Over the years, business aviation has seen many advances and technological leaps forward. For those of us who have been around for a while, we have seen some remarkable changes. We fly some of the most advanced aircraft in the world, and many of them are more complex than front line fighters. For maintenance technicians and maintenance managers, the laptop computer is as important as the wrench for keeping aircraft flying safely. Just about anything you need — from schematics to Airworthiness Directives — can be retrieved with a few mouse clicks.
In 2009, the U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet combined experienced 44 accidents including eight fatal accidents which resulted in 32 passenger and crew fatalities during routine business operational flights, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc. of Boca Raton, FL. Overall, this is 31 percent fewer accidents involving both jets and turboprops combined (44 accidents in 2009 vs. 64 in 2008) which occurred in 2009 vs. 2008. The number of fatal accidents is down with eight fatal accidents occurring in 2009 vs. 23 in 2008.
Blue Sky Network announced that Brazilian-based TAM Executive Aviation (TAM EA) selected Blue Sky’s D410A automated flight following and communication equipment to provide two-way text communication and location reporting to for its fleet of airplanes. The D410A is a compact, low-cost device that weighs less than a pound, can be moved between aircraft and mounted near the glareshield to exchange GPS and sensor data and text messages using the Iridium satellite network. TAM EA offers aircraft charter, maintenance and management services.
General Electric Aviation has begun line maintenance training courses at its headquarters in Evendale, Ohio, for M601E and H80 turboprop engines produced by GE Aviation Czech. Since acquiring Walter Engines two years ago, GE Aviation has used the heritage M601 as a basis for the H80, an 800-shp candidate for business and general aviation.
FAA SAFO 10004 warns aircraft operators of possibly contaminated halon gas in fire extinguishers and provides testing information. With pure halon supplies dwindling, civil aviation will increasingly rely on recycled gas. But contaminated halon has been discovered in some aircraft fire extinguishers, which may harm personnel and be less effective against fires than pure halon.
BLR Aerospace has received approval from Brazilian aviation authorities for the Everett, Wash., company’s winglet systems for King Air C90A, C90GT and C90GTi airplanes. FAA certification of the airfoils on those models was received earlier. BLR expects to eventually certify the system on King Air C90 and C90E models. BLR has delivered about 200 of its winglet systems, which originally were developed for use on King Air 200s and 300s. The systems improve the twin-engine airplane’s stability, cruise speed and rate of climb.
The NBAA has developed an online registry for companies willing to donate their aircraft and flight crews to disaster relief efforts like the Haitian airlift and for individuals who wish to volunteer their services. The business aviation advocacy group is partnered with Corporate Aviation Responding to Emergencies (C.A.R.E.), which coordinates airborne relief missions, connecting operators with representatives in disaster areas or non-government organizations (NGOs) active there.
The FAA says it will consider special issuance medical certificates to pilots who are taking medication for mild to moderate depression, conditions that now bar them from all flying duties. On a case-by-case basis, pilots who take one of four antidepressant medications — fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa) or escitalopram (Lexapro) — will be allowed to fly if they have been satisfactorily treated on the medication for at least 12 months.
Hawker Beechcraft is transferring its laboratories for electromagnetic compatibility, mechanical and environmental testing to the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University (WSU), the Institute said April 5. The labs will be housed in two Hawker Beechcraft buildings in Wichita, and occupy about 49,000 square feet. An undetermined number of company employees currently working in the facility will be offered employment with WSU.
Executive AirShare became the first operator of an Embraer Phenom 300 under FAR Part 135. The Kansas City, Mo.-based fractional aircraft ownership and management company received the charter certification March 31. The Phenom 300 is is managed by Executive AirShare’s wholly owned subsidiary, Executive Flight Services. The aircraft is based in Fort Worth.
Embraer delivered the 1,100th Ipanema agricultural aircraft, April 7, in a ceremony at its Botucatu plant, 230 km from São Paulo, Brazil. The airplane was accepted by Foliar Aviação Agrícola Ltda., which already operates four Ipanemas in Brazil’s Tocantins state. The Ipanema is the world’s first production aircraft that leaves the factory certified to fly with hydrated ethanol automotive fuel.
When ARFF teams respond to an aircraft mishap, the incident commander has a lot of quick decisions to make. Priorities will include concern for life, exposure, confinement and extinguishment. Proper “size-up” also will affect the application of the fire-extinguishing agent, the approach of equipment to the scene, lighting the scene, positioning of equipment relative to wind and escape slides, running hoses, isolating and cooling the fuselage, and securing the scene against re-ignition.
The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilots Associations (IAOPA) called for an improvement to data collection in non-commercial aviation internationally. The recommendation came during ICAO’s High-Level Safety Conference in Montreal.
After 15 years as a fractional jet ownership provider, Flexjet announced April 12 that it is expanding its private jet products and services. After re-branding the Skyjet unit under the Flexjet name, the company now offers aircraft sales, management, fractional ownership, jet cards, charter brokerage and supplemental lift. Flexjet says it wants to be a “one-stop shop” for all things aviation.
“Avionics Simulation” (April 2010, page 37) was apparently intended to bring your readers current on the status of avionics training. While you did a good job of covering what the traditional old-line establishment companies like Boeing-owned Jeppesen and Berkshire Hathaway-owned FlightSafety are doing, you completely missed out on where the true innovation is taking place. For instance, you failed to cover both King Schools and Redbird Simulators.
Cessna CEO Jack Pelton also issued a call to action to the general aviation community to take a leadership role in defining solutions to environmental issues so that responsible stewardship works in conjunction with economic considerations required for industry growth, a call similar to that issued by aviation associations at AERO Friedrichshafen (see above).
Air Partner reported April 15 that it arranged nearly 3,000 flights of all types during the first half of its current fiscal year. If that trend continues, this could equal fiscal year 2008, the company’s best ever. In fiscal 2008, the company, a London-based charter broker with offices worldwide, logged 6,071 combined flights; in fiscal 2009, the total flights declined to 4,701, a drop of more than 20 percent.
Jet Aviation is establishing a line maintenance and AOG service operation at the Le Bourget Business Aviation Airport near Paris in conjunction with Universal Aviation France SARL. Jet Aviation will provide line maintenance and AOG support for various aircraft types, including Airbus, Boeing Business Jets, Bombardier and Gulfstream at Universal’s Facility.
Fokker Services delivered the first Auxiliary Fuel Tank System (AFTS), installed in a VIP-configured Fokker 100, to an undisclosed customer. AFTS consists of four additional fuel tanks installed in the forward belly cargo compartment, increasing the range of the Fokker 100 to approximately 2,700 nm. Fokker Services developed the AFTS, while Fokker Aircraft Services did the installation at its Woensdrecht facility. Both companies are part of the Fokker Aerospace Group.
Thanks for the March issue given out at the International Operators Conference. Good magazine. I enjoyed the Global Express XRS and South Africa articles, but I especially liked Richard Aarons’ Cause and Circumstance. That column is far better than what I've seen elsewhere.
FlightSafety International will offer training to customers on the full range of Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) engine products, under an agreement signed with the engine manufacturer this month. FSI will manage daily operations, develop and produce courseware material and provide Learning Management System capabilities. Flight Safety’s Learning Center in Montreal will lead the training support of Pratt customers and employees.
A new stand-alone Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) was announced by Tucson, Ariz.-based Universal Avionics Corp. on April 15. The AHS-525 is solid-state system provides aircraft analog and digital pitch, roll and heading data and can directly replace increasingly difficult-to-maintain mechanical gyros. The system integrates with flight deck displays, flight control systems, flight management systems, weather radar, terrain awareness and warning system, flight data recorders and multiple other avionics systems and subsystems.
To mark the centenary of Lyon-Bron airport near Lyon, France, the airport authority is inaugurating a new business aviation facility. Authorities stated, “Lyon-Bron airport has become the third largest business aviation airport in France.
Airbus forecasts a market for around five large corporate jets a year in the Asia-Pacific region, the majority of them in greater China, to replace existing aircraft and grow the regional fleet. Large corporate jets, which Airbus defines as seating 15 or more passengers, currently number about 150. Airbus hopes to win at least half of this market.
TSA’s revised Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) has been passed from TSA to the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), beginning the vetting process prior to being published as an NPRM, possibly this fall, says Brian Delauter, TSA’s general manager for general aviation. Delauter told a well-attended meeting of the Westchester Aviation Association Mar. 26 that the agency was seeking a less adversarial relationship with the industry.
