Since the human brain is approximately 75% water, when the body becomes dehydrated, headaches, lightheadedness and fatigue are common symptoms. Dehydration results in increased tracking errors, slowed decision making, and decreased short-term memory.
Sierra Industries has released their 2013-2014 catalog of products and services. It is organized by aircraft model and product category, including detailed information on aircraft performance, costs of operation and comparative information for a variety of competitive business aircraft. Expanded services include flat-rate inspection pages for aircraft ranging from the Citation CJ2/CJ3 through Beechcraft's King Air and Hawker 400/800 models.
Dubai, UAE-based United Aviation Services is offering free, all-inclusive trip planning services to existing and potential business aviation customers. The new service will provide: full route planning; full trip cost estimates, including clearance and navigation, coordination and ground handling, catering, airport and fuel charges; efficient and cost-effective fuel stops; equipment and handling availability at any station; a detailed airport brief; advisory services on immigration and Customs regulations; and general information and security/risk assessment.
SimCom Training Centers and Eclipse Aerospace, Inc. announced a new Avio IFMS-equipped, full-motion Eclipse twin-engine simulator that is ready for training at SimCom's Orlando, Fla., center. It is an FAA certified, Level D device. The Avio IFMS is the latest avionics configuration installed in Eclipse jets. SimCom Training Centers www.simulator.com Eclipse Aerospace www.eclipse.aero
Perhaps you remember the first time you lowered the canopy on the T-37 in the middle of that hot July sun in Columbus, Miss. Or preflighting a Piper Warrior on the Vero Beach ramp at high noon in August. Or maybe you were learning to hover in that “green house” canopy of a TH-55 at Fort Rucker, Ala., or an R-22 in mid-summer outside Sao Paulo — either way, your Nomex flight suit or cotton shirt was completely drenched in sweat. Back then we were young, eager and not about to show others that the heat was a bother.
Col. John Scherer, USAF (Ret.) (Alder Companies Delavan, Wis. )
“Two Tiers of Training” (June 2013) is right on target! I was a T-37 IP at Reese AFB and taught spins and spin prevents as well. My son (U.S. Naval Academy 2010) just went through Navy pilot training at NAS Pensacola, Vance AFB and NAS Corpus Christi (he's flying P3s in Bahrain now). He described similar training in the T-6 as well.
Beechcraft's factory-owned Hawker Beechcraft Services facilities were authorized to install the CenTex Halo 250 gross-weigh increase modification for Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft. The Halo 250 conversion adds 920 lb. of payload capacity through an increase in maximum takeoff weight from 12,500 lb. to 13,420 lb. Waco, Texas-based CenTex Aerospace developed the modification, which received FAA certification in October. The increase can be installed via a normal category supplemental type certificate (STC) or a commuter category STC.
Honeywell is partnering with Dubai-based Jetex to expand the global reach of its flight support services. Jetex will resell from Honeywell's Global Data Center Flight Support Services to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Jetex will provide international trip planning across multiple regions and after-trip concierge service to Honeywell customers. The agreement will enable end-to-end international flight services for operators globally. The joint services are expected to be available in the fourth quarter.
Beechcraft Corp., in the throes of divesting the Premier and Hawker 4000 programs, insists that the Hawker 400 and 800 programs are not for sale. “There's some perception in the marketplace that we're not in the Hawker business,” Brian Howell, vice president sales and business development, Global Customer Support, acknowledged recently. “That perception couldn't be more false.” The company has built up a parts inventory and service network to support a fleet that includes nearly 2,000 “classic” Model 125 Hawkers and another 400 Beechjet/Hawker 400s.
Cessna is certainly working on injection to the inflection. Delivery of the new Citation Sovereign is expected in Q3 this year following FAA certification. Meanwhile, the upgraded Citation X should be in the market by yearend. The company reported the new M2 is sold out for 2013 with about a dozen slots open for 2014. Meanwhile, the midsize Citation Latitude and super midsize Citation Longitude, are also progressing with first flight of the former expected in early 2014 and the latter in mid-2016.
The long running and contentious contest over a (relatively) small Pentagon contract for a light attack aircraft for Afghanistan's Air Force has ended another round, with Beechcraft the loser. Again. Vying for the contract, potentially worth slightly less than $1 billion, is the Embraer Super Tucano and the Beechcraft AT-6, both single engine turboprops. The U.S. Air Force, which is overseeing the competition, initially chose the Embraer. However, a Beechcraft protest forced a second competition in which the Embraer was selected for a second time.
Name and location withheld at writer's request (Alder Companies Delavan, Wis. )
I am a line captain for a major airline, and wish that all people who designed checklists had to read and understand that article cited by Alex Bruzzano in “The List, Please” (Viewpoint, May 2013) and had to actually use the monstrosities they frequently design. I have done a lot of flying on a lot of different aircraft, have instructed on seven airliner types and have been an FAA TCE/DE on the A320. I've also done a lot of contract training and checking and have seen myriad procedures that range from outstanding to awful.
The brooding, blarney and bluster that attend to my surname notwithstanding, the truth is that half my ancestry is German. You see, my given name derives from Wilhelm Gunther, my grandfather, who emigrated alone to the U.S. as a nearly penniless teenager and went on to achieve great success as a commercial printer and paragon of his community. He also loved sports, drove cars too fast, crashed boats with curious regularity and watched proudly but surely with an aching heart as his two sons donned uniforms of his new country and left to defend it from the old.
Buoyed by greater-than-anticipated activity in the single-utility turboprop market, Honeywell is supporting a range of additional applications for its TPE331 family, as well as studying potential new engine developments to compete with Pratt & Whitney Canada's PT6 and its planned successor. “In the downturn we saw that the strongest small airplane market was turboprops, and we were fascinated by that,” says Jim Kroeger, Honeywell's director of engineering for propulsion systems.
Sherwin-William Aerospace Coatings introduced a new Chrome Hazard Free Epoxy Primer (CM0483790) that is a high-performance, two-component, corrosion inhibitive epoxy primer. It provides outstanding sandability and provides Skydrol resistance in addition to excellent adhesion to treated substrates. This is one of the most flexible of chrome hazard free primers introduced by the company. Submittted for AMS 3095 certification, the new primer meets all VOC regulations that require a 2.9 lb./gal. (350g/L) VOC primer in aircraft maintenance painting settings.
Renovations of the Jet Centre at London City Airport (LCY) are now complete and a Border Force officer installed thereby supporting the facility's pledge to whisk business aircraft passengers from plane to car within 60 seconds. The airport-owned FBO now features an improved reception area, large passenger lounge, private meeting room, ground floor crew rest area and security screening area, as well as the border checking station.
Honeywell and Astro-Med have signed a long-term agreement to make the Astro-Med ToughWriter 5 cockpit printer available for Primus Epic and other Honeywell business aviation and regional air transport cockpits. The compact, 7.3-in.-deep printer is more than 5-lb. lighter than current non-Honeywell printers installed in Primus Epic cockpits.
No one knows its true origins, but ever since aviation's early days there has been an artificial divide between maintenance technicians and pilots. Perhaps it's rooted in the mili–tary, where pilots were mostly officers and mechanics were enlisted men. Maybe it has to do with pilots putting life and limb at risk while the maintainers remain safely on the ground.
Diehl Aerosystems reports that two of its business units have been awarded Bombardier contracts for cabin interior products for Global 7000 and Global 8000 business aircraft. The work package covers cabin peripheries — including the baggage compartments — with high-end surface treatments and optimized acoustic behavior (Diehl Aircabin). The company is to provide all-LED cabin mood lighting. The contracts are a major success for Diehl in business jets, as they are “the first combined approach with both cabin interiors and cabin lighting products” in the segment.
FlightSafety International, La Guardia Airport, N.Y., announced the Greg Arend was promoted to director, Commercial Programs for FSI's simulation design, manufacture and support facility in Tulsa, Okla. He will be responsible for delivery of all new training devices, as well as the relocation and modification of existing equipment. George Brady has been promoted to director, Product Support and Simulator Operations.
Unhappily surprised by FAA's notice that it planned to bill for extra controller staffing at its annual summer fly-in in Oshkosh, Wis., the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and its members lobbied Congress hard to block the charge. However, facing a spectrum of unpalatable options, under protest EAA finalized a one-time agreement to cover nearly $450,000 in expenses related to ATC services at the event. “Let me be clear: We have consistently regarded the FAA's move as holding AirVenture and GA hostage this year,” said EAA Chairman Jack Pelton.
Gestair private Aviation, which has 10 FBOs in Spain, reports an investment of about EUR1.2 million to refurbish the old “Authorities Pavilion” at Madrid-Barajas and convert it into a modern FBO. The facility is 472 sq. meters (nearly 5,100 sq. ft.) including three VIP rooms for passengers and a fourth for crew, a passenger services office, a flight-planning area and a staff of 33. Gestair's FBOs handled 7,730 operations in 2012, up from 6,890 in 2011.
At the recent NBAA Regional Forum in White Plains, N.Y., the NBAA announced a new educational initiative to help the general aviation community understand the increasing importance of filing timely and accurate flight plans, and how doing so benefits those using general aviation aircraft as well as FAA aviation-system managers. Called “FileSmart,” the dedicated Internet microsite has three key areas of emphasis: file early, file accurately and check the NAS.
