While aircraft design and certification has certainly minimized the occurrence of Mach Tuck, there are many important lessons to be remembered from earlier investigations that apply to swept-wing training.
Southeast Aerospace, Melbourne, Fla., appointed Darrel Davies regional representative for Canada. He will help expand SEA's service in the Canadian helicopter market.
MyTurbine is a mobile app from Dallas Airmotive designed to easily connect customers anywhere in the world with information about engines being serviced, AOG support and much more. Convenient icons allow for quick navigation to the services most used by customers such as the company's First Support global customers. Users can check cost estimates and completions dates on engines in process, find service locations and contact sales reps among others features.
New charter operator World Health Jets of Jackson, Miss., has contracted with JDA Aviation Technology Solutions (JDA) for the company's 135Pro product. The program is a low-cost FAR Part 135 certification support program designed to simplify the certification process and lower costs. It includes manuals tailored to help new charter operators and corporate flight departments satisfy FAA requirements and while obtaining full-time support from the JDA expert 135 team. Visit www.jdasolutions.aero for more information.
Although cleared, the driveway was snow crusted. So, I watched with keen interest as my daughter made her way up its steep incline, her all-season tires going slower and slower until just inches from the summit, they stopped. Not good. Hustling up, I told her to take a back seat. Daddy would get it over the top. A perfect Papa Berenstain Bear* moment: Don't be upset getting stuck on a hill, Driving cars through snow takes know-how and skill
Jan. 6 — At 0700 EST, a Mooney M20R (N1046L) collided with trees and terrain about 1 mi. east of the Boyne City Municipal Airport (KN98), Boyne City, Mich. The private pilot and the passenger on board were both fatally injured. The airplane was heavily damaged from the impact and a post-crash fire. The airplane was registered to Chair Covers Leasing, Inc., and operated by the private pilot. The purpose of the flight is unknown at this time. It was VFR for the flight and an IFR flight plan was filed.
Priester Aviation, Wheeling, Ill., hired William (Bill) L. McNease as vice president and director of Flight Operations. Kevin Brink was named sales director, North American Sales responsible for sales in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Hawaii, Nevada eastern Oregon, Saskatchewan and Washington. Scott Clarey joined the company as sales director, North American sales for Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Utrak. He is based in Tempe, Ariz.
In April 1997, the American Airlines Flight Academy produced a seminar on the hazards of automation dependency, particularly the perils of attempting to reprogram flight management computers in time-sensitive, high workload environments.
Elliott Aviation,. Moline, Ill, hired Scott Noack as regional sales manager for the South Central U.S., responsible for maintaining and building Elliott's customer relationships in that region
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has scheduled a series of six regional AOPA Fly-Ins and an “ AOPA Homecoming ” in Frederick, Md. The fly-ins will include a town hall meeting with association President Mark Baker, who will discuss industry issues and association initiatives. The events will also include educational and safety seminars, aircraft displays and exhibits , flying activities and clinics. The events will include a return of AOPA 's annual Frederick Fly-In on Oct. 4 that will feature a celebration of the association's 75th anniversary.
Honda Aircraft's new customer service facility in Greensboro, N.C., has received FAR Part 145 certification. Opened in October 2013, the facility is initially cleared for component-level repairs, but Honda expects to expand the approvals to cover heavy aircraft maintenance and major services repairs this year. The facility is also the base for Honda's customer service organization and will provide warranty administration; service programs sales and administration; provide 24/7 technical support and training; and develop technical publications.
The battle for the future of Santa Monica, Calif., Airport (SMO) is fully engaged. The city has filed suit in federal court seeking full control over the facility and, if successful, would likely result in its permanent closure in 2015. The FAA is opposing the move, insisting the city must operate the facility as an airport in perpetuity — a position the municipality flatly rejects. Santa Monica maintains its airport obligations expire in 2015 under a settlement agreement the city reached with FAA in 1984.
Biggin Hill Airport, London, appointed Robert Walters as director. He spent seven years as business development manager for the airport and will continue to lead sales and marketing but will also manage customer service.
Raisbeck Engineering's Swept Blade Turbofan Propellers are now being delivered after their FAA certification covering the entire King Air C90 and E90 family. When added to the Raisbeck EPIC Performance Package for the C90/E90 aircraft, the Swept Blade Propellers deliver performance increases across the board, according to Raisbeck. The EPIC Package is priced at $99,864 plus installation and includes Raisbeck Dual Aft Body Strakes and FAA-Approved Airplane Flight Manual Supplement.
Milestone Aviation Group, Richard Santulli's Dublin-based helicopter leasing company, recently announced it had closed on an unsecured $200 million revolving credit line. That increases its unsecured borrowing capacity to $450 million and revolving borrowing capacity to $800 million.
Meanwhile, at the other end of Wichita's Kellogg Avenue, Cessna has begun deliveries of its M2 light jet and new Sovereign+, providing the planemaker with a much needed boost. Last year the company phased out production and sold off what original Sovereign and Citation X jets remained, posting losses of $50 million in the second quarter and $23 million in the third quarter as a result. Powered by Williams FJ44 engines, the M2 flies at speeds of 400 kt., has a 1,300-nm range and can operate at airports with 3,250-ft. runways.
The FAA will keep its minimum random drug and alcohol testing percentage rates the same for calendar year 2014, testing at least 25% of covered employees for drugs and 10% for alcohol, the agency has determined. The decision, set to be formalized in a Federal Register notice, is made each year based on full-year testing results from the last full calendar year. If positive test rates exceed 1.0% for drugs or 0.50% for alcohol in a year, FAA must boost the percentages of employees tested.
Cockpit automation is here to stay, and will probably increase in the future. Automated cockpit systems have contributed significantly to improvements in safety, operational efficiency, and precise flight path management, all welcome developments. Unfortunately accidents continue to point out vulnerabilities attendant to automation as well.
Zenith Aviation, a Fredericksburg, Va.-based marketer and distributor of Dornier 328 parts, has significantly increased its inventory with the purchase of Dornier 328 jet assets from Comtran and Jetran International. The assets include two Dornier 328-310 heavyweight jets, six Pratt & Whitney 306B engines, two sets of Dornier 328-310 heavyweight landing gear, a complete 12-seat executive interior, and more than 2,000 line items of rotable parts .
Considering all their powered, moving parts, helicopters are by their very nature noisy conveyances. They are, however, in the process of getting quieter, much to the relief of those within and without. Noise reduction of rotary wing aircraft is obviously a major goal of the industry, and in view of the news reports regarding the quiet, special ops helicopters used in the assault against Osama Bin Laden, the technology is gaining.
Keith Plumb, president and COO of regional fractional ownership provider Executive AirShare, added the title of CEO on Jan. 1. Plumb is succeeding Bob Taylor as part of a succession plan that began in early 2013. Taylor, who has been chairman and CEO, will become chairman emeritus, focused on various sales and business development projects. Taylor, who turns 67 shortly, jointly founded Executive AirShare with Plumb in 2000 in Wichita.
Nihad E. Daidzic, Ph.D. ATP, CFII, MEI, CFIG Professor of Aviation and Mechanical Engineering (Minnesota State University Mankato, Minn. )
Regarding “Cause & Circumstance” (December 2013), two pilots needlessly died primarily due to lack of proper training and understanding of multiengine airplane control and performance during dynamic asymmetric-thrust operations. In order to regain control, the airplane performance must be first sacrificed. Pilots just did not have enough altitude for that tradeoff, sadly only 20 seconds from touchdown.
Atlantic Aviation has reached a deal to acquire five fixed-base operations from Galaxy Aviation for $195 million. Atlantic Aviation parent Macquarie Infrastructure Company plans to fund the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, through a combination of cash, proceeds of an equity offering and a credit facility. The acquisition will provide Atlantic Aviation with a foothold in Florida, where it currently does not operate any facilities.
Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga., announced that Kevin Dutton is the new vice president, Operations Finance. He will lead financial functions for Gulfstream operations in the U.S. and Mexico. David Pearman was appointed general manger of the company's service center in West Palm Beach, Fla. He has served as general manager of Gulfstream's component repair facility in Lincoln, Calif., since 2008.
