Flight testing has begun with Embraer's Phenom 100. The very light jet (VLJ) flew for the first time July 26 at the company's main Sao Jose dos Campos facility and was conducting its eight flight during a visit by B&CA and others Aug. 6. The flight test program goal is to obtain Brazilian and full FAA certification in time for the six-/seven-passenger jet to enter service in mid-2008. EASA certification is anticipated in early 2009.
In the late 1970s, Cessna realized it needed an entry-level turboprop to compete with the Beech King Air C90. Too many Cessna 421 owners, who wanted to step up to turbine reliability, were deserting the brand for the Beech twin-turboprop. Cessna's own 290-plus KTAS Model 441 Conquest was too big a jump up in price, performance and pilot proficiency.
Eastern General Aviation Corp. (EGAC) has taken delivery of a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, making it the first operator of the big twin in China. It also took delivery of two S-76C++ helicopters. They will be used for offshore oil operations as part of EGAC's plans to expand its business with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and ConocoPhillips China, Inc., a joint venture with CNOOC. The aircraft are upgrades for EGAC's current fleet of three S-76A++ aircraft.
Remember that the DOT and FAA act separately. The fine was from the DOT, not the FAA. I don't have any insight or inside information about the FAA's actions.
You might describe Bill Shea's career in aviation as "checkered," because he's held so many jobs -- and all of them entailing a lot of responsibility. Then-governor Ronald Reagan named him chief of aeronautics for California, where he served in 1973 to 1974 and oversaw activities at 525 airports in the state. He's run aviation departments or airports for over half a dozen agencies, both state and local.
I enjoy Kent Jackson's articles and constantly send them to my clients as a reminder of why they should stay away from doing all this FAR Part 135 business. I found "DOT Attacks Illegal Charter" (Point of Law, July, page 90) on Jet Choice I, LLC interesting as it never made the news that it was finally fined. What I find odd is that the FAA has given Jet Choice its own Part 135 certificate, which is strange if the FAA just issued this fine.
Sales of previously owned business jets and turboprop continued to climb during the second quarter, according to statistics provided to the National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) by AMSTAT, the New Jersey-based corporate aviation research firm.
China Sonangol International Holding Ltd., an oil business enterprise, has ordered two Embraer Legacy 600s, which will make them the first of the aircraft type to be registered in mainland China. The aircraft will operate primarily as "corporate traveler transporters," according to Sonangol. A Macao-based Legacy has been operating in the region for some time.
Jeppesen has introduced interactive, multimedia E-learning programs for Garmin panel-mount integrated avionics systems as well as Garmin and Lowrance portable GPS units. The scenario-based, guided simulation training system allows pilot to train on the ground and will minimize the "heads down" time incurred when pilots are unfamiliar with the avionics systems, according to Jeppesen. Courses are available for the Garmin SNG 530W/430W and are offered at three levels: Basic VFR and IFR ($159.95), Advanced IFR ($139.95) and Advanced WASS Procedures ($139.95).
Aviation excise taxes should remain in place, since the current funding system will cover the needs of the next generation air traffic control system. Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, made that appeal during a hearing on aviation taxes just prior to the August congressional break. "I believe that the current system is tried and true, that it has accommodated the enormous growth American aviation has experienced over the past 30 years and that it will continue to do so," he said.
Precise Flight Inc. is offering the OxyArm Cannula, a headset-mounted boom cannula for use with the company's A5 Flow Meter. The OxyArm is adaptable to all over-ear headsets, including Bose models, and uses ball stud mounting, which adhesively mounts to the headset and allows the cannula to be revoked completely or swung out of the way when not in use. It is light weight, efficient and contains a replaceable anti-microbial tip. Price: $99 and up per unit Precise Flight Inc. 63354 Powell Butte Rd. Bend, OR 97701
The Avanti II's front office is equipped with a full complement of Rockwell Collins avionics, featuring three, eight-by-10-inch, portrait configuration adaptive flight displays, a glareshield flight guidance control panel, a console-mounted FMS 3000 CDU with radio tuning function and a panel-mounted radio tuning unit. The MFD has an engine instrument display feature, but no crew alerting function or systems schematics. The Avanti II retains the original aircraft's 28 annunciator light panel.
David Esler's "Should You Put Your Jet Up for Charter?" (June, page 44) read like an FAR Part 135 charter brochure. The experts refer to raising the safety bar under Part 135 when in truth the accident rate for a Part 135 operation per NBAA is nearly nine times worse than for a Part 91 operation. Turnover in the cockpit rises, taking with it your highly experienced and qualified crew to be replaced by a less experienced crew who now lives on 24-hour call.
The Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis process for creating liquid hydrocarbons from coal, natural gas or biomass was developed at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Germany in the 1920s by Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch.
IN THE MID-1980S, NASA thought it would be profitable to strap a working journalist into the space shuttle and blast him or her into the great void to report the experience to a public weary of the less-than-compelling fare typically served up by real astronauts. This spaceman-scribe would speak with authority, but in man-on-the-street vernacular.
The Gulfstream G150 has been awarded EASA certification, making it eligible for registration in European Union member states. The G150 is also the first Gulfstream aircraft to attain FAA Stage 4 noise requirements set by ICAO.
Quest Aircraft Co. received FAA type certification of its Kodiak aircraft on July 18, 32 months after the first flight of the prototype and two and a half months after first flight of the first fully conforming aircraft. TC A00007SE for the clean-sheet design includes single-pilot day and night VFR and IFR operations. The Kodiak prototype has logged over 1,000 hours of flight time and s.n. 001, the first fully conforming production aircraft, has flown several hundred hours since entering flight test.
For a manufacturer near terminal condition not all that long ago, Embraer has made a stunning comeback. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the company was confronting a triple-pronged crisis: market failure of its CBA-123 twin-pusher turboprop; world oil supply constraints; and the inability of the Brazilian government, its owner, to pay its debts. After the government privatized it in 1994, the company kept issuing pink slips by the gross so that its total employment fell to 3,200 in 1997.
I don't want to rain on Vern Raburn's parade, but the concept of a low-cost, single-engine turbofan, V-tail personal jet is hardly new; my introduction to the idea began when an errant copy of none other than B&CA mysteriously arrived in my mailbox one day in 2003.
The National Aviation Hall of Fame has presented the A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award to Russia, Ohio, high school teacher, Marcus Petitjean. He was selected for his experiential approach to engaging students in the application of math and science combined with industrial art, and eventually flying skills, through re-creating the achievements of the Wright brothers.
CAE Systems is developing a series of Web-based maintenance training modules for Mooney M20 series, Ovation and Acclaim fleets. The new program includes the development and implementation of a learning Web portal and maintenance modules that will be designed to assist Mooney in upgrading and updating its technical support standards throughout the company's authorized service center network. The online training course, which is scheduled for release in first quarter 2008, is being designed to be self-paced, interactive and engaging for participants.
Embraer says it plans to win landing privileges for the Lineage 1000 at London City and Teterboro. The first customer aircraft is to fly to Crane in the U.S. for completion work later this year and then return to Brazil for formal customer delivery. The EMB190 derivative is priced at $42.95 million, including interior. Embraer hopes to deliver three to four aircraft annually.
Aviation Partners, which is enjoying strong demand for the Falcon winglets that the Seattle-based company introduced earlier this year, could apply its patented, range-enhancing, fuel-saving airfoil technology to as many as 20 additional types of business aircraft, including possibly some turboprops, in the future, according to company CEO Joe Clark.
Gore Design Completions, Ltd. recently welcomed the arrival of a green Airbus A320 Prestige, marking its elevation as the second Airbus-approved U.S. completions center for Airbus corporate jetliners. The Aug. 10 occasion was marked by speeches and hors d'oeuvres at Gore's 120,000-square-foot hangar at Port San Antonio, Texas, site of the former Kelly Air Force Base. Among the 350 in attendance were the mayor and a group of Airbus executives. "This is the first of many projects," said CEO Jerry Gore.
