Business & Commercial Aviation

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.

Bell Helicopter delivered two 407GX aircraft to Helicopter Flight Services, Inc., a New York-based company offering tours, charters, aerial photography, lift work and custom projects. Helicopter Flight Services is the first to operate a Bell 407GX in a sightseeing capacity. The company also operates five Bell 407 aircraft.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) has confirmed its new opening date will be Oct. 27, 2013, the beginning of the winter 2013/2014 schedule. Multiple delays in opening the city's new airport has been a source of embarrassment to Germany's capital.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ATP has introduced its ATP Online Store, an online solution for purchasing and immediately accessing aviation technical and regulatory publication library subscriptions. The store integrates seamlessly with the ATP Aviation Hub online service to provide subscribers with immediate access and the capability to browse over 1,100 maintenance libraries from over 50 manufacturers and purchase the documentation they need online. Customers using ATP's Navigator V Desktop Platform also can quickly and efficiently download and install new libraries within minutes of purchase.

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 recently launched its Portuguese language website at www.pt.hawkerbeechcraft.com and from the home page of its corporate website (www.hawkerbeechcraft.com). It is the third in a series of language translations the company is making, following the improved Chinese and Spanish websites that were launched in 2011. Among the highlights are: a 360-deg. virtual flight, an aircraft comparison tool and a color selection tool where customers can browse through a variety of color samples and designs and select their own interior fabrics and exterior paint schemes.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

Embraer's Phenom 100 executive jet has won a Validation of Type Certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). “Embraer has been strengthening its market position in China's executive aviation market over the past few years,” said Guan Dongyuan, president of Embraer China. “CAAC's certificate for the Phenom 100 is great news for Embraer and prospective customers.” The Phenom 100 accommodates up to eight occupants. Its range of 1,178 nm (2,182 km), with NBAA IFR fuel reserves, makes the aircraft capable of flying nonstop from Beijing to Tokyo.

Gulfstream Aerospace has received a Type Certificate for the large-cabin, ultra-long-range G550 from the South African Civil Aviation Authority. The approval allows operators to register the aircraft in South Africa. The G550 fleet has accrued more than 650,000 flight hours and made more than 242,000 landings. At its high-speed cruise of Mach 0.85, the G550 will fly Cape Town to London in 12 hr.

Rockwell Collins' Airshow 3-D moving map is now available for download in the Apple iTunes App Store. The iPad app delivers an interactive way for business jet passengers to view the world around them and stay informed during their journey. Existing Airshow 4000 or Venue HD cabin management system users can take advantage of the new app for passengers' iPads.

KeyAir, headquartered at Oxford, Conn. (OXF), has added a Falcon 900EX, based at Westchester County Airport (HPN) to its managed charter fleet. Key Air provides worldwide jet charter, aircraft management and FBO services at Oxford and at KeyAir Twin Cities (ANE) just outside Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

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.