IN APRIL WE URGED Washington readers to check out business aviation's stance on the FAA funding debate, specifically GAMA Chairman Jack Pelton's recent speeches on the subject. We thought Pelton, Cessna Aircraft's chairman, CEO and president, made a strong case for maintaining the basic elements of the existing aviation tax structure. Those taxes pour billions of dollars into the Airport and Airway Trust, which pays most of the FAA's bills.
Reading George Larson's article regarding NetJets and the Teamsters ("The Teamsters' Fractionalized Air Corp," April, page 78), it is obvious that AFL-CIO unions such as the Teamsters haven't learned a thing from the airline industry. NetJets operates in a deregulated, free-market environment just as the airlines have been doing post deregulation, and are therefore subject to the same competitive pressures.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has officially released the equivalent of FAR Part 135 operating standards and CCAR 135 is now in the rule book. This is expected to further encourage growth in both business and regional aviation. Asia Business Aviation Association President Jason Liao says that Hainan Airlines' business jet subsidiary, Deerjet, will be operating its five Hawker 800XPs under Part 135 and its managed Beechcraft Premier Is under CCAR Part 91.
Pilots visiting this year's Berlin Air Show on May 16-21 can fly into the ILA site at Schonefeld or the neighboring airfield of Schonhagen, where they would be shuttled to the show. The organizers say that despite increased air traffic, VFR and IFR slots are still available for operations into Schonefeld, but to avoid unnecessary delays VFR traffic is advised to use Schonhagen. A total of 1,475 light aircraft and business jets flew to the event in 2004 and a few even touched down at historic Tempelhof Airport.
Phil Michel, the veteran Cessna Aircraft marketing executive who announced plans in 2005 to retire in April of this year, will remain with the Wichita aircraft manufacturer for an indeterminate period. Steve Fushelberger, who was named in September to succeed Michel as vice president of marketing, left Cessna in mid-March for personal reasons. Michel told The Weekly of Business Aviation he plans to remain on board until a permanent successor is identified, hired and a transition is completed.
Following the collapse of nine months of negotiations between the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association the parties declared a stalemate and the FAA sent its pay proposal to Congress for review. Unless Congress intercedes within 60 days, the FAA will be able to impose its contract terms on the union.
Now it's easy to add full GPS navigation and hands-free calling capabilities to your mobile smartphone with Garmin's Mobile 20 -- a Bluetooth-enabled wireless GPS navigation system. Mobile 20 supports Nokia, Windows Mobile and Treo smartphones, and its integrated phone mount, the GPS 20SM, with a built-in GPS receiver and Bluetooth-enabled speaker and microphone, accommodates nearly any size. The Mobile 20's smart features include:
B&CA is excellent as usual. In "Preventing Overruns on Landing" (December 2005, page 61) I must take exception with the first bulleted paragraph under the heading "How to Prevent Runway Overruns," specifically that a steep approach results in a longer rollout. I find most pilots have the misconception that for a short rollout a flat approach is preferred. Quite the opposite is true. For example the POH of my Baron 58, in addition to a specific airspeed based on landing weight, requires an 800 fpm descent rate to achieve book performance.
Shortly after rotating at Frankfurt, Germany, on March 21, 2001, the Paris-bound Airbus A320 began banking slightly to the left. The captain corrected the bank by nudging his sidestick controller to the right, but was startled when the aircraft banked even farther to the left, exceeding a 20-degree angle of bank. At that point, the captain immediately transferred control of the aircraft to the first officer who corrected the bank angle with his right-hand controller. Once the crew had stabilized their aircraft at 12,000 feet they tried to analyze the problem.
I just read William Garvey's April Viewpoint ("Revenge Effects," page 7). His comments are right on concerning a reaction to something that is not only not available yet, but probably won't materialize to the degree that the "political know-it-alls" think that it will.
Signature Flight Support has purchased Le Terminal, formerly a private aviation facility at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. The acquisition includes a six-story office building, two adjoining hangars and about three acres of aircraft parking ramp. In late 2005, Signature bought the PrivatAir FBO at Le Bourget. The latest acquisitions, combined with the facility it bought in 1998, consolidate "Signature's position as the leading handler at Europe's most active corporate and general aviation airport," said David Best, Signature's European managing director.
Goodrich Corp. has shipped the aerospace industry's first electrically actuated production brakes for installation on Northrop Grumman's new RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aircraft. According to Larry Isenbarger, program manager for Goodrich's Aircraft Wheels and Brakes, "This is a significant milestone for braking technology." The Global Hawk aircraft equipped with the Goodrich electric braking system will begin flight tests later this year.
Embraer announced that 2005 was a record year with net sales reaching $3.830 billion (U.S.), an increase of 11.3 percent in net sales as compared to 2004. Net income also reached a record $445.7 million (U.S.), equivalent to diluted earnings per ADS of $2.53 (U.S.). The firm order backlog as of Dec. 31, 2005, totaled $10.4 billion (U.S.).
New Piper Aircraft dealer Piper Generalvertretung Deutschland AG (Piper AG) is taking over the territories formerly covered by Senate Aviation Ltd. Piper AG will sell and provide parts and service for Piper aircraft in the United Kingdom, Spain and related territories. Piper AG established a new subsidiary, Piper Parts and Sales U.K., to support the expanded territory. The new unit will be based at Bournemouth International Airport in Christchurch, U.K. Piper AG also represents New Piper in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary.
The Dassault Falcon Jet 7X, the first all fly-by-wire business jet, was designed with the technician in mind. "The Falcon 7X fly-by-wire system has a high level of redundancy providing both a high level of safety and availability," said Jean Gauthier, spokesman for the 7X program at Dassault Aviation in France. "It includes an advanced onboard self-test and diagnostic capability, allowing continuous monitoring of the integrity of the system and to aid technicians in troubleshooting and component replacement."
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has already gone on record vociferously opposing user fees as a funding mechanism for the FAA and, especially, for ATC.
I'D WANTED TO FLY SINCE I was a kid, peddling my bicycle out to Torrance, Calif., Airport to watch the airplanes come and go. To later satisfy that yearning, I waited tables to pay for flying lessons. Once licensed, I began to pay dues, instructing, flying charters in a Seneca, hauling checks over the midnight Rockies in a King Air 200, and then taking a chance with the pioneer of low cost carriers, PeopleExpress, which was later merged into Continental.
Raytheon Aircraft Services has completed the first retrofit of Rockwell Collins Integrated Flight Information System into a Hawker 800XP at its Little Rock, Ark., facility.
