In late September, Cessna introduced the Citation M2, a less-expensive and more-capable version of the CJ1+ that's intended to be a more attractive intermediate step up in speed, range and cabin comfort that will be positioned between the Citation Mustang and the CJ2+. The new design has been in development for three years and it's slated to fly during the first half of 2012.
Computerized maintenance management systems have all but replaced paper for the same reason that such digital systems usually take over any task: It's all become too complicated for humans.
Thirty years ago, Jim Haynes was working in finance in Washington, D.C., when an accountant friend mentioned that he was trying to settle the estate of a couple who had been killed in an automobile accident. He said it appeared that they had an interest in a business out at Leesburg (Va.) Airport. That tragedy and that piece of information would soon set Haynes off on a course of action that would cause a change in taxation and help transform a region in ways no one could have imagined.
If you're a scheduler or dispatcher and you just received this issue of BCA, you have just about two weeks to make the Oct. 17 deadline for filing an application for a scholarship under the NBAA's Schedulers & Dispatchers Scholarship Program. The awards are announced in December and presented at the next S&D annual meeting, scheduled for Jan. 15-18, 2012, in San Diego.
The Caribbean region is a popular recreation and business destination for North Americans, Europeans and Middle Eastern residents. Universal Weather & Aviation's Dwayne Janczak, who is assigned to the Flexjet fractional ownership headquarters in Dallas, provided a review for operating in the area.
As pilots we don't seem to think much about the brakes until we really need them, and then our interest intensifies in direct proportion to the proximity of the runway end and the speed at which it is approaching.
Given all the problems facing the Obama administration — intractably high unemployment figures, plunging poll numbers for the president and lack of traction for his latest stimulus proposal — it is increasingly difficult to understand why the executive branch continues to waste energy defending its wrong-headed attempt to “out” the owners of private aircraft.
Minimize quick turn-arounds. Fully release brakes during turn-arounds. Don't drag a brake during taxi. Consider single-engine taxi. Use reverse thrust/flat pitch if allowed. Anticipate the need to slow down and make necessary power changes ahead of time. Minimize brake applications. Apply a smooth, firm pressure to slow down the aircraft. Land at the slowest speed consistent with safety. Land on longer runways with the wind.
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Garmin unveiled a new series of portable navigation devices, the aera 796 and aera 795. The 796 will become Garmin's flagship portable aviation product, incorporating features of the GPSMAP 696, while also adding new capabilities such as a touch-screen user interface, pilot-selectable screen orientation and 3D Vision. The units are designed to move toward a paperless cockpit with a digital document viewer, scratch pad and pre-loaded geo-referenced AeroNav IFR and VFR enroute charts. The 795 incorporates the same features as the 796, but is not XM capable.
The Citation M2's cockpit is a clean-sheet design, a complete break from any avionics package yet installed in a 525-series airplane. The configuration embraces the ergonomic design philosophy of the Citation Ten, using three, side-by-side 14-in. landscape configuration, flat-panel displays with LED backlighting and 1,280-by-800-pixel resolution. These screens provide far more display area than the three, 8- by-10-in. portrait configuration displays in the CJ1+. Indeed, they provide the most display area available in current production light jets.
Canadian Chris McCabe, chief pilot for Toronto-based Chartright Air Group, has had extensive experience flying chartered business jets into several locations within the Republic of Cuba. As the country adheres to ICAO procedures and altimetry, McCabe offered to provide a PANS OPS review for domestic operators who might eventually be Cuba-bound (or flying anywhere else that uses ICAO procedures):
Step into the cockpit of a Hawker 4000 that has the newly available block point upgrade (BPU) package and it's immediately apparent that the super midsize aircraft has undergone quite a comprehensive improvement program. The FMS, flight guidance system, avionics and autothrottles offer new functions and greater utility. Airframe systems were upgraded to reduce workload and to provide better operating flexibility. In all, nearly two dozen hardware and software changes were made from which pilots can benefit in everyday operations.
ARINC plans to set up a Russian office next year to tap growth in commercial and business aviation in that market. The aviation electronics specialist already has contracts with Russian airports and business jet operators for its infrastructure and inflight offering. Andy Hubbard, vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says that even though the market has long been of interest, a meeting with potential customers this year prompted ARINC to step up its engagement in Russia. Business outside the U.S.
FuelerLinx has released a new version of its fuel planning software, with a new feature that displays an operator's own negotiated contract fuel prices on an interactive route map. The patented new feature, Axiom Fuel Planner, displays real time fuel prices at all airports in range of every stop on a flight route. “Until now, operators have never been able to see all of their contract fuel price options surrounding the stops along their route,” said FuelerLinx President Kevin Moller.
Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support (GCS) has announced the service areas for its West Coast and Northeast Mobile Technical Support teams' fleet of ground support vehicles. The West Coast base will cover Arizona, Nevada and California, while a second unit in the Northeast will support operators in New York, New Jersey and Virginia. Future plans call for other U.S.and international locations.
Balancing workload with available manpower is a never-ending struggle for maintenance managers. Even so-called “normal” operations can be highly unpredictable, and aircraft always seem to break at the worst possible time. Having extra help on call for unplanned maintenance work is a great way to cushion the impact.
NASA is working with the FAA and the industry to plan an operational demonstration of fuel-saving approach procedures using automatic dependent surveillance — broadcast (ADS-B) at an airport with high air traffic density. The objective of Airspace Technology Demonstration 1, planned for fiscal 2015, is to show the return on investment for early adopters of avionics required for NextGen, says John Cavolowsky, director of NASA's Airspace Systems Program.
CRS Jet Spares, a major business aviation aftermarket parts supplier, has signed an MOU with Gulfstream Aerospace of Savannah that allows CRS to provide many Gulfstream parts as well as service support directly to operators of GII, GIII and GIV aircraft as an approved Gulfstream Aerospace supplier. In 2009, CRS purchased a large inventory of factory new material from Gulfstream.
When asked recently about the state of his used aircraft business, John Newton said Cessna's deliveries of previously owned Citations are 300% ahead of last year, and the order rate “is pretty consistent. I am feeling pretty good.”
Recent research reports published by corporate aviation information provider JETNET and J.P. Morgan's aerospace and defense analysts say there are some positive signs in the pre-owned aircraft market, but that a broad-based recovery has yet to take hold. In releasing first-half results for the pre-owned business jet, business turboprop and helicopter markets, Utica, N.Y.-based JETNET called 2011 a “year of correction.”
Cessna is offering Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) upgrades for the Citation Ultra and Citation Encore. The STCed installation, which covers all Ultras and Encores serial number 260 through 750, includes dual Universal UNS-1Espw flight management systems certified for fully coupled WAAS LPV (localizer performance with vertical guidance) approaches.
Eclipse Aerospace Inc. (EAI) has completed a combustion liner recertification project that will enable its EA500 very light jet (VLJ) to return to its maximum certified service ceiling of 41,000 ft. EAI calls the FAA approval the last of a lengthy list of certification projects that the company has undertaken to fix problems and improve the aircraft since it bought the program out of bankruptcy in August 2009. The fixes are expected to increase the value of existing EA500s and set the stage for new production of the VLJ.
The Cessna 441 Conquest II's blend of over 300 kt. cruise speeds and top-notch fuel efficiency is stimulating buyer interest. In the past three years, the increasing price of jet fuel and the pressure to “go green” are causing some would-be used light jet buyers to reconsider high-performance turboprops instead. Cessna built 362 units from 1977 through 1986 and more than 300 aircraft remain in service. Midlife aircraft in good condition now command $1 million to $1.9 million.
