Another encroachment on FAA authority over air commerce. The National Park Service (NPS) has drafted a plan to restrain aircraft activity over Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP). The plan calls for new limits on the number of air tour operations, hours of their flights and minimum altitudes. The NPS draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), which covers air tour flights and calls for the “substantial restoration of natural quiet” over GCNP, is open for public review. Comments are due June 6.
A King Air C90A (N57WR) crashed into terrain while attempting a missed approach from Mount Airy/Surry County, N.C., Airport (MWK). The pilot-in-command and a pilot-rated passenger who was “helping” the PIC were killed, as were their four passengers. The accident occurred on Feb. 1, 2008, at about 1128 EST.
Dennis Rousseau, president of AircraftPost.com — the Albany, N.Y.-based company that provides real-time valuations for more than 5,000 medium and large business jets — believes that aircraft prices have stabilized at roughly 25% under “a normalized market,” but that it may be up to three years before the excess inventory of used aircraft shrinks enough for airplane prices to reflect their true value. However, he cautions, “We need to be careful and not look at 2007/2008 as the ‘normal market’ to return to because prices weren’t normal; they were exaggerated.”
Hawker Beechcraft is forecasting strong growth in private aviation across the Middle East over the next few years, with King Air-based special-mission applications, which range from government maritime patrol, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, plus commercial applications such as photographic, air ambulance, flight inspection and weather modification, a major segment.
Garmin’s new Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP) system has been STCed on a Beech King Air 200. The system is designed to help pilots maintain stable flight and ward off situations that could cause stalls and spins, steep spirals or other loss-of-control conditions. The ESP acts independently of the autopilot and operates in the background when a pilot is hand-flying the aircraft. It gently nudges the controls toward stable flight whenever pitch, roll or high-speed deviations exceed recommended limits.
Embraer’s Phenom 300 executive jet won ANAC, FAA and EASA certifications to use Garmin’s Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT). Embraer says the aircraft is the first in the light-jet category include the technology. SVT recreates a visual topographic landscape from the system’s terrain-alerting database via graphics modeling that simulates what the pilot would see with the naked eye in daylight.
A promising biofuel that mixes Jet-A petroleum with camelina encountered a stumbling block in European tests, possibly because of contamination. A Safran Group test of the mixture showed “strange effects,” according to one member of the fuels subcommittee of ASTM International, an international standards-setting agency. Researchers are pursuing the possibility that the six barrels of test fuel were contaminated. The poor showing in the Safran tests produced five negative votes in a balloting of ASTM subcommittee members to establish a specification for the biofuel.
Rockwell Collins has acquired Computing Technologies for Aviation (CTA). The company said that the acquisition complements its current Ascend flight information offering for business aircraft operators that was announced at the NBAA convention in October 2010.
The Gulfstream G650 flight-test aircraft flew for the first time using only an electrically powered, fly-by-wire backup flight-control actuation system. G650 s.n. 6001 flew a total of 3 hr. and 33 min. on Dec. 21. Test pilots Jake Howard and Gary Freeman along with flight-test engineers Bill Osborne and Nathaniel Rutland evaluated the fly-by-wire system in electric backup actuation mode for 2 hr. and 20 min. of the flight, performing five landings with the backup system engaged.
Quest Diagnostics has medical specimen collection facilities and regional laboratories all over the country. To support that business, the company fields one of the nation’s largest FAA Part 91 operations — a fleet of 30 airplanes including 13 Beech Model 58 Barons, six Mitsubishi MU-2s, four TBM 700s, three Pilatus PC-12s, one Hawker 800XP, one Dassault Falcon 2000, one Cessna 310, and even a single Eclipse 500.
The first flight of General Electric’s Caravelle with GE CJ-805-23 turbofan engines took advantage of 40% more takeoff thrust than the straight jet Caravelle. The range will be up 40%.
The U.S. controllers’ union has for the first time been given a seat on the FAA’s top advisory council. Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, will serve on the FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC) along with 12 other members. Rinaldi says the event is “reflective of the inclusive management style that [Administrator Randy Babbitt] has instituted at the agency.”
Jet Works Air Center of Denton, Texas, has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to convert a Boeing MD-87 airliner into a 24-seat luxury VIP aircraft for a Middle Eastern client. The revamped aircraft will feature a luxurious cabin with a leading-edge entertainment system and Wi-Fi Internet access, said Jet Works President Trey Bryson. The aircraft, the first of this type converted by Jet Works, was scheduled to arrive at the completion center at the end of January.
The first and second Embraer Phenom 300s to start commercial service in Europe have arrived in England at FlairJet’s London Oxford Airport facility. The new Phenom 300s will be based at Oxford Airport, joining FlairJet’s three existing Phenom 100s.
Financial analyst JPMorgan painted a mixed picture for business aviation’s fledgling recovery in the December 2010 edition of its Business Jet Monthly report. During November, inventories of used business aircraft decreased for the first time in three months, to 11.7% of the active fleet. But demand for airplanes remains weak, and average asking prices continue to slide, says JPMorgan.
Raymond A. Syms & Associates (RAS&A) is offering heliport safety compliance inspections designed to help heliport owners and operators comply the new 2011 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 418 standards. The standards now require all future and upgraded heliports to meet FAA guidance embodied in Advisory Circular 150/4390-2B Heliport Design, in addition to other fire and safety standards. The RAS&A inspections review the heliport’s regulatory compliance with NFPA standards, along with FAA, state and county guidelines.
American Eurocopter’s FAA Organization Delegation Authorization (ODA) issued WAAS STCs for both the EC135 and EC145 helicopters. The STCs upgrade the IFR single- or dual-pilot configuration and are predicated on the use of either the Garmin GNS 430W or 530W in conjunction with a type-certified MEGHAS display system. With coupled vertical guidance, pilots can execute steep-angle GPS approaches.
Airports across Western Europe have been accused of serious under-investment in winter equipment and staff to cope with December’s severe weather. The European Commission (EC) is criticizing the airports over the handling of recent disruptions caused by heavy snowfall and is suggesting that it may have to set minimum service requirements for airports. In a statement issued Dec. 21, EC Transport Policy Commissioner Siim Kallas said he is “extremely concerned about the level of disruption to travel across Europe caused by severe snow.
The Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) will be held Feb. 28-March 1, 2012 in Shanghai. NBAA canceled ABACE 2009 in Hong Kong, citing a bad economy. Back then, the future for business aviation seemed dim, said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “A lot of people were saying business aviation had no future because of air space restrictions and the economy was not as good,” he recalled. But times have changed and ABACE is back on.
Asia-Pacific’s share the global market for new business jets has been increasing, growing from 7% of global deliveries in 2007 to 12% in 2009. As of August 2010, Asia-Pacific had 637 business aircraft, or 3.6% of the world fleet, according to JetNet. Within the region, the relatively mature market of Australia/Oceania remains the biggest, with 161 aircraft. However, India was second with 143 aircraft, followed by China with 114 and Southeast Asia with 110.
Illegal charter operations have been a top agenda item for the EBAA (European Business Aviation Association) and the organization is meeting the issue head on this year. Operating without a valid Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) and failing to comply with traffic rights are key concerns for many within the business aviation community, the organization says. To help combat the practices, the EBAA has published a brochure, which provides guidance to operators and brokers.
AgustaWestland delivered two AW139 medium twin engine helicopters to the Cyprus Ministry of Justice in December to perform law enforcement, border patrol and search and rescue missions. Three more AW139s are to be delivered to the Cyprus Ministry of Defence for search and rescue and utility-EMS duties in the Cyprus Flight Information Region (FIR).
On April 11, the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame will enshrine the following people at its annual banquet at the Century of Flight Hangar at the Georgia Museum of Aviation. (Contact Nicole Bissette at (478) 328-0704 for reservations and information.)
Bell Helicopter will upgrade its 412EP medium turbine twin with uprated engines and a glass cockpit for retrofit and as an option on new production aircraft beginning in 2012. Pratt & Whitney Canada is to increase the output of its PT6T Twin Pac powerplant, now 1,800 shp, by 15% to increase single-engine and hot-and-high performance and provide for growth in payload and range. The upgrade also will introduce digital engine controls.
American Eurocopter has delivered a VIP-configured EC145 to Lewis Energy. It is the third Eurocopter aircraft for the company. “We started with an AS350 and then moved to the EC135 for its larger cabin size and twin-engine performance,” said Rod Lewis, Lewis Energy founder, president and CEO.”The EC145 gives us an even bigger cabin.” American Eurocopter said it worked closely with the customer on the interior completion and the exterior paint of its new aircraft.
