The FAA on April 9 streamlined the medical certification process for pilots with certain medical conditions that previously required special issuance authorizations. Now an AME can issue a normal duration medical certificate at the time of examination if the pilot provides adequate documentation showing good control of the condition. Details are posted on the AOPA website.
“Ambulatory Care” (Viewpoint, March 2013) is very timely with aircraft going longer and longer. It reminds me of my early days as a junior copilot with Pan Am on DC-6s and 7s — especially the Africa trips. We would depart Lisbon, Spain, headed for Johannesburg and as the junior pilot — we had three pilots and two engineers — I got bunk time first and during daylight. Naturally, you couldn't sleep as you came in the night before from the U.S.
The Obama administration's fiscal 2014 budget plan halves its previously proposed cuts to federal grants for airport improvements by narrowing the reduction's impact primarily to large hub airports. But the administration also wants to impose a new cost on airports, and it still is counting on an unlikely increase in the airport passenger facility charge (PFC) to help offset the reduction in grant money.
Cessna offered early retirement to employees 55 years of age and over who are not involved in aircraft production. According to a company spokeswoman, Cessna does not have a target number for the voluntary retirements, but rather is seeking to decrease indirect costs, overall. Voluntary retirees had until April 12 to apply.
House lawmakers have drafted a bill to preserve funding slated to be cut from the contract air traffic control tower program. Reps. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) and Richard Hudson (R- N.C.) on April 10 introduced a bill, H.R.1432, the Air Traffic Control Tower Funding Restoration Act, designed to continue funding for the program. The bill would use unobligated funds within the current FAA budget to pay for the program.
Bell Helicopter unveiled a third-generation tiltrotor, the V-280 Valor as a candidate for the Joint Multi-Role/Future Vertical Lift Technology Demonstrator (JMR/TD), at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America Forum and Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas. At the show, Bell officials said that the new design may also be a strong candidate for commercial applications, although the version presented has a very “Army-centric” feature set.
“Analysis: Gulfstream G650” (April 2013) was very informative and the online video was a great addition. I just wanted to bring to your attention that the cockpit photo in the article was of a G550 not a 650. Please keep up the good work on your great magazine, which I am sure all subscribers look forward to receiving each month. Northolt Airport, London
Many of us have been ingrained with the idea that whenever an approach or landing starts going awry, the right thing to do is to go around. But the fact is that sometimes that's not the safest action.
How to Wave at Airplanes Guiding an aircraft to a parking spot is one of those everyday tasks that few involved closely consider. The military has always had a standard set of hand/wand signals, but rarely do you find one place with the “official” guide for airside civilians. Despite that, there exists a common set of signals used at airports around the world.
Helicopter Association International is mounting a legal challenge in federal court in Washington to what it sees as a potentially growing and unwarranted threat to airspace access for helicopters over residential areas of the U.S. The move follows the reintroduction of a bill in Congress that requires the FAA to set guidelines on flight paths and minimum altitudes used by helicopter operators over residential areas of Los Angeles County. The bill, which has been reintroduced in both the House and Senate, is sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sens.
Enstrom said it was working on STC approval to fit Garmin's G1000H integrated cockpit system into its 480B light turbine helicopter. The company is hoping to achieve certification of the upgrade before September. The upgrade cost is expected to be around $155,000.
A Frasca Sikorsky S76 Level B full- flight simulator (FFS) is on its way to Bristow Helicopters in Scotland to join two other Frasca FFSs (for the S92 and EC225) already in service. Also, nearing delivery is an AW139 Level 6 flight training device (FTD) for the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard and a Bell 206 FTD for the Japanese Coast Guard.
Part 135 operators are increasingly adopting Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAPs), says Chris MacWhorter, senior technical advisor for FAA's Flight Standards Service. Currently, 19 Part 135 operators and eight Part 135/91K operators have the programs in place, which provide a means for employees to voluntarily report safety issues and events. The Air Charter Safety Foundation has begun a program that would enable smaller operators to participate and ACSF Director of Safety Russ Lawton says four operators are on board with more in the works.
David Velupillai ( Marketing Director Airbus Corporate Jets Blagnac, France )
I was surprised to read that “GA Manu–facturers Embrace Fly-by-Wire” (February 2013, page 33) does not mention Airbus, despite its leadership in introducing the technology. You seem to mention every other manufacturer but Airbus, and even describe Dassault as the first to use FBW in a business jet (a claim that it makes but which is nevertheless untrue, as we have pointed out before)!
Bombardier's Global 5000, the shorter version of the Global Express and fitted with smaller fuel tanks, has the best cabin of any business aircraft in its range class, along with the fastest cruise speeds and best runway performance, according to operators. They like its cockpit room, soft ride in turbulence, automated systems and three seating zones in the main cabin.
After reading, “Who's Up Front?” (February 2013, page 9) I'd like to share my thoughts on airplanes without pilots. PA announcement of the future: “Folks, welcome aboard No Pilot Airlines Flight 1 to Frankfurt. You're currently at 35,000 ft. just east of Boston. You are flying an engineer's dream, a plane without pilots. “The engineers have won. At this mo–ment there are 1,500 airliners airborne and 40 U.S. and allied fighters heading to destroy terrorist targets. All of those are pilotless.
AgustaWestland is testing a fan-in-wing, electric-powered tilt-rotor demonstrator for advanced rotorcraft concepts. Measuring several meters in wingspan, the “Project Zero” subscale demonstrator has been developed and flown in secret since 2011 at AgustaWestland's Cascina Costa facility in Italy.
IMP Group Limited (IMP), the Canadian conglomerate that owns Canjet, Innotech Aviation, Execaire and Pacific Avionics, continues to expand its aviation portfolio with the acquisition of Toronto-based Image Air Charter to compliment Execaire's charter and management services. The company, which has 60 employees, manages a fleet of 20 aircraft. Execaire employs 290 workers and has a managed fleet of 53 aircraft.
EASA certified both the Dassault Falcon 2000S and 2000LXS March 11. This puts the 2000LXS ahead of schedule. It was originally anticipated to enter the market in 2014, but Dassault now expects the aircraft to enter service in the second half of this year. The Falcon 2000S is slated for first deliveries in the second quarter. Dassault unveiled the Falcon 2000S during the 2011 European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition as a successor to the Falcon 2000DX.
The FAA's Aerospace Forecast for 2013-2033 predicts the general aviation fleet will increase at an average annual rate of 0.5%, from an estimated 220,670 in 2012 to 246,375 by 2033. This growth reflects an anticipated 2.8% increase in turbine aircraft on average per year. Business jets in particular are forecast to grow 3.5% on average per year, reaching 24,620 by 2033.
Dassault expects to see a boost in Falcon sales and slight increase in deliveries to 70 Falcon business jets in 2013. The improving sales would follow a year in which Dassault's Falcon net order intake (minus cancellations) increased by more than 50%, from 36 in 2011 to 58 in 2012. Deliveries were up last year by three units from 2011 to 66. But with the lead time in orders to deliveries, Dassault's production output is still reflecting slow orders during the downturn and is well beneath the 2010 peak of 95 deliveries.
EASA has updated guidance for flying in volcanic ash-contaminated airspace, revamping its recommendations to reflect the latest research conducted by industry groups studying the threat of ash to aircraft operations. Feedback from original equipment manufacturers convinced EASA to take a more aggressive stance on flying through ash clouds, and the agency's first recommendation urges carriers to “avoid operations in visible volcanic ash.”
In the 1963 Handbook for Planning & Purchasing, the five most expensive aircraft listed in the “Fixed-Wing Business/Utility Aircraft” tables were: Lockheed JetStar 1329-23A, $1,450,000; Fairchild Stratos Corp., F-27 Business, $895,000; North American Aviation, Sabreliner 265-40, $795,000; de Havilland DH 125 Series I, $625,000; Howard Aero, Howard 500, $597,000. (In BCA's 2012 edition the most expensive airplanes listed are the Airbus Corporate Jetliner at $80 million and the Boeing BBJ at $70 million).
After losing the USAF Light Air Support (LAS) competition for the second time Feb. 27 to a Sierra Nevada/Embraer team, Beechcraft once again protested the loss. The LAS contract is worth up to $950 million. Once a protest is filed with the Government Accountability Office, auditors have up to 100 days to review the case and make a determination. Citing the need “to honor a critical and time-sensitive U.S.
