NBAA and GAMA staffers met with airport officials and business aircraft operators at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport (TEB). NBAA Senior Vice President, Government Affairs Lisa Piccione and NBAA Northeast Regional Representative Dean Saucier were joined by GAMA Vice President for Government Affairs Brian Riley for a meeting with TEB Airport Manager Lanny Rider and, separately, with representatives from NBAA member companies.
GAMA's board of directors named Jack Pelton vice chairman. Pelton is chairman, president and CEO of Cessna Aircraft. He will continue as chairman of GAMA's Flight Operations Policy Committee. Alan Klapmeier, CEO and president of Cirrus Design Corp., was named chairman of the Security Issues Committee.
David W. Almy has joined the National Air Transportation Association in the newly created post of vice president of membership, marketing and communications. Almy recently concluded more than 12 years with the NBAA where he was senior vice president of marketing and communications.
An informal survey of several lenders that serve the needs of used aircraft buyers indicates that the financing side of the business has prospered as sales of previously owned aircraft have risen. However, today's market for financing differs in several notable ways from the go-go days of the late 1990s.
American Legend Aircraft Co. delivered its first Legend Cub light-sport aircraft to Rich Giannotti of Brookhaven, N.Y. Legend unveiled its Cub design in March and won FAA Special Light-Sport Aircraft certification for the aircraft in late July. The two-place aircraft is powered by a 100-hp Continental O-200 piston engine with electric start.
With more than 1,000 pages of updated and expanded information, AC-U-KWIK's World Edition 2005-2006 provides a comprehensive worldwide airport, FBO, hotel, support services and charter guide. Tabbed pages mark the beginning of each of the three sections: United States and Canada Airports/ Services, Interna-tional Airports/Services and Global Charter. A Windows-based CD-ROM that provides access to AC-U-KWIK's global database is included at no additional charge. Price: $99.95 AC-U-KWIK P.O. Box 12901 Overland Park, KS 66282
Kestrel Aerospace of the United Kingdom is building a VTOL tilt-ducted fan Personal Aerial Vehicle (PAV) that it plans to fly at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2006. The composite construction vehicle is a scaled-up version of its 2.1 meter long by 2.2 meter wide (6.9-by-7.2-foot) Lancer UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which was due to fly by mid-September of this year. The prototype PAV will measure approximately 4 meters by 4 meters (13.1 by 13.1 feet; it will be a single seater with two- and three-seat tandem versions currently at the design stage.
The following NTSB information is preliminary, subject to change and may contain errors. Aug. 4 --On a night instrument approach to Centennial Airport (APA), near Denver, a cargo carrying Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 impacted terrain approximately four miles from the runway near Parker, Colo. The aircraft came to rest inverted with the nose of the airplane resting on the bottom of a 20-foot deep ravine. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured.
American Express is teaming with Bombardier to allow participants in its Membership Rewards program to redeem points for private jet travel through Bombardier's Skyjet and Flexjet programs. Under the arrangement, American Express card members can redeem 390,000 points for a $5,000 credit toward a private jet flight. American Express is cutting in half the points necessary for receiving credit through the end of the year.
Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated (GHA) announced that it has STC approval for installation of Rockwell Collins' IDS-3000 integrated display on Dassault Falcon 200 and FJ44 Eagle II Citation 501-series aircraft. The Falcon 200 installation includes four eight- -by-10-inch active matrix LCDs -- two primary flight displays and two multi-function displays -- that replace the aircraft's original flight instruments. The new equipment integrates additional information for the flight deck to provide greater situational awareness.
INITIALLY, WHAT WAS known about Northwest Airlink Flight 3701 was sad, but straightforward. The Bombardier CL-600-2B19 RJ was on a nighttime non-revenue positioning flight from Little Rock (LIT) to Minneapolis (MSP) on Oct. 14, 2004, and attempting to establish cruise flight at FL 410 when, according to ATC tapes, the two-pilot crew ran into problems.
Vibro-Meter's Omniguard Model 760 Multi-Spectrum IR5 senses infrared radiation in five discrete infrared (IR5) wavelengths for early detection of hydrocarbon- and certain non-hydrocarbon-based fires. The Model 760 is Factory Mutual, ATEX and CSA approved and features field selectable sensing levels, advanced self diagnostics, through-the-lens clarity checking, NEMA 4X, and a five-year warranty. The Model 760's automatic self-test function monitors the detector's ability to sense fires and reports a fault condition when impaired.
The Illuminaviator TF-31 flashlight offers two light sources. Three red LED bulbs provide illumination in a dark cockpit without disrupting night-vision adaptation. A push button on top of the light activates the LEDs; and for preflight inspections or other activities where additional candlepower is needed, a bright, white xenon bulb throws a powerful beam. To prevent illumination of the bulb in the cockpit, the controls are on a separate switch on the tailcap of the light. Pressing on the tailcap turns on the xenon bulb momentarily.
Premier Jet Aviation named John Hall president. A long-time member of the Cessna Citation sales organization, Hall most recently had been senior vice president of the CitationShares fractional aircraft ownership program. A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Hall is a Citation-rated pilot. He will be based at Premier's San Antonio office and will report to Mark Schweibold, chairman and CEO of the business aircraft acquisition and sales organization, which is headquartered in Indianapolis.
NBAA has worked closely with the FAA to improve Florida air traffic. In recent years there has been substantial traffic volume from November through March to and from Florida with no accompanying changes in airspace, which has resulted in airspace complexity that led to delays and extended routings for operators. After substantial input from the NBAA, the FAA will implement significant changes to both en route and terminal airspace in Jacksonville and Miami ARTCCs and various TRACONs in Florida. On Sept.
Bombardier announced that it has delivered the 150th Global aircraft. The Bombardier Global 5000 business jet was delivered on August 26 to Dwight Management of St. Paul, Minn. It was the third Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft to be delivered into service.
Columbia Aircraft has expanded the number of U.S. facilities in its factory-authorized service network to 70. Many of the facilities are affiliated with the Air BP FBO chain. The facilities will be prepared to perform all routine maintenance, warranty repairs and aircraft upgrades.
Honeywell Aerospace is combining its customer support functions into one organization, which company executives hope will result in a simpler, more user-friendly approach for customers, said Adrian Paull, recently named vice president of customer and product support. Paull told B&CA editors that the move to aggregate the business, commercial, military and space customer support functions is part of a much larger reorganization throughout Honeywell Aerospace.
Multi-function displays have created favorable conditions for a tidal wave of upgrades and retrofits (also see item below). Elliott Aviation says it has applied for STC approval for a major flat-panel upgrade for the Citation 650 based on the Universal 890R large-format flat-panel display suite. Not only will the Elliott program provide a modern cockpit with an array of capabilities, its built-in upgradeability assures easy addition of additional sensors and systems.
Air Methods has shipped a third Sikorsky S-70A Firehawk helicopter to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Based on the Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk, the Firehawk is configured for missions that include airborne firefighting, search and rescue, emergency medical transport, fire crew transportation and cargo transport. The aircraft can deliver 1,000 gallons of water through a belly-mounted tank. Air Methods supplied the multi-mission interior system and upgraded the flight instruments.
Lufthansa Technik signed a contract to complete the interior of a Boeing Business Jet for a Russian customer. This is the company's 18th BBJ interior installation. Lufthansa is again teaming with designer Andrew Winch of the United Kingdom, who also collaborated with the German completion center on a BBJ2 interior in 2003. The new BBJ will have a dedicated dining and conference area, a bathroom with a shower, an executive lounge and private stateroom.
Jet Aviation Dusseldorf will almost double the size of its maintenance base by this month. The company has added 1,900 square meters (20,451 square feet) within its existing hangar one, creating at least six new maintenance bays. This work follows the completion of a new building in hangar two earlier this year, which includes a new pilot lounge, logistics control, and warranty and billing departments, as well as the maintenance control center and Jet's management team.
On the morning of Jan. 8, 2003, 19 passengers boarded a Raytheon 1900D turboprop at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT), Charlotte N.C., for a short scheduled flight to Greenville-Spartanburg International (GSP), in Greer, S.C. Two days prior to the flight, the aircraft underwent a scheduled maintenance check; including cable tension inspection of the elevator, rudder and trim tabs.
Flight Options is using its recent cash infusion from Raytheon to restructure its fleet. Originally the company acquired used aircraft in good condition and resold them in shares to customers. That allowed Flight Options to offer lower share acquisition prices but generally yielded higher overall maintenance costs. In addition, operating 12 different aircraft types meant the company was challenged to consistently provide the type of aircraft in which the customer had a share, forcing it to substitute other aircraft models in too many instances, the company said.
WE WERE HEADING for the cabin in the woods once again, but this time, we planned stops en route. So, we needed shelter. I called a motel. ``I'd like a non-smoking room for Saturday night.'' ``One with a king-sized bed or two queens?'' the clerk asked cheerily. ``The two queens. My wife and I are traveling with children.'' ``How many?'' ``Three.'' ``That will be cozy.'' ``And a dog.'' ``Oh my.''
