The UVair FBO Network has added Great Circle Flight Service at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport as their newest location. Great Circle operates 24/7 and provides customs and immigration support, licensed contract A&P technicians, lounges, courtesy transportation and on-site rental cars, among other amenities. The UVair Network now has 20 FBOs offering branded fuel, Bravo Rewards, acceptance of the EPIC Card and the UVair Fueling Card.
The FAA has certified the Gulfstream G280's Enhanced Vision System (EVS) II and Head-Up Display (HUD) II. The systems enable pilots to see terrain, runways, taxiways and possible obstructions in low-visibility conditions and provide operational credit, enabling the super-midsize aircraft to land in weather conditions prohibitive for non-equipped aircraft.
Gulfstream Aerospace released its new PlaneBalance application, a weight and calculation tool. The app complements the company's PlaneBook iPad application. PlaneBalance is available from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore. Gulfstream's PlaneBook Software Version 2.0 must be downloaded onto the iPad prior to downloading PlaneBalance. For question or comments go to [email protected]
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.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla., selected Dr. Brent Bowen as dean of the College of Aviation at the Prescott, Ariz., campus. He comes to ERAU from Purdue University, where he was professor and head of the Aviation Technology department.
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.
The National Weather Service has a good “go to” website for access to weather cameras. For my locality it brings up SLC as the regional center (www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc). When I click on the “Weather Cameras” link on the left side of the screen I get an abundance of choices of weather cameras and viewing directions; some are “looped” or animated. (It is useful to watch the trend over the last 30 min.) Also, pilots might find the Weather Underground website useful since it lists an extraordinary number of weather collection stations (www.wunderground.com).
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.
Key Air, Oxford, Conn., appointed 40-year aviation veteran Jim Bennett as its vice president of Flight Operations and Bill Ekstrom as its new manager of Business Operations.
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.
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.
Parts bin engineering long has been a strong suit of Cessna Aircraft and no aircraft better exemplifies that strategy than the Citation 560XL series. Created in the mid-1990s as a response to the clean-sheet, leading edge Learjet 45, the Citation 560XL features a shortened Citation 650 fuselage, a scaled up Citation V wing and newly introduced Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545 turbofan engines. Low-wing loading and a sporty thrust-to-weight ratio gave it the best runway performance in its class, with far better hot-and-high airport performance than the original Learjet 45.
Commuter Air Technology, Inc., (CAT), Midwest City, Okla., appointed Juan “Johnny A” Alverez as director of Special Operation Forces and Latin America Business Development responsible for procurement and management of active commercial and para-public aviation, training, integration and ISR projects.
The long economic downturn notwithstanding, PlaneSense, the Pilatus PC-12 fractional aircraft operation, is still putting up some strong numbers. Since beginning operations with a single aircraft in September 1995, the company — which now operates a fleet of 30 Pilatus singles — has completed 200,000 sorties into 1,140 different strips ranging in length from 1900 ft. to 10,000 ft. In 2012, its on-time departure record (excluding weather, passenger or ATC delays) was 99.5% and its busiest day ever was July 7, 2013, when it logged 156 sorties, a record that stood until Aug.
Hangar Ten Aviation Services is expanding its complex at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City (MKC) with a new 11,000-sq.-ft. multi-use hangar. The new facility, which will join Hangar Ten's existing 55,000-sq.-ft. hangar, will house aircraft the size of a Citation X, along with adjoining offices. Hangar Ten expaned because it has seen an increase in transient traffic fuel volume over the past three years.
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.
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.
Since guide dogs, alert dogs and other animals often accompany disabled people in their travels, be sure to consider not only where the animal will be stationed once aboard the aircraft, but where the animal will be able to relieve itself before, during and after long flights. Also, define who is responsible for providing escort assistance to an airport service animal relief area and how passengers accompanied by a service animal can obtain assistance for this purpose. And bring a scooper, just in case.
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.
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
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.
Eurcopter and Ramco Systems are partnering to offer state-of-the-art helicopter maintenance software that will ease the life of operators and maintenance centers. The agreement allows both companies to offer additional mobility and functionality for the collection and treatment of MRO-related data by providing effective and cost-efficient fleet management services that are affordable and user friendly for all operators.
Nextant Aerospace, Cleveland, appointed James Immke to vice president of Quality and Safety. He joined the company in 2010 and has over 20 years of quality and safety experience in highly regulated industries, including aerospace and defense.
