Reader Hogan is right. The first guy to say he's too tired will be the last guy called and that guy will get plenty of rest while he watches TV and waits for the phone to ring. We know of no ALJ rulings on that subject so far.
Stevens Aviation, the aircraft sales and support company that announced its Lear 4 Ever upgrade program in late 206, has received an STC for the comprehensive refurbishment of a Learjet 25 at its Nashville base. The company's Denver location is presently working on a similar upgrade program for Learjet 35s and 36s and hopes to exhibit an example of one of those refreshed aircraft at the NBAA convention in Atlanta in September.
In a July 11 speech in Washington, D.C., FAA Administrator Marion Blakey announced her agency's new "Operational Evolution Partnership," which replaces the "Operational Evaluation Plan" launched in 2001. The new OEP lays out the agency's path to the Next Generation Air Transportation System through 2025, and now encompasses all of the FAA's NextGen-related activities, not just capacity improvement. But the original OEP goal of a 30-percent increase in system capacity by 2013 remains.
Premier Aircraft, the East Alton, Ill., company that developed the Falcon 50 Dash 4 upgrade, is seeking European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) certification of the powerplant modification for the three-engine French business jet. Company officials hope to secure EASA approval within six months.
DayJet has begun limited on-demand, per-seat Eclipse 500 service in Florida, and at least one existing operator is concerned. Fort Lauderdale-based Gulfstream International, which is about to go public, is worried that the upstart VLJ air taxi operator could, if successful, poach some passengers from its scheduled service.
(Stratford, Conn.) -- Napo Hohn has been named chief executive of the North American arm of this aircraft charter, sales and management business. Hohn has held several senior management positions with the company during his 20 years with the firm.
Whenever things go off track, the account goes to minus, or a bit of gloom settles in and stays, I know I'm going to call up your most thoughtful and selfless note and will be cheered by it. It's sometimes hard to know if we're actually connecting with the readers, whether what we put on paper is helpful to and welcome by them, so a message like yours is immensely encouraging. Thank you so much for your support.
The U.S. Air Force is conducting aerodynamic tests of a 2 percent model of a blended-wing-body (BWB) design at the Arnold Engineering Development Center near Tullahoma, Tenn. The object of the tests is to provide data to help evaluate the BWB's flight characteristics at higher Mach numbers than those applied to the same model earlier this year at NASA Langley Research Center's National Transonic Facility in Hampton, Va. The tests -- a joint effort by the Air Force, Boeing and NASA -- are sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
Grupo Omnilife de Mexico signed a contract to buy a Lineage 1000 business jet from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, the first sale of the Embraer 190 airliner variant to a Mexican customer. The Lineage is expected to enter service in 2008. Grupo Omnilife de Mexico, a major distributor of health and entertainment products and services, is scheduled to get its Lineage in December 2009.
WHEN DOES A CASE OF pilot error become a case for the criminal courts? Mark Tayfel, a Canadian pilot, has been tried for criminal negligence causing death in Manitoba and, at this writing, was awaiting a verdict by the justice who heard three days of testimony. His aircraft crashed into a Winnipeg street intersection after running out of fuel during a second attempt at an IFR approach.
The fight over the aviation funding and the future of the air traffic control system has reached a critical juncture. Senior regulators and the aviation community have spent the past few years carving out their positions in the FAA funding debate -- the airlines and the FAA and Bush administration are strongly entrenched in favor of eliminating the current excise taxes in favor of user fees, while the business and general aviation community and its allies are adamantly opposed to such a move.
The National Air Transportation Association is urging the FAA to clarify that Safety Alerts for Operators (SAFOs) are voluntary. The association said it supports the use of SAFOs to distribute important safety information, which usually includes recommended -- but not required -- actions. But the association expressed concern that SAFOs have also said that "failure to adhere to the SAFO recommended actions could result in an FAA determination that operators are not in compliance with their obligations as certificated air carriers," which sounds like an implied threat.
Cessna announced at the Paris Air Show that NetJets -- Cessna's largest Citation customer -- had ordered another 96 Citations. The order includes 50 Encore+, 37 XLS+ and nine Citation X aircraft and totals more than $1 billion. Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton said his company had delivered 340 Citations to the fractional operator over the past 21 years.
(Hillsboro, Ore.) -- Phil Bridge has joined the helicopter sales and service company's sales team, which markets new Bell helicopters in the Western United States and used rotorcraft worldwide. Bridge has sales experience in the aviation, automotive and commercial real estate industries.
Waterbury-Oxford (Conn.) Airport FBO Key Air hosted an invitation-only Jet Day event co-sponsored by Porsche and Airport Journals on June 21. Airframe manufacturers brought their aircraft to OXC, and Porsche brought a lineup of cars for the 1,000 attendees to drive. Among the exhibitors were FlightSafety International, AvFuel and Virgin Galactic (which actually sold a few seats on future suborbital rocket rides).
GKN Aerospace has been selected to manufacture the HondaJet fuselage barrel in Alabama, says GKN's CEO Marcus Bryson. The wings are to be built by Avcorp Industries, Garmin will supply the avionics and final assembly will be at Honda's plant, now under construction at Greensboro, N.C. First HondaJet deliveries are scheduled for 2010.
The Worldwide Campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has teamed with New Zealand-based Aviation English Services (AES) to provide the industry with aviation English training solutions to address ICAO's new requirements, which identify English as the official, recognized language of aviation.
U.S. business and corporate turbine-powered aircraft were involved in 25 accidents during the first six months of this year -- as compared to 29 accidents in the same period in 2006 -- according to information compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates. Eight accidents through June resulted in the deaths of 21 passengers and crew. That compares with nine fatal accidents that claimed 22 lives during the first half of 2006. FAR Part 135 operators were involved in 15 accidents during the first half of this year, including five that resulted in 14 fatalities.
Virgin USA, the North American headquarters of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is starting Virgin Charter, a new online marketplace that brings convenience and efficiency to private aviation, according to the company. It is a full-service marketplace that brings together buyers who want to book private air travel with safety-rated charter operators.
In a move to make business aviation more neighborly and accessible, the organizers of this year's NBAA convention are asking attendees -- exhibitors and visitors alike -- to devote a part or all of their pre-show Sunday to constructing a school playground or airport picnic area for local residents.
Healthy corporate profits continue to drive a vigorous market for previously owned aircraft, says Paul Wyatt, managing editor of the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest. However, "even if corporate profits begin to level out in 2009 [as many predict], an emerging international interest in general aviation [both new and used] will be there to pick up the slack."
Bombardier's 11th annual Safety Standdown will be held Oct. 22-25 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita. Speakers will include Nick Sabatini, the FAA's associate administrator for aviation safety; Ed Bolen, president and CEO of the NBAA; and Mark Rosenker, chairman of the NTSB.
David Esler's series on business aviation airports (April, May and June issues) contained just about the best compilation and write-up for and about DeKalb Peachtree Airport (PDK) I have ever read. The copy has been sitting here on my desk for over a week, but I just opened it up today to find this top-notch, first-class article. Thanks so much for working with me on this, and thanks for taking the time to get things right! My very best for a job well done!
