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 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.
Signature Flight Support has launched a new maintenance brand. Signature TECHNICAir consolidates all Signature-owned maintenance facilities under one unified brand covering the former Executive Beechcraft locations at Kansas City Downtown Airport, Spirit of St. Louis Airport, New Century AirCenter Airport (Olathe, Kan.) and Signature locations at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass.; St. Paul (Minn.) Downtown Airport; and the newly acquired Yellowstone Jetcenter in Bozeman, Mont.
Malaysian offshore operator Weststar Aviation Services has taken delivery of the last three of the nine AgustaWestland AW139s it ordered, primarily for supporting offshore oil and gas operations in the country. The three were delivered to Kuala Lumpur's Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport via an Antonov AN124 freighter. Six AW139s will be based at Kertih, with the remaining three at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Pengkalan Chepa. Weststar, reputedly the fourth biggest AW139 offshore operator in the world, provides helicopter services to oil and gas companies.
Thrane & Thrane's Aviator 200 SwiftBroadband system with Wi-Fi has received a European Aviation Safety Agency STC for installation in Cessna Citation CJ1 and CJ2 jets. The system was integrated and tested aboard a Cessna CJ1 by RUAG Aerospace Services GmbH in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Thrane & Thrane's Aviator 200 is a compact, lightweight system that offers reliable, affordable connectivity to provide users with a range of voice and data services.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) said at a recent corporate jet finance conference, that it has seen the overall cost of aircraft financing decrease throughout the past 24 months compared to prices seen during the economic downturn.
I began reading the April issue of BCA at 0630 yesterday as usual with your Viewpoint column (“Fleeting Permanence,” page 9). After seeing that John Wiley and I shared the same birth year (something that is happening with troubling frequency), I went straight to page 42 and read “Baghdad Diary.” A great story, but an even better insight into the problems our country faces today.
Delta Private Jets increased its managed fleet by six more aircraft: a Hawker 800XP, Learjet 60, Citation X, Citation Excel, Challenger 300 and Challenger 601-3R.
Decades ago, I was responsible for providing technical support for several out-of-production aircraft models. I had to maintain the manuals for each type and had a full bookcase to care for. The oldest model came out in the late 1940s and its entire manual fit snugly into a three-ring binder. As the aircraft progressed in time, the manuals became larger. The latest model aircraft (1970s vintage) took up about half the shelf space. Volumes of maintenance data, vendor manuals, parts lists and overhaul instructions were in constant need of updating and revision.
Whatever your motivation it is clear that your intent in reporting on David Sokol's resignation (AWIN, March 31) was to besmirch his character. There is not one iota of evidence suggesting insider trading by Sokol; get your facts straight prior to launching a tirade. While you may be building a résumé that will have your considered for employment by NBC, the New York Times or CNN, reporting honestly and fairly would serve mankind far better than your guttersniping.
Ian Becker (Boys Town, Neb. ), San Diego, Calif. (Boys Town, Neb. )
The arrival of BCA every month is a highlight in my life, and the February issue is another stellar example of this. Viewpoint has a way of segueing from an interesting tidbit, or familial tale, into a serious deliberation concerning general aviation. It never fails to spike my sinews and provide a good old-fashioned jolt! And it inspired me to share an idea.
The European Aviation Safety Agency certified Honeywell's TPE331-12JR turboprop engine on the Cessna Caravan. Honeywell claims that with the TPE331-12JR conversion, Caravan operators experience up to 40% more power than with the production engine. They also save as much as $40 per hour in operating costs due to longer maintenance intervals, fewer life cycle-limited parts and better fuel efficiency when compared to the standard OEM engine. The engine also passes Germany's stringent maximum fly-over noise level of 78 dBA.
Having raised four children, you'd think I'd be much more vigilant about saying “Yes” too easily simply because its contingent obligation seems so removed in time. After all, “You promised!” is one of the most potent tools in a child's weapons locker.
Cessna took orders for 30 aircraft at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In & Expo in Lakeland, Fla. “The opening days of Sun ‘n Fun were very positive, and while the storm on Thursday [March 31] interrupted that mood somewhat, the exhibitors and the crowds bounced back to finish the show strong,” said Mark Paolucci, Cessna's senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Cessna took 16 orders for the new Corvalis TTX and 13 orders for high-wing single-engine pistons.
During its most recent gathering at Orlando's Heli-Expo in early March, an industry-wide sigh of relief was heard as the helicopter community celebrated the conclusion of a year during which it managed to survive. Forget growth for the moment, the industry seemed to say, as it focused on how it had weathered the storm and what its plans will be when the clouds clear.
Cessna established a Citation service facility in Prague, located at sister company Bell Helicopter's service facility at Prague Ruzyne International Airport. Cessna and Bell are Textron companies. Certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in February, the center has begun performing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance operations.
Embraer signed a preliminary agreement with AVIC (Aviation Industry Corp. of China) for their Chinese joint venture company, Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Co. (HEAI), to set up a Legacy 600/650 production line in China. The preliminary deal calls for output at the joint venture to shift from 50-seat ERJ-145 regional jets to Legacy 600/650 business jets, which are derived from the ERJ-135/145 family. As we go to press, Embraer says it expects to finalize the details of the new arrangement with AVIC and “execute the relevant documentation” within weeks.
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.
Cleveland-based Constant Aviation has completed its first STC'd installation of a Wi-Fi system, along with Aircell's Gogo Biz Inflight Internet, in a Gulfstream IV. The company also is completing its STC for installation of Aircell's Gogo Biz Inflight and Wi-Fi in the Cessna Citation X, Hawker 800A/XP, Beechjet and Embraer Phenom 300.
HondaJet certification flight testing confirmed that the light business jet exceeds the maximum speed promised to customers, says Honda Aircraft. The first FAA-conforming prototype has achieved 425 KTAS at 30,000 ft. and a maximum Mach number of 0.72 above that altitude. The performance commitment for the production HondaJet is 420 kt., the Greensboro, N.C.-based company says.
FAA's plan to restrict use of the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program is “dangerous, invasive and unwarranted” and could have far-reaching implications, says the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). AOPA was one of the more than 600 commenters on FAA's March 4 notice of a tentative decision to limit BARR participation to only those operators with a verifiable threat to their operations.
Aero Dynamix Inc., Euless, Texas, named Tonka Hufford operations manager, project development. He most recently was president of RSG Aviation. Aero Law Group, Bellevue, Wash., has added Paul Lambert to its team of lawyers responsible for clients in sales, leasing, financing and the exchange of business and commercial aircraft.
I read with some distress “Backdoor Rulemaking” (Washington Watch, April 2011, page 61). The purely economic arguments made in the column did nothing to diminish the need for hard time duty limits for all crews. Multiple studies have shown the extreme danger of fatigue in air operations; some have even scientifically equated a 17-hr. day to being legally drunk (0.05% BAC).
StandardAero Business Aviation says it is the first maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider certified to perform the installation of Honeywell's Primus Elite flight deck system in Falcon 900C and 900EX aircraft. The recently issued STC enables StandardAero to replace five aging CRT cockpit displays with five modern, integrated, state-of-the-art Honeywell Primus Elite (DU-875) LCD units. The retrofit can be performed at any one of StandardAero's four facilities: Springfield, Ill.; Augusta, Ga.; Houston or Los Angeles.
