To encourage flight crews to think about actions they would take in the event of a contingency, international procedures expert Dave Stohr, president of Air Training International, provided a sample list of items that would need attention if it were necessary to depart an organized track or a random route. Other items could be added.
“The most important thing with international procedures for contingencies is an equal understanding between the pilot and the controller on the actions the former is required to take,” Chris Dalton, ICAO's chief of air traffic management and a former oceanic controller, told BCA. “The pilot must have an understanding of what the controller wants him to do, otherwise the controller can't maintain separation and keep the airspace safe.”
Modern aircraft cabins, equipped with sophisticated arrays of electronics designed to keep passengers comfortable, entertained and in touch, are wonders to behold. But keeping all of today's cabin components in harmony requires an integrated, easy-to-use control hub.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.'s super-midsized G280 aircraft is closing in on entry-into-service. As of July 31, the three aircraft used for the flight-test program have flown more than 2,000 hr. over more than 740 flights. The fatigue test article has completed more than 17,000 of 40,000 cycles. The G280 received provisional type certificates from the FAA on March 1, 2012, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel on Dec. 29, 2011. The aircraft is slated to enter service later this year after the final type certification requirements have been achieved.
Mobiata's FlightTrack Free, a completely redesigned and free version of its best-selling travel app, is now available for iOS and Android devices. Features include a completely redesigned interface that integrates the flight details and flight map; real-time departure and arrival information, delays, gate numbers and baggage claim information; zoomable maps with satellite imagery; coverage of more than 16,000 airports worldwide; and full international coverage.
NATA is reaching into the airline industry for a successor to longtime President James Coyne, announcing July 24 that Thomas Hendricks will take the helm as of Sept. 1. Hendricks was senior vice president, safety security and operations of Airlines for America, responsible for technical and operational functions, as well as advocacy and policy positions on flight operations, safety, engineering, air traffic management and security.
Give thanks to HICAT — that's the “High Altitude Clear Air Turbulence” program — for much of our knowledge about the jarring phenomenon. Between 1964 and 1968, a U.S. Air Force U-2 conducted 285 flights, covering more than 800,000 km over the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Panama, eastern Canada, England and France to gather information.
Insta Etch's etch2000 professional parts marking system is a custom stencil design smartphone app based on Android and BlackBerry operating systems. It wirelessly prints a pre-programmed or user-designed stencil to a handheld Bluetooth printer. Using simple electrochemical solutions and these precision stencils, metal parts and tools can be permanently marked with IDs and serial numbers (or logo images and data matrix barcodes) while on the manufacturing line or in the field.
Light-sport aircraft developer Icon Aircraft selected Cirrus Aircraft to supply a significant portion of the composite airframe for the A5 amphibious airplane. Cirrus will produce the components at its Grand Forks, N.D., plant, alongside those manufactured for the SR20 and SR22 single-piston aircraft. Icon will integrate the components at its facility in Tehachapi, Calif., where all design, final assembly, finishing and testing will occur.
Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings has launched a new website to assist aircraft coatings specifiers, influencers and users. The site allows users to easily navigate or directly search via their specific market niche (general, business, commercial or military aviation markets) and/or product systems (interior, exterior coatings, primers, fillers, etc.). One highlight of the website is its detailed products and systems section that includes information specific to SKYscapes, the company's new basecoast/clearcoat exterior paint system.
Embraer-CAE Training Services (ECTS) has begun Phenom pilot and maintenance technician training in Brazil at CAE's facility near Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo. Courses began the end of August. This is the third ECTS training location, including Dallas, Texas in the U.S., and Burgess Hill, in the U.K., and the fourth Level D Phenom full-flight simulator (FFS). The Phenom FFS in São Paulo is the first advanced technology flight simulator a business aircraft in Latin America.
Gulfstream Aerospace has delivered the 600th Gulfstream business jet equipped with the PlaneView cockpit, achieving the milestone nine years after the flight deck was first delivered. Gulfstream reached the 600th PlaneView mark with the delivery of the 362nd large-cabin, ultra-long-range G550 aircraft.
As the EPA put off potential regulations on emissions from leaded aviation gasoline, the general aviation community has stepped up its efforts to look at alternatives – from new lines of diesel airplanes to replacement fuels and even lower octane fuels. But despite these efforts, the majority of industry leaders believe that leaded aviation gasoline will remain a fixture, at least in the U.S., for some time.
As head of aviation sales for U-Fuel, a leading supplier of fuel equipment for general aviation airports, I enjoyed “Fuel Danger” (Washington Watch, August 2012). Our company also sponsors the free Aviation Fuel Club (www.aviationfuelclub.org), an organization that helps pilots and airports lower the cost of fuel and fuel equipment.
Embraer also reported that the Legacy 450's big brother, the midsize Legacy 500, is scheduled for its first flight this year with s.n. 001 continuing pre-flight testing, having completed taxi tests, ground vibration tests and fuel system tests. The first prototype rolled out in January while the second prototype, s.n. 002, rolled out in May. Serial number 003 is in final assembly with the wing-to-fuselage mating completed in June.
Safari Air Link of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, has added a Cessna Citation Mustang 510, the first in Tanzania, to its fleet. Safari Air Fleet Director Peter Fox says the Mustang will provide more air transport services to the business sector, tourism and emergency health care in Tanzania. Safari currently operates two Cessna C206s, a C210, a C208 Caravan and a C206B Grand Caravan.
Breitling is offering its star model, the Chronomat 41 Limited, in a 2,000-piece limited series that will appeal more strongly than ever to enthusiasts of the original design, says the company. The original and generous lines of the steel case are enhanced by all-polished finishes, as are the bracelet and rotating bezel. The watch is water-resistant to 200 meters (660 ft.). Breitling www.breitling.com
Weather Services International (WSI) has updated its 2012 tropical forecast to 13 named storms, six hurricanes and three intense hurricanes (Category 3 or greater). These numbers are slightly higher than the previous forecast of 12/six/three, and are quite close to the adjusted long-term (1950-2011) averages of 12 named storms, seven hurricanes and three intense hurricanes and averages from the more active recent period (1995-2011) of 15/eight/four.
In “Shoptalk with Wendi,” (Schedulers & Dispatchers, July 2012) the correct spelling of the author's surname is: Gavigan. (Apologies, Wendi and any Gavigan relatives.) In the Lima, Peru, “Destination Cities” report in the August 2012 issue, BCA incorrectly stated that the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California, were administered as a single governmental entity. Actually, they are independently governed.
NBAA President Ed Bolen calls the slow progress on improving temporary flight restrictions “a tremendous frustration . . . The instruments put into place after 9/11 were dull, blunt-force instruments.” By now, Bolen told a panel during the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., he had hoped that those instruments would have become “precision instruments.” While the process is improving, it's slow and comes at a cost to operators.
Argus July 2012 TRAQPak data show business aircraft activity flat month-over-month, and year-over-year. TRAQPak data indicate that July 2012 business aircraft flight activity decreased from June 2012 at 1.1% overall. The results by operational category were all down from the previous month, with the exception of fractional activity, which posted a month-over-month increase of 3.3%. Operational categories: FAR Part 91, down 2.4%; Part 135, down 1.0%; fractional, up 3.3%.
Perhaps as the GWX design is firmed up and growth models are introduced, something will be added, making the identification of extreme intensity precipitation simple. In the meantime, here are a couple pilot's tricks to identify those “worse than bad” thunderstorms.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) wrote acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta asking the agency to reconsider its recent rule to mandate what had been voluntary helicopter routes over Long Island, N.Y. They asserted that the rule was “seemingly based solely on noise complaints as opposed to safety of flight.” The mandatory routes were debated at length during the House/Senate conference on the FAA reauthorization but were rejected, the lawmakers note.
