FlightSafety International added Learjet 35/35A and King Air 350 simulators to its learning center in Atlanta. The Learjet simulator is Level C approved and incorporates a VITAL VIII daylight visual system. FlightSafety's Atlanta center also houses Learjet Model 31A, 45 and 60 simulators. Other FlightSafety centers that provide Learjet training are based in Tucson, Wichita and West Palm Beach, Fla. The King Air 350 simulator joins a King Air 200 trainer at FlightSafety's Atlanta base.
The rapid convergence of airborne communications and productivity tools with inflight entertainment technology is subtly altering B/CA's Airborne Office and Information Systems tables. This evolution is driven largely by airlines trying to keep up with their passengers' increasingly sophisticated demands for airborne productivity and entertainment.
A new company, Sterling Aviation, will provide aircraft management, charter, maintenance and acquisition services. Executives from Wisconsin-based Scott AirCharter and corporate flight specialist Volare Partners have teamed to form the new company at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Sterling will be owned primarily by Chris and Dan Doerr, who own Volare Partners. The Scott management team, led by President Tom Scott and Executive Vice President Norah Lenardic, will manage day-to-day operations.
And then Longmuir's predecessor weighed in defending his record against Warren's assertions. In an April 18 letter to NBAA representatives, Jack Olcott said Warren's statements reflected ``a deficiency of knowledge.'' In a long list of specific rebuttals he stated, ```Business as usual' at NBAA was characterized by a high level of staff productivity, excellent relations with other association leaders, high visibility (both in Washington, in the broader GA community, and in the media), and active involvement by the association president.
In two separate incidents in one week, two Cirrus aircraft were lowered to the ground by their CAPS parachute systems. On April 8, near Colona, British Columbia, at 11,500 feet msl at night, owner and pilot Albert Kolk opted to deploy the CAPS parachute system in his SR20 after encountering severe turbulence. All four people on board were unharmed. On April 10, Jeff Ippoliti departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FEX) into a 400-foot ceiling.
Guardian Air Services and Guardian Jet Center, Ontario, Calif., has hired Peter C. Loncteaux as vice president of operations. Loncteaux will be responsible for all aspects of the Guardian Air Services aircraft charter and operations center.
Albert C. Pod President and CEO, Executive Jet Management (EJM), Cincinnati The charter and aircraft management arm of NetJets, EJM now has a fleet in excess of 100 aircraft. Despite a sluggish economy, the company says it's been profitable for the past five years; its charter business grew 36 percent in 2003 and is projected to best that by another 24 percent this year. Overseeing this expansion is a veteran CEO who joined as a lowly captain 18 years ago after losing his job as chief pilot of a large cargo carrier.
Cessna delivered its 5,000th single-engine piston aircraft since the restart of production in Independence, Kan., in 1997. The 5,000th aircraft, a Skylane, was delivered to Karl Fillip of Alliance Equipment Leasing. Hill Aircraft and Leasing Corp., a Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representative in Atlanta, facilitated the sale. A decade ago Cessna Chairman Russ Meyer promised that if Congress passed tort reform to alleviate the huge ``liability tail'' that forced him to terminate single-engine piston manufacturing, he would resume production.
Lee County Port Authority, Fort Myers, Fla., has promoted Tom Nichols to department director of operations. Nichols is responsible for all operations, including aircraft and passenger areas of Southwest Florida International Airport and Page Field General Aviation Airport.
Boeing plans to slash its corporate flight department and consolidate its in-house flight operations in Gary, Ind., near its company headquarters in Chicago, Ill. A spokeswoman said the company plans to sell a Boeing Business Jet, two Challengers, two Learjets and two helicopters. It will retain one BBJ and five Challengers. Flight bases in Seattle, Wash., St. Louis, Mo., and Long Beach, Calif., will be closed.
The NBAA appointed Richard Doubrava to the newly created position of director, security. He will be responsible for coordinating the activities of the NBAA Security Council in developing policies and programs in the areas of business aviation security, particularly the NBAA's new Secure Access program. Doubrava will be responsible for promoting these views before government officials and public policy organizations, such as the Department of Homeland Security, TSA, FAA and others.
NetJets has begun a five-year program to retire and replace the aircraft in its fleet as they reach 10 years of age, a development ``that will be dynamic in the marketplace,'' NetJets President Bill Boisture told the general aviation panel at the FAA's Forecast Conference.
The TSA plans to issue a request for proposals for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) in the next few weeks to boost security in the U.S. transportation system. Darrin Kayser, a TSA spokesman, said the TWIC program is designed to provide a high-tech credential that verifies workers' identities. The program is now in the seven-month-long prototype phase.
WHEN PURCHASING AN aircraft, so many issues -- federal regulations and excise taxes, insurance, finance terms, hangarage , to name a few -- confront the new owner that it could be easy to overlook state taxes and fees. Do not.
Three-year-old CorporateAir Services Inc., an aviation catering company, opened its second facility two blocks from Teterboro, N.J., Airport (TEB). Its original facility is located at New York's MacArthur Airport (ISP) in Islip, N.Y. Between the two locations, CorporateAir now services TEB, Morristown (MMU), Newark International (EWR) and Trenton (TTN) in New Jersey, and Kennedy International (JFK), La Guardia (LGA), Republic (FRG), Westchester County (HPN), Westhampton (FOK) and East Hampton (HTO) in New York. Both kitchens are open 24 hours a day.
Delta Air Lines is cutting its ties with Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA). ACA has been a Delta Express carrier since August 2000 and currently operates a fleet of 30 Fairchild Dornier 328JETs from Delta's hubs in Cincinnati and Boston. ACA is relaunching itself as a low-cost carrier, Independence Air. ACA/Independence Air Chairman and CEO Kerry Skeen said, ``We had anticipated Delta's decision for some time and understand their reasons for ending our code-share relationship.
TAG Aviation USA, Inc. and a charter affiliate added nearly two dozen aircraft to their fleets in 2003. TAG said it added 10 aircraft to its management program at nine different locations, while AMI Jet Charter, Inc. added 12 airplanes to its charter management program in 2003.
Hartzell Propeller's three-blade Top Prop conversion kits for the Cessna Caravan and Grand Caravan now include start locks as an option. The locks, which prevent the blades from entering a feathered condition after shutdown, were developed at the request of several operators that fly float-equipped versions of the single-engine turboprop.
Mode S Elementary Surveillance radar is currently being introduced within Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland -- Eurocontrol's most congested airspace. The transition period for Mode S Elementary introduction will apply until March 31, 2005, for all IFR and General Air Traffic (GAT) flights in defined airspace. France, Germany and the United Kingdom recently announced their decision to implement Mode S Enhanced in major TMAs and en route airspace.
Honeywell has introduced an enhanced digital audio equalizer for its Ovation integrated cabin system. The new unit balances music and movie audio to provide clear sound in high ambient noise environments. The equalizer has 10 factory-programmed presets and 10 user-programmable custom preset frequency-response curves that tailor sound to meet the specific desires of each passenger. It is compatible with any of Honeywell's passenger controls.
Hawker Pacific Pty Ltd, an Australian aircraft sales and support company, has appointed Peter Crook as sales manager, rotary wing, and John King as head of the company's MRO activities in Australia.
Under a newly formed relationship, users of ARINC Direct's Flight Support Services and Jeppesen's JetPlan flight planning system can now uplink flight plans directly to the cockpit -- both in flight and on the ground. With a seamless, real-time uplink process, pilots are relieved of inputting flight plans manually into the flight management computer and avoid the risk of entering erroneous data. Because the system is a two-way communications link, the receipt status of the flight plan can be communicated back to Jeppesen.
In many ways, the market for previously owned aircraft is at a crossroads. The health of the general economy, the most influential factor in aircraft sales, appears to be improving. Consequently, prices for many used aircraft are firming and sales activity is picking up. On the other hand, bonus depreciation, a key tax incentive for purchasing or upgrading aircraft, is scheduled to expire by year-end (see ``Bonus Depreciation: Is Time Running Out?'' page 78).
The U.S. economy, which continues to grow stronger, has been the catalyst for brisk sales of previously owned business aircraft during the first quarter of 2004, according to several leading industry newsletters, Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest's Marketline and Vref Aircraft Value Reference's Market Leader.
Initial spin from both Longmuir and Baldwin was relatively courteous, with a statement from Longmuir citing ``a difference in vision for leadership,'' and Baldwin characterizing the departures as a ``mutual decision.'' In fact, Baldwin denied that the staff resignations precipitated the board's decision to make a change at the top. Rather, he said the board of directors had known ``there were some developing issues'' that board members were ready to address, but that exchanges at the meeting signaled the moment had arrived to make a change in leadership.
