Aviation Research Group/U.S. (ARG/US) has expanded its Charter Evaluation and Qualification (CHEQ) service to include international air charter operators. A series of audits in the European Union began early this year. The company is also planning to expand the I-CHEQ program to Mexico, South America and possibly the Far East. The CHEQ system provides access to the safety rating of 915 charter operators including 95 audited companies. the TripCHEQ feature provided information on the qualification of over 14,088 charter pilots and profiles of 3,870 charter aircraft.
Fractional operators hired 674 pilots in 2006, down from the 750 hired the previous year, Aviation Information Resources, Inc. (AIR, Inc.) reported. AIR, Inc. projected fractional aircraft pilot hiring to increase slightly, to 700, in 2007. Overall, pilot hiring dropped from 10,405 in 2005 to 8,256 in 2006. AIR, Inc. forecast pilot hiring to increase to 8,510 this year.
PlaneSmart Aviation, Dallas, announced the appointment of Jim Owens as director of Safety, Training and Standardization for the SR22-G2 and SR20-G2 aircraft programs.
CAE opened its new six-bay North East Training Center near Morristown, N.J. The center will provide training for the new Dassault Falcon 7X along with the Falcon 900EX EASy, Falcon 2000EX EASy, Gulfsteam IV and Sikorsky S-76. Dassault selected CAE in mid-2004 to provide entitlement training for pilots, maintenance personnel and crew of the 7X. The Falcon 7X full flight simulator installed at the new center is awaiting final certification. Training is scheduled to begin in April.
Between the Wright brothers' penchant for secrecy and the often-fantastic accounts of would-be pioneering aviators, it became evident in the years immediately following the first flights at Kitty Hawk that an official organization would be needed to corroborate the claims of airmen.
Operators of certain types of lighter airplanes sometimes have found it difficult to compete with higher-performance aircraft in the same weight class. That's why the NAA set up the Sporting Performances program, which recognizes American pilots for speed accomplishments by make and model of aircraft (rather than by weight class) using criteria that are "somewhat less stringent" than those for regular national and world records.
The Kestrel, a new single-turboprop business aircraft, made its debut at the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) exhibition at Dubai, U.A.E. Developers have targeted 2009 to achieve Part 23 certification of the $2.5 million aircraft. The prototype's appearance at MEBA was sponsored by the Gulf Aircraft Partnership, formed by the Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Co. of Abu Dhabi and Farnborough Aircraft Corp. Ltd. of the U.K.
Yingling Aviation in Wichita, Kan., has begun CessnaDirect.com, a new service that enables customers to order parts online, through either direct access or through Yingling's Web site. The service will let customers check availability and order parts 24/7. A full-service FBO at Mid-Continent Airport, Yingling has been a Cessna Authorized Service Center for nearly 60 years.
It ain't all "heavy iron" out there in oceanic airspace and really hasn't been since the first-generation business jets began rolling off manufacturers' assembly lines in the early 1960s. A surprising number of midsize and even entry-level business jets routinely engage in oceanic ops over the North Atlantic. Additionally, flights by smaller equipment are common between North and South America and throughout Asia.
The PilotView electronic flight bag (EFB) from Canadian-based CMC Electronics has been selected by Embraer for the flight decks of its Legacy 600, E-Jets and Lineage 1000 aircraft. PilotView gives the flight crew access to up-to-date aircraft documentation and flight planning information. En route and approach charts, moving map display and real-time graphical weather are all readily supported, according to CMC. The unit is a compact, lightweight system with a display/processor unit featuring a wireless connection.
Avotek has recently published the Aviation Maintenance Technician Reference Handbook. This book is part of the company's comprehensive selection of maintenance training materials. The new Handbook covers topics including composites, aircraft fabric, electrical systems, fluid lines, weight and balance, corrosion control and non-destructive testing of materials. Price: $16.95 Avotek Information Resources P.O. Box 219 Weyers Cave, VA 24486 (800) 828-6835 www.avotekbooks.com
Bombardier SkyJet International has unveiled a new Jet Member program in the Asia-Pacific region that includes flat-fee pricing that enables customers to select the number of hours with no minimums. The program also will enable customers to choose between one- and three-year contract periods. Other facets of the program include a 20 percent discount on same-day return trips and the elimination of additional costs for fuel surcharges and holding fees at busy airports.
It was a sad phone call that started with, "Pat, did you hear? One fifty-two went down this morning." N152BK was a Mitsubishi MU-2 that spent over a decade flying into remote and often challenging Rocky Mountain airports to carry out badly burned victims, farmers involved in roll-over accidents on their tractors or laboring mothers-to-be. N152BK deserved a medal for all of the lives it had saved over the years.
The Associated Press and Brazilian media reported that a spokeswoman for Brazilian lead investigator Renato Sayao confirmed that air traffic controllers "share some of the blame" for the Sept. 28, 2006, in flight collision of an ExcelAire Legacy 600 and a GOL Airlines Boeing 737 over the Amazon with the loss of all 154 aboard the airliner. Tamares Carvalho, the spokeswoman, said that the Legacy pilots as well as the air traffic controllers, likely would be held responsible when the official investigation is concluded in about a month.
Executive Jet Management (EJM) has added a Falcon 2000 and a Falcon 50 to its charter fleet. The Falcon 2000 is based at Palm Beach International Airport, while the Falcon 50 is based at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. EJM manages aircraft in more than 60 locations through the country.
Sterling Aviation, based at Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport, has added a Hawker 800XP, Citation Excel, Beechjet 400A and Pilatus PC-12 turboprop to its Part 135 charter certificate, raising the total number of Sterling's fleet to 13 aircraft.
Elliott Aviation, the Moline, Illinois-based aircraft sales and service company, has earned certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to offer its King Air RVSM solution to European-registered aircraft. The EASA approval covers all King Air B200, 300 and 350 aircraft with existing Collins APS-65/H/J, Honeywell/Sperry SPZ-4000 and Bendix/King KFC-400 autopilots.
Garmin (Europe) Ltd., a unit of Garmin Ltd., introduced the GTSX 328 Mode S transponder to meet the European regulation for Mode S implementation for VFR aircraft by March 31, 2008. The new unit is intended to serve VFR/Class 2 aircraft where there is adequate size and power consumption support for a GTX 328. It is designed to be a straightforward retrofit and maintains many of the STX 330 features such as OAT, altitude monitoring, count-up and countdown timers, density altitude functions, and front-panel input for flight ID.
JUST OVER A YEAR AGO we opined in this space that the TSA should add Dulles International Airport to the list of approved gateway airports corporate operators could pass through en route to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (B&CA, February 2006, page 81). Guess what? It's happened -- the TSA recently approved IAD as a DCA gateway airport. The pessimists might ask, "What difference is one more DCA gateway going to make?"
AIRCRAFT REPORTS Bombardier Introduces Challenger 605 Fred George Jan., p. 34 Hello, Hawker 850 Fred George Jan., p. 38 What's Wrong With the MU-2 Fred George Feb,. p. 40 Must Helicopters Be So Noisy? Fred George Feb., p. 68 First Look: Learjet 60XR Fred George March, p. 34 The Turboprop, Doing Just Fine at 50 George C. Larson March, p. 52 Analysis: Citations CJ1+ and CJ2+ Fred George April, p. 34
