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The vast majority of helicopter flight training takes place in the actual aircraft. The simple reason for that is the fact that there are still only a few dozen full-motion, Level-D simulators available to commercial operators worldwide, and these tend to replicate top-of-the-line multiengine helicopters. For many models of helicopters, especially light-turbine singles and twins, there just aren't any full-motion simulators.
Several highly publicized near collisions occurred this year when the airport movement area safety system (AMASS) was not performing for various reasons, and ``that is not good enough,'' said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker at the American Association of Airport Executives' Runway and Airport Safety Summit. During some serious incursions, AMASS either gave a warning too late or was disabled to prevent nuisance alerts that occur during bad weather. This year, some large airports experienced a higher than normal number of incursions.
IT WAS COLUMBUS DAY so the schools were closed, but even without any yellow buses blocking our way, I knew we couldn't cover 15 miles in the next 10 minutes. Although we had risen with time to spare, our morning's progress had been interrupted by one unexpected bother after another, and now we were going to be late. My stomach knotted.
Remaining awkwardly coy on user fees, the FAA published a notice urging its constituents to participate in developing a new funding system for the agency.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is the first manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles to win FAA approval to operate its offspring in the National Airspace System under an experimental certificate. The Altair high-altitude unmanned aerial system (UAS) is flying under an Experimental certificate. The Altair is a high-altitude version of the Predator B UAV.
I've been flying Dassault Falcon Jets for more than 30 years, and have enjoyed every model, beautiful machines all. My flight department's current king is the Global Express, and while I am impressed with the comfort and range of the Bombardier jet, it nettled me to think our Falcon 900EX might be regarded as wanting in terms of its reach. I watched our mission board, waiting for just the right trip to set the record straight.
AOPA President Phil Boyer thinks the FAA hedging on user fees is a charade, stating on the association's Web site that user fees are indeed under active consideration by the FAA. He said this issue ``has the highest priority within the AOPA. If the FAA does, in fact, have user fees in mind as a way to fund itself, rest assured we will devote all of our staff and resources to opposing it. And when the time comes, we will be calling on our members to get involved with Congress as well.''
Manufacturers and operators of advanced full-flight simulators (FFS) have for years considered abandoning hydraulics in favor of all-electric versions whose cockpit systems as well as their six-axis primary motion system are electrically powered. There are no hydraulic or pneumatic systems. But persistent problems with their excessive noise and weight and imprecise performance kept the all-electric units in the research and development labs -- until now.
While fly-by-wire technology has taken a long time to permeate from military jets to commercial airliners and, now -- with the flight of the Dassault Falcon 7X -- to dedicated business jets, we've had power-by-wire on our civil engines for almost 20 years.
According to Embraer, aircraft manufacturers will deliver 9,680 new business jets worth $144 billion over the next decade even if the per-barrel price of oil continues in the $60 to $70 range. Those figures do not include some 2,500 to 3,000 new VLJs the Brazilian airplane manufacturer believes will enter air taxi service through 2015 as well. In overall units delivered, the company expects that light and very light jets will account for nearly half, and, accordingly, it is proceeding with the development, certification and delivery of two of its own.
Raytheon Aircraft appointed Superior Aircraft Maintenance, Inc. in Medford, Ore., as an authorized service center. Superior is factory-approved to maintain all Beechcraft Bonanza, Baron and King Air products. Superior Aircraft Maintenance plans to break ground this month on an expansion project that will increase the executive terminal to 14,000 square feet and the hangar to 25,000 square feet.
Business aviation did yeoman service during emergencies created by Katrina and Rita. Without arm twisting by government or national organizations, the broadly based community of private and on-demand operators flying aircraft ranging from corporate jets and helicopters to single-engine piston airplanes provided a level of mobility that was effective and truly impressive.
THE CEO STICKS his head into the cockpit when you're 100 nm out from Chicago Midway and asks how the weather looks. Having just received an AFIS report, you respond, ``There's a low overcast, some gusts and it's raining.'' ``Will you be able to land?'' he asks, concern in his voice. ``Well, we'll have to make an instrument approach, and it'll be bumpy, but it should be OK.'' ``I certainly hope so. This is a very important meeting. Very important. We can't be late.''
The Citation 500 pilots were making a VOR approach to Runway 32 at Sault Sainte Marie. After breaking out of the clouds at 2,500 feet and aligning the airplane with the runway, the captain noticed ``maybe compacted snow or maybe ice with fresh snow'' on the runway -- not surprising conditions in northern Michigan in February. When the aircraft was on a two -mile final, a voice came over the Unicom frequency and said that braking action was nil. This observation gave further weight to a NOTAM in effect at the time that stated, ``icy runway, nil braking'' at the airport.
Dallas Airmotive, Dallas, named Joe Talarico as northeast regional engine manager for Rolls-Royce Spey and Tay engine products as well as Honeywell 36 series APUs. Talarico will be based in Millville, N.J.
(Compiled by Fred Haap, Peter Agur, Jack Olcott and David Esler)
BP and Amoco: Flight departments initially combined, Amoco's is about to disappear. Mead and Westvaco: Mead flight department eventually eliminated (see text). General Electric and RCA: RCA flight department absorbed into GE. Honeywell and Allied-Signal: Flight departments combined. L.M. Berry and Southern Bell: L.M. Berry flight department eliminated.
Final construction of the innovative Warrior (Aero Marine) Centaur single-engine, six-seat amphibian has stalled and needs either a cash injection of $2.9 million or an industry resources equivalent, says Warrior's managing director, James Labouchere. Final construction of the all-composite prototype, ``Would be achievable in nine months, followed by first flight a little later,'' he said. The part-completed aircraft, which is U.K. designed, is stored at Sanford, Maine, airport, where the R&D, assembly and flight test program were to be conducted.
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