WSI Corp. has introduced a Web-based lightning stroke detection network that now covers the North American continent. Real-time lightning data from the North American Precision Lightning Network (NAPLN) are delivered to users via the Internet approximately 30 seconds after stroke detection. The NAPLN is a geographic expansion of the existing U. S. Precision Lightning Network (USPLN), which detects and reports lightning events in real-time for the continental United States.
Exhibit space for NBAA2008 officially sold out in July. The event takes place Oct. 6-8 in Orlando. The total number of exhibit booths is 5,302 compared with last year's 5,257. More than 30,000 attendees are expected at the event at the Orlando-Orange County Convention Center. More than 120 aircraft are expected be on static display at Showalter Flying Services at Orlando Executive Airport (ORL). For more information about NBAA2008, visit www.nbaa.org/2008.
Cessna secured European Aviation Safety Agency certification for its Garmin G1000-equipped Caravan single-turboprop. EASA approval followed FAA certification in April. Cessna took orders for 272 Caravans in 2007 and reports that sales continue to be brisk. Cessna now offers the G1000 integrated avionics package on all of its piston models, the Caravan and the Citation Mustang business jet. The Caravan G1000 package includes three 10-inch displays and the GFC700 integrated dual-channel digital autopilot.
American Eurocopter, an EADS subsidiary, has been awarded a Department of Homeland Security contract to provide its U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency with additional AS350B3s. The agreement is an Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite Delivery contract, but the manufacturer expects orders of up to 50 additional AS350B3s to result. The agency's Eurocopter fleet already includes 48 AS350s and 15 EC120s, with five additional EC120s on order. The new contract has the potential to total over $150 million.
Let me congratulate you most sincerely on your 50th birthday and for your achievement in tracing the events of a new idea as it was when you started in business aviation.
Embraer's second Phenom 300 light jet (PP-XVJ) flew Aug. 5 from Embraer's test runway, the longest in South America, at its Gaviao Peixoto plant. Pilots Jeirgem Prust and John Sevalho Corcao, and flight test engineer Leandro Bigarella made the maiden flight.
Clifford Development announced that its Citation S550, retrofitted with Williams International FJ44-3 engines, successfully completed its first two development flights on July 18. The firm held the announcement until July 22.
In the August issue, the captions on page 53 (bottom right photo) and page 54 (center photo) incorrectly identify the FBO from which Dayjet passengers check in and depart. The correct FBO at Boca Raton is Avitat Boca Raton.
Hawker Beechcraft recently reported increased orders, improved sales and higher earnings during the three months ending June 29, compared to the same period in 2007. Net bookings for the period totaled $1.7 billion, up $327.6 million from the same period in 2007, and the order backlog reached $7.4 billion, a record. Net sales for the quarter were $1 billion. During the quarter, the company delivered 50 jets, 50 turboprops and 29 piston aircraft.
In Rosharon, Texas, the pilot of a Robinson R22 was maneuvering the helicopter at a low altitude over a rice field when the tail rotor "dipped into the rice, causing it to fail." As a result, he lost control of the helicopter and it impacted the ground hard on the skids causing the main rotor blade to flex down and sever the tail boom. When asked how this accident could have been prevented, the pilot said, "There is very little margin for error and no time to correct with the ground so close.
Embraer released a terse "communiqué" Aug. 8, that it had "consolidated its organizational structure by reducing managerial positions and administrative functions," which eliminated around 250 jobs. Embraer took pains to confirm its previously announced aircraft delivery forecasts and economic-financial projections.
The arrival of the proof-of-concept Cirrus Design SJ50, on July 30, at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture in Oshkosh was its 20th test flight since its first flight on July 3, company officials told Senior Editor Fred George. The POC flight test program is being kept low profile, with Alan Klapmeier, company cofounder, chairman and CEO, continuing to provide "no price, no date and no performance" specifics for production deliveries of the SJ50.
Clinton, Mo.-based Aviation Fabricators recently received an STC for installation of one-, two- and three-place side-facing divans in the Cessna 441. The company - which specializes in cabin seating solutions, components and upgrades for cabin-class aircraft - says the divans will enable operators "to customize their aircraft by utilizing unused space, increasing capacity and giving their cabin the look of a much larger aircraft." For pricing and other information, visit www.avfab.com/cessna_divan.htm or call (660) 885-8317.
Textron's Lycoming Engines announced the expected November FAA certification of its 210-hp, four-cylinder IO-390 gas-fueled piston engine, intended to replace the 200-hp IO-360 in light aircraft. The IO-390 has almost the same external dimensions as the less-powerful four-cylinder Lycoming and about the same net weight. The first application will be an IO-390-A1A6 retrofit for the Cessna CE-177 Cardinal.
In the August Operations Planning Guide, the total variable cost numbers for the Dassault Falcon 900B should read $3,600.22; for the Bombardier Challenger, $3,195.16; for the Gulfstream G300, $3,224.67; for the Falcon 900C, $3,176.81; and for the GIV-SP, $4,210.15.
Rapco Fleet Support, Inc. (RFS) of Hartland, Wis., has been granted Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) by the FAA for the company's replacement brake components for Sabreliner 40 and 60 series aircraft equipped with ABSC (Goodyear) brakes. RFS brake parts now can be used on all Sabre 40s and 60s to replace the original equipment on a part-for-part basis without restriction.
The article on the Howard 500 was excellent ("Howard 500: Bold End to an Era," July, page 42). I now have a better understanding of why human factors engineering was created in that same era.
Northern Air, Grand Rapids, Mich., announced that Karla Suwyn has joined the marketing department as a marketing specialist; Craig Douglass is a new staff accountant; and Melodie Hickel was named as a customer service representative.
The dismal safety statistics of the aviation arm of the U.S. emergency medical service (EMS) industry have been sharply brought to public attention and regulatory scrutiny in the wake of the June 29 midair collision between two EMS helicopters about to land at a Flagstaff, Ariz., hospital. The record was detailed by Patrick Veillette in "Helicopter EMS: a Continuing Safety Failure" (August, page 44).
Not only can technicians injure themselves when removing and installing heavy wheels and brakes, but landing gear axle hubs on newer aircraft are plated with advanced coatings that are easily nicked and gouged. To help protect maintainers and aircraft, Houston-based Alberth Aviation has developed a dolly that fits most business aircraft-size wheels, and with the additional adapter can easily handle large brake assemblies as well.
less record-keeping ("Are You Ready to Go Paperless?" July, page 106) I was dumbfounded. The first company to come out with a complete paperless record-keeping system was LBO. We were the first to come out with electronic logbooks with electronic signatures, we were green before anyone thought of the word "green." Not only do we do logbooks but all record-keeping for any aircraft in a paperless format. But we were not even mentioned in the article.
