One of aviation's truisms hold that "The job isn't finished until the paperwork is done." That certainly applies to maintenance managers and senior technicians since most of their working days revolve around paper -- making sure their records are complete, accurate, current and comply with regulations. One of the most misunderstood, but necessary, regulatory documents with which they deal is the aircraft Minimum Equipment List (MEL).
Stevens Aviation, the aircraft sales and service organization headquartered in Greenville, S.C., has delivered the first Lear4Ever. The totally updated Learjet 35 was handed over to the program's first customer, Dr. Steve Bass, in late August. The extensive makeover, which Stevens says will add 20 years to the useful life of the aircraft, includes a complete avionics retrofit, a new interior design and entertainment package, the ZR Lite wing upgrade and aft fuselage locker by Raisbeck Engineering, along with a custom exterior design and paint job.
Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack J. Pelton received the Experimental Aircraft Association's Freedom of Flight Award at this year's AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis.
Embry-Riddle began to accept online applications for a new Ph.D. in aviation program on Aug. 15. The university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award degrees at the associate, bachelor and master levels. It applied to the Commission in July to begin awarding degrees at the doctoral level and should have a preliminary decision this December.
The "Celebrating 50 Years" section in the July issue was great. The "Five for 50" (page 51) identifies flight simulators as one of the five leading technologies affecting the aviation industry over the last 50 years and talks about how flight simulation has had a positive impact on the industry. This is significant news for our customers and partners. Thanks.
The Texas Supreme Court denied an appeal by Lycoming Sept. 2, effectively ending a six-year legal battle in favor of Navasota, Texas-based Interstate Southwest, Ltd., a metal forging and fabricating company that had manufactured crankshafts for the engine manufacturer. "This Supreme Court decision means Interstate Southwest wins and Lycoming loses -- it's as simple as that," said attorney Marty Rose of Rose Walker, the Dallas law firm representing Interstate.
Similar to a jetliner, the Phenom 100 is an airplane wrapped around clearly defined cabin specifications. The airstair entry door, for instance, is the largest in its class, measuring 4.5 feet high by 2.1 feet wide. Optional LED tread lights illuminate each step. There also is a Type IV over-wing emergency exit on the right side of the airplane. The cabin windows, measuring 1.2 feet high by 1.0 feet wide, are the largest in this airplane class by a large margin.
Castle & Cooke Aviation wants to lease the former Jet Center property at Van Nuys, Calif., Airport and redevelop the site into a world-class FBO. Castle intends to demolish everything on the site on the east side of VNY and build all-new facilities that will include over 100,000 square feet of hangar space and over 50,000 square feet of FBO, office and shop space. Castle's negotiations with Los Angeles World Airports started this July. Castle & Cooke Aviation is a part of the David H.
Fuel. It is not only the topic of the day, it is also a major topic in Congress. Granted, the primary focus has been on $4/gallon auto gas, but the increased costs have also hammered the aviation community. The old aviation maxim -- "The only time you have too much fuel is when you are on fire" -- has been preempted with the question, "Do you really need that much fuel?"
You can do your own NASA ASRS search. Go to http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov. Here you can electronically file an ASRS report, access the database and read the latest NASA Callback.
According to FlightView CEO Mike Benjamin, the company has begun to market its data to FBOs and corporate flight departments, including charter operators. "It's flight information you can act on," he says. "It's actionable and works all the way across from the aviation operations side to the consumer side where it's about picking up my cousin." The current version is Dispatch 4.7, which features a new user interface, a configurable screen, selectable sources and a high-quality display.
Aviation Research Group/U.S. was successful in convincing the Lehigh County Court in Pennsylvania that it acted properly in changing its rating of East Coast Jets. ARG/US had previously given East Coast Jets a "Platinum" rating, but changed the operator's classification to "Unrated/Not Rated" after a Hawker 800 operated by East Coast Jets crashed July 31 attempting to land at Owatonna, Minn., Airport. East Coast Jets, based at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pa., secured a preliminary injunction to restore the Platinum rating Sept.
The repeated exposure to loud noise in the aviation environment is one of the leading causes of short-term and long-term hearing damage among those exposed. According to the Flight Safety Foundation's "Human Factors and Aviation Medicine" (July-August 2000), after age-related hearing loss, that resulting from noise is the most common form of hearing loss associated with damage to the inner ear, auditory nerve or auditory nerve pathways in the brain.
*M7 Aerospace, San Antonio, named John Schildroth vice president of MRO sales and services, with responsibility for the company's maintenance, repair and overhaul operations.
*Field Aviation, Toronto, has made five senior management appointments to support the company's new initiatives: Joar Gronlund is the new chief operating officer; David Jensen has been appointed vice president, business development; Christina Friesen is chief financial officer; Brian Love has been named vice president, operations; and Chris Cooper-Slipper is vice president, marketing.
Rockwell Collins and King Schools announced a teaming agreement Sept. 10 that offers the former's OEM avionics training modules online via the latter's computer-based training (CBT). The program will kick off with aircraft-specific Pro Line 21 air crew training for King Airs and the Hawker 800.
WHETHER THE PRESENCE of a particular vice presidential candidate on the ballot makes any difference to voters when they make their pick for president has been the subject of much inconclusive debate for decades. But with the "Campaign of What Seems Like 1,000 Days" finally about to conclude next month, we decided to take a peek at the VP candidates' backgrounds to see how they perceive aviation.
The House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs Committees took the TSA to task for failing to meet an Aug. 3 deadline for developing a standardized threat and vulnerability assessment program for general aviation airports. The missed deadline was one of several highlighted in a report prepared by the majority staffs of the two committees: "Wasted Lessons of 9/11: How the Bush Administration Has Ignored the Law and Squandered Its Opportunities to Make our Country Safer."
A Piper PA-22-160, N9403D, registered to Tri Pacer Flyers LLC, went off the right side of Runway 20 on landing roll-out at Greensburg Jeannette Regional Airport (5G8), Jeannette, Pa., at about 1852 EDT. The airplane received substantial damage. It was VFR and there was no flight plan. The private pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from William T. Piper Memorial Airport (LHV), Lock Haven, Pa., at 1730. The pilot stated he over flew 5G8 and obtained the landing direction from the windsock.
J.A. Air Center is moving to Aurora, Ill., after 33 years at West Chicago. The move is slated for Dec. 1. Aurora Municipal Airport (KAAR) is just outside the Chicago Class B airspace and has direct tollway access (no stoplights to the Chicago Loop). J.A. Air's new four-building campus will feature a 20,000-square-foot arrival/departure canopy big enough to handle large-cabin corporate aircraft, more than 90,000 square feet of hangar space, 60,000 square feet of offices and a separate VIP arrival terminal.
The Phenom 100's Prodigy avionics package is a highly evolved and customized version of the Garmin G1000 system used in other light turbofan aircraft, including the Cessna Citation Mustang, HondaJet and soon the PiperJet. Embraer chose to fit the aircraft with three identical 12-inch AMLCDs having the same basic internal functionality. Any of them can assume the identity of a primary flight display or multifunction display. Using reversionary modes, this design feature allows the aircraft to be dispatched with one of the three displays inoperative.
John Hopkinson, president and CEO of the largest aircraft broker in Canada, is quick to note that the Canadian market for business aircraft is different than the U.S. market. Business jets are utilized to travel the long distances between the maritime provinces and western Canada, while turboprops often are used to fly from the southern part of Canada northward in support of utility operations. Helicopters also are flown extensively in Canada.
