The assignment for the day in the woods outside Metaline Falls, Idaho, called for the pilot to haul in logs on long line and deposit them at a central site. The Kaman HH-43F Huskie was in the process of dropping logs on a pile from an altitude of 150 to 200 feet, when a worker on the ground heard a "loud boom." The helicopter, which features intermeshing blades, then rolled slightly before nosing down and crashing into the pile. The ground crew said that immediately after hearing the loud noise, the helicopter's blades began to separate from the aircraft.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department has taken delivery of its fourth EC 120, the 400th Eurocopter EC 120 delivered. Able to carry a pilot and four passengers, the single-engine rotorcraft is powered by a Turbomeca Arrius 2F turbine engine, and can cruise at 122 knots. With the mobility of its helicopter fleet, the average response time for the Air Support Unit is two minutes.
Meggitt has acquired Keith Products, a supplier of compact air-conditioning systems for business jets and general aviation aircraft. Meggitt will pay $30 million on closing, with a further $2 million payable after two years subject to achieving agreed sales targets in 2006 and 2007. The transaction includes a net asset adjustment mechanism and is being funded from Meggitt's existing resources. Located in Addison, Texas, Keith Products is a leader in vapor-cycle air-conditioning systems for cooling, heating and ventilating fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
-Eurocopter BO 105LS A-3 helicopters -- Replace certain fixed bolts and nuts, re-identify certain main rotor nuts, and revise the Airworthiness Limitations -- Time Change Items (TCI) list to reflect the new life limits and new part numbers. -Eurocopter AS-365, EC 155B, SA-365 and SA-366G1 helicopters -- Inspect the main gearbox base plate for a crack and replace it if a crack is found. -Hamilton Sundstrand 14RF-19 props on Saab 340 airplanes -- Replace certain actuator yokes with improved actuator yokes on propellers used on Saab 340 airplanes.
Most schedulers and dispatchers have migrated to multi-screen work stations. But if management resists your requests for additional monitors to enhance your productivity, there's an important study you can cite to bolster your case: NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America, Inc., along with ATI Technologies, maker of very fast video boards, and the University of Utah, conducted a study of the subject in 2003 and found for the multiple-screen work station -- overwhelmingly.
Nine weeks after its first flight, Sierra Industries received an STC for the Stallion, a Cessna Citation 500/501SP fitted with Williams FJ44-2A engines. Mark Huffstutler, Sierra CEO, said, "The Stallion provides owners with choice when it is time to overhaul engines. We [can] climb the Stallion straight to FL 430 at any weight or temperature and cruise 380 knots on 620 pounds per hour for more than 1,400 miles." The Williams engines are fitted with electronic engine controls. Sierra previously developed the Eagle series of Citation performance modifications.
Years ago if a simulator instructor had induced a dual engine failure in the simulator, I think a lot of us would have shook our heads and said, "Can we get back to something more realistic?" The chances of dual engine failure, especially in modern turbojets, were so extremely remote that it was thought something like that could never happen. Yet, as Kathleen Bangs made abundantly clear in "The Most Awful Glide" (B&CA, May 2005, page 60), total power loss does occur. And now in a relatively short period, four Beechjet 400s had double flameouts.
Flight Options, LLC, is launching a revamped fractional purchase and use program designed to deliver up to a 15-percent increase in value through access to more hours, or savings on long-haul trips. Fractional First features the increased transparency, added flexibility and simplified terms that private jet users have wanted from fractional jet providers while simplifying the confusing calculations and restrictive usage terms that have become the industry standard. Fractional First features include:
I was pleased to see Robert Searles' story on Lloyd Stearman in your September issue ("Forever Stearman," page 70) . A couple of points need additional review. The story that Stearman last returned to Wichita in 1956 is apocryphal. He returned again in 1970 or 1971 for a couple of days. At the time I was working for John Zimmerman's Aviation Data Service, and there was a small luncheon given in his honor - possibly at the Boeing Wichita executive dining room. He also made the rounds of civic gatherings and was interviewed by the Eagle or Beacon.
The weather was fine when the pilot and his passenger boarded the Beech 18 for the late morning flight from V.C. Bird International Airport, St. John's, Antigua, to the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Sino Swearingen has received FAA authorization to conduct in-house flight training for customers seeking SJ30 type ratings -- for both two- and single-pilot operations. The first type rating under the new authority was issued to Hamish Harding, chairman of Action Aviation, the SJ30 distributor for much of Europe and the Middle East. The course consists of a minimum of 48 hours of classroom instruction and up to 26 hours of flight training. The first customers will train in an aircraft provided by the company. A Level D simulator is planned in the future.
Flightcraft Inc., one of the largest providers of business aircraft services in the Pacific Northwest, has been named an authorized dealer for the installation of BLR's new winglet system for the King Air 200. Flightcraft will install the winglets at its Portland, Ore., location. In the near future, the FBO expects to receive authorization to install a similar system on King Air C90s.
Honeywell has delivered its 1,000th RE220 APU. Launched in 1993, the RE220 was designed for regional and business aviation aircraft. The APU design features an effusion cooled low-emission combustor, 40 kVa of electrical capability up to 45,000 feet for business jet applications, FADEC and a FOD-resistant radial impeller. The APU incorporates an eductor cooling system that replaces a traditional cooling fan, reducing its weight, improving reliability and APU compartment cooling, simplifying the APU design while reducing operating noise.
While thousands of U.S. airliners are equipped with Honeywell's EGPWS, only a handful have the optional Runway Awareness and Advisory System, a software modification that provides voice reminders to pilots to help them avoid runway incursions. In the case of the Comair CRJ that crashed on takeoff at Lexington, Ky., in August, a functioning RAAS would have told the pilots they were "approaching Runway 26" at Blue Grass Airport, not the longer Runway 22 on which they were cleared to taxi for takeoff, according to the company.
A HIGH-PROFILE airline accident in Chicago last winter continues to reverberate, affecting not only the large scheduled carriers, but FAR Part 135 charter operators and fractional aircraft providers as well.
The Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority) announced in September that the FAA had issued its Record of Decision (ROD) approving the relocation of the Panama City-Bay County International Airport (PFN) to a site in West Bay on land donated by The St. Joe Co. The ROD is the most significant milestone to date in the effort to relocate PFN. The Airport Authority has sought to relocate the airport to address deficiencies at the current site and to meet future projected aviation demand.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has ordered another five American Eurocopter EC120B helicopters, which will bring to 15 the number of the model in the agency's fleet. In other news, American Eurocopter has delivered an EC145 to EmergyCare/ LifeStar based in Erie, Pa., which conducts airlifts for emergency medical services.
Rockwell Collins has STCs for Pro Line 21 integrated display system installations on the Beechcraft King Air 200 and 300 series airplanes. The STC will be owned by Rockwell Collins but performed by Superior Aircraft Maintenance of Medford, Ore. The Pro Line 21 system integrates with the King Air's existing autopilot and sensors. The installation includes three eight-by-10-inch LCDs, a digital weather radar and an integrated flight information package that includes electronic charts, instrument approach procedures, airport diagrams and NOTAMs.
Raytheon Aircraft Services recently secured FAA STC approval to install Rockwell Collins' Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS) on the Pro Line 21-equipped Premier I. The IFIS is standard equipment on all new Premier IA jets, providing electronic charts, graphical weather and enhanced map display capabilities. The electronic charting function includes approaches, procedures, airport diagrams and NOTAMs. The IFIS also allows operators to receive real-time data link weather images.
Cessna delivered the 100th Citation CJ3 on Aug. 28 to Jeffrey Mark, CEO, principal owner and cofounder of Mark-Taylor Residential Inc., an Arizona-based real estate development corporation. A pilot for 16 years, Mark has owned a Cessna CitationJet, a Citation CJ2 and Citation CJ3. He said his previous Cessnas have flown him to both U.S. coasts, Alaska, Costa Rica and Mexico, among other destinations. He said he expects this CJ3 to perform similar missions.
Schedulers and dispatchers will now be able to reach for the eFlyBook, a light (13.7 ounces) and compact tablet display, to check reference books, charts, directories and their current FAR/AIM instead of pulling a heavy book, binder or cumbersome folding chart from the reference shelf. ARINC, partnered with MyAirplane.com, announced the device as a cockpit tool for general aviation pilots, but it's even more likely to find its way to the operations desk.
