Bombardier is establishing a spare parts depot in Japan to support business and regional aircraft customers. Scheduled to open in 2007, the facility will be located near Narita International Airport near Tokyo.
Author Jules Verne set the original benchmark in 1873 with his novel Around the World in Eighty Days, and ever since aviators have dreamed of besting the ultimate long-range air travel record. Amazingly, it took only 21 years from that December day in 1903 when the Wright brothers lifted off from the dunes of Kitty Hawk for the technology of powered flight to advance far enough to enable a group of U.S. Army aviators in Douglas biplanes to become the first to fly around the world.
Chelton Flight Systems Gordon Pratt's highly entrepreneurial start-up company in Boise, now part of the Chelton Group, was the first firm to earn FAA certification for an SVS product. Initially it was only certified for use in FAR Part 23 aircraft, but now all hardware and software has been cleared for use in Part 25 transport category aircraft.
-Nov. 6-9: Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Aviation Committee, Annual Aviation LIghting Seminar, Williamsburg Lodge and Convention Center, Williamsburg, VA. (845) 856-5375. www.iesalc.org -Nov. 9-11: Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Expo 2006, Palm Springs, CA. (301) 695-2375. www.aopa.org -Nov. 14-16: IATA Aviation Fuel Forum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. www.iata.org/events -Nov. 16: NBAA Regional Forum, Long Beach, CA. www.nbaa.org 2007
Millennium Concepts was selected to build interior packages for the new Kodiak single-engine turboprop under development by Quest Aircraft. Quest will offer three interior packages, some with up to 10 seats, based on customer needs. Millennium Concepts has provided interior design, fabrication and completion services for aircraft ranging from the Cessna Grand Caravan to the Boeing Business Jet. Customers include major original equipment manufacturers and completion centers.
EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, the funnies make me happy. I so look forward to grumpy "Shoe," my feathered, cigar-chomping counterpart, to "Doonesbury" zings, to the relief of "Zits" (since he's actually more slovenly than my kids), and to the doings of my old friends from childhood including, Hi and Lois, Beetle Bailey and Sarge, Blondie and Dagwood. While I still miss my daily dose of the wonderful absurdity Gary Larson delivered so brilliantly in his "Far Side," the comic strip I most eagerly anticipate now, albeit with a mixture of delight and dread, is "Dilbert."
When Orville and Wilbur Wright contacted 10 engine manufacturers in late 1902 to find a suitable powerplant for their Flyer, all they could find were designs that weighed 100 pounds, or more, per horsepower. Needing up to 12 hp to sustain flight, the Wrights couldn't put a 1,200-pound engine on their machine and hope to leave the surly bonds. So with help of mechanic Charles Taylor, they built their own 3.3-liter four-cylinder mill that weighed less than 200 pounds and produced 12 to 16 hp. It first ran in February 1903, but it had more than its share of growing pains.
Prism Business Media has acquired SpeedNews, Inc., which specializes in publishing aviation newsletters. SpeedNews founder Gilbert Speed will remain with the enterprise, according to John French, CEO of Prism Business Media, whose holdings include some 70 magazines, 150 newsletters and 17 industry trade shows.
The FAA has issued a production certificate to Adam Aircraft for the A500, along with an amended FAR Part 23 type certificate covering day/night VFR/IFR flight for the all-composite, pressurized centerline twin-piston aircraft. Adam received provisional certification for the A500 in May 2005. The aircraft must still achieve certification for flight into known icing and its maximum operating altitude is still limited to 12,500 feet. Adam hopes to secure approval to expand the maximum operating altitude to 25,000 feet concurrent with icing certification.
Avcon Industries of Newton, Kansas has earned a supplemental type certificate (STC) for a Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) package for the Learjet 23. The retrofit of the eight-passenger light jet features Innovative Solutions & Support air data display units and an analog interface unit. The package costs $139,000 and takes approximately two and a half weeks to install.
Regarding your Cause & Circumstance on stabilized approaches (September, page 74), your readers may be interested to know the standard calls adopted by my airline in line with the Flight Safety Foundation guidelines. These calls are made by the PNF (pilot not flying) on all approaches visual or IFR as follows: "Rad Alt Alive," "1000," "500 stable" or "500 not stable." (1,000 and 500 feet agl). A "500 not stable" call is a mandatory go-around.
A federal judge upheld his earlier ruling in favor of CAMP Systems International in a lawsuit brought by Gulfstream Aerospace. The business jet manufacturer had accused the maintenance management provider of copyright and trademark infringement for using Gulfstream maintenance manuals. Judge B. Avant Edenfield ruled in June that CAMP's use of the Gulfstream manuals was permissible, citing the "fair use doctrine" in a 1994 Supreme Court ruling. Gulfstream and GAMA had asked Edenfield to reconsider his opinion.
GE Infrastructure named Marcus Balmforth to lead its airport work within its GE Commercial Aviation Services unit. Balmforth joins the company from Macquarie Bank London, where he served as division director heading up European airports. Before joining Macquarie, he held senior management positions at London Luton Airport and BAA.
The feds came out with a new traffic management program this year called the Airspace Flow Program (AFP). Like a cold surf awaiting a bather, the encounter was not likely to be pleasant, but I figured it was the way operations were going to be conducted, so I'd better give learning it my best shot. Part of that educational process involved learning a new glossary of acronyms. I'll share them and their definitions with you, a courtesy that I did not find in many cases.
PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY will approach the Nov. 7 elections with a wide range of emotions and attitudes. Some will just ignore the entire process because they don't care about politics and don't believe their vote will make a difference.
JetDirect Aviation of Berwyn, Pa., announced it has embarked on an ambitious program to acquire premier FBOs and FAR Part 135 charter operators with significant fleets of managed aircraft. The company has acquired FBOs in St. Louis, Dallas and Philadelphia. It also has additional primary Part 135 bases in Farmingdale, N.Y., and in Van Nuys, Calif.
The new IRS Notice 2005-45 prejudices owners and fractional owners while benefiting charters and jet cards. Follow the math. Scenario One: Owner/fractional owner flies annually 10 two-hour business flights (20 hours) and flies two two-hour personal flights with his family of four (20 hours.) Owner/fractional owner loses 50 percent of the tax deduction of the aircraft encompassing all operational and management expenditures as well as 50 percent of the aircraft depreciation (including Section 179 depreciation, if applicable.)
The Government Accountability Office will conduct a study on helicopter air ambulance safety at the request of Congress. The study will cover the nature and scope of the air ambulance industry; the unique safety concerns, if any; and the efforts by the FAA and others to address those concerns. B&CA contributor and aviation safety researcher Patrick Veillette has been asked to participate.
A Bell 212 helicopter under contract to the U.S. Forest Service made an emergency landing at Happy Camp Airport, Calif., after the pilot smelled something burning shortly after takeoff. According to initial reports provided by the USFS, when the pilot received an engine fire warning light he observed smoke. He pulled the No. 2 extinguisher and made a rapid descent. He dropped the external cargo and landed without incident. Post-examination of the helicopter revealed a puncture from the inside out in the hot section of the right engine.
Increasing the FAA's budget by $1 billion a year for a next-generation ATM system would be difficult under today's budget rules -- even if aviation trust fund revenues grew enough to cover the extra spending, House aviation subcommittee Chair John Mica (R-Fla.) told our affiliate newsletter, Aviation Daily. Trust fund revenues are spent under discretionary spending rules and are subject to discretionary spending limits.
