Aireon, which is developing a global air traffic surveillance network using satellites instead of ground stations, is forming an eight-member advisory panel to involve airlines and other stakeholders in the effort. The committee will include representatives from airlines, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and air navigation service providers (ANSPs).
Sandeep R. Pillay (Deputy Chief Engineer Deccan Charters Private Ltd. Juhu Aerodrome Mumbai, India )
“Drain the Tank Sumps” (Cause & Circumstance, September 2012, page 57) was well received by everyone who read it here. I also circulated a picture of an actual fuel sample from a King Air B200 tank with it on my Facebook page. Check it out at www.facebook.com/GoodAircraftMaintenancePractices where I share information of use to my industry peers. It's being followed by aircraft maintainers as well as flight crews at several companies in India.
Pilots soon will be able to control many avionics and aircraft systems by touching panel and console screens in much of the same way as they use their smart phones and PDAs. Avionics and airframe makers rapidly are embracing this proven user interface because, in most instances, it's easier to touch, tap, scroll and stretch screen icons and images with your fingertips than it is to use a multifunction control display unit (MCDU) or point-and-click cursor control device (CCD).
Eurocopter's (nee Aerospatiale's) AS350C/D AStar first entered the market in 1977 powered by a comparatively anemic and chronically sick Lycoming LTS101 turboshaft engine, but the basic design elements, including its three-blade, Starflex main rotor system, wide cabin and smooth ride were there from the beginning. Less than one year after introduction, it was up–graded with the more powerful and considerably more reliable Turbomeca Arriel 1, and reborn as AS350B.
Daher-Socata announced Feb. 7 that the worldwide TBM 700 and TBM 850 fleet has passed the one million flight-hour milestone. With a total fleet of 620 high-speed, single-engine turboprops, the overall fleet flies an average of 120,000 hr. annually. Daher-Socata' claims its TBM 850 is the world's fastest single turboprop aircraft, with a maximum cruising speed of 320 KTAS at FL 260 (in ISA conditions).
Zenith Jet's recently released 10-yr. forecast, says total business aircraft deliveries for the 2013-2022 forecast period are projected to be 9,400 units representing $253 billion in revenues based on 2012 pricing. The company made several interesting points: It sees the emergence of another high-end category above, but not replacing, the current Ultra-Long-Range (ULR) segment with its own distinct customer buying preferences and requirements.
NBAA advises that as of Feb. 7, ICAO rules require aircraft flying to Europe be equipped with Controller-Pilot Datalink Communications (CPDLC) and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C) systems in order to access two preferred routes in the North Atlantic Organized Track System (NAT OTS). The association observes that only a fraction of business aircraft are equipped for the new requirement.
Duncan Aviation has partnered with Flightcraft to open an avionics installation and repair facility at Portland International Airport (PDX) in Portland, Ore. Located on the international airport at 7777 N.E. Airport Way, the shop is the newest in Duncan Aviation's list of 30 facilities located throughout the United States.
Despite high hopes for a growing Indian business aviation market, importing business aircraft into India has become more difficult because of increased bureaucracy, a business aviation advocacy group says. Along with the usual monthly aircraft acquisition committee meeting, India's civil aviation minister is now said to be scrutinizing every application personally. Rohit Kapur, president of the Business Aviation Operators Association of India (BAOA), says this has been going on for about five or six months and the backlog has reached around 40 aircraft.
The eighth generation of the S-76 line is powered by newly developed, twin dual-channel FADEC-controlled Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines, each producing 1,077 shp. These give the S-76D 14% more takeoff power and an 8% better fuel burn rate than the 922-shp Turbomeca Arriel 2S2 engines that power the S-76C++. They also take the S-76 full cycle in its choice of engines.
In response to growing demand in Asia, Jet Aviation Singapore is building a maintenance hangar adjacent to its current FBO and maintenance operation in Seletar Aerospace Park. The hangars will be integrated and incorporate two stories of office space in addition to new battery, tire, upholstery and workworking shops, including two paint spray booths. The new hangar will have an arched roof tall enough to accommodate Boeing BBJ and Airbus ACJ aircraft.
Any public company operating a business aircraft must decide early on how the costs of running the corporate aviation department will be borne. These costs may be allocated internally, or the department may be treated as a service and its costs absorbed by the company as a whole.
I enjoyed reading your tribute to Al Ueltschi (“The Alabama Bet,” Viewpoint, December 2012, page 9). It brought back quite a few memories. My family owned the FBO at KSUA (St. Lucie Skyways) from 1949 through 1980. During the 1950s Al flew in a lot with Juan Trippe's B23. Frequently, I flew with them back and forth to Long Island to visit some relatives there. Being only five or six years old at the time I was not used to some of Al's vocabulary!
General aviation advocates are working to help regrow membership in the General Aviation caucuses in the U.S. House and Senate. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen recently issued an “action call” urging his members to appeal to their local lawmakers to join the caucuses. “The caucuses will be vital in the coming year, as those serving in the 113th Congress face a policy environment that could have repercussions for general aviation,” Bolen tells members.
Dubai World Central (DWC) has signed an MOU with Aircraft Support Industries (ASI), the Australian firm that specializes in developing aircraft maintenance facilities, systems and equipment, to jointly provide clients with build-to-suit and related services in the design, development and construction of aircraft hangar and maintenance facilities at DWC's Aviation District.
The Gulfstream Aerospace facility in Lincoln, Calif. is now an Authorized Service Station for Howell Instruments' products including ITT, EPR, fuel flow and fanspeed indicators as well as fan speed amplifiers, tachmoters, and Howell's AUTOTemp and AUTOTAK indicators. Gulfstream notes that there are approximateley 900 Gulfstream GIVs, GIIIs and GIIs flying worlwide, most of which are equiped with Howell Instrument products. Gulfstream Lincoln is EASA and FAA certified to perform inspection and repair of electromechanical components, avionics, wheels, brakes and tires.
While not yet officially Beechcraft Corp. as we go to press, the newly forming company that is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection already has received a rating on expected new debt. Moody's Investor Service assigned a B1 corporate family rating to Beechcraft Holdings, LLC on a proposed $375 million term loan that will be used as part of its financing to exit from Chapter 11. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Feb. 1 confirmed Hawker Beechcraft's reorganization plan, clearing the way for the company to emerge from bankruptcy.
Most FBOs should experience steady growth in business in the range of 4-6% in 2013, said John Enticknap a principal of Aviation Business Strategies Group (ABSG), at the 2013 NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference. “The FBO industry has not fully recovered from the economic downturn over the past several years,” Enticknap said. “Yes, 2012 was a better year than 2011, but there has been a modest shakeout of FBOs who had been operating marginally.
The NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention will now be called the Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (BACE). “NBAA's largest U.S. show has been referred to as an 'annual meeting' [since its 1947 inception], but in recent decades, it has grown in size and importance to be much more than just a meeting, and this change reflects that reality,” says NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. At the same time, Bolen says the change strengthens the brand for all NBAA-related shows. While the U.S.
On Jan. 30, 2013, an F3 category tornado with 137- to 179-kt. winds ripped through Adairsville, Ga., leveling five dozen structures, damaging almost 100 others and killing one person. This 900-yd.-wide twister reportedly sustained average 140-kt. winds for more than 20 mi. before dissipating. It crossed Interstate 75, flung vehicles into the air and damaged or destroyed entire neighborhoods.
EPIC announced the release of the iGo EPIC app at the recent NBAA S&D Conference in San Antonio. The app offers easy search functionality and fuel pricing for FBOs within the EPIC FBO Network. For EPIC cardholders there is an added convenience of getting account specific pricing by FBO location and quick access to Bravo Rewards information and account login.
