Raisbeck Engineering has received FAA certification of its ZR Lite performance-improvement system on the Learjet 31. The package, whose primary element is new trailing-edge flaps, increases the fuel mileage and overall climb, cruise, range and high-altitude performance of the light jet. Raisbeck says modified aircraft can cruise 2,000 feet higher and realize block fuel savings of up to 12 percent. The Lear 31 ZR Lite system is similar to the Lear 35/36 performance package that has been in service since October 2004.
Of Piaggio's secret, yet to be launched, un-named, twin executive jet, CEO Josè Di Mase says "We are still working on it and hope to announce it officially this year. Within the last couple of weeks Avantair has shown an interest in the aircraft." The company is being very cautious in understanding how the currently overcrowded business jet market is looking, and how long a [production] life the aircraft would have, he remarked. "The aircraft is very well defined and we are making all the logistic and partner agreements at the moment."
NBAA, Washington, D.C., announced the reinstatement of Steven A. Busch and Douglas Schwartz to the board of directors. The NBAA has also created the new position of Northwest regional representative, which will be filled by Kristi Ivey.
New FBO building projects recently announced in the Middle East are each positioning to be the biggest and best -- and ready for the expected boom in business jet activity in the region. Dubai's newly opened Executive Flight Services FBO and ExecuJet's and Jet Aviation's facility across the runway are testament to the seriousness of intent. Dubai-owned Executive Flight has experienced 650 plus movements in a month, while ExecuJet recently surpassed 900.
As our cities become clogged with traffic, just getting the CEO from downtown to the airport or an exurban plant site becomes a major headache. Though major corporations have used helicopters to move busy executives for decades, the last few years have witnessed steady growth in business helicopter use.
At 1650 MST, an America West Bombardier CL-600 sustained an uncontained failure and components separation of the No. 1 engine The flight crew reported they were climbing through approximately 24,000 feet when they heard a loud pop and experienced a vibration or buffet. The airplane began to slow. The crew was unable to maintain altitude and initiated a controlled descent. Preliminary examination of the No. 1 engine revealed that the inlet, fan rotor assembly, the fan containment case, and the thrust reverser were all missing.
The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 has been selected to power a Boeing 787-8 VIP aircraft. The Trent 1000 was the first engine to be selected to power all three commercial variants of the 787, and has now the first announced engine selection for a 787 purchased by Boeing Business Jet. The unidentified customer has also chosen to support the engines with a Rolls Royce TotalCare service agreement. The Trent 1000 development program is on schedule for certification later this year and current plans are for the Trent to power the first flight of the 787.
Stork Fokker Services of the Netherlands has been contracted to complete the interior of an Airbus A318 Corporate Jet for an undisclosed Middle Eastern customer. It will be very similar to the standardized luxury "Elite" configuration offered by Airbus. This month Fokker Services starts work on its first interior completion of an Airbus A319CJ for the industrial and real estate investment company the Stumpf Group of Austria, with redelivery scheduled for September/October. The aircraft will be certificated for no more than 19 passengers and will have four compartments.
The HAI has honored two of its senior executives -- former President Roy Resavage and Elizabeth (Libby) Meade, current executive vice president/corporate secretary -- with a Lifetime Honorary Membership award. The award recognizes individuals for their efforts for the advancement and improvement of the international helicopter industry. Resavage served as HAI president from March 1998 through October 2005. Before that, he spent 27 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a captain. Meade joined HAI in 1987 as executive assistant to the president.
Sierra Industries, the Uvalde, Texas-based company that reengines early model Citations, delivered the first Sierra Stallion recently. The reengined aircraft, which received its STC in summer 2006, is powered by two Williams FJ44 engines, but the airplane retains the thinner, classic wing of the Citation I.
Landmark Aviation, Tempe, Ariz., announced that Dean Harton, vice chairman of the company's board of directors, has returned to his investment and management company, Hawthorne Corp.. He will, however, remain vice chairman of the Landmark board. Kerry Trosper was named as the new general manager for the company's Wichita Falls, Texas, FBO. Michael Moore has been named vice president of Operations and Program Management at Associated Air Center at Dallas Love Field. James Wilson was named as general manager for the company's Dulles, Va., FBO.
In "Blinded by See and Avoid" (B&CA, January, page 26) Patrick Veillette points out that "knowing where to look greatly increases the chance of sighting the traffic;" however, the hook that caught my eye was "Those of us who fly the line don't need a bunch of statistics to tell us that flying into Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket on a VFR summer weekend is akin to running a gauntlet."
This large flight department for a major retailer headquartered on the East Coast operates two Bombardier Global 5000s and will soon take delivery of a pair of Challenger 300s. It fully expects the 300s to join their larger siblings in routinely operating abroad. Technically midsize aircraft but with wider, standup cabins, the 3,000-nm range Challengers are equipped with the latest nav equipment and software to handle all the new special-use airspace requirements coming to the fore in both North Atlantic and European operations.
Airbus has seen a recent surge of orders by Asian companies, as well as for Middle East operators, for VIP aircraft ranging from A318s to A340s. An order for a VIP A340-500 from undisclosed Asian customer was the first for that continent, the third overall for this year. Airbus said the market for VIP widebodies has been "increasingly active in recent years" and revealed that China Sonangol was the customer for three previously attributed to an unidentified customer.
As David Huntzinger has pointed out in "Oxygen: Friend or Foe?" (B&CA, February, page 34), carriage of passengers requiring medical oxygen is most complicated. It is also ever changing. In July 2005, the FAA issued SFAR 106 (amended September 2006). Although intended for Part 121 operations, this SFAR authorizes the use of specified oxygen concentrators, avoiding the compressed or liquid gas issues. It is an easier alternative.
Thrane & Thrane, Virginia Beach, Va., hired Andy Beers as the new channel sales manager for developing and maintaining the dealer network. He will work with sales account executive Megan Robertson, who joined the company in 2006.
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.
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.
