The FADEC-equipped -3AP is one of Williams' most-advanced versions of the FJ44 turbofan family, producing 2,300 lb. of thrust for takeoff and weighing only 510 lb. Compared to earlier -3 engines, the -3AP incorporates many aerodynamic and durability improvements, plus it weighs 8% less and has 3% better specific fuel consumption. A fuel/oil heat exchanger eliminates the need for an anti-icing fuel additive.
The prototype Cessna Citation M2 made its first flight in early March. With Cessna engineering test pilot Peter Fisher at the controls, the flight lasted a little more than an hour and a half, and included tests of the avionics system, autopilot, aircraft systems and instrument approaches. The new light jet fills the gap between the Citation Mustang and the Citation CJ family. FAA FAR Part 23 certification is expected in the first half of 2013, with deliveries in the second half of 2013.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. government's main audit agency, the FAA has to do a much better job of managing the big modernization programs that are essential to the success of the NextGen air traffic management system. A new GAO report the finds that although the FAA is improving in this area, there are still many cases where it is not following cost estimate and scheduling best practices. Specifically, the FAA should pay better attention to obtaining independent cost estimates, says the GAO.
EASA has finished its initial evaluation of the Gulfstream G650 in preparation for certification. As of Jan. 25, the four Gulfstream G650 aircraft in the flight-test program had accumulated more than 2,675 flight hours over 820 flights. The aircraft is expected to enter service in the middle of this year. The G650 received a provisional type certificate from the FAA on Nov. 18, 2011, with the full FAA type certificate expected by mid-year.
The International Civil Aviation Organization has published a manual, Flight Safety and Volcanic Ash (Doc 9974), providing guidance on the handling of aircraft operations when there is forecast volcanic ash contamination. The manual was developed by the ICAO International Volcanic Ash Task Force (IVATF) that was established following the 2010 eruptions of the Eyjafjallajökul volcano in Iceland. ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin said, “[Eyjafjallajökul] forced us to align our guidance material with the latest technological and scientific developments.
The AOPA Air Safety Institute (ASI) finds little evidence of any difference in the safety records of general aviation aircraft with glass cockpits compared with those equipped with analog instruments. The ASI released a study, “The Accident Record of Technologically Advanced Aircraft,” that concludes that direct comparisons of aircraft with glass cockpits and those with analog cockpits are difficult.
Helicopter Association International President Matt Zuccaro is appealing to the FAA to take action to “remove people who shouldn't be in the air.” During a “Meet the Regulators” session at February's Heli-Expo in Dallas, Zuccaro noted that some companies operate at unacceptable safety levels, but their actions get the most attention and hurt the entire industry. He conceded that it may be strange for a community to ask for more enforcement, but he notes that the industry must deal with the fallout of operators flying with thin safety margins.
Bombardier's Learjet celebrated a milestone when the 400th manufactured Learjet 60, a Model 60XR, was delivered Feb. 28 to Cinépolis, a corporation based in Morelia, Mexico. Cinépolis operates 265 cinemas in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and India.
Nav Canada announced its traffic figures for February 2012 measured in weighted charging units for en route, terminal and oceanic air navigation services, in comparison to the last fiscal year. The traffic in February 2012 increased by an average of 3.6% compared to the same month in 2011.
FAA Flight Standards Service Director John Allen is working to help expedite the process for business aircraft operators to obtain approvals for reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM). Allen, speaking during the Air Charter Safety Foundation's 2012 Air Charter Safety Symposium on Feb. 29, agreed the agency has fallen behind on the work, but said, “I'll expect improvements,” moving forward. NBAA Vice President, Safety, Security and Regulation Doug Carr notes that as RVSM has become more commonplace, applications for approval have mounted.
Government and industry officials need to collaborate on ways to mitigate runway incursions before another disaster happens, says NTSB Commissioner Christopher Hart. “If we don't get our hands around this problem — and we don't have our hands around this — sooner or later it's going to happen again,” Hart told the Air Charter Safety Foundation's 2012 Air Charter Safety Symposium in February.
General aviation in China has a strong long-term future, but it's important not to confuse its initial spike in orders with that market's long-term character, which may be very different. So says aviation analyst Brian Foley. “Dreams of a limitless upside must be tempered with realism.
Early in the second grade curriculum in Virginia, children are introduced to the basics of inequalities: 1< 2, 4>3 and so forth. I asked my second-grader the other day if these were difficult concepts to grasp. He laughed and said, “No Mom, it's easy,” at least at that elementary level. Not so for some lawmakers it seems.
The NTSB is proposing to alter the review procedures for FAA enforcement applications and to facilitate electronic filings. An NPRM, published in the Feb. 9 Federal Register, follows a December 2010 ANPRM that covered the standard of review for emergency determinations, discovery and information exchange, and electronic filing of documents. The NPRM questioned whether the agency should change its standard position that FAA's allegations against a party are true for the purposes of a five-day review of the emergency status of a revocation.
The Flightstar Corp., Savoy, Ill., has purchased the assets of Bloomington Avionics based in Bloomington, Ill. Flightstar is transferring the Bloomington staff and its services to the Flightstar fixed-base operation at Champaign-Urbana's University of Illinois-Willard Airport (KCMI). A Class I and II avionics repair station, Bloomington has provided service and installation for more than 30 years. Flightstar, the sole FBO at KCMI, employs more than 120 people at a 10,000-sq.-ft. corporate terminal facility and 68,000-sq.-ft. maintenance facility.
Landmark Aviation added three aircraft to its managed charter fleet: a Hawker 800XP based at Landmark's Washington-Dulles location, an Embraer Phenom 100 based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and a King Air C90 based in Sioux Falls, S.D. Landmark has a managed fleet of 71 aircraft throughout its network. Headquartered in Houston, Landmark operates a chain of FBOs and provides charter, management and MRO services.
As of Jan. 25, the four Gulfstream G650s in the flight-test program had accumulated more than 2,675 flight hours over 820 flights. The aircraft is expected to enter service the middle of this year. It received a provisional type certificate from the FAA on Nov. 18, 2011, with the full FAA type certificate expected mid-year. EASA has finished its initial evaluation of the aircraft in preparation for certification. The G650 has flown for more than 14 consecutive hours, with flight-test data confirming its ability to achieve 7,000 nm (12,964 km) at Mach 0.85.
Composite Technology Inc., a Sikorsky Aerospace Services company based at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, opened one of the world's most powerful structures to dynamically balance helicopter main rotor blades. Designed by Sikorsky to test main rotor blades that rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise, the bi-directional whirl tower will enable helicopter operators and manufacturers to rebalance their rotor blades in the U.S. regardless of the rotorcraft's country of origin.
In its 14th Turbine-Powered Civilian Helicopter Purchase Outlook report, released at Heli Expo, Honeywell says it expects global deliveries of new civilian-use helicopters will increase to 4,700 — 5,200 over the five-year period 2012–2016. The forecast shows slower near term economic growth prospects in key markets have added uncertainty to operator purchase plans this year, however, recent order momentum and strong purchase plans for 2012 bolster the near-term outlook.
CitationAir said it will exit the fractional ownership business and focus on aircraft management and its Jet Card business. CitationAir began selling shares in 2000 and has grown into the fourth largest fractional program. It notified customers that it was suspending sales of its Jet Shares fractional program and Jet Access membership program.
