CAVU's EFB-Pro for the iPhone and iPad has been selected by the U.S. Air Force for its fleet of C21A (Lear Jet 35A) aircraft. The program allows the pilot to select the aircraft from a pull-down list and then toggle the appropriate configuration. All the weight and balance information is automatically set and integrated directly into the performance calculations. Although an internet connection is not required, if one is available, current weather integrated directly into the calculations by selected from the worldwide database of airports installed in the device.
There are some errors in “Global Express XRS” (20/Twenty, February 2012). The XRS carries 1500 lb. more fuel than the basic, and not 1759 lb. To get maximum range out of the aircraft you start at Mach .82 and then for every 10,000 lb. of fuel burn, reduce Mach by .01. Also, dispatch reliability is not as advertised. I have been operating a basic Global and have had numerous delays and cancellations, and other operators have also experienced problems. Additionally, the Gulfstream G650 is the new XRS competitor, not the G550.
West Star Aviation has received FAA STC approval to install Wi-Fi on Gulfstream Vs. The certification includes connectivity via both or either Inmarsat Swift Broadband and the Aircell Gogo Biz networks using the Aircell CTR wireless router. West Star completed the installation on a Gulfstream GV based on the West Coast and operated under FAR Part 135.
Mary “has been at DCA for decades” Miller (BBA Aviation/Signature Flight Support )
Thanks for the great article, “DCA's Slow, Steady Comeback” (February 2012). You have stayed interested in the complexities of operating our DCA location, as well as what lies ahead. For that, I am very grateful. BBA Aviation/Signature Flight Support Washington, D.C .
FAA will increasingly rely upon collaboration with the helicopter community to improve safety as its regulatory efforts are concentrated on the dozens of congressional mandates issued in the most recent FAA reauthorization bill and a pilot safety bill adopted 18 months ago, FAA Flight Standards Deputy Director John McGraw said during Heli-Expo 2012.
The 2012 HAI Heli-Expo wrapped up with 19,023 total attendees, 650+ exhibitors and 60 helicopters on the show floor at the Dallas Convention Center. Next year's show will be held in Las Vegas, Monday, March 4 through Thursday March 7.
Dallas Airmotive officially opened its Singapore Regional Turbine Center (RTC) on Feb. 13. The new Center, located at Singapore's Seletar Aerospace Park, will offer authorized Honeywell major periodic inspection service on TFE731 engines and line maintenance on Honeywell TFE731, CFE738, HTF7000 engines and on 36 series, RE100 and RE220 APUs.
FlightSafety International announced that its new Level D qualified AgustaWestland AW139 simulator will feature the company's latest advanced including a 220 deg. by 60 deg. field-of-view glass mirror display. The simulator's VITAL X visual system is optimized for training low-level flight operations, offers increased scene content, improved weather features and enhanced levels of detail for optimum cueing. It will also feature Honeywell's EPIC avionics suite that integrates a 4-axis digital AFCS with the rotor systems to provide complete autopilot functionality.
Embraer has signed an agreement for three Lineage 1000 ultra-large executive jets with China's Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd., one of the largest financial institutions providing executive jet leasing services in China. Announced at the recent Singapore Air Show, the aircraft are scheduled to begin being delivered this year.
Fractional operator Flight Options recently donated 10 hr. of jet flight time to the Corporate Angel Network (CAN), which arranges free flights to treatment for cancer patients using the empty seats on corporate jets. Founded 30 years ago, CAN has 5,380 participating corporations, which have flown nearly 40,000 cancer patients to and from treatment. The organization flies about 250 patients monthly.
Embraer has delivered the 300th Phenom jet, the latest series of milestones, which include the assembly and first flight of the first aircraft from the company's year-old U.S. facility in Melbourne Fla. Embraer recently shifted global center of gravity for its business jets from Brazil to Melbourne, where it is creating 200 engineering and technical jobs. Fifty-percent of Phenom deliveries have been to North American customers, with Latin American operators accounting for another 30%.
Perusing the range of available cabin lighting sources, a few products seem worthy to mention here. For example, Islip, N.Y.-based Aircraft Lighting International has developed new LED lighting systems that replace fluorescent lamps directly without requiring any new wiring or connectors. Meanwhile, EMTEQ, the Milwaukee-based manufacturer, is expanding into more “intelligent” lighting systems with its Daylight and Quasar lines.
I loved, “The FAA is coming to your airport, and not to socialize” in “Return of the Ramp Check” (Point of Law, February 2012). That grabs attention. Greteman Group Wichita, Kan.
Bell Helicopter has delivered the 4,000th helicopter produced at its Mirabel, Canada, facility. Bell began production at the Canadian facility 25 yr. ago. Bell primarily builds commercial helicopters in Mirabel, leaving the defense business to its Amarillo, Texas base. The 4,000th helicopter, a Bell 206L4 was handed over to longtime customer Air Medical Group Holding (AMGH), which is the second largest air emergency medical services provider, with service in 25 U.S. states. AMGH operates 155 Bell helicopters.
Hawker Beechcraft, Inc. replaced CEO Bill Boisture with turnaround specialist Robert S. “Steve” Miller. Boisture remains chairman of Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) the operating subsidiary of Hawker Beechcraft, Inc. Miller is currently chairman of the board of insurance giant AIG and is a director of Symantec Corporation. In an interview with BCA Miller said his experience in helping companies deal with difficult market conditions would benefit HBC after a three-year-old downturn that devastated sales and backlogs of small and medium-sized business jets.
Cessna Aircraft rolled its 400th Citation Mustang off the assembly line at its Independence, Kan., facility in January — a little more than five years since the Mustang's first delivery in November, 2006. Cessna says the Mustang's most common use is corporate business or personal travel. Its second most common use is air taxi service.
Universal Avionics Systems Corp. and Air Training International Ltd. (ATI) are partnering to provide Future Air Navigation System (FANS) operational training for the UniLink UL-800/801 Airborne Datalink System. “ATI's experts are skilled in providing a tailored curriculum that will be of exceptional benefit to FANS operators,” said Dan Reida, Universal's vice president of Sales, Marketing and Support. Upcoming mandates have prompted increased interest in Universals UniLink among operators in regions affected, specifically in the North Atlantic.
The FAA has approved data link air traffic control communications over the global high-frequency data link (HFDL) network of ARINC Inc. The technology is know as FOH, an acronym for FANS Future Air Navigation System) 1/A over HDFL. The decision means that aircraft already using HDFL for long distance operational communications will eventually be capable of using the ARINC service to communicate with controllers as well.
Bombardier has rolled out its first NetJets-bound aircraft from its assembly line in Toronto. The aircraft — a Global 6000 — will be flown to Bombardier's Global Completion Center in Dorval, Quebec for completion. The Global 6000 is part of a 50-aircraft deal that Bombardier announced with the fractional ownership provider in March 2011. NetJets ordered 30 Global 5000 and 6000 aircraft and 20 more of the new Global 7000 and 8000 jets that are still in development. Deliveries of the Global 7000 and 8000s are expected to begin in 2017.
CAE announced that it will deploy three new simulation-based training programs for helicopter pilots and maintenance engineers. The new programs include Sikorsky S-92 training — including search-and-rescue (SAR) mission training capability — in Stavanger, Norway and Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Eurocopter EC-225 training in Sao Paulo. The programs will feature new CAE 3000 Series Level D flight and mission simulators and CAE Simfinity(TM) e-Learning options.
“Butte Pilatus” (Cause & Circumstance, January 2012) was right on; another winner. It should be read over and over by every instrument rated pilot. As it states so clearly, airborne radar is not for flying IN thunderstorms, it's a tool to be used for staying OUT of them.
Jettech received FAA supplemental type certification for installation of the Garmin G600 glass panel electronic flight instrument system on legacy Cessna Citation 500 series aircraft, including Models 500, 501, 550, 551 and S550. The installation will add features such as synthetic vision, terrain awareness, traffic collision avoidance systems, digital weather radar, satellite weather radar and lightning strike information.
Eurocopter revealed its evolutionary EC130-T2 that retains the EC130's external lines, but approximately 70% of the airframe has been modified. The model's more powerful Turbomeca Arriel 2D engine provides the aircraft with a higher maximum gross takeoff weight (2,500 kg for internal loads and 3,050 kg when external loads are carried) and a speed increase of up to 10 kt. At the unveiling, Eurocopter announced seven launch customers had already accounted for 105 bookings.