Private jet operator Delta Air Elite was rebranded as Delta Private Jets in September, part of an effort by Delta Air Lines to show the company’s commitment to this segment of the industry, says spokesman Kent Landers. “If you look at the investments being made in our private jet business, starting with our acquisition of Segrave Aviation, this is just another step in the process to show how we’re investing and growing it,” he said.
Operations at airports with FAA and contract control tower services are forecast to decrease 2.7% to 51.5 million in 2010, according to the FAA Forecast for Fiscal Years 2010-2030. The agency expects operations to grow at an average annual rate of 1.5% for the remainder of the forecast period, reaching 69.6 million in 2030. Commercial operations will grow at a rate of 1.9%.
Embraer has finalized a $1 billion (US) credit facility that gives Embraer access to short-term funds at pre-negotiated rates should the company need capital. The total amount will be available for two years and consists of $400 million in pre-export financing and $600 million in working capital financing, with a final payment deadline, if used, in September 2013. Embraer originally sought $800 million in standby credit to renew a $500 million agreement it struck in 2006.
Oct. 1 is the 20th anniversary of the National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA), but operations at the industry trade group will be noticeably different going forward as a result of major organizational changes announced recently. In a move reflecting the challenging market confronting its membership of aircraft brokers and dealers, NARA has closed its headquarters at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan Washington National Airport and parted with longtime president Susan Sheets.
The Gulfstream G650 reached Mach 0.995 Gulfstream Aerospace announced Aug 26. The ultra-long-range, ultra-large-cabin achieved the speed during flutter testing, which evaluates an aircraft’s damping responses following inputs from an external test device. For the initial series of flutter tests, the aircraft achieved clearance to both its design dive speed (Vd) and design Mach dive speed (Md) at altitudes ranging from 10,000 ft. to up to the aircraft’s maximum certified altitude of 51,000 ft.
The FAA issued a final rule that will result in a sweeping overhaul of the aircraft registration process in the United States beginning Oct. 1. The new rule will terminate the registration of all civil aircraft registered before that date and will require their re-registration on a staggered schedule over the next three years. Once re-registered, aircraft registrations will be up for renewal every three years. The FAA will collect a fee of $5 for each registration and renewal, and the agency will cancel the N numbers of aircraft that are not re-registered or renewed.
“Fully Baked” (Viewpoint, August 2010, page 9) was another excellent article. I enjoyed the pizza analogy, and I couldn’t agree more. Although be careful, people will start thinking you’re a Republican when you write about Washington, D.C., this way. Takes one to know one . . . I think.
Sandel’s HeliTAWS has won TSO approval from the FAA. The helicopter terrain safety system incorporates Sandel Avionics’ proprietary TrueAlert technology, which is designed to eliminate nuisance alerts, a significant problem with existing terrain-warning products that limits their usefulness in helicopter operations. With TrueAlert, Sandel claims that pilots can safely take off, cruise, hover and land at off-airport locations without triggering nuisance alerts, while still receiving the benefits of Class-A terrain warnings during the entire flight.
Air traffic controller trainees at the FAA academy in Oklahoma City are already learning to use NextGen satellite-based technology. “It’s our future,” Lindy Ritz, administrator of the FAA Academy told the Oklahoman newspaper. Initial ADS-B operational capability has been achieved over the Gulf of Mexico under the control of Houston ARTCC.
AgustaWestland has delivered the first of four AW119Ke single-engine helicopters to the Finnish Border Guard to perform various missions, including border patrol, special operations and firefighting.
Nextant Aerospace expected to fly its remanufactured Beechjet 400 for the first time in early September, and the Cleveland-area company anticipates certification of the upgraded light jet during first quarter 2011.
West Star Aviation donated a Learjet 35A for maintenance technician training to Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely, Colo. “As expensive as aircraft can be, it is hard for an A&P school to acquire real aircraft with which to train their students,” says Larry McNutt, director of maintenance for West Star, adding the aircraft will enable A&P students, “to learn and train in a real-world environment.” West Star acquired the aircraft late last year as a parts-donor aircraft for a project the company was completing for a foreign government.
For me, the sound, the feel, the smell of a radial engine combine in a sensory nirvana that touches my very soul. It’s a thoroughly uplifting experience that I feel compelled to share. Sometimes with mixed results.
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.
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.
Airports in all 50 U.S. states have benefited from $1 billion in federal stimulus money, but state officials are worried that Congress will not pass a true funding bill for the FAA and its infrastructure support programs this year.
I enjoyed “Harder Than It Looks” (September 2010, page 40). I certainly realize corporate pilots work very hard to make it all look easy. However, as someone who flew across the Atlantic many times back in the 1970s in single-engine aircraft with no handlers, no LR NAV and no help beyond who was looking in the mirror, I have to think what you describe is fairly easy. We depended upon the excellent wind and weather forecasts from the MET office at CYQX for our very lives and they never failed me.
Richard Aarons’ September Cause & Circumstance (“A Matter of Perspective,” page 56) has got to be the most politically correct piece of aviation journalism I have ever read. I think it should have been titled “TSB Accident Report Summary of a Global 5000.”
Back in the stone age of aviation maintenance, it was not uncommon to have a huge inventory of spare parts in the hangar. OEMs were not as efficient at stocking parts and turnaround times were often long and unpredictable. The best part about having of all those parts was the ability to swap them out to troubleshoot maintenance problems. It was called the shotgun approach — fire wildly and hope you hit the right target. The days of keeping so many parts on the shelf are long gone.
Hawke Capital Partners, a rotorcraft-focused private equity investor, announced in September that it has recapitalized its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Uniflight, LLC, at Grand Prairie Municipal Airport in Texas, while simultaneously completing the acquisition of the assets of Aviation Services Unlimited, based at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, N.Y. As a result, Uniflight’s maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities have expanded to three locations: Grand Prairie; Reading, Pa.; and Rome, N.Y.
In reading “Fully Baked,” I agree, as usual, with your historical perspective on the TSA, the Large Aircraft Security Program and the knee-jerk government reaction to all things aviation. But here’s a question I would like you to consider: Doesn’t the yearlong break from the rhetoric and nonsense regarding corporate aviation from the TSA constitute sufficient proof that nothing needs to be changed?
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.
Duncan Aviation has earned an STC for the installation of a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)/Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) in the Bombardier Challenger 601-3A. This solution consists of a software upgrade to the Honeywell NZ-2000 flight management system and the installation of GPS WAAS/LPV receivers. The enhancement provides ILS-like guidance down to near CAT I ILS minimums (as low as 200 ft. with 0.5-mi. visibility).
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.
King Schools has announced its 35th Anniversary Sweepstakes. The package of prizes that will go to the winner includes an Alaskan flying vacation for two, a seaplane rating and a bush flying course. The winner also will receive a cutting-edge technology Redbird TD simulator, plus a King Get-It-All Kit of their choice. The sweepstakes is open for entries until March 14, 2011. The winner will be announced at the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In & Expo in Lakeland, Fla. Official rules can be found on the King Schools website, www.kingschools.com/sweepstakes
