I'm a former Pax River/Edwards AFB, Calif., flight test engineer and regional airline pilot and now the proud owner of a P-Baron. I wanted to compliment you on what I consider one of the absolute best technical aviation articles I've ever read. I couldn't put down “High-Altitude Upset Recovery” when I read it. It's timely, extremely well written and referenced and frighteningly logical. There are simply not enough superlatives for the article. Great work. I'll reference that article for years to come.
“Ditch Digger” (Viewpoint, August 2011, page 9) was an excellent article and right to the point. Some in our country are so involved in the “I've-got-mine, pull-up-the-ladder” mentality that we seem to have lost the lessons of economic history. Thanks for your article. I hope our leaders are listening. M & K Aviation LLC Troy, Mo.
The partial FAA shutdown ended Aug. 5 when the U.S. Senate adopted the House-passed version of a temporary FAA reauthorization bill by unanimous consent. The two-week FAA shutdown was estimated to cost the government $400 million in lost excise taxes and halted numerous construction projects. About 4,000 FAA workers and as many as 70,000 construction workers were affected. Trust fund paid positions were not. But that reauthorization, itself, will expire Sept.
Flexjet has launched a Learjet 85 fractional jet ownership sales program. Flexjet, a division of Bombardier, will be the first customer for its parent's largest Learjet. The aircraft is the first FAR Part 25 certified business jet with fuselage and wing built primarily from carbon composites and it incorporates highly advanced aerodynamics and structural engineering. Delivery is expected in 2013, the company said. Flexjet is offering guaranteed access and availability to its fractional ownership program fleet of aircraft.
Flying Colours, the Ontario, Canada-based interior completions specialist, says it is experiencing increased demand for midsize business jet refurbishments, particularly from North American operators and Bombardier Challenger 300 and 604, Dassault Falcon 900 and Hawker 800 owners.
Hundreds of workers, officials, and aviation enthusiasts gathered Aug. 17 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a general aviation (GA) rally. The event, held at the Rockwell Collins Flight Operations Center, was organized by GAMA in partnership with Rockwell Collins and Goodrich Corp., both GA manufacturers with Iowa operations. Sen. Charles Grassley (R) and Reps. Tom Latham (R), Leonard Boswell (D), Steve King (R) and Bruce Braley (D) recognized general aviation's impact on the state of Iowa as each spoke to the crowd.
ICON Aircraft secured 143 deposits for its A5 amphibious light sport aircraft during July's 2011 EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wis. The latest orders push the order book to position number 694 and production into 2015. The composite A5 sport floatplane flew for the first time with its production folding-wing design on July 25.
I enjoyed “High Altitude Upset Recovery” (July 2011, page 52) and feel it will be of great benefit to our crews. Chief Pilot TAG Aviation U.K. Farnborough, England
Thank you for “Hypocrite-in-Chief.” I only wish this message could be wider spread in all media. I wrote a letter to our local paper, The Cincinnati Enquirer, which was published. Limited to 100 words or less I needed to be brief but shared much of your content. I am a 35-year veteran of general/corporate aviation. I have seen how an aircraft used for business grows a company and creates jobs.
Larry Flynn has been named to succeed Joe Lombardo as president of Gulfstream Aerospace. The appointment, announced Aug. 5, takes effect this month. Flynn will report to Lombardo, who continues in his role as executive vice president of General Dynamics' Aerospace Group, which includes Jet Aviation, as well as Gulfstream. Lombardo has held that corporate position since 2007. According to Rob Doolittle, a General Dynamics spokesman, the new executive arrangement brings the aerospace group in alignment with the $32 billion corporation's other three business groups.
According to Thrush Aircraft and GE Aviation, August was an important milestone when GE delivered the first production H80 turboprop engine for installation on the Thrush 510G agplane. When it receives its FAA certification, expected before year end, the 510G will become the first new-build aircraft to be powered by the engine — a power plant aimed directly at the market dominated for decades by the PT6, produced Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Cessna Aircraft completed its latest order for nine Model 208/208B Caravan aircraft to Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB), the Brazilian air force, bringing the total number of Caravans delivered to the FAB to 32. Delivery of the FAB Caravans began in 1987. The single turboprop workhorses are based around the country and perform a range of missions.
Eurocopter wants to hire more than 300 experienced engineers. The recruiting outreach targets skilled engineers with more than four years of experience for Eurocopter's research and development teams in Marignane, France, and Donauwörth, Germany.
Fokker Aircraft Services (FAS) handed over a 26-seat head-of-state-configured Airbus A320 to Masterjet, based at Le Bourget. This is the first A320 with a 26-seat configuration certified by both EASA and FAA. FAS is an EASA, GCAA and FAA Part 145 maintenance facility. Located in the Netherlands, its five hangars, spanning 16,000 sq. meters, can accommodate up to four Boeing 737-series and Airbus A320-family aircraft.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp.'s Global Customer Support organization has built a comprehensive bundle of services for global government mission programs to support its Hawker and Beechcraft products as they operate in the field. This support includes a service center in Baghdad, maintaining six Iraqi Air Force King Air turboprops with 12 full-time technicians, as well as opportunities to become the service provider for future and existing T-6 and AT-6 international programs.
The first production Gulfstream G280, s.n. 2004, is having its interior installed at the company's Dallas center and is to be certified and delivered later this year. The midsize aircraft is manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries in Tel Aviv. The first three aircraft are involved in certification flight testing and have accumulated 1,500 flight hours to date. Originally designated the G250, Gulfstream renamed the aircraft in July in deference to sensibilities in the important Chinese market, where the number 280 is perceived there as more auspicious.
Delta Private Jets continues rebranding, changing the name of its Air Elite Card to the Delta Private Jets Card. The company also added the option to purchase flight time in $50,000 increments, along with the currently available $100,000 increments. The company formerly was called Delta Air Elite, but in fall 2010 was rebranded as Delta Private Jets.
Obama administration officials say the U.S. Navy will provide the market for the nation's nascent biofuel industry as part of a White House initiative to kick-start the alternative energy sector. The Navy and Marine Corps will partner with the Energy and Agriculture departments to share equally in a $510 million investment over three years — estimated at half the private sector's cost — in the production of so-called “drop-in” aviation and marine biofuels, which can be used with existing fuels to power military and civilian vehicles.
MENA Aerospace Enterprises' avionics division, SA MENA Avionics, has been selected by Flight Display Systems to sell, install and support its systems. Flight Display Systems manufactures inflight entertainment products and cabin management systems, including moving maps, high-definition LCD monitors, monitor mounts, iPod docks, Blu-ray/DVD players, flight view cameras and iPad mounts. MENA Avionics is a full-service avionics repair station based at Bahrain International Airport and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Jet Professionals has opened a new branch office at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The office will provide aviation staffing services to the Middle East market. “Our Al Bateen presence allows us to better serve and support our Middle East customers and to handle this market's current and anticipated growth,” says Hani Farag, managing director of Jet Professionals Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. The company is working with its affiliate company in the Americas to provide universal staffing and support services.
Gulfstream's ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range G650 has completed several flight-testing milestones en route to its anticipated FAA and EASA type certification later this year. As of July 16, the four aircraft in the flight test program had accumulated more than 1,760 hr. over more than 535 flights. Serial number 6004, the first G650 test aircraft with a fully outfitted interior, finished certification testing of the aircraft's water and waste systems, traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) and enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS).
Piaggio Aero and Algar Group jointly announced that Algar Aviation has become the exclusive distributor for the sales and service of the Piaggio P180 Avanti II in Brazil. Algar Aviation already represents TBM in that country.
Hawker Beechcraft has added a King Air 350ER special mission aircraft to its demonstrator fleet. The aircraft, which is equipped with a belly radome, electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) lift and other special mission equipment, made its debut at the company's static display at the Paris Air Show in June. The airplane is now on a tour that includes stops in Europe, Africa and Latin America, with future plans for a visit to Asia.
Eclipse Aerospace nears Brazilian type certificate validation of the Total Eclipse jet. After making its first appearance at the Eighth Annual Latin America Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (LABACE) in August, Eclipse Aerospace plans to announce full Type Certificate Validation this month. Eclipse has been working closely with the Brazilian Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) since April 2011 to validate the U.S. FAA Eclipse Type Certificate and allow the aircraft to be registered in Brazil.
The Gulfstream Aerospace service center in Dallas, which supports business jet operators in Latin America and the Southwestern U.S., has earned approved maintenance organization (AMO) designations from Mexico and Brazil, meaning that aircraft registered in those countries can undergo maintenance, repairs, alterations and inspections at the Dallas Love Field facility.
