I was surprised by a letter titled “One Sided” in the September B&CA (page 12) by Steven Twist, a lawyer for Services Group of America . . . and more so, that you even printed it. I read the referenced article, “Command Presence” (Cause & Circumstance, June 2013, page 55), and went over the NTSB documents several times and can find nothing in Dick Aarons' reporting that is even closely one-sided. Instead, I found it to be factual, to the point, and exactly what I expected when I viewed the NTSB report.
Ac-U-Kwik has developed an airport and FBO iPad app. Data available in the “Corporate Pilot's Airport/FBO Directory for North America and International” includes complete information on FBOs and fuel services, selective maintenance, catering, ground transportation, airport diagrams, clearance procedures, weather forecasts and updates, distance calculator and geo-referenced mapping. You can bookmark airport and make notes. For more information, go to: acukwik.com/ipad
Rockwell Collins' $1.39 billion buy of Arinc from the Carlyle Group gives the avionics maker its own end-to-end ground-to-cockpit communications link, a connection that is fundamental to the FAA's NextGen air traffic management system. The deal, announced in August, was expected close quickly.
Also as part of its sale of Flexjet, Bombardier is selling its 49% stake in Flexjet partner Jet Solutions, which held the Part 135 certificate and contracted to provide charter flights for the Dallas-based fractional. The 51% stakeholders of Jet Solutions, including President Dennis Keith, are buying the remaining portion of their company, but will maintain their strategic relationship with Flexjet, says Flexjet President Deanna White.
Bell Helicopter has delivered a Model 407GX to Helidrive in Saint Petersburg, the first of the type for Russia. Helidrive, which represents Bell in northwest Russia, accepted the aircraft is early September. It plans to use the aircraft for private and charter flights. To date, more than 1,100 Bell 407s have been delivered globally. The 407GX has a Garmin G1000H flight deck, including a terrain avoidance warning system, synthetic vision and a traffic information system.
AEROBridge, Washington, D.C., has been was warded the National Aeronautic Association's 2013 Public Benefit Flying Award for Outstand Achievement in Public Benefit Flying “for creating a nationwide network of volunteer aircraft owners, operators, FBOS and pilots will to donate their time, effort and funding for the alleviation of the suffering of those in need due to disaster or circumstance.”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has nixed plans to lease Midway International Airport (MDW) to private investors. Rahm suddenly canceled the process in September when only one lease bidder remained. A spokeswoman for the mayor's office was quoted as saying, “We set a high bar,” but “the companies did not meet that bar and could not make an offer that would meet what taxpayers deserve.” The lease, which was expected to generate billions of dollars for the city, would have involved the first major metropolitan U.S. airport to go under private control.
Constant Aviation, Cleveland, Ohio, was selected as a 2013 NorthCoast 99 winner as on of the best workplaces in Northeast Ohio. This is two in a row for Constant Aviation.
Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services has opened an additional hangar at its home base in Berlin-Schoenefeld. The increase in capacity has also created 12 new jobs (10 of which are technicians), bringing the number of staff currently employed at LBAS to 183. Following the renovation of a hangar taken over from Lufthansa Tecnik, the MRO provider can handle one aircraft in the Bombardier Global series and up to four aircraft the size of a Challenger 850. Expansion includes a battery shop and a wheel reconditioning worshop.
Swift Fuels LLC has opened their new aviation fuel blending facility in Lafayette, Ind., where it is also building a pilot plant. The company is investing $2.5 million in the facilities. The blending facility will store at least 50,000 gal. unleaded, high-octane aviation components for sales and shipment. The pilot plant will produce more than 10,000 gal. of 100SF avgas per month when it reaches full capacity. It can produce the fuel from petroleum or bio-sourced material.
The Federal Communications Commission is proposing to phase out 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) and transition to units transmitting on 406 MHz since only the latter's signals are processed by a network of search satellites. However, the Department of Transportation opposes the move citing expense — about $500 million to re-equip the civilian fleet — and the “unequivocal intent” of the Congress to permit use of the 121.5 units.
While the final report on the loss of Aero Commander N690SM had not been released at this writing, it is certain to make mention of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents. These are incidents in which a properly functioning aircraft is flown under the control of a qualified pilot into terrain (water or obstacles) with inadequate awareness on the part of the pilot of the impending collision.
The FCC gave a Blanket License Radio Station Authorization for Ka-band aeronautical earth stations to ViaSat, Inc. The 15-yr., renewable license permits operation of the ViaSat Mantarray, low-profile airborne antenna on the ViaSat Ka-band satellite fleet of ViaSat-1, WildBlue-1 and Anik-F2. As the first license of its kind, this approval is another step toward the launch of the ViaSat Exede In the Air Service, the company says.
B. Coleman Aviation will develop a new Chicago-based FBO and general aviation facility at Chicago-Gary International Airport. Features include more than 25,00 sq. ft. of terminal and hangar area, and a 12,500-sq.-ft. airside canopy large enough to provide year round shelter for a Gulfstream V or Bombardier Global Express aircraft. Completion is scheduled for spring 2014.
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, announced that is board of directors elected company President Kelly Ortberg to the additional role of CEO. He succeeds Clay Jones who retired as CEO after nearly 34 years with the company. Jones will continue as non-executive chairman.
Turbine business aircraft are so reliable, passengers are so predict–able and ATC services are so dependable that it's easy to slip into a cozy cocoon within which you're completely isolated from possible weather, mechanical, operational or physiological contingencies. In reality, though, “what if” contingencies pop up with alarming regularity. Some result in fatal consequences.
SimCom Training has completed the first initial training course for the new Total Eclipse using its recently qualified level-D full-flight simulator equipped with new IFMS avionics. The six-day course includes ground school, 14 hr. of brief/debrief time, and 18 hr. of simulator training. “The new simulator is extremely realistic and allows you to train for every conceivable emergency,” said Mike Bryant, the first customer to complete the new program.
The Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture rapidly is becoming the U.S. national airshow, with a broad-spectrum demographic that includes a large, but low-profile group of turbine aircraft owners and pilots. Stéphane Mayer, Daher-Socata CEO, says 70 TBM700/850 operators were at Oshkosh this year.
To “unleash the potential for development of innovative civil applications” for unmanned aircraft in Europe, a 2012 European Commission white paper stated, “the first priority is to achieve a safe integration of RPAS [Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems] into the European air system as soon as possible.”
Yes, a picture can be worth a thousand words, and until recently, an aviator had to create a mental image of destination weather using charts and obscure abbreviations to make the final Go/No-Go decision. However, thanks to the Internet, it is now possible for a flight crew to actually see the current conditions at a wide variety of locations, including mountain passes, highways, runways and even FBO ramps.
Air Tractor recently delivered its 3,000th aircraft, a PT6A-34AG powered model 502B ag plane, to Agropecuaria Maggi Ltda., of Brazil. The operator has three other AT-502Bs for spraying crops of soybeans, cotton and corn. Last year the Olney, Tex., manufacturer produced a record 180 aircraft, all PT6-powered, which are used in ag work, fire fighting, narcotic crop eradication, fuel-hauling, fighting locust plagues, military strike/reconnaissance, and cleaning up oil spills in coastal waters. Air Tractors operate in 30 countries. For more information: www.airtractor.com
Has the ascent finally begun? The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reports that during the first half of 2013 the industry shipped 1,014 new aircraft new aircraft, an increase of nearly 9% over the same period a year earlier. Total billing of $10.4 billion was up a whopping 26%, the first since 2008 that airplane revenues exceeded $10 billion at the halfway mark. Deliveries and dollars were up in all categories with the notable exception of business jets, whose numbers slipped from 295 in 2012, to 283 this year, and revenue dropped by 4%.
