ARG/US auditors and data analysts have noted that "the same problems keep coming up again" in operator audits conducted by the consultancy. Here is a selection: *Lack of standalone safety management system (SMS) aligned with AC120-92. *Safety officer not formally trained. *No internal-evaluation program referenced to AC120-59A. *Emergency-response program manual not a controlled document. *No training and practice for emergency-response program.
By the end of 2007, the Vref Turboprop Index reached a new all-time high (1209.17), which indicates that the benchmark twin-engine airplanes included in the index continue to grow in value, even though they were built more than 20 years ago. The Vref Turboprop Index is a compilation of the average retail prices for 1985 models of the Beech King Air C90A, King Air B200, Cessna Conquest I and II, as well as the 1980 Piper Cheyenne II and 1978 Twin Commander 690B.
Back in August 1962, my F-100D Super Sabre squadron was tasked with conducting a "Spoofing Mission" against the Russian, Chinese, North Korean and Japanese militaries in a single flight. It was during a time of high Cold War tension and bluffing games were played by all to test the alertness and response times to a threatened incursion by enemy aircraft.
The first of New York Airways' five new Vertol 44s was to be delivered in April, and the rest by June. Additionally, Sabena planned to lease two 44s for use at the upcoming Brussels World Fair.
You might say they were auditing the auditing process as commercial operators and safety auditors convened in Cincinnati in January to review rating standards for jet charter providers.
IT WAS SOMETHING, let me tell you. She was a beacon of shimmering red in an agitated sea of formal black. When I slipped my arm around her waist, she turned and delivered a 100,000-candela smile. I was holding Kirsten Haglund -- Miss America 2008 -- and I was afloat.
Sentient Flight Group completed its acquisition of TAG Aviation USA and named former TAG executive J.W.P. "Jake" Cartwright to head a newly formed Sentient Aircraft Management Division. In addition, Sentient said the former TAG USA management team also is transferring to the division. Sentient announced plans to buy the TAG unit in fall 2007 after the FAA suspended, and then revoked, the FAR Part 135 charter certificate of TAG affiliate AMI Jet Charter.
Thales said its Eurocat air traffic management system is fully operational in Denmark. Thales won a contract from Naviair, the Danish air navigation service provider, in 2002 to provide an integrated ATM system for Copenhagen, Roskilde and Billund. The new centers have nearly 80 controller working positions and will provide en route and terminal control capability. The Naviair system includes advanced capabilities such as trajectory profile and Medium Term Conflict Detection working in four dimensions.
Chevron Global Aviation, Houston, named Scott Rapacki to the position of Alliance Program area manager-East. Robert Taylor is the new manager, branded programs for general aviation.
Simulator-based training is one of the greatest advances for increasing safety margins, especially in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), since the advent of using vision-restricting devices on instrument proficiency check (IPC) rides. That's quite evident from the dramatic reduction in accident rates since the corporate aviation community, several decades ago, embraced a training method long proven by commercial airline and military organizations.
Intelligence | 11 * EADS Socata Delivers First Two Upgraded 2008 TBM 850s * DOT Budget Draws Fire for Resurrecting User Fees, AIP Cuts *Congress Promises to Restore AIP Funds * CAE to Run Flight Training Academy for Indian Government * Cessna Putting More Emphasis on Suppliers for New Large-Cabin Jet Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 7 | Viewpoint By William Garvey Deserving It 24 | March 1958: A Matter of Discipline
Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), Miami, has announced its executive committee for 2008: president - Pedro Heilbron, Copa Airlines CEO; vice president - Roberto Kriete, chairman of Grupo TACA; Enrique Cueto, CEO of LAN Airlines; Fabio Villegas, CEO of Avianca; Manuel Borja Chico, CEO of Mexicana; David Barioni Neto, TAM CEO.
"This is our Columbus Day," said Roger Whyte, senior vice president of sales and marketing. "Columbus was not only an adventurer and discoverer, he was reputed to be a brilliant navigator and entrepreneur. He went on his voyages with the intent of discovering faster trade routes. And that's partly how we arrived at the name. This is an airplane that will help people go out in the world and discover new opportunities in a global economy. This airplane will be at home any place in the world."
TWA told the NBAA that its ground personnel were authorized to arrange parking for business aircraft as close as possible to the gate if passengers were transferring to TWA flights.
Researchers at the University of Dayton in Ohio are preparing a U.S. Air Force report showing the corrosion-protection potential that results from prodding oysters to produce pearl-like coatings on metals. Senior research scientist Doug Hansen says his team has manipulated oyster blood cells, prompting them to deposit nacre, a natural calcium carbonate ceramic, onto aluminum, titanium and stainless-steel alloys. The deposits are "fracture resistant" and, as coatings, "they can last a lifetime," he says. The work is funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Eclipse Aviation's training provider, Higher Power Aviation (HPA), has earned FAA approval to conduct Eclipse 500 type training under the company's FAR Part 142 training certificate. The authorization clears HPA to type rate customers using its Level D full-motion simulator. Eclipse called the certification a milestone that "marks the FAA's final approval of Eclipse Aviation's training program." The Part 142 certification was awarded two weeks after the first Eclipse flight simulator received Level D approval.
"No one ever knows for sure if we are at the top of the market, but my guess is that we are going to look back two or three years from now and say if we weren't at it, we sure could see it from here," observed Dave Labrozzi, president of GE Capital Solutions, Corporate Aircraft, just after the new year began. His company is a major provider of financing for new and used business aircraft.
The number of very light jets (VLJs) in Europe is set to grow by up to 100 additional aircraft entering service each year with 700 in operation by 2015, according to recent research from Eurocontrol. The agency has launched a new forum -- the European VLJs Integration Platform (VIP) -- to propose solutions for integrating VLJs into the European air traffic system. Eurocontrol's studies show that there are about 440 VLJs currently on order for operation in Europe. Of these, at least 230 are expected for delivery by the end of 2010.
IN NEARLY ANY WORK environment, the employees want to know three things: Who's in charge; how big is the budget; and, do we have to worry about layoffs? This year the answers to those questions at the FAA have been: Bobby Sturgell, but no one knows for how long; we're not sure; and, by March 1, several thousand people might have been furloughed.
Although painting the tops of fuselages white was in vogue with most airlines, C.R. Smith, American Airlines' cantankerous president, vetoed the idea saying, "We paid for the aluminum. I want to see it."
Updating air traffic management with the FAA's Next Generation ATM system (NextGen) and Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) systems will yield a 12-percent reduction in carbon emissions and fuel efficiency, and these gains will be amplified by more effective management of congestion and delays at airports, the Aerospace Industries Association's head of environment told our sister publication Aerospace Daily.
In January, Kansas City, Mo.-based Executive Beechcraft became Garmin International's first authorized service center in the United States to deliver a Beech King Air C90 retrofitted with Garmin G1000 glass cockpit avionics. The retrofitted airplane was handed over on Jan. 14 to Data Systems International founder and CEO Mike McGraw. The G1000 suite replaces most older, traditional cockpit instruments by integrating all primary flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather and engine instrumentation on large-format, high-resolution LCDs.
Cessna Aircraft officials have built an impressive record of bringing new aircraft to market on schedule and hope to do the same with the new Citation Columbus, even while changing the development process by having vendors perform more of the manufacturing tasks while Cessna focuses on its role as a systems integrator. The new aircraft will be the company's top-of-the-line model, featuring a 4,000-nm range and standup-cabin.
