Satcom Direct, a Satellite Beach, Fla.-based provider of satellite voice, fax and Internet data services, is expanding its Internet reach thanks to the launch of a new Inmarsat satellite. Satcom Direct said the Aug. 18 launch of the Inmarsat-4 F3 spacecraft will allow the company to provide mobile broadband Internet services to business, general aviation, military and government markets worldwide. Before the launch, the company's mobile broadband services covered 85 percent of the world's landmass. The network now covers the globe, including aircraft in flight.
An F-15E from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., flew with a 50-50 mix of JP-8 and synthetic natural gas-based fuel Aug. 19 and an Edwards AFB-based F-22 took on the same fuel from a KC-135 tanker Aug. 28. According to F-15E synfuel test pilot Maj. Dan Badia, "You could have had JP-8 in there and I wouldn't have known the difference." F-15 fuels engineer Ryan Mead expects the new fuel to be certified on the jet as a result of the tests.
Steve Brown, NBAA vice president, operations, believes the Emissions Trading Scheme passed in July by the European Parliament is "unkind to all of aviation," not just the business aviation community.
Almost 50, an aviator for more than half my life -- many of those years in noisy cockpits and long before hearing protection was a real concern -- it's probable that my hearing isn't exactly "perfect" anymore. In addition, many of the hobbies and side tasks I do at home involve operating tractors, chain saws and other loud machinery and have probably added to the hearing damage. And then there is the matter of age . . .
Making the transition as quickly as possible to the NextGen air traffic control system is one of several recommendations made in a new energy task force report by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). NextGen will greatly enhance operating efficiency and safety, while reducing delays and unnecessary energy consumption, said the Sept. 3 report. The report also called for expanding exploration and development of U.S.
In past stories, we've polled schedulers and dispatchers to compile lists of trips you've found challenging, coupling the results with this advice: Tap the talents and experience of a good flight support provider when you're heading off the beaten track. So it seems only logical to survey the leading providers' experts for their perspective. While there is a good deal of agreement between operators and service providers on many destinations, the opinions of the providers offer some surprises -- or at least differences.
According to European Business Aviation Association President Brian Humphries, the most common navigation error committed by business aviation operators -- especially those visiting the U.K. and the Continent from North America -- is "level busts," or missing the assigned altitude either because of sloppy flying or misunderstanding of the region's admittedly confusing transition altitude system.
Australian accident investigators say the failure of an oxygen bottle caused the fuselage rupture of a Qantas Boeing 747-400 on July 25. Significantly, the highly regarded Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has no idea how the failure can be prevented from happening again -- particularly since the bottle fell into the sea and thus cannot be examined. "There's nothing at this stage that the ATSB can identify that could have been done to prevent this," said investigator Julian Walsh. "We don't really know why the bottle failed.
Delta AirElite Business Jets says it is the first charter operator of a 2008 Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft in the United States. The 6,000-nm airplane was added to the company's charter fleet in September and is based in the Rocky Mountain region. In addition to the 7X, Delta AirElite, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, said it has added several other aircraft to its fleet since the beginning of the year, including its second Gulfstream G550, fourth Bombardier Learjet 45 and a Cessna Citation CJ2+.
*CRS Jet Spares, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., announced that Kirk Meissner is the new sales representative for Oklahoma and Ron Holt will support Illinois and South Carolina.
The rising inventory of used business jets "portends a major deterioration in the new aircraft market quite soon," a JPMorgan market analysis warned Sept 4. "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," the report said. It noted that used aircraft inventories were at the highest level since September 2003, "representing the seventh monthly increase in a row" and that 19 of 23 tracked models had higher inventories, including Gulfstream.
When a flight crew member decides to leave one department for a position elsewhere, the departure puts quite a few things in motion simultaneously and possibly quickly, depending on the amount of notice given.
Clifford Development of Kalamazoo, Mich., has completed the first flights of its Citation S550 reengined with 3,000-pound-thrust Williams FJ44-3As. The 30-minute maiden flight was used to evaluate aircraft handling and engine controllability. Follow-up flights examined the interface of aircraft systems with the engines and the aircraft's response to more powerful engines. Subsequently, the aircraft moved to California's Mojave Airport for 100 hours of flight tests in anticipation of supplemental type certification, which is expected early in the fourth quarter.
A Cessna 441 Conquest (N441HK) impacted the terrain about one-eighth mile east of the runway at Sun River Resort Airport, Sun River, Ore., about 1015 PDT. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed during the accident sequence, and the airplane, which was owned by the pilot's corporation, was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire. The personal flight, which departed Bakersfield, Calif., about two hours and 15 minutes prior to the accident, was being operated VFR.
Piper Aircraft took an historic one-hour first flight of its first jet July 30 from Piper headquarters in Vero Beach, Fla. During the next several months, the proof of concept aircraft will fly 250 to 300 hours to verify cruise speed and altitude performance along with low-speed handling characteristics, according to Robert Kromer, Piper's vice president of sales and marketing.
"The whole airspace structure is different," NetJets-Europe Flight Operations Director Joaquim Bauer said. "We operate according to JAROps [the EASA codification of air regulations]. For example, transition levels differ from country to country. The tightness [i.e., the constrained operating area] is very different, too. There are a lot of noise complaints due to the population density. EASA is streamlining the rules. There are stricter guidelines, but this is good, as it standardizes things and makes it easier to implement new procedures."
The delivery of an AS355 NP to Phoenix Heli-Flight, in July, marked Eurocopter Canada's 500th helicopter delivered in the Canadian marketplace. Meanwhile, south of the border in Houston, the Texas Department of Public Safety took delivery of an AS350B2 at a ceremony at the Airborne Law Enforcement Association convention on July 17. According to Larry Roberts, American Eurocopter vice president of Commercial Affairs, this is the 10th AS350 in the DPS fleet.
The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has upgraded its "Register of Civil Aircraft" database to hold more detailed civil aircraft registration and airworthiness data in conformity with international regulations. The Register contains more than 21,000 live records, with comprehensive registration and airworthiness information on each airplane and its engines. The public face of the register, called "G-INFO," is accessible through the CAA Web site: www.caa.co.UK/ginfo. Users can call up the full registration history of each U.K.-registered aircraft.
ALTHOUGH I LIVED IN Washington for more than a decade, it was by circumstance, not intention. That is to say, my jobs were there, but they weren't Washington-centric. They had little to do with the deal-making, political maneuvering and money munching that energizes the place and keeps the armies of lobbyists, lawyers and legislative legions occupied. If I had been a player, my game time would likely have been brief.
FirstFlight, Inc., based at Elmira/Corning Airport, N.Y., announced Aug. 11 that it completed its acquisition of charter operator New World Jet Corp., which has offices in Islip, N.Y., and Teterboro, N.J. FirstFlight had previously announced its intention to buy the former Gold Jet subsidiary. With the deal closed, the company said the combined aircraft fleet will place FirstFlight among the top jet aircraft charter management companies in the United States and extend its geographic footprint with predominantly large- and mid-cabin jets.
THAT I WOULD ONE DAY build my own biplane was perhaps inevitable. Now I am three and a half years into a built-from-plans, all-wood personal fighter whose 1926 technology continues to throw light on the challenges that manufacturers face today. One small change in a delicately balanced system can have a profound knock-on effect. It's not easy stuff.
Pentastar Aviation, Waterford, Mich., named Randy DeAngelis as vice president of Flight Operations responsible for flight crews, flight dispatch and following as well as the company's Safety Management System.
