William Quinn, director of aircraft sales and acquisitions for Cerretani Aviation LLC—the Boulder, Colorado-based aircraft acquisition and sales organization—declared recently, “Certain segments of the market are essentially in what could arguably be characterized as a ‘free fall.’ Inventory levels are rising and values are beginning to erode.” “I think there are three factors that are currently driving the aircraft market—the financial meltdown, public scrutiny of publicly held corporations and a normal market cycle,” explained Quinn.
Emissions trading is not the only pushback against grandiose Eurocontrol plans. In January, more than 100 participants concluded a two-day workshop in Brussels on the impact of expected future European pilot and avionics equipment requirements on business and general aviation and to encourage industry to develop affordable avionics equipment to meet those requirements.
A number of aviation groups expressed concern in late December about a new TSA “Security Directive” (SD) that would dramatically increase the number of people required to undergo background checks, be fingerprinted and meet other standards to qualify them for airport identification badges at hundreds of commercial airports across the country.
At the Atlanta LASP meeting, TSA personnel advised attendees that the proposed rules would not apply to foreign-registered aircraft. “Everyone in attendance was shocked,” said AOPA Vice President of Security Craig Spence. “The fact that foreign-registered aircraft will not be covered is further evidence that the TSA has missed the mark and calls into question any justification for the rule.” Ray Boyd, who owns a jet leasing company in Athens, Ga., asked, “Does the TSA have their head in the sand?” before a crowd of 250 packed into a hotel conference room.
— At 1550 Hawaiian Standard Time, a McDonnell Douglas Helicopter MD 900 (N902AF) sustained minor damage subsequent to the inflight separation of the lower right side vertical stabilizer while landing near Kona, Hawaii. The helicopter is registered to, and operated by Vulcan Aircraft, Inc. It was VFR at the time of the accident. The flight originated offshore at 1520 with a planned destination of Kona. According to a representative of the operator, the lower vertical stabilizer (inplate) separated from its support bracket as the helicopter was landing.
A former squadron-mate and I had lunch last month when he was passing through Atlanta. He brought some pictures of our first West-Pac Cruise aboard the USS Ranger in 1969. We flew the E2 Hawkeye. One of the pictures was a shot of the cockpit. It is truly amazing how far technology in aircraft avionics has come in the past 40 years. The E2-A had round-dial steam gauges, with a single INS that took 30 to 45 minutes to align, plugged into the Ship SINS system. Latitude and longitude were displayed by rows of lights, each 10 digits deep in the center of the pedestal.
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.
EclipseJet Aviation International, a subsidiary of Roel Pieper’s Luxembourg-based ETIRC, was the sole registered bidder for the assets of insolvent Eclipse Aviation at the Jan. 13 deadline for filing intentions to bid in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware. In the absence of qualified competitive bidders, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Walrath, who is handling the Eclipse case, as we go to press is due to hear motions to sell Eclipse’s assets to EclipseJet. ETIRC currently is Eclipse Aviation’s largest shareholder.
— 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.
Proposed Rules Cessna 208 and 208B airplanes — Modify the aileron carry-through cable attachment to the aileron upper quadrant with parts of improved design. Dassault Falcon 50 airplanes — Use a new, repetitive ultrasonic inspection procedure to detect cracking of the stiffeners of the right-hand and left-hand wing lower panels between Ribs 13 and 17. If any cracks are found, repair them.
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.
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.
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.
Ask AS350 AStar operators about their aircraft and they’ll readily tell you they love its smooth ride, roomy cabin and crisp handling, along with its versatility, reliability and rugged airframe. These aircraft take full advantage of composites to both reduce weight and lower maintenance costs. They have three-blade main rotors with hinge-less “Starflex” rotor heads along with fiberglass composite main and tail rotors. The fuselage also uses composite construction for the shell. The substructure, however, is fabricated from aluminum and steel.
A self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, or SCUBA, allows sport divers to spend minutes on end exploring the world beneath the water’s surface, but for Bryan Doxey, the maximum depth for recreational diving — around 130 feet — just isn’t deep enough. An AirMed Beechjet captain, he started diving in San Diego 30 years ago but was away from it for about 20 years before getting back into it a few years ago.
Regional fractional aircraft operator Executive AirShare, based in Kansas City, Mo., announced Jan. 8 that the company will base a Beechcraft King Air C90B at Atlantic Aviation at Wiley Post Airport (PWA) in Bethany, Okla., to serve the Oklahoma City area. Executive AirShare has shareowners in Tulsa, Dallas, Fort Worth, Wichita and Kansas City.
— At about 1607 CST, a Cessna 150F was destroyed upon impact with trees near Palestine, Texas. The airplane was on the ramp area of Palestine Municipal Airport (PSN). The pilot’s statement to the FAA inspector said that he planned on giving his six-year-old granddaughter a flight in the airplane. After the second failed attempt to start the engine, the pilot turned off the ignition and master switches.
As an integral part of its business and general aviation division reorganization in 2008, General Electric Aviation added a business jet component to its existing customer operations center at its Cincinnati headquarters.
— At 1206 EST, an Ercoupe 415-D (N99154) was destroyed during an inflight breakup near Sebring, Fla. VMC prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which departed Avon Park Executive Airport (AVO), Avon Park, Fla., about 1115. According to a friend of the accident pilot, who was also a certificated aircraft mechanic, he and the pilot flew together in the accident airplane immediately prior to the accident flight.
Baynan Air Service, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., appointed Alvie Barron as director North American Sales. He will be responsible for promoting avionics and maintenance departments.
The U.S. business turbine fleet experienced a considerable increase in the number of accidents, fatal accidents and fatalities during 2008 over those experienced in 2007. The combined business jet and turboprop fleet experienced 69 accidents including 24 that resulted in 64 passenger and crew fatalities during routine business operational flights, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. In 2007, the combined fleet experienced 55 accidents, 17 of them fatal, and 51 fatalities, the company reported.
The White House named Lynne Osmus FAA acting administrator effective Jan. 16. Osmus succeeds acting Administrator Robert Sturgell, who tendered his resignation, as expected, in advance of the change in administrations. Osmus is a veteran FAA executive who was senior adviser to Sturgell when he was FAA deputy administrator and served as the FAA liaison with the Obama transition team.
