With more than half of sales headed overseas, business aviation OEMs are rightfully adjusting their sights on customer support to better match service facilities to the locations of their customers. In a down market, it seems to make more business sense to ally with a proven performer than to build your own service center from the ground up, and that’s just what’s happening.
Personnel costs represent captain and first officer salaries not including benefits. The figures are based on a nationwide average of quotes taken from aircraft operators.
Decades ago, as a young maintainer I could not wait to start working on real aircraft. I imagined that I would be working on sophisticated aircraft systems, changing components or, better yet, troubleshooting mysterious malfunctions and solving them with my advanced technical skill. Like most technicians, I was more than a little bit disappointed when I was handed a spray bottle with water and a piece of cloth and told to start cleaning the bugs off the cockpit windows.
The AOPA has expressed concern over the FAA’s push to extinguish all existing “through-the-fence” access at public-use airports involving homes and businesses on private property that have access to airport taxiways or runways. The AOPA says the problem is of particular concern in the Northwest where the FAA is conducting an inventory of airports that have existing through-the-fence operations and is pressuring airport sponsors to eventually eliminate that access.
Jet-A and AvgasPer Gallon Fuel PricesJuly 2009 Jet-A and AvgasPer Gallon Fuel PricesJuly 2009 Jet-A Region High Low Average Eastern $7.06 $3.10 $4.98 New England $5.25 $3.44
In remarks to FAA employees at his first town-hall meeting in late June, newly appointed FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, addressing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), said, “We need to make it work. People are not going to continue to buy equipment they can’t use.” He committed to having a “substantial” NextGen plan by the end of the summer. He struck the same note in testimony, that same week, before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation.
Flying Musicians Association, Inc., has been formed by two pilot/musicians, John Zapp and Aileen Hummel, with the goal of encouraging, promoting, educating and supporting music and flying. The group feels that by flying around the country and visiting music programs they can expose young people to the thrill and fascination of aviation. The first Fly-In Musicfest is scheduled for Nov. 6-8 at the Fort Worth Springs Airport (KFWS), Fort Worth, Texas. Flying Musicians P.O. Box 2201 Grapevine, TX (817) 501-3641
Embraer has selected Starlink Aviation to be its first authorized service center in Canada for its Phenom executive jets. The company is headquartered at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, in Quebec, offering Phenom owners aircraft maintenance and FBO services, as well as aircraft charter management.
Especially in today’s volatile market, Rick Engles believes it is critical that aircraft brokers clearly communicate to prospective airplane sellers what the true value of their aircraft is.
Looking for help with your foggy or scratched windows? Check out the NBAA’s Products and Services Directory to locate outfits that specialize in aircraft window repair and replacement. First, access the Web site at http://data.nbaa.org/prodsvcs/directory/search.cfm, and then from the pull-down Categories menu select Window/Windscreen Repair.
Jake Cartwright believes that an elimination of depreciation and laying on of more government taxing mechanisms could be the death knell for what he calls the “marginal” aircraft owner.
The White House in June nominated Christopher A. Hart for a second term on the NTSB. According to the NTSB roster of former members, he previously served on the Safety Board from 1990-1993. Since then he has held a senior safety oversight role at the FAA. Hart is a pilot with commercial, multiengine and instrument ratings. He is an attorney and has earned engineering degrees.
Your article on making the flight department’s case by engaging company management and staff (“Enhancing Flight Department Relevance,” July, page 49) makes sense and $.
Gulfstream Aerospace recently received Type Certificate Validation from Transport Canada for the Gulfstream G550, G500, G450, G350 and GV, the company announced July 13. These aircraft join seven other Gulfstream models already certified for Canadian registration — the G200, G150, G100, GIV, GIII, GIIB and GII. The new certifications mean operators can now register any in-production Gulfstream aircraft in Canada.
Hawker Beechcraft has appointed Aeronautics Limited as a sales representative for England, Scotland and Wales. Aeronautics Limited will market and sell both new and used current-production Hawker and Beechcraft airplanes. Based at Kemble Airport in the United Kingdom, Aeronautics Limited specializes in corporate aircraft sales, acquisition, brokerage, management and operations.
The AOPA’s Aviation eBrief says both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are backing an FAA reauthorization bill introduced in mid-July that would accelerate NextGen implementation. The bill would require satellite-based ATC at the 35 busiest U.S. airports by 2014, with the rest of the country coming online by 2018 with $40 billion in funding through 2011 but with out-year system funding unspecified, postponing the tough decisions until 2011, AOPA states as we go to press.
The FAA has issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) on safely extinguishing fires caused by disposable lithium and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, as found in personal electronic devices carried by both aircraft crew and passengers. The SAFO also stresses the need to cool the batteries to prevent thermal runaway and re-ignition. A link to related FAA training videos is also provided in the SAFO. The NBAA has a copy of the SAFO on its Web site www.nbaa.org.
In the United States, depreciation is a method of tax deferral allowed by the Internal Revenue Service to enable businesses to accelerate deductions when purchasing high-priced capital assets, such as production machinery, highway vehicles, ships or aircraft used in business contexts. Its overriding intention is to encourage — or at least facilitate — the purchase of capital equipment, as this is seen as a stimulus to the larger economy.
International Communications Group (ICG) developed an interface between its NxtMail Server and Cobham’s SDU-7300 Swift 65 and SDU-320 Swift Broadband Satcom systems, which will enable up to eight on-board Wi-Fi devices to simultaneously access on-board services provided by the Inmarsat high-speed data channel. ICG said the integration of its NxtMail Service with the Cobham SDUs expands the platforms for ICG products, since NxtMail now can be configured to connect to both Inmarsat and Iridium systems.
New Zealand-based aircraft tracking company spidertracks has launched spiderwatch, a flight following component that actively watches over every flight. The company is positioning the system as an alternative to ELTs. Spiderwatch is automatically turned on when the aircraft accelerates through 40 knots. This tells the system to “actively monitor the flight. If the spider tracking device loses power, the system loses contact with the spider, triggering text and e-mail alerts to be automatically sent to recipients designated by the user.
The two areas of expenses shown here are based on national average annual costs reported by flight departments compiled and analyzed by ARG/US. The figures shown in each cost area are broken down by the six aircraft categories and will be the same for all aircraft of a particular category.
Used business jet inventories continue to show signs of stabilization, according to the latest reports from two analysts. Inventories tracked by UBS dropped 2 percent in June after sequential increases in each of the prior 18 months; meanwhile, J.P. Morgan found inventory relatively flat. But both analysts continue to point to troubling indicators. “Despite the decline this time, available inventories are still 48 percent higher from the prior year and represent 17 percent of the installed base,” UBS said. J.P.
Honeywell’s Avionics Protection Plan offers the following: full coverage exchange and/or repair service for Honeywell-installed equipment that fails to perform under normal use and service. Customers can receive an exchange through the Exchange/ Rental Program or repair of any product by Honeywell or an authorized dealer. No-charge loaners are available while a unit is under repair at one of Honeywell’s Worldwide Support Centers. Normal air freight shipping costs both ways within North America or internationally, within the country of origin, are covered.
The “Single-Pilot Question” sidebar to “The Why and When Behind Loss of Control” says “Five of the 59 fatal Loss of Control (LOC) business jet accidents between 1991 and 2007 involved single-pilot operations” (May, page 61). It then goes on to quote a Citation study that says the single-pilot accident rate is 2.7 times greater than that of two-pilot Citations. And fatal rates are 3.7 times greater.
