Business & Commercial Aviation

Nextant Aerospace is ramping up production of its 400XT program, recently acquiring a facility to quadruple its space at Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Airport and accommodate a rate of up to 48 aircraft annually. The company expects to deliver 32 of the aircraft by year-end and has estimated that its order book approaches 70. The program has at least a year's head start on the Hawker 400XPR, which Hawker Beechcraft bills as the “only factory-direct aircraft upgrade program for the Hawker Beechjet 400 series.”

FAA is laying the groundwork for the new “Pilot's Bill of Rights,” beginning with a new website that will facilitate access to air traffic data. The new law requires FAA to inform individuals subject to investigation that they are “entitled to access” to air traffic data, including air traffic communication tapes, radar information, air traffic controller statements, flight data; investigative reports or other air traffic information related to the investigation.

Aeropro Flight APO201, a Beechcraft King Air A100, departed from Runway 30 at Quebec/Jean Lesage International Airport at 0557 EDT on June 23, 2010, with a crew of two and five passengers. The flight lasted 68 sec., terminating in a field 1.5 mi. from the departure end of the runway. The airplane burned and all seven persons on board were killed.

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.

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.

Anti-Authority “No one tells me what to do!” Impulsiveness “I (we) need to do something about this now!” Invulnerability “It can't happen to me!” Macho “Watch this!” Resignation “We're doomed!” Pressing “I've got somewhere I need to be!” Ego/Vanity “I'd rather die than look bad!”

The pressurized de Havilland DH 125 was rolled out in a record 16 months after initial design. The company expects the six-passenger jet will clear a 35-ft. obstacle from a 3,000-ft. runway at 19,000 lb. max takeoff. Despite the executive jet design, DH 125 is being pushed hard as a military trainer, liaison and radar trainer, with the RAF weighing the purchase of 30 units. Standard version would be about $420,000.

Are you determined to land your aircraft on this approach, regardless, or are you prepared to execute a go-around if any flight crewmember feels threatened? The mantra of stabilized approach has been preached for decades by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), among others: Configured for landing, on speed, on course, on glidepath and on descent rate, plus power or thrust set at a stable level and primary flight controls in trim.

TrueNorth Avionics has introduced its multilingual Stylus handset. The Stylus features a sleek design, high-definition audio and unique personalization options with many choices of finishes, inlays and themes. The TrueNorth Stylus is complemented by the MyStylus iPhone app, which brings the convenience and functionality of the Stylus to the iPhone, according to the company. The unit has been available since June and serves as a plug-in replacement for TrueNorth's current handsets.

Pilatus Business Aircraft has named Landmark Aviation at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Municipal Airport an authorized service facility for the PC-12 business turboprop. Landmark's facility will serve as a satellite service center in the southwestern United States, under the Pilatus sales and service region managed by Colorado-based Tempus Aircraft Sales and Service.

The Internal Revenue Service has permanently put in place deduction rules involving the use of business aircraft for entertainment purposes, providing little relief to industry on the scope or implementation. In 2004, Congress mandated that the IRS close the gap between what an employee counts as compensation from entertainment-related flights and what a company deducts for its corporate aircraft operations. The NBAA had urged the IRS to reconsider its approach on both the scope and reporting requirements.

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.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman concedes the agency was surprised by a Safety Board study that did not find a measurable improvement in the safety records of general aviation aircraft with glass cockpits. 'We didn't see that safety gain that we thought we would,” she says, adding one of the challenges is the familiarity with the technology. The findings underscored the need for pilots with glass cockpits to be fully trained on the technology. But she does not rule out future safety gains.

In mid-August, Gulfstream Aerospace announced that FAA pilots have completed all the scheduled flying required for certification of the Gulfstream G650. In addition, the European Aviation Safety Agency test team finished the flight testing required for its validation of the FAA's type certification. The G650 received a provisional type certificate from the FAA on Nov. 18, 2011, and is in the process of completing the final certification tests with the FAA to support entry-into-service later this year. As of July, the test fleet had flown more than 3,800 hr.

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.

In July, Eclipse Aerospace announced the Brazilian Type Certificate Validation of the Total Eclipse twin-Engine Jet. Over the last fifteen months EAI worked with the Brazilian Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) to certify the EA500 and the Eclipse Avio integrated flight management system. Eclipse also offers the Eclipse 550, a new production version of the Total Eclipse. The Eclipse 550 is scheduled for first deliveries in mid-2013.

Bell Helicopter, in partnership with Cessna Aircraft, opened a new regional service center in Singapore at Seletar Aerospace Park. Bell and Cessna are Textron companies. The new facility offers customers a one-stop shop for repair, completion, fulfillment, maintenance and customization solutions. The 160,500-sq.-ft. service facility is equipped with hangars for Bell Helicopter and Cessna products, a paint booth, warehouse, overhaul and maintenance shops, offices, and a 77,000-sq.-ft. ramp.

Constant Aviation LLC has opened a landing gear repair and overhaul facility at its Birmingham, Ala., location. The facility will begin servicing Beechjet 400A/XP landing gear and expand to include the Embraer Legacy 600 and Hawker 800A/XP aircraft in the coming months. With an initial investment of about $500,000 in tooling, equipment and inventory, the facility is fully functional and delevered its first set of overhauled landing gear in late June, according to Stephen Maiden, president of Constant Aviation. Constant Aviation

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.

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.

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.

Need help with your program? Visit the FAA's website on Drug and Alcohol Testing at www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/drug_…

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.