Geneva Aviation has received an STC/ PMA approval for its rear communication console designed for the Eurocopter AS 350/355 series helicopters. The new console provides operations with a solution for mounting additional radios and control heads in a convenient location centered behind the pilot and copilot seats. Price: Starting at $6,295 Geneva Aviation 20021 80th Ave. S. Kent, WA 98032 (800) 546-2210 www.genevaaviation.com
Alternative Avionics -- located on Oakland Pontiac International Airport in Waterford, Mich. -- has earned an STC for an RVSM package for the Hawker 700. The modification involves the upgrade of the twin-engine business jet's air-data unit and other systems and features heated Rosemont pitot/static masts, which help eliminate icing that could result in the loss of air-data information.
We asked an expert to address this issue: The suggestion seems intuitively to make sense. However, I believe the human physiology of this action would actually be counterproductive. Without being too technical, I offer the following explanation.
The FAA is training its FSDO personnel to conduct on-site inspections of charter operators for compliance with OpSpec A008, which describes operational control and addresses the systems and procedures involved in the safe and legal operation of a charter aircraft. In the coming months, aircraft charter operators should expect an increasing degree of rigor by federal officials for compliance with government guidelines concerning aircraft management and operations.
For FY2008, the FAA has essentially reorganized its two other major budget lines, traditionally listed as operations and facilities and equipment (F&E). In their places, the FAA now has two completely new accounts, labeled Air Traffic Organization and safety and operations. The Senate reauthorization bill is framed within the old budget lines of operations and F&E with the Commerce Committee recommending $8.7 billion for operations in FY2008, nearly $9 billion in FY2009, $9.3 billion in FY2010 and $9.6 billion in FY2011.
When US Airways' FOQA program revealed that aircraft arriving in Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (KCLT) via the Runway 23 back-course localizer had a higher incident of unstable approaches, it was able to demonstrate to the FAA that the procedure was a primary factor in the unstable approaches. The FAA agreed with the data and as a solution installed a new ILS. In another study, the carrier found certain airports had a high incidence of steep descents on arrival.
Nordam Group, Tulsa, named Joel Dougherty as director of learning and organizational development. Donna Spencer was named director of quality for the company's repair operations in Tulsa, Wales and Singapore. Tray Siegfried, vice president, general aviation and OEM sales, will broaden his current responsibilities to include all OEMs and Meredith Siegfried, vice president, global aftermarket sales and marketing, will add military sales to her current responsibilities and continue to lead the company's corporate marketing group.
A $10 million executive jet facility is to be built at Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, U.K. A local company, as yet to be named, will run the facility, which will offer maintenance and fueling. An executive passenger terminal and a new hangar capable of holding six Citation Sovereign/Falcon 7X size aircraft are planned for the first phase. The unnamed owner/operator has been selected. Word has it that it operates three business aircraft from the island. There are plans to build a second similar-size hangar at a later date.
Airports would use six key tools, including behavioral recognition, targeted physical inspection and biometrics, as part of a new, risk-based approach to screen employees with access to secure areas under a measure unveiled in May by the TSA, in partnership with industry associations.
*Eurocopter MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters -- Mark the position of the tail-rotor control lever dynamic weights, remove the split pins and the weights, and visually inspect (and replace, if necessary) the tail-rotor control lever before further flight. *General Electric CT7-5, -7 and -9 engines -- Conduct a one-time eddy-current inspection of bolt holes in certain Stage 2 turbine aft cooling plates.
Every airport has a story, which makes selecting a manageable number of business aviation fields to profile for a report on urban relievers a challenge. In the end, B&CA chose seven magnet airports, each representative of a U.S. geographical region and each with an interesting and unique story to tell. This report features the last three of the seven airports. Parts I and II of this special report appeared in the April and May issues. DeKalb Peachtree Airport: Lord of the 'Ring'
DESPITE THE WARM FLORIDA temperature, all those filing into the auditorium were gowned, a tradition that traces to the chilly stone halls of learning in medieval Europe. Their faces were bright with anticipation; they were about to launch into the world on their own.
Executive Jet Management, Cincinnati, announced that Kirsten Krueger has been promoted to vice president of sales, based at EJM's office in San Jose, Calif.
Regarding the March 2007 Reflections ("For the Record," page 48), I must say that the Brazilian airman Alberto Santos-Dumont is not only the first aviation record holder, but he is considered in many parts of the world as the real inventor of the airplane. And there's a good reason for that: First, Dumont's airplane named 14-Bis, which flew in Paris in 1906, was the first airplane to take off by its own means, using his engine power to takeoff, fly and land. We need to remember that the Wright brothers' airplane, the Flyer, was catapulted.
"The market today, pretty much across the board, is on fire. It is very strong and healthy," declared Rick Engles, a principal in the Washington, D.C.-based aircraft brokerage of Vance & Engles.
A RECENT WEB POSTING about how to "green up" business jets generated a widely varied response, including some acerbic comments from a few who seemed to resent that the issue had been raised at all. In a note to "Dear All," veteran U.K.-based pilot Jamie Shawyer asked the business aviation community: "Have any of you looked into how to reduce the CO2 emissions in the workplace or in the way in which you are operating your aircraft, i.e., speeds, altitudes, etc.?"
Mooney Airplane Co. and AmSafe, Inc. have announced the availability of AmSafe Aviation Inflatable Restraints (AAIR) retrofit kits for Mooney airplanes. The airbag systems are currently standard equipment on new Acclaims, Ovation 2GXs and Ovations 3s. The system is available in three separate configurations: front and back seat (four places); front seat only (two places) and rear seat only (two places). They come in gray or tan and take approximately one week to install. Price: $6,900 (two seats); $10,800 (four seats) Mooney Airplane Co.
U.K.-based BBA Aviation, the parent company of Signature Flight Support, has acquired 100 percent of the capital stock of the United States' Executive Beechcraft, Inc. It includes four full-service FBOs, their associated maintenance services and charter/management businesses, as well as aircraft sales activities and all aircraft inventory. In the year ended December 2006, Executive Beechcraft had sales of $63 million and gross assets of $33 million.
Intelligence | 17 * TSA, NATA, Airports Unveil New Screening Effort * Port Authority of N.Y. and N.J. Acquires SWF as Possible Reliever * OpSpec A008 Oversight to Tighten * Nav Canada Goes to Piggy Bank to Avoid Loss Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 7 | Viewpoint By William Garvey A Good and Clever Friend 84 | Cause & Circumstance By Richard N. Aarons Silent Too Long 88 | Point of Law By Kent S. Jackson Dueling FBOs
