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.
A “glow in the dark” safety coating system is now available for the first time in the civilian market. AfterGlo Photoluminescent Paint Kit AG110, a photoluminescent coating system, makes the tips of aircraft propeller blades and helicopter main and tail rotors visible in dark and low-light operations, increasing the awareness and safety of nearby personnel in hangars, airstrips, helipads and repair facilities. The coating system was developed under a U.S.
I arrived on Kodiak in 1999 and I’ve been there ever since. The place has a way of taking hold. Kodiak’s a big island — the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined — sitting in the Gulf of Alaska, some 220 nm southwest of Anchorage. While only 13,000 people call Kodiak home, it and the Alaska Peninsula just across Shelikof Strait teem with fur, feathers and fins, everything from mountain goats and whales, to puffins, reindeer and sea lions. We’ve even got a herd of bison.
John Bingham runs Piaggio Aero America sales from the company’s Florida headquarters. The former Bentley automobile and Cirrus Design sales chief knows the upscale communities with whom he deals, but to hear him tell it, the Avanti II is not a difficult sale. “At half the price, you can fly in a cabin as big or bigger, get there in about the same time, and get there cheaper. If you have a choice between $5,000 an hour and $2,800, which are you going to take?” he asks.
A new FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD 2010-01-03) says that contaminated chemicals in Fire Fighting Enterprises Ltd. Portable Halon 1211 cabin and toilet compartment fire extinguishers could not only reduce their fire-suppression properties but may also release injurious toxic fumes. The AD requires the affected extinguishers to be removed and replaced with serviceable units within 90 days of the AD’s Jan. 8 effective date.
The FAA is striving to finish its initial work on an NPRM for new equipment and operation requirements for commercial helicopters, particularly those involved in air ambulance flights. The rulemaking project got a formal go-ahead in April 2009 as the agency, along with the NTSB and Congress, became increasingly concerned about the spike in air ambulance crashes.
An FAA Fact Sheet issued January 14 implied the agency is less than satisfied with airports’ compliance with requirements to submit Wildlife Hazards Assessments. It’s been more than a year since a flock of Canada Geese brought down U.S. Airways 1549.
When Mark Bloomer founded his company more than a quarter century ago, he represented aircraft buyers exclusively, a move that was uncommon at that time. Some 500 transactions later, Camarillo, Calif.-based Bloomer deVere does an almost equal number of aircraft acquisitions and brokerage deals. And since the mid-1990s, when the fractional market matured and accelerated, the company has been offering consulting services. Today, Bloomer describes his firm as “a client-advocate company” that lays out the various options for using “non-airline flight time.”
David M. Bjellos (West Palm Beach, FL ), Aviation Manager (West Palm Beach, FL )
“The Trouble with Bubbletown” (Viewpoint, January 2010, page 7) codified in just a few words what everyone who doesn’t work in government needs to hear — there is no accountability in government service, just people trying to find ways to further muddle capitalism. Let’s hope the mid-term elections deliver a message from the part of our country that actually produces something besides rhetoric.
The FAA plans to develop a performance specification that airports can use to competitively procure bird radar systems using AIP grants, the agency said. The Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT) at the University of Illinois has been the FAA’s partner for the performance assessments that have taken place. The first avian radar systems have been deployed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport since 2007, followed by deployments at to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2009.
The FAA issued an FAR Part 33 Type Certificate in late December for the Rolls-Royce BR725 turbofan that powers the 7,000-nm, Mach 0.85 Gulfstream 650 now undergoing flight tests. The engine is an evolutionary development of the BR710 that powers the Gulfstream G500 and G550. Fitted with a new, 50-inch diameter, swept-blade fan, it also features a compressor with improved aerodynamics, low-emissions combustor and a more-efficient turbine section.
Piper Aircraft selected Dallas-based Aviall Services as its parts distributor to support the Piper dealer network and its customers worldwide, the company announced in January. A Boeing subsidiary, Aviall carries more than two million catalog items with 39 customer service centers in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
The economic downturn has forced some leading fractional share providers to shed aircraft to lower expenses and generate revenue, further depressing airplane values overall and adding to the industry’s already bloated used aircraft inventory.
The U.S. turbine business aircraft fleet was involved in 31-percent fewer accidents in 2009 than in 2008, marking one of the safest years yet for business aircraft operators. Business jets and turboprops combined experienced 44 accidents in 2009, down from 64 in 2008, according to statistics compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates. Turbine business aircraft were involved in eight fatal accidents resulting in 32 fatalities in 2009, compared with 32 fatal accidents and 58 fatalities in 2008.
Fokker Services has introduced FLYFokker, a new life-cycle support program for the fleet of out-of-production, Dutch-built regional jets, some of which have been used in corporate operations. Fokker Services (the organization formerly known as Stork Aerospace) is offering four support packages: Take Off, Take Care, Take Over and Take Next. The company says these support options are designed to provide “cost-effective aircraft and service solutions for start-up, mature and phase-out operators.”
Field Aviation Co. has delivered the last of seven Dash 8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). The initial Dash 8 MPA, a Series 200, was modified for the CBP in 2004. The MPA fleet now includes four Dash 8 Series 200s and three Series 300s. Field Aviation modified the aircraft, interior, navigation and communications and other systems on the aircraft. ATK Integrated Systems installed sensor hardware and the mission management system before delivery to CBP, which placed the contract through the Canadian Commercial Corp.
Signature Flight Support launched a mobile Web site to complement its newly designed corporate Web site that was launched last fall. The mobile site offers pilots access to Signature’s 102 worldwide locations including airport navigation maps by AC-U-KWIK, FBO contact information, local amenities and area attractions with hyperlinks to all phone number and e-mail addresses. The site is designed to make the pilot’s job easier by offering a single-source site when choosing an airfield and FBO.
