from archrival Boeing. “If we look at Corporate Jets to BBJs, it looks like about an equal split there,” he said speaking of 2013 results, “but it won't be quite the same on a net basis.” He continued, “On our corporate jet program, it switches around.
Henry Ogrodzinski, the president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) and a longtime industry advocate, died at his home in Washington, D.C. Jan. 22 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 65. A gentlemanly and friendly persuader, the genial “Henry O” spent his entire professional career in aviation, working with NASAO, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and Gulfstream Aerospace, among others.
Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH), one of the largest independent providers of helicopter air ambulance services, is buying 20 Bell 206L4s. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this year and continue through 2017.
There are two articles in the January 2014 edition that take medical issues from one extreme to the other. The first, “Keeping your Medical Qualifications,” has the Federal Air Surgeon on his own basically deciding that every pilot take a sleep apnea test. Pilots with a body mass index (BMI) over 40 or a neck circumference over 17 inches will be the first that take the test. Then the BMI will be lowered and lowered “until every pilot with OSA [obstructive sleep apnea] is identified and receives treatment.”
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) wants FAA to permit limited unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations before the agency's small UAS rule is finalized. Beyond that, the association is urging FAA to meet its revised deadline for publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on small unmanned aircraft, and to make the issue a top priority this year. The agency has been working on the NPRM since 2009 and has indicated it expects to publish it this coming November, a schedule, AUVSI notes, that is almost four years late.
FAA is streamlining the process for obtaining certain letters of authorization (LOAs) for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) approval. Both the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and National Air Transportation Association (NATA) welcomed the changes.
Gulfstream Aerospace and Jet Aviation, which comprise General Dynamics' aerospace group, posted significant gains in 2013 and entered 2014 with strong bookings. For the year the group posted $8.18 billion in revenue and $1.41 billion in earnings. In the year, Gulfstream delivered 139 green aircraft, or 18 more than in 2012. Of those total deliveries, 110 were large-cabin models with the balance mid-cabin. Additionally, for the year, deliveries of fully outfitted (completed) aircraft were up to 144, compared with 94 in 2012.
Recent high-profile aircraft accidents, most notably the Asiana 214 crash at San Francisco in July 2013, have air safety mavens asking tough questions about the state of flight crews' stick, rudder and energy management skills. Periodic refresher training most often focuses on instrument and night proficiency, systems knowledge and the perfunctory engine failure scenarios. But most refresher training only pays token attention to basic VFR piloting.
"Boosting DCA" (Washington Watch, February 2014, page 59) is the first article regarding Reagan Washington National Airport that hasn't totally ignored the fact that access to DCA is still severely limited. I've been getting very tired of aviation publications extolling TSA's superb efforts at relaxing the guidelines at DCA every time a new gateway airport is added. You are right on in acknowledging that there has been progress, but we are a long way from where we should be.
The long running fight for control of Santa Monica, Calif., Airport entered a pitched legal battle recently to determine the future of the facility, a key general aviation field outside Los Angeles — and possibly put hundreds more airports in jeopardy. Late last October the city filed suit with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking to control the fate of SMO, insisting it has “unencumbered title” to the airport property and can do with it “as it chooses.” The municipality wants the option to close the airport after July 2015.
Organizers of the 2014 Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE), set for April 15-17, report exhibitor registrations early this year were far ahead of last year's pace and have expanded the exhibit hall and pavilion to allow for more booths at the Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Centre. ABACE is produced through a partnership between the Shanghai Airport Authority and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and co-hosted by NBAA, the Asian Business Aviation Association and the Shanghai Exhibition Center.
TAG Aviation recently introduced iPad–based electronic flight bag (EFB) technology to its Switzerland-based fleet, featuring Jeppesen Mobile FlightDeck. Jeppesen will help to eliminate paper-based information from TAG's operations and increase overall operational efficiency. The company aims to achieve savings in fuel consumption by reducing the weight of each pilot's flight bag. On average, these can weigh from 40 to 50 lb. each. Jeppesen www.jeppesen.com
