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.
For well under $15 million, you can buy a first-generation Gulfstream IV that can fly eight passengers 4,150 nm at 0.80 Mach and land with 200-nm NBAA IFR reserves. This veteran flagship of the Business Week 100 fleet introduced business aircraft operators to dozens of innovative features when serial number 1000 first entered service in 1987, including high bypass ratio Rolls-Royce Tay turbofan engines with a greatly reduced noise signature, a virtually all-glass cockpit and brake-by-wire (BBW).
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.
French and Portuguese partners have developed a satellite-based system for managing airport ground traffic. Funded by Eureka, an intergovernmental initiative designed to spur European competitiveness, the “Safedrive” project uses signals from EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, satellite system to provide position information to vehicle drivers and airport authorities.
Embraer’s Phenom 100, Brazil’s first purpose-built business jet, won certification Dec. 9 from Brazil’s ANAC and U.S. FAA certification on Dec. 12. FAA published special certification conditions in the Federal Register Nov. 28 but is not holding up certification waiting for comments. Those special conditions, according to the FAA, resulted from the fact that the entry-level jet had some “novel or unusual design features” not envisioned in Part 23.
At a Dec. 5 online press conference, Cirrus Design CEO Alan Klapmeier and senior executives gave an update on the status of the Cirrus Vision single-engine personal jet program, announcing that the company will begin the process of applying for an FAA Type Certificate for the aircraft. Notably, the company will not apply for European certification until the FAA and EASA reach an accommodation acceptable to Cirrus on the imposition and amount of certification and operator user fees. The production Vision will weigh in the vicinity of 6,000 pounds.
Thank you for your two excellent articles on pilot medical certification issues (“The Doctor Is In” and “Disability and the Corporate Pilot,” November 2008). Both highlight one of the top fears of a professional pilot: loss of license due to medical factors. The first article noted that FAR Part 67 lists 15 disqualifying diagnoses, yet FAA policy and the Guide to Aviation Medical Examiners lists several hundred other disqualifying conditions for pilots.
Sandel Avionics prevailed for the third and final round in Delaware Federal Court, responding to allegations of infringing on TAWS patents by Honeywell International. The weeklong trial concluded Dec. 5, when a jury ruled in favor of Sandel. Gerry Block, president and CEO of Sandel, said his company “has paid a great price with respect to these repeated, baseless lawsuits by Honeywell, who has been trying to preclude legitimate competition over aircraft terrain warning systems.
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.
— 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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Even though we practice the “high dive” in reaction to a sudden loss of pressurization every six months in the simulator, I’ve wondered about the value of that training. After all, just how often does this malfunction happen in the real world? Well, a little research turned up the answer.
