Jet Aviation's Teterboro repair station is now authorized to provide base, line, repair and overhaul maintenance support to Gulfstream G650 aircraft. This authorization also extends to Jet's Cayman AMO, Bermuda AMO and EASA repair station authorities. “We have made a significant investment in tooling, training and data to support the needs of our clients moving to this new aircraft type,” said David Smith, director of quality Assurance, MRO services. Jet Aviation www.jetaviation.com
Inmarsat confirmed that Dec. 8 was the launch for the first of its Global Xpress (GX) satellites, the Inmarsat-5 F1 (I-5 F1). Built by Boeing Satellite Systems International, the satellite was to have launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellite is the first of three that will be used for Inmarsat's Global Xpress Ka-band. Inmarsat teamed with Honeywell to bring its planned GX Aviation inflight connectivity services to the business aviation market. The service is expected to be rolled out to the business aviation community in early 2015.
As could have been expected, the FAA's new emphasis on identifying pilots with sleep issues, and with obstructive sleep apnea in particular, has drawn considerable opposition and commentary from a variety of pilot and aviation organizations, including the AOPA, NBAA, and Air Line Pilots Association.
National Business Aviation Association, Washington, announced that Dick Boubrava, NBAA director, Legislative Affairs, and Christa Fornarotto, who is currently serving as FAA associate administrator for airports, have both been appointed to vice president positions with government-relations responsibilities for the association.
Rockwell Collins was recently selected by Jet Aviation Basel to provide its Venue cabin management and entertainment system and high-definition Airshow 3-D Moving Map system for an Airbus A340CJ business jet. The A340CJ will be the largest aircraft to date to carry the equipment, which has been installed on more than 300 aircraft including a number of large VIP jets. HD monitors will be installed throughout the aircraft, along with wireless audio/video-on-demand capability for personal devices. Installation is slated to begin in the first half of 2014.
One of the darkest days in aviation history was Sunday, March 27, 1977. An explosion set by a separatist group at Gran Canaria Airport closed that facility, forcing many jetliners to divert to a smaller airport on neighboring Tenerife island as a precaution. The Tenerife controllers were soon overwhelmed and the ramps and taxiways were crowded with large aircraft, including Boeing 747s.
Despite strong opposition among pilot groups and in Congress, the Federal Air Surgeon is staying on course with his plan to require pilots and controllers with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 40 to undergo testing for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and seek treatment, if necessary. (See “Keeping Your Medical Qualification” page 30.) During a Dec. 12 webinar, Dr. Fred Tilton maintained that the requirement is a process enhancement that does not need to go through the rulemaking process.
Ben Sclair (General Aviation News Living With Your Plane Lakewood, Wash. ), Publisher (General Aviation News Living With Your Plane Lakewood, Wash. )
Congratulations on the B&CA redesign. I very much like the new logo as it lives up to what everyone has called the magazine for years . . . as you note in your Viewpoint (October 2013, page 11). The flow and look of the digital edition is striking. It's very comfortable and easy to read. General Aviation News Living With Your Plane Lakewood, Wash.
Due to an editing error, on page 51 of the B&CA's November issue (Another Weather Tool”), 2nd paragraph of 1st column, reads: “It is not uncommon, in an environment of fast-moving weather that WARP and on-board NEXRAD displays show weather in different geographic locations. With fast-moving weather, this happens because the weather data is routed to the cockpit via two different avenues.” It should have read:
During the final approach and landing phase, it is essential that the activities of the Pilot Flying be closely monitored. The approach shall be stabilized no later than 1,000 ft. above field elevation. Boeing defines a stabilized approach as follows: Aircraft in the final landing configuration Power setting appropriate for aircraft configuration Airspeed no greater than target +20 kt. and trending toward target On glidepath or assumed 3-deg. glidepath Note: Descent rates above 1,000 fpm should be avoided.
If you're planning to fly to this year's Winter Olympics, set for Feb. 7-23, or Paralympics slated for March 7-16 in Sochi, Russia, NBAA wants you to start making arrangements yesterday. Many special procedures will be in effect for the entire winter season, beginning on Jan. 1 and continuing through April 30. As a result, the majority of business aircraft flights to Sochi International during the Games will be drop-and-go operations.
Signature Flight Support, continuing on an ambitious capital expenditure program for new and upgraded facilities, is opening a new private aviation terminal at its Newark Liberty International Airport location in New Jersey. The company had a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 13.
Rockwell Collins announced a series of enhancements to its Pro Line Fusion avionics. The primary update is Required Navigation Performance Authorization Required (RNP AR) 0.3. This enhancement provides obstacle clearance and clearly defined fight paths in congested airspace and at terrain-challenged airports.
The General Electric Honda HF120 engine The General Electric Honda HF120 engine for the HA-420 HondaJet has received FAA Part 33 engine certification, clearing the way for the start of full-scale production. The certification of the 2,095 lb.-thrust engine comes nine years after the formation of the joint venture and four years later than originally planned when the program was launched in 2006.
In a new strategic alliance with Houston-based Starbase Jet, China's largest business jet operator, Deer Jet, is shifting seven of its aircraft to the U.S. to fly in the charter market there. The U.S.-registered jets will be operated by Starbase Jet and will be available for hire, with a particular emphasis on serving Chinese customers traveling within the United States. “The U.S. is China's most important business aviation market,” says Deer Jet chairman Xu Xin, “and this new venture is an investment in our expansion there.”
A Beechcraft King Air 100 piloted by a well-experienced captain crashed on Oct. 27, 2011, about a half mile short of Runway 26L at Vancouver International Airport. Observers said the airplane simply spun out on short final from a position 300 ft. above the ground. Both pilots were killed and all seven passengers were seriously injured by the impact and subsequent fire.
Cessna Aircraft recently confirmed the Mach 0.935 speed of its new Citation X in high-speed certification flights with the FAA, taking a key step toward reclaiming the fastest business jet title. Cessna says it has now completed all testing requirements to validate the Mach 0.935 speed. The original X reigned as the fastest business jet with a top speed of Mach 0.92 until Gulfstream's Mach 0.925 G650 reached market last year.
Cessna Aircraft reports “a landmark deal that will see Citation Mustangs being flown for charter services in China for the first time.” The Yunnan Ruifeng General Aviation Company is buying two of the light jets, Cessna says, and will offer connections to high-altitude airports — approximately 13,000 ft. (4,000 meters) above sea level. The first delivery is scheduled for December, and the second slated for 2014. “This deal proves again the growing demand in the Chinese business aviation market,” said Kevin Wu, Cessna regional sales VP for greater China.
How can you protect yourself or your employer from the fate of Avantair's program participants? Begin with due diligence. “The structure of Avantair was very unusual in terms of their customer contracts and their capacity to deal with the situation they ultimately wound up in,” said Mike Riegel, president of Aviation IQ, a California-based consultancy. “Their contracts do not guarantee liquidity. All the major providers do. So this is obviously something to look at when considering a provider, especially one that is also operating a charter card program.”
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning biographer of Lyndon Johnson, the Kennedys, Roosevelts Teddy and Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln, said in a recent interview that her years-long research involves poring over her subjects' letters, speeches, notes and diaries. And, she adds, that kind of close analysis of original documents will be a problem for those historians of the future since the emails, blogs and social media postings favored today by tomorrow's lions will simply disappear in the electronic evanescence.
The FAA has certified the Learjet 75, clearing the way for deliveries to formally begin. The approval, which came Nov. 14, had been slowed by delays in certification of the Garmin 5000 avionics panel and more recently by the government shutdown. The first customers of the new Learjets are banker and real estate mogul Louis Beck and London Air Services, a charter operator. Fractional operator FlexJet is also expected to begin taking delivery soon.
Business Jet Access, Dallas, announced two additions to their team. Jerry B. Tindel Jr., has been hired as maintenance supervisor overseeing operations at the BJA facility at Love Field Airport. David Garvey is the new Supply Chain manager who will manage all areas of materials and supply chain logistics for BJA.
