Panorama Flight Services at HPN reports that its jet fuel sales through August were up 35 percent over the same period in 2004. President Gene Conderas also says that work is complete on its redesigned lobby and the expanded passenger lounge that now holds 32 people comfortably. The pilot lounge and crew quiet room have also been redone.
Bombardier Aerospace said that SkyWest Inc. of St. George, Utah, has agreed to purchase 22 Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets for its Delta Connection operation. The transaction includes conversion rights to other Bombardier CRJ aircraft. In addition, the 80 options for CRJ700 aircraft previously announced were reaffirmed as part of the agreement. The revised contract is valued at approximately $798 million U.S. If all options are exercised, the entire order could be worth $3.7 billion U.S.
WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE AIR CORPS in 1947, I anticipated a career with the airlines. And I had one, for a while. I flew with Pan Am, but got furloughed in 10 months. After that came a stint flying Peruvian International Airlines DC-4s between New York and Santiago, Chile. It was great while it lasted, which wasn't very long. Next, was All American Airlines, a USAir predecessor. Again the experience was good, but after three years, I wanted something more.
Premier Air Center/West Star Aviation, Grand Junction, Colo., announced the appointment of Rick Brainard as general manager of West Star's Grand Junction facility.
Parking at the side entrance to Million Air at Teterboro (N.J.) Airport, Jeffrey Prusan eased out of his swank silver BMW 745i sedan and walked into the FBO. An industrious, spit-shined Million Air attendant at the counter inquired, ``Who've you come to pick up?''
Sabreliner Corp., Independence, Kan., has promoted Susan Thompson to operations manager. Richard McKinney has been named accessories business development manager.
Premier Jet will build a new Jet Center complex of hangars and offices at McClellan-Palomar Airport with designed-in security features and ``smart-building'' technology. The $33 million project in California's North San Diego County is to open in early 2006. Premier will use Navigance Technologies Group's SAFE (Secure Aviation Facilities Environment) security system for the new 15-acre Jet Center project. Premier Jet's new Jet Center will include 61,000 square feet of offices and 132,000 square feet of hangar space.
Duncan Aviation, Battle Creek, Mich., announced the appointment of John Kauppila as Gulfstream technical representative at the Battle Creek facility. Dean Williams has joined Duncan's project management team as a manager. Jeremy Buschlen is now the Gulfsteam team leader and Dan Fuoco, Hawker service sales representative, was awarded the position of team leader for the Lincoln, Neb., airframe service sales team.
The National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) has rescheduled its annual meeting to coincide with the NBAA convention in Orlando. NARA's 2005 annual meeting will be held on Nov. 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Villas of Grand Cypress, which is located approximately 10 minutes away from the Orlando Convention Center. The featured guest speaker at the NARA meeting will be David Davis, president of the National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA). A reception, co-hosted by NARA and NAFA, is to follow at the hotel from 6 to 8 p.m.
James Bass is the new president and chief executive of New Piper Aircraft. American Capital Strategies, which holds a controlling interest in New Piper, abruptly deposed long-time company executive Chuck Suma and replaced him with Bass, who began his new duties Sept. 12. Suma was named vice chairman of the board of New Piper, where a spokesman said he will work with regulatory agencies and the company's aircraft dealer network.
Looking for an easy-to-use, high-resolution, remote imaging system? Lenox Instrument Co.'s VideoFlex series of videoscopes features a four-way, 150-degree articulated tip, integrated control/display hand piece with a 6.4-inch LCD. The working portion of the scope is protected with polyurethane-impregnated tungsten braiding, available in diameters of 6.0 millimeters (0.236 inches) and 8.4 millimeters (0.330 inches) with lengths to 7.5 meters (24.6 feet). The hand piece features rugged, all-metal construction and a 2.0 meter (6.6-foot) length umbilical cable.
The microprocessor has brought us a world of convenience in many of the electronics we use, from our toasters and home heating systems and cell phones to the engine control systems in our cars and aircraft.
GE Aviation has successfully launched RFID technology in its shipping and receiving logistics for aircraft engines spare parts. GE-Aviation began testing RFID (radio frequency identification) technology on its spare parts several years ago and began operating its first system earlier this year. ``In February 2005, we became one of the first aerospace manufacturers to successfully operate a closed-loop RFID system,'' said Teo Ruscin, RFID Program lead.
Gulfstream and IAI chose to retain the G100's 4,250 pounds-thrust Honeywell TFE731-40R-200G turbofans aboard the G150 to expedite the development program and save the weight associated with fitting the aircraft with a more powerful engine. For the G150, Honeywell increased the takeoff thrust by 5 percent to 4,420 pounds of thrust and raised the ITT limits by means of a ``throttle-push'' made possible by a DEEC software change. Climb thrust also is increased by 6 to 7 percent and cruise thrust is pumped up by 4 percent.
Tradeoffs are a reality of aircraft design, although engineers attempt to optimize the blend of capabilities, performance and passenger comfort. B&CA compares the subject aircraft, in this case the Gulfstream G150, to the composite characteristics of others in its class, computing the percentage differences for various parameters in order to portray the aircraft's relative strengths and weaknesses. We also include the absolute value of each parameter, along with the relative ranking, for the subject aircraft within the composite group.
Premier Group, Inc. Birmingham, Ala., named Steven Allen as president with responsibilities for the company's international markets. He succeeds his father, Steve Allen, who is now CEO.
THE STEADY GROWTH of charter audit providers has been a mixed blessing to FAR Part 135 operators. It's encouraging to know that customers are beginning to care about the overall quality of an operation rather than make decisions based solely on price, but the cost borne by those operators to comply with demands made by multiple auditors in addition to normal FAA inspections is a growing burden.
THE ANNUAL NBAA CONVENTION performs a lot of functions for the business aviation community, one of which is serving as a report card on the state of the industry and an opportunity to gauge its future. Will attendance at this month's show exceed 30,000? How many exhibitors will be on hand to display their wares? How much exhibit space will they rent? How many aircraft will be on view at the static display?
Aviation Technology Group, Inc. (ATG) flew the Javelin prototype aircraft Sept. 30 from Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo. The aircraft took off at 0750 Mountain Time with Robert Fuschino, vice president of operations and chief test pilot, at the controls. The aircraft climbed out at a rate of 2,800 fpm and the flight lasted 35 minutes during which Fuschino tested handling qualities, engine stability and approach and landing flight characteristics. Bank angles were limited to 20 degrees. It reached a maximum speed of 180 knots and an altitude of 12,000 feet.
Aw, come on, we all know -- especially us graybeards -- that we can schedule power better than a bunch of microchips, right? Which brings up the $64 question, are FADECs better than humans?
Jet Aviation has increased its Basel, Switzerland, hangar space by 30 percent by taking over the ex-Crossair hangar. ``Currently we have more than 30 aircraft on any given day for maintenance, completions and exterior painting,'' said Rainer Albecker, senior vice president and general manager at Jet Aviation Basel. The completions center has in-house design and engineering departments and is capable of completing luxury interiors for the huge Airbus A380.
