The twin diesel HPA TT62 Alekto completed 50 hours of engine ground runs and begun ground control tests for the German CAA in preparation for its first flight. The aircraft is designed and built by HPA (High Performance Aircraft) of Zirchow, Germany. The all-composite, pressurized five-place aircraft is aimed at the business aviation market and debuted at the Berlin Air Show in May 2004. The Alekto has two rear pylon-mounted propellers driven by two Thielert V8 TAE310 turbocharged Centurion 4.0-liter diesel engines buried in the rear fuselage behind the passenger cabin.
In B&CA's safety and security analysis report (``Holding Your Operation to a Higher Standard,'' December 2004, page 100) David Esler erroneously reported that Wyvern Consulting, Ltd. employed eight people. The actual number at the time of the interview with president Walt Lamon was 18. Since then, a 19th employee has been hired.
Thanks to their integral suspended particle device light-control technology, SPD-Smart cabin windows enable passengers to control the light and glare entering the cabin using either wired or wireless controls. The windows have no moving parts and are STC'd for many corporate aircraft. Price: Call for quotes. InspecTech Aero Service, Inc. 3475 S.W. 9th Ave. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 (954) 359-6766 www.inspectech.net
In October 2004, American Eurocopter and EADS North America won a competition to supply more than 55 single-engine light observation helicopters to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, a unit within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The value of the award is potentially worth $75 million over the contract's five-year term. The winning aircraft was the EC120B.
One of the first aviation advocacy groups to formulate a best-practices security compendium and post it on the Internet was the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO). ``When NASAO did its security white paper immediately after 9/11 and I went on the road to talk it up with our members,'' the organization's president and CEO, Henry Ogrodzinski, told B&CA, ``I told them that even though aviation was rife with acronyms, I'd come up with another one: LYDA, for `lock your damn airplane!'
THE NBAA GOT A MUCH-wanted Christmas present in December, a public acknowledgement by the head of the TSA that the agency plans to continue partnering with the NBAA and seeking ways to expand the benefits of the Transportation Security Administration Access Certificate (TSAAC). If that sounds like a sudden and surprising about-face by the federal security establishment, it is. But it's also the result of years of determined effort by the business aviation community.
Retired Coast Guard Admiral and former FAA Deputy Administrator for Security Paul Busick believes there are ways of securing business aviation other than imposing further regulation.
Rockwell Collins added seven new languages to its Airshow 4000 moving map display and flight information system for business jets. The new languages are Chinese, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Russian. The Arabic, English, French, German and Spanish languages were already available for the system.
A Pilatus PC-21 two-seat turboprop military trainer crashed on Jan. 13, killing the company's chief test pilot, Andy Ramseier. The accident occurred at Buochs airfield, Switzerland, while practicing for an air show. Eye witnesses said the aircraft banked hard before hitting the ground. The aircraft came to rest inverted and largely intact. An official enquiry has been launched by the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) and the remaining PC-21 prototype has been grounded. Pilatus received the aircraft's Swiss Type Certificate in late December 2004. Mike Vines
Also in Indonesia, Air Serv was installing two VSAT systems (high-speed Internet access via satellite) in conjunction with Missionary Aviation Fellowship for use by humanitarian workers. One was to be located in Medan and the other in the Banda Aceh area.
Dedicated teams of flight safety researchers from the airlines, government and academia have developed a concept called ``Threat and Error Management'' which is enhancing flight crew performance measurably while at the same time minimizing the number of errors.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will partner with Aviation Week Group, the unit of the McGraw-Hill Cos. that publishes B&CA, to produce a series of Security and Systems Engineering seminars, beginning this year. ``The partnership will serve as a resource to strengthen the professional development of the aviation and aerospace workforce,'' said Dr. David Hosley, dean of ERAU's School of Corporate Training and Professional Development.
Fuel contamination can lead to clogged fuel filters as well as corrosion damage to fuel tanks, costing thousands of dollars in repairs. The Bugs Buster Fuel Test Kit was developed to provide on-site detection of bacteria or fungus without having to ship samples to a laboratory. Detection time varies depending upon amount of contamination, but results usually appear between five and 24 hours.
Elliott Aviation recently finished painting a Challenger 600 and a Falcon 50, the first time the Midwestern FBO did such exterior work on these types of aircraft. Since opening its completions facility in February 2003, Elliott has performed complete paint jobs on more than 70 aircraft. The facility, located at Quad City International Airport in Moline, Ill., features a state-of-the-art, downdraft paint booth capable of handling aircraft as large as a Falcon 900 or Challenger 604.
The GAMA board of directors elected James E. Schuster as its chairman for 2005. Schuster is chairman and CEO of Raytheon Aircraft Co. He previously served as GAMA's vice chairman and chairman of GAMA's Security Issues Committee. The board also elected Dean M. Flatt, president and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Systems, as GAMA's vice chairman for 2005. Flatt previously served as chairman of GAMA's Flight Operations Policy Committee and will now chair its Security Issues Committee.
Million Air SLC expanded its Provo, Utah, presence by acquiring Advantage Aviation in Provo. Million Air said the acquisition adds additional fuel services, hangar availability and a maintenance facility to its established operation there. ``With the additional maintenance facility and hangar availability, we will better be able to serve both our base and transient customers in Provo,'' said Leon Christensen, Million Air's senior vice president.
Thunder Aviation of Chesterfield, Mo., is in the process of rolling out more RVSM solutions for Falcon 10s and 20s. In February, Thunder Aviation expects to receive an STC for an RVSM package, developed in conjunction with Flight Test Associates, for Falcon 20s equipped with KFC-400 autopilots. Preliminary price for the modification is $155,000.
IN THE TORRID JULY HEAT of 1969, 250 grunts at a Special Forces camp in South Vietnam were eating dust and awaiting an air show in the form of two F-100 Super Sabres on an ``LZ Prep'' to create a helicopter landing zone (LZ) half a mile away. Some LZ Prep basics: Take a 750-pound bomb, fit the front with a 36-inch pipe ``extender'' and an instantaneous fuse, and drop it into the jungle. When the bomb explodes, its casing mostly above the ground, lots of lumber gets moved.
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. (ASA), Newcastle, Wash., hired Jerry Blair as director of marketing. Blair has more than 17 years of experience in the general aviation industry.
It's been 27 years since the Falcon 50 prototype made its U.S. debut at the 1977 NBAA Convention in Houston, but few aircraft have proved its equal. Today, you can buy a very clean Falcon 50 for around $11 million. Some mid-1980s models are available for $8 million, according to Vref aircraft value reference.
Tohnichi's dial-indicating torque wrenches feature easy-to-read dial measurements and adjust torque from both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Accuracies in each of these directions are within 3 percent. A moveable dial also enables the torque pointer to be set to the desired torque and the assembly to be tightened until the torque pointer reaches zero. The wrenches are available in U.S., metric and SI units of measurement. A memory pointer dial comes standard on all models. Resin grips and extension handles are available as options on some models.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Lynnwood, Wash., appointed Brian Williams to the position of vice president and general manager of its Burbank, Calif., site.
As airlines' financial woes mount, and they try to shed obligations such as underfunded pension funds, the effects could wound millions of workers outside the airline industry. ``I have become increasingly concerned as the number of terminated plans grows and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) is forced to assume ever larger liabilities,'' said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, who also serves as chairman of the board of the PBGC.
