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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
The OtterBox for the BlackBerry Bold Defender Series will offer your device the ultimate safeguard, with a slim and sophisticated look. Three layers wrap your phone in guaranteed protection, according to the company. A thin, thermal-formed sheet covers the screen and keys, and a strong polycarbonate shell encases the smartphone and gives added protection against drops and bumps. A silicone skin wraps around it all to absorb shock. Slim, sleek and stylish, this case is of superior quality.
What do you get when you take a guy with no trade association experience and a background in TV and radio and put him in charge of a major aviation organization? Well, when the AOPA board of trustees did that 18 years ago they got Phil Boyer . . . and I have to think they’ve never regretted the choice.
The new edition of Early 49 CFR Parts 100-185 Hazmat Transportation Regulations, revised as of Oct. 1, 2008, is available from Labelmaster. The edition is in the same format as the government release, but with additional features that make it easier to find the information you are looking for. Regulatory updates include revision to lithium battery requirement and to the hazmat table.
Omniflight Helicopters, Inc. announced Sept. 22 that it had acquired Savannah, Ga.-based LifeStarOne, which has been the leading provider of air medical transport services to southern and southeast Georgia. Omniflight has served as operator for LifeStarOne since the program’s inception more than 23 years ago and will continue to operate one BK-117 helicopter under the LifeStar name. LifeStar personnel will be retained by Omniflight, which operates 100 aircraft nationally from 73 bases in 19 states, with a strong presence across the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast U.S.
Jet Support Services, Inc. , Chicago, named Joe Hagin as its CEO. A former executive at Federated Department Stores and Chiquita Brands, Hagin most recently served as deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
Avidyne Corp.’s Envision Integrated Flight Deck is now available for retrofit on Cessna 320, 335 and 340 piston twins. Avidyne and Mobile, Ala.-based Southern Star have added these aircraft to the FAA-Approved Model List (AML) of aircraft authorized for retrofit of the Envision system. Options include Avidyne’s EX5000 or EX500 multi-function display, the dual-antenna TAS600 traffic advisory system, MLB700 broadcast datalink weather and TWX670 Tactical Lightning Detection system.
What’s missing from this cockpit? Pilots with Citation 560XL type ratings may wonder if they’re entering another aircraft model when they first see the four, 10-by-eight inch LCD adaptive flight displays in the front office of Citation XLS+. Some of the cockpit’s basic systems controls layout is the same as the previous Excel and XLS, but the total revamp with Pro Line 21 yields welcome ergonomic improvements.
Raisbeck Engineering, the Seattle-based developer of business aircraft modifications, has received FAA certification for a gross weight increase to 10,500 pounds for its King Air C90 Epic performance system. The increase is available for installation on serial number LJ-527 and higher, including the latest King Air C90GT. The aircraft’s zero fuel weight also has been increased to 9,000 pounds, thus removing any operational loading restrictions.
DB Aviation, Inc. , Waukegan, Ill., announced Jason Shook and Jeff Konz have been promoted to managing directors; Granville Horton and Michael Aiken have been promoted to assistant managers, FBO; Michelle Gold was promoted to senior customer service representative; and Tehmina Jauhar has joined the DB Aviation Client Enrollment team as managing director.
Embraer , Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, announced the following changes in the company’s organizational structure effective Jan. 1, 2009: Retiring Antonio Luiz Pizarro Manso, executive vice president, Finance and CFO, and Satoshi Yokota, executive vice president, Strategic Planning and Technology Development, will be succeeded, respectively, by Luiz Carlos Siqueira Aguiar and Emilio Kazunoli Matsuo, members of Embraer’s senior management team.
Even in the midst of a credit crisis, JetBird, a startup European charter operator, recently announced two new financing packages and detailed its progress toward its planned 2009 launch with a fleet that is to eventually total 100 Embraer Phenom 100s. One package was a “strategic” investment of about $14.4 million of equity capital by a so-far unnamed family owned Middle Eastern trading group, which will now become JetBird’s second largest shareholder, with a 9.3-percent holding. The group will have a seat on the JetBird board.
Accidents involving U.S. business turbine aircraft jumped substantially during the first nine months of 2008, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. U.S. business jet and turboprop operators were involved in 56 accidents from January through September, including 17 that resulted in 49 passenger and crew fatalities. During the same period in 2007, there were 39 accidents, including 12 fatal events that resulted in 32 deaths.
Attending to the 1,000 light aircraft operators who are NBAA members, the business aviation advocacy group will inaugurate its first Light Business Airplane Exhibition and Conference in March 2009 at San Diego. “This is the NBAA’s commitment to the small aircraft owner/operator with educational sessions and exhibitors,” Doug Carr, NBAA’s vice president for safety, security and regulation, said.
