Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, in one of her first addresses after taking office, and notably, in Wichita, told the FAA International Aviation Safety Forum that she plans to explore new funding options for the aviation system.
Executive Jet Management (EJM), the worldwide private jet charter and aircraft management services provider, has achieved re-certification of its ISO 9001:2000 standards granted by EAQA USA registrar, an accredited ISO 9000 certification body specializing in aviation. The company was granted its initial certification in 2003.
A Gulfstream II overran Runway 8 at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport in Burbank, Calif., carrying five passengers and two crew. The aircraft was stopped by an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS). There were no injuries to those onboard and minor damage to the aircraft. The NTSB retrieved the CVR, gathered radar data and was evaluating the performance of the EMAS during this incident.
The day started out perfectly with an early morning flight into the picturesque Telluride, Colo., airport. Clear blue skies, cool mountain air and a dry runway are my idea of the nearly perfect day. Our four clients stepped aboard and presently we were on our way to Chicago Midway. The weather forecast predicted rather benign ceilings and visibility, with only a small chance of isolated snow showers. We were at 5,000 feet on the approach getting ready to configure the aircraft when I heard someone go missed approach at MDW.
XM Satellite Radio's XM WX Satellite Weather graphical weather service has been selected by Horizon Air as the inflight weather data-link service for its current fleet of 68 aircraft and future deliveries. XM WX Satellite Weather will be incorporated into Horizon Air's new Electronic Flight Bag Communication and Data Management System. Horizon's fleet of Bombardier Q400, Bombardier CRJ700 and Bombardier Q200 aircraft will be outfitted with Class 2 Electronic Flight Bags on the flight deck. Cabin hardware will be supplied from Flight Deck Resources.
A free, online course from NASA, "A Pilot's Guide to Ground Icing," has been updated for all pilots. The presentation allows users to access information relevant to their particular operations. The course was created by a public-private partnership including U.S. and foreign government aviation agencies, companies and educational institutions. Also available is "A Pilot's Guide to In-Flight Icing," which is intended primarily for general aviation pilots. Both courses are available at http://aircrafticing.grc.nasa.gov/courses.html
Smiths Aerospace has won a contract to supply 400 shipsets of the bleed air and anti-ice subsystems for the Embraer Phenom 300. The equipment will be manufactured at Smiths' Rockford, Ill., facility. Smiths will provide the bleed air system controller, the pressure regulating and shutoff valves, fan air valves, cross-bleed valve, wing and horizontal stabilizer anti-ice valves, and the engine reverse flow check valves.
The Dassault Falcon 7X recently completed its high-altitude tests during a two-day stint in the United States. Tests included engine, pressurization and environmental systems checks on the ground and in flight. The company said that all systems met or exceeded "certification expectations." An EASA representative witnessed the tests. The U.S. portion of the test program started in Gunnison, Colo., at 7,678 feet msl and continued at Leadville, Colo., At 9,927 feet msl. Leadville has the highest airport in the United States.
Oxford, Maine-based Oxford Aviation opened a brand-new 90,000-square-foot hangar and workshop facility at the Sanford, Maine, municipal airport. Having accomplished more than 4,000 completions at Oxford, the new expansion facility will be able to perform completion and refurbishment work on Gulfstream V and Global Express-size aircraft. There are indications that the company would also like to attract VLJ assembly work to Sanford.
An XM Satellite Weather Upgrade package for Flight Display Systems' Moving Map is now available. According to Flight Display Systems, this is the only Moving Map passenger information system that can provide real-time NEXRAD weather conditions, updated every five minutes. Live weather information is overlaid on top of rich topographical maps with city names and state borders. Weather is color-coded to indicate storm level severity. Maps are dynamically drawn 50-, 500- and 5,000-miles wide relative to the aircraft's present position.
Shanghai will have a dedicated business aviation hub at its Hongqiao International Airport in cooperation with Hawker Pacific Pty Ltd. of Australia. The first phase is due to be completed by 2008, and should accommodate 6,000 business aviation operations per year. The hub will provide ground handling, repair and maintenance services, says Shanghai Airport Authority officials.
Dallas Airmotive, Dallas, has promoted Jim Blasingame to senior director of sales, responsible for all North American sales for Honeywell TFE731and APU, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney engines. Daniel McLandsborough has been named Pratt & Whitney Canada regional engine manager for the North Central United States. Matt Hussey was named manager of the Lafayette, La., component repair facility.
Nelson Carrick is director of operations for PremierJet, the splashy new FBO at Carlsbad Airport in California, so you'll find him around airplanes a lot. But you'll find him around trucks -- and Chance, his border collie -- even more. "I always had a mechanical interest, and in high school I had a number of muscle cars," he recalls. In 1978 Ford came out with the first of the big Broncos -- "Blazer size," as he calls it -- and a year later he got his first truck: a 1979 Ford Bronco 4 x 4.
Jet Aviation, Zurich, appointed Thomas Rimmi as its new senior vice president and general manager of the Zurich maintenance operation. He succeeds Werner Aerne, who will retire but continue to serve the Jet Aviation group in various functions. Andre Wall has been appointed the company's new chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America. He will join the company in February 2007.
A group of 10 relatives of victims killed when a GOL jetliner crashed after allegedly colliding with a Legacy executive jet on Sept. 29 in Brazil has sued two companies at the U.S. Federal District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y. The lawsuit names as defendants ExcelAire Service, of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., as operator of the Legacy, and Honeywell International as maker of the aircraft's transponders. A spokeswoman for ExcelAire said the company is preparing a reply. U.S. attorneys for the group of plaintiffs said more victims' relatives would probably join this class-action suit.
Cessna received a total of 115 jet orders worth more than $1 billion at the NBAA convention and expects that these agreements will be finalized and enter backlog. Combined with pre-show agreements, the company has already booked over 160 orders for the fourth quarter, according to an announcement by its corporate parent, Textron. "Results from this year's NBAA show are nothing short of impressive," said Textron Chairman, President and CEO Lewis B. Campbell.
Five years ago, Raytheon hailed its new Premier I as the fastest, largest single-pilot business jet on the market. While that was and remains true today, the company's lightest jet was still very much a work in progress. The braking action was inconsistent at best. The baseline Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics package had plenty of unrealized capabilities. The biomorphic-inspired interior design was tres outré by business aircraft industry standards and it squandered available cabin space.
Bombardier Aerospace showcased its upgraded Challenger 605 and the ultra-long-range Global Express XRS at the recent NBAA convention, where it announced that the former model's Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite had received approval from Transport Canada as had the aircraft's cabin windows, which are enlarged and raised. The Global Express XRS includes an Ethernet-based cabin electronic system and state-of-the-art entertainment equipment.
Ideally, all aircraft would be fitted with manually operated primary flight controls because the feel is completely natural. There is proportionate feedback with increasing aerodynamic loads so that control forces are light at low speeds and heavier at high speeds. Ideally, control response is crisp when low and slow, assuring plenty of maneuvering capability in gusting wind conditions. At maximum speeds control feel loads are manageable and there is enough control authority to recover from any likely upset.
PolyMax Hangar Floor Coating System is designed to withstand heavy wheeled traffic, abrasion, impact and spillage of aviation fluids. The three-coat system offers a clear epoxy primer with adhesion to concrete, a high-build pigmented intermediate coat to aid in impact resistance and a chemical resistant urethane finish for excellent abrasion and stain resistance, light reflectivity and resistance to ultra-violet degradation from direct sunlight. Price: Contact manufacturer PolyMax/Milamar Coatings 12005 N. Virginia Ave.
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters' Innovation Award was given to Montreal-based Mechtronix Systems, a provider of flight training equipment, for new product design and commercialization.
METARs may contain information about snow/water runway coverage and friction coefficient, but you need a decipher code to find it. The runway report consists of eight digits in five groups (AABCDDEE) with the following interpretation:
Here's an example of a comprehensive SOP from the Jet Solutions manual addressing ground operations: Taxiing policies The company maintains a safe practice standpoint when the aircraft is under its own power. The comfort to the passengers is also an issue when taxiing an aircraft. Exercise caution on what is not only ahead, but also behind the aircraft. Follow the policies below:
