As a sign of Brazil’s growing importance to business aviation, Jet Aviation, now a General Dynamics subsidiary, is teaming with Tropic Air, a Brazilian charter outfit based in São Paulo and Puerto Seguro.
If you have been tasked with quality control of maintenance logs in your department, pay heed to an Internet-based system for streamlining aircraft record-keeping called Logbook Organizer. Founded by Tim Carr, an experienced inspector and ATP, the company has been straightening out record-keeping since 1994. For a good overview of this comprehensive tool that provides online access with password protection, visit www.lboinc.com and view the PowerPoint presentation.
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a series of clarifications, eagerly awaited by FBOs, to the agency’s Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) final rule released in December 2006 and pushed back the compliance deadline for newer facilities until Nov. 20, 2009. The deadline extension applies to facilities built after Aug. 16, 2002, and the EPA noted that facilities built before that date must already have an SPCC plan in place.
Cessna recently achieved type certification for the Citation Mustang from Transport Canada and the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau, opening the way for deliveries to begin in both countries. As of December the Mustang fleet totaled 130 aircraft and had accumulated more than 19,000 flight hours, with the high-time aircraft logging more than 500 hours. The Mustang is now certified in 51 countries. The six-place jet has a top speed of 340 knots (630 kph), a range of 1,150 nm (2,130 km) with IFR reserves and a service ceiling of 41,000 feet (12,497 meters).
Used business jet inventories were up again in November, “the 10th consecutive month of increases, reaching 12.3 percent of the active fleet, the highest level since our data set began in December 1995,” a JPMorgan analysis said. Inventories were up in all aircraft categories.
On Dec. 8, 2008, Ken Allison’s chain of seven Million Air FBOs announced a switch to Odyssey Aviation, joining with the Nassau, Bahamas, FBO of that name to form a network of eight “FSPs” — flight support partners. No change of ownership or management is involved, said Allison and Steven Kelly, partners in the new enterprise.
EADS Socata is constructing a new industrial center for its Moroccan subsidiary Socaero at Casablanca-Mohammed V International Airport. The 54,000-square-foot facility will house subassembly work for Socata along with the company’s aerostructures customers, including elements for the Airbus A320 and A340, Eurocopter AS 350/355, Dassault Falcon 7X and Socata TBM 850. Socaero, which currently employs 90 workers, opened last year in the Aeropôle zone near Casablanca airport.
The FAA is requiring slot reservations between 0600 and 2259 EST daily for all non-scheduled arrivals and departures at JFK and Newark International airports — even though general aviation is not a factor in congestion at JFK or EWR, according to the NBAA.
A new heliport in Los Angeles to serve both trauma patients and corporate clients was dedicated Dec. 4. The Robert F. Maguire Heliport is situated at 240 West Venice atop the 15-story Grand Avenue Garage, which is owned by Maguire Investments. The new heliport will accommodate EMS helicopters and corporate operators, including rotorcraft flown by Maguire Aviation.
CoGoJets has created a new online, member-based, social networking Web site for business and leisure air travelers to coordinate their itineraries and have the advantage of private jet travel — one seat at a time. Members can negotiate their flight date, time and seats with other members and then collectively book a private jet together and split the expenses based on their pro rata share for the seats they occupy. CoGoJets was offering founding memberships for $500 (an 80-percent discount off the annual membership fee of $2,500).
The NTSB is scheduling a three-day hearing on Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) safety beginning Feb. 3 at the Safety Board’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. Representatives from the FAA and the EMS community, including pilots and medical personnel and managers, will gather to discuss flight operations, aircraft, training and oversight.
Although the business aviation market appears gloomy, Embraer recently released a robust 10-year market forecast. While noting that deliveries are expected to slow in 2010 “with market adjustments in the 2009-2012” period, the Brazilian planemaker said, “long-term sustainable growth is foreseen for the business jet market, due to the return of economic growth, albeit at more conservative levels.” That conservative level, it said, translated into deliveries of 11,880 business jets through 2018.
There is no shortage of Monday morning quarterbacks with opinions about the reasons for the demise of DayJet, the Florida-based air taxi company that ceased operations in September 2008. But DayJet’s business model — the company called it “per-seat, on-demand” — has come in for scrutiny in the aftermath, and if that business model is flawed, as some believe, there may be lessons to be gleaned for the industry.
On Dec. 4, 2008, the FAA issued AD 2008-24-07 which limits the maximum operating altitude of the Eclipse 500 to 37,000 feet due to the potential for accumulation of carbon deposits on the high-pressure turbine inlet guide vanes of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan that can cause engine surging. The problem stems from excessive bleed air being tapped off the engine for cabin heating during prolonged high-altitude cruise, resulting in a richer-than-optimum fuel mixture being burned in the combustor. This can lead to carbon deposits.
October business jet flight operations declined a striking 19.3 percent vs. October 2007 — the 12th straight month of declines and larger than in September 2001 when U.S. airspace was shut down. “Flight operations are down 9.6 percent year to date, and the drop has been double digit each of the last five months,” JPMorgan reported.
That’s in Looosiana, y’all. There’s a roof over 10,000 square feet of lobby and offices, with conference rooms and pilots’ amenities: complimentary beverages, flight planning/weather, lounge, luxury crew vehicles and Wi-Fi Internet connectivity. Lafayette (KLFT) could lay claim to be the capital of Cajun and Creole country, and it’s rated among the highest U.S. cities in restaurants per capita, Million Air says. Pass the crawfish etouffee, please! Call Unicom 122.95.
XOJET has launched its Fleet Exchange Membership Program that enables clients to create a custom solution that provides the best value for their specific needs, including the choice of whether to own an aircraft. Because members only pay for what they actually need, travel costs can be reduced by up to 25 percent, according to the company. To customize the program, XOJET works with each member to assess travel patterns and financial priorities. Considerations include member preferences for aircraft ownership, length of commitment and the number of hours actually needed.
Let’s coin a definition right here: A very small flight department is one that operates from one to three aircraft with as many as five personnel. Arbitrary? Sure it is, and you’re certainly invited to keep reading if you have a couple more aircraft and people. The point is that in a very small setting resources are limited yet the workload is no different from the burden confronting larger organizations. And in this case, pilots are expected to manage the department and also fly the company’s trips. Sometimes it’s hard to focus on one without distractions from the other.
Two businesses of Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp. have announced layoffs resulting from falling demand and a weak economy. Hamilton Sundstrand, a manufacturer of aerospace systems, plans to cut 50 jobs by month’s end and offer early retirement to 370 workers. Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney said in December that it was laying off another 350 people, or about 1 percent of its workforce.
NxtLink, the Iridium satellite communication systems from International Communications Group, now interfaces with Tempus, the remote medical monitoring system from RDT Ltd., a U.K.-based firm specializing in monitoring devices. By following simple instructions, cabin crewmembers who have been trained to employ monitoring systems on patients with acute symptoms such as cardiac arrest can send complete medical data via satellite to medical advisory services while airborne. Data travels via RS232 port, and the system also manages fax and voice communications.
Aircell, Broomfield, Colo., announced that John Wade has joined the company as senior vice president and general manager, Business Aviation Services. Aspen Avionics, Albuquerque, has named Linda Pepper as manager, Customer Services. Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), Alexandria, Va., named Kerin McKinnon, executive vice president of Atlas Travel International, as its U.S. Regional chair responsible for developing the Regional Champion program.
Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT), whose fleet of 24 DHC-6s makes it the largest Twin Otter seaplane operator in the world, is adding a pair of new Viking Series 400 Twin Otters to its stable. The carrier has over a decade of experience operating the type in the Indian Ocean. Viking Air, the Victoria, British Columbia-based manufacturer of the reincarnated aircraft, expects to begin delivery of the type this summer. The float-equipped prototype made its first flight Oct. 1.
A 99-day strike by potash mine workers in Canada could result in a severe shortage of a runway deicing fluid that uses potassium acetate that comes from the mines. The strike ended in November, but manufacturer Cryotech said it would be able to produce only two million to three million gallons of the fluid this winter, compared to nine million last winter. “It is possible that runways may not be able to be maintained to the same level as previous years during winter storms,” the FAA warned in a memo to airlines.
Controllers at Airports Authority of India (AAI) have asked their management to urgently address “major” problems affecting air traffic management that could cause a “serious threat” to air safety, the Press Trust of India reported recently. In a memorandum to AAI Chairman K. Ramalingam, the Airports Authority Officers’ Association (AAOA) asserted that many Indian navaids and surveillance systems were not calibrated properly. “At present, the majority of the navigational equipment in India are not calibrated and they are overdue for calibration.
Thrane & Thrane has received Inmarsat type approval for its Aero-SB Lite system. This approval will enable Aero-SB to take full advantage of the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband service allowing Thrane & Thrane to start the first installation and certification on U.S.-registered aircraft. The system is a total cabin solution that exceeds the ongoing requirement to provide a true office in the sky by harnessing the Internet, VPN, e-mail, fax and telephone in one compact and lightweight package, according to the manufacturer.
