Landmark Aviation announced the completion of a $2 million hangar and office facility at its Raleigh, N.C., FBO. The expansion at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport includes 13,500 square feet of additional space for aircraft storage and maintenance, a new three-bay ground equipment support hangar, and 4,800 square feet of office space. "This expansion provides additional hangar and work areas for our based tenants," said Tracine Anderson, Landmark Aviation general manager at Raleigh.
It's only a matter of time before cell phones are aboard aircraft. Business aircraft, at least. Two issues keep them shut down for now (please tell us you've never neglected to turn yours off, have you?) in the airliner cabin: interference with onboard avionics and their effect on conventional cellular ground stations. The former is an FAA issue; the latter is property of the FCC.
En route from Oxford, Miss., to Rochester, Minn., the pilots of a Cessna Citation 560 diverted to Ellen Church Field, Crasco, Iowa. After touching down on Runway 33, the jet ran off the 2,949-foot-long runway's end and into a cornfield where it received substantial damage. Both pilots were killed, while the two passengers were seriously injured.
BAE Systems has received a contract to enter Phase III of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) program to protect commercial airliners from shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles, also known as Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). The contract was expected and, including options, is valued at more than $50 million. In Phase III, BAE will continue to refine its military-derived JetEye airliner protection system, which uses a low-power laser to blind the seekers of incoming missiles. JetEye flew on an American Airlines Boeing 767 in late 2005.
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.
A July survey of used airplane brokers and dealers from around the United States indicated that the traditional summer slowdown in previously owned aircraft sales has not materialized for most of them this year. A majority of the aircraft salespeople polled said that demand for late-model, low-time aircraft remains robust, thanks to multi-year backlogs for many popular new-production models, a resilient economy and continuing relatively low interest rates. A few brokers and dealers, however, have noticed a modest slowdown in their business.
Germany-based Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH has signed a breakthrough deal with the American Flyers to convert its 55 of the training company's Cessna 172s to Centurion 1.7 jet fuel piston engines. Frank Thielert, managing director of Thielert, stated, "If the other European certifications are validated in the United States, we can reckon with a North American market of 1,000 replacement engines a year for the Piper PA28-161 alone." The FAA type certification for the installation of the Centurion 1.7 for the Skyhawk was awarded in January 2005.
Thursday, July 13, 2006, was a historic day for Sino Swearingen Aircraft. Just before noon, we touched down at San Diego-Montgomery Field (MYF) after a five-hour, 44-minute nonstop flight from New York's Westchester County Airport (HPN), marking the first time the SJ30-2 had flown coast-to-coast across the United States. It was also the first time since the introduction of the Learjet 36 in 1974 that a new, regular production light jet demonstrated a New York-to-California nonstop range capability.
AS CHIEF OF AVIATION for the California Department of Forestry (CDF), I was used to alarms. But this note rattled me: "Call the governor's office." I dialed and a woman said, "I need to coordinate the governor's flight to Lake Tahoe on Friday. He's meeting Nevada's governor to sign the joint environmental agreement for Lake Tahoe." After noting times and places, I signed off and immediately called the CDF director's office. His assistant provided background.
The latest in Sporty's popular Flight Gear line is the Solo Flight Gear Bag. Designed by Sporty's team of pilots, this bag meets the needs of experienced pilots who have less to carry on their flights. A completely padded interior features three separate compartments, giving pilots the versatility to carry their headsets, GPS and other necessary gear. A special padded exterior pocket is designed for a handheld transceiver.
Aircraft hydraulic systems were developed in the early 20th century as a practical means of transmitting robust mechanical power generated by a pump, usually driven by an engine, to a motor or actuator several feet away. Newly developed "heavy lifting" functions, such as actuating landing gear and flaps, required more mechanical muscle than could be supplied by electric motors or actuators of acceptable weight or size.
Executive Beechcraft, the Kansas City-based FBO, is offering an instrument panel retrofit for King Air C90s that features installation of the Garmin G1000, which integrates all primary flight, navigation, communications, terrain, traffic, weather, engine instrumentation and crew-alert data, presenting the composite information on three high-definition color displays.
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.
Runway 1/19 at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC), reopened Aug. 15, a week ahead of schedule. The project involved completely removing and replacing the pavement and electrical systems for the main, 7,000-foot-long runway. The 5,050-foot-long Runway 3/21 reopened earlier this summer after the intersection of the two runways was rehabilitated.
The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that the city of Hailey, Idaho, was within its rights in enforcing a 95,000-pound aircraft weight limitation at Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) that prevents the owner of a Boeing Business Jet from operating it there. The case was argued earlier this year, but the final decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was filed in July. The case was initiated by Ronald N. Tutor, whose company, Tutor-Saliba Corp., owns a BBJ.
Steve Ouellette from the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) presents avionics technicians at Banyan Air Service in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., awards for excellence in avionics training.
Dassault Falcon announced July 17 at Farnborough that the Falcon 7X flight test program has reached 850 hours flown during 275 test flights. Certification flights with the EASA have begun and will be completed by year-end, with final certification and first deliveries expected in early 2007. A team of FAA pilots has also recently joined the program.
Landmark Aviation, Tempe, Ariz., named Bob Candler as vice president and general manager of its Springfield, Ill., maintenance, repair and overhaul operation. Greg Haywood was named regional group sales manager for the Western United States and international sales territories. Harry Zegarski is the new modifications sales manager for the Western United States. Mark Thibault will be the new regional sales manager for Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and British Columbia.
A Bornhofen Sport-Jet experimental jet struck the ground after takeoff from Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), seriously injuring the pilot and passenger. According to witnesses, the airplane departed Runway 17R and rose to about 15 feet when it rolled hard to the left and began to "cartwheel" down the runway.
When Scot Killen got his shot as coxswain aboard the New York Athletic Club lightweight eights in 1978, he was 13 years old and weighed 102 pounds--eight pounds below the minimum. "They made me drink a gallon of water before I weighed in," he recalls, laughing. In crew, the coxswain steers, sets the pace, and acts as a kind of coach, but he was a neophyte in a crew of veterans.
