The U.S. aerospace industry dramatically surpassed growth expectations thanks in part to the expanding military sector. But Congress and the Bush administration need to continue to invest in air traffic control modernization and remain proactive on the international front to ensure the continued vitality of the industry, Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President John Douglass said.
Raytheon Aircraft has a new, lightweight acoustic liner for the Premier I that will allow normal conversation in the cabin of the business jet during all phases of flight, according to the airframe manufacturer.
Swissport Executive Aviation has created a new pilot lounge facility at its Munich operation with access to the main terminal complex with its shops and restaurants. Flight-planning facilities and Internet access are also available. The Web site is: www.swissport.com.
Owners of older turbine-powered business aircraft face some important retrofit decisions this year, as RVSM operations begin over North America on Jan. 20 and the deadline for installation of TAWS on many FAR Part 91 and Part 135 turbine-powered aircraft is less than three months away.
Bombardier Flexjet is claiming a speed record for a Challenger 300 flight from Carlsbad, Calif., to Bangor, Maine. The aircraft departed Carlsbad on Nov. 12, 2004, at 7:58 a.m. PST with two pilots, eight passengers and their baggage and arrived at Bangor International Airport four hours and 41 minutes later. The flight had an average speed of 572 mph (497 knots) and a maximum cruising level of 41,000 feet. The flight was carrying families that have children afflicted with juvenile diabetes in recognition of National Diabetes Awareness Month.
Swallowing tends to open the eustachian tubes momentarily, but swallowing with the head tilted back can work better. -- Capt. Elwood W. Hopkins, Senior Medical Officer for the U.S. Naval Academy If one ear is slow to clear, it sometimes helps to turn the head and even the lower jaw away from the difficult ear. It can also help to begin to yawn while doing the Valsalva. -- Cmdr. Jay Phelan, head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the U.S. Navy's Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Fla.
To be a complete and effective maintenance manager, you need to be knowledgeable about hardware, but also a master of the ``soft'' skills like communication, encouragement, critique or, in a word, leadership. I was recently exposed to two courses that were quite different in focus and presentation, but both were impressive in their breadth, depth and effectiveness.
The Europeans are coming, and they plan to grab a larger share of the U.S. government's defense spending, according to the Weekly of Business Aviation. Officials of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) predict it will bring in $10 billion from U.S. defense sales in the next five years, or a quarter of the contracts for which it is competing. EADS' goal for 2006 is $1 billion in revenue from U.S. defense sales, but it ``plans to gross more from the U.S. defense market in the next four to five years.'' The $40 billion potential in the U.S.
Pilatus received FAA approval for an avionics package enabling the company's PC-12 single-engine turboprop to meet RVSM requirements. The PC-12 RVSM package includes two AM-250 altimeters coupled to a KFC 325 flight control system's altitude pre-selector, along with a dual pitot-static system. AM-250 altimeters can be purchased separately for aircraft already equipped with a KFC 325. RVSM system upgrades can be performed at either Honeywell or Pilatus authorized service centers.
Embraer could emerge as the biggest beneficiary of the airline fleet restructuring trend if U.S. carriers opt to heavy up on aircraft in the 70- to 110-seat range. In a report issued in mid-December 2004, Merrill Lynch rated Embraer the only ``buy'' stock among the civil aircraft producers it tracks. EADS and Boeing were both rated ``neutral,'' and Bombardier carried a ``sell'' rating. The Embraer 170/190 family can complicate predicting new jet demand, Merrill said, due to its versatility and relatively immediate availability to replace older, larger MD-80s.
TBI, which owns London-Luton, Britain's busiest corporate aviation airport, along with Belfast International, Cardiff International and Stockholm Skavsta airports, and which manages Sanford, Fla., Airport and three other airports in Bolivia, is in the process of being taken over by Airport Concessions and Development Ltd (ACDL). The acquiring company is owned by Spain's Abertis Infraestructuras and Aena Internacional.
AFTER THREE YEARS of field and laboratory investigations and studies, the NTSB issued a remarkable finding of probable cause of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587. The Airbus Industrie A300-605R came down in a residential area of Belle Harbor, N.Y., on Nov.12, 2001, about 0916 EST shortly after takeoff from JFK on a scheduled FAR Part 121 flight to the Dominican Republic. The first officer was at the controls, the captain was handling non-flying pilot duties, and seven cabin attendants were in their seats, as were the flight's 251 passengers.
Gulfstream has received a production certificate from the FAA for its G450 and G350 business jets. The FAA's Atlanta Manufacturing Inspection District Office issued the certificate following an audit that examined Gulfstream's supplier, manufacturing and quality systems. Gulfstream Chief Operations Officer Joe Lombardo said the certificate ``serves as recognition to everyone in our Engineering, Materials, Operations and Quality departments.
Like most previously owned turbine-powered business aircraft, the Beech King Air, long considered a benchmark aircraft, has enjoyed a resurgence in value during 2004. As the economy has improved and the percentage of the fleet available for sale has declined, prices for most models of the venerable twin turboprop have risen. Naturally, low-time, well-equipped, late-model airplanes command the highest prices.
The Embraer 195 airliner made its first flight Dec. 7, 2004, at Embraer's So Jose dos Campos headquarters. The airplane took off at 11:58 a.m. and landed one hour and 56 minutes later. The 108-seat 195 is the largest aircraft ever built by Embraer. Powered by two General Electric CF34-10E engines, the aircraft has a maximum payload of 29,829 pounds (13,530 kilos). Flight tests will continue at the Gavio Peixoto facility, in the interior of the state of So Paulo, where the certification trials of the other members of the Embraer 170/190 family are also taking place.
Flying as a corporate pilot is not always an easy job. You must constantly deal with challenges like changing weather conditions, unfamiliar airports, erratic schedules, and FBO facilities and services that vary from great to, well, not so great. However, rather than discussing these or any of the other difficult aspects of corporate aviation, I'd like to provide a bit of balance by reminding you of some of the positive things that accompany this job of helping people get from one location to another.
One way to develop a scheduler's skills is to encourage him or her to earn an FAA dispatcher certificate. Originally developed for the airlines, the rating embodies many skills valued in an FAR Part 91 operation.
Brainchild of Bob Bornhofen, head of Monument, Colo.-based Excel-Jet Ltd., the single-turbofan Sport-Jet is a four-place, 4,900-pound, all-composite VLJ priced under $1 million with the footprint of a single-engine piston aircraft. Powered by a single 1,400-pound-thrust turbofan, the Sport-Jet will have a 375 KTAS high- speed cruise and be capable of flying 1,000 nm at 310 KTAS at FL 250. The cabin will be 4.9 feet wide, 3.9 feet high and 7.9 feet long. Estimated takeoff distance is 2,300 feet.
Toronto's Economic Development and Parks Committee has voted to support a financial incentives package to attract the Bombardier C-Series Jet final assembly program. If Toronto wins the bid to manufacture the new line of commercial aircraft, Bombardier will rebuild a significant proportion of its facility there, thereby increasing property taxes. Toronto is proposing to return a percentage of the new tax income as a grant.
The FAA named William Johnson chief scientist and technical adviser to support the agency on human factors in aircraft maintenance systems. A certified private pilot and A&P mechanic, Johnson will be based in the FAA's Southern Regional Office in Atlanta. He previously was regional director for the Americas at Lufthansa Technik.
THE FAA'S OFFICE of Aviation Policy recently issued a long overdue report -- Part 135 Air Taxi Operators (ATO) Study -- to Congress that purports to provide an updated look at one of the fastest-growing segments of the aviation industry. What it actually shows, once again, is that the Office of Aviation Policy is out of touch with reality, set in its ways and one of the few agency precincts that apparently doesn't have to participate in the FAA's new emphasis on performance metrics that apply to the rest of the organization.
National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne convinced Air Transport Association President James May to speak at NATA's annual convention in March in Las Vegas. Coyne cited the ATA's battle to revise the aviation tax structure to make business jet operators pay more and called May's past speeches ``fighting words.'' He said, ``We may have something approaching a real argument at our convention.''
The European Union has published maximum flight and duty time rules for flight crews that leave detailed implementation up to the individual member states. The new rules harmonize member states' rest and duty time regulations. Accepted by Europe's Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, the new rules are not lax as some critics claim, says the European Regions Airline Association (ERA). Mike Ambrose, ERA director general, said that the new rules are largely comparable to most existing rules within the EU.
The BBA Group says it will add Executive Aviation Services' FBO at London Heathrow to its Signature Flight Support network, and Airport Group International, an airport services company, to its commercial aviation and airline handling unit, ASIG. The Executive Aviation acquisition will cost $8.2 million while the AGI takeover will cost an additional $24 million, according to BBA.
