As part of the global refurbishment program announced in 2012, Jet Aviation Geneva is the first company facility to be transformed with a fresh new corporate look and feel. The newly refurbished Geneva FBO is nearly twice the size of the original, adding 313 sq. meters for a total of 648 sq. meters. The main floor of the FBO now offers a new reception area and three new customer lounges.
During a small gathering of aviation business leaders in Teterboro, N.J., in March, National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President Tom Hendricks asked the attendees to state their top concerns. FlightSafety International Chairman, CEO and President Bruce Whitman was among the first to answer: FAA's recent training interpretation. It is giving FlightSafety all sorts of problems, he told the group. Heads nodded in agreement. The FAR Part 135 operators at the gathering knew firsthand the problems that the interpretation was causing.
An Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) is a reporting program that allows employees of participating air carriers and repair station certificate holders to identify and report safety issues to management and to the FAA for resolution, without fear that the FAA will use reports accepted under the program to take legal enforcement action against them, or that companies will use such information to take disciplinary action.
Breitling's new Bentley Light Body Midnight Carbon watch is issued in a 1,000 piece worldwide limited edition. Beneath its all-black exterior is a light and sturdy titanium chassis featuring a highly resistant carbon-based coating. The dashboard-style dial displays two exclusive Breitling technical features highlighted by red-trimmed indications. The “30-second chronograph” system with its central hand sweeping around the dial in half a minute instead of the customary 60 seconds, provides highly accurate 1/8th of a second readings.
When the office phone rings, I grab it (my secretary left to fetch a Cobb salad for lunch one day in 1997 and has yet to return) and brace just a bit since there's no telling what will follow. Most frequently, it's the executive editor reminding me gently about something I've failed to do; or a writer looking for guidance, deadline relief or payment; maybe some PR person looking for ink; or it could be one of those maddening robo calls telling me not to worry, my credit is fine, but. . . .
A key regional lender sees the Chinese business aviation market beginning to evolve. ICBC Financial Leasing has approached business jet leasing, not as a form of equipment financing, but rather as part of its service to its wealthiest clients. Those clients have opted for the largest, long-range models, rather for prestige, instead of mission suitability.
The South Korean government is looking at backing development of a business jet as the foundation of a national industry capable of building its own civil transports. If the program goes ahead, possibly in a year or two, the manufacturer will be Korea Aerospace Industries. For the moment, the Korea Advanced Business Jet (KABJ) is the backstop to a priority program, a turboprop airliner. Either aircraft could serve as a basis for a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, under which the FAA would coach South Korea's air safety authorities in certifying an aircraft to U.S.
Universal Avionics completed the required testing to successfully approve its Radio Control Unit (RCU) for helicopter installation. The RCU is a mature product, and has been installed in 28 fixed-wing aircraft platforms. The unit is approved for helicopter-specific vibration profiles that include the Sikorsky S-76A, S-76C, S-61L, S-61N, UH-60L; Bell 212, 412, 412EP, 412CF; Eurocopter EC145, Dauphin NI, N3 and AS332 helicopters.
Growing demand for convenient alternatives to Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports has turned Chicago-Romeoville (KLOT) into a bona fide reliever, as the FBO there doubles the size of its corporate aircraft storage and maintenance facility this month.
Baker Aviation has a new limited time introductory offer for Hawker inspections. The $18,500 special rate includes 12-, 24- or 48-month inspection programs, excluding structural codes and squawks, which will be billed separately at an hourly rate. Contact Joe Wehrle at (972) 248-0457 or email [email protected]. Baker Aviation 4700 Glenn Curtiss Addison, Texas 75001 [email protected]
Pilatus Aircraft ended 2012 with its lowest sales total in at least five years, but a series of contracts for its military, trainer and special mission aircraft propelled the company to its strongest year ever in order intake and positions the Swiss OEM for growth. The company reported 2012 at 593 million CHF ($625 million U.S.), down from 781 million CHF a year earlier and 688 million CHF in 2010. At the same time, though, orders totaled 2.67 billion CHF on the year, more than six times the 416 million CHF taken in during 2011.
Continental Motors is extending the TBO of its Gold Standard factory-produced engines manufactured after February this year by as much as 400 hr. the company announced April 9. In 2012, Continental Motors introduced its Gold Standard factory rebuilt and new engines. The company says most engines, s.n. 1006000 and higher incorporate improvements in technology and manufacturing processes that have allowed a 200-hr. increase over the existing TBO. Aircraft owners that fly 40 hr. per month will receive a TBO extension up to 400 hr.
After reading “Analysis: Gulfstream G650” (April 2013, page 24), I'm amazed General Dynamics and Gulfstream did not go with millimeter design and manufacture for the aircraft. More than 38 years have gone by since the U.S. auto industry changed to millimeter design and manufacture. It worked for them and led to some significant savings in inventory. Why Gulfstream would stick with an archaic, hard-to-work-with measurement system that 96% of the planet does not use seems shortsighted.
Integrated avionics suites are proliferating like rabbits. The groundbreakers — Honeywell's Primus, Rockwell Collins' Pro Line and Universal Avionics UNS series helped to spawn Garmin's string of popular “G-000” series.
I would like to express ICAO's gratitude to BCA, and especially David Esler, for the recent “NOTAMs in Transition” (January 2013, page 24) for which he had interviewed our technical officer in this area, Mike Hohm. I don't think I've ever seen anyone capture the topic as well as Esler did and I was particularly impressed with how he took a very technical and challenging subject and presented it in a clear, interesting way. It was heartening to see Hohm's insights and contributions on behalf of our organization given their due in such a well-written piece.
Your comments in “Ambulatory Care” (Viewpoint, March 2013, page 7) about people still being the same while technology flies are apropos. We all worry about the delicate balance pilots seek between wanting to please the boss and stretching the hours beyond normal endurance. Unfortunately, none of us came equipped with “alertness and reaction time” meters. But wouldn't that be great?
Shadin Avionics announced the installation of their AIS Fuel Flow system on the Bell Helicopter 412 EPI. The 412 EPI installation includes the new Shadin AIS Fuel Flow signal converter, which allows fuel flow and additional fuel information to be display on a glass display rather than on a separate indicator. The installation package also includes Shadin's fuel flow transducer for the upgraded Pratt & Whitney PT6T engines.
Whether and where to build a new plant is one of the issues that Cessna, Avic and the Chengdu city government are negotiating as they work toward agreeing on assembly of the Citation Sovereign business jet in China. The first Citation Sovereign delivery in China may not take place by year's end, as originally planned, says a person involved in the complex talks, which also include the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the FAA.
Jet Aviation Hong Kong has received FAA approval to perform line and base maintenance on Gulfstream G650 aircraft. Jet Aviation Hong Kong is the latest Jet Aviation facility authorized to provide maintenance, alterations and repair services for the new ultra-long-range, ultra-high-speed business jet. The Hong Kong maintenance facility also supports Gulfstream 400/450/500/550 aircraft.
India is about to relax rules that have severely restricted the flexibility of business jets visiting or overflying that country. The application time for a landing permit will be reduced from seven working days to three, and for an overflight, from three days to one, according to local reports. “This is a huge benefit to the whole of the business aviation industry,” says Lex den Herder, divisional vice president for government and industry affairs at flight services company Universal Weather and Aviation.
For several years, optimists have been predicting that a recovery in the used business aircraft market was imminent. Conversely, skeptics believe that the huge inventory of previously owned airplanes will continue to depress prices. Could both be right? As spring began, the experts seemed divided.
The FAA's proposed fiscal 2014 budget of $15.6 billion cuts $351 million from fiscal 2012's actual level largely by trimming airport grants, a move that failed in recent years — and leaving the fate of 149 contract control towers in limbo. The budget, released April 10 by the Obama administration, includes $9.7 billion for operations, $2.8 billion for facilities and equipment (F&E), $166 million for research and development, and $2.9 billion for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund-backed Airport Improvement Program (AIP).
The Model 560 Citation family is the fastest and farthest flying group of light jets built by Cessna under the original Citation 500 type certificate. The Citation V was first to arrive in 1988, followed by the Citation Ultra in 1994 with slightly more thrust, then the Citation Encore in 2001 and finally the Citation Encore+ in 2007 through early 2010.
Are you nuts? iPad airplanes!?! (“Who's Up Front?” February 2013, page 9) That would be a terrorist's dream and a national security nightmare (I assume you've heard of computer hackers). Having logged over 14,000 hr. in military fighters, airline jumbos and corporate jets, it's a fact that a computer will never replace a pilot, his judgment, his experience and his ability to adjust to a changing environment and emergencies in a passenger-carrying aircraft. I hope you live long enough to be the first volunteer on the maiden flight.
Gulfstream Aerospace introduced a mobile version of its Nonstop magazine. The app is available as a free download from the Apple App Store. The magazine was introduced in 2011 and targets Gulfstream aircraft owners, business travelers and aviation professionals, and includes features on the business of aviation, business and leisure travel, and lifestyle topics for a wide audience. Visit the App Store on iPad or www.itunes.com/appstore. Gulfstream Aerospace www.gulfstream.com
