John H. Winant, NBAA’s longtime, gentlemanly president and a critical player in the evolution of modern business aviation, died Jan. 13 at his retirement home in Williamstown, Mass., nearby to his cherished alma mater, Williams College. He was 85 and had been ill for some time. “John was respected and trusted by aviation professionals, company executives, cabinet secretaries and elected officials. His integrity, knowledge, dedication and gentle nature made him an extraordinarily effective advocate for our community,” said NBAA President Ed Bolen.
Gulfstream Aerospace has put together an EFB its calls PlaneBook and Randy Gaston, vice president of flight operations, recently spoke with Business & Commercial Aviation about its development.
— About 1951 MST, a Beech 58P airplane (C-GGBT) was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a loss of control near Stonewall, Colo. The airplane was registered to and operated by Mauroil International Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Night VMC prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed for the personal flight. The 178-nm cross-country flight originated from Pueblo Memorial Airport, Pueblo, Colo. (PUB) at 1918 with the Santa Fe Municipal Airport (SAF), Santa Fe, N. M., as the intended destination.
On the morning of March 26, 2006, a Bighorn Helicopters AS350D flew four passengers to British Columbia’s South Racehorse Creek weather station, situated 6,300 feet high in the Canadian Rockies. The pilot, by regulation considered “certified and qualified for the flight,” had about 2,460 hours total flight time, almost all of them in helicopters and 170 in type. He had completed a 15-hour mountain flying course, and had about 780 hours of mountain flying experience, a definite necessity because of the terrain in which he operated.
The airplane has been sitting instead of flying. Grounding saves on fuel and other variable costs, but a parked airplane draws the attention of nervous bean counters. Suddenly the fixed expense of the hangar, the airplane loan (and your salary) seem much more costly.
I have read that most fatal auto and motorcycle accidents occur within 20 miles of home. That makes sense — we do most of our driving within 20 miles of home. I suspect that we’d find a similar situation if we looked at single-engine piston aircraft accidents. Most small, general aviation operations begin and end at the home airport.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced a bill to exempt airport bonds and other private activity bonds from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) penalty, a move the airport industry has long supported. The bill, S. 139, is co-sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). The bill would repeal the AMT from interest earned on more than 60 percent of airport bonds.
Dallas Airmotive, BBA Aviation engine repair and overhaul subsidiary, has relocated its Phoenix area Regional Turbine Center from Scottsdale Airpark to a new, larger facility adjacent to Deer Valley Airport in North Phoenix. At 7,500 square feet, the new facility has twice the space of the old one. The Phoenix facility performs OEM-authorized repairs including hot section inspections on Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A and JT15D turbines and repairs and overhauls on Rolls-Royce Model 250 turboshaft engines.
General Electric’s acquisition of Smiths Aerospace in May 2007 marked an expansion from engine building into aircraft systems. No sooner than the ink had dried on the purchase contract, the Cincinnati-based OEM was busy developing a strategy integrating cyber-based aircraft systems with its engine products.
Meanwhile, in a letter to Hawker Beechcraft employees, Chairman and CEO Jim Shuster wrote that the general aviation market has slowed and new orders have fallen off “considerably.” “As we enter 2009, we see the economy continuing to erode and find ourselves facing a highly uncertain and unpredictable business climate,” he continued. “As a result, we are forced to substantially decrease our 2009 production levels and take the painful step of reducing our workforce accordingly.” Shuster took pains to reassure that the company is “extremely healthy” with a solid future.
Who would have believed it? Embraer’s then-president Maurício Botelho convened a press conference at the Corcoran Museum of Art in May 2005 in Washington, D.C., He introduced Luís Carlos Affonso, whom he said would direct the design, development, manufacture and certification of a VLJ and a light jet, the Phenom 100 and 300 — and bring the Phenom 100 into service in 2008. Most of the reporters in the room were taken aback since Embraer was then primarily a builder of airliners.
The NBAA cancelled the February 2009 Hong Kong ABACE event and scaled back its first Light Business Airplane Conference (LBA2009) to a two-day event “to address unprecedented changes in the economy,” the association announced. Originally planned as a three-day conference, LBA2009 will now take place March 13-14 in San Diego. The NBAA reduced LBA2009 attendance fees by 50 percent and exhibitor space fees by 20 percent.
FlightSafety International acquired Glass Mountain Optics Inc. of Austin, Texas, the company announced Jan 9. Glass Mountain Optics is a leading provider of simulation visual display systems and massive industrial optics.
RNP 0.1 through 10 (RNP-“X”) are specified tolerances for allowable deviations from course centerline 95 percent of the time. The smaller the value, the tighter the navigation error tolerance. So, RNP 10 (nm) might work for en route oceanic, while RNP 0.1 (nm) might be required for an instrument approach through the Gatineau Channel to Juneau or down the Potomac River to Reagan National Airport (RNP .11).
The NBAA is taking issue with an NTSB assertion that pneumatic deice boots should be activated immediately upon entering icing conditions. The NTSB has been pushing the FAA to make it a requirement, and added that recommendation to its “Federal Most Wanted List” of safety improvements for 2009. The recommendation was designed to address “a widely held, but incorrect, belief that activation of deice boots be delayed” rather than immediately activated in icing, the Safety Board said.
FAA Reauthorization is a high priority for both House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and aviation subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.). A definitive timetable has not yet been set, but Oberstar said the committee “will be ready to move very early on.” Meanwhile, the committee is getting an infusion of new blood in the 111th Congress. Veteran congressmen Rep. Solomon Ortiz, a 14-term Democrat from Texas, and Rep. Phil Hare, a second-term Democrat from Illinois, have been appointed to it.
Cessna will lay off 2,000 more employees than the 665 it previously planned, company spokesmen Doug Oliver and Bob Stangerone told reporters Jan. 13. The cuts will affect both salaried and hourly employees across the entire company and are expected to be completed in March. As we go to press more details are not forthcoming. In a letter sent to company employees earlier in January, Jack Pelton, Cessna’s chairman, president and CEO, wrote the first half of 2008 was “full of promise,” with orders being signed according to projections.
Your January 2009 Viewpoint (“Without Apology,” page 7) hit it right on the head, but it will be a hard sell to the idiots on the Hill and the great unwashed public. Just this morning in the last panel of the comic “Non Sequitur” in the Arizona Republic, Danah says to her dad, “Too bad we don’t have a corporate jet to sell” after he shows her the newspaper telling of the major newspapers hitting on hard times and her allowance is in jeopardy
— At about 1530 EST, a Beech C23 (N2109W) lost engine power and collided with a tree near Linden Airport (LDJ), Linden, N.Y. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual and was being operated under VFR as a personal flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The pilot stated that he covered the wings of the airplane to prevent a buildup of snow and ice that was forecasted. He said that he arrived at the airport on the afternoon Dec.
