Simon Wade just wanted to lose some weight. He'd put in about eight years as a couch potato, and in August 2005 he decided it was time to pare down. Then he heard about ultra-marathons and decided that running one might be fun. And training for it would take the weight off. His first mile run took 15 minutes, and he was sick afterward, so he went to a local gym for advice and related his goal of running the big race. They just laughed, he recalls, "They were useless." Then a local paper picked up his story and a physiotherapist offered to advise him.
I'VE BEEN WATCHING the activities of the NTSB and its air accident investigation predecessor, the Civil Aeronautics Board, for over 40 years and do not remember reading a finding of probable cause as brutally frank as that recently issued in the loss of the Pinnacle Airlines Bombardier RJ CL-619-2B19 that crashed on Oct. 14, 2004, in Jefferson City, Mo. And I believe the situation deserves harsh assessment.
The National Aviation Hall of Fame has named its Class of 2007: Walter J. Bone, former director of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, aviation historian and best-selling author; Steve Fossett, globetrotting adventurer, who holds numerous world records in balloons, gliders and powered aircraft; Evelyn Bryan Johnson, a flight instructor who has logged more flight hours, trained more pilots and given more FAA exams than any other pilot; Sally K. Ride, America's fist woman in space aboard NASA's STS-7 shuttle mission; and Frederick W. Smith, a former U.S.
King Schools has added a new interactive video course for the Garmin 430/530 to its list of training materials. The course has hundreds of video lessons that demonstrate how to use the 430/530 and are followed with interactive questions, many using the King built-in trainer that lets you practice what you have just learned, according to King.
The last of PHI's striking pilots should be back to work by the end of April. The helicopter operator recently reached an agreement with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) for the return to work of all striking pilots. The agreement calls for a phased-in process by groups, aircraft type and seniority with that to end by April 29, although PHI said training may extend the process. The federal court will address other issues, including allegations of bad-faith bargaining and counterclaims, later. The strike began Sept. 20.
The first full blown Middle East Business Aviation show, held at Dubai Airport's Expo site Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, did not disappoint the organizers, attendees or salesfolk. The official total attendee figure was 2,417, which is respectably close to the organizer's projected 3,000 for the two-day event. The overwhelming picture painted from the exhibits was that the quality of attendees was exceptional. There were 31 business aircraft at the static display. The next show is set for Nov. 23-25, 2008 and will then alternate biennially with the Dubai Airshow.
A new manual published by the U.S. DOT in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is intended to help officials recognize and control pandemic outbreaks before they have a widespread impact on public health. It sets out the roles of the pilot-in-command, operations and airport personnel, along with emergency management and health professionals when a flight arrives with ill passengers on board.
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
Construction is well underway at the $33 billion Dubai World Central Airport and city complex at Jebel Ali, 25 miles south of Dubai city center. This will be the world's largest airport by area -- 140 square kilometers. The 2009 Dubai Air Show will be held here. By year-end the first of the six parallel runways opened. When complete (in around a decade) the airport will be capable of handling 120 million passengers per year, and in excess of 100,000 business jet movements at a new super FBO known as the Executive Flight Center, due to open in 2008.
Hillsboro Aviation, based in Hillsboro, Ore sold 67 new and used aircraft, including $41 million worth of new Bell helicopters last year, a record. Hillsboro said it has orders for 27 new Bell helicopters, including contracts for 13 Bell 417s. Hillsboro is the exclusive Bell Helicopter independent sales representative in 15 western states and a sales dealer for the Robinson Helicopter Co.
-General Aviation Services (Lake Zurich, Ill.) -- Brett Forrester has been elevated to sales manager at this aircraft sales firm. Forrester, who joined GAS in 1994, most recently headed the aircraft acquisitions department.
I was very offended by the comments of William Cyders in the January B&CA (Letters, page 8). In his letter he made reference that someone with 300 hours should not be allowed into airspace because said person should not be allowed to pilot an aircraft faster than 120 knots. Masking his statement under the premise that experience takes years, the real underlying reason for this comment was so that pilots like himself can have a job, because the airlines are furloughing and firing their own.
Boeing has abandoned WiFi technology for its 787 in favor of wired in-flight entertainment (IFE). The planemaker says that a wired system not only saves weight, but helps avoid regulatory complications since WiFi systems requires country-by-country approval, and that too many countries have already assigned the desired frequencies for other tasks, such as emergency services.
The AOPA reports that it has received a "few isolated cases" of maintenance shops declining to work on older airplanes. In the Jan. 5 edition of AOPA e-pilot, the organization's weekly e-mail newsletter, the association said, "It started last August when one chain of FBOs in the West told customers it would no longer work on aircraft older than 18 years. Several other shops have reportedly taken the same position."
Jet Aviation Basel delivered a "VVIP" Airbus 320-200 it completed for Saad Group in Saudi Arabia. Saad Group also awarded a contract to Jet Aviation Basel to complete a 340-600. The second aircraft is scheduled to arrive at the Basel completion center in April 2008 and be delivered in mid-2009. Francis Munch of Studio E/Motion designed the A320-200's interior, which took 10 months to complete. It includes an executive seating area, two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a combined conference/dining area and first-class seating in the rear.
