The Iridium 9555 satellite handset has a new firmware release that allows users to plug in to a computer running Windows XP, Vista and 7 or Mac OS 10.4 or later. The handset connects to the computer through a standard Mini-USB cable. The phone also has “enhanced” short-message-service (SMS, or “texting”) performance, providing up to 1,000 characters in length instead of 160. As with all Iridium satellite service coverage is 100 percent of the globe.
ExxonMobil Aviation has expanded its Avitat network as Chevron Texaco contracts its branded avfuel business. Five new Jet Aviation Avitats are located in Dubai, UAE; Dusseldorf, Germany; Geneva; London Biggin Hill; and Zurich. Jet Aviation currently operates four FBOs under the ExxonMobil Aviation Avitat brand in North America at Bedford, Mass.; Dallas; Palm Beach, Fla.; and Teterboro, N.J. The addition of the Jet Aviation FBOs increases the Avitat network to nearly 50 locations worldwide.
Air Transport Association President Jim May said new FAA rules requiring the installation and use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment and the considerable expense that the requirements would impose on carriers “must be based on a solid business case.” The regulation calls for operators to upgrade to ADS-B on all aircraft flying in A, B and C airspace and above 10,000 feet within 10 years.
EAA’s gathering, July 26 through August 1 in Oshkosh, Wis., is expected to reflect an improving economy, drawing more than a half million attendees, 10,000 airplanes and 700+ exhibitors, association spokesman Dick Knapinski said. Show goers will see permanent improvements at the AirVenture site: more paved roads, new bike paths and expanded facilities in the warbirds area, sponsored by Scott’s Miracle Grow.
Signature Flight Support and Aviapartner Executive have opened an FBO facility in a new general aviation terminal at Nice Cote d’Azur Airport in France. The facility includes a VIP lounge, a pilots’ lounge with entertainment systems and flat-screen televisions, WSI weather and business center services. Signature and Aviapartner provide ground handling, flight planning, crew accommodations coordination, crew transportation and catering services. Customs and immigration services also are housed in the general aviation terminal.
DOT officials intend to issue an NPRM aimed at air charter brokers. Dayton Lehman, DOT’s deputy assistant general counsel in the Office of Aviation speaking at the NATA Air Charter Summit in June said the NPRM will be “quite expansive,” seeking a substantial amount of input on a proper direction for regulating charter brokers. “There are areas where we have truly not made up our minds as to what to do,” Lehman told the audience at the summit held in Chantilly, Va. The NRPM is expected later this year.
At press time, Blackhawk Modifications’ Cessna Caravan engine upgrade was in the final stages of flight testing, and officials at the Waco, Texas, re-engining specialist were anticipating basic FAA certification of the single-engine turboprop modification by the end this month. EASA approval was expected by the end of September. The upgrade, which involves replacing the existing 675-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A with an 850-shp PT6A-42A, will offer the following benefits:
On the European front, London Executive Aviation CEO Patrick Margetson-Rushmore says he’s optimistic that European business aviation traffic will continue to increase this year. “For us, the year is going well so far. One glance at our order book shows that the European business aviation industry is beginning to recover,” he notes. “We’re realistic, of course. The industry recovery will be gradual rather than dramatic.”
I am disappointed with Patrick Veillette’s “Double Standard” (June 2010, page 53), a misleading article about public safety operations, which is more remarkable by what it does not say than what it does. It is noteworthy that most of the data the author cites are 10 to more than 20 years old, and create a false picture of the current state of public safety aviation. From January 1999 through December 2008, law enforcement helicopter accidents went down by 80 percent.
The Beech King Air 90 now has distinguished itself as the longest-lived general aviation turboprop in continuous production ever. More than 2,300 Model 90 aircraft have been built in the last 46 years and that’s 37 percent of all King Airs yet built for the civilian market.
Aviatrax S.A., Luxembourg, appointed Marijana O’Dwyer head of Commercial, responsible for commercial activities and coordination of affiliates and partners. Axis Jet, Sacramento, Calif., announced the addition of Amy Dose to the company’s aircraft charter division as charter sales director.
The FAA announced ADS-B performance requirements in terms of accuracy, integrity, power and latency on May 27. The nationwide rollout of ADS-B ground stations will be complete in 2013. By 2020, the FAA will require ADS-B-out equipment (either 1090 MHz extended squitter or Universal Access Transceiver broadcast links) for aircraft flying in Class A, B and C airspace and above 10,000 feet. The most controversial aspect of the rulemaking, among several, is that ADS-B will not replace existing transponders, which still must be carried in addition to ADS-B.
Cessna will to extend its Citation Mobile Service Unit (MSU) teams to Europe by year-end. Part of Cessna’s Service Direct program, mobile units are already operational in the United States. Cessna executives say the extension to Europe is a “natural progression” of the program since more than 1,000 Citations have been delivered to customers in the region. Cessna has not yet determined the specific base for the European MSU but expects the unit will be located in southern France and also cover Geneva, northern Italy and northern Spain.
Rated at 550 shp up to ISA+30°C, the -135 enables the C90GTx to climb directly to FL 300 and reach FL 250 in 18 minutes. Maximum cruise speed is 272 KTAS at 9,500 pounds, assuming ISA conditions at FL 200.
As more business jet operators register for the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), many are (unhappily) discovering their aircraft must be equipped with a flight data recorder. The ICAO standard applies to all jets with certificates of airworthiness issued after Jan. 1, 2005, “and no one knew it was there,” Roger Baker told BCA editor-in-chief, William Garvey. The head of the Safety Focus Group, Baker conducts IS-BAO audits of flight departments. He and other auditors say the FDR rule is becoming better known as more U.S.
The U.S. Senate declined to consider a resolution disapproving EPA regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions by a vote of 47-53 on June 10. The Helicopter Association International reports the White House aggressively lobbied against the bill. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) introduced the resolution that would have put the Senate on record as wanting to bar the EPA from regulating greenhouse-gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, which the EPA says gives it the authority to regulate any greenhouse gas emissions by rulemaking, without legislation.
In reviewing the FAA's final rule pertaining to Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast (ADS-B), one of the critical building blocks of its NextGen air traffic management system, two things are apparent: First, the agency lowered the bar to make compliance more affordable; and second, the thing is still way, way expensive and could cost the aviation industry $2.5 billion to $6.2 billion, depending upon discounted rate of return assumptions. General aviation will incur costs of $1.2 billion to $4.5 billion.
Belgian charter operator Philippe Bodson has become the first European operator to place Hawker Beechcraft’s King Air 350i twin turboprop into service. Hawker Beechcraft obtained EASA type approval for the 350i in December 2009. Bodson founded and manages Antwerp-based charter ASL, which operates 14 aircraft throughout Europe and North Africa.
Hawker Beechcraft is the newest broker/dealer member of the National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA). In addition, three new associate members — Avtrak, LLC, the Law Offices of Christopher B. Younger and Rolland Vincent Asso-ciates, LLC — recently joined the organization. NARA now has a total of 32 broker/dealer members and 48 associate members.
Mike Ellis, Hawker Beechcraft’s vice president of pre-owned aircraft, characterizes today’s market for previously owned business aircraft as “tentative.”
Icelandair wants to capture more data on flying in volcanic ash clouds, so its maintenance operation, Icelandair Technical Services, modified a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle to enable the aircraft to measure ash cloud density, says Jens Bjarnsson, senior vice president of technical services for Icelandair. “We put the required cables in, so when there’s another volcano, we just have to put the external probes on, and the aircraft can take off and start measuring,” he says.
The FAA has rolled out a new surveillance technology to help track aircraft in the mountainous region around Juneau, Alaska. The ground-based Wide-Area Multilateration (WAM) system will provide interim surveillance capability until the agency deploys satellite-based ADS-B in the area. WAM comprises a network of sensors that transmit signals, which are received and returned by aircraft transponders. The WAM system “triangulates” returning signals to determine the location of the aircraft and present it to controllers on their consoles as if it were a radar target.
The new FAA NIEC is off to a flying start with Boeing subsidiary Insitu providing unmanned aircraft for research to help develop recommendations for integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace. The system, including two ScanEagle small unmanned aircraft, has been delivered to the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. The FAA will fly the UAVs in restricted airspace over the New Jersey Air National Guard’s Warren Grove Gunnery Range as it works to develop air traffic management procedures for them.
Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) has selected the Thrane & Thrane Aviator 200 system to provide broadband connectivity for in-service King Air 90, 200, 300 and 350 aircraft. Certification of the system on the twin turboprops is expected in the fourth quarter. In 2009, the high-speed Internet equipment was certificated on Hawker Beechcraft’s Hawker business jets.
