Whether your favorite warbird is a B-17, a Corsair or a P-38, there's a Timex Chronograph for you. Exclusively from Wright Bros. Collection, these Aviator Chronographs by Timex offer the same great looks as chronographs costing much more. These battery-operated watches feature a digital display, split-time chronograph, alarm, second time zone, Indiglo nightlight, calendar, compass directional ring and a water-resistant leather strap. The watches are water-resistant to 50 meters.
A dip in the scuba-diving ear problem pool turns up a variety of methods that eustachian-challenged pilots could potentially adopt to help equalize pressure on the middle ear, a few of which are described below in condensed form (and are not meant to be prescriptive). The procedures were compiled by Edmond Kay, a medical doctor, scuba diver and the diving medical officer for the University of Washington.
Cessna Aircraft Co. celebrated on Dec. 1 the delivery of its first Citation CJ3, the third new Citation model to enter service in 2004. Earlier Cessna certified and delivered the first Citation XLS and Citation Sovereign.
Pacific Coast Avionics, the avionics supplier and installer located at Aurora State Airport just south of Portland, Ore., recently completed a panel upgrade of a corporate-owned Cessna Citation. The modified Citation's integrated cockpit now provides multiple charting options for VFR, IFR and terrain awareness, all of which are displayed on a UPS Aviation Technologies' Apollo MX-20 multifunction color display. In addition, the installation includes a Goodrich WX-500 Stormscope interfaced to the MX-20.
A new generation of rescue helicopters -- The U.S. Air Force expects to release a draft request for proposals for the Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) this month and a final RFP in May or June. The selection of a prime contractor should be made by year-end. Competitors are expected to include the Bell-Boeing CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor, the EADS North America-Northrop Grumman NH-90 helicopter, the Lockheed Martin-AgustaWestland-Bell Textron US101 helicopter and the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter.
The FAA will test solar-powered LED taxiway edge lights at Cross Keys Airport in Gloucester County, N.J. Visual guidance specialists from the FAA's Airport Safety Technology Section at the William J. Hughes Technical Center will install 90 blue light-emitting diode lights along the taxiway edge at Cross Keys, which is 14 miles southeast of Philadelphia. The lights will not be installed along the runway edge. They charge during daylight and illuminate automatically from dusk until dawn. These are the same lights used by U.S. armed forces in the Middle East.
Legend has it that the revelation by Italian anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachi in 1564 that humans come equipped with a tube connecting their ear canals to their throats gave a certain famous novelist the idea for the perfect murder almost 40 years later. The writer of course was William Shakespeare, and the dirty deed was the murder of King Hamlet by none other than his brother, Claudius, who had designs on the good king's wife and kingdom.
Proposed Rules Bombardier CL-604 airplanes -- Inspect for corrosion and replace the side-brace fitting shafts of the main landing gear with new improved shafts. Also, replace the nut, washer and cotter pin of the side-brace fitting shafts with new parts.
This year, $45,000 in scholarships will be awarded in two types of programs at the NBAA's annual S&D Conference in Reno. One program provides a cash award to be applied to professional development or education. Sponsors include ExxonMobil Avitat, Signature Flight Support, Universal Weather and Aviation, ChevronTexaco, Atlantic Aviation and Air BP Aviation Services.
Pelican Products' new 1510 case has been approved by the FAA as a legal carry-on for airline passengers. The wheeled case is equipped with side , front and extension handles. Padlock protectors provide added strength and extra security against cutting and theft. The new case also includes standard Pelican features like the waterproof and dustproof neoprene o-ring seal, automatic purge valve with Gore-Tex membrane, and easy-open double throw latches.
J. Mesinger Corporate Jet Sales, a Boulder, Colo.-based aircraft sales and acquisition firm, recently posted on the company's Web site, www.jetsales.com, a guide to aircraft acquisition.
Sacramento, Calif., wants to fast track attracting an FBO to SMF. Approximately 10 individuals, including representatives of existing California FBOs, attended a non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting on Dec. 1, 2004. Following the Jan. 6 deadline for bid submission, officials hope to meet with finalists this month, finalize terms and conditions by the end of March and have the winning FBO in place by May 1. No FBO currently serves SMF. Private aircraft are handled by the airlines' fuel supplier, with the assistance of county employees.
Raytheon Aircraft has been awarded a $240 million contract option by the U.S. government for 50 more T-6A aircraft, part of the JPATS training system. This is the 12th straight option year exercised, out of a potential total of 19 for the entire program extends deliveries through 2008. The JPATS program, which is the primary pilot training program for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, calls for nearly 800 aircraft through the year 2017. To date, the Air Force and Navy have ordered 354 aircraft, and 215 have been delivered -- 172 to the Air Force and 43 to the Navy.
Sikorsky countered with a grand opening of its VXX assembly and support facility at its Stratford, Conn., headquarters. The facility has special security provisions required to work on the presidential helicopters.
Three additional Jet Aviation maintenance facilities in the United States have been named authorized service centers for the Embraer Legacy aircraft. With the addition of Bedford/Boston, Mass., Dallas and Teterboro, N.J., Jet Aviation's global maintenance network now includes a total of six Legacy service centers with facilities in Palm Beach, Fla.; Dusseldorf, Germany; and London's Biggin Hill.
General Electric has initiated tests for its new GEnx engine that the company says advances the use of composites in jet engines in ways never before experienced. The GEnx is the only jet engine being developed with both the front fan case and fan blades made of composite materials, which are intended to provide greater durability and dramatic weight reduction. At GE Transportation's headquarters in Evendale, Ohio, the company ran a successful ``blade-out'' rig test using a composite fan case and composite blades representative of the GEnx configuration.
Engine intake plugs protect your aircraft and will keep your engine free of damaging debris while stored in a hangar or tie-down space. Made of a thick, all-weather 420 nylon, these plugs will also prevent birds or other animals from accessing your engine compartment. They are durable yet lightweight and are made to fit each aircraft model exactly, forming a secure seal. Since these plugs are bright red and include a red ``Remove Before Flight'' streamer, it is easy to remember to remove them.
Pentastar Aviation, Waterford, Mich., promoted Richard Barley to the position of executive chef, in which capacity he will oversee food production, train and supervise chefs and culinarians, and maintain food quality and standards. Barley is also a professional ice carver.
The Los Angeles Times got it right. It published an article on Dec. 12, 2004, headlined, ``High-Profile Business Plane Crashes Belie Safety,'' that stressed that both corporate and charter jet operations are about as safe as airline flying. The paper had all the right numbers and stressed the high quality of equipment and training typical of corporate charter ops. Google the article and print it out.
The FAA is pushing ahead with plans to develop a numerical index that will depict the overall safety of the U.S. aviation industry from general aviation to scheduled airline service. Despite skepticism in some quarters about the value of developing a matrix that encompasses such widely different types of flying, the FAA wants the new safety index in place by the end of 2006. The prototype safety index ``will measure aviation fatalities and injuries in all segments of the industry,'' the FAA said.
The FAA has reached an agreement with Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury, Conn., on the matter of tree clearing required to keep the Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR) Runway 08 at its current published length of 4,422 feet. For years, the FAA nagged the city about the growing obstructions. If the trees on the approach were not removed, the FAA would be forced to eliminate 1,000 feet from the end of the already short runway, making the airport almost unusable in IFR to many aircraft. Money wasn't a problem.
Of the volumes of existing flight regulations, donning one's oxygen mask when required must surely be one of the most neglected by flight crews. One veteran aviator probably spoke for many when he admitted, ``It's not that I have a good reason for never wearing the mask, it's just that I never seem to think about it, period.''
Nordam Group's Transparency Division won the contract to provide the windshields, cockpit side windows and cabin windows for the Eclipse 500. This is Nordam's first program to be the supplier of all windows on an aircraft, and the company says if Eclipse ramps up to its planned full production rate, the program will require 10,000 windows a year. Nordam is headquartered in Tulsa.
FlightSafety's new Level ``D'' simulator for the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter at the company's West Palm Beach Learning Center has received FAA approval. Pilot and maintenance technician training programs are in progress. The full-flight simulator is the world's first for Sikorsky's new-generation S-92 helicopter. Surrounding the S-92 cockpit is a VITAL-9 five-channel visual system that displays 220 degrees horizontally and 60 degrees vertically. The Sikorsky S-92 simulator incorporates digital map displays, EGPWS, TCAS and dual FMS.
