China and Russia will join forces to build general aviation aircraft in Erdos, China according to China's Peoples' Daily Online, The project to build four- to 12-seat airplanes is expected to produce 400 aircraft per year. China Oriental Sciences Group and the China-Russia International Investment Co. will partner with a Russian aircraft design firm. The Erdos project will not only involve manufacturing but also a general aviation research base, a general aviation pilot training base and an aviation club.
The Gulfstream G280 received a provisional type certificate (PTC) from the FAA, the company announced March 2. The Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI) provisionally certified the G280 on Dec. 29, 2011. Gulfstream Aerospace says a software update for the aircraft's avionics is the final major milestone prior to full certification by the FAA and CAAI, expected later this year. According to the company, the three aircraft in the flight test program have flown more than 1,845 hr. during more than 685 flights.
Embraer's large-cabin Legacy 650 executive jet received type certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India, paving the way for Legacy 650 customers to register and operate the aircraft in India. The 2012 version of the Legacy 650 features refinements to the interior and cabin management system and improved cockpit avionics.
Area navigation (RNAV) Required Navigation Procedure with Authorization Required (RNP AR) instrument approach and departure procedures are key components of the FAA's Next Generation air traffic management system and the European Aviation Safety Agency's Single European Sky (SESAR). Certificated U.S. air carriers, such as Southwest Airlines, along with NetJets pioneered RNP approaches as a means of gaining lower weather minimums at some of the airports they frequently use or to save fuel by flying tighter approach and departure paths.
Rockwell Collins is entering the piston electronic control unit (ECU) business with a new dual-channel ECU that will be on the BRP Powertrain's new Rotax 912 iS piston engine. The Austrian engine maker celebrated the launch of the new four-cylinder,100-hp engine at the BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) Powertrain factory in Gunskirchen, Austria. Designed for light sport aircraft (LSA), the 912 iS will provide up to 70% better fuel efficiency compared with other engines in the LSA market, BRP says.
AC Aviation, Inc., Janesville, Wisc., has hired Dan Morrison as director of Charter Sales and Andy Schweickert as director of Marketing. Margaret Clark has been promoted to Charter manager. Aerion, Reno, Nev., named Doug Nichols chief operating officer responsible for all operating, financial, business development and marketing activities related to the development of the supersonic business jet (SBJ). He succeeds Michael Henderson, who following his tenure as COO remains Aerion's principal scientist and a director of the company.
The Center for Environmental Health has filed suit against numerous FBOs in California, citing that state's Proposition 65, seeking damages for distributing 100LL avgas without warning nearby residents of their potential exposure to lead. The aviation community is still assessing options for its response to the lawsuit, but FBOs are believed to be leaning toward a settlement given the costs they face fighting the lawsuit and the success rate that the Center for Environmental Health has had in its numerous other lawsuits filed under Proposition 65.
The Deccan Chronical reports the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will set up a Central Air Traffic Flow Management center at New Delhi for controlling Indian airspace from a single facility. “We will complete the integration of the entire upper space in the country by this year-end,” said AAI Air Navigation Services member V. Somasundaram.
“Normalized access,” allowing unmanned aircraft systems (UASes) to “file and fly” anywhere in the national airspace system (NAS), will require airborne sense-and-avoid (ABSAA) in addition to GBSAA, and will take longer to achieve, says Steven Pennington, U.S. Air Force director of bases, ranges and airspace (see above item). The FAA has yet to develop a plan for full integration of UASes into the airspace system by the 2015 target date set by Congress, but “the Defense Department, with GBSAA, will get there by 2015 because we routinely fly to the same place,” he says.
FAA Flight Standards Deputy Director John McGraw has noted that “Congress [is] being a lot more directive and specific in the struggle to balance environmental interests and operations.” McGraw says he is unsure how the FAA is going to be able to respond to the number of rulemakings that Congress has charged the agency to undertake, and says it may take the agency some time to get through all of them.
At the invitation of the U.S. DOT, representatives from the NBAA and GAMA met with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's transportation working group to explain the benefits of business aviation and provide suggestions on oversight as the market expands in the region. A key point of emphasis was that business aviation is not in competition with airlines, notes Doug Carr, vice president of safety, security and regulation for the NBAA.
The business aviation market is showing early signs that the momentum at the end of last year is carrying into 2012 with key indicators improving in January, according to initial analyst reports. Used aircraft sales continued to strengthen, and prices jumped dramatically in January for the first time in months, according to Jetnet's latest report. Business aircraft flights, meanwhile, reached their highest levels of activity in nearly a year, according to FAA and Morgan Stanley data.
Priester Aviation has added three new aircraft to its private jet charter fleet. The new aircraft include a Gulfstream G550, Citation CJ4 and Pilatus PC-12 NG, which will be supported by Priester's aircraft management and charter program. The 16-passenger Gulfstream G550 will be Priester's 16th large-cabin aircraft.
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.
I am deeply disturbed by your comments about the FAA administrator's premature departure due to a DUI incident in December last year (Washington Watch, January 2012, page 63). As an FAA certificate holder (ATP and CFI) for over 22 years, it does matter to me who is at the top of the world's largest and probably most-influential civil aviation administration.
Russian MRO provider Engineering LLC is buying Epic Aircraft, the Bend, Ore., producer of the Escape and Epic LT turboprop kit aircraft. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Epic Aircraft CEO Douglas King will retain his position under the new ownership, and Engineering LLC has assembled a board of industry executives to help manage the transition. The companies say the acquisition will position Epic for growth.
The Sept. 30, 2015 deadline for integrating unmanned aircraft into U.S. civil airspace, set in the new FAA reauthorization bill, is expected initially to be met using ground-based sense-and-avoid (GBSAA), a Pentagon official says. Using ground radars, GBSAA will allow “routine access” to airspace for unmanned aircraft transiting between their bases and restricted areas used for training, says Steven Pennington, U.S. Air Force director of bases, ranges and airspace.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
