Kena Kai has introduced its DataSafe Wallets, specifically designed to protect credit cards from wireless identity theft. These patent-pending wallets use multiple layers of radio-frequency (FR) shielding material to protect credit cards that feature the new Contactless Smart Card technology. According to the company, the wallets meet the new security guidelines in the Homeland Security initiative. The collection includes bi-folds, tri-folds, credit card wallets and women's wallets in full-grain Italian leather.
Fireworks are legal in Tennessee, and there are no age restrictions on those who use them, so Dwayne McMurry can't tell you how old he was the first time he ever lit a fuse on a bottle rocket taped to the wing of a balsa glider. Maybe that early experimentation with accelerated aerial transit had something to do with his career as director of operations for Corporate Flight Management in Smyrna, Tenn., where he flies a Learjet 45, among others, under FAR Part 135.
Grob Aerospace AG, Zurich, Switzerland, appointed Hans Doll as director of customer and product support. Denzil White has been named director of special mission and training aircraft.
"In 30 years, I've never been busier," a Gulfstream dealer recently told Fletcher Aldredge, publisher of the Vref Aircraft Value Reference and its companion Market Leader newsletter. And Vref's Large Jet Index - a compilation of prices for the 1990 models of the Bombardier Challenger 601-3A, Falcon 50, Falcon 900 and Gulfstream IV - indicates that prices for these large, long-range corporate jets continue to climb, thanks to strong international demand and increasingly long lead times for new aircraft in this class.
CIT Group Inc. says it has surpassed $1 billion in total lease and loan originations with owners of aircraft operated by NetJets. CIT also formally announced a fleet financing program with Marquis Jet, the jet card provider that is an exclusive partner of NetJets. Under its agreement with Marquis, CIT said it provided financing for 15 aircraft ranging from the Raytheon Hawker 400XP to the Gulfstream 450 in 2006.
Viewpoint is always the first thing I turn to when opening B&CA, and I am never disappointed. I like the way Bill Garvey brings apparently unrelated thoughts together, like I-80, Bellefonte, DH-4's, turnpike tolls, E-Z Pass, etc. and suspect I'm not alone. Bellefonte, Pa., is a wonderful little town, by the way -- lots of Victorian architecture, the historical home to five (count 'em!) governors of the Keystone State. And it's only 10 miles from Ridge Soaring, where my glider is permanently based. Soaring on the Allegheny ridges is amazing.
A new high-performance primer from Akzo Nobel Aerospace Coating for commercial aircraft is designed to significantly reduce coating adhesion loss on rivets. ANAC's 10P20-44M epoxy primer is qualified to specification BMS 10-72 Type IX. The company claims that the test results prove that combining a sol-gel type pretreatment with the new primer is the most effective way to reduce the selective loss of paint from metal rivet heads on aircraft. The new product achieves a smooth satin finish in just three hours and does not require sanding.
REMEMBER THAT SCENE from "Jurassic Park" where the young female scientist tracks down the ailing triceratops, which has collapsed beside a huge pile of its own excrement? As the camera focuses on a huge steaming pyramid of dinosaur dung, Jeff Goldblum's character remarks, "That is one big pile of s###!" The business and general aviation community, along with key House Democrats, are expressing similar sentiments about the Bush administration's proposed FAA reauthorization bill.
ACROHELIPRO Global Services Inc. (subsidiary of Vector Aerospace Corp.), Richmond, British Columbia, announced the appointment of Russell (Rusty) Stevens as sales manager for ACROHELIPRO-Alabama.
Cabin entertainment equipment from Flight Display Systems, working in partnership with Milan, Italy-based Northern Avionics, is now available as a factory option for the new Agusta A109A Grand helicopter. The standard IFE system for the helicopter includes a 10.4-inch LCD monitor, a helicopter moving map computer processing unit and a DVD/CD/MP3 player. The equipment is manufactured by Flight Display Systems and installed by Northern Avionics, which owns the Bulletin # 315 Rev. 0, at its facility at Milan's Linate Airport. Price: Contact manufacturer
The NTSB is investigating why the front and side windshields of at least 14 aircraft at Denver International Airport cracked in a winter storm early last month. The board is examining the windshields to determine what factors -- including strong winds and rapid temperature and pressure changes -- may have led to this unusual event. Initial conclusions lean toward wind-driven sand, but a definitive explanation is still yet to come.
Jet Aviation, Zurich, Switzerland, announced that Heinz Kohli, CEO of the Jet Aviation Group, has decided to leave the company. Carl Hirschmann will serve as interim CEO.
FlightSafety International, La Guardia Airport, New York, named John Van Maren as director of the newly formed FlightSafety Simulation Operation Support unit. Benjamin Burton has been appointed staff vice president, compliance and regulatory affairs. He is based in Washington, D.C.
Plan now for the mid-June U.S. Open at Oakmont, Pa., advises Corporate Air, a full-service FBO at Allegheny County Airport (AGC), the principal reliever for Pittsburgh International and fifth busiest in Pennsylvania. Ramp space, while plentiful, will fill quickly, and schedulers and dispatchers are urged to reserve parking early, says Christine Madden, director of marketing, sales and acquisitions for Corporate Air. Aircraft with advance reservations will be offered discounts on fuel, Madden says.
As a regular reader of B&CA may I draw your attention to the New Prestwick Centre, part of the national "Two Centre Strategy," with the new Centre at Swanwick in Southern England, safeguarding the provision of Air Traffic Control services to domestic, international and oceanic flights. At the same time, a formal announcement was made of the introduction of the dual National Air Traffic Service (NATS) Prestwick and Nav Canada, Gander, SAATS, Oceanic Control System, replacing the 19-year old Flight Data Progress System (FDPS).
Chances are that most travelers who use New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport or Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport recognize the people for whom the places were named. But how many of the tens of thousands of people who each day pass through America's two busiest airports -- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Chicago's O'Hare International -- know why they're so named? Probably not many.
At 1700 PST, a Piper PA28-140 collided with trees during an attempted forced landing about 10 miles northwest of Crescent Lake, Ore. The aircraft was on a pleasure flight that departed Eugene, Ore., a half hour before the accident. There was no flight plan. The pilot reported that he was flying a low-level en route to Crescent Lake when the aircraft began to lose engine power. He applied carburetor heat, but that didn't help the problem. As the engine lost more power, he decided to make a forced landing in the densely forested mountainous terrain.
Cabin entertainment equipment from Flight Display Systems is now available as a factory option for Agusta A109S Grand helicopters by way of Northern Avionics of Milan, Italy. A standard entertainment system for that helicopter includes an LCD monitor, a moving map computer processing unit and a DVD/CD/MP3 player.
Pratt & Whitney has agreed to purchase most of the assets of Volvo Aero Engines Services (VAES), which is located in Bromma, Sweden. P&W is buying the spare parts inventory and engine overhaul tooling and machinery for the PT8D, JT9D and PW4000 engines, all of which were built by the engine manufacturer. VAES announced last November that it planned to close the facility.
It tends to get your attention. The "it" is lightning. And if you ask anyone who has experienced a lightning strike they will tell you the astonishingly bright flash may be exciting, but the incredible Boom! that follows can be a real attention-getter. And the whole thing happens in a microsecond.
Embraer has begun final assembly of its Phenom 100 prototype in preparation for a midyear first flight. The Brazilian manufacturer recently assembled several fuselage sections at the Embraer factory in Botucatu. Embraer said the assembly confirmed that the components conform to the CATIA V5 virtual design. Final assembly will begin at the Embraer production plant in Sao Jose dos Campos. Embraer also began integration tests of the avionics rig for the Phenom 100 Prodigy flight deck.
SEACOR's Aviation Division has signed an agreement under which Sikorsky subsidiary Keystone Helicopter Corp. will provide it with aviation maintenance and completion services. SEACOR's Aviation Division includes Era helicopters, Era Leasing, EraMed and an FBO at Anchorage International Airport. The division operates more than 160 helicopters in the northeastern United States, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska supporting a wide range of oil and gas exploration and production, firefighting, and aeromedical and sightseeing operations.
CGTM (a Turbomeca subsidiary), Bordes, France, has named Pierre Fabre as its new president. He replaces Henri Sala, who is retiring. Helene Sendrane has been named executive vice president.
Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. - the Exton, Pa.-based maker of flat-panel displays, flight information computers and advanced monitoring systems - has signed an agreement with Cessna Aircraft to provide flat-panel displays for legacy Citations. The new systems will be distributed and installed through 34 Citation service centers worldwide.
