Aviation market data provider, AMSTAT, of Tinton Falls, N.J., remarked on this year’s used aircraft resale activity, “While year-to-year market conditions do vary, a simple comparison of overall resale retail transactions by quarter using data from 1990 through 2009 shows that in any one given year the market will perform ‘well’ in Q1 and Q2, slow down in Q3 and then ramp back up with Q4 historically being the best quarter of each year. To date, 2010 has followed this historical pattern with Q1 and Q2 performing better than Q3.
European Maintenance Service AB has opened the first Cessna-authorized Citation Service Center in Scandinavia. Located at Gothenburg Säve Airport in Sweden, the 3,000-sq.-meter Nordic Citation Service Center will serve customers throughout Scandinavia. The center will provide maintenance for 500, 525, 550, 560, 560XL and 680 series Citation business jets and can house up to eight aircraft at a time.
It was a BIG anniversary, so we pushed the MasterCard throttles way past redline and — Poof! — there we were on a beachfront aerie watching the sun climb out of the topaz waters of Castle Harbour. Bermuda delivered all we hoped – perfect weather, palms of every kind, candy-colored houses with bright-white roofs, kamikaze bus drivers, rum fun, pink sand beaches, and oh-so-welcoming islanders.
American Eurocopter announced at the Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 11 that the University of Mississippi Medical Center has purchased an EC145 for its Department of Helicopter Transport — the AirCare program. The helicopter is replacing one of its current aircraft and will be based in Jackson, Miss. It will be operated by PHI Helicopters Inc.
Hawker Beechcraft and Machinists union negotiators reached a tentative deal, Oct. 13, on a seven-year contract that calls for a 10% reduction in base pay and increased health care contributions from workers, but keeps two-thirds of the union jobs in Wichita, Kan. The union recommended its members accept the agreement, saying, “These have been extraordinary negotiations, during extraordinarily bad times. This community has suffered from layoffs and job losses. With plant closures and threats of relocation, we kept one goal in mind: It’s about having a job.
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.
JetFlite International has been providing private air service for 20 years from its Farmingdale, N.Y., operation at Republic Airport and now adds a West Coast facility with Long Beach Air Center, which will operate as a JetFlite FBO.
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
I laughed when I read LeMarr Stanford’s Flight Log in the June issue (“X Marks the Spot,” page 68). It reminded me of a story that circulated 25 or so years ago, and true or not it is still emblematic of bush flying in the far north of Canada and Alaska. The story went like this: A rookie recruit at a commercial bush flying operation was particularly anxious to please the owner and thought that taking all the “dog” flights that nobody else wanted could be his ticket to bigger and better things.
Flight Display Systems introduced a combination 32-in. HD LCD and low-profile motorized lift (FD320LIFT-LP). Unique features are the large high-definition 1080p LCD and its small 23-in. height in the stowed position. Recently, these two products were installed on a Gulfstream G550; Gulfstream Appleton has confirmed that other Gulfstream models will support a similar installation in a standard cabin credenza.
Embraer’s new Legacy 650 large-cabin jet debuted in New York at a Sept. 15 joint meeting of the Long Island Business Association and the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association at Republic airport in Farmingdale, N.Y.
Regarding “Weighty Subject” (Reader’s Feedback, July 2010, page 12), I’m afraid my friend Steve Zeller is way off on this one. I don’t know the average molecular weight of Jet-A and I don’t have time to look it up right now. So let’s take avgas as an example. All hydrocarbon fuels are a witch’s brew of a range of molecular weights centered around an average. In the case of avgas or mogas, octane C8H18 is a fair approximation. Taking the atomic weights C=12, O=16, H=1 then: C*8*12 + H*18*1 = 114 MW (molecular weight) of octane.
NATA reacted strongly to language contained in the proposed rule regarding the FAA’s plan for future FAR Part 135 rulemaking, noting, “In its NPRM, the FAA states that ‘Part 135 operations are very similar to those conducted under Part 121 . . .
Great update on Mexico ops (“Operating in Mexico,” August 2010, page 30). We operate Learjet 45XRs out of Vancouver International Airport (CYVR) and fly to Los Cabos International Airport (MMSD) and other Mexican destinations multiple times during the fall, winter and spring. We are a charter operator with a Mexican permit.
John Didier, president of Sacramento Aviation, which specializes in handling Cessna Citations and Beechcraft King Airs, would like to believe that the market for previously owned business airplanes is improving, albeit slowly. The number of phone inquiries his company is receiving has increased, and he sees more “serious people” in the market for a used business aircraft.
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) will conduct its third regional forum, “One Europe: A Roadmap for Aligning East and West,” Jan. 20-21, 2011, at the Hilton Vienna in Austria. The forum will address issues including aircraft financing challenges, achieving industry standards for insurance benefits, and easing access for Eastern Europe-based operators into Western Europe and vice versa. A full schedule of speakers and discussion points will be released in the coming weeks. The Vienna forum in is open to EBAA members as well as non-members.
FAA is proposing a sweeping overhaul to airline pilot fatigue regulations that would ensure that pilots get 9 hr. of rest — not including commuting time — between duty periods and would restrict duty to 9 hr. to 13 hr. at a stretch. The FAA is required to show that stricter limits would save enough lives to justify the additional cost to airlines, which could reach into the billions of dollars. “We’re always very concerned about added costs without a demonstrable safety benefit,” said an Air Transport Association official.
NATA announced a new partnership to help aviation businesses and individuals comply with new FAA requirements that will require all currently registered aircraft to re-register over the next three years. On Sept. 1, NATA and AIC Title Service, inaugurated an affordable, simple-to-use program that allows re-registrations to be processed and tracked using a straightforward Web interface.
Jeppesen and the Russian Ministry of Transportation have contracted for Jeppesen to access Russian domestic airport data. Jeppesen previously had access to Russian airway system data. With access to both airway and airport data, Jeppesen will be able to provide customers with a complete Russian flight information package, which includes domestic and international NavData services, JetPlan flight planning, OpsData aircraft performance analysis, and paper and digital charting.
In reading “Harder Than It Looks,” I wondered: You wouldn’t be a USAF Academy grad by any chance, would you? The “Gear up and go Falcons” caption didn’t go unnoticed. Beat Navy! Author’s note: I hoped it wouldn’t — USAFA class of 1966.
Conventional wisdom suggests the party in power in Washington can generally expect to suffer some losses in the mid-term election of a new presidential administration. But the balloting this November could see changes of major proportion.
T here are more than 100 Piaggio P180 Avanti II aircraft in service and they’ve logged more than 200,000 flight hours by some estimates, as of late August 2010. That’s an impressive number for less than five years of production, considering that only 105 of the original P180 aircraft were built between 1990 and 2005.
Flexjet will offer Aircell Gogo Biz wireless Internet service on its fractional aircraft at no additional charge to share owners. GoGo Biz enables passengers to use smartphones and laptops to access the Web in flight. Installation will begin on the 25 Challenger 300 and seven Challenger 604/605 jets in the current Flexjet fleet. Subsequently, all new Flexjet aircraft will be outfitted with the broadband equipment.
