BAE Systems and U.K. design consultant Design Q recently unveiled the latest interior concept for the Avro Business Jet (ABJ) — the ABJ Eleganté. This new concept is the fourth of five new interiors developed by Design Q for ABJs. The Eleganté interior features a large forward galley, which can be shut off from the main cabin for privacy. The forward lounge has two large sofas, a dining table in the aft section and a 46-in. display. The dining area can be used as a work area.
Rockwell Collins has received an STC to retrofit Pro Line 4-equipped Falcon 2000 and Falcon 2000EX aircraft with the Pro Line 21 avionics suite. The upgrade replaces the legacy CRT displays with LCD displays. Some 250 Falcon 2000 and 2000EX aircraft are eligible for the Pro Line 21 retrofit.
There are plenty of choices in today's pre-owned light jet market and plenty of trade-offs in cabin comfort, performance and direct operating cost. The Beechjet 400/400A has one of the roomiest cabins in its class, rivaling those of Phenom 300 or Learjet 40XR, although it's about two feet shorter in length. It will climb directly to FL 410, or higher, and cruise at 440 KIAS, assuming standard-day conditions. And most aircraft in the resale market are priced at $1.2-$1.8 million, an attractive value.
Fokker Aircraft Services recently handed over a converted Airbus A320 airliner to MasterJet, a Geneva, Switzerland-based operator. The makeover — which was done at the company facility in Woensdrecht, Netherlands — included a complete teardown of the airline interior and installation of five separate cabins, including a private suite with bedroom, bathroom and office; a conference and dining area; separate executive lounge; and special first-class seating area.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp.'s Power Line Detection System (PDS) has been certified for installation on the Enstrom 480B helicopter, and the system will soon be available for retrofit on the approximately 90 in-service models of that rotorcraft. The PDS also will be offered as an option on new production models of the light turbine helicopter built by the Menominee, Mich., rotary-wing manufacturer. Enstrom has already delivered PDS-equipped 480B helicopters to the Royal Thai Army as part of a 16-aircraft contract.
The Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group — which has decades of experience performing a variety of completion, maintenance, repair and overhaul services — is also Canada's authorized sales representative for Cessna Aircraft. Recently, Andrew P. Pearce was appointed to grow the company's aircraft sales presence in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Middle East.
More than 15 years ago, the FAA chartered a human factors team to look into the causes of a spate of accidents that involved crews trying to function within highly automated cockpits that had been introduced by a new generation of aircraft. The Flight Safety Foundation published the results of that initiative in 1996 and noted in the report that one key issue centered on the disconnect between pilots and the airplane, often expressed by crew members as “Why did it do that?” or “What is it doing now?”
Air Methods Corp. will acquire OF Air Holdings Corp., parent of Omniflight Helicopters Inc. Omniflight provides air medical transport services throughout the U.S. under community-based and hospital-based service delivery models, utilizing a fleet of approximately 100 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Omniflight is headquartered in Addison, Texas, with operations in 18 states involving over 75 base locations. Air Methods will acquire Omniflight for an aggregate purchase price of $200 million in cash on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
The FAA certified the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 250 in June. Announced during last year's NBAA convention, the King Air 250 is derived from the King Air 200, but offers improved efficiency and field performance with BLR Aerospace composite winglets and a lighter weight design. The company launched the King Air 250 after surveying more than 3,000 customers.
Eurocopter was to debut its X3 hybrid helicopter at the 2011 Paris Air Show as we went to press. Lutz Bertling, Eurocopter president and CEO says, “The X3 is an excellent example of how we are preparing for the future . . .
Empire Aviation Group (EAG) in Dubai announced plans to begin operations in India, with a new branch office opening in Mumbai by mid-year. The new branch will eventually offer the full range of EAG services on the subcontinent, but will initiallly focus on aircraft sales and management.
AMSTAT, the Tinton Falls, N.J., provider of corporate aviation data, reported that 2.4% of the worldwide active fleet of business jets changed hands via resale retail transactions during the first quarter. While 2.4% is low by historical standards (the 20-yr. average is 3.3%), it is the same level as in fourth quarter 2010. “Thus, for the first time in many years, the business jet market did not experience a significant drop in transaction activity in the first quarter of the year,” said AMSTAT.
In 2009, the DOT ordered CSI Aviation Services Inc. to cease and desist from acting as a broker of air charter services for the federal government. The company appealed, and on April 1, 2011, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals granted CSI's petition for review, finding that the DOT failed to justify its authority to issue the contested order.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has appointed three veteran managers to key positions as part of the agency's ongoing review of how the United States oversees its air traffic control system. “I am confident our top-to-bottom review is making our air traffic system even safer,” said Babbitt. That review includes an independent panel to evaluate the agency's air traffic control training curriculum, qualifications and placement process.
Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) in Coatesville, Penn., completed modifying a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter for export to Germany's Heliservice International GmbH. Originally designed for VIP transport missions, the aircraft has been reconfigured and equipped for specialty maintenance operations on windmill farms throughout Germany.
I strapped on my first airplane, a 90-hp Aeronca Champ 7EC, in the summer of 1960 and since then my interest in aviation has never wavered. Two years later I was aboard a United Airlines Boeing 720 on the way from my home in New Jersey to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the start of an aviation career.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has developed a new computer-generated forecast model that is designed to provide pilots with information on the likelihood of encountering dangerous inflight icing conditions. Developed with funding from an FAA grant, the Forecast Icing Product with Severity, or FIP-Severity, provides 12-hr. icing forecasts that are updated hourly for pilots, air traffic controllers and other users of aviation weather information.
StandardAero Business Aviation has upgraded the cockpit of a Dassault Falcon 50EX from Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 to Pro Line 21 avionics, and says it is the first maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organization to successfully complete such a retrofit.
Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion, the company's newest and most advanced integrated avionics system, has reached a major milestone by receiving its final FAA Technical Standard Order (TSO). Certification of the avionics hardware and software sets the stage for supplemental type certification on Rockwell Collins' Challenger 601 test aircraft and on Bombardier's Global Express XRS.
Embraer's large cabin Lineage 1000 received its type certificate from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The latest certification is in addition to certifications by Brazil's ANAC and the European Aviation Safety Agency in December 2008, and the U.S. FAA in January 2009. To date, nine Lineage 1000 jets are in operation worldwide.
A new coalition designed to focus on issues affecting general aviation airports has been formed by a group of GA airport operators. The General Aviation Airport Coalition was formed to “preserve and promote our nation's general aviation airports,” according to the mission statement. The coalition began meeting late last year, but recently officially launched as a formal group.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt dismissed calls to allow controllers to sleep during shifts to mitigate the effects of fatigue. The agency is currently reviewing 12 recommendations to offset fatigue proposed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association that include breaks of up to 2.5 hr., reduced work hours on certain rotations and increased training on the effects of sleep deprivation and disorders.
Rizon Jet has opened a two-level FBO and VIP lounge at London Biggin Hill Airport. The FBO will cater to an international clientele, including Middle Eastern families and business travelers. The ground floor includes five open and semi-private seating areas, and the mezzanine floor offers semi-enclosed lounge areas, as well as meeting facilities, including a boardroom with videoconferencing, and a children's corner.
