FOR SEVERAL YEARS, the number of players selling the air charter services of others has grown steadily . . . as have their claims of service and size (see ``Inside the Card Membership Programs,'' B/CA, September 2004, page 68). The DOT had been watching the developments with keen interest, and on Oct. 8 took action by issuing policy guidance on ``the role of air charter brokers in arranging air transportation.''
Honeywell is working on a new low-cost cabin pressure control system for next-generation business jets that features all-electric instead of electro-pneumatic operation. ``It integrates really well with avionics and will enable us to offer an air management system at a lower price threshold than has been possible before,'' said Russ Turner, president of Honeywell Engines, Systems and Services. ``We have done all the electronics and software, and demonstrated the control laws last year.
Oct. 8 -- The crew of a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11F, on an FAA-approved ferry flight with an inoperative center engine, planned to go from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska to Atlanta, where the repair was to take place. The crew elected to retract the center gear -- the freighter has three main gears -- to enhance performance and reduce drag.
Cessna sold 41 new Citations and six new Caravans at the NBAA Convention. And that doesn't include the 22 pre-sold aircraft it announced at the show. Here's an understatement from Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Roger Whyte: ``We had anticipated a positive response to our two new models and three newly certified Citations, but the number of new orders certainly exceeded our expectations.''
Blakey and Chew recounted FY 2005 budget steps already taken. Chew said officials are reviewing major capital programs, suggesting that key elements of the National Airspace Modernization Plan could be delayed or eliminated.
LightSPEED Aviation has entered the ultra-lightweight headset market with its new LightFlight L-1. The unit weighs only 0.5 ounces, attenuates 35-45dB of noise and has the same standard features as the company's premium headsets, including a cell/satellite phone jack, music input, electret mic, hi-fi stereo speakers and dual volume controls.
Embraer entered into an exclusive five-year distribution and logistics agreement with Sydney-based Hawker Pacific covering the supply of EMB 110 and EMB 120 spare parts in Australia and the Pacific Rim. Under the agreement, Hawker Pacific will acquire Embraer's entire inventory of spares currently housed at its facility in Melbourne, Australia, and take responsibility for the supply, order processing and distribution of all EMB 110 and EMB 120 spare parts to support the fleet in the region.
FAR Part 43 covers aircraft maintenance. Section 43.3(g) states: ``The holder of a pilot certificate issued under Part 61 may perform preventive maintenance on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot [that] is not used under Part 121, 129 or 135.'' Below, Appendix A to Part 43 lists the 32 preventive maintenance items that pilots can legally perform, four of which involve balloons. The last two items were added in 1996 to include the new electronic technologies: (1) Removal, installation and repair of landing gear tires.
Even as exacting digital technology pervades aviation, investing it with unprecedented volumes of data and precision, confusion abounds regarding the likelihood of getting one's wonderjet halted before the pavement runs out. The problem is that most unprecise bit of wintertime analog data: braking action reports. Many pilots say that trusting someone else's estimate on a runway's ability to provide traction is too subjective a thing to be trusted.
When Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (DRVSM) operations begin over North America on Jan. 20, 2005, the market value of hundreds of older business aircraft that have not been retrofitted with the precise navigation equipment needed to operate in that airspace are expected to decline.
FlightSafety International has developed a novel Runway Judgment Training program using motion/visual simulators to help crews and flight departments develop safe experience and implement policies and procedures to manage the risks of operations at marginal airports and less than desirable runways. In the program the simulator instructor creates marginal operating conditions at an ``anytown'' or at a specific airport, varying runway length, width and weather. Crews must decide if the proposed takeoff or landing conditions are safe.
American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into a Queens, N.Y., neighborhood because the airplane's vertical stabilizer separated in flight as a result of aerodynamic loads that were created by the first officer's excessive rudder pedal inputs after the aircraft encountered wake turbulence, according to a final report adopted by the NTSB Oct. 26. The Safety Board said that contributing to the Nov. 12, 2001, crash were characteristics of the airplane's rudder system design and aspects of the airline's pilot training program. In a Nov.
Jet Aviation's Zurich and Dusseldorf maintenance facilities have been named authorized service centers for Cessna's new Citation Sovereign. The new status allows both facilities to perform heavy, scheduled line and base maintenance, modifications and engine repair on the Sovereign.
Flight Options CEO John Nahill unexpectedly left the company in early November. He headed the Cleveland-based fractional aircraft provider for just under two years. He took over as CEO shortly after the Raytheon Travel Air fractional aircraft fleet was combined with that of Flight Options, giving the unit about 200 aircraft. Nahill spent the prior four years at Raytheon Co. where he was vice president of corporate strategy and development. Raytheon subsequently took a controlling interest in Flight Options.
An AOPA newsletter described one of the more inventive relief operations in the immediate aftermath of the recent Florida hurricanes. In Punta Gorda, Fla., communications were nonexistent, but many victims had battery-powered radios. Local government officials asked banner tow operator William Bruckner Jr., who owns Florida Aerial Advertising based nearby in St. Petersburg, to tow a banner that read, ``Emergency Information 92.5 FM. Tune in now.'' The AOPA said Bruckner spent two days on the job, towing five hours each day, and reduced his fees by $200 an hour.
You're 20 times more likely to be killed in a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accident than in a midair collision. That's a statistic Don Bateman has been battling since he pioneered the first ground proximity warning system in 1969 while working as a young engineer at United Con-trols Corp. At the time the major airlines were experiencing one CFIT accident per million flights, losing eight aircraft annually to such accidents. Bateman recalls that Pan Am, for example, was averaging one CFIT accident per year.
Flower Aviation will soon have a modern, 5,000-square-foot customer terminal and a $1.7 million hangar for overnight transient aircraft storage at Salina, Kan. (SLN), under a cooperative arrangement with the Salina Airport Authority. More than 4,000 business jets refuel yearly at Flower SLN, which annually pumps over 2.5 million gallons of jet fuel. The FBO specializes in quick turns, advertising a ``spin of 10 minutes or less.''
Boeing is making its Class-3 Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) available for retrofit on Boeing Business Jets. The EFB contains Jeppesen charts, manuals for fault reporting and operations, minimum equipment lists and logbooks in digital format. Boeing claims its EFB is the only fully integrated, FAA-certified one available today.
Air Routing International has added a host of features to its Flight Manager. More than scheduling software, Flight Manager permits pilots, dispatchers and schedulers to check the status of permits, fuel and ground service arrangements, flight plans, hotel and ground transportation, security, weather and more, via the Internet. It provides 24/7 communication between clients and the Air Routing team handling the trip.
In November, the TSA was on the lookout for a stolen Piper Pawnee ag plane. The crop-dusting aircraft was stolen from Ejido Queretaro, near Mexicali, Mexico, on Nov. 1. Although there was no immediate indication that the incident had any connection to terrorist activity, the theft was cause for concern. Past information indicated that members of al-Qaida may have planned -- or still may be planning -- to disperse biological or chemical agents from crop-dusting aircraft. The stolen PA25 aircraft bore the registration XBCYP.
The TSA said FAR Part 135 cargo carriers would continue to operate under the ``Twelve-Five'' security regime as part of a ``layered'' approach to improving cargo security through a series of airport and operator requirements tailored to various segments of cargo operations. The agency released an NPRM developed at the direction of Congress, which had called upon the TSA in several pieces of legislation to address various aspects of cargo security.
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.
