Embraer loves disruptive change. When the $7.6 million Phenom 300 enters service late this year, it could shatter traditional price vs. value expectations in the super light jet market segment, just as Embraer’s Phenom 100 did in the entry level jet sector in 2008. While Embraer is positioning the Phenom 300 as a light jet, it’s clearly in the next class up from any aircraft within a million dollars of its price tag.
The Bombardier Learjet 40/40XR, the two-foot shorter version of the Learjet 45, hasn’t been the firm’s all-time best seller. Only 126 units have been built since the model first entered service in early 2004. Yet, it can fly six passengers 1,600 nm in less time than any other light jet, so most East and West Coast U.S. city pairs are less than six hours apart, including a refueling stop. Operators say they flight plan for 450-knot cruise speeds on shorter trips, dispatch reliability has been excellent and Bombardier’s support has been good.
It’s ironic that 25 years ago BCA editor Arnold Lewis called a young corporate pilot — me — in his first corporate gig for an article on flight department budgets. I went back and read the article in the August 1984 issue and was amazed at how uninformed I really was.
As NASA prepares to shut down and raze wind tunnels used to test aircraft and space capsules for nearly eight decades, some are questioning whether the space agency is abdicating its role in the development of aeronautics, according to Aviation eBrief. The pending demolition is the latest in a series at Langley Research Center, Va., one of three NASA facilities with wind tunnels. At its height, notes the Hampton, Va. Daily Press, Langley had more than 50.
The Phenom 300 is fitted with two 3,360-pound-thrust, FADEC-equipped PW535E engines that provide competitive takeoff field performance and the capability to climb directly to FL 450 at MTOW. The engine is a close relative of the PW535 fitted to the Citation Encore/Encore+, so it has been well proven in line service.
Embraer quietly suspended operations in late spring at its 47,700 square-foot Executive Jet Services facility at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn. This development did not become widely known until late August. Company officials say it is a temporary shutdown — a result of the economic downturn.
Comtran International has won EASA certification for a Dornier 328-300 JET conversion. The approval enables the Texas-based aviation company, known best for its MD-80 hush kits and head-of-state aircraft completions, to sell the 12-passenger executive twinjet to European customers. Comtran, which earlier received FAA certification for the retrofit, calls the Revolution Series 328 VIP aircraft a low-cost alternative to expensive, large-cabin business aircraft.
The People’s Republic of China may own Hong Kong and its associated island of Macao, but whenever any of Chris Buchholz’s Metrojet pilots file for a flight to the mainland, they are treated like any other “foreign” operator.
The CEO and the chief financial officer of Honeywell Aerospace have left the company for greener pastures. Honeywell Aerospace CEO Rob Gillette left to head First Solar, an Arizona-based manufacturer of solar and photovoltaic modules, Honeywell said in a statement. CFO Bob Hau is leaving to be CFO of Lennox International, a Texas-based heating and cooling equipment manufacturer, that company announced. Honeywell has appointed Tim Mahoney to lead its aerospace division. Mahoney was formerly chief technology officer of Honeywell Aerospace.
Universal Aviation China’s Jimmy Young provided the following country data for operators headed to the Peoples Republic of China. Commonly Used International Entry and Exit Points for China Northeast Region: ARGUK POLHO INTIK NIXAL AGAVO Southeast Region: LAMEN SADLI BEKOL TAMOT SIERRA SICOU Southwest Region: TEBAK KATBO SAGAG LINSO Northwest Region: PURPA REVKI SARIN GOPTO MORIT Popular Tourist Airports Not Open to Foreign-registered Aircraft ZULS Lasa Gongga Airport
Conklin & de Decker’s latest Aircraft Performance Comparator is now available. According to the company it is the most comprehensive and easy to use performance comparison tool and now includes some of the latest aircraft that are still in development. The Aircraft Performance Comparator allows the user to overlay and compare aircraft interiors and exteriors with critical performance data that comes directly from the manufacturer’s approved flight and performance manuals. Price (CD only): Jets, $695; Turboprops, $595; Helicopters, $595; Pistons, $450
Cobham Avionics, Mineral Wells, Texas, formerly S-TEC Corp., has FAA Organization Designation Authorization for STC projects. As part of ODA, the FAA delegates an organization the authority to perform its own certifications. This designation is the second such for a Cobham business unit; in 2008, Chelton Flight Systems, now also known as Cobham Avionics, was certified for ODA.
The Aircraft Electronics Association believes that the FAA potential rulemaking requiring repair stations, air carriers and manufacturers to develop and implement safety management systems (SMS) is imposing a significant additional burden without any financial, administration or administrative benefit to AEA members. The association is encouraging its members and the aviation industry to respond in that tenor to the FAA call for public comments. Read the AEA regulatory update and commentary at the association’s Web site. The comment deadline is Oct. 21, 2009.
Amid a round of layoffs at Cirrus Aircraft, the company confirmed that co-founder Alan Klapmeier was no longer involved with the company. Klapmeier had not come to terms with Cirrus on a plan to acquire the Cirrus Vision Jet program, and he left when his contract as board chairman expired in August.
That photograph on your driver’s license is probably your least favorite likeness, but the chances are it never affected you the way Joshua Doyle’s did. His driver’s license portrait changed his life.
Peter Smales, a former executive director of group sales and managing director (Europe) for ExecuJet, has returned to the United Kingdom to head a new business sales and services company, Indigo Lyon, which is headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. The privately owned, limited liability company will specialize in international sales of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and also be involved in spare parts brokerage, consultancy, program planning and execution management.
What does “current” mean when you are dealing with aircraft maintenance? There’s more than one definition, since the correct response depends on whether you are maintaining an aircraft under FAR Part 91, 121 or 135.
College Park (Md.) Airport, the country’s oldest continually running airport, turns 100 on Oct. 8. The airport was created in 1909 when the Wright brothers, who had been contracted to provide training for U.S. Army officers to fly their military flyer, selected as their training field a site near College Park, home of the Maryland Agricultural College, now the University of Maryland, in College Park.
General Dynamics, Savannah, Ga., named Richard McMillion general manager of the General Dymanics Aviation Services facility at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, replacing Brian Waymire, who has returned to Gulfstream headquarters in Savannah.
