Of the roughly 550 business jets based in Middle Eastern countries, nearly 90% are considered medium- or large-size jets, says Brian Foley of Brian Foley Associates. “This fleet perspective is significant, because the worldwide average is closer to 60%,” he says. “And it is a measure of utility, not just luxury and prestige. All these Gulfstreams, Falcons and Globals (along with the occasional Boeing and Airbus models) fill a need for range and comfort reaching far beyond the Middle East that smaller jets can’t match.”
Look for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to form a group to try to advise governments around the world on how to craft laws that advance justice without threatening to disrupt aviation’s largely no-fault approach to safety. The recent criminal conviction and fines imposed on Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics in a French court a decade after the crash of an Air France Concorde supersonic transport is just the latest in what ICAO insiders see as a disturbing global trend toward “criminalizing” aviation accidents.
The FAA is providing more time for comments on a proposed rulemaking to require airport operators to establish safety management systems. The comment period, originally Jan. 5, has been extended to March 7 at the request of airports and other industry associations, including the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Barry McDaniel (Director, Jeppesen Corporate Quality and Standards)
In your recent article about aviation databases, and regulations governing the processing of aeronautical information (“Building Aviation Databases,” October 2010, page 86), several references were made to the requirements set forth by DO-200A and what Jeppesen or other data suppliers do — or do not do — with data originated by state sources. The article states, “. . . according to DO-200A, the official country data must be passed through the system — even if some is known to be erroneous.” This is not true.
Duncan Aviation has delivered its first integrated iPad application for wireless control of cabin systems in a Falcon 900, the company announced in December. The installation uses an iPad app, an Aircell CTR Wi-Fi source and an interface unit to communicate instructions to the Honeywell MH cabin management system. The fully customized iPad cabin control interface does not impact any existing functionality or tie up system resources. This is the first of many iPad control systems that Duncan Aviation plans to deliver over the next several months.
Anticipating a heavy influx of business jets for February’s Super Bowl, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport moved business aviation operations to a refurbished airline passenger terminal Dec. 9. “It was time to improve our facilities as a regional operation,” a DFW spokesman said.
Bombardier Aerospace’s fiscal third quarter mirrored the third-quarter results of other business jet manufacturers, with lower revenues and earnings, but executives at the Canadian company remain optimistic that the market for large business jets continues to strengthen, and they are planning to increase production of the Global line in 2011. On Dec. 2, Bombardier reported Aerospace group revenues of US$1.8 billion in the fiscal third quarter ending Oct. 31, down from $2.1 billion in the previous fiscal year third quarter.
Construction has started on Phase 1 of an €800 million ($1.05 billion) development program at Pulkovo Airport that serves St. Petersburg, Russia. A ceremony Nov. 24 was attended by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin; Klaus-Dieter Scheurle, parliamentary state secretary in the German Ministry of Transport; and officials of the Northern Capital Gateway consortium, which is supporting the development. A new terminal is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013.
Having read of Lou Churchville’s adventures with a true nine-life tabby cat as an unwilling passenger in his radial-powered cropduster, several thoughts arise: First, it’s easier to do stuff with airplanes that belong to someone else. Second, why would the pilot presume the cat wanted to fly in the first place? Possibly a transference of perceived joy from human to animal? Unlikely. Or it could have been the love of open-cockpit biplanes, which on their own hold some real magic in flight. “. . . oh, the cat will love it.”) Perhaps.
Emirates-CAE Flight Training announced at the MEBA show that it will expand its business aircraft training programs for pilots and maintenance technicians in Dubai with the addition of a CAE 7000 Series Level D full-flight simulator for the Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft. The Challenger 604 simulator will be operational in the first half of 2012.
Takeoff and landing data from FAA shows a continued recovery in business jet traffic in October, with the 11th consecutive year-over-year positive month, up 5.7%, says a Morgan Stanley report. Sequentially, October was up 1.3%, it adds. Analyst Heidi Wood writes, “The U.S. business jet traffic recovery appears underway with both Cessna and Bombardier posting 11 consecutive months of positive year-over-year growth versus 12 for Gulfstream, reinforcing our thesis that a recovery in midsize jet demand would follow the high end.”
Gulfstream Aerospace has received FAA approval to retrofit Gulfstream IV, GIV-SP and GV cockpits with LED lamps. The LEDs perform better and are more reliable and cost-effective than the incandescent bulbs they replace, says Gulfstream. Because they have a much greater lifespan, the new LEDs reduce maintenance and material costs. Gulfstream also says the colors are richer and offer a purer color light. In addition, the LEDs operate approximately 80 deg. cooler.
Forecast International of Newtown, Conn., has joined the general industry consensus that a business aviation upturn will occur no sooner than 2012. Its new study projects that a total of 11,437 business jets, worth an estimated $217.5 billion, will be produced from 2010 through 2019. “The Market for Business Jet Aircraft” report also indicates that business jet production, which has dropped sharply since late 2008, will continue declining through 2011.
Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport has taken a major step toward its goal of becoming a world-class business aviation center by installing a Cat 1 ILS system on its single runway, the 10,499 ft.-long Runway 13/31. The official inauguration of the precision approach system occurred Dec. 7, but operations actually began Oct. 13. While conditions at the airport are predominantly visual, sandstorms, fog or haze periodically require instrument approaches.
There are primarily two kinds of business aircraft in New Zealand: turboprops and a handful of VLJs used for domestic operations between the Oceania nation’s two islands and long-range “heavy iron” for going anywhere else.
Lawrence Esser makes some disturbing statements in his letter regarding “Crosswind Troubles.” He states that one should “takeoff or land with a wings level attitude in a crosswind” when operating an airplane like the Citation X with long swept wings. Since he did not elaborate on his recent new technique, there are two obvious choices.
Landmark Aviation acquired DB Aviation at Waukegan Regional Airport in Illinois. Offering FBO, charter and aircraft management and maintenance services, DB Aviation supports Landmark’s growth strategy, and brings the network to 41 FBOs, with locations in the United States, Canada and Western Europe, the company said. Landmark Aviation is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
A sign of gradual recovery for European business aviation: Traffic for the past six months has outpaced activity seen for the same period last year. Although activity in October was below September levels, year-on-year activity in October was up 3.6%. Monthly traffic remains below the same period two years ago, although that gap has come down significantly since June. Brian Humphries, EBAA president and CEO, notes that some regions are seeing very strong activity, with traffic in Germany up 10%, Belgium up 12% and the U.K. up 5.3%.
International demand will make an important contribution to the business jet market’s gradual recovery and account for an increased proportion of future sales, according to Trevor Esling, Cessna’s vice president for international sales. Speaking Nov.
Hawker Beechcraft will halt Hawker 400XP production for 2011 and 2012. Bill Boisture, chairman and CEO of the Wichita manufacturer said Nov. 12, “We think the market will remain relatively depressed, compared with historical markets, for 12 to 24 months,” he says, noting that pricing on new aircraft has become difficult. The company has “worked our inventory on that product down” and decided that, rather than restocking and selling the airplane, Hawker would defer production and sales, he says.
Seattle-based Raisbeck Engineering has received European Aviation Safety Agency certification of its King Air C90GTi EPIC performance package. European operators of EPIC-equipped C90GTi aircraft are now able to take off at higher gross weights (10,500 lb) from high/hot airports and shorter runways, thereby expanding the operational flexibility of their aircraft.
NBAA presented its 2010 Gold Wing Award and the David W. Ewald Platinum Wing Award at its 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention to Stephen Pope, a senior editor at Aviation International News, and George Larson, senior editor at BCA. The Gold Wing Award for Reporting Excellence is presented annually for excellent, accurate and insightful reporting on issues related to business aviation. NBAA’s Platinum Wing Award, named after the late, BCA former publisher David Ewald, recognizes lifetime achievement and excellence in journalism.
During the recent NBAA convention, it seemed as if everyone was looking for signs that the U.S. general aviation industry had weathered the worst of the worldwide economic malaise and finally was moving into recovery mode. One company that was particularly upbeat was Twin Commander Aircraft LLC, which owns the rights to all turboprop and piston-twin Commander models and supports the worldwide fleet with replacement parts, upgrades, technical resources and a worldwide network of independent authorized service centers.
More than 2,000 Beech King Air 200 twin turboprops currently are in service and Raisbeck Engineering’s modifications are aboard almost two-thirds of the aircraft in the active fleet, according to James Raisbeck, the firm’s founder and chairman. These systems enable the King Air 200 to fly higher, faster and farther, according to flight test data supplied by Raisbeck and confirmed by BCA in 1985 and 1995 studies.
New Russian airspace rules provide for uncontrolled flight. Regulations dividing Russian Federation airspace into three classes based on altitude have been placed in effect to comply with ICAO standards and practices. Class A airspace extends upward from 8,100 meters (26,575 ft.). All commercial, business and government aviation operations in that airspace will be under IFR and under ATC control along designated routes.
