— 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.
B/CA And as promised to all with perfect answers, Capt. Syed M. Husain of Mississauga, Ontario will be receiving a 50th anniversary Business & Commercial Aviation picture frame. Thanks for following our Golden Anniversary coverage, and for your continuing support.
In White Plains, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen kicked off testimony saying, “It is important that we get this right. Overly broad or unnecessary regulations that do not take into account the unique attributes of business aviation will needlessly destroy companies and the jobs they create.” He recommended the creation of a government/industry Aviation Rulemaking Committee similar to that used to create the FAR Part 91K fractional ownership regulations.
The European Parliament voted in December to omit aviation from a revised Emissions Trading “Mother” Directive that would have cost European airlines an estimated €555 million per year.
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.
National Air Transportation Association, Alexandria, Va., selected Eric Wunderlich of NetJets Aviation as chairman of the association’s Environmental Committee. Wunderlich replaces Traver Gruen-Kennedy of DayJet Corp.
— About 1445 CST, a Bombardier CL-600-2B16, N573BA, operated by the Boeing Co., sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on Runway 12 (7,003 feet by 150 feet, asphalt) at the Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Ind. The FAR Part 91 positioning flight departed Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) at 1435 with GYY as the intended destination. During the landing at GYY, the nosewheel of the airplane hit the runway hard and the airplane bounced.
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
Also in trouble is the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) program, jointly funded by the European Commission and Eurocontrol’s 39 member countries. Officially launched Dec. 8 with 15 aviation industry companies standing ready to join, the undertaking’s goal is to squeeze more aircraft into existing airspace. But it’s been abruptly derailed because apparently nobody consulted with Europe’s military entities and the ATC controllers. Europe’s military forces doubt the project’s merits and value. The controller community has multiple concerns.
The 16th annual Aircraft Registry Forum, which will feature sessions on FAA Registry practices and the Cape Town Convention, will take place on Monday, February 9 and Tuesday, February 10 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida. Co-chaired by Frank L. Polk of McAfee & Taft PC and Michael T. Amalfitano, Sr. of Banc of America Leasing, the forum offers presentations by noted experts in aviation law and financing. Besides exploring the key considerations of FAA and Cape Town rules, other sessions offered during the two-day conference include:
— At 1204 UTC, a Piper PA-46T (N403HP) crashed in a wooded area during a visual approach into the Voslau Aerodrome (LOAV), Baden, Austria. The pilot and passenger were killed and the airplane was destroyed. VMC prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot had cancelled his IFR clearance prior to entering the pattern at LOAV. The airplane was on an IFR flight plan from Shoreham-by-Sea Airport, Sussex, England, to LOAV.
Analysts at financial services company UBS Securities LLC estimate that the number of business aircraft available for sale—used airplanes plus new aircraft delivery positions—is equivalent to 16 percent of in-service fleet. Significantly, that inventory increase “continues to be led by ‘young aircraft’ (those less than 10 years in age).” At 16 percent of the in-service fleet, UBS experts say aircraft inventories “are approaching the 17-percent peak of late 2002, with young inventories already well above prior peak levels.”
There are so many helicopters in Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo, that The Guardian newspaper in Manchester, England, has termed it “the real-life South American episode of the ‘Jetsons,’” the 1960s animated send-up of future life.
If you are a corporate pilot, that raise you had been hoping for probably isn’t going to materialize. If you sell aircraft for a living, those “prime prospects” you anticipated signing up . . . six months ago probably are no closer to making a commitment than they were then. If you operate an FBO, you’ve noticed a significant drop in the number of aircraft taxiing across your ramp. If (God forbid) you work for an aircraft manufacturer, you’re probably in the midst of an extended, multiweek, no-pay “vacation.”
The number of previously owned business jets on the market rose to 12.7 percent of the active fleet in December, the third consecutive month that inventories rose to their highest levels since the financial analysts at JPMorgan began tracking such data in December 1995.
In the roughly four decades since oil was discovered there, helicopter operations to service oil and gas exploration and development have proliferated throughout what is now the six countries comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.
Hawker Beechcraft Services opened the initial phase of its newest aircraft maintenance facility at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA) in Mesa, Ariz., Jan. 5. The Mesa facility will serve as the Southwest regional service center for HBS, replacing the Van Nuys, Calif., location that will close March 31. The phase one, newly built 26,000-square-foot hangar was acquired by HBS to accommodate maintenance work. A second 26,000-square-foot hangar plus a 22,000-square-foot shop area will include a lobby and administrative offices.
Col. Michael R. Gallagher, USAF (ret) (Hillsboro, OR)
Great analysis of an accident that never should have happened (“Warm Airplane; Cold, Snowy Ramp,” Cause & Circumstance, January 2009, page 72). You’d think we’d get tired of proving that contaminated airfoils just don’t work as well as clean ones.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, large oil reserves were discovered in the toe of the Arabian Peninsular boot, primarily under Oman and the emirates that, in 1971, were to unite to form the United Arab Emirates. As exploration and development of the oil and gas industry moved offshore, the need for use of helicopters soared and, in 1976, led to the creation of two helicopter companies within the U.A.E. to support the industry — Abu Dhabi Aviation and Aerogulf Services.
RNP 0.3: GPS — either TSO C-129 IFR GPS or TSO C-145/-146 WAAS-enabled GPS IRS — Laser IRS or solid-state AHRS FMS with approved barometric VNAV capability Digital Air Data System Appropriate EFIS displays, including moving map Appropriate, current and validated navigation database RNP ≤0.3 No single point of failure can cause the loss of RNP capability required for approach. Dual GPS Single IRS Dual FMS with approved VNAV capability
Flight Display Systems, Alpharetta, Ga., has hired David Oblinger as general manager. He will oversee the daily manufacturing processes and system of the company. Hillary Davis has been appointed production coordinator, responsible for production scheduling including work order development, and Chris Cayia has been named operations manager, responsible for production work-flow, technical and customer support, and purchasing.
