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.
Aircraft price indexes published by Vref, the Shawnee Mission, Kan., publisher, show that the composite values for popular corporate turboprops continued their gradual climb into the third quarter of this year. Meanwhile, Vref's price index for light business jets remained flat, and the indexes for heavy-iron and medium business jets dropped by the end of June (see accompanying chart).
NASA, the FAA and Ohio State University conducted an extensive joint research program on tailplane icing during the mid-1990s, the results of which were published in NASA and FAA research reports and incorporated into FAA guidance. Research on critical ice shapes continues by NASA, the FAA and others, and this work is applicable to both wings and tailplanes. For example, in recent years there has been extensive research on residual and inter-cycle ice shapes for pneumatic boot deicing, and runback ice shapes for thermal ice protection systems.
Acrohelipro Global Services Inc., Richmond, British Columbia, has appointed Steve Walford as director, customer and technical support. Darcy McAlpine has been named sales manager for Western Canada.
Cessna Aircraft Co. has been recognized by NetJets twice this year for cooperative efforts contributing to the overall success of NetJets -- Cessna's largest customer. Cessna received the first-ever NetJets Annual Performance Award for process improvements implemented in 2005 to decrease maintenance downtime on NetJets aircraft. After applying Six Sigma lean improvement processes, NetJets Aviation's uptime was increased by 30 percent, equivalent to a four-day reduction of maintenance time per aircraft.
European orders for the ZR LITE Learjet 35/36 performance system are now being taken by Aero-Dienst, the newest member of Raisbeck Engineering's network of authorized ZR LITE installation centers. The modification, approved by EASA in September, is designed to increase allowable maximum takeoff weight under "limiting conditions," such as higher-altitude airports and shorter sea-level runways.
Raytheon Aircraft Co., Wichita announced the appointment of Greg McCurley to the position of vice president, Hawker Resale, reporting to Don Dwyer, vice president, Global Commercial Aircraft Sales. Randy Nelson is now senior vice president, for product development and engineering and David Bernstorf has become vice president, airworthiness, certification and technical engineering.
At the Suggs house, the cars are parked in the driveway because there's no space for them in the garage. That's where Cindy Suggs and her family have their weight room. Corporate communications manager for Universal Weather and Aviation in Houston, Suggs has been lifting for 15 years to "keep the obesity beast at bay" and to maintain a cardiovascular edge. "I had a hiatus where I didn't do anything, and I gained weight," she says, adding "it's been a challenge for me all my life."
According to FAR Part 21, STC holders are required to provide updates to ICAs, but in practice this is not always the case. The letter writer is correct about maintenance organizations not being aware of the situation, which is why we published the article.
On Aug. 30, the 500th EC 135 built at Eurocopter's German production facility in Donauwoerth was delivered to the Austrian Motorist and Touring Club (OEAMTC), which will use the twin-turboshaft rotorcraft in its air ambulance operations. This helicopter is the 25th EC 135 for OEAMTC, one of the largest private operators of this type in the world.
I was reading your article in B&CA about the King Air B100 (20/Twenty, September 2006, page 116) and would like to offer some feedback on TPE331 hot section inspections (HSI). Under Honeywell's Century program the cost cap of an HSI for a 331-6 is $62,000. Not all parts associated with the HSI are covered. I recently had an HSI done on a TPE331-6 at a Honeywell Authorized Service Center. The engine was making full power and was fully intact (no broken or non-intact blades, etc.). My cost for the HSI was $82,000.
Cessna's Citation Mustang has been granted full FAA type certification, making it what Cessna calls "the world's first fully certified, new-generation entry level business jet." Cessna continues its reluctance to apply the "very light jet" moniker to the Mustang. FAA type certification for the Mustang includes single-pilot operation, day/night operations, VFR/IFR operation, and operations in RVSM airspace.
