The first delivery of a Sierra Industries’ Super II took place in November with an inaugural nonstop flight from San Antonio to Northern California. After climbing straight to FL 430 in 27 minutes at maximum takeoff weight, the flight arrived in California with 1.5 hours of fuel still remaining, despite a 50-knot headwind. General Manager Steve Guzek of San Antonio-based FlighTime Business Jets stated that the Sierra Super II will join their fleet of managed and charter aircraft.
Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Switzerland have joined in the Functional Airspace Block Europe Central (FABEC). The grouping is by far Europe’s largest and most complicated owing to its high air traffic density since it includes Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris. Europe is creating nine such blocks, which should be operational by 2012, in an effort to streamline air traffic management operations short of creating a single European sky. The FABEC agreement comes with a commitment from associated air navigation service providers to cooperate.
It was a late August afternoon and we’d gathered at the Y for the summer day camp awards ceremony. There were medals for loudest laughter, most hot dogs downed, grubbiest T-shirt. The awards were always good, silly fun. Most of the camp kids were locals, like me. That made it tough for outsiders, and there were always a few. One I remember well was a quiet, gawky kid, unsure of himself, and always just outside the circle. He was nice enough, though, and happy to talk whenever anyone bothered.
Noting that terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the attacks on the bus and subway system in London happened shortly after new administrations came into power, the AOPA is urging pilots to report any suspicious activity around airports. “This is a time for all Americans to exercise heightened vigilance,” said Craig Spence, AOPA vice president of security. “General aviation pilots already have a program in place that they can follow — AOPA’s Airport Watch” (www.aopa.org).
Control Vision Corp.’s ATC is a special version of the HP iPAQ 310. It’s convenient and capable, including among its talents the patented “cones of safety” glide calculator, high-resolution terrain, flight planning, and obstacle and terrain warnings. Options include XM Weather and Pocket Plates approach plates that provide the features and safety margin available on modern panel-mounted units.
The National Aircraft Resale Association plans to hold its 2009 spring meeting from April 30 through May 2 at the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio. Individuals interested in making hotel reservations can call (800) 228-3000 and ask for the NARA discount rate of $239 (single or double occupancy). For more information on the hotel, visit www.westinlacantera.com. A meeting agenda is to be released shortly.
— A Cessna 170B (N8387N), sustained substantial damage following a forced landing in mountainous terrain about 12 nm northwest of Hanna, Utah. The pilot and one passenger sustained serious injuries, the second passenger died. The VFR flight departed Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, about 0930. Its destination was reported to be Colorado Springs, Colo.
It’s a changing world, says BA-MEETUP’s creator and conference chairman, Bud Slabbaert, and at the Hilton in Lyon, France, on March 18-20, Europe’s business aviation community will meet the changes head on. Billed as “The first business aviation joint conference for schedulers, dispatchers, pilots, operators, FBOs, executive handling agents, business airports and international service providers in Europe and the Middle East,” the conference will offer 20 break-out sessions in four streams of parallel sessions over two days.
There’s nothing like a spike in the cost of aviation fuel to prompt resurrection of long-dormant aircraft engine technologies. The recent historic price increases for avgas and Jet-A, along with the environmentally unsustainable prospect of continuing to burn fossil fuels indefinitely, has aircraft engine manufacturers looking at a range of alternative fuel and powerplant options — from open-rotor engines and geared turbofans to synthetic and bio-based fuels.
Preferred Jet Center owner Larry Thompson flew the first takeoff and landing from the Marietta, Ga., airport’s newly paved 6,305-foot runway (originally lengthened in 2006), now widened to 100 feet. The project, which experienced weather delays, was started last June, and in addition to the enlarging of the runway, new high-intensity lighting and improved drainage were added. Preferred Jet says the runway becomes one of the largest in the greater Atlanta metro area.
It’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere and, thus, an appropriate time to climb into the AFM and review the manufacturer’s recommendations concerning all categories of frozen precip in all operational phases. This exercise is particularly important for turbine aircraft operators because the manufacturers have been publishing new recommendations for 6dealing with flight surface contamination. (You might want to double check the AFM revision list to be sure you’ve got the latest information. The OEM or any of the major training facilities can help you out.)
A draft final report by Brazilian Air Force investigators released Dec. 10, on the Sept. 29, 2006 in-flight collision over the Amazon of an Embraer Legacy 600 owned by ExcelAire of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., and a GOL Boeing 737, placed the blame for the accident, which killed all 154 persons aboard the Boeing, on U.S. Legacy pilots Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino and Brazilian air traffic controllers.
The 2009 inductees are: Charles Luttman (1908-2001) made outstanding contributions to the formation of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute. Thomas Lamb (1898-1969) founded Lamb Airways in 1935 and contributed significantly to the exploration and development of the northern regions of Manitoba and the Arctic. Barry Marsden cofounded Conair Aviation, Inc. in Abbotsford, B.C., in 1969, becoming president and CEO in 1991.
Fred Reid, president of Richardson, Texas-based Flexjet told the Dallas Morning News in December that even though fractional jet ownership is “a better business model than any airline,” the economic downturn is hurting the business. “Some people are exiting the private aviation fractional ownership or branded card solution to go to retail charter, which is less reliable and slightly less expensive,” he says. “Some are going back to commercial.” But in the long term, he insists, “It’s a very vibrant business model.
Ole Henriksen (Virtual Flight Surgeons, Inc.), Guernsey, British Channel Islands (Virtual Flight Surgeons, Inc.)
Richard Aarons ended his October Cause & Circumstance (“Flying by the Numbers,” page 140) with an invitation to readers to let him know what they think, and since this is a subject close to my own heart, I will. First a few words on my background: UK PPL 1989; IR 1991; US ATP (MEL) 2001; 3,500 hours total in worldwide operations, mainly in Aero Commanders. I was director of the European Association for Instrument Rated GA Pilots (PPL/IR Europe, www.pplir.org) until retiring from flying in 2006 due to the escalating demands on general aviation in Europe.
Like many Atlantic storms during the hurricane season of 2008, Tropical Storm Fay began as a wave off the Cape Verde Islands on Africa’s west coast. Steered by winds, it moved slowly westward across the Atlantic Ocean but never seemed to develop circulation or convection. Fay would become infamous for its meandering course, taking it back and forth across Florida like a windshield wiper. It would be the only storm in history to make landfall on Florida four times.
The first Avro Business Jet (ABJ) fitted with a corporate interior has been completed by Inflite Engineering, a business aircraft completion and service provider based at London-Stansted Airport.
The number of previously owned business jets on the market rose to 12.3 percent of the active fleet in November 2008, the highest level since the financial analysts at JPMorgan began tracking such data in December 1995. The December edition of the company’s Business Jet Monthly report noted that the number of used jets for sale climbed 90 basis points in November, the 10th consecutive month that the inventory increased.
We were a cocky bunch of young Naval aviators, and maybe even a bit more so than our predecessors since we had the extra distinction of being jet fighter pilots, something relatively new to the U.S. Navy in 1952. Like every other Pensacola fledgling back then, I learned the fundamentals in radial-powered SNJs, and then tried catching the three-wire on the old USS Cabot, steaming in the Gulf. After making the fighter track, I was suddenly screaming across the flat, pine-covered landscape, first in F6F Hellcats and then in early F9F Panther jets.
Jet Aviation Basel has completed a seven-month project to build a 35,520-square-foot hangar extension to accommodate Jet’s Dassault Falcon completions lines. Jet Aviation provides completions for the Falcon 2000, 900 and 7X. The company said the additional space not only will help increase production, but also free up space in the other hangars in Basel. Jet Aviation Basel encompasses more than 875,000-square feet of hangar space and has in-house design and engineering departments, along with on-site cabinetry, upholstery, fiberglass and paint shops.
— A Cessna 170B (N8387N), sustained substantial damage following a forced landing in mountainous terrain about 12 nm northwest of Hanna, Utah. The pilot and one passenger sustained serious injuries, the second passenger died. The VFR flight departed Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, about 0930. Its destination was reported to be Colorado Springs, Colo.
AFTER SPEAKING AT A RECENT SEMINAR, I was handed a note that stated the following: “We operate improperly as a flight department company. Following the session, I called our company president, and suggested that we might want to change. His response was ‘Who cares?’ Are there any actual cases of pilot enforcement actions, insurance denials or fines as a result of an illegal structure?” I often hear from pilots who say their company is violating FARs and/or insurance restrictions, but the boss simply shrugs it off. Mistake.
As Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport was a week away from closing, ExecuJet Europe opened a redesigned and expanded facility at Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport. The company said its upgraded facility, with two floors and 400 square meters (4,300 square feet), represents an investment of €400,000. Included in the amenities are a crew lounge, operations brieifing room, conference rooms and VIP passenger lounges, with wireless Internet access throughout. The expansion, which began in April, was completed at the end of October.
2009 Jan. 11-15: American Association of Airport Executives 23rd Annual Aviation Issues Conference, Kona, Hawaii. (703) 824-0500. www.aaae.org Feb. 11-12: Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) Forum 2009, Hong Kong. www.nbaa.org Feb. 18-19: NBAA Leadership Conference, Doubletree Hotel, New Orleans. www.nbaa.org March 6-7: PAMA 2009 Aviation Maintenance & Management Symposium, American Airlines Training and Conference Center, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. www.pama.org
— At 2145 CST, Sky North Air Flight 683, a Beech A100 King Air (C-FSNA), collided with trees and terrain shortly after takeoff from God’s Lake Narrows Airport (CYGO), Manitoba, Canada. The air ambulance flight was en route to Thompson Municipal Airport (CYTH), Thompson, Manitoba. The aircraft was destroyed during a post-impact fire. The three crewmembers and two passengers sustained minor injuries. It was night VFR when the accident occurred.
