The increase in aircraft utilization is helping bolster the aviation services business, said Jay Johnson, president and chief executive of General Dynamics. GD’s services business, including Jet Aviation and General Dynamics Aviation Services, saw business erode as flight hours plunged 17 percent through the first three quarters, Johnson said. While customers continued with “must-do” maintenance, discretionary maintenance tended to get deferred. Some of this maintenance is the more high-margin work, Johnson noted.
The in-service decision on ADS-B surveillance services is on track for September says Vincent Capezzuto, FAA director of surveillance and broadcast services. The final rule will mandate only “ADS-B Out” equipage to support FAA surveillance services, but this will provide the infrastructure for the “ADS-B In” cockpit applications that are expected to generate safety and efficiency benefits for airlines and other operators.
Chapter 7 of the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), “Safety of Flight — Meteorology (Section 7-1-21), details how to make pilot reports relating to airframe icing:
Dassault Falcon announced it was laying off 150 employees and another 55 contract workers at its completion center in Little Rock, Ark., to align work force levels with lower sales and production rates. In April the French manufacturer cut 44 positions in its Teterboro, N.J., organization and in Little Rock. The Little Rock center already had cut 140 contract positions since the beginning of 2009. Dassault also laid off 35 employees at the Wilmington, Del., service center last November.
The Embraer Phenom 300 light jet received type and production certificates from Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Authority, ANAC, Dec. 3. The FAA followed suit on Dec. 14. The company says customer support and services structure is in place for the Phenom 300’s entry into service. According to Embraer, the list price of the FAA-certified Phenom 300 will be $8.14 million. Embraer said the certified aircraft has exceeded several of its initial performance objectives including runway performance, climb performance, maximum range and outside noise.
One thing you would least expect to hear from ATC while en route is, “The tower at your departure airport just called and reported that significant pieces of your aircraft were left on the runway!” That would definitely cause some anxiety about your upcoming landing. And that’s exactly the situation confronting the flight crew of an Airbus A320 on May 26, 1997, after departing Bristol, England, en route to Mahon.
The Gulfstream G250 completed its first flight Dec 11, a little over two months after its rollout. The 3:21 hour flight took off from Ben Gurion International Airport at 8:16 a.m. local time. Pilots explored the G250’s handling qualities and flight characteristics and performed initial checks of several aircraft systems. The large-cabin, mid-range aircraft flew to 32,000 feet achieving a speed of 253 knots. Chief test pilot Ronen Shapira called the flight “extremely smooth with no issues.” The G250 is planned for type certification and entry into service in 2011.
Cessna has delivered the 300th Citation X to one of its authorized sales representatives, Jetalliance, based in Vienna, Austria. The Citation X will be operated from Vienna by an unnamed end user. Jetalliance is Cessna’s authorized sales representative for Russia and Eastern Europe.”
Cessna Aircraft just released the final performance numbers on the $8.75 million Citation CJ4 and the results are turning heads in São José dos Campos, Brazil, as well as back home in Wichita. Compared to Cessna’s original projections, the aircraft weighs less when empty, has more thrust, needs less runway, cruises faster and flies farther.
Proposed Rules Bombardier CL-600, CL-601, CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R and CL-604 airplanes — Amend Airplane Flight Manual procedures, check the part and serial numbers of the installed wing anti-ice piccolo ducts and replace certain ducts, if necessary. EADS Socata TBM 700 airplanes — Before further flight, insert a temporary revision into the “Emergency Procedures” section and the “Limitations” section of the pilot operating handbook in order to clarify procedures for releasing onboard oxygen.
King Schools and Redbird Flight Simulations are offering Redbird products through King Schools’ marketing, sales and distribution channels worldwide. Redbird offers a line of four simulators from a fixed desktop device up through its FMX/ci, which offers full-motion, panoramic vision and force-feedback controls. “Redbird has used the latest improvements in software and video graphics technology to deliver a realistic training environment that is within the financial reach of virtually every flight school,” said Martha King, co-chair of King Schools.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and AVIC announced on Nov. 23 the completion of the first S-76C+ civil helicopter airframe produced in China under an agreement between Sikorsky and AVIC subsidiary Changhe Aircraft in Jingdezhen. The airframe will be delivered to the Sikorsky Global Helicopters facility in Coatesville, Pa., for customization.
Bombardier said in its third-quarter 2009 financial report that it received 26 orders for business jets in the three-month period and 24 cancellations — the first time in a year that it had more orders than cancellations. Bombardier remains in the black, though profits are substantially down compared to the same period last year.
Commenting on the used aircraft market as 2009 wound down, Carl Janssens, accredited senior appraiser at the Aircraft Bluebook, said, “Something is happening out there.”
Bob Hope Airport officials expect to lay the groundwork this year for a new Part 150 study to grapple with noise issues. The study is one step local officials are planning to take since FAA rejected the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority’s request for a nighttime ban at the Burbank, Calif.-based airport in November. The airport authority had hoped to become the first organization to successfully impose noise restrictions on Stage III and quieter aircraft under the Part 161 process.
Forecast International of Newtown, Conn. predicts that a total of 11,277 business jets, worth an estimated $197 billion, will be produced in the 10-year period from 2009 through 2018. According to the survey, announced in November, “The Market for Business Jet Aircraft,” production is expected to total approximately 825 units in 2009, followed by 738 units in 2010 and 716 in 2011.
Dennis Andersen, president of Florida Jet Sales, Inc. of West Palm Beach, Fla., feels confident enough in the market for previously owned turbine-powered airplanes that he has begun to inventory aircraft again. “I am sticking my toe back in the water,” he said in late November 2009.
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.
Although I was a brand new lieutenant heading for the Tonkin Gulf aboard the USS Midway in 1971, I felt like an old salt. This was my second deployment, I was the squadron LSO (Landing Signal Officer) and an aviator in VAW-115, an E-2B Hawkeye squadron known as the Liberty Bells.
Like the Chinese (see “Ding Hao! Operating in China,” October 2009, page 36), the Russians prefer that aircraft fly the published airways. “You can ask for a direct routing, but you can’t take it for granted that you’ll receive the clearance,” Pahl said. “We take the conservative approach and put them on the airways, and most of our clients fly what we file for them. ATC is getting better at accommodating general aviation, though.
Luma Technologies has introduced a suite of integrated LEDs for King Air series aircraft that are designed to replace aging and problematic incandescent caution-warning panels. The number one benefit of Luma’s all-LED system, according to the company, is increased safety and pilot awareness through the elimination of burned-out lamps and the subsequent need for bulb replacements.
