Avbase Flight Services added two Gulfstream 200s to its charter and management fleet. One of the aircraft will be based at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport (CLE) and the other will be based at Addison Airport (ADS) in Dallas. Both aircraft are configured to seat 10 passengers. Avbase manages aircraft at 20 locations throughout the United States.
Dean Phillips Inc. is the first ``traditional operator'' to take delivery of a Bombardier Challenger 300. S/n 20010 was delivered April 15 to the company, which has interests in banking and financial services, natural gas processing, propane distribution, agriculture and food processing with operations and offices in the United States, Europe and Australia. A Bombardier customer since 1993, the company also currently operates a Bombardier Learjet 60 and previously operated a Learjet 31A.
The National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA) plans to hold its annual conference at the Silverado Resort in Napa Valley, Calif., from May 12-14. Industry leaders will gather at the meeting to discuss a variety of topics, including risk-mitigation strategies, the fractional aircraft business, aircraft tax issues, the piston airplane market and title insurance.
HeliFlite Shares has placed an eight-passenger S-76B into FAR Part 135 charter service at its Newark, N.J., operating base. The Sikorsky twin will also back up the two Bell 430s operating in HeliFlite's fractional ownership program. In addition to the charter service, HeliFlite will be offering a 25-hour ``card'' program with guaranteed availability. The company has its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, and serves the mid-Atlantic and New England region from a base at Newark. For information, contact HeliFlite Shares President Bill Force at (682) 831-4803.
As Archie Trammell of Radar Systems Training emphasizes, the information provided by a radar display is abstract. Thus, the means by which we interpret the data are critical. More so than other instruments or indicators, a radar's images require interpretation that can involve a great number of factors.
The Part 125/135 Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which began meeting in June 2003, will turn its attention next to flight and duty time requirements, one of the stickiest issues the group will tackle. A working group tasked to delve into the issue will meet in Dallas this month. The issue then will be brought to the full committee, which likely will convene again in late spring.
Bombardier announced an incentive package for Latin American buyers of new Learjet 40s. It features 25 hours of free air travel aboard a Bombardier Learjet 45 provided through the company's Flexjet fractional ownership program, combined with 60 months of free coverage under Bombardier's Smart Parts Plus component coverage program -- over and above the aircraft's standard 60-month warranty. The Bombardier Learjet 40 package is available to operators in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean who order a Learjet 40 prior to Oct.
E-A-R Specialty Composites is offering HT Fiber, a new product from Glass Fiber, Inc. that it claims is the only solution for new fuselage burn-through protection requirements set forth in FAR Part 25.856 and also performs the insulation function, thus saving weight over separate insulation and burn-through protection installations. HT Fiber is a one-to-one replacement for standard aircraft insulation that meets the requirements of ASTM C-800-94 Standard Specification for Glass Fiber Blanket Insulation (Aircraft Type).
Pilatus announced that as of the end of the first quarter of this year, nearly its entire 2004 production run of 70 PC-12s was committed for purchase by retail customers and Pilatus' dealer network. And the company said that PC-12 sales in 2003 increased 35 percent over the 2002 level.
Cessna recently handed over the 200th CJ2 to European charter operator Unijet. Based at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France, Unijet took delivery of its first CJ2 in July 2003. Company officials say they expect each of their aircraft to fly about 500 hours a year.
-- Accidents involving turbine-powered business aircraft were up 26.3 percent in the first quarter, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. Breiling said there were 24 accidents, including seven fatal accidents that claimed the lives of 21 passengers and crewmembers, during the first three months of 2004. That compares with 19 accidents, including eight fatal accidents that involved 18 fatalities, during first quarter 2003.
American Eurocopter also announced orders for 10 EC 135 light twins from Air Methods and three EC 145 medium twins from Vanderbilt Life Flight, both for air medical operations. The new EC 135 is claimed to be the quietest helicopter in its class at 7 decibels below ICAO limits. The cabin of the EC 135 is made largely of composites, reducing manufacturing operations by around one-third and considerably reducing the helicopter's weight, according to Eurocopter.
Aerospace Products International Inc., Memphis, has hired Paul J. Fanelli as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Announced jointly is the appointment of Glen Golden as vice president of materials and vendor relations.
Europe's largest tourism company, TUI AG of Hanover, Germany, has purchased Coventry Airport (EGBE/CVT) in the U.K. West Midlands and started low-cost scheduled airline operations on March 31. The airport was purchased from freight aircraft operator Air Atlantique Group, which will continue to base its large fleet of Lockheed L-188 Electras and DC-6s there. The airport is also home to Midwest Executive Aviation's FBO, which will initially share ramp space with TUI's ThomsonFly.com airline's four Boeing 737-500s.
TAG Aviation USA has established an online resume-posting capability to accept applications from prospective employees. Officials said that once a resume has been posted, the new system allows TAG Aviation to quickly recall a prospect's information to match hiring requirements. ``Due to the volume of resumes we receive, the geographic distribution of our requirements, and the number of positions open at TAG, an online system was needed to handle the process more efficiently,'' said Robin James, director of human resources.
THE AVIATION INDUSTRY has been forced to make a lot of changes in the two and a half years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, some more onerous than others. While corporate aviation continues to be frustrated by a ban on non-airline flights into Ronald Reagan National Airport, and a never-ending series of Temporary Flight Restrictions that continue to disrupt normal operations, some segments of the aviation community appear to be making progress in getting restrictive post-9/11 requirements modified.
CAE, Montreal, has appointed Jeff Roberts as group president of CAE's civil simulation and training business (CS&T) unit. Formerly the executive vice president of aviation training in the CS&T unit, Roberts joined CAE in 2002.
How much is the president or CEO of a private-sector air navigation service provider (ANSP) worth? As the head of any company operating in a free-market economy, one would suppose, whatever the traffic will bear. In the case of Nav Canada's CEO, John Crichton, the figure is currently $390,000 a year (all numbers expressed here are Can $). Despite Nav Canada's growing financial deficit and the lowering of its credit ratings (see main story), Crichton accepted a $43,500 raise last year.
Eurocopter has designated American Eurocopter's Grand Prairie, Texas, facility the worldwide center for all Dauphin AS 365N1 conversions to N3 status. The upgrade includes replacing the aircraft's Turbomeca Arriel 1 engines with more powerful Arriel 2Cs with automatic start, over temperature protection, turbine overspeed protection and electronic fault monitoring. The upgrade also includes installation of new wiring harnesses, updated dynamic components and new instrumentation.
High-profile accidents, often involving celebrities, unfortunately can leave the misimpression that business jets are somewhat less safe and piloted by less professional aircrews than the major airlines. Such accidents provoke the question, ``How safe is business jet aviation, and where do we need to improve?'' The answer to the first question depends on whether the aircraft is engaged in corporate, business or air taxi use.
Honeywell's sixth annual Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook survey and five-year forecast predicts new helicopter deliveries should increase about 6.8 percent during the next five years. -- Five-year purchase expectations have fallen to more reasonable levels from much higher than normal results in 2003. -- Strong buyer interest in light single and intermediate multiengine models. -- Heavy focus on new technology as reason for purchasing new helicopters.
Garmin has described the HondaJet's G1000 integrated glass cockpit. The experimental HondaJet is equipped with a three-panel configuration of the G1000 system -- a 10-inch multi-function display (MFD) flanked on either side by 10-inch primary flight displays (PFDs) present all flight-critical data -- from engine and flight instrumentation to navigation, communication, weather, terrain and traffic data -- and puts all primary controls within the pilot's reach. The flight displays feature XGA (1,024-by-768-pixel) resolution and have wide viewing angles.
Larry Moskoff Founder and Chairman, Thunder Aviation, St. Louis When his father died suddenly in 1963, Moskoff, then 21, left college to take over the family's Bock Pharmacal, a $55,000 a year prescription drug distributorship that supported his mother, aunt, three siblings and himself. In 1996, the company passed $100 million in sales and Moskoff sold it to Sanofi of France for an ``absolutely astounding'' sum of money. A restless entrepreneur and long-time pilot, he founded Thunder at Spirit of St. Louis to satisfy his aviation passion.
