I always turn first to your Cause & Circumstance and then Flight Log. Really enjoyed the article about the Grumman Mallard ferry flight from Fiji to Ohio (August, page 72). Well done!
Rockwell Collins' new Pro Line 21 IDS Web site (www.rockwellcollins.com/ids) allows operators to build a flight deck. Operators select the level of upgrade that interests them and configure an avionics solution from a menu of Pro Line 21 capabilities. The site also identifies pending and completed STCs available for Pro Line 21 IDS. Rockwell Collins 400 Collins Rd. N.E. Cedar Rapids, IA 52498 Phone: (319) 295-1000 www.rockwellcollins.com
ATR sold six regional turboprops to Tanzanian carrier Precision Air Services under a contract valued at $97 million. The contract calls for delivery of three ATR 42-500s and three ATR 72-500s between 2008 and 2010. Precision Air Services already operates six ATR aircraft -- four ATR 42-320s and two ATR 72-210s. The new turboprops will modernize the Precision fleet and allow the carrier to expand its regional routes across Africa. ATR and Precision Air Services also have a memorandum of understanding for a training program in France.
NBAA, Washington, D.C., announced the addition of Robert Quinn as the organization's regional representative for the Central region, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
CJ Systems Aviation Group, Pittsburgh, has appointed John J. Goglia to the position of interim vice president of safety; Tim Sukow has been named director of safety; Doug Berkley will be the new director of standards and compliance; and Darrell Carter has been appointed to the position of director of training.
As always, I look forward to both your Purchase Planning Handbook and the Operations Planning Guide. Looking at pages 109 through 111 in the out-of-production aircraft, it just amazed me that they all can cover the 300-nm stage length profile in two to three hours, and with an incredibly low fuel burn/cost. I guess new technology will never catch up with what has been.
Frasca International, Urbana, Ill., recently booked a number of orders for its TruFlite flight training devices (FTDs) from flight schools based in the United States and New Zealand. The Milwaukee Academy of Aviation, Science and Technology, a magnet high school specializing in aviation, ordered a TruFlite FTD that will be configured to fly like a Cessna 172. Massey University in Palmsterton, New Zealand, is adding a TruFlite FTD that will be convertible between a Seneca V and Piper Warrior.
Bonjour monsieur Garvey. Your Viewpoint is the first thing I read in B&CA each month (now earlier on the Web) with Merriam-Webster's only a click away. Your unpredictable style and language are most entertaining.
(Danbury, Conn.) -- Tony Kioussis has been named vice president of strategic marketing for corporate aircraft. He will lead corporate aircraft marketing initiatives and will be responsible for identifying new growth opportunities. Kioussis previously served as vice president of aircraft acquisitions and sales for Jet Aviation Holdings USA. He also has held various marketing and sales posts with Eastern Airlines, Jet Support Services and Templeton, Kenly & Co. In addition, he spent 10 years with British Aerospace, eventually rising to vice president of sales.
Kansas City Aviation Center (KCAC), based at Johnson County Airport in Olathe, Kan., earned FAA STC approval to install Universal Avionics' EFI-890R displays on Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.
Cessna has begun function and reliability flight testing on the Citation Mustang, the last round of tests necessary for type certification later this year, the company said. "We have essentially completed the majority of our certification issues and expect to wrap things up with the F&R program, keeping us on schedule for TC as predicted four years ago when we launched the program," said Jon Carr, Citation project engineer. The Mustang program has accrued more than 1,600 flight hours.
The D-Jet's price has gone up to $1.38 million (July 2006 dollars), all inclusive. It was billed as "under $1 million" at its January 2003 launch. Peter Maurer, president of Diamond Aircraft Industries, explains that since the first announcement, the aircraft has grown in cabin volume, engine thrust, useful load, fuel capacity and equipment level, to its current configuration. Most features and equipment, originally extra cost options, have now been packaged into the D-Jet.
In order to answer the question of what kinds of ice must be considered, and when, the NPRM proposes Appendix C amendments to create a new Part I subsection (c) to define "takeoff" icing atmospheric conditions and a new Part II to define ice accretions and define the limiting conditions for determining the ice accretions appropriate to each phase of flight, as follows: Part I -- Atmospheric icing conditions (a) Continuous maximum icing (no changes) (b) Intermittent maximum icing (no changes)
FLASHLIGHT, CHECK. Screwdriver, check. Eyeshadow, check. I was ready. I'd been heading out the door when I stopped to more carefully consider the job at hand, the problems I might encounter, and what remedies I might need. While the hangar is just seven miles away, returning for a forgotten tool or document is annoying and yet occurs so often, I've begun to double-check myself before I get in the car.
In "The FAA's New Landing Assessment Rule" (August, page 40), Patrick Veillette says he has "combed through several business jet AFMs. . . ." It is true most manufacturers will not provide distance factor for operation of business jets. Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp.
COMPANIES WITH FLIGHT departments have many reasons to charter a business aircraft, such as when their own aircraft simply are not available or insufficient in number or size to provide enough lift. Often executives familiar with the benefits business aircraft provide charter a business jet rather than be buffeted by the vagaries of airline service.
Patrick Veillette's "Cowboy Pilots" (June, page 59) was simply exceptional. I think it was the best aviation article I've read in some time, particularly with respect to human factors. And it was certainly the most honest. True to form, Veillette didn't pull any punches, but that's what makes it valuable.
-Bell 222, 230 and 430 helicopters -- Conduct initial and repetitive inspections of each tail-rotor counterweight bellcrank. If external damage, a crack, roughness or looseness between the bearing set and bellcrank is found, or if bearing set axial play exceeds 0.015 inches, replace the bellcrank with an airworthy one that has two prefix letters in its serial number. -Honeywell TPE331 engines -- For engines with certain Woodward fuel control units installed, perform initial and repetitive dimensional inspections of the fuel control drive for wear or damage.
Voyager Jet Center, an aircraft management and flight services company and the FBO at Pennsylvania's Allegheny County Airport, has added a Hawker 850XP to its charter fleet. VJC-managed aircraft operate on Atlantic Aviation Flight Services' certificate. For additional information, visit www.voyagerjet.com.
London City Airport, which isn't allowed to accept helicopter movements other than emergency, wants to open a dedicated heliport to the east of the Canary Wharf business district bordering the Thames. It is believed the proposed site is 1.5 miles from the airport and near the Millennium Dome. A decision on the planning application will depend on the outcome of an ongoing inquiry into London's total future transport requirements.
Years ago a pilot known to me, but for this article will be simply Capt. Everyman, was flight instructing in a retractable gear aircraft whose warning horn would sound each time the throttle was retarded to idle. Accordingly, he pulled the circuit breaker to silence the horn during the lesson. You can guess the rest. Upon returning to the airport, Everyman and his student forgot to reset the circuit breaker and subsequently forgot to move the landing gear lever, resulting in a surprisingly short, noisy and expensive gear-up arrival.
