Business & Commercial Aviation

Sept. 15 — About 0023 CDT, a Cirrus SR22 (N436KS) was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Willard, Mo. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The aircraft was registered to and operated by JL2 LLC as a personal flight operating on an IFR flight plan. The flight originated from Lee's Summit Municipal Airport (LXT) about 2340 on Sept. 14, with the intended destination of Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF), Springfield, Mo.

Business aviation is playing a key role in helping with the economic recovery in Europe, a new study finds, saying that each passenger flown on a business aviation flight generates the same gross domestic product as nine business passengers on a scheduled flight. The European Business Aviation Association retained Oxford Economics to conduct the study to determine the value of business aviation in Europe. The study finds that contrary to popular belief, business jets and turboprops in Europe are primarily used for business purposes rather than by wealthy individuals.

360 Aviation Solution has a free app for the iPad that serves as a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT). The app works in English and Spanish and is in the form of a questionnaire, which helps the operator determine a risk factor for each individual flight. Once the operator has answered 41 simple “yes or no” questions, the app produces a PDF that can be stored, printed or emailed. The company says its FRAT complies with IS-BAO/SMS requirements.

In the third quarter of 2012, Embraer delivered 27 jets to the commercial aviation market and 13 to executive aviation. Deliveries year to date, at the end of September, total 83 commercial and 46 executive jets, seven more than for the same period of 2011.

From October through March few pilots turn on their aircraft radars when flying in the northern latitudes. What a shame, and what a waste of safety potential. Operators have a lot of money invested in airborne radar, so why give it a free ride five months of the year when its safety potential in winter flying, as well as in summer, is immense? From vertical gyro failures or altimeter errors to errant GPS, airborne radar is the most reliable backup device and arbitrator on your panel.

“Day Trippers” is a great tale well told! President National Association of State Aviation Officials Washington, D.C.

Just finished you article on heliport approval (and nicely done, BTW) (Point of Law, October, page 55) and was wondering if Federal approval supersedes any local prohibition or approval of a heliport. I know in Pennsylvania townships are required to allow for all types of usage in the zoning, but if I received federal approval, first, can the locals prevent me from building a heliport? How about if I also had state approval ? Does any of this help a situation?

Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics provide the backbone of the Gulfstream G280's PlaneView cockpit. The main instrument panel features three, 15-in., portrait configuration AMLCD adaptive flight display screens that are controlled by cursor control devices on the left- and right-side ledges and left and right standby multifunction controllers (SMCs) in the glareshield panel. Gulfstream invented the SMCs to provide each pilot with a full-function electronic standby instrument system that doubles as a display and test control box. The 3-in.-by-4-in.

While a University of Calgary undergrad in the 1970s, I flew ag planes in the summer. My boss, Bob Lukens, had good relations with the Hutterite community in rural Irma, convincing them that aerial spraying of their 5,000 acres of grain was a sound investment. While the religious group was close-knit and ultraconservative in speech and dress, their farming practices were some of the most modern in Alberta.

On May 11, 1996, a ValuJet Airlines DC-9 departed Miami International Airport bound for Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta. Shortly after takeoff, the crew was alerted by an electrical problem, rapidly followed by systems dropping offline and smoke in the cockpit. While making emergency calls to the tower, voices in the background could be heard shouting that the aircraft was on fire. The aircraft was cleared for an immediate return to Miami.

Preferential Treatment? by Chris Coombs, Ore., (Readers' Feedback, October, page 11) demands a comment. Yes, there are a few older pilots that should not be flying, the same as there are a few younger pilots that should not be flying. There are also a lot of highly experienced older pilots that are damn good flyers, the same as there are a lot of younger pilots that are good pilots. I can't help wondering which category Mr. Coombs is in. Portland, Ore.

Early recognition and the right reaction are keys to surviving unexpected stalls.

While the business aviation community has struggled in one of the deepest, most prolonged downturns in the industry's history, its membership has become truly global. As the traditional North American market collapsed in 2008, business jet makers set their sites on new, developing economies. By 2010, 60% of Gulfstream's orders came from international customers, and this year Cessna reached accords to build business jets in China.

As BCA was going to press, a pilot we know with considerable oceanic crossing experience in his logbook offered the following general checklist for keeping your operation gross navigation error (GNE) free. Pay attention to these points, and you have a pretty good chance of staying out of trouble.

NTSB Vice Chairman Christopher A. Hart concurred with the Safety Board's findings and probable cause in this accident but expressed concern “that we are not giving enough attention to an emerging issue — the human factors issues associated with the improving reliability of automation.” What follows is excerpted from his concurring opinion.

Universal Aviation U.K., located at Stansted Airport (EGSS), has completely renovated its 10,712-sq.-ft. FBO. The updates include all-new crew and passenger lounges, a state-of-the-art business center and video conferencing facility, two client meeting rooms, private screening facilities and ultra-modern showers and changing rooms. The facility is home to Universal's ground-support business and its 24/7 European Operations Center, which offers trip facilitation within Europe and globally.

Honda has broken ground for a 90,000-sq.-ft. factory MRO facility on a 54-acre extension of the company's headquarters and manufacturing site at the Piedmont Triad International Airport.

Cockpit Apps has launched iLOG, an app that provides flight crews an alternative to traditional pen and paper flight logs. According to the company, the easy-to-configure app follows a crew through a typical duty day, tracking critical components such as duty and flight time, VOR checks and RVSM altimeter settings. The app is also configured to record squawks as well as engine, airframe and component time. At the end of each day, crews can either electronically sign the documents using an iPad digital signature and email their flight logs to dispatch, or print them out.

Courtesy of Gulfstream Aerospace

DART Helicopter Services has expanded its office in Hawkesbury, Ontario, consolidating all Canadian divisions under one roof. Before the construction of the new office, the sales, marketing, customer support, engineering, accounting and manufacturing teams were not co-located. The 9,500-sq.-ft. office expansion allows the functions to come under one roof next to the manufacturing facility.

The all-composite Learjet 85, arguably the most ambitious of Bombardier's several business jet development programs, is incorporating new processes and moving lots of dirt as it advances steadily toward first flight. Once certified and in service, the new model will be the largest, farthest ranging and fastest ever to bear the Learjet marque, and it will be the first FAR Part 25 business jet with a fuselage and wings fashioned mostly from composite material.

Once a conch-wannabe living in Coconut Grove, I recently returned to the Sunshine State at the invitation of Embraer Executive Jets, which was showing off its new $52 million digs at Melbourne Airport. The Phenom maker has reason to strut; the sparkling campus is brand new, carefully considered, nicely executed and, well, a phenom.

Banyan has recently launched a mobile website to make it easier for their customers while they are traveling. Everything an operators needs from customer support to maintenance and avionics upgrades and services is now available. Enter www.banyanair.com into your phone's browser. Banyan has also received an STC from the FAA for the installation of the Honeywell Aspire 200LG Satcom system on Gulfstream GII, GIII and GIV aircraft.

In an Aug. 24 posting to its iPad support knowledge base, Apple listed its international battery safety certifications, thereby meeting the requirements of FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 120-76B. “Basically, the compliance statement means the iPad 100% meets FAA requirements spelled out in the new AC,” said Rick Ellerbrock, director of aviation strategy at Jeppesen. “That deals with United Nations transport safety requirements and also Underwriters Laboratories requirements.

Piper Aircraft appointed BAYMAP Aviation, Ankara, as its dealer for new aircraft in Turkey. BAYMAP is a subsidiary of Korfez Aerial Survey and Engineering Ltd. Co., which is active in Turkey, Libya, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia.