Executive Jet Management (EJM), among the nation's largest charter and management companies, is undergoing a management shake-up with three of its top executives believed to have recently departed the NetJets subsidiary. Among those out the exits is President Robert Garrymore, who had served with EJM and NetJets since 1998. Garrymore became president of EJM in 2009. Others include Ronald Silverman, senior vice president of aircraft management, and Jim Lewis, senior vice president of aircraft maintenance, sales and acquisitions.
Transporting disabled passengers carries extra responsibilities and planning. Dealing with an emergency will likely require alternate procedures that should be clearly defined and reviewed before flight by the crew and the passenger (or accompanying assistant, if one is present). In a cabin depressurization, for example, how will the disabled passenger be fitted with an oxygen mask? In the event of a crash that damages the primary exit, how will the passenger be assisted in deplaning? For more on crash survival, see “Get Out! Get Out! (BCA, June 2013, page 26).
PlaneSense had been an eager buyer of the stillborn Grob SPn. The reason for that interest, says PlaneSense founder, president and CEO George Antoniadis, was the Grob twin's large cabin, good economy and ability to fly into small and unimproved strips — attributes that mirrored those of the PC-12. The operator's move into twins was suspended when the Grob program came to grief, but the interest remained. And now Pilatus is developing its own, go-anywhere twin, and Antoniadis is watching closely.
Surf Air, a membership airline that began operations between three California cities in June using three Pilatus PC-12s has placed 25 pilots on its roster and is adding more. Meanwhile, FlexJet, Bombardier's Dallas-based fractional program, says sustained growth is prompting it to hire more front-seaters. Interested applicants should have at least 2,500 hours of total flight time, 500 of which should be multiengine and 500 turbine, plus an ATP and a First Class medical.
Dear BCA readers, customers and friends: You've probably heard the exciting news that Aviation Week has been purchased by Penton Media, becoming one of Penton's flagship industry brands with a high-quality comprehensive portfolio of B2B Media, Events and Data/Analytics serving the growing global aviation, aerospace and defense marketplace. We join forces with Penton Aviation's top brands in commercial and business aviation, while maintaining our core strength with deep technology expertise across the full breadth of the industry.
Ontario, Canada-based Flying Colours has been appointed by Raisbeck Engineering as an Authorized Sales and Installation Centre for the entire King Air product line. Previous accreditations from Beechcraft and Blackhawk will allow the company to undertake King Air maintenance, refurbishments, modifications and paint work in additional to full completions all under one roof.
LightSquared, Inc., may be going down, but not without a fight. The now bankrupt company had planned to use radio spectrum to create a wireless data network spanning the U.S., and was given a preliminary go-ahead by the federal government to do so. However, the GPS industry strongly objected, arguing that transmissions from the new network would interfere with existing GPS equipment used in aviation and a host of other industries and ultimately succeeded in stopping LightSquared after the latter had invested heavily in the project.
Jet Aviation and Sao Paulo-based C-Fly Aviation have signed a strategic alliance agreement by which C-Fly will exclusively provide Jet Aviation Flight Services referral on charter and aircraft management in Brazil. C-Fly currently manages 16 aircraft and provides a wide range of consulting services to corporate and individual clients. Jet Aviation manages over 250 aircraft worldwide.
The FAA has issued its first type certifications for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The milestone event occurred July 19 when the agency presented restricted category papers under FAR 21.25 for the Insitu ScanEagle and AeroVironment Puma AE. A Boeing subsidiary, Insitu is based in Bingen, Wash. Headquartered in Monrovia, Calif., AeroVironment was founded by the late Dr. Paul MacCready, the father of human-powered flight.
FAA is proposing issuing an Airworthiness Directive requiring repetitive inspections and eventual replacement of cylinders made by Engine Components Inc. (ECi) and Airmotive found on 6,000 Continental 520 and 550 aircraft engines. Total cost of compliance could reach $82.6 million. The agency says the proposal, issued Aug. 12, stems from numerous reports of cylinder head-to-barrel separations, and cracked and leaking aluminum heads. ECi, objects, saying premature top overhauls could result in engine failure.
Cirrus Aircraft is beginning initial production work of the first conforming Vision SF50 jet, and plans to launch an 18-month certification program for the single-engine “personal” jet early next year. Three aircraft will be used in the flight testing, which the Duluth, Minn.-based manufacturer hope will conclude with type certification award in late 2015. The company, which has more than 170 people working on the SF50 program, reports more than 500 deposits for the $1.96 million aircraft.
In the early days of aviation, one of the major technical struggles for achieving flight was finding the sweet spot between the center of balance and the center of lift. Otto Lilienthal steered his gliders by shifting his body. The Wrights developed wing warping, whereby simple metal cables twisted the wings to produce roll. As aircraft complexity increased, the relationship between engine torque and prop wash (known as the P-factor) was taken into account to maintain balanced flight.
Jetcraft Corp., a major business aircraft broker with headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., has acquired the aircraft sales division of ExecuJet Aviation Group, of Zurich, Switzerland. The combined Jetcraft sales force comprises 20 senior sales executives, and another 20 sales, technical and marketing support staffers, located in offices worldwide. Chad Anderson remains president of Jetcraft and Andrew Hoy, formerly managing director of the ExecuJet group, will oversee sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
FlightSafety International, La Guardia Airport, N.Y., named Andy Johnson manager of the company's Gulfstream Learning Center in savannah. He replaces Chip White who is now manager of the company's Orlando Learning Center.
United Aviation Services (UAS) of Dubai predicts 3,000 business aircraft will fly into and within Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with 11% of all visitors traveling by private aircraft for the tournament, set to run from June 12 through July 13. Play will take place in a dozen cities throughout Brazil. Ammar Al-Mahmoud, director of the UAS charter division, said the vast country is “underserved” by airlines, a condition favoring private jet travel.
Blackhawk Modifications, Inc., Waco, Texas, has reorganized its sales organization into two groups: Domestic and International. Sales managers in the Domestic groups will report to Edwin Black, vice president of Domestic Sales. The international group will report to Bobby Patton, vice president of International Sales. Sam Jantzen has been named as the company's vice president of Marketing. His aviation career includes positions with Cessna, Fairchild Aircraft, Commuter Air Technology and Raisbeck Engineering.
I enjoyed “Oh, for a Good Night's Sleep” (July 2013). I think that Part 91 should start to think about adhering to the Part 121 flight/rest limitations and requirements, especially now that we monitor ourselves through an SMS. I hate the fact that more regulation is required, but unfortunately there are too many flight departments nowadays that will operate “as ordered” by their manager or principal. This would at least give them something to hang their hat on.
As of Aug. 1, new first officer (FO) qualification rules for first officers on scheduled U.S. airliners take effect. The rules require that every FO have an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificates and 1,500 total flight hours — with some exceptions — and require a type rating on the aircraft being operated. A restricted ATP certificate will have a 750-flight-hour minimum for military pilots, or at least 1,000 hr. of time as a pilot, plus an aviation degree. The rules also set a minimum of 1,000 hr.
The Government of Aruba has introduced a ministerial ordinance codifying the use of designated inspectors (DI) by the director of the Department of Civil Aviation of Aruba (DCA). This framework allows DI's to be engaged by the Registry in procedures regarding airworthiness, crew licensing, operators' manuals and compliance of flight simulators with the local regulations. The Designated Inspectors will be located around the world to best service the industry (USA, Europe, Russia, and CIS Middle East and Asia-Pacific).
Aircell announced that Travel Management Company (TMC) will introduce Aircell's Gogo Biz service across its entire fleet of light jet charter aircraft. The expansion is expected to be complete in October and will encompass nearly 70 aircraft with complimentary Gogo Biz service. TMC operates the largest, privately owned fleet of Hawker 400XP and 800XP charter aircraft in the U.S. John Wade, Aircell's executive vice president and general manager said, inflight connectivity “. . .
On July 2 the death sentence for Stage 2 business jets was published in the Federal Register. The FAA final rule, which prohibits operation of the noisy jets in the contiguous U.S. as of midnight, Dec. 31, 2015, essentially implements a ban that Congress made law as part of the FAA Modernization Reform Act of 2012. The rule applies to jet aircraft that weigh less than 75,000 lb. and do not meet Stage 3 noise levels. Commercial Stage 2 jets were banned as of Dec. 31, 1999. In the U.S., nearly 600 business jets will be affected by the ban.
Executive AirShare, Kansas City, Kan., announced industry veteran Steve Gentry joined the company as senior sales director and will be based at the company's Love Field, Dallas facility. Gentry previously held positions at CitationAir, Bombardier FlexJet and a national turboprop fraction program. He is a pilot with more than 600 flight hours.
ForeFlight digital navigation charts and information are now available for Canada. The complete set of NAV CANADA charts, optimized for iPad display, includes Visual Navigation Charts (VNC), Visual Terminal Area Charts (VTA), and the Canadian Flight Supplement (CFS). ForeFlight Mobile now offers flight-planning capabilities; preflight weather information including METARs, TAFs, and radar from Environment Canada; and, inflight access to navigation charts, weather and moving map capabilities.
A bill calling for the rewriting of FAR Part 23 and designed to stimulate the light aircraft industry received unanimous approval by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee July 10. Aviation subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) said the “Small Airplane Revitalization Act” entailed “necessary, common sense reforms” which together “will improve the safety of general aviation at half the cost and help revitalize this critical industry.” The Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is expected to approve a companion measure.
