Stevens Aviation, the South Carolina-based aircraft sales and support company, is developing an avionics retrofit for Learjet 25s being upgraded by Best Jets of Denison, Texas, as part of that company's Learjet 25 Platinum program.
A boon for pilots who use their back-up, handheld GPS for driving, Reichert Enterprises has expanded its line of GlareStomper flexible GPS sun visors to fit a broad range of Garmin, Magellan, Navman and Sony units, as well as every Tomtom model currently on the market. "When you plunk down hundreds of dollars for a GPS unit, you want to be able to see the map display in the daylight. That's exactly what we offer," says company founder Dave Reichert.
Online charter specialist CharterX Corp. is planning to launch a new Safety Intelligence service with the acquisition of New Jersey-based Wyvern Consulting, Ltd. Wyvern is known within the charter industry for its safety audits, consultancy and information services. Wyvern has performed more than 1,500 charter audits worldwide. CharterX, meanwhile, processes more than 2,000 aircraft requests each day and has a database of more than 15,000 aircraft worldwide.
A Gates Learjet 35A operated by International Jet Charter was destroyed when it impacted water and light stanchions while making an instrument approach through afternoon fog for landing at Groton-New London Airport (GON), in Connecticut. Both pilots were killed, but the three passengers survived with minor injuries. One of the passengers said he felt the aircraft "thrust up" just before it crashed, at which point "the jet tumbled across the water" before coming to rest upside down.
Nav Canada was informed July 14 that the new daily charge for small aircraft at seven major international airports complies with the charging principles of the Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act. The charge had been appealed to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) by the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association and the Helicopter Association of Canada.
National Air Transportation Association, Alexandria, Va., announced that Russ Lawton has joined the organization as director of safety and security of the Safety 1st Program.
Dassault elected to fit the Falcon 7X with one of the most redundant fly-by-wire (FBW) systems ever installed in a civil jet. It's highly fault-tolerant so its master minimum equipment list will be long and complete. Dispatch will be permitted with multiple single components faults, including failure of one channel of each side-stick controller, one SmartProbe inoperative and loss of a single flight data concentrator, one channel in a main flight control computer (MFCC) or in an actuator control monitoring unit.
Raisbeck Engineering, Inc., Seattle. Sam L. Jantzen Jr. was promoted to vice president and general manager; Bobby Patton was promoted to marketing manager of King Air Performance Systems; Edwin Black was named marketing manager of Learjet Performance Systems; Leslie Dycus was named advertising and public relations manager.
- Despite several serious accidents at the end of June, the number of mishaps involving turbine-powered business aircraft was down during the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2005. The U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet experienced 25 accidents in the first six months of 2006, down eight from 2005, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, of Boca Raton, Fla. There were nine fatal accidents involving 21 deaths in the first half this year, compared with eight fatal accidents and 34 fatalities a year ago.
Regional Airports Ltd. (RAL), which owns London Biggin Hill and London Southend Airports, is to build a 160,000-square-foot hangar, capable of holding up to four BBJ-size aircraft, at Biggin. At Southend Airport, there is planning consent for 220,000 square feet of additional hangarage for corporate as well commercial airline use. The Biggin Hill Executive Handling ramp is also to be increased by around 30 percent with work completed by year-end.
London City Airport Jet Centre extended its corporate aviation business on July 1, when it took over the corporate jet handling contract at RAF Northolt from Regional Airports Ltd. The initiation of the new service, called Northolt Jet Centre Premier Passenger Service (PPS), marks the first time the LCY Jet Center has offered handling services at another airport.
Diamond's D-JET resumed flight testing after installation of a real-time data acquisition system and minor planned modifications to the engine inlet fairings. In a series of flight tests the speed and altitude envelope was progressively expanded from the previously flown 170 knots and 12,000 feet to a cruise speed of 280-plus KTAS and 25,000 feet, the aircraft's altitude certification limit. The latest flights were performed by pilots Christian Dries, CEO of Diamond Aircraft Industries, and test pilot Anthony Brown.
Intelligence | 13 * Nav Canada Charging for Small Aircraft * Business Aviation Accidents Down for First Half of 2006 * Raytheon Requests Certification Standards Exemption for Hawker 4000 * Secretary Mineta Steps Down * US Helicopter Launches New Service Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 7 | Viewpoint By William Garvey A Friend in Need 60 | Cause & Circumstance By William Garvey Too Late for a Go-Around
Klein Tools recently expanded its Tool Tote line with two new multi-pocket tote bags -- a 17-pocket Tool Tote with a shoulder strap (Cat. No. 58890) and a seven-pocket Tool Tote (Cat. No. 58886).
Kansas City Aviation Center (KCAC) and Universal Avionics have launched a program to install three EFI-890R EFIS displays into the Pilatus PC-12. KCAC will hold the STC for the retrofit of the single-engine turboprop.
Bombardier has relocated two of its strategic business jet units to London Farnborough Airport. Bombardier's business aircraft sales headquarters for Europe, as well as the headquarters of its charter arm, Skyjet International, are now located within TAG Aviation's new Farnborough facilities.
B&CA asked the FAA's Airport Safety and Standards Division director, David Bennett, what the aviation authority's position was regarding the use of congressional legislation to override federal grant obligations so airports could either be restricted or shut down. Here's his response:
(Kerrville, Texas) -- Heather Rider has been named the company's sales representative in the Northeast, with responsibility for selling airplanes in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. A graduate of the University of North Dakota, she previously served as an account manager at Iviation, an aircraft services company based in Memphis.
I wasn't surprised when I read in Intelligence (July, page 11) about the airlines' satisfaction with the Midwest Airspace Enhancement (MASE) that took effect during the second week of June. It's just another example of the incompetence at the FAA.
"Unless we are talking about new or near-new long-range jets, this market is no longer the frenzied, red-hot bazaar that it was six months ago, stated Fletcher Aldredge in the second-quarter edition of his Market Leader newsletter. The publisher of the Vref Aircraft Value Reference, which tracks used aircraft prices, added, "Holding times are up and so is availability of some models."
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, has selected Kaan Air to serve as the Italian airframe manufacturer's sales and authorized service center in Turkey. Kaan Air will provide sales, maintenance and repair services, as well as maintaining a spare parts inventory for AgustaWestland helicopters. The Turkish company will be building new facilities for the service center, which is scheduled to be fully operational in 2007. Separately, AgustaWestland has opened a regional sales office in Warsaw, Poland, to market its range of civil and military aircraft.
On June 28, Airservices Australia withdrew its RFP for low-altitude ADS-B ground stations and user equipment, and two days later ordered eight new terminal radars for major Australian cities. The air traffic services provider declined to disclose the value of the radar order, citing "commercial confidentiality," although costs of the new radars have been estimated at about $90 million (AUS).
US Helicopter launched scheduled service between Bridgeport/Stratford, Conn. (BDR), Manhattan's East 34th Street Heliport and JFK International Airport on June 26. Except weekends and holidays, the company operates 12 hourly flights from the heart of New York City to JFK using Sikorsky S-76 equipment configured for eight seats. Passengers flying with the company's strategic partner American Airlines have the added advantage of checking baggage through to final destinations and obtaining boarding passes for their AA legs when they board their helicopter, and vice versa.
