NATA's 2012 survey of general aviation service employee compensation is now available. The report includes salaries and benefits for pilots, line-service personnel and maintenance technicians. The 2012 Compensation Report is provided at no cost to NATA members who participated in the study. The charge for non-participating members and non-members is $130 and $310, respectively. Visit www.nata.aero and under Products and Services, click on Publications.
After decades of overflying Central America, executives of U.S., Canadian, and European corporations in growing numbers are accelerating their commercial activities in the seven countries constituting the subcontinent and dispatching their owned and chartered business jets to take them there.
“A Disastrous Save” (Cause & Circumstance, June 2012, page 52 highlights the double tragedy associated with the crash of a helicopter attempting a rescue. Twenty years of flying U.S. Air Force rescue helicopters left me feeling that remote area operations are one of the most challenging flight operations a pilot can confront. This is due to the wide range of uniqueness each remote area brings. Add nighttime, weather and fatigue to this and you have an operation that probably should be in the Emergency Section of the AOM.
Bombardier Aerospace announced that charter operator London Air Services of Richmond, B.C. ordered five Learjet 75s. The $65 million order makes the aircraft charter firm the Canadian launch customer for the light jet. London Air has a fleet of five Learjet 45XRs, a Challenger 604 and two Challenger 605s. It has a Global 7000 on order for delivery in 2017.
Flexjet joined other fractional operators suing the IRS over assessments of federal excise taxes. Flight Options and NetJets/Executive Jet Management already are enmeshed in lawsuits over refunds and imposition of the passenger ticket tax over certain activities. Flexjet filed its suit a couple of weeks ago, says Tony Gasaway, principal of Gasaway Tax Law. The lawsuits come as management companies face their own escalating tax assessments based on recent IRS guidance that management fees could constitute commercial air carrier activity.
As of June 1, the only way for general aviation pilots, flight instructors and mechanics to learn about and register for FAA safety seminars will be online at FAASafety.gov. The FAA will no longer send postcards. If you have not already done so, the FAA Safety Team encourages you to register online using your airman certificate number.
Embraer Executive Jets' Melbourne, Fla., campus has received its own FAA Production Certificate to assemble Phenom 100s in the U.S. Previously, Phenom jets assembled in Melbourne were certified under the FAA type certificate granted to those produced in Brazil. “This is a significant milestone for Embraer and is the culmination of a series of achievements in the last year,” said Ernest Edwards, president, Embraer Executive Jets.
Beech is claiming that its Twin Bonanza is the strongest airplane in commercial aviation — designed and tested to withstand inflight loads equal to almost seven times its own weight. It's even got an airstair door so you don't “ever have to get near the engines.”
Jet Aviation has launched a new fuel sales service for its entire chain of Fixed Based Operations in the EMEA and Asia regions. Using its global purchasing power to negotiate a better fuel price with World Fuel Services, a leading jet fuels supplier, Jet Aviation has introduced the new fuel sales service to pass significant cost savings on to FBO and MRO customers visiting Jet Aviation FBO facilities in EMEA and Asia: London Biggin Hill, Dusseldorf, Riyadh, Dubai, Jeddah, Singapore, Zurich and Geneva.
Business aviation operators, both private and commercial, have the NBAA's Security Council, among other aviation advocacy entities, to thank for the currently harmonious relationship with the TSA.
NetJets also has signed 15-year engine maintenance, repair and overhaul agreements with GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), the two companies announced on June 18. The contracts are associated with NetJet's order for midsize and heavy business jets announced in early June. The GE agreement covers maintenance, repair and overhaul of the CF34 engines included in NetJet's June order that contains 25 firm CF34-3B-powered Bombardier Challenger 605 aircraft with options for up to an additional 50 aircraft.
Every year, the NBAA's week-long Maintenance Management Conference (MMC) provides resources for learning both new technology and updating each attendee's personal knowledge toolbox. In addition, the event provides an excellent opportunity to network with fellow managers and provides insight for those interested in professional development or creating new career goals within the business aviation community.
Rockwell Collins has opened its Berlin Ascend flight information solutions office in the General Aviation Terminal area at the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, which will provide flight support services for European business aircraft operators. Specific enhancements to the Ascend flight planning tools have been introduced to support European operations including Eurocontrol Central Flight Management Unite (CFMU) routes and validation.
The NBAA website contains a useful primer on the Twelve-Five Standard Security Program. Here is an excerpt providing a concise history of the security protocol:
The TSA is working to devise means such as gateway airports that would enable business aviation to access restricted airspace during TFRs, says Zach Carder, who handles business aviation issues for TSA. Carder, speaking at the June National Air Transportation Association 2012 Air Charter Summit, said he “recognizes fully that this is a tender topic” for the business aviation community, particularly as it is facing an increasing number of TFRs with the presidential election season heating up.
My town loves its trees, and boy, we've got 'em — sycamore, sugar maple, sassafras, scarlet oak, beech, birch, yellow poplar, black tupelo. If they can handle winter, they're here in abundance. The town crest features a spreading white oak. A Tree City USA for 10 years running, we have a tree committee, annually budget for tree plantings, which are overseen by our tree warden, and publish a directory of our “Notable Trees.”
Africa's first full-motion helicopter flight simulator has been commissioned by Eurocopter in South Africa. The simulator, designed to train pilots and flight engineers operating Super Puma and similarly compatible civil and military helicopters including the South African Air Force's (SAAF) Oryx , is located at the SimAero training center adjacent to the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
ExecuJet Europe is now offering a complimentary pet handling service at London Cambridge Airport, enabling domestic cats and dogs to travel internationally without quarantine and overseas vet inspection. Under PETS (Pet Travel Scheme), the team at Cambridge Airport will check the arriving pet's passport, travel credentials and microchip with the owner or the pet's escort in the cabin. All applications to bring a pet into the U.K. under PETS regulations must be emailed to the ExecuJet Cambridge pet handling team at least 24 hr. before flight departure.
What has become of the TSA's controversial Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) for FAR Part 91 operators? The initial proposal met with such fierce resistance from the business aviation community that it was withdrawn for further revisions. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a kinder, gentler LASP II was slated for release in the September 2012 time frame. But now, word has it that because of the presidential election cycle, the NPRM will be delayed until next year — perhaps as late as spring 2013.
NetJets announced the next phase of its fleet refresh plan, placing orders for as many as 425 midsize Bombardier Challenger 300s and 605s and Cessna Citation Latitudes. The order breaks out into 75 firm orders and 125 options for the Challenger 300 series with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2014. The Bombardier contract order also includes 25 firm orders and 50 options for Challenger 605s, with deliveries to begin in 2015. NetJets Chairman and CEO Jordan Hansell valued the Bombardier portion of the newest order at $7.3 billion.
Bell Helicopter plans to open its first company-authorized flight training school in China. Bell Helicopter and Guanchen Aviation have signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect. Eric Cardinali, executive vice president, customer support and services for Bell Helicopter, said, “Partnering with Guanchen Aviation to provide a high-quality, local flight training solution is an important first step in meeting our customer needs in the region. . . .
On May 14, with little advance notice, Teterboro Airport (TEB) was shut down to all traffic and remained closed for 5 hr. How much notice was given is unclear — some say it was 1 hr., while others suggest 12. Undisputed is the fact that TEB, among the nation's busiest general aviation facilities, was shuttered on a workday, surprising many users and forcing the reroute of scores of incoming aircraft. The reason? A presidential visit to the west side of Manhattan, directly across the Hudson River from the close-in New Jersey airport.
Reflecting sour European market conditions, Jet Aviation is restructuring its Basel, Switzerland, location into two independently managed maintenance and completion business units, each reporting directly to Dan Clare, president of General Dynamics' Jet Aviation Group. Neil Boyle has been appointed vice president of completions and Johannes Turzer is vice president of maintenance at Basel.
The FAA has issued a revised Advisory Circular, AC 120-76B, that provides guidelines on the certification, airworthiness and operational approval of electronic flight bags (EFB). While the information contained in the revised AC is consistent with previous FAA information on this subject, the NBAA has pointed out some new terms and concepts introduced in the revision. The main difference is specific guidance for FAR Part 91F (large and turbine-powered multiengine aircraft) operators that goes beyond the guidance for other Part 91 operators.
