The NBAA advises that as a result of mandates contained in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, new requirements to enter the United States will begin taking effect in late 2005. Starting Dec. 31, 2005, U.S., Canadian and Bermudan nationals will be required to have a valid passport or other secure, accepted form of documentation when entering the United States by air or sea from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central America or South America. Effective Dec.
OceanAir Taxi Aereo Ltda. was named an exclusive factory-authorized sales and service representative for Pilatus in Brazil. The seven-year-old South American aviation firm, which has a joint-venture maintenance company at Congonhas Airport in So Paulo, has been selling Bombardier business jets in Brazil since 2003. The worldwide fleet of Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprops, which numbers over 500, recently passed the one-million-hour mark of time in service.
The Transportation Department and the FAA, pushing for new ways to cover the FAA's growing budget, are bringing in senior government officials from both agencies and representatives of a number of international organizations to join the debate about funding alternatives at a two-day forum April 25-26 at the Crystal City Marriott in Arlington, Va. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, Undersecretary for Policy Jeff Shane, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead and Sen.
Eclipse Aviation has completed inlet icing tests of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F engines that power the Eclipse 500. The company called the successful completion of the tests at the National Research Council's icing tunnel in Ottawa, Canada, an important milestone in its quest for certification in March 2006. Eclipse's flight test aircraft, N503EA, expanded the flight envelope to 25,000 feet and accumulated 15 hours in 10 flights in the first week of April and 33 total flight hours as of the end of March.
``Dream to Fly: Howard Hughes and the Flying Boat'' chronicles the history of the famous Spruce Goose and explores the truths and myths surrounding the remarkable aircraft and it's creator, Howard Hughes. The hour-long documentary, narrated by Walter Cronkite, includes interviews with flight crew, construction workers and engineers, along with rare color film and photographs.
The following NTSB information is preliminary, subject to change and may contain errors. Mar. 7 -- Upon completion of an IFR cross-country flight from Houma-Terrebonne Airport (HUM), near Houma, La., an Aero Vodochody L-39C experimental military jet trainer was substantially damaged during a landing overrun at the Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), near Shreveport, La. The pilot and passenger received minor injuries.
When the opportunity came to attend FlightSafety International's Bell 430 Helicopter, Initial Pilot Training Course, I was both excited and a little scared. It had been more than a decade since I flew as pilot-in-command.
When engineer Christine Ellis got the assignment to start from scratch and build one of the most complete terrain-avoidance databases ever assembled, she started by laying her hands on every geographic publication she could to find in search of elevation data sources.
U.S. business jet operators were involved in twice as many accidents in the first quarter of this year as they were during the same period in 2004, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. Business jet operators were involved in 10 accidents in the quarter ended March 31, compared with five a year ago. Five of the first-quarter accidents involved airplanes in corporate/executive use with full-time, professionally trained crews.
Robert Arnold Owner and President, Chandelle Winery, Sonoma, Calif. After World War II, Gen. Henry ``Hap'' Arnold, the five-star who headed U.S. air forces, retired to El Rancho Feliz -- loosely, ``Hap's Ranch.'' The general acquired the 40-acre farm in Northern California with some money lent him by his longtime friend Donald Douglas, who also happened to be his son Bruce's father-in-law. After his parents' deaths, Col. Bruce Arnold and his son, Robert, decided to keep the place and put it to work. That was in 1986.
Stage III Technologies, the La Jolla, Calif.-based maker of Gulfstream hush kits, was expecting to receive FAA approval by the end of April for the installation of its hush kit on the Gulfstream II, IIB and III business jets. Earlier, the company received certification of its noise-reduction product for the Gulfstream II-SP. Stage III Technologies is taking orders for the $1.75 million hush kit. Initial deliveries are expected to take place early this summer. Once the system enters full production, the price is scheduled to rise to $2 million.
The agreement will not affect the protest NAATS filed in March contesting the FAA's decision to award the flight service station contract to Lockheed Martin. NAATS joins the employee-based Most Efficient Organization (MEO) in contesting the decision. The FAA had until April 29 to respond to the protests. NAATS has also filed an age discrimination suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that the process infringes upon employees' rights and benefits.
Carol Carmody left the NTSB on April 1, after serving as a member for nearly five years. Carmody joined the Safety Board in June 2000 and served as vice chair from 2001 to 2003. She also served as acting chair during that time. Before joining the NTSB, Carmody was the U.S. representative to ICAO and a staff member on the Senate Commerce Committee.
CAE SimuFlite has named Rani Hobgood and Danielle Grieco winners of its training scholarships awarded through Women in Aviation International. They will begin training this summer at CAE SimuFlite's Dallas/Fort Worth, facility.
Boutsen Aviation, owned by Formula 1 race car driver Thierry Boutsen, has become an Embraer Legacy authorized sales agent to cover the Benelux countries, the Principality of Monaco and the French Cote d'Azur. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Monaco, Boutsen has a subsidiary in Luxembourg.
ARINC was selected to provide its advanced flight planning services for Air Training International, which provides initial and recurrent international operations training for general aviation pilots. ARINC Direct flight planning service is based on the Sabre flight-planning engine and offers options including quick-file, advanced route planning, coded departure routes, slot request, participation in collaborative decision-making and data-linking.
Single-engine turbine IMC operations could become legal in Europe this year according to Bob Crowe, owner of the U.K.'s Cessna Caravan dealership. ``It is hoped that the JAA [Joint Aviation Authority] committee meeting in June will follow the example of ICAO, which published Chapter 5, Annex 6 in March 2005 allowing SE Turbine IFR operations, by approving the commercial use of SE Turbine powered aircraft for both passenger and cargo work,'' said Crowe. Some European States already allow single-engine turbine operations in IMC.
Bombardier Aerospace named ExecuJet Aviation Group as the exclusive sales representative for its Challenger 300 and Learjet family of business jets in Germany. Under the sales representation agreement, ExecuJet will work closely with Bombardier's European sales team, which is headed by Bob Horner, Bombardier Business Aircraft's vice president of sales. Together, they will offer aircraft sales, in-house charter, aircraft management and operational support.
It was a plunge not witnessed before in the history of the business jet. From the record high sales point in late 1999, the business jet market plummeted 38 percent in less than four years, as though trapped in a microburst below a super-cell thunderstorm. Dragged down by the falling U.S. economy in the wake of 9/11, business aircraft operators in distress attempted to unload their airplanes into a market unwilling to buy them. By third quarter 2003, more than 2,000 business jets, one in six aircraft in the active fleet, had ``for sale'' signs taped to their noses.
NTSB Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker emphasized the importance of medical screening for vehicle operators who may have undiagnosed sleep disorders. The remarks came at the beginning of National Sleep Awareness Week (March 28 -- April 3), during which the NTSB hoped to raise public awareness of its ongoing concern about fatigue-related safety issues. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome affect 50 to 70 million Americans.
Affonso's first act was to announce the certification of the Embraer Legacy business jet for operations at 41,000 feet. Other Legacy upgrades included high-speed data with Wi-Fi, and a new standard interior design. In the works for 2005/2006 are high-altitude/short-field landing, fully paperless EFB, LED interior lighting, and EVS. Affonso also announced three new Legacy sales representatives: Harrods Aviation of the United Kingdom, Nature Link of Africa and Boutsen Aviation of Belgium.
The FAA plans to boost the staff in its aviation safety office by 97 in fiscal year 2006, but this will only partially cover the 300 positions lost to budget cuts in fiscal 2005. The further staff reductions will be achieved through attrition, FAA officials say. The agency also said the smaller staff means it will have to be more careful in setting priorities for certification work.
Liberty Aerospace, which is developing the new XL2 single-engine aircraft, will open new sales offices this month at Addison Airport near Dallas, Texas, and at the Hagerstown, Md., Airport. John Hurst, the former general manager for Europa Aircraft's North America office, will head the Addison office and Peter Lehmann will run the Hagerstown operation. Lehman, who spent six years as a Blackhawk helicopter crew chief in the U.S. Army, most recently was assistant chief flight instructor and marketing manager for King Aviation-
