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.
“Honeywell's inertial reference systems navigate only in true but display magnetic headings to pilots,” Jerry Norton reminded readers. “However, at 72.5 deg. N, they are programmed to switch to true course.” A retired avmanager at Honeywell, Norton logged considerable time piloting a Gulfstream in avionics trials in the high latitudes. Above 80 deg. N, “just like going across the Pacific,” he observed, “there are not a lot of alternates, just Barrow, Deadhorse, and Spitsbergen Island.” Norton continues to fly as a free-lance contract pilot.
Aircraft flight manuals are full of precision airport performance data and numbers obtained by aviation industry's most skilled and experienced test pilots.
The first civil jet to fly on 100% biofuel meeting petroleum jet fuel specifications will be a Falcon 20 jet owned by the National Research Council of Canada. Tests to date have typically used a 50-50 blend of biofuel and regular kerosene jet fuel. The ReadiJet fuel, derived from mustard oilseeds, is made by Applied Research Associates (ARA) and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG). The two companies announced the tests at the ILA Berlin Air Show, where they exhibited in the Alternative Aviation Fuels Pavilion. The fuel was made under contract to the U.S.
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.
Eurocopter is the latest aircraft manufacturer to invest in a Chinese joint venture anticipating that the Peoples Liberation Army will lighten prohibitive airspace restrictions that has put a damper on general aviation development. But noting it expects those restrictions to ease, Eurocopter last week signed a partnership with the Tianjin Free Trade Zone (TFTZ) to set up a China Completion Center in Tianjin to assemble and customize the company's AS350 family of light helicopters.
The Gulfstream G280 won full certification from the FAA and Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI) Sept. 4. Several G280s are in completion with first customer delivery before year's end. Full certification comes nine months after the aircraft received provisional type certification from CAAI. FAA awarded provisional type certification in March. The aircraft was announced in October 2008 as the replacement for the Gulfstream 200 and first flew in 2009. The certification program involved three G280 aircraft that accumulated more than 2,150 hr. and 794 test flights.
AMAC Aerospace, a provider of corporate aviation maintenance and completions services, has gained European EASA Part 145 approval to undertake heavy base maintenance on the Airbus A330 and A340 series of aircraft. The company now can perform all major inspections including repairs and modifications; OEM CBs, SBs and ADs; and avionics repairs, installations and upgrades. AMAC Aerospace Basel has also received UAE CAMO approval and the company is now authorized to provide continuous airworthiness management services on UAE-registered aircraft. AMAC Aerospace
While business aviation indicators appear stronger — deliveries up, the used aircraft market improving and the North America market ticking up — JP Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol cautioned in September that deliveries are could flatten during the remainder of the year and recovery is “not yet imminent.” Excluding Airbus and Boeing, business jet deliveries rose 11% through the first half of this year. But several market forces may stunt that growth, including a falloff in Hawker Beechcraft deliveries as the Wichita OEM remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.'s Gulfstream G650 received full FAA type certification Sept. 7, just days after the company's G280 was certified by U.S. and Israeli authorities (see below). Gulfstream expects to deliver the first fully outfitted, ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range G650 business jets to customers before year-end. Gulfstream received provisional type certification in November 2011 for the G650 and delivered the first 12 green aircraft by the end of that year, fulfilling a promise the aircraft manufacturer had made to customers and the financial community.
Aiming to improve the consistency of the FAA's certification and approval processes, a government-industry committee tasked with drafting recommendations has received input from aviation groups to help meet its year-end deadline. The committee offered an online survey to stakeholders ending Sept. 25. The four-year FAA reauthorization signed into law in February mandated the creation of the Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to examine differing regulatory interpretations practiced by the FAA's various Flight Standards District Offices and Aircraft Certification Offices.
Gogo was granted a subordinate license from Industry Canada for Canada's air-to-ground radio frequency spectrum that enables Gogo to provide aircraft inflight connectivity over Canada. Gogo will operate on the same frequency over Canada as it does in the U.S., providing a seamless transition across borders. It also will service business aircraft currently using Aircell's Gogo Biz service. Aircell is a Gogo company.
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.
GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce believes time is running short for the FAA to make substantial changes to the certification process, which he says is resulting in up to 18-month delays in products reaching market and costing jobs. Given potential budget cuts that Congress may be facing, he says changes in the way FAA operates — including using the designee program the way it was designed — must be made soon. “FAA absolutely has to change right now,” he says, noting the agency has the budget and congressional authority to make the changes.
Hawker Beechcraft is beginning avionics installation on its first customer-bound Hawker 400XPR, jump-starting the upgrade program that had been slowed by the company's ongoing financial struggles.
European business aviation traffic continued its downward trend in July, as the region grapples with the lingering effects of the economic downturn and casts a wary eye toward global anxieties and other concerns. According to the July 2012 Business Aviation Traffic Tracker, published by the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), business aviation traffic throughout the European Union slipped 4% from July 2011 figures. That decline also contributed to a 2.6% drop in year-to-date traffic numbers compared with 2011 figures.
Aerodynamically clear F-28 has radically rigid-in-line three-blade rotor with elastometric bearings in the hub. Power goes from engine to main-rotor gearbox via a belt drive with controlled idler. Priced at under $30,000.
Nextant Aerospace has delivered its 16th 400XT business jet to a private buyer in the Czech Republic, the first to be registered in the European Union. The aircraft will be managed by Czech Republic-based Time Air, a provider of charter, aircraft acquisition and management services.
