By the time readers get to see these words, resale values for the Eclipse 500 could be on the rebound. Barring delays in U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceedings, Eclipse Aerospace or another more qualified bidder should own the assets of insolvent Eclipse Aviation by the end of August.
Because Gulfstream services 70 percent of the active aircraft it has delivered, the company believes it can detect trends in operations earlier and more accurately than other forecasters. “We can see upticks in flight hours ahead of others,” Robert N. Baugniet, Gulfstream senior manager for corporate communications, said in August.
U.S. air traffic controllers are operating under new procedures for reporting operational errors that omits a controller’s identity in error reports sent to FAA headquarters. The FAA says the new procedure allows it to move away from its blame-and-punishment culture and focus on identifying and remedying safety issues. The controller would face disciplinary action and retraining only when necessary.
Naverus, Inc. has introduced a custom RNP Availability Forecast Service (NRAFS) solution for aircraft operators who wish to take advantage of Required Navigation Performance (RNP). The new service provides worldwide RNP availability forecasting specifically tailored to the equipment on board the operator’s aircraft. NRAFS integrates and correlates the dynamic configuration of the GPS satellite constellation at any given time with terrain features, known satellite outages, specifications of equipment on the aircraft and RNP requirements.
New Piper Aircraft CEO Kevin Gould mapped out a long-term, two-pronged growth strategy for the company during an interview with BCA Senior Editor Fred George at Oshkosh. He plans to develop the PiperJet to provide piston-engine and single-engine turboprop owners with a move-up airplane while continuing to upgrade Piper’s existing product line. He also wants to expand Piper’s global presence.
StandardAero received STC Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) at its Springfield, Ill., location from the FAA’s Chicago Aircraft Certification Office — the first such designation by that office. ODA designation enables StandardAero to approve design data, tests and analysis as well as make findings of regulatory compliance allowing it to sign an STC for aircraft alterations on behalf of the FAA.
Ocean Sky Jet Centre has opened a new FBO at London’s Luton Airport, open 24-hours for arrivals and departures. The company says it is in advanced negotiations to have its own on-site customs and immigration officer — a first for Luton. In recent years Luton has been underutilized by transatlantic flyers due to limited capacity and, to a certain extent, congested road links to central London.
The “five-engine” Boeing 707 has a spare engine in Boeing’s optional Pod-Pak under the left wing. Qantas, whose airplane is shown, is one of nine airlines that will use Pod-Paks to do away with large stocks of spare engines at any but major airports.
Avitat Abu Dhabi, operated by Royal Jet and located at Abu Dhabi International Airport, is positioned just minutes from the Yas Island Circuit, which is holding the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. According to the, visitors will be able to choose limousine or helicopter transfer to Yas Island. For those flying into Dubai (DXB), Royal Jet/Avitat Abu Dhabi is an alternative for guests to easily transfer by helicopter. Avitat Abu Dhabi www.royaljetgroup.com
Don Bernier (Flight Department Manager/Chief PilotWinner Aviation Corp.Vienna, OH)
Thanks so much for the July issue loaded with pro-flight department articles. Your magazine is always priority one in my mailbox and I always pass it on; many more readers could benefit from the resources of Business & Commercial Aviation.
CRS Jet Spares has procured a large inventory consisting of factory new airframe and structural material for all Gulfstream II and III aircraft. The inventory was purchased directly from Gulfstream Aerospace and is fully traceable to the OEM with all necessary documentation. The inventory includes structural and airframe parts such as doublers, cowlings, leading and trailing edges, panel assemblies, skins, frames, stringers, wire bundles, among other parts. Price: Varies CRS Jet Spares 6701 N.W. 12th Ave.
The U.S. Air Force has signed a letter contract to lease three Bombardier BD-700 Global Express business jets from Northrop Grumman for use as platforms for the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN). This includes one demonstrator aircraft already deployed operationally since December 2008. Northrop was awarded an 18-month, $276 million contract in June to install the communications payload on two additional jets as a short-term solution while it equips two RQ-4B Block 20 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft to be fielded in fiscal 2011.Graham Warwick
King Aerospace, Addison, Texas, has reorganized its commercial aircraft operations and appointed Jim Thompson as general manager and Buddy Tobin as senior project manager.
The FAA is reassessing its plans for a proposed rulemaking addressing the operation of very light jets in FAR Part 135 operations that was based in part on the recommendations of the Part 125/135 Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). The proposal would have covered crew, equipment, training and dispatch requirements for the use of VLJs in on-demand or air taxi service.
Joe Carfagna and Paul Palminteri never waste a good aviation trade show if they can help it. Carfagna is chairman of the board at Leading Edge Aviation Services, an aviation consulting firm in Parsippany, N.J., and Palminteri is vice president of aircraft sales. But both are life-long devotees of The Road — as only a motorcycle can reveal it.
The Dassault Falcon 7X has been FAA approved for steep approaches with glide paths up to six degrees, allowing U.S.-based Falcon 7X operators to fly into London City Airport (LCY) and Lugano Switzerland (LUG) as well as other airports requiring approach slopes steeper than three degrees. Dassault notes that with its 5,950-nm range, the Falcon 7X can fly from New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, São Paulo, Cape Town or Tokyo nonstop, landing on LCY’s 4,327-foot runway with eight passengers and NBAA IFR fuel reserves.
A misplaced decimal was the cause of a number of errors on page 65 of the 2009 Operations Planning Guide On the 300-nm mission costs for the Piaggio Avanti II the 0+53 Flight Time was mistakenly converted to 8.833 hours, not the correct 0.8833 hours. This error caused a tenfold error in the Direct Cost and the Per-Mile Cost. The Direct Cost should have been $630.49 and the Per-Mile Cost should have been $2.10
Sales figures developed by AMSTAT and distributed by the National Aircraft Resale Association indicate that the market for previously owned, turbine-powered business airplanes improved during the second quarter, raising hopes that the industry has already experienced the worst of the current downturn.
The NTSB has listed “Reduce Accidents and Incidents Caused by Human Fatigue” on its “Most Wanted” list for nearly 20 years now and wants the FAA to “set working hour limits for flight crews, aviation mechanics and air traffic controllers based on fatigue research, circadian rhythms, and sleep and rest requirements and to develop a fatigue awareness and countermeasures program for air traffic controllers.” Recent accidents have once again brought attention to the matter of human fatigue as a factor, along with a call for action.
The NTSB continues its campaign against pilot fatigue with an extensively detailed and footnoted Recommendation Letter to the FAA calling for, among other things: modifying the Application for Airman Medical Certificate to elicit specific information about any previous diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea and about the presence of specific risk factors for that disorder (A-09-61); and implementing a program to identify pilots at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea and require that those pilots provide evidence through the medical certification process of having been appr
Carl Dietrich CEO and CTO, Terrafugia, Inc., Woburn, Mass. A private pilot at 17, Dietrich pursued his aviation passion in a rigorous intellectual way by winning entry to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. There he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and then went on to gain a Ph.D. He was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for Innovation, and worked at the university, spending a total of a dozen years there before cofounding Terrafugia with four other MIT grads who are also pilots.
American Eurocopter cut the ribbon for a new, state-of-the-art Customer Service and Fleet Operations Center (CSFC) during the company’s 40th anniversary celebration at its Grand Prairie, Texas, headquarters in July. The CFSC will be linked to facilities in Europe and Asia, providing customers with the global-scale logistics and technical support capabilities of Eurocopter. The company also has ongoing investments in local repair and overhaul capabilities, a growing local supply chain, and an extensive investment in training and simulation services.
July 18 — At approximately 1905 CDT, a 1944 twin-engine Beech TC-45J (N6688), was destroyed during a forced landing after a loss of engine power near Verdel, Neb. The pilot sustained serious injuries and the passenger was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. It was VFR and there was no flight plan filed for the local pleasure flight that originated from the pilot’s private airstrip in Lynch, Neb., at an undetermined time. The airplane came to rest in a clearing and a post-impact fire consumed the fuselage.
Deborah A.P. (Debby) Hersman, a five-year veteran of the NTSB, was sworn in July 28 as the agency’s 12th chairman. Hersman was nominated for the two-year term by President Barack Obama on June 18 and confirmed by the Senate on July 24. She was simultaneously nominated and confirmed for a second five-year term as a board member. She immediately faced her baptism of fire as the public face of the Safety Board after the midair collision of a sightseeing helicopter and a Piper Lance over the Hudson River.
