The National Transportation Safety Board said in its determination of probable cause for the loss of Beech E90, N987GM, that “Contributing to the accident was the failure of air traffic control personnel to use available radar information to provide the pilot with a timely warning that he was about to encounter extreme precipitation and weather along his route of flight or to provide alternative routing to the pilot.”
For the aviation industry, Jan. 13 marked the end of a long decade. That was the day that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at long last published its repair station security rule. The action was a bit tardy. After all, Congress had mandated it more than a decade ago, and then became so frustrated by agency inaction that it forbade the FAA from certifying any new foreign repair station until TSA released the rule. That ban has been in place since August 2008.
FLYHT Aerospace Solutions, Calgary, Alberta, promoted Matt Bradley to the post of president. This realignment will allow Bill Tempahy, FLYHT's current CEO and former president to focus on the company public market participation and other business initiatives.
Operators could spout off five favorite things they like about the aircraft almost faster than we could write them down. Speed, range and cabin comfort topped the list. They also say the G650 burns considerably less fuel at Mach 0.85 than other large cabin aircraft.
The 52-year-old pilot of Beech King Air N987GM, an E90 model, was certainly experienced — the FAA's airman records showed he reported 5,300 hr. total time at his most recent second-class physical examination even though, inexplicably, his personal logbooks showed over 9,000 hr., 6,500 hr. of that in multiengine airplanes. The logbooks also indicated the pilot had accumulated 718 actual instrument flight hours. Whatever the case, he had spent a good amount of time in the cockpit.
RUAG has delivered the first Dornier 228-212 to the Venezuelan government at the end of January. This is the first of 10 Dornier 228s in passenger configuration ordered by that government and includes spare parts, ground equipment and training. The Dornier fleet will improve travel between remote areas and regional hubs, and will give residents in hard to reach areas greater access to medical care and government support.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Epic Aircraft is proceeding with plans to certify its E1000, a high-performance, carbon fiber, single-engine turboprop, which evolved from the Epic LT experimental aircraft. The Bend, Ore., manufacturer anticipates earning FAA approval by mid-2015, with deliveries beginning shortly thereafter. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-67A, the six-place Epic E1000 has a max cruise of 325 kt., a 34,000-ft. ceiling, and an economy cruise range of 1,650 nm.
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.
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.
Daher-Socata delivered 40 TBM 850 single-engine turboprops in 2013, up 5% from 2012 deliveries, and hopes the program will continue to expand as Europe considers permitting commercial operations of such aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The French manufacturer has delivered a total of 662 TBMs since introducing the TBM 700 in 1990; of the total, the 850 accounts for 338.
Universal Avionics, Tucson, Ariz., named Chris Cannady OEM sales manager responsible for developing and maintaining the company's products to original equipment manufacturers in the U.S.
RUAG Aviation and YASAVA are collaborating to deliver the innovative Astral design concept for long-range, large-cabin business jets such as Dassault Falcon 7Xs, Bombardier Globals and the Embraer Lineage 1000s. Some unique features include a dedicated VIP zone that has a day lounge that converts into a private bedroom with a double bed; a redesigned lav with a full shower. The VIP area for the Global features four 16-g, electrically articulating and swiveling Aiana seats that converts into a full-flat 2-meter bed.
Implicit in human achievement from the moment our ancestors climbed down from the trees to stand upright in the tall grass of the savannah has been the Law of Unintended Consequences. It works like this: Leave the arboreal sanctuary for the foraging temptations of the plains, and you increase your vulnerability to predation, perhaps winding up as some larger creature's lunch — and possibly leading to extinction of your species.
Metropolitan Aviation, Manassas, Va., announced that Justin Harris is the new director of safety. Tony Massinon was named the company's new director of operations.
