Supposedly on his first day at AlliedSignal, Larry Bossidy conducted face-to-face introductions at headquarters with the understandably nervous group of executives awaiting the new CEO. However, one vice president stood out as being particularly friendly and familiar, volunteering sports anecdotes and assessments of teams and players with the new boss, a former college ballplayer. Moving on, Bossidy, legendary for his all-business-all-the-time focus, turned to an aide and said, “Fire that guy; I never want to see him again.”
The NBAA is now offering a 10-percent discount on the Complete Aeromedical Services Program (CASP) offered by Virtual Flight Surgeons, Inc. The CASP is a one-stop source for aeromedical advice and FAA medical certification assistance.
Technical and operational standards for automatic dependent surveillance — broadcast (ADS-B) equipment have been approved, paving the way for April 2010 publication of the FAA’s final rule mandating ADS-B equipage in controlled airspace by 2020. Standards body RTCA has now approved the minimum operational performance standards (MOPS), and the FAA has already signed the related technical standard orders (TSO), said Vincent Capezzuto, FAA director of surveillance and broadcast services.
GE Aviation’s wholly owned subsidiary, GE Aviation Czech s.r.o., is beginning certification testing of its new H80 turboprop engine, which will produce up to 800 shp. The engine is targeted at utility, agricultural and, business and general aviation aircraft. Component testing of the H80 engine has been underway for several months, and GE has recently started aeromechanical and performance testing on the powerplants. Certification is expected in early 2010 with entry into service on the Thrush 510 cropduster.
In its Business Jet Update for October 2009, UBS said business jet takeoffs and landings for the month were about 17 percent above their March low and unchanged from September, which was “particularly strong.” Moreover, the bank’s investment research monthly said year over year growth “can turn positive before the end of 2009” and forecast 8- to 10-percent cycle growth in 2010 “including 12- to 14-percent growth in the first half.” The report noted, however, that October’s cycles were 4 percent lower than the previous year’s and 25 percent below the 2007 peak, and “While o
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.
The 9,020-pounds-thrust A2 variant is an evolution of the A1E offering 10 percent more reserve thrust on a standard day and six- to 12-percent better hot-and-high takeoff and climb thrust. It is equipped with a revamped 38.5-inch diameter, wide-chord fan with compound swept blades that boost air flow and revised FADEC software. The fan has 22 blades versus 24 for older models of AE3007 and it was designed using computer tools that weren’t available when the original engine was created.
Due to an editing error in “Icing 101,” we incorrectly stated that “one micron . . . is one-millionth of a cubic meter” (October 2009, page 82). One micron actually is one-millionth of a meter, not a cubic meter. A micron is a linear measurement, not a volumetric one. There would be 10 to the 18th cubic microns in a cubic meter.
To say that Clay Jones is a business aviation man is to unfairly minimize the breadth of his interests and contributions, like identifying Dwight Eisenhower as an interstate highway champion, Steve Martin as a fair banjo player and Arnold Palmer as an iced tea concoctionist. All of those are true statements, but distort their subjects by gross omission.
The NBAA and AOPA considered the first Light Business Aircraft Conference held in conjunction with October’s NBAA Convention in Orlando so successful that, even before the event ended, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding to co-host and collaborate on future LBA Conferences beginning next year in conjunction with each of the two organizations’ major annual events. The first LBA Conference offered education sessions, a “Concept Buyers Program” and a “Single-Pilot Safety Standdown” — all specifically designed for owners and operators of light business airplanes.
FAA Administrator Randall Babbitt has been pleased with the results of the procedures put in place in the Hudson River flight corridor in the wake of the Aug. 8 midair collision there. Babbitt told an audience at the AOPA Aviation Summit in Tampa, Fla., that after the accident, “The last thing we wanted was a knee-jerk reaction.” Instead, FAA relied on collaboration between air traffic controllers, FAA regulators and the general aviation community.
While airline passengers have grown accustomed to snaking their way through TSA lines at hub airports, general aviation operators based at Hyde Field, Potomac Airport and College Park Airport, a trio of small airfields near Washington, D.C., have struggled to cope with the restrictions imposed on them since the Sept. 11 attacks more than eight years ago. Perhaps the most notable of the affected facilities is College Park (CGS), which earlier this year became the world’s first centennial airfield, having been in continuous operation for 100 years.
At the recent NBAA Convention, Stevens Aviation displayed the first example of its Learjet 60 Business Liner, a 1997 model of the Bombardier midsize jet that had undergone an extensive makeover.
The FAA rejected an application of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (BGPAA) to impose a nighttime ban on nearly all flights at Bob Hope Airport (BUR) in California. The agency deemed the application unreasonable because the BGPAA failed to prove that other alternatives would be less cost-effective or infeasible. The agency also determined that the BGPAA failed to provide substantial evidence to back its contention that the restriction would not create an undue burden on interstate or foreign commerce.
In the waning months of the Cold War, after decades of suspicion, distrust and secrecy between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the West, watershed events in aviation history unfolded at European-hosted international air shows.
Also, if traffic is heavy at the destination airport and there are delays, don’t expect to be stacked into holding, Parke emphasized. “Russian controllers do not use holding patterns and vector everyone around if there are delays. This increases their workload considerably and contributes to the delays. During this maneuvering, it behooves you to keep your head up, as most of their aircraft are not equipped with TCAS for separation. They also maintain larger separation intervals than we do, which helps to string things out and adds to the delays.”
Rockwell Collins recently announced several upgrade programs for Dassault Falcon business jets, including five new updates to its Pro Line 21 avionics retrofit package for Falcon 50s. Separately, the avionics maker is offering a Pro Line 4 to Pro Line 21 display upgrade for Falcon 2000s.
NBAA and GAMA are offering a new online resource to help businesses of all types and sizes calculate and explain the value a business aircraft brings to support a company’s business objectives. Presented as part of the associations’ joint No Plane No Gain advocacy campaign, the new Business Aircraft E-Valuation Toolkit identifies five basic resources every company in business aviation should have for measuring an aircraft’s value — regardless of the size or type of the business involved. The toolkit is at the No Plane No Gain Web site: www.noplanenogain.org.
Abu Dhabi plans to build a business jet by 2018 to mark the emergence of the Middle East as a major player in the global aerospace industry. The first steps were celebrated Nov. 14, just prior to the Dubai Air Show, as the Mubadala Development investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government and Western partners reviewed progress in building the Strata Manufacturing composites facility that will begin supplying parts for the Airbus A380, ATR and other airliners in the second half of 2010. Strata will open with initial contracts worth more than $2 billion.
Arranging permits for flights into Russia is straightforward, although it is important for operators unfamiliar with the process to understand that among the residue of the Soviet period is a monolithic bureaucracy and rigid adherence to procedure. “This isn’t about efficiency — it’s all about control,” Parke said, by way of explaining the inflexibility. “And they control everything down to the minutiae, from obtaining the entry permit to all things associated with operating.”
Looking to brush up on turbine engine technology? Don’t know your P3 from your T5? Pick up a copy of Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Technology by Irwin Treager. Written for technicians, instead of engineers, the text is easy to understand, and even pilots will find it helpful. The paperback book has been updated since its first release and includes information on electronic fuel controls.
Cessna Aircraft has qualified its Citation Sovereign for an exemption from FAA Extended Operations (ETOPS) requirements when flown between Los Angeles and Hawaii under FAR Part 135. To qualify for the ETOPS exemption, Cessna demonstrated the aircraft could remain within 180 minutes of a suitable airport when flying with an engine out. Cessna conducted an analysis to determine that the Sovereign was able to travel 1,022 nm within 180 minutes after an engine failure. That distance is just more than halfway between Los Angeles and Hawaii.
