Ask a roomful of maintenance managers how they achieved their current position and their responses will likely share uncanny similarities: An early interest in aviation combined with a knack for fixing things evolved into acquisition of an A&P license after working machines in the military, or graduation from an FAR Part 147 school. After that, the real learning began by working on simple aircraft systems or ground equipment, and gradually moving up to more complex machinery.
Jet Republic, a new European operator offering charter, fractional ownership and jet card programs, opened for business Sept. 24 with 25-hour jet card offerings. In June, the start-up quietly placed a firm order for 25 Learjet 60 XRs worth some $340 million, and a conditional order for another 85. The buyer was unidentified until JetBird’s recent announcement. If all aircraft are confirmed, the total value would be approximately $1.5 billion, and would make it the largest such transaction in European history.
As economists like to say, the only constant is change, and that applies equally to aviation and to medicine, particularly aerospace medicine, which is the specialty practiced within the FAA flight surgeon’s offices.
Honeywell Aerospace’s 17th annual Business Aviation Outlook predicts that hefty backlogs for new models and robust demand from new markets outside the United States will push worldwide deliveries to a record 1,400 aircraft in 2009, valued at $25 billion, extending a rebound that began in 2004. Honeywell’s forecast brought a dose of optimism to last month’s NBAA Convention at a time when many in the industry were worried. The forecast said deliveries should dip 9 percent between 2009 and 2011 as customers wait for new aircraft models to come to market.
In late September, Eclipse Aviation CEO Roel Pieper announced that European Technology and Investment Research Center (ETIRC) Aviation will assemble Eclipse 500s in a factory to be built at the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny International Airport in Ulyanovsk, Russia. Ultimately, the Russian facility is expected to assemble up to 800 EA500s per year. Pieper is also the chairman of ETIRC Aviation. The company said that Eclipse 500 manufacturing will continue “in full” at Eclipse’s Albuquerque facility, before and after the new factory opens in 2010.
Cessna’s prototype SkyCatcher light sport aircraft crashed Sept. 18 near Douglass, Kan., after it went into an unrecoverable spin; the engineering test pilot parachuted to safety. The prototype, N162XP, was one of three flight articles Cessna test pilots have been evaluating. A Cessna spokesman said the aircraft had logged about 150 hours of total flight time before the accident flight. He declined to provide any additional details about the mishap, noting that the FAA is investigating the cause of the crash.
Under a recently concluded agreement, clients of Pro Airways, LLC — an aircraft management, charter, maintenance and leasing firm located in Plymouth, Mass. — can obtain preferred financing terms if they finance their aircraft through Bank of America and take advantage of the business aircraft management services of Pro Airways.
At last month’s NBAA Convention Hawker Beechcraft Corp. announced the Hawker 450XP, its 400XP successor, as, “the most comprehensive product upgrade in light jet history.” Upgrades will include new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535D engines with 10-percent better fuel economy and a full-authority digital engine control; a new “infotainment” system based on the Rockwell Collins Venue integrated cabin management system; and a Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics system.
Ambien brand of zolipedem is a popular prescription sleep aid. It’s on the list of approved meds with restrictions: Use is prohibited within 24 hours of flight and also prohibited more than twice in one week while flying. For airmen, the current advice is to avoid using it to treat jet lag while on a trip, but to use to get rest after returning home.
Flightcraft recently completed a $1.5 million business aviation terminal at the company’s FBO in Eugene, Ore. The remodeled 3,800-square-foot facility is more than double the size of the former terminal and features executive luggage service, improved catering facilities, two conference rooms, wireless Internet, ramp and parking lot security cameras, as well as a pilot lounge with a flight planning center, private shower and bathroom, and snooze room.
Subpart B — First Class Medical 67.103 Eye: Distant — Near — Color 67.105 Ear, nose, throat and equilibrium: Hearing is demonstrated by the applicant through normal conversation during the physical. Few, if any, FAA medical examiners use a tone audiometric test.
Mooney Aerospace Group, Ltd. , Kerrville, Texas named Robert B. Gowens CEO of the Mooney Airplane Co. Dennis E. Ferguson remains the president of Mooney.
H3R Aviation, Inc., makers of halon and halon-alternative portable fire extinguishers, teamed with Aviall at October’s NBAA to promote a halon-alternative fire extinguisher. The H3R Aviation Model 674 is a 150-pound wheeled Halotron 1 fire extinguisher. According to the company, it is the world’s most powerful halon-alternative flight-line fire extinguisher. Also on display was the B394TS, the only Halotron 1 clean agent fire extinguisher approved by the FAA for use onboard aircraft. Both units have been tested to ANSI/UL 711 and UL 2129.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan issued a doom-laden market analysis just before the world financial meltdown, stating, “Let there be no doubt the used market is rapidly falling apart, which should lead to a deteriorating market for new aircraft in short order.” It said used aircraft inventories were up 9.4 percent and “at their highest levels since September 2003.” Accordingly, average asking prices for used aircraft have declined 2.3 percent year over year, it said, adding that “flight operations into and out of the United States [takeoffs and landings] declined 10.6 percent in July,
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Citation XLS+ under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance.
Stevens Aviation , Greenville, S.C., named Jim Williams as vice president of Avionics Sales and Defense Avionics Group responsible for all aspects of national avionics sales and defense avionics modification activities.
When I first started traveling internationally on business, I queried an older corporate pilot about tipping protocol in various situations, and he simply responded, “Just ask yourself, ‘What would Sinatra do?’” If Frank Sinatra landed at a foreign airport, he was well known for tipping everyone in sight, including any government officials. Well, ’ol Blue Eyes could pull that off, but try that yourself in some countries, and you’ll end up in jail. Then again, in other countries, you might be delayed or detained for failing to show the courtesy of currency.
FlightSafety International’s Greg McGowan, vice president, operations, believes the Europeans “have really gotten onto something” with the EASA perspective on phased recurrency, which spreads recurrent training requirements over a three-year period, much like a progressive maintenance scheme distributes elements of an inspection over 50-hour increments.
Legendary Jets , Tempe, Ariz., announced the hiring of Shad English as vice president of Sales with responsibility for the development and advancement of the firm’s GO JET card program as well as sales of full and fractional jet ownership programs.
