Sierra Industries has delivered its 50th Williams International FJ44-powered Cessna Citation since the Uvalde, Texas-based company won its original FJ44 Eagle II STC to upgrade the light jet’s engines in 2002. The 50th aircraft delivered by Sierra Industries was a Sierra Stallion SP, which features FJ44-2A engines that can be installed in either a Cessna Citation 500 or 501SP.
Sikorsky announced that Polish operator Aircom SP Z.O.O. is the launch customer for the first commercial S-434 helicopter, a four-blade, more-powerful upgrade version of the S-333 single-turbine rotorcraft. Aircom plans to take delivery of its S-434 in 2011.
Gulfstream Aerospace has delivered more than 65 G150 airplanes since its entry into service in late 2005, establishing the new model as a strong contender in the midsize business jet class. Operators say that it delivers a nearly unbeatable blend of price and operating economics, runway and cruise performance, cabin comfort and reliability.
Many in our industry jeered at Brazil’s imprisonment of American ExcelAire pilots after the Sept. 29, 2006, midair collision over the Amazon that killed 154. Many of the same people cheered when the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced arrests and criminal charges in connection with the Feb. 2, 2005, crash of a Challenger at Teterboro. So, why do the same people have different reactions to these two events? Is it OK for our government to arrest people after an accident, but not OK for other governments to do the same thing?
The Heli-Expo show in February confirmed that commercial helicopter demand is facing a down cycle, but a JPMorgan analyst predicted the market appears stronger for helicopters than for business jets. “Unlike the bizjet market, manufacturers on the helo side are not seeing massive demand destruction [yet].” JPMorgan credited market diversity with oil/gas, EMS, law and utility niches holding steady. But it also warned of “red flags. Our conversations clearly suggest to us that we could see a multiyear down cycle,” the analyst said.
AMSTAT marked the fifth anniversary of its acquisition by CAMP Systems. Tinton Falls, N.J.-based AMSTAT provides corporate aviation market and statistical information that generates revenue and delivers competitive advantage to brokers/dealers, finance companies, fractional providers, and suppliers of aircraft parts and services. Since the acquisition the company has substantially increased its range of services and capabilities, including establishing a full-time research presence in the FAA Records building in Oklahoma City. CAMP Systems International, Inc.
Era Systems Corp. has been on a winning streak with awards to team to install ADS-B-based surface surveillance systems at Estonia’s Tallinn Airport and three airports in Turkey: Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Antalya Airport and Esenboga International Airport in Ankara. The efforts will center on Era’s surface surveillance technology featuring its MSS surveillance system and Squid vehicle tracking units.” In addition, Era has been selected by Airports Fiji Ltd.
Landmark cut the ribbon on its newly renovated and expanded executive terminal at White Plains, N.Y., in December 2008, opening the doors on a 23,208-square-foot facility that features executive conference rooms and lounges, with a galley and snooze room for pilots. The company invested $5.4 million in the facility overhaul and expansion.
Two safety experts interviewed by Business & Commercial Aviation for this report provided some operational examples that can be addressed by safety management systems. Ray Rohr, director, regulatory affairs, International Business Aviation Council — “The example I like to use is fatigue. You can put down hard hours to fly, which might work for the airlines but not charter; however, with an SMS, you can have performance-based rules that provide a safety objective and a process for the operator to meet it.
— At 1336 EST, a Piper PA34-200T (N8047C) was destroyed when it struck high-tension power lines and collided with terrain while maneuvering for landing at the Huntington Tri-State Airport (HTS), Huntington, W.Va. The private pilot, a student pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. IFR conditions prevailed,; however, no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Lake in the Hills Airport (3CK), Lake in the Hills, Ill., about 1000.According to a friend of the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to look at airplanes for sale at Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
Sky Wings, a Greek charter operator and partner of Khors Air Co. of the Ukraine, has successfully completed installation of its first Aviation Fleet Solutions (AFS) QuietEagle noise-reduction system on one of its Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200-powered Boeing MD83s. The installation was accomplished during a routine maintenance check at the MNG Technic service facility in Istanbul, Turkey. Sky Wings/Khors Air Co. has ordered three QuietEagle kits.
India’s economic boom and surging export market are causing commercial airline traffic to soar, especially with India’s proliferation of low-fare air carriers. At the same time, dozens of business aircraft operators now have the need to visit one or more cities in the subcontinent regularly. They’re finding that many of the country’s airports, air traffic control facilities and airways are overtaxed.
The NBAA has a great resource for hangar safety compliance that includes OSHA checklists and guidance for developing an effective safety program — www.nbaa.org/ops/safety/hangar. In addition to safety resources, the NBAA offers guidance for developing your procedures manual and implementing effective management programs.
A footnote on page 129 of the fiscal 2010 U.S. budget overview calls for “repealing some aviation excise taxes and replacing these taxes with direct user charges,” beginning in 2011. The budget did not provide specifics, but the charges would appear to raise about $7 billion, the same amount sought by the Bush administration user-fee proposal. This has drawn strong reactions from industry associations and congressional legislators.
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works also has a composite project with interesting implications for business jet makers. The Skunk Works expects to conduct the first flight of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA) X-plane demonstrator by June. The ACCA is a heavily modified Dornier 328JET, which operates in both regional airliner and business jet applications, with a composite cargo fuselage and vertical tail fabricated using low-cost “out-of-autoclave” bonding techniques.
“Jet sales are no longer in a cool-down mode. This industry has been pickled,” declared Carl Janssens, author of the Aircraft Bluebook’s Marketline newsletter. Values for virtually all jets and turboprops are declining or, at best, stable, according to the spring 2009 edition of the publication.
The EAA appointed Tom Poberezny chairman of the board. The EAA’s founder and previous chairman of the board, Paul Poberezny, 87, had earlier stepped down as chairman. The younger Poberezny will continue with his current duties as president while assuming the chairman’s role and leading a succession initiative to replace himself as president. After joining the organization, the EAA’s new president will assume responsibility for day-to-day operations and will focus on enhancing membership value and growth.
Michael Garvey, son of the editor of this magazine, flies a helicopter for the U.S. Coast Guard out of a base in Alaska and knows all about operations in low visibility. NVGs are a routine part of his life, and the USCG has extensive experience with the devices.
At the Feb. 27 deadline for submitting comments on the docket for the TSA’s NPRM that applies airline security procedures to all aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more and airports they use, the agency had received over 4,800 comments, virtually unanimously opposed to the proposed program -- the largest outpouring of opposition to any proposal or action the agency has seen since its founding in 2003. GAMA (24 pages), the NBAA (30 pages) and AOPA (48 pages) submitted their comments on Feb. 27.
True to its word, Bombardier is maintaining its commitment to the all-composite Learjet 85. Since announcing in September 2008 it was dropping composite-expert Grob from the program, Bombardier has brought the project completely in-house — transferring detail design, structural certification, prototype manufacture and initial production from the German firm to its own plants and even starting from scratch with a different composite lay-up process.
With only the Pacific Ocean portion to be completed, Inmarsat finally moved its third I-4 satellite into its assigned permanent geosynchronous station, thereby establishing exclusive broadband mobile communications coverage around the world. The final move completed a complex ballet of satellite movements as the three newest generation satellites entered service in stages without interruption to voice and data traffic as well as safety of flight services.
In March, the FAA reassured Eclipse EA500 operators, at least for the time being, that it is not grounding the aircraft in the wake of Eclipse Aviation’s Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy. All Eclipse operations including certification, production, service centers, training centers and dealers are shut down. Initially it was thought that ETIRC Aviation, Eclipse Aviation’s largest shareholder, would bring the OEM out of bankruptcy and restart operations, but it is evidently unable to come up with necessary financing — sparking creditors to demand liquidation.
Canada is currently the only country in the world that requires noncommercial operators of turbine-powered aircraft to be certificated and periodically audited for safety compliance. Further distinguishing the Private Operator Certificate program is the fact that the Canadian DOT (or “Transport Canada”) has deeded its administration entirely over to the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) as a means of saving the government money and resources.
Russ Lawton at the Air Charter Safety Foundation has two favorite risk management authors from whom he likes to quote. Here’s Lawton, citing some quotes from one and considering some thoughts from the other.
Decades ago, the hangar was a much more dangerous place than it is today. Safety equipment was a set of hearing protectors, and it was not uncommon to see a technician wobbling precariously from a too-short ladder or perched precariously on the top of the fuseage. Technicians would routinely crawl into fuel bunkers, or hell holes with open containers of solvent and oily rags. Back then this wasn’t considered risky, just part of the job description.
