“Righting the Wronged” (Washington Watch, September 2012, page 65) reminded me of a similar flight I had in October 2008 in a Cessna P-210. Departing Olive Branch, Miss., the weather en route to Dalhart, Texas, my first fuel stop, required an instrument flight plan, which was filed and accepted. Flight Service gave me the weather information as well as the NOTAMs available for Olive Branch and Dalhart.
Nextant Aerospace established an Asian foothold with the sale of 10 of its Nextant 400XT remanufactured business jets to Asia Pacific Jets and the formation of a distributor partnership with that company. The Asia Pacific Jets order calls for the aircraft to be delivered over three years, with the first two delivered by year-end. Singapore-based Asia Pacific provides medical evacuation and corporate charter services.
The DOT Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is calling on the FAA to improve management of a program that requires airports to assess potential wildlife aircraft strikes. “The FAA has not developed robust inspection practices, and its inspectors do not have the technical expertise to effectively oversee the program,” the report says of the FAA's Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Program.
FAA is urging the general aviation community to participate in its 34th annual General Aviation and Part 135 Survey for 2011. The survey, available online at www.aviationsurvey.org, provides information to track GA fleet activity, including number of hours flown and reasons for flight. The agency notes the data helps determine funding for infrastructure and service needs, and assesses the impact of regulatory changes and measures safety. The survey also is used to calculate accident rates.
Avioserv San Diego Inc., Dallas, hired Kevin F. Kelly as vice president, engine sourcing and Shane Stringfellow as manager, technical operations. AWAS, Dublin, announced that Richard Sinclair was appointed vice president of sales for the Asia-Pacific region, reporting to Jon O'Connell, managing director, Asia-Pacific sales. He will be based in the company's Singapore office. Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, announced that Raymond Leduc has joined the company as vice president, value streams at its Mirabel, Quebec, facility.
The NTSB, citing a dozen incidents since 1993 involving large-aircraft wingtip collisions during taxiing, is urging the FAA and EASA to mandate anti-collision aids such as cameras that enable pilots to see their aircraft's wingtips from the flight deck without opening a cockpit window. The NTSB does not say which aircraft models need such systems, although it mentions Boeing's 747, 757, 767 and 777; McDonnell Douglas widebodies; and the Airbus A380 as likely candidates.
Cessna has increased the range expectation of its new midsize Citation Latitude from 2,300 nm to 2,500 nm. The Latitude was originally announced in 2011 with an expected range of 2,000 nm, but Cessna engineers responding to customer input pushed the range figure first to 2,300 nm and most recently to 2,500 nm. “As we talked with more customers, getting to 2,500 nm was imperative,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, International Sales, South America. Priced at $14.9 million in 2011 dollars, the Latitude is scheduled for its first flight in mid-2014.
West Star Aviation now has a roll-around HS 124-700A/B/ 800A/B/XP series landing gear shipset that will allow technicians to remove the original landing gear from the aircraft while still having the capability to reposition the aircraft as required for any additional services. The new equipment supports decreased downtime during gear swaps and multi-shop events where paint is tied to airframe maintenance and gear overhauls.
Denmark Jutting out of the Europe like a hand reaching for Sweden, Denmark is the smallest of the Scandinavian countries, at 27,000 sq. mi. (not including its possessions Greenland and the Faeroe Islands), about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined.
Germany and the U.S. have signed an agreement to develop sustainable aviation biofuels on both sides of the Atlantic. The pact, signed at the ILA Berlin air show by German Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer and U.S. Ambassador Philip Murphy, will serve as a guide to accelerate cooperation to bring “drop-in” biofuels to volume production. Unlike other sustainable fuel programs, drop-in biofuels are similar enough to hydrocarbon fuels to allow them to easily “drop in,” or replace, current fuel sources. The U.S.
Bombardier's Learjet 75 reached another milestone with power applied to the first production aircraft's electrical systems on the Wichita production line the week of Aug. 21, as the aircraft progresses toward its 2013 entry-into-service. The Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 test aircraft are continuing their development work as the program moves forward.
Windy City Charter is rebranding as Ventis Aviation. The company's home offices, leadership and air carrier certificate remain unchanged. Ventis also announced the addition of a Beechcraft King Air 350 to its charter fleet at Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) in Wheeling, Ill. Ventis' charter fleet includes a Hawker 700 based in Grand Junction, Colo., and a Beechcraft Baron based at Chicago Executive Airport.
China Daily reports that the country is planning to open airspace beginning next year and implement reforms over the next 10. The country reportedly is launching pilot projects in northeastern, southern central regions and seven pilot cities to open airspace below 1,000 meters to general aviation flights. Airspace restrictions, however, have been problematic for existing operators.
While reading “Gearing Up for the Go-Around” (September 2012, page 40) it dawned on me that pilots are probably (and by a wide margin) the most scrutinized and regulated group of professionals in the world. In principle I am not against this, but too much regulation and excessive monitoring can be extremely nefarious and counter-productive. I will probably be crucified for what I'm going to say right now, but I'll say it anyway.
National Air Transportation Association's new President and CEO Tom Hendricks , who officially stepped into his new role Sept. 1 after serving as senior vice president, safety, security and operations for Airlines for America, has emphasized the importance of the aviation associations of all industry segments working together to educate the public and Washington about “how critically dependent we all are on aviation. We need to make sure they don't take aviation for granted.
For many communities, building a heliport means new business opportunities, additional revenue and a new type of transportation. For the airport director, it's one more meeting with the FAA and one more stack of paperwork. As daunting as constructing or “renovating” a defunct heliport may seem, the process is easily divided into three manageable steps. The construction and alteration of airports is governed by 14 C.F.R. Part 157. Notifying the FAA in a timely manner is a key part of the process.
Los Angeles-based Jet Edge International has expanded its fleet with a West Coast-based, Wi-Fi enabled 2001 Bombardier Learjet 45. The Jet Edge fleet includes Gulfstream V, Gulfstream 450, Gulfstream IV-SP, Gulfstream IV, Gulfstream III, Gulfstream 200 and Learjet 45 aircraft as well as Hawker 800XP, Cessna Citation X and Bombardier Challenger 300 aircraft via its Platinum Partner status with XOJET.
FAA is moving to decommission the last direction finders (DF) in the U.S. — 29 in Alaska — saying the technology is “beyond its useful life cycle.” The agency, which decommissioned DFs outside of Alaska in 2007, requested comments on a plan to shut down the remaining DFs. In a recent notice, FAA says their usage for pilot orientation “has become almost nonexistent.” The Alaska Flight Service Information Area Groups (AFSIAG) has documented eight flight assists involving lost or disoriented pilots over the past eight years.
London Oxford Airport-based aircraft management and engineering company, Hangar8 plc, has enhanced its third-party support capabilities at its Oxford MRO facility. The company now provides CAMO-Part M support and line support for all Hawker Beechcraft business jets, the Dassault Falcon 2000, the Cessna CitationJet 525 family and the Embraer Phenom 100. The company now employs 22 people who are involved with the new MRO operation. Hangar8 supports one of the largest managed fleets of Hawkers and Challengers in Europe.
North America, not China, holds the key to industry recovery says aviation analyst Brian Foley. “Although the China region provided a steady sales stream of large and expensive jets at the height of the world economic downturn, we see that trend rapidly losing steam,” he asserts. The China market, “was a conveniently timed mini-rescue, a nice shot in the arm at a critical moment, but now it's starting to slow down. Chinese GDP is almost halved from 2010 and its stock market is at its lowest in three and a half years.
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Regarding “Righting the Wronged,” I hope the fact that James Inhofe is a sitting senator had nothing to do with his being allowed to keep his license after 7 hr. of remedial training following the incident. I only say this because he is 77 years old and I've seen quite a few elderly pilots who should not be flying, or at the very least not be allowed to carry passengers. Oregon
For unemployed U.S. military veterans seeking a career in aviation, a new Veterans Retraining Program (VRAP) now available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs may allow veterans to participate in Jeppesen's FAA Dispatcher Certification program for high-demand aviation occupations. The program provides licensing of dispatchers along with the same body of knowledge that is required for the Airline Transport Pilot License, applicable to many aviation careers. Those interested in the training program should visit www.jeppesen.com/faasdispatcher.
