28 NOV — Today we did the second shuttle going from Baghdad to Mosul to Kirkuk then Balad and finally back to Baghdad. The Army closed one of the Entry Control Points (ECP) and we had to hop through myriad hoops to get to the airport. We were checked, re-checked and re-re-checked just to get to the airport.
Star Navigation Group of Toronto has developed a satellite-based cockpit data recorder (CDR) with built-in GPS tracking software. The CDR enables essential flight variables, such as altitude, speed and heading, along with avionics and diagnostic information, to be transmitted automatically in real time at regular intervals during a flight, providing access to the data in the event of an inflight event.
Lufthansa and NetJets Europe may be close to announcing a major cooperation agreement, according to industry sources. As part of the agreement, NetJets will take over corporate jet flying as part of the Lufthansa Private Jet scheme next year replacing Lufthansa’s own fleet of corporate aircraft. Neither Lufthansa nor NetJets have confirmed the plan as we go to press. Lufthansa used NetJets when it originally launched its private jet offering several years ago.
I was quite surprised when I read “BCA Roundup: Cabin Electronics” (December 2010, page 26) and found that Custom Control Concepts Inc. (CCC) did not receive a mention in the article or in the very detailed charts. Every one of our competitors was listed. CCC has been in business for 11 years. We have completed 107 narrow and widebody aircraft and many helicopters, and we have integrated the most complicated and expensive head-of-state and VVIP aircraft.
In 2010, the U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet combined experienced 45 accidents including seven fatal mishaps resulting in deaths of 19 passengers and crew members during routine business operational flights, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. Overall, this is one more accident than the previous year, but in 2009 seven crashes claimed 32 lives. Breiling reports that incidents or occurrences involving minor or no damage in both jets and turboprops have increased in recent years.
Bell Helicopter announced in January that it has integrated six of its support and service subsidiaries, officially merging them into Bell Helicopter Textron. Bell says the change allows the company to build Bell Helicopter’s brand recognition, reduces confusion over existing brands and aids in growing its international presence. The operations affected by this activity are: Edwards & Associates Inc. and Aeronautical Accessories Inc. (Piney Flats, Tenn.), Rotor Blades Inc. (Broussard, La.), Acadian Composites (Lafayette, La.), Bell Aerospace Services Inc.
CAE and CHC Helicopter announced Dec. 20 that they have signed an agreement for CAE to acquire CHC Helicopter’s flight training operations including four simulators: a Eurocopter AS332L/L1 Super Puma and a Sikorsky S-61 located in Stavanger, Norway; an AS332L2 Super Puma in Aberdeen, Scotland, and a Sikorsky S-76 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Additionally, CAE will provide training for CHC’s 2,000+ helicopter pilots and maintenance engineers. The agreement will also include general training, pilot provisioning, and search and rescue training.
Enflite, the interior and galley products division of LifePort Inc., has achieved AS9100B certification and in the process received a perfect score from third party registrar Intertek. The audit also evaluated Enflite’s compliance with ISO 9001: 2008 quality standards. LifePort is a unit of Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) — the aftermarket division of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
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.
Qantas is working with U.S. firm Solena on plans to establish a plant that can convert biomass to jet fuel. News of the project leaked out before Qantas was ready, but the airline confirms it has an agreement with Solena “to investigate the feasibility of a waste-based aviation fuel production plant in Australia. We expect to produce a business case for such a plant within 12 months,” the airline says in a statement. “While we are still in the early stages of this project, the possibilities are exciting.
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.
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.
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.
Australian flag carrier Qantas will enter the air charter business after announcing plans to buy Network Aviation. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Network Aviation was established in 1998, and is based in Perth, Australia, says Qantas spokesman Simon Rushton. Network Aviation operates a fleet of two 100-seat Fokker 100s and six 30-seat Embraer Brasilia turboprops. Network Aviation will keep its current management, employees and operating structure and become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group after the deal is finalized.
Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast will develop and produce the composite wing skin panels and spar components for the Learjet 85 in a new manufacturing and assembly facility currently under construction in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where CSeries wings also will be manufactured.
The Florida Aviation Trades Association (FATA) appealed to Gov. Rick Scott (R) in early January to retain the state-owned aircraft or consider using charter. FATA notes that Scott is keeping a campaign promise by directing the Florida Department of Management Services to sell the state-owned King Air 350 and Cessna Citation Bravo.
Gulfstream, Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Embraer, Boeing, Hawker Beechcraft, VistaJet, Jet Aviation, TAG Asia, HK Jet, Asia Jet and JSSI are among those that have signed up to exhibit at Asian Business Aviation 2011, scheduled for March 9-10 in Hong Kong. A record 20-plus business jets are to be on display in the static park.
President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R.4853) into law Dec. 17, just a day after the legislation cleared the House. The bill permits 100% depreciation of capital investments — including engines, avionics and other upgrades — during 2011, and 50% depreciation for such purchases in 2012. It permits 100% depreciation of aircraft through 2012 and 50% in 2013.
The third in a series of Aéro-Montréal’s biennial forums is scheduled for Dec. 5-6, 2011. Its focus will be on small/medium enterprise (SME) firms working in partnership with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to “develop a stronger culture of innovation.” The last International Forum on Innovation in Aerospace was held in 2009 and addressed numerous themes pertinent to aerospace clusters, how they are positioned in a global context and how to share best practices.
The relatively large size of long-range, widebody airliners affords operators the flexibility of providing various types of crew rest areas. The FAA’s crew duty and rest NPRM recognizes that different types of onboard crew rest areas afford different sleep opportunities on long-range aircraft. Even so, the FAA proposes to limit credit for sleep opportunity based upon the quality of the rest facility, recognizing that a private room at a ground layover point provides the best quality crew rest.
Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) in Chester, U.K., continues to meet key milestones on its first Hawker 800XPR upgrade program, and the company expects to achieve FAA certification early this year, with European Aviation Safety Agency approval to follow shortly afterward.
A new generation of purpose-built, ultra-long-range business aircraft from Gulfstream and Bombardier will start to arrive in less than two years, ones that will be able to fly eight passengers at least 7,000 nm. Fifteen-hour missions from New York to Mumbai, Atlanta to Taipei, or Dubai to San Francisco could become routine.
Eurocopter South East Asia (ESEA) has opened a new 8,200-sq.-meter (88,264 sq. ft.) facility at Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore that provides double the hangar space and 25% more office space than ESEA’s previous operation at Loyang Way near Changi Airport. The Seletar hangar accommodates 24 helicopters and is certified to perform modifications and repairs for interiors, avionics, structures and electrical systems. Scientists and engineers at EADS Innovation Works will also work there on rotorcraft research and development.
China Eastern Airlines Executive Air, a unit of the Chinese air carrier, is expected to soon launch business jet operations. The business aviation operator currently owns a Hawker 800, but hopes to expand the fleet to three business jets this year and then eventually to seven. The operation was established in 1995 as a ground handler in Shanghai, and has since provided services for more than 5,000 VIP, cargo, charter, air ambulance and other business jet flights.
