Argus TRAQPak data shows October business aircraft activity up 10.4% over the previous month. By market category, increases were seen across the board with the fractional segment showing the greatest, up 13.1%, Part 135 charter activity was up 11.3%, and Part 91 corporate increased 9.2% over September. All aircraft categories were up from the previous month, led by large cabin aircraft, which were up 14.7% from the previous month. The mid-size cabin market saw an increase of 11.8%, and the small cabin market saw an increase of 10.0% from September.
The FAA dedicated a new, 195 ft. tall control tower Oct. 28 at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The new control tower is almost three times the height of the old tower. Reno’s runways are considerably longer than they were when the old tower was built in 1957, which made it challenging for controllers to see aircraft on some taxiways and runways. The old tower also experienced glare from lights on the cargo areas.
Milestone aircraft are always worth noting, and Bombardier marked two Nov. 12, when it delivered its 1,000th Dash 8/Q-Series regional turboprop and its 400th Global business jet. The event took place at the company’s Toronto facility at Downsview Airport, where both series are manufactured, along with Learjet wings. The Downsview plant began building airplanes in World War II, when Britain’s de Havilland Aircraft moved Mosquito production there to be out of reach of German bombers.
Potentially disruptive European Union aviation rules in development are raising concerns in the business aviation community about their impact on day-to-day operations and costs. Among them is a proposal put forward by the European Aviation Safety Agency to effectively bar European operators from using pilots who get recurrent training in the United States. “We train 3,000 to 4,000 pilots in the United States, so this rule would be a disaster,” warns Brian Humphreys, president and CEO of the EBAA.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is no longer sending letters of admonition to pilots who fail to submit a passenger manifest and arrival/departure notification to CBP using the Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS) at least 60 min. prior to leaving or entering the United States, or enter erroneous data. Fines are being imposed. For the first violation it’s a $5,000 fine, $10,000 for subsequent violations.
Registration is open for the European Business Aviation Association’s third regional forum, “One Europe: A Roadmap for Aligning East and West,” Jan. 20-21, 2011, at the Hilton Vienna, Austria. Information, schedules and registration forms are at www.ebaa.org. The EBAA promises, “No speeches. No PowerPoints. Just issues and your input.”
Avpro Inc. (Annapolis, Md.) — Doug Smith, an industry veteran with 30 years of aircraft sales experience, most recently with Bombardier Aerospace, has been named an executive sales director of this aircraft brokerage, acquisition and consulting company. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (Addison, Texas) — Shin-Ichiro (Stan) Yokoi, a 24-year Mitsubishi aviation employee, has been named general manager of the company’s Aviation Product Support Division, which supports the MU-2 turboprop. Yokoi replaced the retiring Nobuhito (Noel) Takayama.
Flight Display Systems, the Alpharetta, Ga., manufacturer of inflight entertainment (IFE) systems, has introduced an IFE upgrade package for Cessna Citation Mustang and Embraer Phenom owners. The so-called Club CMS product includes a moving map; adapter cables for iPods, iPhones and iPads; a DVD/CD player; six audio channels that can provide up to 90 hr. of MP3 music; two new seven-inch LCD monitors; and four passenger switching panels with headphone jacks. The entire system costs $25,000, plus installation.
Embraer’s Legacy 650 executive jet is now certified by Brazil’s ANAC and Europe’s EASA. The extended-range aircraft is a derivative of the Legacy 600 super-midsize jet, with a maximum range of 3,900 nm with four passengers and 3,840 nm with eight passengers, approximately 500 nm farther than the Legacy 600. The range increase comes from reinforced wings and landing gear, a redesigned, fully automated fuel system with larger tank capacity, and new, more-powerful Rolls-Royce AE 3007A2 engines.
Any company making CMS equipment has to have a place where it can test its systems and evaluate new components. To that purpose, Rockwell Collins has a “lab” described as “an aircraft interior in a tube.” Glen T. “Tommy” Dodson, vice president and general manager of the company’s cabin systems division, says the facility has been up and running for about a year.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. revealed its new Hawker 200 derived from the Premier II at NBAA 2010. A prototype has accumulated over 100 hr. since its first flight in March. The Hawker 200 has new winglets, Williams International FJ44-3AP engines, a gross weight increase and a 43,000-ft. cruise capability. It also features multi-scan weather radar, ADS-B Out, a 400-hr. inspection interval and 10-yr. warranty on its composite airframe.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading “In Close and Gusty.” Your technique for monitoring groundspeed during approach and constantly comparing it to airspeed is excellent. This is a technique that I stressed to my students when I was giving instruction. It is an important concept to utilize, even in a Duchess!
JetEx is a six-year-old business aviation services company headquartered in Dubai with FBOs at Paris le Bourget and Kiev, Ukraine; a license to open a third at the new Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW); and “looking at other opportunities,” such as China, where the UAE company maintains an office in Beijing.
A November FAA exemption allows volunteer pilots for three charities to receive reimbursement for fuel used in the transport of patients, wounded warriors, and veterans. Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic, Airlift Hope and Mercy Medical Airlift are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that utilize volunteer pilots to fly patients to distant, specialized medical facilities for treatment. Under the FAA exemption given to these three volunteer pilot organizations (VPOs), only individuals flying missions under their charge are able to accept reimbursement for fuel costs.
Seattle-based Aviation Partners Inc. (API) has introduced a new Hawker 800 blended winglet that incorporates the company’s scimitar-tip technology. The scimitar tip is a new aerodynamic shape that provides an additional 0.5% of drag reduction in long-range cruise. In addition, API says the scimitar provides “a striking new aesthetic.”
Jet Aviation and Landmark Aviation have made donations to Able Flight Inc., a national non-profit organization that provides flight training scholarships to people with disabilities. The awards, which will fund scholarships for 2011, were presented to Charles Stites, executive director of Able Flight, Oct. 20 at NBAA.
I was sitting at a well-appointed dining table, gazing out upon Times Square, the Empire State Building, lower Manhattan and the harbor beyond from my perch 50 stories above it all and wondering about Frank Perdue and his chicken feet.
Gulfstream is not just staying put, but expanding in Savannah. The company announced a $500 million, seven-year expansion plan that will add about 1,000 employees a 15% increase over the current Savannah employment level of approximately 5,500 employees. “With our own sales trends and market forecasts suggesting an upturn over the next decade, we want to ensure Gulfstream is well-positioned to meet the demand in terms of products and services,” said Gulfstream President Joe Lombardo, “We are already beginning to see signs of a modest recovery.
Avro Business Jets (ABJ) has launched the third of five planned business aircraft versions of the Avro RJ/BAe 146 regional jet. ABJ is targeting the VIP, corporate and corporate shuttle markets, but company vice president Stewart Cordner points out that the donor RJ series airframes — with their voluminous cabin area, near-short takeoff and landing performance and ability to operate from unimproved runways — offer a range of possibilities.
This past April, the FAA began to consider special issuance of medical certificates to pilots with mild-to-moderate depression who have been treated for at least 12 months on one of four antidepressant medications: fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro).
Nextant Aerospace of Richmond Heights, Ohio, has secured its first fleet order for the 400XT, a 40-aircraft, $150 million purchase by Cleveland-based fractional provider Flight Options. The upgraded Beechjet 400A/XP airplanes, which will be delivered over the next five years, include Nextant’s power-by-the-hour engine and tip-to-tail aircraft maintenance warranty. Eight of the aircraft are to be delivered to Flight Options in 2011 following FAA certification of the upgraded Beechjet.
New approaches to lending have created an interesting financing dichotomy that could potentially affect every used business jet buyer, says general aviation analyst Brian Foley. During a recent interview with BCA sister publication The Weekly of Business Aviation, Foley said, “On the one hand, with 2009’s credit crisis now abated, banks are back in the game and ready to lend — or so they say. On the other hand, pre-owned aircraft brokers complain their client’s loans are often not approved. Why?”
Jet Support Services introduced two new engine programs and a new coverage enhancement to meet the growing maintenance and service requirements of its clients. The Platinum Engine Maintenance Program is designed specifically for owners and operators of large-cabin aircraft. The new program covers Rolls-Royce BR710, Tay 611-8, 611-8C and AE3007A1E engines, as well as GE-CF34-1A, 3A, 3A1, 3A2, 3B and 10E7 engines.
Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACFT), Alexandria, Va., announced that William F. Haberstock, president and CEO of Million Air Aviation, was elected vice chairman for 2011. John Grillo, president of Executive Fliteways, was selected as the new treasurer. Aircraft Technical Publishers (ATP), Brisbane, Calif., has selected William Mermelstein as the company’s new vice president of sales and marketing for compliance and safety solutions.
Who at BCA determined its readers would be interested in a story on animal cruelty simply because the abuser holds a pilot license (“A Different Kind of Ag-Cat,” October 2010, page 100)? As a reader of BCA since its inception, I was shocked that you would publish such drivel. I’ll be even more shocked if this gets published.
