December business aircraft flight activity slows down over the holidays. TRAQPak data indicates that December 2011 business aircraft flight activity declined from November 2011, falling 6.1% from the previous month. A look at the individual operational categories shows a decrease across the board led by Part 91, which was down 8.9% from the previous month. Fractional activity followed, down 3.4%, and Part 135 finished down 2.3%. All aircraft categories were down month over month with large-cabin aircraft showing the most significant decline off 8.1% from November.
Blue Sky Network received supplemental type certification for use of its D1000 flight-tracking unit and ACH1000 communications control aboard Sikorsky S-92 helicopters. The D1000A uses built-in GPS position reporting combined with an Iridium satellite transceiver and telemetry data link to provide flight-tracking capability. The ACH1000 communications control head adds voice communication and two-way messaging connectivity between operators and the control center.
Landmark Aviation has launched a new mobile app called Landmark Connect. The new app provides customers with access to service and contact information for every FBO within the Landmark Aviation network and serves as a comprehensive source for FBO service and amenity descriptions, runway maps, current weather condition and direct-dial features. It is compatible with the iPhone and iPad, and versions for Android smart phones, BlackBerry's Storm and Torch smart phone models will be available soon. San Diego, Calif.-based Treeline Interactive assisted in the development.
Signature Flight Support has announced Signature TailWins and the Signature Flight aviation card. TailWins is a loyalty program for pilots, crew, schedulers and dispatchers, and corporate flight and travel departments offering one of the highest rates of rewards currently available, according to the company. Products and services include watches, destination travel, apparel and technology purchases. The aviation card is underwritten by U.S. Bank and Multi Service Aviation. It offers a convenient payment method for all aviation purchases.
Honda Aircraft Company announced Dec. 20 that it had been flying the third FAA design-conforming HondaJet since Nov.18, 2011. Honda Aircraft has expanded F2's performance envelope as the aircraft has begun its test mission work in earnest. The first FAA-conforming HondaJet, which flew for the first time on Dec. 20, 2010, has achieved key benchmarks that meet or exceed the aircraft's designed performance goals.
In “Cabin Electronic Systems” (December, 2011) the listing for Audio International (subsidiary of DeCrane Aerospace) should actually have been Goodrich Interiors — Cabin Electronic Systems. Goodrich acquired the Audio International asset of DeCrane over a year ago.
Although by no measure the business aviation hub of its heyday years, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is once again welcoming — albeit in an admittedly paranoid manner — business aircraft operators to take advantage of the close-in facility, located minutes from the federal capital.
After a steady decline in his health, the father of a colleague passed away not long ago. In the weeks that followed, the gentleman's survivors, a son and daughter, had to deal with all the details of his departure — accounts to close, notifications to various institutions, cleaning out a lifetime's collections of paperwork, photos, clothing, mementos. A long, melancholy process. The very last item on their To Do list was the biggie: Selling the house.
The FAA wants to shift most controller-pilot messages — more than 1.2 million a day — to a digital text-based network. This will be one of the key enablers of the NextGen modernization effort, which requires aircraft to fly satellite-based procedures that are too complex for current ATC communications technology. The agency's Data Communications (Data Comm) program will make it quicker for controllers to send and revise clearances, as well as reducing frequency congestion and allowing the transmission of complex flight profiles.
West Star Aviation's facility in East Alton, Ill., was named an authorized service center for the GE CF34 engine. The authorization means the facility can provide service and support of the engine and supply related parts and products. West Star's facility in Grand Junction, Colo., has been an authorized GE service provider for more than 6 yr.
Transport Canada has approved a 500-lb. gross weight increase for Bell Model 429 helicopter to 7,500 lb., the company says. As we go to press, Bell is seeking FAA and EASA validation. Responding to customer requests, Bell worked on the change for more than a year and spent the last several months validating data for the weight increase with Transport Canada. The improvement provides increases in range or longer loiter times — which the company notes can be particularly important for EMS and law enforcement, two key markets for the 429.
FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 00-24B cautions that thunderstorms contain multiple weather hazards and that pilots should never regard any thunderstorm lightly, even when radar observers report the echoes are of light intensity. Avoiding thunderstorms is the best policy. Here are the FAA's Do's and Don'ts for thunderstorm avoidance: Don't land or take off in the face of an approaching thunderstorm. A sudden gust front of low-level turbulence could cause loss of control.
Regarding “Security Outlook, All eyes are focused on LASP II,” (January 2011, page 45) I doubt whether any business aviation insider believes the TSA's next NPRM for the revised LASP will be published successfully anytime soon.
Eurocopter released improved performance specifications for its new EC175 helicopter scheduled to enter service by year-end. The company announced a baseline payload/radius-of-action with 16 passengers at 135 nm when configured for offshore oil and gas missions, a 30% increase compared with the initial performance baseline. For longer-range missions, EC175 can transport 12 passengers to a radius of action of 190 nm. An 18-passenger configuration option is under development with the goal of achieving a radius-of-action of 100 nm.
A unique “helipod” single-place helicopter design uses a shroud-ring to completely enclose coaxial short-span rotors. The shroud serves to shield counter-rotating blades to overcome lift dissymmetry and increase rotor efficiency. Helipod Inc. of California, which plans to build the ship in Japan, calls it a “shielding rotating wing biplane” and says the prototype will fly this summer.
ImperialJet took delivery of a new Bombardier Challenger 605 business jet for the company's charter fleet. The company says it has seen strong demand for its Bombardier Challengers, particularly in Russia and Saudi Arabia. The company operates Challenger 850, 605 and 604 aircraft in addition to Learjet 60/60 XR and Gulfstream III jets. The company further has five Learjet 85s on order that are slated to enter service in 2014.
TSA approved a five-year extension of its partnership with National Air Transportation Association Compliance Services (NATACS) to provide a range of general aviation security programs. The partnership recognizes NATACS as a Trusted Fingerprint Facility to process biographical and biometric information. The partnership, established in 2002, has been extended through December 2016. NATACS provides all pre-enrollment, enrollment, fingerprint collection, and secure data transmission for TSA-conducted background checks of aircrew members and flight students.
NBAA reminds aircraft owners with registration certificates issued in July of any given year before October 2010 to apply to re-register their aircraft with the FAA before Jan. 31, 2012. Those operators should have already received a notice in the mail containing an online re-registration code.
Gulfstream Aerospace has enhanced the services available to operators with the addition of a mobile support vehicle and a renovated customer lobby at its Brunswick, Ga., facility. The specially outfitted truck includes an air compressor, generator and a laptop to sign off work in real time allowing technicians to perform or support many maintenance services and transport a range of replacement parts. The renovated lobby has Wi-Fi, a 52-in. HD television and new furniture, among other improvements. Brunswick's 25,000-sq.-ft.
Daher-Socata delivered 38 TBM850 single-engine aircraft last year, equaling the total of the year before. Deliveries to buyers in the U.S. continued to dominate, with 84% of deliveries topping the 76% that found their way to the U.S. in 2010. Latin America was the second largest market, with Asia-Pacific and Europe following. Europe was the second largest market in 2010. Daher-Socata says it was the fourth best year for the TBM.
The NBAA expressed strong opposition to a European court's ruling in December 2011 that a plan by European regulators to tax carbon emissions from aircraft should apply to all aircraft operators across the international aviation community, including those based in the U.S. In a decision announced Dec. 21, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said European authorities are authorized to obligate all operators, including the airlines and general aviation, to comply with the program, known as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS).
