Not surprisingly, the Corporate Angel Network (CAN) loves corporate shuttles as a reliable transportation medium for getting cancer patients to and from their treatment centers.
Thousands of people were abruptly ordered to evacuate the Capitol and nearby office buildings on June 9, about 30 minutes before the Air Force Boeing 747 carrying former President Reagan's body was due to land at Andrews AFB in suburban Maryland. A King Air 200 operated by the state of Kentucky and carrying Gov. Ernie Fletcher showed up as an unidentified aircraft on a radar display at the National Capital Regional Command Center (NCRCC), which coordinates responses to possible security threats. The system displays raw radar data.
Cessna now has full type certification for the Citation Sovereign, almost six years after introducing the aircraft to the public. The company received a provisional TC for the Sovereign in December 2003, but it did not permit delivery to customers. Delivery of the first Model 680 Sovereign is expected in the second half of the year. Cessna announced the Sovereign in 1998 along with the CJ2 and upgrades to its original CJ and Citation Ultra. The Sovereign is the final aircraft of that group to achieve FAA approval.
Proposed Rules Dassault Falcon 50, 900, 900EX and 2000 airplanes -- Make temporary changes to the airplane flight manual to prohibit the use of certain functions, depending on whether or not the operator chooses to deactivate the GPS. For airplanes on which the GPS is deactivated, operators would be required to install a deactivation-locking collar on certain circuit breakers. For other airplanes, operators also would be required to modify the wiring of the GPS.
Gulfstream Aerospace now is offering its Enhanced Vision System (EVS) to operators of Gulfstream IV business jets outfitted with Honeywell SPZ 8000 avionics as a result of an amendment to an earlier FAA STC.
THE YEAR WAS 1940, A TIME when the world was still enthralled with airplanes and the people who flew them. Legendary airmen like Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh and Roscoe Turner were celebrities, like rock stars today. Although only 23 years old at the time, I was working as chief pilot for Queen City Flying Service, a flight training outfit based in Cincinnati. Life could not have been better. George Wedekind, my boss, was hard-nosed but fair. The pay was modest but steady. The airplanes were well maintained. And best of all, we got to fly almost every day.
Raytheon Aircraft has added a fourth Hawker Horizon to the certification flight-test program. The aircraft will conduct FAA function and reliability testing and will be used for operational evaluation of customer satisfaction before deliveries begin at the end of the year. The aircraft, RC-4, was fitted with interior components, including sidewalls, headliners and lavatory and cabin doors.
The FAA has granted type certification to new models of General Electric's CT7-8 turboshaft engine. According to GE, the newly certified engines, more powerful and more durable than earlier models, are intended to power variants of the Sikorsky S-92, AgustaWestland EH101 and US101, and NH Industries NH90 helicopters, as well as improved versions of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for U.S. Army Special Operations forces.
Boeing has nearly finished restructuring its ATM operation, and although the unit is losing staff, its program capability hasn't changed and has even increased in some areas, unit head Kevin Brown said. Under the restructuring, Boeing ATM is being folded into Boeing's Phantom Works division (see B/CA, April, page 18) to trim overhead costs. Boeing ATM still will be headquartered in McLean, Va., Brown said, because it makes sense to keep the main office close to FAA and DOT headquarters.
The U.S. Air Force will have a big presence at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2004 on July 27-Aug. 2 in Oshkosh, Wis. The Air Force's 20,000-square-foot ``Total Force Pavilion'' will be located along the flight line, just north of the FAA Control Tower. The building will host several heroes from Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war on terrorism who will share their combat experiences and answer questions. Also at the pavilion will be the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs); the Tuskegee Airmen will provide speakers as well.
General Electric is monitoring market demand for a new-generation 50-seat jet, and is developing possible powerplant technologies for the aircraft. Charles Blankenship, GE's general manager of small commercial engines, told our sister publication Aviation Daily at the Regional Airline Association annual conference in St. Louis that GE has a concept engine and some technical developments targeted at next-generation RJs, but added that if demand does materialize, the aircraft would ``be a bit off in the future.''
The Airbus A319CJ corporate jetliner, together with its airliner brethren the A319, A320 and A321, has been awarded 180 minutes of extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) certification. The approval was granted by the new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
At Orlando International Airport recently, a Florida Power & Light crew putting in lines for an addition got a cold-blooded reception from some MCO denizens. The 'gator was 18 feet 2 inches long, while the snake roundup bagged some 87 rattlers. FP&L provided some forget-us-not snapshots of the encounters.
Honeywell's recently released Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook predicts that previously owned rotorcraft will continue to be important in meeting the demand for helicopter services in the coming years. The sixth annual survey was based in part on feedback received from a survey of more than 900 flight departments worldwide.
National air show performer Ian Groom, 58, died on his birthday April 30 in the widely televised crash of his Russian-built Sukhoi 31 aerobatic aircraft during practice for the Air and Sea Show in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He failed to recover from a series of flat spins. ``It was obvious there was a problem with the maneuver,'' said John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows. Groom had represented Britain in world aerobatic competitions. A devoted family man, he also provided free unusual attitude recovery training to government pilots.
Area navigation (RNAV) is a concept that predates the implementation of GPS by several decades. But it was with the advent of the latter, with its powerful microprocessors, compact size and global coverage, that highly accurate RNAV capability found its way into the cockpits of Pipers as well as Boeings. Presto!
The Corporate Angel Network, the volunteer organization that arranges free transportation on corporate aircraft for cancer patients traveling to and from treatment centers, was the recipient of a check for $111,000. The money is the proceeds of the 16th Annual Greater Washington Aviation Open (GWAO) golf and tennis tournament held May 3 at Indian Spring Country Club in Silver Spring, Md. CAN officials said the money from the GWAO, which includes entry fees and raffle proceeds, will underwrite about 25 percent of CAN's annual operating budget this year.
The FAA extended the comment deadline on its highly controversial National Air Tour Safety Standards proposal and, yielding to pressure from virtually every general aviation interest group, is now holding regional, face-to-face public meetings to supplement the Internet public meetings it has already held. The new comment deadline is June 18. The proposal has drawn more than 2,000 comments to date, the overwhelming majority of which oppose the notice of proposed rulemaking.
Lancair has retained a manufacturing consultant, Technical Change Associates (TCA), to help it streamline manufacturing processes and accelerate production. ``We'll soon be building two separate aircraft models on our line and that adds another layer of complexity to what we're doing,'' said Lancair Vice President Ron Wright, adding, ``TCA is working with us to enhance our overall manufacturing efficiency'' to increase production while maintaining quality.
Class A -- Part 121 Turbine Aircraft Operations and Part 135 Turbine Aircraft Operations with ten or more passenger seats. Uses aircraft's GPS, FMS or IRS position and typically true altitude supplied by a digital air data computer. -- Forward-looking terrain avoidance function -- Premature descent alert function -- assumes a three-degree glidepath to nearest runway in airport database -- Visual and aural signals for caution (immediate awareness required) and warning (immediate action required) alerts
It was an unusual event. The Gulfstream 690B was flying over Willow Springs, Mo., in IMC when it experienced a sudden and large static discharge. Combined with a simultaneous encounter with severe turbulence, the aircraft entered a rapid, uncontrolled descent. Diving out of the clouds into visual conditions, the pilots struggled to bring the aircraft back under control. Fortunately, they were able to land at a nearby airport, but three people were injured in the event and the aircraft suffered structural overload damage as a result of the upset and recovery.
ARINC Inc. of Annapolis, Md., and AeroMech Inc. of Everett, Wash., have teamed up to offer RVSM solutions for Cessna Citation 650s, Beechjet 400/Mitsubishi 300s and Hawker 700s. The ``competitively priced'' packages include RVSM group certification STCs, avionics STCs, required hardware and installation.
The FAA has turned down a petition from a Massachusetts anti-noise group to require aircraft owners to put 2-foot-high N-numbers under their wings. As the AOPA had argued in its comments on the petition, the FAA said the issue had been debated, studied and decided years ago -- the current 12-inch-high numbers on the fuselage are sufficient. In a member bulletin, the AOPA said it suspected this was a thinly veiled attempt to make it easier for the Stop the Noise group to sue pilots.
NBAA Chairman, interim President and CEO Don Baldwin warned recently that unless Congress moves quickly to extend the deadline for putting newly purchased or upgraded aircraft into service, operators will not be able to take advantage of bonus depreciation tax benefits for this year.
