Hawker Beechcraft Services has opened a new full-service MRO facility offering airframe, engine, avionics and mobile support for the company's entire product line on the New Castle airport in Wilmington, Del. The facility includes maintenance hangar and back shop space, customer reception and break areas, a customer lounge and two fully-equipped customer offices.
The FAA's Flight Standard Service is hoping to have guidance in place by October that would change the approach that inspectors take toward addressing minor compliance issues. Flight Standards Director John Allen said earlier this year that the agency's officials were “trying to change a culture within the Flight Standards Service” to encourage inspectors to work out minor issues with operators before immediately jumping to enforcement action.
The FAA notes that while the number of fatal general aviation accidents over the last decade has gone down, so have flight hours due to economic factors. The general aviation fatal accident rate has remained static, despite the reduced flying activity. In FY 2011, there were 457 fatalities in 271 fatal GA accidents. In 2010, there were 457 fatalities in 270 fatal GA accidents. The accident rate for 2011 was 1.13 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours flown and was 1.10 fatal accidents per 100,000 hours flown in 2010.
The Beech King Air 350 is the largest business turboprop yet built by the Wichita manufacturer and by far its most versatile performer. More than 685 first-generation aircraft were built between 1990 and 2009 before it was succeeded by the more luxurious King Air 350i in 2010.
In 2010 NBAA presented Wendi Gavigan with its Outstanding Achievement & Leadership Award for having shared her industry expertise while making “significant contributions to the scheduling and dispatching function.” Beginning with this presentation in our Schedulers and Dispatchers quarterly, Gavigan, whose day job is vice president and manager of flight operations for Citigroup Corporate Aviation, continues to lead and share with this the first in a series of discussions with S&D professionals about their work, challenges, solutions and aspirations.
One of the many highlights at this year's MMC was the chance for participants to support the NBAA Maintenance Committee's Technical Reward and Career Scholarship (TRACS) program. These scholarships are designed to help jump start the career of technicians who are either completing their A&P training or aspire to advance a business aviation career already begun. Earning an A&P license gets you into the hangar, but further training and experience are necessary to advance beyond entry level. The TRACS program is designed to serve both categories.
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.
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.
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.
When an aircraft crash catches the public eye, such as the 2005 Bombardier Challenger overrun in Teterboro, N.J., the long-term ramifications can be wide-ranging and costly to the entire industry.
Embraer Executive Jet's entry-level aircraft, the Phenom 100, passed another program milestone when flight hours totaled 100,000, a little over 3 yr. since it entered service in December 2008. The 100,000-hr. mark comes after the company delivered the first U.S. produced Phenom 100 to Executive AirShare in December 2011 and the certification of an optional fifth seat a month earlier.
Bell Helicopter announced at EBACE that it completed deliveries of six of its newest aircraft in Europe during the month prior. Three Bell 407GX aircraft, the first of their kind in Europe, are operating in Belgium, Denmark and, most recently, Iceland. Bell also delivered three additional Bell 429 aircraft in Russia and Ukraine.
Argus TRAQPak data indicates that April 2012 business aircraft flight activity decreased from March (which is the typical annual trend), finishing the month down 4.4%. The only month-over-month increase came in the fractional turboprop sector, up 4.8%. Reviewing activity year- over-year (April 2012 vs. April 2011) TRAQPak observed a 1.3% increase in overall aircraft activity. April saw increases in most groups, with the exception of large-cabin aircraft, which finished down 4.9%.
Satcom Direct, of Satellite Beach, Fla., a provider of satellite voice, fax, datalink and Internet communications solutions, announced the opening of an international office located in Hangar 2 at TAG Farnborough Airport Farnborough, U.K. The new office will provide European customers with physical access to Satcom Direct's avionics and testing lab, training facility, and support services for pilots, flight operations and maintenance staff. Satcom Direct will also extend their wireless service to customer aircraft flying in to TAG Farnborough Airport.
Business jet makers are closely following Hawker Beechcraft's financial situation, and at least a few of them are saying they would be interested in picking up some or all of the company should it become available at the right terms. “We are evaluating how this thing is going to unfold,” Embraer CEO Frederico Curado told analysts during the release of the company's first-quarter results on April 27. “Maybe some of the assets could be of interest to Embraer. We just have to see how that develops.
Is this BARR 2.0? FAA released a proposal in May outlining permanent procedures for aircraft owners seeking to block their registration information from near-real-time flight tracking programs. FAA had restored the program — which had been called Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) — on an interim basis in December 2011 under the direction of Congress. In the fiscal 2012 transportation appropriations minibus bill signed into law Nov. 18, 2011, Congress mandated FAA to remove the restrictions from participation.
The first prototype of the AgustaWestland AW169 4.5 ton light intermediate helicopter made its maiden flight in May at the company's Cascina Costa plant in Italy. The flight included an assessment of the helicopter's general handling and basic systems. The first prototype will be joined by two more aircraft later this year and a fourth prototype in 2013. The company says the AW169 program is on schedule to achieve basic civil certification in 2014.
I read the safety articles in BCA with great interest, including “Flying Without Airspeed” (March 2012, page 34). It states, “We build airplanes that cannot stall,” and “The FBW system prevented the stall.” (And by the way, where is Figure 1?) This is all true when all these systems and indicators are working correctly: For the Airbus A330 and 340, this is called the “normal” law that commands the flight control computers.
Nextant Aerospace has been awarded several new STCs for the 400XT. In addition to certifying an inflight entertainment system, Nextant also received STCs for additional avionics options, many of which help to pave the way for final certification EASA. The STCs cover several major operational areas, including the Class “A” Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS) system, and the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)/Localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) navigational capability.
Strap into any current production military aircraft and it's likely that you'll be looking out of the windshield through a permanently mounted head-up display. Aboard military aircraft, the HUD usually is the primary flight reference because it allows pilots to fly the aircraft with unmatched precision while scanning outside the aircraft for threats, terrain and targets. Head-down displays in such aircraft perform secondary roles, functioning as moving maps, EICAS and CDUs for proprietary equipment.
The general aviation market doldrums have continued into 2012 as new aircraft billings dropped 8% and aircraft shipments dipped 2.1% in the first quarter, GAMA reported. The first quarter shipment report now includes two additional manufacturers, Thrush Aircraft and Air Tractor. Additionally, Gulfstream Aerospace deliveries are now identified when “outfitted” as opposed to “green.” The 2011 shipment report has been updated for Gulfstream Aerospace and now includes Thrush Aircraft deliveries.
Gulfstream expects to receive FAA type certification for the large-cabin G650 and super midsize G280 in the third quarter with customer deliveries planned shortly after. The two aircraft are “neck and neck,” so it is not clear which will be certified first, says Gulfstream President Larry Flynn. European Aviation Safety Agency certification is due by year-end. The G280 flight test campaign, now at more than 2,000 hr., has completed all company and FAA certification flights, says Scott Neal, Gulfstream senior vice president for sales and marketing.
