AAR Corp., Wood Dale, Ill., announced that Jeffrey Schloesser, former director of Army Aviation, has joined the company as president of its Aviation Worldwide Services (AWS) business unit, which provides airlift services and specialized aircraft modifications. ACSS, Phoenix, named Jean-Michel Clairis-Gauthier vice president of its Customer Group, responsible for sales, marketing and customer service. He joins the company from Thales Avionics, which along with L-3, is a stakeholder in the ACSS joint venture.
Plenty of heads turned at this year’s NBAA Convention in Atlanta, when Cessna announced that Garmin’s new G5000 integrated flight deck system would be standard equipment aboard its next generation Citation Ten Mach 0.92 flagship. Old-line business jet avionics makers certainly took notice. The move catapults Garmin into the upper end of the business jet market, landing the Olathe, Kan., upstart in a bare-knuckles brawl with Honeywell and Rockwell Collins as it attempts to wrest from them a sizable share of the air transport avionics business.
DOT Secretary Ray La Hood and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt announced Oct. 8 that serious runway incursions at the nation’s airports dropped 50% from 2009, the second consecutive year that the number of serious incursions was cut in half. The number of serious runway incursions at the nation’s airports dropped from 12 in fiscal year 2009 to six in fiscal year 2010, which ended on Sept. 30. The announcement reflects a steady, significant improvement in runway safety over the last decade. In fiscal year 2000 there were 67 serious runway incursions.
There is no substitute for training in emergency situations, especially for over-water operations. Looking for hands-on (and feet) training in aircraft emergency egress and survival? The following are some of the providers for training services for corporate and business aviation. FACTS Training International Olympia, Wash.www.factstraining.com Stark Survival Panama City, Fla.www.starksurvival.com Survival Systems Inc. Groton, Conn.www.survivalsystemsinc.com
Garmin has developed a G1000 retrofit program for King Air 300 and 350 twin-turboprop airplanes. The STC for the installation is anticipated in mid-2011. Once complete, King Air owners will be able to install the system at any Garmin-authorized G1000 retrofit dealer. The G1000 also is available as a retrofit package for select King Air C90, 200, B200, 300, 350 and Cessna CitationJet aircraft. The King Air package features two 10.4-in. primary flight displays and a 15-in. multi-function display.
William Garvey’s “Studebaker Time” (Viewpoint, June 2010, page 11) got me thinking. Maybe in the near future we will discover that at the end of the course we’re now following — building big people-carrier aircraft that are cheaper, slower, fly lower, but are safer and greener — we’ll discover that the ideal conveyance is called a ship. And we’ll further recognize that pushing mankind’s limits is nonsense because it is not good business. What a sad, blue, depressing future.
I flew ag in southwest Georgia in the 1970s, then flew corporate, then flew for and retired from USAir. I am now flying a King Air and a Learjet 45 for a company in Columbus, Ga. But my real love is crop dusting. I had a lot of fun. “A Different Kind of Ag-Cat” (Flight Log, October 2010, page 100) was great. I laughed the whole way through. Lou Churchville is a gifted writer. Not being a great lover of cats (well, they have a place in society, I guess), I loved your story. And I’m glad that the cat lived to see another day.
Although the used jet market improvement has stalled, a trend toward lower inventories should continue, said an October report from JP Morgan. “The nearly 300 basis point (bps) decline in used inventories for sale in the 12 months following the July 2009 peak has lost some steam, as inventories have now increased for the second consecutive month,” writes analyst Joseph Nadol in the October Business Jet Monthly.
On July 23, 2010, a Cessna 206 departed Gratiot Community Airport (AMN), Alma, Mich., on a personal flight to Rochester International Airport (RST), Rochester, Minn. Although not for hire, the mission was to transport a cancer patient for advanced treatment at the Mayo Clinic. In addition to the pilot, there was a pilot-rated passenger in the copilot seat, the patient and his wife, as well as the patient’s doctor aboard. After climbing to a cruse altitude of 10,000 ft., the pilot set course for Rochester.
Bell Helicopter sold 32 units at the 2010 Air Medical Transport Conference including one new EMS-configured 429 to Mercy Flight of New York. In a teleconference Oct. 12 from AMTC, Bell Helicopter Textron’s Larry D. Roberts, senior vice president for commercial business, said, “[Mercy Flight is] looking to replace its current fleet, so we expect two more orders will be coming soon.” Delivery of the first unit is expected before the end of 2011. In addition, the company announced contracts for 15 Bell 407s to Air Methods and 16 of its 206L4s, signed Oct. 11, to Air Evac.
North Flight Data Systems LLC announced its intent to acquire the OuterLink Flight Data System product line. North Flight Data Systems is a partnership between Jeffery Warner, former vice president of sales and marketing for OuterLink, and Metro Aviation Inc. of Shreveport, La. The Flight Data System product line acquisition includes the OuterLink Voice and Video Recorder, CV²R recorder and a Multifunction Data Acquisition Unit with a Quick Access Recorder.
Signature Flight Support has signed a deal with McDonald Aviation to manage its facility at Fresno Yosemite International Airport (KFAT). McDonald Aviation LLC acquired the nearly new facility earlier in the year and completed an extensive refurbishment. The 6,100-sq.-ft. executive terminal will be branded and operated as Signature and features a passenger lounge, crew lounge, two sleep rooms, executive conference room and Signature’s standard refreshment area. The facility also has a 40,800-sq.-ft.
Pratt & Whitney filed a complaint against Rolls-Royce in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut in the wake of Rolls-Royce’s filing of an amended complaint against P&W on Aug. 26 claiming Pratt & Whitney infringes a Rolls-Royce patent relating to swept fan blades. “Pratt & Whitney’s position is that Rolls-Royce has engaged in unfair behavior to mislead the United States Patent & Trademark Office to obtain a patent that it now alleges Pratt & Whitney infringes,” said Pratt & Whitney’s Chief Intellectual Property Counsel George Romanik.
European Union interior ministers came away from a meeting in Luxembourg stressing a need for the European Union to speak with one voice on security matters such as terrorism threats, Homeland Security Today reported Oct. 8. The interior ministers heard from U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute, who was invited to join the meeting to explain a recent travel alert from Washington warning U.S. citizens to be vigilant of terrorist attacks when visiting Europe. In the wake of the U.S.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. announced on Oct. 24, Bonanza XTRA, a new program for owners, operators and repair stations of Beechcraft Bonanzas that provides the most popular upgrades in a bundled package directly from Hawker Beechcraft Parts & Distribution. The company offers turnkey installation through its factory-owned Hawker Beechcraft Services unit.
Nosewheel for Beech 18s, by Volpar Aviation, Pacoima, Calif., will be sold in kit form. The mod moves the main landing gear 48 in. aft of original position. New nose assembly lengthens the fuselage 28 in. and cuts overall height to 100 in. The mod can be made without removing the wings or wing skin.
The McGraw-Hill Companies tapped Gregory Hamilton, a 28-year company veteran to take the helm of Aviation Week as president. Hamilton succeeds Tom Henricks who led the group since April 2006. Hamilton will be in charge of a variety of Internet sites and services, conferences and publications, including Aviation Week & Space Technology, BCA and The Weekly of Business Aviation. Hamilton has held a number of positions during his tenure with Aviation Week.
Blackhawk Modifications anticipates receiving FAA certification of its Caravan engine upgrade this month. The Waco, Texas, re-engining specialist calls installation of the 850-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A engine in the Cessna turboprop “a natural fit to further improve the versatility, safety and desirability of the Caravan.”
Ever wish you had a single, handy bound atlas you could use for quick navigation reference? Add TRI-NAV charts to your operations desk library and you can reach out to grab one of three atlases that cover the north, south and western United States in a format that adds to IFR charts the information normally found only on Sectionals, such as tower and local radio frequencies. You can update the information every 28 days via the Internet.
In a statement, Oct. 14, HBC Chairman and CEO Bill Boisture said, “Our efforts to build a stronger company are ongoing, with the proposed union contract being just one piece of several initiatives in work. The proposed contract is being offered concurrent with a reduction of 350 people from the salaried ranks of the company, which will be implemented no later than Nov. 1.”
Smyrna Air Center has authorized Stevens Aviation to be a part of the Power 90 Upgrade Program and install 705-shp GE M601E-11A engines on King Air 90, A90, B90, C90 and E90 aircraft. Smyrna Air Center in Smyrna, Tenn., holds the rights to the Power 90 conversion STC.
Intermountain Healthcare has signed for three AgustaWestland GrandNew helicopters with options for two additional aircraft. Operated by Intermountain Life Flight, Intermountain Healthcare’s aviation division, these aircraft will join two A109K2’s already in service performing critical medevac missions in Utah and Northern Nevada.
The Reuben H. Fleet Foundation Fund of the San Diego Foundation has donated $50,000 to the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. “This is a wonderful gift from a fund established by an aviation pioneer,” said NAHF board member Betty Darst. The grant will be used for exhibit development and revitalization, as well as technology and website upgrades. Fleet, who was enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975, organized the first airmail service in May 1918 from Washington, D.C., to New York City and formed Consolidated Aircraft Corp. in 1921. The Reuben H.
