The U.S. Senate recently passed the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act (S.1637), legislation that includes a one-year extension (to Dec. 31, 2005) of bonus-depreciation tax benefits for sales of general aviation aircraft. ``With Senate passage [of S.1637], we have cleared another major hurdle to extending the benefits and positive effects of bonus depreciation for our industry,'' said Ed Bolen, GAMA president and CEO. ``We now call on the House of Representatives to take quick action on the bill.''
Honeywell is riding the crest of the trend toward fully integrated, processor-driven avionics systems with its Primus EPIC core design that can be configured with interfaces to meet the requirements of individual airframe manufacturers. Already certified with the EASy cockpit configuration on the Falcon 900EX and PlaneView on Gulfstream 500s and 550s, the Cessna Citation Sovereign is the latest and smallest aircraft to win FAA approval with the avionics system.
Avcon Industries, the Olathe, Kan.-based subsidiary of Butler National Corp., has received an STC for its RVSM package for the Learjet 24 and 25. Kohlman Systems Research, a Lawrence, Kan.-based provider of aeronautical engineering services, provided support for the program. The RVSM group approval covers aircraft equipped with the JET FC-110 autopilot and a variety of wing configurations, from the original wing to the Century III, Mark II, XR and SoftFlite airfoils.
Robert E. Breiling Associates has been compiling and analyzing business turbine aircraft accidents since the 1960s. The company's annual review contains detailed accounts of over 390 fixed- and rotary-wing turbine aircraft accidents and incidents reported worldwide in 2003. Each accident summary includes model, type of operator, phase of operation, conditions and a factual description of all reported circumstances.
Cirrus Design Corp. received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for its SR20 model on June 1. The Cirrus certification is the first of its kind awarded by the new agency (previously known as the Joint Aviation Authorities) for aircraft imported into the European Union.
Cirrus Aviation of Zweibrucken, Germany, purchased its second Learjet 40 light jet. The order comes three months after Cirrus began operating its first Learjet 40. Cirrus' Model 40s are based at Zweibrucken Airport. Both aircraft are also part of Bombardier's Flexjet Europe charter network.
FAA approval of Bombardier Aerospace's TFE731-20BR engine upgrade for the Learjet 45XR paves the way for the company to deliver production aircraft with improved engine performance in the United States. Bombardier said it will also issue a Service Bulletin to current Learjet 45 operators allowing them to upgrade their aircraft at a Bombardier Aircraft Services facility.
CAE announced that Robert E. Brown will become its president and CEO, effective Aug. 12. Brown is currently chairman of Air Canada and was previously president and CEO of Bombardier. He will succeed Derek H. Burney immediately following the company's annual general meeting. Burney will serve as vice chairman of CAE until his formal retirement on Oct. 31. CAE provides simulation technologies and integrated training services to airlines, aircraft manufacturers, defense forces and marine customers worldwide.
Senator, and presumed Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry (D-Mass.) stated his support for business aviation access to TFR and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) at least equivalent to that of the commercial airlines. When Kerry's campaign aircraft stopped recently at DCA, Pete West, NBAA senior vice president of government and public affairs, was invited aboard the chartered Boeing 757, where he briefed Kerry and members of his campaign and policy staff about the issue and the NBAA's Secure Access initiatives.
Freight operator Atlantic Airlines of Coventry Airport, England, is leasing an Estonian-registered Antonov AN-72 jet freighter for, among other things, the transportation of horses. The twin-engine aircraft has a rear ramp, which facilitates the loading of horses. The airline says that the introduction of the AN-72 for ad-hoc charters is the culmination of 12 months' ``quiet work'' and negotiation with both the United Kingdom's CAA and Tallinn-based authorities. The aircraft is leased from Enimex.
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and Air BP have joined forces to advance the CAP's cadet and youth development programs. The CAP has almost 27,000 young people participating in cadet programs. It provides leadership training, technical education, scholarships and career education to people ages 12 to 21. Maj. Gen.
Bombardier may kick it up a notch to strengthen its aviation business, according to President and CEO Paul M. Tellier in a speech to shareholders on June 2 in Montreal. Tellier reviewed Bombardier's plan to restructure and restore the corporation's earnings and detailed initiatives undertaken during the past year to consolidate the businesses, streamline the organization and increase focus on customer needs.
With Sporty's Air-Scan V Aviation Radio/Scanner pilots can listen to a ballgame, talk-radio or music and never miss an aviation transmission, thanks to what the company calls ``aviation interrupt.'' The radio scans up to five aeronautical channels for activity and upon detecting a signal on any of the channels, it breaks into the AM or FM program, plays the aviation transmission, and then returns to the regular program. At that point, the active aviation frequency automatically gets priority over all other transmissions. Price: $99.95
The second-generation 3,500-pound-thrust TFE731-20AR engines fitted to the Learjet 40 actually are 4,435-pound-thrust -40 engines in disguise, lacking only the -40's deep fluted mixer nozzle and DEEC software. With this much thermodynamic capacity, the -20AR turbofans can produce takeoff rated thrust up to 31C. They also have a 3,650-pound APR rating that's available anytime the thrust levers are pushed beyond the takeoff thrust detent in the quandrant.
Extra Aircraft has selected Honeywell's APEX integrated cockpit as the standard in its Extra EA-500 single-engine turboprop, beginning in 2006. The APEX system will feature digital communication and navigation radios, an FMS, a digital autopilot, two active matrix LCDs measuring 10.4 inches diagonal, mode S transponder, Engine Indicating and Caution Alert System, Traffic Advisory System (TAS), Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) and a dual-channel Air Data Attitude Heading Reference System.
Hang on to your rods and cones. The NTSB wants the FAA to tighten color vision screening procedures (recommendation A-04-46) for applicants of Class 1 and 2 Medical Certificates in order to prevent individuals with color vision deficiencies that could impair their ability to perform color-related critical tasks from being certificated without limitations (recommendation A-04-47). The tasks include -- but aren't limited to -- interpreting external glidepath information and cockpit displays that use color to convey information.
After Chicago Mayor Richard Daley shocked his city and the aviation community at large one day in early spring 2003 by sending backhoes under the cover of darkness to demolish Merrill C. Meigs Field's only runway, many asked, ``What's next?'' Would and could others follow suit and obliterate their local general aviation fields?
U.K. corporate jet charter operator Bookajet ordered seven Dornier Envoy 3s from Avcraft for Club Airways membership operations (see ``ber Class,'' page 84). They will be used on scheduled operations across Europe and soon to Moscow. Bookajet also holds another six options for the $14.5 million aircraft. The company plans to certify Envoy 3 operations into London City Airport by September. The Envoys are also to be deployed on Geneva-Moscow (Vnukovo) runs by the third quarter of this year.
IT'S EASY TO GET wrapped up in kvetching about the negative effect security restrictions are having on aviation. In covering business aviation these days, I tire of writing ever more about security-related Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) and TSA guidelines for general aviation airports. And, of course, there's the continuing battle by the business aviation community to convince federal security officials to reopen Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to business aircraft.
If one of those low-pressure monsters featured on The Weather Channel were to obliterate your hangar, scattering everything within to the horizons, your airplane could end up losing 15 percent or more of its value even if it was a long way away and suffered nary a scratch. The reason? The records that detail and confirm its history and care are lost, making the airplane something of an open question as a result.
Boeing has no plans for a major Boeing 737 redesign, as it continues to sell well and customers have voiced no complaints, says Carolyn Corvi, Boeing's vice president in charge of the 737 and 757 programs. ``We listen to our customers and our customers are happy with the plane,'' she told Aviation Daily. She said the 737-800 and -900 will take the place of the 757.
Rockwell Collins has created a Member Services Center (MSC) to support its Airshow 4000 and future cabin systems. Located in Tustin, Calif., the MSC provides a portfolio of content feeds, including BBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, SportsTicker and Intellicast Weather. The center's support staff is available 24/7. ``Our previous focus had been simply to maintain hardware support for the Airshow Network product family,'' explained Tim Rayl, senior director of Airshow Systems.
Part of any flight check is demonstrating the ability to cope with a variety of abnormal or emergency situations. These can involve anything from the typical engine failure on departure, to severe weather encounters, to less common system malfunctions and failures. The other day while administering a flight check for a company pilot, I introduced a simulated flight control failure.
Cessna Aircraft Co. has received an amended FAA Type Certificate (TC) for the 182T Skylane and the T182T Turbo Skylane that includes the Garmin G1000 integrated avionics system, which both aircraft feature as the NAV III premium avionics option. ``This is an historic day for Garmin and for Cessna,'' said Gary Kelley, Garmin's director of marketing.
