Thank you for sharing your thoughts and sad experience. An aviation accident can be a terrible thing, but it is made all the more terrible if the lessons that it might produce are not passed on to those who follow. That was the point of "Aftermath." As for Lt. de Barbeyrac's accident, I, too, believe his loss helped others avoid the same fate.
The NTSB will hold a one-day Runway Safety Forum March 27, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. The public is invited to attend. Held on the 30th anniversary of the crash of a KLM 747 and Pan Am 747 in Tenerife, Canary Islands that claimed 583 lives, the forum will focus on airport runway incursions and accidents, and potential safety solutions. Capt. Robert Bragg, the Pan Am co-pilot that day, will recount his experiences at the forum.
The S-76C upgrade process has accumulated its allotted two "+" symbols, which means it's time to move on to the D. The new model was duly announced at the Helicopter Association International Heli Expo in early 2005 and orders are being taken now. Sometime in late 2008 or early 2009 the newest version of this 30-year-old design will emerge with a pair of new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines, marking yet another propulsion change in a decades-long dance that partnered first with Allison, then Pratt, then Turbomeca and now back to Pratt.
Honda Aircraft Co. is about to begin construction of a new headquarters facility and hangar at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) in Greensboro, N.C. Michimasa Fujino, president and chief executive of Honda Aircraft, unveiled the building plan in February and said his company will also build a manufacturing plant for the HondaJet at PTI, but that the size, timetable and costs are still being developed. Honda Aircraft intends to invest $40 million in the new facility and another $20 million in equipment.
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.
A Cessna CitationJet 525 operated by Sunquest Executive Air Charter collided with terrain in Van Nuys, Calif. Both pilots died and the airplane was destroyed. Linemen added 190 gallons of fuel in each wing before the flight. One of the linemen observed the copilot preflight the airplane and load bags into the left front baggage compartment. He noted that the copilot pulled the front left baggage door down with one hand, but did not see him latch or lock it.
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.
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.
Hartzell Propeller Inc. has received an STC to install a newly designed, three-blade propeller system on Beech 58, 58A and G58 Barons that are factory equipped with TCM IO-520 and IO-550 engines. The 75-inch diameter, full-feathering propellers are highly swept and provide a distinctive appearance for the Baron. The design improves the cruise performance of the aircraft without sacrificing takeoff or climb performance, according to the company. The reduced diameter also gives the aircraft increased ground clearance and lower noise.
EMTEQ has introduced its PFLX140-500 coaxial cable, which the company claims is the aviation industry's lightest 50-ohm single-conductor, double-shielded coax. At 0.140 inches in diameter and weighing only 1.28 pounds per 100 feet, the cable is flexible enough to tie in a loose knot. With an outer shield of aircraft grade polyethylene, the new PFLX140-500 offers more than 90 dB shielding effectiveness, produces low smoke and no halogen, and is resistant to Skydrol and other hydraulic fluids.
I agree completely. That is exactly why the medical oxygen supplier requires a note from the passenger's physician. Since the doctor is required to prescribe the flow rate (to calculate sufficient quantities for the trip), it is assumed the doctor has evaluated the passenger's suitability for travel.
Ricky Lee Eubank, a well-known and long-time Sikorsky S-76 program manager for FlightSafety in West Palm Beach, died on Dec. 4, 2006, in Florida. He diligently served the helicopter community for many years and was known to S-76 pilots worldwide.
ExcelAire has launched a new "road show" planning service to provide specialized aircraft and support services for executives who need to make multiple presentations in different cities on tight schedules. Headquartered in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., ExcelAire said its planners can arrange and coordinate logistics planning, catering, ground transportation, hotels and more.
Air Training International Dave Stohr, president and founder of Southlake, Texas-based Air Training International, claims his school is "more than just a training organization -- we're an information service provider."
I asked three dozen colleagues in the industry who are tasked with training and evaluation of pilots in their organizations, for their opinions on the "weak areas" in which they believe the industry needs better standardized curriculums to make certain pilots are adequately trained and mentored prior to release for PIC duties. Many of their replies mirrored the general trends from the accident and incident records.
The results of the 2007 J.D. Power and Associates' (JDPA) Business Aircraft Customer Satisfaction Survey now have been tallied and they produced useful, but qualified, findings. Both JDPA and B&CA are part of The McGraw-Hill Companies. In this launch effort, B&CA assisted the polling professionals at JDPA in refining the questionnaire and interpreting some of the resulting data.
In this day of globalization, when lots of companies big and small find themselves interacting with customers and suppliers on the other side of the clock, flight departments and crews that have conducted operations almost exclusively within North America can expect itineraries that stretch to the other side of the world. And for those unfamiliar with international operations, the need for practical information is real and formidable.
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.
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
