UQM Technologies, a developer of alternative energy technologies, recently announced that one of its propulsion systems will drive a single-seat demonstrator airplane powered by a fuel cell and lightweight batteries as part of planned experimental flight tests this year by Boeing Research and Technology -- Europe (BR&TE) and industry partners. Flight tests will take place in Spain to demonstrate for the first time that a manned airplane can maintain straight and level flight with fuel cells as the only power source. The demonstrator aircraft is a Dimona motor glider.
AgustaWestland has been awarded a contract add-on by the Japan National Police Agency (JNPA) to supply five AW109 Power law enforcement helicopters as part of an ongoing program to modernize the police helicopter fleet. This contract follows ones for three helicopters each in 2003 and 2005 for operation by local police agencies, while four additional AW109 Powers were ordered in 2006 by the JNPA. Four AW109 Powers have been delivered to Japanese police agencies so far this year.
*May 8-10: 52nd Annual Corporate Avia-tion Safety Seminar, Tucson. Flight Safety Foundation, (703) 739-6708. www.flightsafety.org *May 15-16: Aviation Week Business Models for VLJs and Light Jets conference, Crowne Plaza West Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Fla. www.aviation week.com/forums *May 15-17: Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) Spring Conference, Scottsdale Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort, Scottsdale, Ariz. www.raccaonline.org
EADS Socata's TBM 850 won approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia for commercial passenger and freight operations in all conditions under Approved Single-Engine Turbine-Powered Aircraft (ASETPA) rules. The TBM 850's predecessor, the TBM 700C2, won similar approval two years earlier. The TBM 850 is a speedier variant of its predecessor with a maximum cruising speed of 320 KTAS at FL 260. Priced at $2.6 million, the aircraft is equipped with a Garmin GMX 200 multifunction display (see "EADS TBM 850," in B&CA, April 2007).
Luxembourg-based fractional operator JetFly, which specializes in offering TBM 700/750 and Pilatus PC-12 fractional shares, has teamed with Avolus, a British company offering "seamless luxury transport" for its clients. Avolus will promote JetFly's fractional membership program in the United Kingdom, and Managing Director Alexis Grabar says he plans to increase JetFly's five U.K. shareholders to 20 by year-end. The linkup is expected to increase the JetFly European shareholder count from its current 65 to 100 by early 2008.
Back around 1987, Bob Parke, then a contributing editor, wrote an article for B&CA about flying from the U.S. West Coast to Hawaii in a brand new Gulfstream IV and comparing that experience with piloting an old military transport on the same route, as he had done some 30 years earlier. Recently I flew a three-day European trip in one of our Global Expresses. With a tip of the hat to Bob's memory, I thought it would be interesting to compare key components of my Global experience with a nearly identical trip I'd flown in a Gulfstream II 30 years ago.
CAE has added three new flight training organizations to its CAE Global Academy, bringing the number of schools in its network to six and increasing the number of pilots that will graduate with licenses annually from over 600 to over 1,000.
In his submission to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, the pilot complained that his employer "has become increasingly confrontational, condescending and oppressive toward the pilot group. . . . This kind of atmosphere is fatiguing, numbing, unhealthy and downright dangerous to work in."
The Wings Club recently elected John Slattery, managing director of RBS Aviation Capital, as its 2007-2008 president. He succeeds Joseph Leonard, chairman and CEO of AirTran Airways, as head of the organization, which is based in New York City.
Here's the scene: The man has had a long day, three hours behind his Washington, D.C., time zone. He's relaxing at the Mandarin Sky Bar at LAX, his glass brimful with a favorite go-go mix of vodka and high-energy Red Bull, a concoction to make one happy and jazzed. And then, for some reason, he begins to think about that, seriously. Not silly serious. Serious serious.
Australia's Hawker Pacific has secured a strategic foothold in China, entering into a joint venture with the Shanghai Airport Authority. They will develop a full-service FBO at Shanghai's Hongquiao Airport, planned to open in April 2008, before the Beijing Olympics. Hawker Pacific will oversee the development of FBO, MRO and, later, aircraft management service offerings. The facility will be capable of handling up to 6,000 aircraft movements a year.
Britain's BBA Aviation has acquired Commercial Aircraft Products of Wichita for about $9 million over four years. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of hydraulic system components, electromechanical positioning systems and access mechanisms used on a wide range of business aviation aircraft. Its proprietary products are used by OEMs including Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier and Adam. The acquisition will be integrated into the U.S. operations of BBA Aviation's APPH, its landing gear and hydraulic systems company.
The Airbus A318 Elite's standard avionics package includes six, 7.25-inch square Thales LCDs, triple Northrop Grumman (nee Litton) air data inertial reference units, twin Thales or Honeywell FMSes, dual Rockwell Collins multimode radios, dual Rockwell Collins VHF comm, VOR nav, DMEs, Mode S transponders and HF transceivers.
DayJet has taken delivery of its first three Eclipse 500 VLJs and is conducting proving runs this month in preparation for starting service in June, DayJet founder, president and CEO Edward Iacobucci said. Iacobucci told Aviation Week editors that DayJet has found the quality of the aircraft received so far to be "very good for the first three out of the manufacturing line." He added that that the "squawk list" has been reasonable and the airworthiness squawks minimal.
(Nashville) -- Christine Blair has joined the staff as a market researcher, providing sales and acquisitions support for the corporate jet leasing firm out of the company's Rome, N.Y., office.
Think that an Airbus is too big for routine business travel between North America and Europe? Try boarding 11 company employees on a conventional large-cabin business jet for a nine-hour overnight flight between the continents. Then, count the number of fully berthable seats. Most purpose-built, large-cabin business aircraft will sleep no more than six or seven. These 11 travelers are likely to lament this mission as another transatlantic "red eye."
Nav Canada will raid the piggy bank to breakeven after a rate cut. The government-chartered corporation released its financial results April 13 for the three and six months that ended Feb. 28, 2007. "Increased traffic growth together with the company's continued focus on cost control, provide the opportunity to offer lower service charges to our customers while meeting our essential safety and service obligations" said John Crichton, Nav Canada president and CEO.
United Nations influenza coordinator Dr. David Nabarro addressed travel and tourism officials from 30 countries meeting in Paris in March for a two-day exercise of responses to a pandemic outbreak. Good planning, clear direction and staff communications, a fully prepared workforce and clear procedures for customer and workplace safety are the keys to protecting the interests of all involved in the travel industry, Nabarro said.
The DOT released the final requirements for Washington, D.C.-area businesses to seek reimbursement for lost income stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. DOT, which proposed the requirements in October, agreed to provide more time for businesses to submit an application and made other changes to the application process at the request of aviation groups. The final rule, published in the April 9 Federal Register, provides businesses 60 days from the rule's May 9, 2007 effective date to submit their application for reparations.
Accidents involving U.S. business turbine aircraft were up slightly in the first quarter of 2007, but the number of fatalities decreased, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. There were 19 accidents in the first three months, including five which resulted in 11 fatalities. During the same period in 2006, there were 16 accidents involving business turbine operators, with five of them claiming 15 lives.
The 1962 movie "The Longest Day," about the Allies' D-Day invasion of France in 1944, was epic both in scope and time. With a running time of more than three hours, the film was dubbed "The Longest Movie," by some critics who complained that it seemed longer than the invasion itself.
Rosen Aviation's new aviation quality DVD/CD player is a region-free design that allows passengers to view DVDs from around the world while in flight, according to the company. It will integrate with existing cabin entertainment equipment using RS 232 and RS 485 interfaces. It features a switched audio/video output that allows users to switch between the DVD and an auxiliary source such as a moving map, audio or visual briefings, or other A/V sources. The unit will operate vertically or horizontally allowing it to be placed where it will save the most cabin space.
