Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated, Tempe, Ariz., appointed Roger E. Wolfe as executive vice president of operations. Wolfe, a 25-year industry veteran, most recently worked as general manager and vice president for Honeywell Airframe Systems.
Not since it was bombed and strafed in the Battle of Britain has there been so much excitement at Biggin Hill. Columbia Pictures is using the airfield to shoot scenes for the movie ``The Da Vinci Code.'' Anxious to use real locations from the best-selling book, movie director Ron Howard (of ``Apollo 13'' fame) checked out the corporate and general aviation airfield's suitability to portray itself a couple of months ago. Scheduled for release in summer 2006, the movie will star Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Alfred Molina and Sir Ian McKellen.
PATTERNED BEHAVIOR IS a natural part of living; once a thing is learned, repeating the action saves time and helps assure a good outcome. However, when the pattern is flawed, the outcome can be unwelcome -- even deadly. The following accidents all share similarities. The pattern may not be obvious at first, but will become abundantly clear.
Some have called it a ``science project'' and have little faith in the outcome. Others worry the United States is too late, or has too little commitment to it. Others believe there is still time, but that the United States must proceed with a sense of urgency. And, others say it must succeed, because it's all the United States has. ``If we don't do this,'' says Ron Swanda, senior vice president of operations for GAMA, ``in 2025, we will probably be able to watch men walk on Mars, but we probably won't be able to fly to Chicago.''
Grob Aerospace officially launched its twin-turbofan SPn Utility Jet at June's Paris Air Show. The SPn, short for exponential possibilities to the nth degree, is no VLJ. It will offer a super-light-jet-size cabin with double club seating. Known internally as project G180, the aircraft will feature Grob's signature all-composite construction; twin 2,800-pound-thrust, FADEC-equipped Williams International FJ44-3A turbofans; and four-display Honeywell avionics that look a lot like APEX.
Sporty's Quick Release Chart Protectors not only protect approach plates from damage, they also make them easier to use. Engineered for the cockpit, the Chart Protectors are plastic sleeves with specially designed, reinforced slits so a pilot can remove or replace the approach plate without having to open the binder rings. The Quick Release Chart Protectors make it easy to put a single chart in a yoke-mounted clip or on a knee board. Available in both FAA and Jeppesen chart sizes. Price:$0.89 each; 50 chart protectors, $35
CJ Systems Aviation Group announced the renewals of multi-year contracts for air medical services with TraumaOne Flight Service in Jacksonville, and LifeFlight Eagle in Kansas City, Mo. TraumaOne Flight Service has been a CJ Systems customer since 1989, during which time the program has expanded its service area to include northern Florida and southern Georgia. TraumaOne Flight Services is an extension of the Level 1 trauma program at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center in Jacksonville.
We had just leveled off at FL 510, en route from Tucson to New Orleans, when Robert Agostino, head of Bombardier's Wichita Flight Operations, said, ``Turn around and smile for the camera.'' Admittedly, the aircraft was light, but few light jets can rival the Learjet 31/31A for climb performance, high-altitude cruise speed or overall fuel efficiency. In addition, Learjet 31 and 31A aircraft are excellent airport performers and offer docile handling characteristics that rival those of far, far slower Citation 500/550 aircraft.
Geneva Air Park is the name to be given to the proposed $28 million business aviation hangar development at Geneva International Airport. The site is next door to Geneva's C3 business aviation terminal and will offer 113,000 square feet of hangarage (holding up to two Boeing 747-size aircraft). Owner Charles Aufranc is also project coordinator until planning permission is gained, which is expected this fall. Clearing and rebuilding should start in January 2006. The existing hangars on the site belong to Geneva Airport, and are owned by the Swiss government.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) granted Irfan Azeem, an assistant professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, its most prestigious award for new faculty members, the Faculty Early Career Development Award. The grant recognizes and supports the early career activities of teacher-scholars who are most likely to become academic leaders of the 21st century.
The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) of Alexandria, Va., offers the proceedings of the 50th annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar (CASS) -- presented by the FSF with the NBAA on April 26-28, in Orlando, published on compact disc. The proceedings comprise 18 papers prepared by international aviation safety specialists for the CASS.
Forecast International's predictions are more optimistic than Honeywell Aerospace's forecast, which estimated a market for 8,300 business jets valued at $131 billion from 2004 through 2014. But the Honeywell forecast does not include models such as the Eclipse, which has a backlog of well over 2,000 airplanes.
The Strategic Research Institute (SRI) plans to hold its 10th annual Corporate Aircraft Transaction & Fractional Ownership Interests Conference on July 11 and 12 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. As usual, this forum will bring together an array of industry experts to discuss issues affecting business aviation today. The two-day meeting also is designed to provide attendees with the tools and information needed to provide greater insights into the corporate jet acquisition and financing process. This year's topics include:
In late April, B&CA was invited to be the first publication to fly the newly Transport Canada-certificated Bombardier Enhanced Vision System (BEVS). It was installed aboard a Global 5000, which along with a Global Express XRS, was one of the two test aircraft used for system development and certification.
The German administrator for insolvent AvCraft Aerospace GmbH, Dr. Martin Prager, says he is still in talks with potential buyers to keep the Dornier 328JET in production. However, 155 of the 345 jobs at Oberpfaffenhofen have been eliminated in the restructuring of operations. Prager was hopeful that he might find a buyer by June, to meet his own deadline. ``An investor is just as likely to come from the industrial sector as the private equity sector,'' said Prager. The collapse of AvCraft was due to a series of ``unfortunate circumstances,'' according to Prager.
PrivatAir is expected to soon announce that it will operate a third scheduled all-first-class service to the United States for another major airline. The equipment will be either A319LR or BBJ/BBJ2. PrivatAir currently operates transatlantic services for Lufthansa from Munich and Dusseldorf and for Swiss International Airlines (now part of Lufthansa) from Zurich. For the Swiss service, PrivatAir uses a 56-seat Boeing 737-800 with extra tanks installed by PATS. Load factors are averaging 80 percent, says the company.
The May Purchase Planning Handbook was outstanding, as usual. The inclusion of a couple of new-generation very light jets in the Business Airplane tables and in the Emerging Aircraft report, in conjunction with Bill Garvey's Viewpoint (``Manufactured in _____,'' page 7), once again illustrates that there may be, indeed, ``nothing new under the sun.
J. Robert Duncan, chairman of Duncan Aviation, received the Flight Safety Foundation Business Aviation Meritorious Service Award for his outstanding contributions to business aviation. Duncan has focused on developing innovation, employee empowerment and exceptional customer service in the company, said FSF President and CEO Stuart Matthews.
Eight years ago, Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation, made the biggest gamble in light jet aviation since Bill Lear introduced the Learjet 23 in 1963. Raburn bet that folks would buy hundreds, if not thousands, of twin turbofan aircraft if they could be sold for less than $1 million. Best known outside aviation circles as a high-tech industry entrepreneur, Raburn is a strong believer in price elasticity, a concept he claims is often ignored in general aviation.
Although his company no longer flies S58Ts, Frank Carson is still an innovator when it comes to helicopters. Carson's company has one of the largest fleets of commercial S61s, which does everything from heli-logging, to firefighting and construction. Always willing to find new ways to improve productivity and performance, Carson has developed new high-tech, high-performance main- and tail-rotor blades for his S61 workhorses. He has also developed a high-performance 1,000-gallon external water tank to attack wildfires.
ARINC and Jeppesen have teamed to offer an integrated electronic flight bag (EFB) system that combines the former's eFlightDeck technology with the latter's EFB software. ARINC will provide the airborne data communications and document-view technology as well as EFB integration and hardware support. Jeppesen will provide its software, data and applications such as digital terminal charts, en route moving map and airport moving map technologies. The companies said the system will be scalable and have an open platform to host future functionality.
At June's Paris Air Show, Raytheon unveiled a ground-based missile defense system that it says could be deployed at airports for $25 million per system. The system, called Vigilant Eagle, uses a high-power amplifier-transmitter to emit electromagnetic waves ``to disrupt the missile and deflect it away from the aircraft,'' Raytheon said.
Zero Gravity Corp. (ZERO-G), the first and only FAA-approved provider of weightless flight, has been contracted to conduct two research flights in mid-September for NASA's Reduced Gravity Program. The contract marks the first time NASA has outsourced parabolic research and training flights to a commercial provider.
General aviation advocates have become increasingly concerned that Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) will draft a measure for the fiscal 2006 transportation appropriations bill that would impose limits on flights at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey. The Weekly of Business Aviation reported that Rothman, a member of the transportation appropriations subcommittee, has included Teterboro restrictions in past appropriations bills, including one reinforcing a ban on the Boeing Business Jet at the airport.
When it comes to selecting a paint shop, time and price are key concerns, but past performance, work quality, quotation accuracy and compliance with environmental regulations are also important. And be concerned with other factors as well -- for example, a fast turnaround may not be a plus. As Mike Manclark, CEO of Leading Edge Aviation Services, Inc., noted, ``Surface preparation and good application of primer are important for a good paint job. It takes time to carefully prepare the airplane. Anything that is left on the surface will show up later.''
