Hawker Beechcraft will open a new maintenance facility at New Castle Airport in Wilmington, Del. The facility, expected to open in second quarter 2012, will be a full-service repair and overhaul operation offering airframe, engines, avionics and mobile service support for the company's entire product line, from the single-engine Bonanza to the super-midsize Hawker 4000.
The ability to maneuver is severely restricted around many business jet airports in mountainous terrain, such as Aspen-Pitkin County/Sardy Field, Colo. (ASE) and Truckee-Tahoe, Calif., Airport (TRK). Often such airports are served by rather infamous instrument approach procedures with missed approach points (MAP) that terminate at significant heights and/or a long way from the runway.
Eclipse is now turning a profit. “We make more money than we spend,” Eclipse Aerospace CEO and Board chairman Mason Holland told BCA Editor-in-Chief William Garvey. “We're a profitable company year in and year out.” “We are investing additional dollars toward the production effort every month,” Holland says. He speaks about the return to production now as a certainty, with the recent partnership with Sikorsky a major factor in moving forward. He anticipates 60% of sales being outside the U.S.
Within hours of President Barack Obama's June 29 press conference (see above), at least nine aviation associations — ranging from the manufacturers, service companies, operators, a union and the Alliance for Aviation Across America (which represents 5,700 aviation, government, local and business groups) — had come out condemning Obama's remarks.
China's Minsheng Bank to buy 50 Gulfstream and 20 Embraer business jets. Minsheng's website said a non-binding MOU was signed June 28, covering Gulfstream G650, G550, G450 and the newly renamed G280 (see below) jets. The bank signed a similar agreement with Embraer for 20 unspecified executive jets July 19. It's notable that Embraer is in the process of gaining approval to convert its ERJ135 China production facility to the manufacture of Legacy 600 and 650 super midsize business jets. Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. Ltd.
Air Traffic Organization (ATO), Washington, has appointed David Grizzle chief operating officer.` Avantair Inc., Clearwater, Fla., has hired Robert DeGrie as vice president of maintenance responsible for the Maintenance and Materials departments including the Camarillo, Calif.; Clearwater/St. Petersburg; and Dallas locations. Christopher Gleason has joined the company as area sales manager for Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Utah.
The Hawker 200's Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 cockpit looks a lot like that of the Premier IA, with its three 10-in. by 8-in. AFD-3010E LCD screens, stand-alone annunciator light panel and dual multifunction CDUs in the center console. The most obvious difference is the Meggitt EPD-40002 integrated electronic standby instrument system that replaces the cluster of three standby instruments aboard the Premier IA.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Hawker 200 in a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Hawker Beechcraft's chief sales engineer, Martin Tuck, provided the chart data. Please note: These data are preliminary and are subject to change as a result of flight tests leading up to aircraft certification, now slated for the first half of 2012.
Some aircraft accident and incident investigations require years of meticulous laboratory analysis, human factors studies, meteorological research, flight deck simulations and inflight experimentation before a probable cause can be determined. Alternatively, some incidents provide investigators with few mysteries, but rather a collection of facts that leave them simply amazed that such things can happen in modern sophisticated aircraft operations.
Aviation Research Group/US is the industry leader in providing specialized aviation services to companies that manufacture, finance, operate, maintain, and market commercial and business aircraft, as well providing products and services to consumers worldwide.
Leave the boundaries of the United States and you lose the locally available feed from FAA radar (known as ASDI, for Aircraft Situation Display to Industry) because, as everyone knows, radar stops at the horizon's edge. Once you head out over the water, you can continue to rely on air traffic management to provide position information via the traditional transoceanic longitudinal reporting points. But if you want more frequent near-real-time position and tracking info, you'll need to sign up for satellite tracking services.
Jeppesen received Department of Homeland Security approval to issue Form I-20s to non-U.S. students in the company's dispatcher training program who are seeking a visa. The procedure streamlines the visa process for students and offers a marked improvement over applying for a business visa, which, according to Jeppesen, often results in denial of application and causes delays. The company says it can help out with B-1 (business) and M-1 (student) applications for those seeking a dispatcher certificate from the FAA.
The latest edition of Vref's Market Leader newsletter says the current market for previously owned business aircraft remains “uneven” and “mixed,” but “continues its transition to . . . the new normal — a sluggish, almost flat-line recovery.”
The used jet inventory, as a percentage of the active fleet, decreased in June by 20 basis points to 10.4%, according to J.P. Morgan. The financial analysts also reported that average asking prices fell 0.7% from May levels, making the average used jet worth $10.68 million. By category, medium and light jet inventories decreased in June by 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively, while heavy jet inventories inched up 0.1% during the month. Prices for heavy and medium jets decreased 0.4% and 1.9%, respectively, while light jet prices increased 1.4%.
Eclipse Aerospace has received FAA certification for a newly redesigned canister to be used with the PhostrEx fire-suppression system on the Eclipse 500 very light jet. Canisters are expected to be available for purchase beginning this month.
Constant Aviation – the Cleveland-based maintenance, repair and overhaul facility – has earned an STC for installation of Aircell's Cabin Wireless Access Point (CWAP), which provides in-cabin Wi-Fi service for Gogo Biz Inflight Internet, in two Embraer EMB135 corporate shuttles. This reportedly is the first installation of its kind in this aircraft type.
H4 Aerospace Ltd., a U.K. aircraft design firm, has engineered the first ever retrofit of a Bombardier Global Express with Lufthansa Technik's Nice cabin management and inflight entertainment (CMS/IFE) system. The installation of this system was performed during an 8C-check, the Global Express' biggest scheduled maintenance event, which is performed on the aircraft every 10 years. The owner of the long-range airplane had opted for a complete refurbishment of the interior, which provided an opportunity to update the cabin to the latest CMS/IFE technologies.
Looking for a light jet that can fly four people non-stop between most east and west coast U.S. city pairs? The Israel Aircraft Industries Astra SPX, produced by Gulfstream as the G100 after 2002, can fly 2,790 nm at Mach 0.72 to 0.75 and land with NBAA IFR reserves. Originally, the aircraft sold for as much as $14 million, but now they're available on the resale market for about a third of that figure.
My fourth and final scholar enters college this month. Four years to go, and we're done. Hallelujah. He was accepted at a number of schools that were relatively close to home, so predictably, he chose the farthest, one located in a small town in upstate New York. He and I participated in an orientation program there last month, and when he was off with his fellow freshmen learning the rules, rights and ropes, I wandered into town to look about.
In your June edition we printed a RUAG ad with wrong information (page 14). “In reference to RUAG's advertisement that appeared in the June issue of Business & Commercial Aviation magazine, RUAG would like to clarify that RUAG is not an official OEM partner and/or approved major service center for Twin Otter. RUAG holds a EASA Part 145 base and line maintenance approval with respect to Twin Otter DHC-6 Series. RUAG regrets any confusion and inconvenience caused to its customers and partners.”
Butler National Corp. — the Olathe, Kan.-based maintenance, repair and overhaul organization — has obtained an STC to modernize the J.E.T. FC-110 autopilot used in most Learjet 20 series airplanes.
The latest edition of the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest notes that prices for most types of previously owned aircraft are stable. Values for the majority of business jets held firm in the second quarter, with prices for 583 models categorized as stable, while prices for 298 decreased and 41 types enjoyed price appreciation. According to Aircraft Bluebook, among the biggest movers were late-model Bombardier Global XRSes, whose value gained $1 million when compared to the previous quarter.
Everett, Wash.-based BLR Aerospace has received Direccíon General de Aeronáutica Civil approval for its King Air 90 winglets. Now Mexican operators of the twin-turboprop aircraft can install the performance enhancing modification on their airplanes. Earlier, the FAA, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the ANAC (the aviation authority for Brazil) approved the airfoils.
I was disturbed to see that “Illegal Charter” cited Nick Sabatini [former FAA associate administrator for Aviation Safety] and Jim Ballough [former FAA director Flight Standards Service] as industry experts. Their testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee [in 2008, regarding FAA's Customer Service Initiative] was an affront to all of the hard working FAA personnel who had to work for them and an embarrassment to the FAA as a whole.
I have read Ross Detwiler's articles for years and particularly enjoyed his “Aviation Computers Part II” (June 2011, page 58). It was a very informative and enjoyable article, as my company is currently bringing iPads on line.
