Gulfstream Aerospace has installed a Kollsman General Aviation Vision System (GAViS) on a Gulfstream GIV. The infrared camera system is available for GV, GIV and GIII aircraft. Mounted within the upper nose radome, GAViS improves situational awareness at night and in low-visibility conditions, supplying enhanced imagery of airports, air traffic, terrain, taxiways, wildlife and runway conditions.The images can be displayed on a CD-820 flight management system control and display unit or another approved aircraft device, such as an electronic flight bag.
Archie Trammell provided great answers to my questions (through the “Ask the Experts” feature in the BCA Ops & Safety Special online). His legendary reputation for being able to teach radar stands up well. It would be good to have Archie along on one of those flights when things are going bump in the night or during the day. This is a great feature for BCA to have. I hope it works and the pilots pick up on its being so good.
ARGUS International, Inc. (ARGUS) is the industry leader in providing specialized aviation services to companies that manufacture, finance, operate, maintain and market commercial and business aircraft, as well providing products and services to consumers worldwide.
I just finished reading my copy of BCA and wanted to tell you how much I like the new format. I find the magazine easier to read and the typefaces to be more appealing. This is especially welcome to my soon-to-be 60-year-old eyes! I’ve read your magazine for years and have always enjoyed the content. Thanks for the changes. It suits the magazine well.
The U.S. DOT’s Inspector General conducted an analysis of the NextGen program at the request of Congress. In general, the IG says, “A number of critical actions are still needed to move NextGen from planning to implementation,” and “not taking timely action on these issues could delay the FAA’s plans to transition to NextGen.” Lack of multi-agency coordination is one of the major problems.
Bombardier will conduct a Safety Standdown modeled on the widely acclaimed event held annually in Wichita since 1996, and in Geneva since 2007, on Aug. 11, the eve of LABACE 2010 in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Hilton Morumbi Hotel. The first Latin American Safety Standdown will feature a lineup of international presenters: Capt. Gene Cernan, U.S. Navy (ret.), commander, Apollo 17; Dr. Tony Kern, president and CEO, Convergent Performance, LLC, on professional airmanship; Dr.
Delta AirElite has become one of the leading charter operators in the United States, but that lofty position was achieved almost by default. You see, the on-demand carrier was once part of Comair, the big regional line that mighty Delta Air Lines acquired in 2000. Comair's charter operation was a secondary element, at best, within the package.
A Gulfstream G450 set a city-pair speed record between Tokyo and Hong Kong. The G450 took off from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport at 10:50 a.m. local time on June 7. It flew 1,694 nm at an average cruise speed of Mach 0.85, landing 3 hours and 58 minutes later at 1:48 p.m. local time at Hong Kong International Airport. According to the crew, Sean Sheldon, senior international captain, and Jaime Bahamon, international captain, the first 300 miles of the flight were flown at reduced speed because of turbulence caused by headwinds of more than 100 knots.
Dassault Falcon won FAA and EASA and certification for its 4,750 nm Falcon 900LX, a derivative of the Falcon 900EX. The new Falcon 900LX offers the same generous cabin interior and three Honeywell TFE731-60 engines rated at 5,000 pounds of thrust each (ISA+17°C) as the 900EX, but with an expanded list of city pairs due to advanced light-weight structures and an efficient wing with API blended winglets that combine to yield performance enhancements including reduced fuel burn, which the company claims to be 35 to 40 percent less than others in its large-cabin class.
The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is recommending that ICAO adopt the proposals of that organization’s Flight Recorder Panel requiring the installation of flight recorders on turbine-powered airplanes with a max takeoff weight under 12,500 pounds (5,700 kilograms).
There are more than 36,000 PT6A turboprop engines in service, according to Pratt & Whitney Canada. The company offers more than 65 models covering a range of horsepower ratings from about 500 to 2,000 shp. And although the PT6A has had competitors, none has surpassed it in sheer numbers. Allison’s Model 250 got its designation from the 250-hp rating the U.S. Army stipulated for a utility small-turbine competition Allison eventually won, but in the civil market, the Model 250 has been more popular in turboshaft form on helicopters.
Nextant Aerospace, the Richmond Heights, Ohio, company that is developing a re-engined Beechjet 400A known as the 400NEXT, completed the first mating of a Williams International FJ44-3AP powerplant to the first of two airplanes that will be used in the upcoming flight test program. First flight of the re-engined airplane was expected to take place this month, with supplemental type certification of the 400NEXT anticipated in early 2011.
Bombardier Aerospace has built the first all-composite manufacturing validation unit (MVU) for the Learjet 85 pressure fuselage section. The MVU was built in Montréal, where the Learjet 85 aircraft structural design team is located, using actual production tooling which will be transported to Bombardier’s Learjet 85 manufacturing facility Queretaro, Mexico where a second MVU will be made. The MVUs will be used to validate the design concepts, manufacturing processes and quality as the program advances towards the beginning of production, scheduled for later this year.
The FAA announced June 29 that Metron Aviation, Inc., of Dulles, Va., and Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., of McLean, Va., received contracts, to perform engineering work supporting the transition to NextGen. The 10-year $1.15-billion contract awarded to Metron Aviation is one of the largest ever awarded by the FAA to a small business. The two contracts are the last of six awarded under an umbrella portfolio termed System Engineering 2020 (SE-2020).
Cessna Aircraft Company’ McCauley Propeller Systems division has achieved ASTM compliance for a new two-blade, fixed-pitch composite propeller for the Cessna 162 Skycatcher. “This is the first of a planned family of composite propellers we have in development, designed for a range of aircraft,” said McCauley Vice President and General Manager Peter Wilkinson, July 14. The 1L100 is a new all composite fixed-pitch propeller specifically designed for the Skycatcher’s Teledyne Continental Motors O-200D engine.
Chris Holliday (Aviation Safety Inspector, FSDO 23Rochester N.Y. )
I’m a Aviation Safety Inspector here at the Rochester, N.Y. FSDO and the helicopter POI. We recently held a helicopter safety seminar and I made a presentation on three recent helicopter accidents including the Maryland State Police accident. After reading your article (“A Medevac Ends In Disaster” May, page 79), I realize I was woefully short on details. Your article was excellent in both detail and conclusions. Thanks for your contribution to aviation safety and it is an excellent review of this accident.
Canadian certification of the Honeywell Primus Apex integrated avionics system in the reborn Twin Otter has been signed. This will be the second OEM forward fit installation of the system. Built by Viking Air, headquartered at Victoria, B.C., International Airport, the newly manufactured Twin Otter Series 400 features more than 400 modifications to the original DHC-6, the foremost being the Apex flight deck and installation of twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprops.
A bill in that would extend bonus depreciation for businesses that purchase general aviation aircraft in 2010 was introduced in June by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “Bonus depreciation is a powerful incentive to purchase a GA aircraft and is proven to increase sales during difficult economic conditions,” said Pete Bunce, GAMA’s president and CEO. Bonus depreciation allows a business to deduct an additional 50 percent of the depreciable value in the first year instead of spreading it out over five years.
Airport operators in the Pacific Northwest are teaming up with Boeing and Washington State University on a six-month study to explore ways of developing a regional biofuels industry that will produce jet fuel from biomass. Alaska Airlines, Oregon’s Portland International Airport and Washington state’s Seattle-Tacoma International and Spokane International will participate in the study, according to the Air Transport Associations’ e-mail news bulletin.
Gulfstream Aerospace has earned FAA approval to provide Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) functionality for the Gulfstream G150. The WAAS-capable receiver is an option on new G150s and can be retrofitted on all in-service G150 aircraft. WAAS, which provides localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV), enables pilots to fly into approved airports using an ILS-like glideslope. This capability yields a number of benefits, including enhanced safety, increased flight-planning options and improved airport access.
When I graduated from our high school in Western Massachusetts, there were three doors from which to choose: (1) state teachers college; (2) partnering with my father in a funeral parlor; or (3) something else. At that time Pratt & Whitney was running big Help Wanted ads in the local paper, so some buddies and I flung open Door #3 and headed for East Hartford.
An absolutely great column on DCA (Viewpoint, May, page 11). I remember going to Signature DCA on numerous occasions and flying the river approach more than once. We don’t fly there for all the reasons you outlined. I suppose we would if a customer just outright insisted we do it and was agreeable to all the restrictions and requirements, but I’ve not heard anyone even suggest we go there. Besides, forget about shooting the passengers!
Jet Aviation Hong Kong recently received base maintenance approval by the Hong Kong CAD to carry out heavy maintenance on aircraft registered in PRC and Macau, the company announced July 17. Jet Aviation Hong Kong has also been awarded approval from the Bermuda authority to work on Gulfstream, Bombardier and Boeing BBJ aircraft up to a C check, as well as approval from the Isle of Man’s aviation authority to provide maintenance on G550 aircraft registered there.
Duncan Aviation recently completed an STC for the installation of Aircell’s high-speed Internet router with Wi-Fi capability in the Challenger 300. The system — which consists of an aircraft-certified high-speed data unit, wireless router and two belly mounted antennas — enables passengers to use their laptops, Blackberrys, iPhones and other Wi-Fi devices at connection speeds of 1 to 3 Mbps. This was the second Aircell STC for Duncan Aviation in the second quarter.
Meridian Air Charter, the Teterboro, N.J.-based private aviation services company, announced the addition of a Cessna Citation Mustang to its fleet of charter aircraft. Privately owned and operated Meridian has been based at Teterboro for over 60 years.
