Robert Baugniet (Commodore (ret.), Royal Canadian Navy )
If “Commencement Exercise” (June, page 7) provokes any negative reactions, it is obviously your fault. Any glowing tributes should be referred to my parents, in memoriam. Commodore (ret.), Royal Canadian Navy Savannah, Ga.
I started to read “Commencement Exercise” (Viewpoint, June 2012, page 9) but stopped when it appeared you were going to divulge something that happened to Louis Zamperini that I hadn't gotten to yet in the book (and you're right, it is superb). I'm up to the 24th day at sea and after fending off shark attacks and machine gun attacks from a Japanese bomber, they are down to one raft and have just patched most of its holes. I'll get back to your commentary once I get past Zamperini as an “angry drunk” in the book.
The FCC is planning to issue a notice “shortly” that explores potential options for strengthening regulations and/or standards surrounding the use of emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) on general aviation aircraft, an FCC official told the NTSB on July 17 at a forum on general aviation search and rescue that members hope will highlight the agency's decades-long concerns about the adequacy of current search and rescue policies. The NTSB chiefly is concerned about the lack of a mandate for general aviation aircraft to install updated ELTs.
I had no idea. We knew you to be a mild mannered, gifted writer and possibly a tenacious editor. But imagining you with a chain saw in your mitts (Viewpoint, July 2012) really summons up an amusing picture. Despite my Dad making a decent enough living as a “tree man” to put me into college, I agree that the direction the airport is going seems mad. Why aren't there any arbitrators that can broker an agreement?
In the second quarter of 2012, Embraer delivered 35 jets to the commercial aviation market and 20 to executive aviation. Total deliveries for the first six months of the year are 56 commercial and 33 executive jets, 13 more than for the same period last year.
Piaggio is teaming with Saab to develop a maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) based on a highly modified version of its P.180 Avanti II business turboprop. At Farnborough July 10, Piaggio Aero announced that it signed a contract with Abu Dhabi Autonomous System Investments, a subsidiary of Tawazun, covering the development of the aircraft and the construction of two prototypes. The first is to fly in 2014. The MPA platform will have a bigger wing than a standard P.180, a greater takeoff weight and more fuel capacity.
Effective Oct. 1, 2012, pilots must use FAA MedXPress to complete an electronic application for an Airman Medical Certificate. One of the significant enhancements will establish a tracking program so that pilots and AMEs can query the system electronically and determine the status of applications. Future enhancements will transition air traffic control specialists (ATCSs) to MedXPress.
Aero Charter, St. Louis, Mo., hired Dustin Stephenson as a charter pilot. He has been a pilot for over eight years and worked as a professional pilot for six. He has experience operating 47 aircraft types.
A new chapter has been added to the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. “Runway Incursion Avoidance,” in Appendix 1, provides information on which pilots will be tested and checked in the Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot Practical Test Standards, effective June 1, and also in the soon to be released CFI and ATP PTSes, which include a required Runway Incursion Avoidance task to be incorporated in pilot training and testing.
After filing for bankruptcy protection, Hawker Beechcraft is currently in a 45-day period of court-authorized “exclusive negotiations” with a Chinese company, Superior Aviation Beijing Co., 40% privately owned and 60% backed by the city of Beijing. HBC formally sought court clearance to begin the negotiations after receiving a $1.79 billion proposal from the Chinese firm for all but the defense business. Despite concerns expressed by the machinists union, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of N.Y. approved the company's motion July 17.
Holland's ECA Program B.V. has finished the initial design review for an Airbus narrow-body VVIP jet conversion. The fractionally-owned aircraft fleet, configured for 19 passengers, will consist of three A319 aircraft and four A320 jets. The A320 is to be used for regional flights of less than 8 hr. and the A319 for intercontinental flights. The service will be operated by a new entity, operating under Dutch certification and regulations. The aircraft will operate globally with the main focus being Russia and the Middle Eastern markets.
View Operating Planning Guide Charts Aircraft operating costs are presented in a format that separates the data into seven separate areas: Mission Costs, Variable Costs, Fixed Annual Costs, Periodic Costs, Personnel Costs, Training Costs and Facilities Costs.
Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics, with three or four CRTs, originally were installed in the Beechjet/Hawker 400. Both Nextant and Hawker Beechcraft are offering complete three- and four-screen, 8- by 10-in. Pro Line 21 cockpit upgrades that will provide much more than cosmetic improvements and new display functions.
Landmark Aviation's charter department added a Gulfstream IV, a Hawker 400XP and a Falcon 7X to its managed fleet. The Gulfstream IV is based in Conroe, Texas (CXO) and can seat up to 14 passengers. The eight-passenger Hawker 400XP is based in Frederick, Md. (FDK). The DuPage, Ill. (DPA) based Falcon 7X also seats 14 and is one of only five available for charter in the U.S.
Honeywell aims to be the first avionics manufacturer to offer an advanced technology head-down display system that will enable operators to fly instrument approaches down to lower weather minimums than what's permitted with conventional primary flight instruments.
Baker Aviation Maintenance purchased AeroMech LLC. As part of the agreement, Baker will now operate at two locations: Meacham International Airport (KFTW) in Forth Worth and Addison Airport (ADS) in Dallas. Originally a mobile maintenance company, AeroMech was best known for its aircraft inspection/repair work and product knowledge gained over a 28-year span. Baker will retain all AeroMech employees.
There's a hot competition between Nextant Aerospace and Hawker Beechcraft to determine which firm can retrofit the largest number of Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP light jets with Williams International FJ44 turbofans to make them fly faster and farther, quieter and more economically. At stake: The two firms together might reap as much as $9-10 billion in sales revenues, assuming the retrofits attract one third of the combined fleet of nearly 590 aircraft.
Country: Federative Republic of Brazil Status: Brazil's largest city and financial center Country visa requirement: Yes, for passengers who are U.S. citizens; however, not required for flight crews traveling aboard the aircraft, excluding cabin attendants (who must have visas). Landing permit requirement: Yes Sponsor letter required: No
The fractional aircraft ownership jet fleet, while not yet returning to growth, has held steady this year, down by only a few jets from 2011, according data released by J.P.Morgan. The fleet count dipped by one jet to 766 in May, and that compares with 770 by the end of 2011. But 101 jets had dropped out of the fleet in 2011, “with each month contributing to the decline except December,” J.P.Morgan says. Overall, the fleet has declined in 33 of the past 41 months since the January 2009 peak of 960 business jets.
The trijet Mystère Falcon 50EX ranks near the top of all legacy midsize business aircraft as it was the last and most capable midsize jet built by Dassault. It's certainly one of the nicest handling business jets yet built, regardless of size or price, clearly an aeronautical blueblood and distinguished graduate of its maker's famous finishing school in Bordeaux.
