A 1947-vintage G-73T Grumman Turbo Mallard powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT-6s and operated by Chalks Airline rumbled out of its Watson's Island amphibian terminal across from Port Miami and began its water run for takeoff. The Bimini-bound flight had 18 passengers and two pilots aboard. A number of beachgoers and passersby watched as the aircraft climbed away from the ship channel and then saw the right wing separate, followed by a burst of flames as the Grumman plummeted into the water. All aboard were killed.
Accidents involving turbine-powered business aircraft dropped substantially from first quarter 2005 to the quarter just ended, according to information compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. The U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet combined experienced 15 accidents, including five fatal accidents, which resulted in 16 passenger and crew fatalities during the first quarter of this year, Breiling said. By comparison, there were 23 accidents in first quarter 2005, five of which resulted in 24 fatalities.
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.
Thanks for your note. I was unfamiliar with the Atlanta Olympics experience, but I agree that it does reflect the same kind of overreaction as those who fear VLJs will soon darken the skies. As for user fees, we're discussed them several times in the magazine and have a feature on that subject in this issue (page 58). The Jet-A tax issue was the subject of my March Viewpoint, and a matter of real concern. Unfortunately, the problem persists and, yes, the whole industry will suffer if it doesn't get resolved.
The British Airports Authority (BAA), which owns Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, has rejected a pre-conditional buyout proposal ($14 per share) from a consortium led by Grupo Ferrovial S.A. The BAA board said that it, "has no hesitation in rejecting this proposal, which does not begin to reflect the true value of BAA's unique portfolio of airport assets. On the basis of this proposal, the board does not believe it is in shareholders' interests for it to enter into discussions with Ferrovial." BAA's total revenues in 2005 were $3.4 billion from its seven U.K.
Lowering the WAAS floor to 200 feet agl has opened the door to precision approaches at literally thousands of general aviation airports. (See B&CA, April, page 22.) AOPA President Phil Boyer wants the FAA to recognize WAAS LPV (lateral precision and vertical guidance) approaches as true precision approaches and to launch an aggressive program to implement them at airports now without precision approaches.
A DIRECTOR OF FLIGHT operations for a major corporation lamented recently that executives who use and appreciate business aviation are reluctant to support it in public. Privately they talk about how the company aircraft makes travel more efficient and employees more productive -- factors that increase shareholder equity. But they are silent when asked to advocate this form of transportation, and are particularly mute when Capitol Hill is listening.
Zero Gravity Corp. will begin regular use of the space shuttle's runway and landing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. beginning June 24. The agreement follows a successful pilot program to expand runway access for non-NASA activities. Beginning with its first flight for the public, Zero-G will conduct up to 280 weightless flights annually from the facility's 15,000-foot runway using a modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft, called G-Force One.
Avidyne Corp. is offering a free 12-month subscription to XM's Aviator LT satellite weather service with the purchase of an Avidyne EX500 multi-function display (MFD) between April 1 and June 30. The EX500 features a 5.5" diagonal, high-resolution moving map display that can show flight plan information and Avidyne's exclusive two-way MultiLink datalink weather service. Options include interfaces to 19 different airborne weather radar systems, TAWS display, lightning and active traffic including Avidyne's TAS600 series systems.
Aviation Daily reported that this past February Newark and La Guardia airports posted the worst on-time arrival rate of the major U.S. airports tracked by the DOT. Newark reported a dismal 60.9 percent rate, followed by LGA with only 64.1 percent of flights arriving on schedule. Neighboring John F. Kennedy Airport did better with a 70.3 percent on-time performance. San Francisco and Seattle also posted rates under 70 percent largely due to weather delays.
The National Air Transportation Association has renewed its call for the IRS to ease its Jet-A fuel tax collection procedures. That came after Eric Solomon, acting deputy assistant secretary of the treasury for tax policy, sent letters to key legislators acknowledging lawmakers' requests to delay implementation of the new tax rules, but said the Treasury Department has no authority to do so. "I recognize that the . . .
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."
Bombardier reported profits of $249 million for the fiscal year ending in January, a significant improvement from a loss of $85 million the previous year. Revenues fell from $4.7 billion a year ago to $4 billion in the 12 months ended Jan. 31 as airliner deliveries fell. The company said increased business aircraft and turboprop deliveries compensated for declining regional jet deliveries. Business jet deliveries were up 45 percent to 186 from 128, while regional airplane deliveries dropped 26 percent to 149.
An Airworthiness Directive that became effective on March 15 requires the four U.S.-based operators of Hansa Jet HFB 320 airplanes to revise the "limitations" section of their airplane flight manual to prohibit operation of the aircraft past its design life limit for the primary structure, which is 15,000 flight hours or 15,000 fight cycles, whichever occurs first.
A key issue facing European air traffic management safety is the shortage of skilled resources to support the implementation of Safety Management and Safety Regulation programs, a recent workshop held in April at Eurocontrol in Brussels heard. The workshop brought together representatives from air navigation service providers, air traffic management and safety consultancy companies, and manufacturers.
Landmark Aviation announced April 3 that it has acquired Corporate Jets Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz. -- a full-service FBO and aircraft maintenance, sales and charter operation at the Scottsdale Airport (SDL). "Scottsdale is a strategic acquisition for Landmark Aviation in a key market, expanding our maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and FBO network throughout North America," said Roger Wolfe, Landmark CEO.
Lufthansa Technik has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with The Mexmil Co., allowing the Santa Ana, Calif.-based company to manufacture the German company's patented cabin acoustic insulation system. The Lufthansa system, called AcousticPlus, "provides a dramatically improved environment and flying experience for passengers," Lufthansa said.
Altair Avionics Corp., part of the Pratt & Whitney Canada Service Center Network, has received additional European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certifications for its Data Transmission Unit (DTU) and IntelliStart+ aircraft data monitoring system.
Bombardier Aerospace has received an order from National Air Support of Adelaide, Australia, for three Q300 Maritime Patrol Aircraft for the Surveillance Australia Coastwatch program. Bombardier valued the order at $53 million (U.S.). Surveillance Australia has operated Bombardier turboprops since 1996 and currently flies five Dash 8/Q200s. The aircraft, which have amassed some 70,000 hours of surveillance time, are used to search for fishing, immigration, quarantine violations and environmental hazards, drug smuggling and missing vessels.
Air Chef, Columbus, Ohio. Jeffery Mundy has joined the company as vice president of special projects. He is a graduate of the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris and will be responsible for the opening the company's operation in Le Bourget, France.
Coded Departure Routes (CDRs) have been in use for some time by the airlines and are coming into play for business aviation as well. Officially, only Teterboro and Morristown, N.J., and New York's Westchester County airports are listed as available to general aviation, but ARINC's Bob Richard says the system is expected to go nationwide shortly. CDR routes, a somewhat more sophisticated tool than the old Preferred Routes between two heavily traveled city pairs, comprise any number of ATC-approved routings that are published and available to all.
