International Communication Group (ICG) has created a successful interface between its line of NxtLink Iridium satellite communication systems and Tempus, a remote medical monitoring device produced by U.K.-based RDT Ltd. According to ICG, this interface means that the Iridium satellite communications network is available via NxtLink almost anywhere on the ground or aboard aircraft to assist emergency medical technicians or flight service personnel in dealing with potentially life-threatening situations. Price: Contact manufacturer ICG, Inc.
CHC Helicopter Corp., the world's largest provider of helicopter services to the offshore oil and gas industry, has selected Worldwide Helicopter Solutions of Glendale, Ariz., to provide on-site avionics system training at CHC bases in Australia, The Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom. CHC operates a large fleet of Sikorsky S-76 helicopters equipped with Honeywell SPZ-7000 and 7600 Dual Digital Automatic Flight Control Systems (DDAFCS) along with the EDZ-705 and 756 Digital Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS).
As I write this letter it's a bit late at night, but I'm waiting for the safe arrival of my 17-year-old son Brad from his date with Kaylee (they have really strange names here in the south), and so I've been reading Business & Commercial Aviation in my office. With that said, William Garvey's Viewpoint, "An Inclination to Share," in the May issue really resonated with me, but in a six degrees of separation sort of way. I was a junior at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H., that sits right on Boire Field and is an aviation-oriented school .
The Rolls-Royce Authorized Maintenance Center (AMC) Council elected 30-year industry veteran Tom Roche, vice president of helicopter programs for Standard Aero, as chairman of the Council for a two-year term. The Council is made up of representatives from each of the 13 Rolls-Royce Model 250 authorized maintenance centers and the three Rolls-Royce service centers throughout the world that are the engine MRO providers within the Rolls-Royce FIRST network.
Jet Aviation is partnering with Elite Jets in Dubai, UAE, to offer aircraft management and charter services in the Middle East. Elite Jets was established in 2004 and has worked with Jet Aviation for some time, but the new agreement strengthens those cooperative efforts and expands the range of the services between the two companies. Jet Aviation, a major provider of maintenance and other services to business jet operators in the region, will designate a member for the board of Elite Jets and will appoint a new director of ground operations to be based in Dubai.
Capital Aviation, the aircraft service company based at Oklahoma City's Wiley Post Airport (KPWA), is installing four-tube Universal EFI-890R systems with Vision I synthetic vision units in a variety of older business aircraft. The firm, which already has installed such systems in two Gulfstream IIIs and a Canadair Challenger 600, is presently working on a Dassault Falcon 50 and plans to perform three more similar cockpit retrofits this year.
First appearances may be deceiving. The Learjet 60XR, for instance, looks virtually identical to the Learjet 60, an aircraft that was certified in January 1993 as an amendment to the 1966 Learjet 24 type certificate.
Bombardier Flexjet and Bombardier Skyjet have begun a strategic marketing agreement in which Ultimate Resort has been named the official destination club of Bombardier and Bombardier has been named the official private jet partner of Ultimate Resort. Resort members will receive special incentives for purchasing charter flight and jet cards through Skyjet, Flexjet 25 Jet Card and Flexjet fractional interest. Bombardier's owners and customers will be offered preferred discounts on Ultimate Resort club memberships and other membership benefits.
Much has been written of late, including in these pages, about the forthcoming Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen, in current FAA parlance) and its enabling technologies, notably ADS-B (see "ADS-B's Impact on Business Aviation," November 2007, page 68 and "ADS-B in the Gulf," February 2008, page 56). NextGen is intended to accommodate the increased air traffic anticipated over the next 20 years into the existing system of airports and airspace without any decrease in safety.
A Cirrus SR22, N729SR, was destroyed when it impacted water following a loss of control near Hemphill, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by McAir LLC, of West Memphis, Ark. The 427-nm cross-country flight originated from Tupelo Regional Airport (TIP), Tupelo, Miss., and was destined for David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH) in Houston. Preliminary information indicates that while the airplane was in cruise flight near Monroe, La., ATC attempted to contact the pilot with a frequency change. However, the pilot did not respond.
Alex Wilcox, a founding member of JetBlue, has taken an air-taxi concept once known as Magnum Jet and revised its business plan to create a new venture now called JetSuite. This company plans to start its first revenue charter service in the Western United States with an Embraer Phenom 100 in June 2009, and expects to be operating a fleet of 100 Phenom 100s and 300s within four years of its launch. Embraer, which expects to certify its Phenom 100 in mid-2008, is to begin delivering JetSuite's aircraft in April 2009.
At 1010 PDT, a Cessna Citation Mustang, N54PV, sustained substantial damage following the pilot's intentional ground loop maneuver during the landing roll on Runway 24 at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif. The pilot (also president of California Natural Products, the operating company) reported to the investigators that on the morning of the accident he flew the airplane from Stockton, Calif., to Lincoln, Calif., to pick up passengers. He subsequently departed and was cleared to 35,000 feet as requested on his IFR flight plan.
The U.S. Senate took up FAA reauthorization legislation for the second time in two weeks, May 5 -- to no avail -- with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for delaying the bill, which has been pending for more than seven months. Meanwhile, the White House has threatened a veto of the FAA authorization legislation if it includes non-aviation funding proposals for highways, railroads and the oil-spill liability trust fund. The administration also objects to provisions that would limit the DOT's attempts to manage congestion, or would eliminate the user-fee concept.
*Agusta A109A, A109A II and A109C helicopters - Remove, clean and inspect the four grooved clamps that attach the engine exhaust ducts. If any cracks or corrosion are found, replace the unairworthy grooved clamp with an airworthy one before further flight. *Bombardier Challenger CL-600, -601, -601-3A, -601-3R, -604 and -605 airplanes - Revise the airplane flight manual to modify the cold-weather operations limitations and include additional limitations and procedures.
Gulfstream Aerospace officials have been more than a little, and happily, surprised at the strong demand for its new G650 since the company in March announced plans to build the largest non-airliner business jet in the market, an aircraft with an array of sophisticated electronic systems for use by pilots and passengers. Analysts said the company has received letters of intent representing more than 500 aircraft. Units slated for delivery in 2012 carry a price of $58.5 million. That price will rise to $59.5 million for deliveries the following year.
This durable, four-color flashlight from Sporty's featuring the AOPA wings logo is a great new addition for any flight bag. It's aluminum casting houses four independent switches to quickly select a white, blue, red or green beam. It has three high-intensity white LEDs ideal for a preflight. the flashlight measures three inches and comes with a sheath and a lanyard. It uses three AAA batteries. Price: $59.95 Sporty's www.sportys.com
Business aircraft and engine manufacturers have instituted green policies in their factories because it's good for the environment, and for the bottom line. "We have always been doing things in an environmentally friendly way," Cessna Aircraft Vice President for Communications Robert Stangarone said. "We recycle tons of industrial material -- aluminum, wood and so forth. And we've also done it because it's a cost issue -- it saves money. A lot of the things friendly to the environment are cost-friendly, as well."
Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, announced the addition of Henry Davis as vice president, aircraft manufacturing and assembly. Dean Jones is the new vice president, quality compliance and performance excellence and Ken Rohling is director of Wichita flight completions and paint operations.
THE FIRST NIGHT OF a three-day layover in Hong Kong, I headed downstairs for a glass of wine and a quiet dinner. As I perused the menu, one in a lively group of Brits -- a Virgin A340 crew, it turned out -- said I shouldn't drink alone and invited me into their fold. I readily accepted, and was immediately swallowed up by them.
The PW305 was the first of a new series of small, fuel-efficient turbofan engines introduced by Pratt & Whitney Canada in the early 1990s having higher bypass ratios than earlier engines in the 4,500- to 7,000-pound-thrust class. These engines also were among the first general aviation turbine powerplants to be fitted with FADECs, computer controls that slash pilot workload, set thrust precisely for ambient conditions and provide full envelope protection to help prevent damage from malfunctions.
Aerion Corp. reported in April that it has received more than 30 $150,000 deposits for delivery positions on its supersonic business jets and hopes to announce a manufacturing partner by year-end. Backed by Robert Bass, the Texas financier, the $80 million aircraft is being sold by Execujet of Zurich, Switzerland, and the Aero Toy Store of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as by Aerion itself. At this point, customer deposits are refundable.
A Cessna Citation 560XL, N590AK, was substantially damaged when it veered off the runway at Port Heiden, Alaska. The captain reported to the NTSB that his approach to Runway 23 required a correction for a right crosswind, and that the initial touchdown on the 5,000-by- 100-foot-wide gravel runway was uneventful. He said he continued to apply a small amount of left rudder to correct for the crosswind as the nosewheel touched down. As soon as it did, the airplane veered sharply to the left and went off the left side of the runway.
*The federal government is considering a recommendation by Bill Lear that all aircraft use fluorescent paint and quarter-million-candle-power condenser-discharge lights to be developed by Lear and General Electric. *First positive-control, all-weather airways have been set up by the CAB, with prompt CAA and military agreement. Airways are 40 miles wide between New York and Los Angeles and went into effect June 15. One goes via Chicago; the other via St. Louis with spurs to San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
