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."
The FAA has found 98-percent compliance with Airworthiness Directives by the 117 carriers in the agency's Air Transportation Oversight System, according to Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell, who was detailing final results of an unprecedented AD-compliance audit launched earlier this year. "That's a remarkable score for a system as complex and extensive as ours," he said. In addition, the U.S. civil aviation system earned a score of 91 -- compared to a world average 56 -- in an ICAO safety oversight review. The U.S.
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.
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.
A five-hour House Aviation subcommittee hearing Sept. 17 on FAA processes for type certification (TC) and production certification (PC) focused on possible agency errors in certifying the Eclipse EA500.The legislators had requested an investigation by DOT Inspector General Calvin L.
For over 30 years while employed with the Canadian AOPA (COPA), I wrote a monthly "flight safety" bulletin and used my 10,000 general aviation flying hours background experience (bush flying, instructing, charter, nationwide survey) as a basis to pass comment on various accident reports that came across my desk.
Here's cheering news for those who observe that gas prices seem to go up quickly with the rising price of oil but fall slowly when the commodity gets cheaper. Charter operator XOJet announced an immediate cut of 9 percent in its fuel surcharge Sept.12, a move it says will save customers about $1,000 on a round-trip transcontinental flight. In making the announcement, Chief Marketing Officer Adam Komack stated, "A surcharge is a necessity to offset costs that are out of our control; it should never be confused with a revenue stream or a means of nickel and diming clients.
As a professional business pilot it's important to remember that the folks in the back are not savvy to what's happening up front, nor need they be. In their view, the food, the interior layout and the service are the most important aspects of a business aircraft flight. I have had an executive come on the airplane in Shanghai, drop his briefcase, let out a sigh and say, "Home." That's what world-class capability is all about, in my humble opinion, but for the passengers it's the cabin experience that makes a flight "world class."
I read "Discount Turbine Fuel Programs" (August, page 38) with some interest. I noted in particular the high prices to be found at certain major airports. Perhaps you decided to obviate the obvious but most of the time the effective cost of fuel is greater at these airports whether you buy it there or not. It all goes out the tail pipe while waiting nearly interminably in line for departure. Yesterday I spent 40 minutes in line for departure at JFK, and about the same at BOS the day before that . . . and so very glad I was piston-powered on those days!
The NTSB's Aviation Accident Synopses for 2007 contained 384 fatal mishaps that took the lives of 1,311 people. My purpose was to determine how many of those were preceded by loss of control, and why.
*Northern Jet Management, Grand Rapids, Mich., announced that Kevin Tessmer is the new safety manager for the Flight Operations department; Scott Baragar and Rick Hansen are now team leaders for the department; and David Catterick is now a captain on the Citation Bravo. Steve Cok is the new assistant chief pilot/Bravo. James Douglas joined the company as a first officer, and Carmen Mohn is a new member of the accounting department.
THE FAA HAS EMBRACED the Safety Management System (SMS), which is essentially a quality management approach to controlling risk. Corporate lawyers tend to obsess about potential liabilities associated with aircraft, so they should love SMS.
Eurocontrol provides air traffic management for 36 European nations and issues invoices to users. Asked to provide readers with an update on European operational procedures, ATM modernization issues and the much-anticipated implementation of Single European Sky, Bo Redeborn, director of ATM strategies at Eurocontrol headquarters in Brussels, responded. What follows is a condensation of his report:
It was a given that the FAA would eventually decommission VORs and radar systems in the transition to establishing ADS-B as the primary surveillance system for air traffic control. However, the recent revelation that the FAA wants to begin closing VORs as early as 2010 has made some aircraft operators uneasy. The VOR/DME network has provided essential, reliable guidance for more than half a century.
Satcom Direct technology will furnish expansion of communication between FlightOps1.com's Web-based scheduling and management software users on the ground and aircraft. SMS-format text messages and faxes can be delivered to the cockpit or cabin from any computer with Internet access and a secure login.
International Communications Group, Inc, introduced a Configuration Identity Module (CIM), an external SIM card reader that holds 2 SIM cards and acts as a remote configuration storage unit for use with the NxtLink 120A and 220A Iridium transceivers. The CIM will allow operators to maintain SIM car information (IMEI, MSISDN and telephone number) on the aircraft regardless of the NxtLink transceiver installed thereby allowing quick line changes for system upgrades or troubleshooting.
BBA Aviation reported that the U.S. economic slowdown affected its Signature Flight Support FBO business in the first half of 2008, resulting in "an organic reduction in sales of 4 percent for the first half of the year." And in yet another indicator of the shifting of business aviation's center of gravity from the United States, the U.K.
Strong business jet sales helped offset a second-quarter dip in Bombardier's regional aircraft division and pushed the Canadian manufacturer's net financial performance from the red to the black. This improvement turned a $71 million 2007 second-quarter net loss into a $246 million net profit. Regional aircraft net orders stood at just 11 units -- almost all turboprops -- for the three months to July 31, compared with 84 aircraft in the same period last year. But business jet orders in the same quarter stood at 163 units, a growth of 59 aircraft year-on-year.
Aviation Finance Summit 2008 -- which is to be held Tuesday, Oct. 21 and Wednesday, Oct. 22 at the Marriott Residence Inn Times Square in New York City -- will cover several issues related to business aircraft.
In 1977, some helicopter pilots operating in the New York metro area founded the Northeast Helicopter Operator Council, the first local organization in the eastern United States to represent rotorcraft, in order to further the cause of helicopter IFR operations. The organization incorporated in 1979 under the present name of Eastern Region Helicopter Council, Inc. and today has about 90 member operators.
O&N Aircraft Modifications, Inc., the Factoryville, Pa., company best known for its Silver Eagle P210, a Cessna P210 retrofitted with the Rolls-Royce Model 250 engine, has introduced another Model 250-powered aircraft -- the Turbine 340. The Model 250B-17-powered aircraft first flew in July and is currently undergoing flight testing in an effort to win supplemental type certification.
The NBAA (then the National Business Aircraft Association) began its second decade in 1958 and celebrated by hosting what was clearly the most memorable and, arguably, significant convention in the annual gathering's history. Things that helped set this convention apart included a joint meeting with the National Association of State Aviation Officials - held on the last day of the NBAA's gathering and the first of NASAO's - and flybys by the business aircraft that had alighted at Philadelphia International for the events.
It's tough to improve upon one of the most capable and versatile turboprop airplanes ever built, but that's exactly what Pilatus Aircraft has done with its next-generation PC-12. The latest iteration of the Swiss-built single, the PC-12 NG, was FAA certified in March 2008 and it incorporates some half dozen improvements, including a more robust powerplant that helps increase cruise over older models as much as 11 knots and gives it more range because of improved climb performance. The electrical, cabin pressurization and environmental control systems have been improved.
