Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., and Rockwell Collins have teamed up to offer a new system to provide up-to-the-minute communication services to an aircraft's cockpit. Rockwell Collins' Pro Line 21 system, along with Universal's UVdatalink Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) service, allows pilots to instantly access strategic information inflight. The system is designed to reduce the congestion on voice frequencies, decrease pilots' workload inflight and save time.
Runway incursions can happen to pilots of any experience level and at any airport. Staying current on ground operations is essential. Sporty's new "Pilot's Guide to Runway Safety" DVD helps pilots do just that, going far beyond the basics in the AIM. The program was developed using video combined with state-of-the-art 3-D animations to give pilots of all skill levels a review on all aspects of airport ground operations. It provides an in-depth look at airport signs, markings and lighting and includes some sobering case studies of real accidents.
The U.S. State Department has started issuing electronic passports to the public. As we go to press, production has started at the Colorado Passport Agency and will be expanded to other production facilities in the next few months, the State Department said. Consistent with "globally interoperable specifications adopted by ICAO," the new passports have biometric technology. A contactless chip in the back cover of the passport has the same data as those found on the biographic data page of the passport, and will also include a digital image of the bearer's photograph.
It was early afternoon when the de Havilland Twin Otter took off from Sullivan, Mo., Regional Airport with skydivers aboard. Witnesses said the airplane climbed to about 150 feet and at the runway's end when the aircraft made a Poof! sound and flames erupted from the right engine. The airplane began turning right and shortly thereafter struck trees and the ground behind a residence about a half mile northwest of the end of Runway 24. The pilot and five passengers were killed. Two remaining passengers suffered serious injuries.
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.
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.
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.
By the mid-1970s, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 was installed on all King Air models, including the newly introduced 100 series. Concerned about its reliance on a single source for motive power, Beech Aircraft decided to pursue a short-lived policy of "engine diversity" to spur competition. Accordingly, the company launched development of a second King Air 100, one to be powered by a pair of 715-shp Garrett AiResearch TPE331-6 engines.
I enjoyed reading Richard Aarons' "Over Gross, Over Tired and Iced Over" (Cause & Circumstance, June, page 80), but why did the article state twice that the pilot neglected to notify ATC of his change in alternate? Is this a purely factual statement or is the author making a judgment that the pilot should have informed ATC?
Galaxy Aviation has announced the appointment of Curtis George as general manager of the company's Boca Raton, Fla., facility. Anthony R. Sherbert has been selected as operations manager for the West Palm Beach, Fla., FBO and Alice Sutherland was appointed customer relations manager for Galaxy's newest facility in St. Augustine, Fla.
Jet Aviation Dubai has been appointed by Gulfstream Aerospace as an Authorized Warranty Repair facility. The company's maintenance and FBO facility at Dubai International Airport is now authorized to perform heavy maintenance and repairs along with warranty work on Gulfstream aircraft.
When I was an FAA designated pilot examiner, I administered practical tests to a couple of applicants who quite honestly left me uncomfortable about issuing a pilot certificate. In one notable case, the applicant exhibited a strong disdain for rules and procedures, attributing them to "those Washington bureaucrats who don't know nuttin!" The applicant was wise enough to comply with the Practical Test Standards, so under FAA guidelines, he was entitled to the new rating on his pilot certificate regardless of my personal consternation and reservations.
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your "Fast Five" featuring Steve Craig, proprietor, Beaumont Hotel (July, page 28). Years ago, when I was with Cessna and first learning to fly, that's where my flight instructor took me to practice grass strip/ unimproved runway landings. Although I haven't been there in a long, long time, it brought back a lot of memories.
Suddenly, this summer, the airborne telephone world recorded some unexpected seismic events: AirCell won an auction for an important slice of the electromagnetic spectrum, while Verizon, which dropped out of the auction, announced it was leaving the airborne phones niche to concentrate on its ground-based mass markets. And Boeing's new CEO, James McNerney, announced that Connexion by Boeing, the company's system for linking aircraft to broadband services, was under review and might be sold or shut down.
(Wichita) -- Tom Aniello, the former vice president and chief marketing officer of Pilatus Business Aircraft, has been named to succeed Phil Michel as vice president of marketing at Cessna. Aniello spent eight and a half years at Cessna before moving five and a half years ago to the North American arm of Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus.
Decades ago, one of my A&P school instructors cautioned the class, "It will be years before you get to drive to and from work in the sunlight, so you'd better learn to sleep during the day." Since working nights and odd hours are facts of life for aviation technicians, he cautioned, "If you are looking for a 9-to-5 type of job, aviation is probably not for you." It was good advice.
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.
The Experimental Aircraft Association warns that while auto fuel can be used in some aircraft, ethanol possesses chemical properties that harm aircraft engines and fueling systems. "It is critical for aircraft owners using auto fuel to know if the gasoline being used in their aircraft is pure," the association said. So the EAA recommends that all auto fuel be tested for ethanol before fueling an aircraft." It is selling a test kit for $15. For more information, visit www.eaa.org.
Arnold Scott has been an investigator with the NTBS since 1982, working out of its Colorado office. He likes the climate, he says: "They have four distinct seasons, with cold winters, and hot summers." When he moved his wife and the five kids out west, they settled first in Aurora. But when Judith --"she always wanted to live in the country"-- found a 27-acre ranch about 50 miles northeast of Denver, she called Scott to tell him about it. "I said ok, buy it," he recalls with a chuckle. That was in 1993, and they've been there ever since.
The FAA published a final rule regarding drug or alcohol testing and medical certifications that includes several changes to airman medical certification standards and applies to all certificated airmen. It also impacts all organizations with FAA-mandated Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs. The rule changes the airman medical certification standards to disqualify an airman based on an alcohol test result of 0.04 or greater breath alcohol content.
Embraer announced the firm order backlog and production schedule for its Executive Jets business at a press conference during the 45th Farnborough International Airshow. "As of June 30th, 2006, our executive jet firm order backlog stands at U.S.$ 1.25 billion," said Maurício Botelho, Embraer chairman, president and CEO. "In respect to the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300, since our launch announcement just over a year ago, we have logged in excess of 235 firm orders." The Legacy 600 was launched in 2000 at the Farnborough Airshow, with deliveries beginning in the following year.
Vice President - Analysis, The Teal Group, Fairfax, Va. Raised in metropolitan New York, Aboulafia earned a master's degree in War Studies at Kings College in London. Trained in the details of armed conflict, he became an expert on the technology employed in war, particularly aircraft and engines. Hired by Teal in 1989, his field of interest has expanded to include all of aerospace. A fine writer, unemotional observer and pithy commentator, he is a favorite source of news editors and producers, trade conference speaker and lecturer.
