When I explained the game of “paper, rock, scissors” to my oldest son many years ago, he argued strenuously that paper can’t beat rock. When I learned the game as a kid, the explanation was that the “paper” is sandpaper and it wears down the rock. Anyone who has paged through reams of conflicting interpretations of the FARs knows that paper can wear down anything or anyone. If you operate under Part 91, then the FAR game of paper, rock and scissors, with extensions, goes like this: U.S.
Anthony Brown (Institute for Aerospace Research, NRC Canada)
Central to Fred George’s interesting article on “Advanced Airmanship Training in Jets” (September 2008, page 30) was wake turbulence, for which an airplane can only provide general unusual attitude recovery training. Critical to recovery from wake turbulence upsets are (1) recognition and (2) initial response, neither of which can be taught in an airplane at any sort of useable cost, and one of which — recognition — is an unknown, at least to some extent. However, your simulator might just be equipped with a wake turbulence model that can be used for beneficial training.
Flight departments have to train their people constantly, and until online classrooms became a factor, training meant the department was down one or two people for the duration. Although not all training can be conducted digitally, whatever can be done on line tends to keep people close to their jobs and conserves time.
FAA released new Part 135 Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) guidance to help improve oversight and operational safety, but both the NTSB and the Government Accountability Office said more needs to be done. The national policy guidance, which implements new Operations Specifications for HEMS, was issued in advance of a four-day public hearing that the NTSB held Feb.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority , Washington, D.C., announced that Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has appointed Jack Garson to its board of directors, a 13-member board comprised of appointments by the governors of Maryland and Virginia, the mayor of the District of Columbia and the president of the United States.
Cessna renamed the former Columbia single-piston models in its product line as the 350 Corvalis and 400 Corvalis TT. The Wichita plane-maker originally called the models the Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 after the 2007 acquisition of the assets from Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Co.
The NBAA’s inaugural Light Business Airplane Conference (LBA2009), originally scheduled for San Diego on March 13 and 14, is being merged into the association’s annual convention, scheduled for Oct. 20 to 22 in Orlando. The association cited the lousy economy for its decision. NBAA President Ed Bolen said there will be two days of educational sessions customized for light aircraft operators, including the Cessna Single-Pilot Safety Standdown. Also, the association said exhibitor and attendee pricing will remain unchanged from 2008’s fees.
The December 2008 release of the Brazilian accident investigation report for the 2006 inflight collision of a Gol Linhas Aéreas Boeing 737-800 and an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon sent a disquieting tsunami across the international aviation community.
The former aircraft sales unit of Landmark Aviation has been resurrected as Piedmont Aircraft Co. Tom Mekis, who has long been affiliated with the operation, will head the newly established Piedmont Aircraft as president and CEO. Piedmont was originally part of the 2004 merger of three companies — Piedmont-Hawthorne Aviation, Garrett Aviation Services and Associated Air Center — to form Landmark Aviation.
FAA’s ATC modernization has been on a GAO high risk program list since 1995. The Government Accountability Office put the program on the list because of its record of cost overruns, schedule delays and performance shortfalls and there it languished for 14 years. But on Jan. 22, the agency happily announced that its ATC modernization program had been dropped from the list just two days after new acting Administrator Lynne Osmus took the helm from Robert Sturgell.
At 16, Brandon Gordon is into gaming with his XBox 360, likes hanging with his buddies in his hometown of DeWitt, Mich., and is an unabashed hockey fanatic — he not only talks the game nonstop, but he’s a whiz on blades. In fact, he was the St. John Area Skating Association’s star goalie, and wears his #22 jersey with pride, but not aboard the company jet, which he rides often.
Elliott Aviation, the Moline, Ill.-based business aviation services company, has received FAA certification for an upgraded “elite series” cockpit installation for the Falcon 10/100 aircraft, which features the latest generation of Universal Avionics’ EFI-890R display suite. Elliott originally earned an FAA STC for its elite series cockpit for the Falcon 10/100 in 2005.
Global Jet Services, Inc. has just launched Aircraft Electronics Technician (AET) Course 1-Basic Electronics. The new course will provide technicians with the basic skills necessary to accurately identify basic AC and DC terms, obtain an understanding of circuit theory calculation, troubleshooting, measurement and the function of resistors, among other skills. The interactive Web course enables students to learn at their own pace from any location and gain Inspection Authorization and FAA Awards Program learning credit for eight hours.
I just read Richard Aarons’ October 2008 “Flying by the Numbers” (Cause & Circumstance, page 140). You want to know what I think? Not only do I agree with his belief that the cause of most accidents is a flaw in basic airmanship, I am depressed that current safety trends indicate that nothing will change the basic flaw.
Gama Aviation , Stratford, Conn., announced the appointment of Floriano Bove to the post of manager, client relations, in the company’s Aircraft Management Services Group.
Bombardier Aerospace recently established its first line maintenance facility in Finland and increased capabilities in China and the United States — expanding its global network of authorized service and maintenance facilities for the 12th time in the last 12 months. Jetflite in Helsinki provides AOG assistance to customers throughout Scandinavia.
EADS Socata has appointed Executive Airlines Pty. Ltd. as its sales representative for TBM 850 turboprops in Australia and New Zealand. Executive Airlines, which is based at Mel-bourne-Essendon Airport, also will manage an inventory of TBM spare parts to support the authorized TBM service centers in Australia. Executive Airlines has more than 27 years of business aviation experience. The company provides charter, aircraft management, maintenance, FBO support and consultant services.
Vociferously unfavorable feedback to the LASP proposal seems to have captured the attention of new Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. In one of her first meetings with TSA officials, Napolitano reportedly mentioned the LASP rulemaking and said the department must balance the need for a secure transportation system with “the legitimate impact on consumers.” She stressed that the department must “continue to work and improve.” Stay tuned.
After months of negotiations, Michael Jaffe, the insolvency administrator for Grob Aerospace, has named H3 Aerospace as the buyer of the company’s training aircraft and support businesses. Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany-based H-3 Aerospace is making the purchase through Fortius Mittelstandskapital. Around 100 employees were expected to resume work at Grob’s Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Germany, facility in February. The insolvency administrator said he expects further growth, with the initial 100 returnees just a starting point. The SPn program is expected to survive separately.
The New Year ushered in unprecedented turbulence for the business aviation industry. The market disintegrated in a fashion not experienced since the Great Depression, and National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne contends that the industry has entered a depression. Textron Chairman Lewis Campbell believes that 2009 is staged to become the most challenging year ever for manufacturers.
A Feb. 5 letter to Gale Rossides, acting administrator of the TSA, signed by the presidents of the AOPA, Experimental Aircraft Association, GAMA and the NBAA, said, “. . .
Sierra Industries (Uvalde, Texas) — David M. Welch, a 21-year aviation sales veteran, has joined the sales and marketing staff for this provider of performance enhancement modifications for Cessna Citations. Welch began his career as an aviation researcher for Gantt Aviation and served in aircraft sales posts with West Air and Texas Piper before launching his own start-up aviation sales company and an aircraft sales division for an aero-medical firm.
Seattle-based Raisbeck Engineering has won Brazilian and European Aviation Safety Agency certification of its increased gross weight Epic package for Beechcraft King Air C90s and C90GTs. Brazilian and European operators of these twin turboprops now are able to benefit from a gross weight increase to 10,500 pounds, which provides operators with an extra 400 to 850 pounds of fuel and/or payload. The heavier-weight Epic performance package includes Raisbeck/Hartzell 93-inch quiet turbofan propellers and dual aft-body strakes.
