Rated at 5,730 lb. thrust for take–off, the Latitude's P&WC PW306D engines will have virtually identical interior parts to the 306C powerplants fitted to the Citation Sovereign. FADECs provide carefree engine management and thrust/temperature/rpm limit protection.
It seems that over the past year the world has experienced every type of major disaster — and many small ones as well. From floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, hurricanes and tornados, there is no telling what Mother Nature will throw at us next. I predict locusts or frogs. If you cannot fly away before a natural disaster strikes, riding out the storm can be a nerve-racking experience. While the wind and rain howls is not the time to wonder if your insurance policy has you covered.
If you have an accident, you will find that you will quickly be overwhelmed with tasks and communications. One way to help control the chaos is to have an emergency response plan — essentially a playbook to guide you through the process. Your plan should have all of your company contacts, emergency services, the FAA, OSHA and support services necessary to help you through what promises to be an exhausting experience. To learn more visit: www.nbaa.org/member/ops/safety/response
It began as a maker of cast-off airplanes and at one point was near collapse, but Bombardier Aerospace is demonstrating enviable resilience during the market downturn, thanks in large measure to its top end business jets, while investing billions in new models.
After three decades in the automotive industry as a top executive with General Motors and Delphi in the U.S. and Europe, Guy Hachey returned to his native Quebec in April 2008 as president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace. Five months later, the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a global financial crisis that decimated the business aviation industry. In a recent interview with BCA Editor-in-Chief William Garvey and Aviation Week & Space Technology's Joseph C.
Next year, Bombardier's Global 5000 and 6000, fitted with Global Vision cockpits powered by Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics, will be the first production business aircraft to enter service with head-up displays with synthetic vision system (SVS) background imagery.
There are certain flight conditions and control inputs that can overstress the main rotor mast components of a semi-rigid system, resulting in catastrophic failure. Consequently, it's vital that pilots fully understand the limitations of this type of system.
Plenty of diehard Eclipse 500 skeptics scoffed at Mason Holland, chairman and CEO of Eclipse Aerospace, when he announced at the 2011 NBAA Convention that his firm intended to resume building the aircraft sometime in 2013. Cynics all but buried the very light jet (VLJ) concept after EA500 production stopped in 2008, writing it off as a misguided, overhyped folly of Vern Raburn, founder of failed Eclipse Aviation (See Fast Five, page 25.)
These preliminary graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Eclipse 550 under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance based upon Eclipse 500 AFM data, Eclipse Aerospace projections and our estimates. Actual performance of the Eclipse 550 may fall short of these projections because of empty aircraft weight gain compared to Eclipse 500 aircraft.
Rated at 900-lb. thrust for takeoff, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F-A is the smallest member of the PW600 family that also is installed on the Cessna Citation Mustang and Embraer Phenom 100. The engine features a conventional, two-spool design with an inner shaft attached to the wide-chord front fan that is powered by a single-stage low-pressure turbine. The outer shaft has a single-stage, axial flow compressor and a single-stage centrifugal flow high-pressure compressor.
The Eclipse 550's Avio cockpit has left- and right-side, 10.4-in. portrait configuration PFDs, plus a 15.3-in. landscape configuration MFD in the middle. Functions are controlled by line select keys with soft labels on each display, inner and outer knobs at the corners of the displays, a few stand-alone switches in the instrument panel and slide-out multifunction keyboards in front of the pilots' knees.
The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) continues to push manufacturers and operators to take a closer look at pressurization system failure warning devices, no doubt spurred in part by a remarkable incident involving an oxygen-starved pilot whose confusion may have been a lifesaver. It happened on July 16, 2009, when a string of system and human failures led to an undiagnosed pressurization system problem in Beechcraft King Air C90 (VH-TAM) while on a routine flight out of Perth Airport in Western Australia.
Sept. 25 — At 1341 local time a Bell 412SP, (Indonesia registry PK-OVC), crashed in a jungle under unknown circumstances 150 km east of Selaparang Airport, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The helicopter was operated by PT Airfast Indonesia under the provisions of the Indonesia Civil Aviation Regulations and was on a cargo flight. It sustained substantial damage and both crewmembers were fatally injured in the crash. The flight originated at Dodo Camp Airport and was destined for Lemurung Camp.
Aero Dynamix, Inc., Euless, Texas, announced that test pilot Dwayne Williams has joined their growing team of night vision goggle professionals. The company is an industry leader in NVG cockpit modifications. Aviation Personnel International (API), San Francisco, promoted Colleen Kelly to vice president, Client and Talent Relations, responsible for the retained recruitment of aviation professionals of behalf of Fortune 500 companies and private individuals.
Kevin Bredenbeck, Sikorsky chief test pilot, who flew the revolutionary X2 Technology demonstrator last year to an unofficial speed record for conventional helicopters, has been recognized by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots with the Iven C. Kincheloe Award for the year's outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing. Bredenbeck, who is also Sikorsky's director of flight operations, accepted the award at a ceremony in California in September.
Oliver Stone, managing director of the new London-based aircraft brokerage, Colibri Aircraft Ltd., believes the market for previously owned business airplanes is gradually recovering. In today's market “typically, the newest and largest planes are doing the best,” says Stone. “The ultra-long-range, large-cabin jets are actually doing quite well. Prices have stabilized and inventory is thinning out.”
The September edition of J.P. Morgan's Business Jet Monthly report noted that prices rose slightly in August for used business jets that are out of production but still have derivatives being manufactured.
August 2011 statistics on the used aircraft markets contain good news, says Jetnet, the Utica, N.Y.-based provider of corporate aviation information. In the first eight months of this year, the year-to-date average asking price for business jets rose 3.5%, while the industry maintained double-digit growth (11.4%) in used business jet retail sale transactions.
A wide disparity continues to exist in today's pre-owned business aircraft market, “and just about any adjective will accurately describe some part of the market,” says Carl Janssens, editor of Aircraft Bluebook's Marketline newsletter.
Hawker Beechcraft has received a type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the manufacturer's Hawker 800XPR. The performance-enhancing package for the popular twinjet received FAA approval earlier this year, and deliveries have begun.
A drag-reducing upgrade kit developed for Boeing MD-80 operators has received supplemental type certification from the FAA. Developed by Long Beach, Calif.-based engineering company Super98, the first part of the kit is initially designed to reduce fuel burn by 2.5% or more, with a further 1% benefit available from a more extensive upgrade. Fuel savings were verified in flight tests of an instrumented MD-83 in late 2010 and earlier this year.
Conklin & de Decker will hold its 12th annual Aircraft Acquisition and Planning Seminar in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Dec. 6 and 7 at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. The meeting is designed to help the aircraft buyer, owner or aviation professional understand how to make informed aircraft purchasing and owning decisions.
Based on its most recent poll of aircraft dealers, Vref Publishing Inc., the Arizona-based provider of data on the resale market, reported in the third quarter edition of its Market Leader newsletter, “There has been a surprising amount of activity. Early this summer, many dealers reported, 'they've never been busier.'”
ExecuJet Aviation Group, the Swiss-based aviation management company, reported in September that it has experienced continued growth in new and used aircraft sales since the beginning of the year. The company predicts the trend will continue well into 2012. Year-over-year figures show ExecuJet's deliveries this year increased by almost 100%, with aircraft sales revenues up by 90%.
