Soloy Aviation Solutions has engineered and received STC approval for an LED-based aircraft lighting kit for the Cessna 206G and 206H. The kit installs a second light source on the leading wedge of the right wing to complement the factory installed left wing taxi and landing lights. It further converts both sides to LED illumination and is compatible with the 50-gal. fuel tanks from Sierra Industries. The new kit includes pulse-light capability pulsing the landing light between the two wings.
Cessna Aircraft says it wants to increase its sales force by 50% as the manufacturer is bringing six new or upgraded aircraft to market this year. The first of which, a more powerful Caravan, has already entered service. Cessna is planning decentralized satellite offices worldwide to expand its reach in growing markets and reinforce its presence in well-established ones.
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.
The approach into Juneau, Alaska, International is infamous because the majestic mountains that tightly encircle the airport produce a complex wind-flow pattern and constrain maneuvers when arriving or departing. It is no surprise that JNU has a lengthy history of turbulence-related incidents involving passenger jets.
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.”
Feb. 14 — About 1630 EST, a Cessna 310H (N104DR) operated by a private individual was substantially damaged during impact with terrain, following an inflight loss of control during cruise flight near Yeehaw Junction, Fla. The private pilot, pilot-rated passenger and a second passenger were killed. It was marginal VFR and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Sebastian Municipal Airport (X26), Sebastian, Fla., around 1600, destined for Bartow Municipal Airport (BOW), Bartow, Fla.
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.
Sikorsky is insisting it has not abandoned its Schweizer light helicopter product line, but is working to rationalize it in a bid to reduce costs. Sikorsky took over Schweizer in 2004, taking on the product lines of S-300, S-333 and S-434 light-piston and light-turbine helicopters. But since the takeover, production of the light helicopter line has been significantly reduced, and several operators have struggled to get parts for the helicopters, limiting training and operations.
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.
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.
Gulfstream and FlightSafety International worked together three years prior to the G650's entering service to develop flight crew, cabin crew and maintenance technician training programs. Each G650 pilot instructor has flight time in the actual aircraft and each maintenance instructor has turned wrenches on real aircraft.
The NTSB, March 12, issued five safety alerts aimed at reducing the number of general aviation accidents: reduced-visual reference; aerodynamic stalls at low altitude; pilot inattention to indications of mechanical problems; risk management of aviation maintenance technicians and risk management for pilots. The five Safety Alerts issued are: “Is Your Aircraft Talking to You?
Four, 14.1-in., landscape configuration LCD screens dominate the Gulfstream G650's second-generation PlaneView instrument panel with several layouts that can be customized by the flight crew. The outboard displays normally are configured as PFDs and the inboards as MFDs. The glareshield-mounted flight guidance panel has improved functionality, including LED illumination and annunciator buttons, an “FLXXX” flight level indication in the altitude window above the transition altitude, a push in/pull out, 1,000 ft./100 ft.
The FAA is gauging the interest of aerospace companies in developing upgrades to the ground-based portions of its wide-area augmentation system (WAAS) in advance of dual-frequency GPS operations for the aviation community later this decade. WAAS uses a network of ground-based reference and control stations, and three geostationary satellites, to augment the accuracy of GPS signals to enable satellite-based instrument approaches and precision navigation operations in North America. Similar satellite-based augmentation systems are available in Europe, Japan and elsewhere.
Robert E. Breiling Associates' annual Business Turbine Aircraft Accident Review has become the industry's guide for detailed narrative accounts of business aviation accidents worldwide. The Review is 500 pages with accounts of over 415 reported fixed- and rotary-wing turbine aircraft accidents and incidents. A summary of each accident includes model, operator type, phase of operation, conditions and a factual description of all reported circumstances.
Metro Aviation has released a smart phone app with the potential to decrease response time by up to 5 min. When air transport is needed, hospitals and first responders can use Metro Alert to notify one of Metro Aviation's bases and send GPS coordinates using the helo- alert function. Users will receive an estimated time of arrival and availability of the closest helicopter, as well as have access to other functions such as tips for preparing the landing zone.
Duncan Aviation has put together an airframe-specific team dedicated to Gulfstream work at the company's Lincoln, Nebraska, campus. Duncan Aviation's Battle Creek, Michigan, location has been running with a dedicated Gulfstream airframe team since 1993, says Rod Christensen, Airframe Services Manager at Duncan's Battle Creek location.
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.
The Obama administration is again accusing business jet operators of enjoying “subsidies” and availing themselves of “loopholes that give advantages to the wealthy and to corporations that average Americans and average businesses don't have.” The so-called loophole is depreciation. For every other business, depreciation is normal course of business. But for business jet operators, apparently it is a loophole.
I enjoyed Fred George's “Truly Earning That Fourth Stripe” (February 2013, page 45). As a captain with Continental/United starting my 30th year, I've had the privilege of mentoring upgrading captains both as a check airman and as a human factors instructor. The author's thoughts are spot on!
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).
