International operators accessing services of the far-flung ExecuJet Aviation Group may not realize that the multinational business aviation support company originated in South Africa.
Jan. 23 — At 1852 CST, a Smith Aerostar 601P (N222AQ) collided with terrain and a residence in Sugar Grove, Ill. The airplane took off from Aurora Municipal Airport (ARR), Aurora, Ill., at 1850. Its destination was Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC), Denver. After departure the Aerostar was issued a left turn to a heading of 270 degrees and was instructed to contact departure control. The pilot checked in with departure control reporting that he was leaving 1,300 feet and climbing to 3,000 feet.
Joseph G. Gavin Jr. and Eugene F. (Gene) Kranz, both of whom played critical roles in the Gemini and Apollo space programs, will receive the 2010 Godfrey L. Cabot Award by the Aero Club of New England, June 11 at Boston’s Seaport Hotel. A leader in the Lunar Landing Module design team, Gavin later helped adapt the Grumman-made vehicle to serve as a lifeboat for the Apollo 13 astronauts after an oxygen tank aboard the service module exploded, forcing the shutdown of the Command Module.
More than 80 Bombardier Global Express XRS business jets have entered service since December 2005 and operators say the aircraft has matured into a rock-solid reliable transportation asset with increased range and even better cabin comfort than the original Global Express.
Bombardier Aerospace announced Feb. 3 that the 100th Challenger 605 had entered service. With over 800 aircraft manufactured, the Challenger 600 series had accumulated over four million flight hours with a dispatch reliability of over 99.8 percent as of September 2009.
Wayfarer Aviation, Rye Brook, N.Y., named Wendy Burton director of Industry Charter, focusing on wholesale and internal charter. She will manage relationships with aircraft operators, brokers and vendors in the United States and overseas.
AeroTech Research U.S.A. was awarded a two-year NASA contract in January to develop a real-time onboard system to detect and report aircraft wake encounters to air traffic controllers and other aircraft in the vicinity to maximize a runway’s arrival and departure rates while maintaining safe separation. “This will allow flight crews and air traffic controllers to have better information on whether the separation between aircraft is too small,” said Bill Buck, AeroTech’s principal investigator.
From the Dec. 22, 2009, Avinode Business Intelligence newsletter: “Interesting to notice is that the price decrease has been stronger on the U.S. air charter market than it has been on the global air charter market. Prices on the U.S. market are approximately 9.5 percent lower today than they were Jan. 1 [2009].””
The White House on Dec. 22 announced President Barack Obama’s new cybersecurity coordinator: Howard A. Schmidt, a former chief security officer at eBay and Microsoft. Last spring, the President declared cybersecurity to be a major national priority.
A new generation of cabin video systems is about to enter service on business aircraft, offering capabilities far ahead of today’s display systems. Passengers will be able to watch HD movies, archive dozens of programs for later viewing, plug in a variety of HDTV players and play the latest video games. As with current systems, they’ll also be able to see aircraft position on moving maps, they’ll be informed of when the aircraft will touch down at its destination and they’ll have access to standard definition video.
Mike O’Rourke (Herndon, VA ), Former NTSB Investigator and Air Traffic Controller (FAA and USAF) (Herndon, VA )
Regarding “The Trouble With Bubbletown,” it would seem from a review of FAA pay grades that quite a few individuals at the worker-bee level exceed the $100K level, including frontline ATC types at many of the nation’s airports as well maintenance techs, flight inspection pilots, and certain AVN personnel.
David Sheehan, a business aviation veteran with thousands of hours of flight experience, a former NBAA board member and a regional representative for the association, died on Jan. 4. Sheehan worked in the Mobil Oil Corp. flight department for 31 years, ultimately attaining the position of general manager of Corporate Aviation before retiring in 1996 to pursue other business interests in Asia. He served on NBAA board of directors from 1989 to 1996. Sheehan joined the U.S.
Proposed Rules Hawker Beechcraft King Air B300 and B300C airplanes — Inspect the terminal board on the circuit-card rack assembly to determine if the correct bus bar is installed. Also, replace the bus bar, if necessary, and check the left and right pitot-heat annunciators for proper operation. Honeywell LTS101-600A, -600A-1A, -700A-1A and 700D-2 engines — Remove certain power turbine blades from service. Piaggio P-180 airplanes — Conduct a dye-penetrant inspection of the “0” pressure bulkhead and reinforce it by installing doublers.
The first Challenger 850 to come out of Flying Colours Corp.’s completion facility in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, has been delivered to Moscow, Russia, where the jet will be managed by Chartright Air Group. Flying Colours is working on three additional Challenger 850s and has two more completions scheduled for this year. The 850 work is performed at both Peterborough and at JetCorp Technical Services, Flying Colours’ facility located near St. Louis.
Cessna restarted the Citation Sovereign line that was shut down early last summer. The company recalled 180 workers during January. “All of our assembly lines are back up and running,” a Cessna spokesman said, but added, “albeit, in greatly reduced rates.” Cessna originally had planned to deliver 535 jets in 2009, but the freefalling general aviation market pushed that number down to 275. Cessna expects to build even fewer jets this year, but further layoffs are not expected.
Delta AirElite had added a Bombardier Learjet 45XR and Cessna Citation XLS to its fleet. The 2007 Learjet 45XR is based in Jacksonville, Fla., and the 2007 Citation XLS is at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Alaska Airlines introduced RNP approaches at two more regional airports in Alaska, reports Aviation Week’s Aviation Daily. The carrier debuted an RNP approach in Adak, Jan.14, and will add another at Ketchikan in March. An RNP RNAV pioneer, Alaska has introduced similar procedures at 45 percent of the airports it serves in Alaska since 1996, as well as in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; and Palm Springs, Calif.
David C. Hook (San Antonio, TX ), President (San Antonio, TX ), Planehook Aviation Services, LLC (San Antonio, TX )
“Aircraft Repair Station Security” (Point of Law, January 2010, page 64) was a balanced and fair presentation of the TSA’s proposed program. I offer a point to consider: existing bilateral agreements. There are some 27 countries around the world where the United States has in effect authorized that nation’s aviation authority to conduct Part 145 inspections and approve aircraft repair stations in that country on behalf of the FAA. The authority to grant these powers comes as the result of diplomatic agreement between nations — a function of the U.S.
ICAO amended its rules to now require commercial operators to carry a standardized certified true copy of their Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on board when operating internationally as of Jan. 1. Operators planning to operate overseas have to get yhe document from the FAA, through their POIs. The agency has issued a new “Information for Operators” advisory, InFO 09019, to help obtain these required documents. It contains a template of the required ICAO-format AOC.
Probably the most significant tool for the marketing of empty legs has been the Internet, where several Web sites have emerged to list one-way trips for consumers, operators and charter brokers. Here are snapshots of four featured in this report:
Horse Sense Meacham Field may be an airport to you, but to Janine Iannarelli, it’s the name she gave her horse. She’s not confused at all, just affirming that she lives in one world populated with aircraft and another filled with the delights of the equestrian life. She’s had Meacham for two years since acquiring him from an owner in Germany, and the big, gray Holsteiner has served her well. “He’s just coming into his prime,” she says. “He’s competitive and smart.”
The FAA, in January, expanded its list of oxygen concentrators approved for inflight use aboard charter, corporate and airline aircraft, from four to 11. Oxygen concentrators separate oxygen from ambient air and deliver it to users at greater than 90-percent concentration. The units contain no compressed or liquid oxygen, which are classified as hazardous material. Airlines are also required to let passengers use them to move about the cabin, when the seat belt sign is off. Approved concentrators must be resistant to physical damage and be underseat stowable.
Bell 429 Specifications Characteristics Standard Seating 1+7 VIP Luxury Seating 1+4 Capacity Standard Fuel 215 U.S. Gal. Auxiliary Fuel (Optional) 40 U.S. Gal. Cabin Floor Space (cu.
The demise of AMI Jet Charter (AMIJC) and TAG Aviation USA in 2007 after the FAA issued an “Emergency Order of Revocation” of the former’s operating certificate closed the chapter on one of the agency’s most controversial actions. But not the book.
