Universal Jet Aviation recently added two Gulfstream IVs and a Boeing BBJ to its fleet. The Gulfstreams will be based out of Miami and Carlsbad, Calif., and the BBJ will be available for charter out of South Florida. Universal Jet's charter fleet now has 15 aircraft, including four Gulfstream IVs, seven Gulfstream IIIs and a Legacy 600.
The FAA Civil Aerospace Medicine Institute (CAMI) has released a report of the first systematic investigation of how modern Web-based weather products are actually used by general aviation pilots. A data-gathering emulation of 18 pages of the National Weather Service website was written by CAMI's W.R. Knecht to present two similar, challenging weather scenarios to 50 GA pilots in a simulated cross-country VFR flight. Each pilot made two flights, separated by several months.
The business aircraft industry again flew through stormy skies in 2010. Compared to 2009, 12.3% fewer new turbofan aircraft were delivered, new turboprop shipments declined another 17.7% and there was a 7.7% drop in new piston aircraft deliveries, according to GAMA.
Falcon 50EX operators with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics can now upgrade to Pro Line 21 via an STC from Rockwell Collins. The Falcon 50EX Pro Line 21 retrofit features four large, configurable 10-by8-in. LCDs and Rockwell Collins' Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS). With IFIS, pilots will have access to high-resolution electronic charts, XM graphical weather (including but not limited to NEXRAD), lightning data, satellite images, winds aloft data and enhanced navigation maps.
Looking for guidance on the use of electronic manuals? Advisory Circular AC 120-78 — Acceptance and Use of Electronic Signatures, Electronic Recordkeeping Systems and Electronic Manuals — provides guidance on the acceptability of electronic maintenance manuals, including inspection procedures, quality operations and training manuals. The AC also provides guidance on the acceptance and use of electronic signatures, and electronic recordkeeping systems.
I was interested to read “No Hiding” from William C. Kontes (Readers' Feedback, February 2011, page 9). Of course, you can't hide a Falcon 900LX behind a Grumman Tiger, but when you compare its size to a Gulfstream G450, there is a big difference in length, span and weight for similar performance. That's optimization over maximization, an improvement from a younger design.
American Eurocopter announced that the Ontario, Calif., Police Department has ordered its third AS350 B2. The aircraft, which will enter service in late spring, will primarily be used for aerial patrol and special operations surveillance. The Air Support Unit averages around 1,000 hr. per year on each of its two current AS350 B2s, with 70-80% of flights flown at night.
Piper Aircraft is expecting to complete renovations this summer to accommodate production of its Altaire business jet as work continues on the first of four conforming test articles, the company says. Piper updated the status of its first jet offering, the $2.6 million single-engine Altaire, noting that it has selected all “Tier 1” vendors, including tooling specialist Hampson/Global Tooling Services, which has tooling designers on site at the Piper facility. The airframe maker says the Altaire production facility will be ready to manufacture aircraft next year.
“Guardedly optimistic” is how JP Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol describes a recovery in new business jet demand this year, but warns that the path is a winding one and data points are mixed. “In March, for example, used inventory ticked up for the first time since October. The increase was slight, but a further decline would have inspired more confidence,” he writes. “Likewise, pricing was more or less flat after increasing in January and February. Most models saw price increases, however, and we still see a trend toward firming prices.”
The following description of the hotline is posted on the NATA website (www.nata.aero): “Effective immediately, any employee or agent of a Part 135 on-demand certificate holder can call a special toll-free hotline, (888) 759-3581 or (888) SKY-FLT1, to file a report of suspected illegal commercial flights, where an aircraft operator without an FAR Part 135 certificate is accepting compensation for transportation in violation of both FAA and Department of Transportation regulations.
Private operators posing as commercial charter providers in Europe, North America, and the Middle East are soliciting money from the “ignorant public” and, certificated operators claim, are endangering their passengers while creating unfair competition for the legitimate, rules-abiding members of the industry.
FAA Flight Standards Director John Allen calls concerns over potential GPS jamming “a very, very big issue right now.” The FAA is working with the Federal Communications Commission on the potential ramifications of the recent conditional approval for LightSquared to provide terrestrial broadband services using frequencies reserved for mobile satellite communication. The agency “is all over this,” he says, adding, “They're in the middle of a food fight right now.”
Falcon Aviation Services, an Abu Dhabi-based charter operator, has added an Embraer Lineage 1000 to its fleet, joining the existing fleet of Gulfstream G450 and Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Namibia has become the 69th organization worldwide and the seventh in Africa to join the International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). The IAOPA notes that general aviation is particularly important in Namibia, which is one of the least densely populated countries in the world, with 2.1 million people and a size that is a little more than half that of Alaska.
The Gulfstream V is one of the highest performance large-cabin business aircraft on the pre-owned market. Between 1997 and 2002, the Savannah firm built 194 units before replacing it with the GV-SP, commercially known as the G550.
Rolls-Royce projects that new turbine helicopter deliveries will be valued at $140 billion during the 2011-2020 period and will require approximately 27,000 new turbine engines valued at more than $12 billion. The forecast says the civil market will experience modest unit growth, especially in new entry-level turbine helicopters. Rolls-Royce forecasts around 10,900 civil helicopters will be delivered during the 10-yr. period, with an overall airframe value estimated at $34 billion and associated engine value of $4.6 billion.
It’s one thing to operate a Gulfstream, Falcon 7X or Global Express on long legs through Alaska to points in Asia . . . but imagine doing it routinely in a Learjet 35.
“Our forte has always been international transactions, and it continues to be that way,” notes Patrick Hosmann Jr., vice president of Southern Cross Aviation. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company, which also has an aircraft sales office near Charlotte, N.C., initially focused on serving South American customers. That market continues to be a strong one for the firm, which has provided aircraft brokerage, acquisition, sales and leasing services for more than 20 years.
The Sikorsky X2 team won the 2010 Collier Trophy, awarded annually to recognize the greatest achievements in aeronautics or astronautics in America. The recognition came six months after the X2 Technology demonstrator achieved a speed of 250 KTAS in level flight, setting an unofficial speed record for a helicopter and accomplishing the program’s ultimate speed milestone.
GAMA reported the 2010 worldwide shipments and billings of general aviation airplanes in late February at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Worldwide shipments of general aviation airplanes declined for the third year in a row to a total of 2,015 units, an 11.4% decrease over the previous year’s total of 2,274 airplanes. Worldwide general aviation billings, nevertheless, rose by 1.2% in 2010 to $19.7 billion. Last year was the third best year ever for total industry billings, driven by deliveries of long-range, large-cabin aircraft.
I am looking for a new aircraft to accommodate our expanded international transportation needs and have narrowed our search to either the Gulfstream G450 or the Falcon 900DX/LX. My experience with our current aircraft, a 2003 Falcon 50EX, has been very satisfactory. All of our research indicates that the Gulfstream products are equally as good.
Mine is an old New England town, complete with a central green, stone walls, colonial tavern, the works. Revolutionary War skirmishes were fought on Main Street — a British cannon ball remains lodged in the old tavern’s wall — and combatants, both Patriots and Redcoats, rest in the Burying Yard. Yes, George Washington really did stop here, as did Comte de Rochambeau and Benedict Arnold (when he was still fighting for the home team).
I was thrilled that you took notice of the generosity of a major company like Williams-Sonoma. I actually had forgotten about our interview and when I saw “Above and Beyond” (Off Duty, January 2011, page 62), I became very emotional. I became even prouder that I am a part of an amazing industry.
