Air BP has added seven new dealers to its network, four of which are participating in the Bravo Rewards Program: Emblem Aviation of Pinedale, Wyo. (PNA) Honeycutt Aviation of Olivehurst, Calif. (MYV) Delta AirElite Jet Center of Erlanger, Ky. (CVG) Jet West of Salinas, Calif. (SNS) The remaining three dealers are: City of New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas (BAZ) Elite Aviation Services of Hopkinsville, Ky. (HVC) Avbase of San Jose, Calif. (SJC)
Cessna Aircraft told employees in December that it will close its plant in Columbus, Ga., and move the work to plants in Independence, Kan., and Mexico over the next 24 months. The plant handles components and sub-assembly work for the full range of Cessna aircraft. In the memo, Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton did note some encouraging economic signs.
The House and Senate have passed another short-term extension of the FAA’s funding authorization and aviation excise taxes through March 31. Lawmakers were forced to opt for the stopgap bill while the Senate continued its all-consuming debate on health care reform. The House passed its version of a long-term FAA funding bill in May, but the Senate has not yet acted. While calling the extension necessary, House aviation subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) expressed concern over the lack of a long-term funding bill.
Pilots climbing into the CJ4 may not recognize it as a member of the CitationJet family because the flight deck redesign has been so thorough. Four, eight-by-ten inch portrait-configuration AM-LCD screens dominate the instrument panel. The stand-alone radio tuning units have been eliminated, along with the glareshield-mounted annunciator light panel and flight guidance system controls buried in the center console.
Thank you again for calling attention to one of the great misfortunes of the recent past (“Seeking the Sensible”) — the bullying and ultimately the destruction of TAG Aviation by the kind of authority that was so egregiously misused in that event. I had the honor of working with those you mentioned and others there whose integrity and professionalism were never in doubt. Their example of excellence caused the rest of us to want to be better. It was a great organization from the top to the bottom.
Mike Penrose (Via e-mail), Former AMIJC Chief Pilot (Via e-mail)
“Seeking the Sensible” (Viewpoint, December 2009, page 7) accurately summed up the TAG/AMIJC tragedy. [Impacted] 800 jobs, 800 families and 800 mortgages, for what?
An IBM 650 data processing system is tried out at the FAA’s Indianapolis air route traffic control center. The 650 edits and error checks flight-plan messages and passes them electronically to the Ramac 650, which prints flight progress strips.
FlightSafety International will open a new airline learning center in Johannesburg, South Africa, with training to begin in March 2010. The first simulators installed will be used in the training of pilots and maintenance technicians who operate and support Hawker Beechcraft 1900 and Bombardier Dash 8-100 and Q300 aircraft.
An IS&S AdViz glass cockpit retrofit for Citation 500, 550, S550 and 560 aircraft is now certified and available for installation at Cessna-owned Citation service centers. The AdViz package, developed by Innovative Solutions & Support of Exton, Pa., is available in two or three 10.4-inch screen configurations. Options include Jeppesen e-Charts, XM Satellite Weather, and the display of enhanced vision systems and wide area augmentation system data.
GE Aviation has selected Premier Turbines of Neosho, Mo. as its Designated Repair Center in North America and South America for its Czech-built M601 and H80 turboprop engines. Premier Turbines will offer heavy repair services, exchange engines and rentals, line replacement unit rotable pools and field service support to all existing and future M601and H80 engines in the Americas region. GE Aviation will supply OEM parts to Premier. The company will be ready to accept M601 engines for repair in the first quarter of 2010.
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.
In the interest of fairness to the TSA, I need to state my bias: I fly about 300 hours a year, and half of the airports that I use don’t have a fence. I enjoy the freedom of driving straight to my airplane to load and unload, but I do recognize the threat. I want fences at these airports: Far too often have I had to conduct go-arounds at unfenced airports because of deer on their runways. Undoubtedly the TSA’s ever-lengthening reach will eventually extend to all of these airports. And the resulting fences (and perhaps background checks) will keep the deer away.
On a routine flight to an oil platform in the North Sea, the Eurocopter Super Puma helicopter carrying 16 oil-rig workers from Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, encountered low clouds at an altitude of 3,000 feet above sea level. About six nm from the rig, the crew was preparing for descent when a bright flash accompanied by a loud bang occurred. Moments later, the passengers and crew began to feel a vibration through the aircraft, rapidly getting more intense. The vibration became severe and the crew declared a mayday with a planned diversion to a nearby oil platform.
InspecTech Aero Service, Inc. is offering the Smart Cabin Automated Dimming System (SCADS) for its I-Shades, an advanced light-control window shading system for aircraft and helicopters, which is the only electronic dimmable window system currently on aircraft, according to the company.
A European research project suggests that a crosswind could increase runway capacity by dissipating wake turbulence more quickly, reducing the spacing demand between the preceding and following aircraft. The Dutch National Research Laboratory (NLR) says that a summary of their research findings shows that a seven-knot crosswind could reduce the wake vortex separation requirement by 30 to 60 seconds. The studies were conducted in simulators and the NLR says field testing is needed to validate the concept.
Swiss-based RUAG Business Aviation is teaming with Rockwell Collins to offer a Pro Line 21 Integrated Display System (IDS) retrofit for legacy Piaggio P180 Avantis. RUAG Business Aviation — which provides comprehensive maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, modifications and upgrades for business aircraft from three facilities in Switzerland and one in Germany — is taking pre-orders for the flight deck makeover and is seeking a launch customer for the retrofit, which is expected to be available in the fourth quarter.
Conklin & de Decker has released its 2010 State Tax Guide for General Aviation. The State Tax Guide contains the latest taxes and fees imposed on general aviation in all 50 United States, and addresses the sales and use taxes applicable to aircraft sales, ownership, leases, parts and labor. Also included in the Guide are common exceptions from the states sales and/or use taxes such as common carrier, occasional sales, flyaway and trade-in credits. It is PC-based and has the ability to compare three states side by side.
What are you supposed to do when you are over the final approach fix with an iced-up airplane, have an unknown failure in the flight control system, there’s freezing drizzle above you, a slippery runway below, and the descent is unstabilized?
The FAA has issued an Approved Model List - Supplemental Type Certificate for three Garmin collision avoidance system models, including the 12-mile-range GTS 800 and 40-mile-range GTS 820 traffic awareness systems and the GTS 850 TCAS I, the company announced Dec. 9. This first AML-STC covers mostly light piston-engine aircraft, STCs covering higher-end aircraft are expected in the future for the GTS 850 TCAS I.
Yes, it’s a tax. Yes, it’s confusing. Yes, it’s been poorly managed. But in the European Union, it’s the law. And if you operate an aircraft into, out of or within European airspace, you must comply. Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme, or ETS, is one result of a European environmental policy that attributes climate change to the by-products of human activity, with special focus on so-called “greenhouse” gases such as methane and carbon dioxide.
The FAA has convened an independent panel to review the agency’s telecommunications system following the Nov. 19 outage that delayed more than 800 flights. The FAA’s Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) system provides 24/7 communication support for the National Airspace System. The panel will deliver two reports to Administrator Randy Babbitt. The first will focus on the November outage and will suggest any immediate changes that need to be made to the FTI system, management procedures, or oversight.
Purdue University secured a $1.35 million U.S. Air Force grant for a new facility to test aircraft engines and develop alternative fuels. The National Test Facility for Fuels and Propulsion, to be housed in the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building at the Purdue Airport, is slated to open in late 2010 or early 2011. The facility will test hardware in engines and aircraft, and accumulate fuel sustainability and emissions data.
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver got a bad start with the U.S. Navy during World War II but went on to vindicate itself. Although more than 7,100 were built, only four survive, according to Edward Vesely. And he should know because he’s a rare bird indeed, holding all the proper paperwork to pilot the flying example of its kind at air shows and exhibitions. During his day job, he sells aircraft for Welsch Aviation at its Houston office.
