Thank you for doing an excellent job on your recent article "Operator Survey: Boeing Business Jet" (July, page 62), that included the mention of our flight department Ty Air, Inc. and its BBJ aircraft. You had all of the facts right and wove them together into a most readable article. Good work.
FOLLOWING A LONG aviation tradition and sensible SOPs, the first officer went out on the ramp and began a walk-around inspection of the Boeing 737, looking at the tires, gear, flight controls and such. It was Jan. 16, 2006. Reaching the right engine, the F/O noticed a puddle of fluid on the tarmac below the nacelle and told the captain. At that point the four-striper strode out under the engine, examined the puddle and declared the turbofan to be leaking oil.
Recent certification of the Cessna Mustang very light jet and the imminent FAA full approval of the Eclipse 500 VLJ has not yet had affected the robust market for previously owned turboprop buyers, say several industry experts.
The NBAA presented Cessna Aircraft Co. with the inaugural NBAA Albert Ueltschi Humanitarian Award at its 2006 convention in recognition of the "leadership and spirit of service" demonstrated by the Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift. "The generosity of the hundreds of Cessna Citation owners and operators required to accomplish this massive humanitarian effort epitomizes the sense of community and service that NBAA intends to recognize with the Ueltschi Humanitarian Award," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.
U.S. Air Force reservists just love the sound of a C-130 prop cycling in the morning. The Herk is hell for loud, but the loudest, most filling-loosening airplane ever built and placed in service is probably the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear. Also one of the fastest turboprops in the world with a top speed estimated at around 500 knots, the Tu-95 engendered hangar tales galore. Air Force crews sent to intercept it were said to be able to hear the howl of its counter-rotating noise generators above the sound of their own aircraft from inside their cockpits.
Nicholas Sabatini, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, told the Senate Commerce Committee's aviation subcommittee that he wanted to dispel concerns surrounding the introduction of the VLJ into the NAS. "The system is in place today to accommodate the entry of new aircraft into the NAS," Sabatini said. "This is nothing new for the FAA.
Continued strong sales of previously owned, turbine-powered aircraft to corporations, combined with the "impressive performance" of world stock markets in recent months, seem to bode well for the near-term health of the used business-aircraft market. That was the assessment of Paul Wyatt, managing editor of the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest, in the third quarter edition of his Marketline newsletter.
The FAA's New England Regional Aviation System Plan predicts that airline traffic in the region will grow substantially during the next 15 years, and that growth will require the expansion of both air carrier and general aviation airports within the six-state area. The new report describes a regional strategy to accommodate the anticipated increase at New England's 11 major commercial-service airports from the current 43 million airline passengers annually to an estimated 76 million yearly by 2020.
Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) are coming on strong for one simple reason. Anyone who has ever flown an Instrument Competency Check (ICC) ride under the hood in VFR conditions knows that "One peek is worth a thousand cross-checks." One quick look at the outside world instantly clears up any confusion regarding aircraft attitude, proximity to terrain and obstructions, and distance to go to the runway, among other critical elements of situational awareness.
NATA has developed Operational Control Workshops designed to help FAR Part 135 on-demand operators comply with the FAA's newly revised A008 OpSpec for Operational Control. For over a year, the FAA has been conducting an ongoing investigation of Part 135 operational control issues associated with aircraft leases between charter operators and aircraft owners, and the use of alternate business names. The investigation led to the issuance of new guidance by the agency.
Mike DeWeese, line service supervisor at Million Air Houston, was honored with the first "Houston Friendly Award" presented by the Houston Airport System. This award will be given quarterly to honor individuals who demonstrate excellence in customer service to passengers traveling though Houston's airports.
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.
Several vexing problems with the new international aircraft registry remain to be solved before business aircraft buyers and sellers will be comfortable with the system, but Mike Nichols, NBAA's director of tax, economics and operational services, believes that progress is being made in addressing the industry's concerns. "It's fair to say we are making steady progress," said Nichols recently. "It's probably slower than any of us would like to see, but that's just the nature of something like this."
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.
Lufthansa Technik AG, Hamburg, Germany, announced that Uwe Mukrasch will join the board of directors as chief executive human resources with additional responsibility for information management.
In a new contract from Airservices Australia, Sensis Corp. will supply multistatic dependent surveillance over Tasmania, with coverage down to the ground at Hobart and Launceston airports. The system initially will provide en route surveillance with multilateration and ADS-B, with accuracy of better than 150 meters (490 feet). Full-scale operations will begin in 2008, and maintenance will be simplified for the Australians with a Sensis remote control and monitoring system.
THE WEATHER WAS HARDLY atypical for a summer afternoon in Florida -- warm, breezy and VMC with low scattered clouds, but there were thunderstorms in and around the St. Augustine area. It was Aug. 25, 2006, and Ward and Barbara Walter were among the many aloft over the Sunshine State. They were southeast bound from Bloomington, Ind., making their way to Governor's Harbour Airport on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas where their vacation home was located. They planned an intermediate stop in Melbourne before heading out across the Atlantic.
The Singapore Airshow has awarded a $38 million contract to Eng Lim Construction to build its new site in Changi North for its first event in 2008. BAE Systems, Boeing, EADS (including Airbus), Rolls-Royce International, ATI, Honeywell, L-3 Communications, United Technologies Corp., Bell Helicopter Textron, Saab, SIA Engineering, Sukhoi and anchor exhibitor ST Engineering have registered to participate. The Singapore Airshow replaces Asian Aerospace, a biennial event for the past 25 years, which was relocated to Hong Kong.
Professional baseball players have not merely been airplane passengers; many have become pilots. For some big leaguers, the convenience of charter flights during the baseball season helped convince them to take up flying themselves. During the 1970s especially, a variety of ballplayers -- including New York Yankee captain Thurman Munson, Detroit Tiger pitcher Denny McLain and Los Angeles Dodger players Don Sutton, Rick Monday and Reggie Smith -- earned their wings.
The "adjacency" of the electronic games industry to the aircraft simulation business is only part of the reason for the startling realism available in today's newest simulators, but it's an important one. Coupled with enormous advances in computer clock speeds and throughput, current software ensures that today's sims are as close to real as a fool-you device can get. Off-the-shelf data now available commercially means easy access to satellite imagery and other geodata that comes complete on a couple of DVDs.
RAC is issuing this Safety Communiqué to provide updated information. This Safety Communiqué also announces revisions to the various model-specific AFMs. Due to design similarities, this information is applicable to all listed models (which includes all Raytheon Mitsubishi Model MU-300; Beechjet Model 400, 400a (including Hawker 400xp); Model 400t (T-1a and TX) aircraft.)
Flaps fully extended and landing gear down and locked, the King Air B100 descended to Runway 33 at North Central State airport in Pawtucket, R.I. The right main landing gear touched down approximately two feet prior to the runway, and collapsed when the wheel struck the elevated runway edge. The airplane subsequently came to rest upright off the right side of the runway. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
