Jet Aviation and Airbus have signed a service center agreement covering the Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) family of aircraft through Jet's global network and various lines of business, including aircraft management, charter, outfitting and refurbishment, maintenance and FBO services. Jet will be linked to the Airbus customer service organization and will have full access to all Airbus services, ranging from technical advice to AOG assistance to the company's worldwide assistance network of field-service teams, spares and training centers.
IT WAS 130 BONE-DRY degrees in the cockpit. I was flying westbound over a quilt of bright green cotton plantings, milo and vegetables, all nourished by the Blue Nile River, some 200 kilometers to the east. While off my right wing spread several million acres of greenery, to my left a vast expanse of desert -- brown, barren, hard and dead -- went on forever. With a map balanced on my right knee, I counted fields and traced my progress. I had never been this far west -- none of us had. And I lost my place.
Sikorsky's new ``Quiet Zone'' transmission will be fitted on all corporate/VIP S-76C+ helicopters delivered in 2005. The Quiet Zone is a continuous improvement program initiated by Sikorsky to reduce interior noise levels of the S-76 helicopter. State-of-the-art technology was incorporated into the gearbox and transmission to achieve a current interior noise level nearly 5 percent quieter than its nearest competitor in the corporate/VIP category, according to the company. A retrofit program for earlier model aircraft is in development.
The NBAA advised its members that Holiday Traffic STMPs have been issued for the following airports: Wyoming's Jackson Hole Airport (JAC); Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) in Hailey, Idaho; and Joslin Field-Magic Valley Regional Airport (TWF) in Twin Falls, Idaho. Active dates for these programs are: Thursday, Dec. 23 to Monday, Jan. 3; and Friday, Feb. 18 to Tuesday, Feb. 22. Reservations will be available 72 hours prior to the estimated time of arrival.
FRED MCINTOSH WAS the subject of this column three times over the past 21 years. Back in the 25th anniversary issue of B/CA in January 1983 we marked his retirement after 19 years with the National Business Aircraft Association, most of that time spent as vice president, focusing on maintenance and operational issues. A veteran FAA attorney who worked closely with him on numerous regulatory matters described Fred then as ``the premier aviation professional.'' He saluted Fred's ability to solve problems, but was more impressed with Fred's perspective.
United States Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG) teamed with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the National Air Transportation Association to create a university-level course. ``Safety and Security of Airport Ground Operations'' is available as a three-credit elective (see ``Ramp Rap 101,'' page 51).
The FAA has decided to delay the effective date of the Handbook Bulletin for Airworthiness (HBAW) 04-06B, affecting aircraft maintenance program requirements, until Feb. 28, 2005, to allow an existing industry working group to consider the issue. HBAW 04-06B, released in late August, addresses aircraft configuration and maintenance programs for FAR Part 135 aircraft. In order to meet a nine or fewer passenger-seat configuration standard, many operators have placarded or blocked seats to make them unusable.
ARINC Direct has received STCs for two RVSM solutions: one for the Beechjet 400/Mitsubishi 300 and another for the Cessna Citation III. Until now, the only available Citation III RVSM package has been a factory service bulletin. The new solution includes a group certification STC from AeroMech and covers all C650s, whether they are equipped with single or dual air-data computers. According to ARINC, this is the first RVSM package in the United States to include avionics from Swiss manufacturer Thommen.
The FAA will accommodate non-RVSM aircraft in RVSM airspace in only four categories: military aircraft, lifeguard air ambulance flights, certification flights and flights climbing/descending through RVSM flight levels (without intermediate level off) to/from flight levels above RVSM airspace.
Next Monday morning, thousands of key employees will climb into their cars and steel themselves for another one-, two- or even three-hour commute to headquarters, subsidiary facilities or regional plants. Folks queue up by the thousands at dozens of metered on-ramps every workday, waiting their turns to creep along at five to 10 miles per hour on interstate highways. Even so, they're making progress toward their destinations. But all it takes is one stalled vehicle or fender bender to solidify the entire creeping mass into an immovable block.
Insurance coverage can be a mystery. We know that we need it, but how much do we need? What's covered? What isn't covered? It's hard enough to make good decisions for our car or home, but if you were tasked to manage the insurance coverage for your flight department, could you do it? Many large corporations have full-time risk managers who take care of this function, but if you were assigned this job, whom would you turn to for help? Broker or Agent?
Each year B/CA editors honor individuals within business aviation who have demonstrated an unusually high commitment to the community and its betterment -- through improved equipment, operations, regulation or advocacy. Over the years these leaders have come from industry, associations, government and elsewhere, and have hailed from North America, Europe and Asia. The criteria they all meet and the characteristic they all share is effective excellence in furthering business aviation.
The FAA authorized Williams International to extend major periodic inspection intervals on its FJ44 engine models. Effective immediately, the FJ44-2A Check 3 (hot-section inspection) is 1,750 hours and the Check 4 (compressor section inspection) is 3,500 hours. In addition, engine cycles are no longer a consideration for determining FJ44 engine major periodic inspection intervals. The intervals are now defined in engine operating hours only.
Blakey and Chew appeared to be preparing aviation users for elimination of some existing systems as a way to save money. Blakey commented that ``over time, you cannot continue to add enhancements'' (to the NAS system) and not get rid of older systems that are redundant or are used less frequently by pilots. Chew added that the agency would be stifling growth if it did not invest in new technology.
Chicagoland Airport will be the site of a renewable hydrogen fuel airport demonstration project. The Greater Rockford, Ill., Airport Authority is soliciting bids from firms or teams for the purpose of providing planning, designing, building and managing the Northwest Chicagoland Airport Renewable Hydrogen Project. ``The airport of the future will be clean, efficient and fuel independent,'' said Rockford Airport Director Bob O'Brien.
Raytheon Aircraft has teamed with Avtrak Inc. to upgrade the capabilities of the FACTS online maintenance tracking services it provides to Beech and Hawker aircraft operators. Avtrak will use its Web-based application and technology to power Raytheon Aircraft's FACTS program to give operators 24/7 access to their aircraft maintenance from any computer equipped with a Web browser and an Internet connection.
As the National Air Transportation Association feared (Intelligence, September, page 16), confusion has reared its ugly head concerning the applicability of new EPA spill prevention, control and countermeasures (SPCC) regulations to mobile aircraft refuelers -- despite an extension agreed to by the agency.
Issy Boim is trying to convince business aviation that security is as important as safety. Or to put it another way, that one of the elements of your safety checklist should be security.
Chelton Flight Systems' now-certified EFIS makes single-pilot operations of high-performance aircraft much easier. ``This summer we received STC approval for the Cessna Citation 501, which satisfies both TAWS and RVSM mandates, and replaces mechanical autopilot gyros with a fiber-optic AHRS,'' company president Gordon Pratt explained to B/CA. The Boise, Idaho, company also obtained an FAA STC to install its FlightLogic Synthetic Vision EFIS in Cessna Citation 501s.
His may be one of the most fertile minds in aeronautical design. His concepts have always challenged the conventional, the tried and true. He breezily ignores the old maxim, ``If it looks right, it will fly right,'' because his machines have often looked quite wrong, even though they flew, some of them into history. And as VariViggen gave way to the VariEze which was followed by Quickie, Solitaire, Defiant, Grizzly, Catbird, Boom- erang, etc., the giddy winged menagerie of the long-sideburned maverick of the Mojave became legendary.
Cessna Aircraft and its corporate parent, Textron, Inc., were strongly supportive of Jack Pelton, Cessna president and CEO, following a CBS television report that the former longtime McDonnell Douglas executive had received degrees in aeronautical engineering from a diploma mill in Wyoming. A Textron spokesman said that Pelton ``will continue in his current role'' with the Wichita aircraft manufacturer. Cessna characterized Pelton as ``a seasoned industry veteran with strong credentials, an exceptional background and a stellar professional reputation.
Few busy airports in the United States receive as much snow as New York's Buffalo-Niagara International (BUF). Its snow removal team, led by Airport Manager Robert Stone, has won numerous awards for leadership in keeping the runways open despite sometimes monumental snowfalls. ``In 1977, we got hit with 199 inches of snow,'' says Stone, ``and I was actually stranded at the airport for an entire week. The irony was that the airport was open for business the very next day after the monster blizzard hit, but we didn't have any customers because all of the roads were closed.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Grand Caravan Oasis under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance.
