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.
Landmark Aviation has added seven more aircraft — two King Airs and five jets from light to heavy —to its managed fleet, which now numbers 75 aircraft, among the largest in the nation.
With up to 5,223 ft. of paved takeoff runway, London Oxford Airport, near Kidlington and about 50 mi. northwest of London, had added 21% to its usable length, allowing heavier charter operations and regional airliners more convenient use of an airport near the Midlands. The runway had been strengthened and widened in 2007.
ARGUS TRAQPak U.S. business aircraft activity data indicates February 2011 business aircraft activity was up only slightly over January at 0.1%. By operational categories, the fractional segment saw a month-over-month increase of 3.3%, FAR Part 91 was essentially flat at 0.6% and Part 135 charter activity was off from January, down 1.9%. Large- and midsize cabin markets saw month-over-month increases of 1.0% and 3.2%, respectively. Small-cabin and turboprop aircraft activity were down 1.0% and 1.5%, respectively, from the previous month.
The FAA, facing a court deadline, issued a regulatory analysis of expanding drug- and alcohol-testing to subcontractors “at any tier.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set a March 10 deadline for the FAA to show cause as to why it should not have to comply with a three-year-old court mandate for the analysis of the proposed rule’s impact on small businesses and why the court should not stay a portion of the expanded drug- and alcohol-testing rules that could potentially impact thousands of repair station subcontractors.
Landmark Aviation acquired the assets of Odyssey Aviation in February. “This acquisition expands our presence in the Midwest and Southeast, and enhances our network capabilities to better service our customers,” said Dan Bucaro, Landmark Aviation president and CEO. With locations in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Chicago (MDW); Asheville, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; and Lafayette and New Orleans, La. (NEW), the Odyssey acquisition brings Landmark’s network to 47 locations.
AgustaWestland announced orders for eight more AW139 medium twin helicopters in Japan through its distributor Mitsui Bussan Aerospace. The helicopters will be operated by the Japan Coast Guard and the Japanese Fire Fighting and Disaster Relief Organization. These contracts bring the number of AW139 orders from the Japanese market to thirty, with ten already in service.
The FAA has halted most new certification activity due to budget uncertainty, says Flight Standards Director John Allen. Speaking during the 2011 Air Charter Safety Symposium in March, Allen confirmed industry reports that the FAA is accepting new certification applications but is working mainly only on existing certification projects. “We’re waiting to find out what kind of budget we’ll have before we turn that spigot back on,” he says.
Operators seeking Risk Assessment help for safety management programs can now tap RA Check 2.0 from NATA. The organization lists about 100 clients who employ a version of the tool. V 2.0 can be used in a stand-alone role, and operators can set parameters of their own.
A Recent approval for Direct Access Standard Security Program (DASSP) operations has opened Landmark Aviation’s base at Raleigh-Durham International Airport as a gateway to business operators landing at DCA-Reagan National. The FBO has base customers who travel to DCA, and this makes the trip more convenient.
Insufficient funding at FAA could curtail product development and slow job recovery Cessna’s chairman, CEO and president Jack Pelton told the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, March 16. “Unless the FAA is provided adequate resources, and implements new processes and procedures to streamline the certification process, we believe it will not be able to keep up with service demand by manufacturers and this will severely diminish the competitiveness of U.S.
T his past Feb. 1, some aerospace heavy hitters came to Wichita, and they were on the prowl. Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, even upstart Nextant Aerospace — all were shopping for experienced workers at an informal job fair held at the local Marriott. They know that many of the assembly lines in this town are quiet and that the people who work on them may be sitting at home, waiting for an upturn, which is way overdue.
Bell Helicopter announced at Heli-Expo that the Bell Helicopter Training Academy received EASA Training Approval for Bell 206 series, 407 and 412 helicopters. In addition to normal theory approvals, the Training Academy has been granted practical approval, making it the first training school anywhere in the world to receive practical hands-on training approval from EASA. Academy graduates can now greatly reduce the amount of on-the-job proficiency demonstrations they need to become type-certified as a mechanic under European regulations, the company said.
The FAA is again operating under temporary funding, until May 31. The U.S. House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed a bill (H.R.1079) to give the House time to work on the four-year bill the panel passed in February (H.R.658). That bill cuts $4 billion from FAA programs and facilities and sets the spending at fiscal 2008 levels. Under the cloud of uncertainty, the FAA has stopped most travel and placed a freeze on most hiring, according to FAA Flight Standards Director John Allen.
I just read Mike Gamauf’s “The Reluctant Aviator” (Flight Log, March 2011, page 68) and I really enjoyed it. The time spent with his father, I’m sure, was priceless. His description of wanting to fly for the Army was exactly what I went through as well. After four years as a Huey crew chief I went on to college and Air Force ROTC, where they were more lenient on eyesight restrictions (correctable to 20/20). Unfortunately, timing was not on my side when I commissioned (148 AFROTC pilot slots for the nation).
Led by Europe, demand for civil helicopters is showing signs of recovery, and deliveries in the 2011-15 period will be 5% higher than over the last five years, at 4,200 to 4,400 rotorcraft, projects Honeywell. A survey of more than 1,000 chief pilots and flight department managers operating 2,150 helicopters worldwide showed a 2% increase in their five-year fleet replacement and expansion plans. Although modest, this ends two years of declining demand, Honeywell says. Planned fleet utilization also increased in almost all regions.
The first approaches using Europe’s EGNOS satellite navigation system were flown into Pau Pyrénées Airport in France by a Dassault Falcon 900LX equipped with EASy II, the second generation of Dassault’s flight deck system. EGNOS augments the accuracy and integrity of the U.S. GPS satellite system to within one meter horizontally and two meters vertically, allowing LPV (Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance) approaches down to 250-ft. minimums.
Eurocopter booked 68 new orders and agreements comprising eight of its helicopter models from operators in the United States, Canada, Europe and Russia during Heli-Expo 2011. New business concluded during the March industry event in Orlando, Fla., included the EC145 T2 unveiled at the show, which won a total of 17 launch commitments. The upgraded version of Eurocopter’s EC145 incorporates a Fenestron tail rotor, more-powerful Arriel 2E turboshaft engines, a new avionics suite and a four-axis autopilot.
ExecuJet Aircraft Trading (Zurich, Switzerland) — Guillaume Chamoin has joined the aircraft sales arm of the ExecuJet Aviation Group, becoming the company’s second aircraft sales director in Europe. Based in Paris, he will primarily focus on Central and Eastern Europe. Before coming to ExecuJet, Chamoin spent the last seven and a half years with Bombardier and FlexJet.
Rockwell Collins announced the first installation of a Pro Line 21 avionics system on a rotary-wing aircraft. A Pro Line 21 Integrated Display System (IDS) was integrated into a Sikorsky S-61 long-range helicopter. The retrofit was a collaborative effort with Toronto -based Vector Aerospace.
