I just finished the article "Why Your Community Needs Its Airport" In the August issue (page 46). I thought it was a great article and I just wanted to make sure that you knew about the new privately funded business and general aviation airport that is being built on the west side of Houston. We will open by the end of the year and our vision is to build it for business and general aviation.
You won't see this kind of conversion every day. Some Southwest Airlines passengers soon will be traveling in a former corporate airplane that had carried top-level automotive executives. As part of a Southwest effort to pick up some used Boeing 737-700s, the carrier recently acquired an airplane that was part of the Ford Motor Co. corporate fleet, and which was used mostly in Europe.
Employees applauded the last Bombardier Challenger 604 business jet as it rolled off the assembly line at Bombardier's Montreal-Trudeau International Airport facility recently. The green aircraft, s.n. 5665, will be completed by Midcoast Aviation and is scheduled to enter customer service in spring 2007. This marks the conclusion of a long and prosperous run for one of business aviation's most popular aircraft designs, which was launched at the Paris Air Show in 1993.
"Flying the Garmin G1000" has been updated to highlight recent enhancements to this avionics suite. Updates include a section on the use of the active traffic advisory (TAS) that is an option with the G1000 and how this technology differs from the Traffic Information Service. Also discussed is the use of Garmin's integrated Ready Pad system that allows the pilot to use almost all MFD functions from the pedestal-mounted keypad. Price: $24.94 Sporty's Pilot Shop (800) SPORTYS www.sportys.com
Thanks for the great features in the October issue. As I am mostly engaged with light general aviation these days, your features brought me up to date. One small point, however, regarding the "Business Aviation 'Arrives' in Europe" article (page 51). The transition altitude of 6,000 feet in the United Kingdom is a bit more complicated. We have nine TMAs that use 4,000 feet. Aircraft operating outside of the TMAs, and there are plenty of them, have to use 3,000 feet. We have two airports close to where I live.
Robert Wilson and his company, Wilson Air Center, have been recognized by Shell Aviation for operational excellence and dedication to delivering quality customer service that reflects the Shell brand at the company's three FBOs.
Avemco Insurance Co. recently announced a change to its Safety Rewards Program. Developed with cooperation from Cessna Aircraft Co., the new initiative expands the availability of premium credits. Any student who enrolls in a Cessna Pilot Center (CPC)-approved FAR Part 141 flight training program will qualify for the 5-percent flight training premium credit when they purchase an Avemco insurance policy (including non-owner coverage). Upon graduation the pilot will be eligible for another year of 5-percent savings on the policy premium.
The FAA has formed a new Age 60 Aviation Rulemaking Committee to look at the ICAO revised standard for boosting the airline pilot retirement age to 65. The ARC will recommend whether the United States should adopt such a standard. Air Transport Association President and CEO James May and Air Line Pilots Association President Duane Woerth are co-chairing the ARC.
The night of Dec. 16, 1997, was dark and cold as the flight crew of Air Canada Flight 646, a Bombardier Regional Jet, took off from Toronto for a flight to Fredericton, New Brunswick. In command was a captain with more than 11,000 flight hours, including 1,770 hours in type. While en route, the flight crew had received a revised forecast for one-quarter mile visibility in fog and a vertical visibility of just 100 feet. As the flight neared Fredericton, the RVR on Runway 15 was reported at 1,200 feet.
The NTSB recently issued a safety alert warning pilots to actively maintain awareness of severe weather along their entire route.The Safety Board has identified several accidents in which inflight encounters with severe weather appear to be causal or contributory. These accidents have all involved aircraft operating under IFR and in contact with air traffic controllers. "Severe weather avoidance is the responsibility of the pilots," said NTSB Chairman Mark V.
The National Aeronautic Association will award Norman Mineta, the former secretary of transportation, the 2006 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. The trophy is presented annually by the NAA "to a living American for significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States." The award will be presented to Mineta Dec. 15 at a banquet hosted by the Aero Club of Washington.
At NBAA, Starling presented its two broadband bidirectional Ku-band antenna systems for inflight entertainment that it claims are the world's fastest. Both are steerable in azimuth and elevation. The first, MIJET, is an antenna for large size, long-range business aircraft, as well as any wide- or narrow-body commercial aircraft, and was just recently certified. The second is MiniMIJET, an antenna system for medium and small business aircraft.
The FAA, which collected a $1 million settlement from the city of Chicago over the city's destruction of Meigs Field, said it has given preliminary approval to the city's application to lease Midway Airport to private investors.
A Piper PA-23, registered to and operated by the Polk County Board of County Commissions and piloted by an ATP-certified pilot ,was destroyed when the airplane struck terrain while maneuvering near Fort Meade, Fla. Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft was being used for mosquito control. A witness said the airplane passed overhead at a low altitude. He heard the engines throttle back, then rev up and sputter. The airplane pitched up, rolled to the right, crashed into the ground and immediately caught fire. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured.
Raytheon Aircraft is breathing new life into its popular midsize Hawker business jet by splitting it into two new models, one that's value-priced and the other that has more range and better hot-and-high airport performance. The new value jet is called the Hawker 750 and it's priced at $11.95 million to make it highly competitive with other midsize jets such as the Bombardier Learjet 60XR, Cessna Citation XLS and Gulfstream G150.
Vref, the aircraft price guide for flight department, dealers and brokers, has enhanced its aircraft valuation software, Vref for Windows. With this updated version, pilots and aviation professionals can print out a decade of price history for every year and model of aircraft. The software is normally used to determine the current market value of general aviation and business airplanes. Users can now view a line graph that depicts the retail price history of each aircraft from 1995. Price: $49.95 (single-edition); $175.00 (one-year subscription)
McCreery Aviation Co. is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Started in 1946 by J.F. "Mac" McCreery in Mercedes, Texas, as a one aircraft flight school, the company has grown into one of the largest full-service FBOs in South Texas. In 1948, it moved to its present location at the McAllen, Texas airport. President Bob McCreery says "with the vision of my parents, Mac and Ardath McCreery, and the hard work of many dedicated employees, we continue to be the most progressive, customer oriented, full-service FBO in South Texas."
To meet a boom in large aircraft completions at Jet Aviation Basel, Switzerland's EuroAirport board of directors has announced that it will develop the south zone of the airport for Jet Aviation, which wants to build a mega-hangar to accommodate aircraft up to the size of an Airbus 380 or Boeing 747-400. Construction will start in 2007 and is expected to be completed by March 2008. Jet Aviation will invest roughly $24 million in this new site and will add approximately 400 professionals to its current work force.
Donald W. Campbell, executive vice president of CAE Inc., has been named chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada. He will serve a one-year term at the helm of the Ottawa-based group, which represents the interests of 400 companies in the world's fourth-largest aerospace industry. He succeeds Pierre Racine, president of Rolls-Royce Canada.
Tech Aviation, a full-service FBO with facilities in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Garden City, Kan., has been rebranded under the name of its charter and management affiliate company, FirstFlight. John Dow, who has served as president and CEO of Elmira/Corning, N.Y.-based FirstFlight, is assuming operational responsibility for the Tech Aviation facilities. Both companies are divisions of FBO Air, Inc.
The second prototype of the Grob G 180 SPn utility business jet, which flew for the first time on Sept. 29, is the first in the world to fly with Honeywell's Primus Apex integrated avionics system. Eventually the cockpit can be further upgraded with an optional Enhanced Vision System. Apex is developed from Honeywell's Epic suite and consists of two 15-inch LCD PFDs and two 10-inch MFDs, along with dual FMSes, autothrottle, GPS and EGPWS/TAWS and TCAS.
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.
Quest Aircraft Co. has won Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) from the FAA for the its Kodiak, a single-engine utility turboprop. TIA means Quest and FAA officials can now conduct final inspections to ensure that the first production aircraft, s.n. 001, conforms to specifications. The Kodiak is designed to be an aerial truck, carrying passengers and cargo off short, unimproved landing strips in rugged terrain for a variety of missions.
When the Garrett TFE731 engine made its debut on the Falcon 10 and Learjet 35/36 in the early 1970s, it revolutionized high-performance, light jet business aviation. Compared to turbojet engines that powered light jets of that era, the new turbofan TFE731 burned one-third less fuel and its FAR Part 36 Stage III sound levels provided welcome relief at noise-sensitive airports.
