Anyone can get lucky and gain the undeserved. Once. The odds go way down when hoping for a repeat. And when the contest isn't a lottery, but rather an evaluation by your peers, the luck factor pretty much disappears. That reality made the announcements at the Aerospace Journalist of the Year banquet in London on July 13th particularly satisfying.
When Peter Stein isn't flying a Gulfstream 550 for Johnson Controls, he's flying down a mountainside in Park City, Utah, at 60 miles per hour competing in a super G. Also trained as an attorney, he says, "I do legal work, I love to fly and my passion is skiing" - in that order, he's quick to emphasize.
Editor's note: Archie Trammell was editor-in-chief of Business & Commercial Aviation from 1972 to 1978, a period of great technical, regulatory and economic transition within the community. Here he recalls those times, their themes and issues, many of which continue to this day.
The National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) has set the dates for its 2008 fall meeting and 2009 spring meeting. The autumn meeting is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, just prior to the opening of the NBAA convention in that city. NARA's 2009 spring meeting is to be held from Thursday, April 30 through Saturday, May 2 at the Westin La Cantera Resort San Antonio.
How to Use the Operating Costs Guide Aircraft operating costs are presented in a format that separates the data into seven separate areas: Mission Costs, Variable Costs, Fixed Annual Costs, Periodic Costs, Personnel Costs, Training Costs and Facilities Costs. Aircraft Category
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft officials predict that at least six more models of the Avro Business Jet (ABJ), the corporate version of the four-engine BAe 146 regional jet, will enter service this year. A total of 23 Avro Business Jets are in corporate service or are being converted. Operators that are bringing the ABJ into service in 2008 include:
*Dassault Falcon 10 airplanes --- Replace the flexible hoses installed in the slat anti-icing systems. *EADS Socata TBM 700 airplanes -- Check the vapor-cycle cooling system pulley drive assembly for leakage, remove the compressor drive belt from the assembly and deactivate the air-conditioning system until the original pulley drive assembly can be replaced by a new, improved assembly.
In 2007, Gulfstream logged 122 aircraft were sold domestically vs. 135 to international customers. And the company expects the foreign-to-domestic sales ratio to continue trending upward. In response, Gulfstream said it will add four third-party line service facilities outside North America, all yet to be named. Partnering with local firms to expand support is the smart way to go, says Mark Burns, Gulfstream's newly appointed product support president.
General aviation groups called the FAA's proposal to reduce the number of GA slots into New York La Guardia Airport (LGA) discriminatory, saying the restriction would unjustifiably diminish access to the New York City area. The FAA in April released a supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to introduce a slot auction system for FAR Part 121 carriers and reduce hourly slots at LGA from six per hour to three for Part 91 and Part 135 on-demand and public charters.
At 1515 CDT, Beechcraft A36, N28HN, was substantially damage when it made a forced landing shortly after it took off from Runway 18 at the Johnson County Executive Airport (OJC), in Olathe, Kan. The private pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. In a telephone interview, the pilot stated that he had not flown the airplane for six weeks and was planning to stay in the local traffic pattern and practice takeoffs and landings. After a thorough preflight, he attempted to start the engine.
*West Star Aviation, East Alton, Ill., announced that Ryan Malutinok has been appointed interior/paint manager at the East Alton facility. Rick Brainard was named vice president of sales for the company's facilities in Grand Junction, Co.; East Alton; Dallas; and Hiawatha, Iowa. Dan McKillips has joined the company as a regional sales manager responsible for the Southeast United States. Cheryl Galloway joined the company as a program sales manager.
The following are a number of noteworthy items from the FAA's Air Transportation Operations Inspector's Handbook, FAA Order 8400.10, "Aircraft Checklists" that operators will find pertinent as they examine checklist redesign.
The revised 0.9-percent first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth makes it hard to call this a recession yet, but we think the recession has been delayed, not canceled. Payrolls have dropped for five consecutive months, housing starts are at recession levels and business investment remains weak. So far, the consumer and the improvement in the trade deficit have kept GDP growth positive, but the consumer is likely to be forced to retreat in the face of higher oil prices.
Air China tested night flight service into Lhasa, Tibet's 13,136-foot-high Gonggar Airport on June 27 with an Airbus A319 guided by a required navigation performance (RNP) procedure using GPS for position fixing. The RNP procedure was developed for Air China by Naverus of Kent, Wash., which is also developing RNP procedures for Southwest Airlines. New runway lighting at Gonggar Airport will facilitate around-the-clock operations.
Mooney Aircraft cut its work force by 20 percent in June and is reducing production rates of its line of single-engine, aircraft -- and other manufacturers are keeping a close eye on this end of the general aviation market. While not contemplating layoffs, Cessna Chairman Jack Pelton told our sister publication, the Weekly of Business Aviation, "We're seeing definite softening in the [single-engine] market" and a reduction in flying by current single-engine aircraft operators.
While the weak dollar has increased the opportunities for aircraft owners to sell their airplanes abroad, sellers have found that the evolving regulatory environment in Europe sometimes has made quick completion of transactions problematic. Although efforts to harmonize European and American aircraft certification and safety standards continue, differences remain, and they can make it expensive and time-consuming to transfer an aircraft from a U.S. to a European owner.
I enjoyed Ross Detwiler's article about communication clutter on the ATC airwaves (July, page 102). I mostly fly a Baron between Hanscom Field and Nantucket and I hear poor phraseology and downright needless communication on almost every leg. I, too, have been guilty of tripping over myself occasionally, but I'm always trying to pay close attention to what I say. But I have another peeve. It's when people speak unthinkingly and use sloppy language especially when invoking cliche phrases.
If the airlines were to get their way and restrict general aviation access to the NAS, there's no question it would have a major impact on the fractional ownership and charter industries, both of which rely on the first come, first served policy to, respectively, meet their guaranteed response times and ad hoc availability.
*EMS Satcom, Ottawa, Canada, announced that Forrest Colliver has joined the company as vice president of business development. He will oversee the division's partner programs and marketing.
*Aug. 14-16: LABACE 2008, Congonhas Airport, São Paulo, Brazil. www.labace.aero *Sept. 10: NBAA Business Aviation Regional Forum, Hanscom Field, Bedford, Mass. www.nbaa.org *Sept. 10-11: Chevron Product Integrity Training, Pittsburgh, Pa. Contact: Chevron customer service at (866) 557-3456 or e-mail to [email protected] *Sept. 15-18: Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Conference, Hilton Salt Lake Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. (410) 266-2008. www.aviation-ia.com
