Eurocopter's U.S. arm continues its aggressive penetration of the North American markets, playing off customer loyalty to its legacy products, the technical strengths of its latest-technology products and its growing support/completion capabilities in the United States. At March's Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, Eurocopter delivered its first EC 145 medium twin helicopter in North America to Lee County (Fla.) Emergency Medical Services and a fifth EC130 to tour operator Papillion Grand Canyon Helicopters.
Bird-X has been annoying birds since 1964. Its latest option -- remote speakers -- allows coverage in otherwise dead spaces where birds might hang out and relax long enough to deposit droppings on your airplane, hangar floor or (gasp) passengers. The speakers work in conjunction with the QuadBlaster QB-4 ultrasonic bird repeller for enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces such as hangars, operating at frequencies that humans can't hear but irritating birds. It runs on 110 VAC and radiates signals in four overlapping fan-shaped patterns for 360 degree coverage.
COPILOTS COME IN JUST as much variety as to size, shape and disposition as captains, with the exception that captains are grayer and heavier. Show me a fat copilot and I will show you where some cost savings can be effected. The word copilot should mean just that -- as in cochairman, co-owner, codirector and cooperate, but in this sense the word's meaning can cover a broad base ranging from switch pulling serf to a four-stripe ATR of equal skills who drew the short straw for the first leg and is grumbling at ground control from his railroad engineer's seat.
Agusta Aerospace Corp., Philadelphia, has appointed John Arbach as its regional sales manager for South America, responsible for marketing and selling AgustaWestland civil helicopter products there. Arbach, who will be based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has over 25 years of international experience in Latin America and Asia Pacific.
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association has urged the TSA to secure the proceedings of a hearing held March 27 on foreign repair station security to prevent the records from becoming ``a handbook for terrorists.'' In its notice of public meeting, the TSA posed questions involving current security measures, security vulnerabilities and minimum standards to prevent security breaches. ARSA questioned whether repair station security actually poses risks and implied that public dissemination of the discussions might create a risk where none previously existed.
How do you improve upon Cessna's best-selling Citation Excel? Give it more thrust, better takeoff field performance and improved fuel economy. Bump up its MTOW, thereby enabling it to carry five passengers with full fuel. Give it more range and flat-panel displays. Give the passengers more comfortable chairs and upgrade cabin furnishings. Then price it $188,000 less than a comparably equipped Excel with popular options and christen it Citation XLS. Upon announcing the Excel at the 1994 NBAA Convention, Cessna quickly booked well over 100 orders.
The first Chinese-mainland-registered Gulfstream IV recently started charter operations with China National Business Jet, a subsidiary of Air China airline group. This brings the total number of China-based executive jets available for charter to 11 -- six Hawker XPs and a Raytheon Premier I with Hainan Airlines' Deer Jet, two Bombardier Challengers with Shandong Airlines' Rainbow Jet and a 800XP with Shanghai Airlines. Global Wings of Japan is also to base its two new Learjet 45XRs in China for operation by Air China.
Elite Flight Solutions has signed a letter of intent to acquire a Cessna Citation III for its charter operations in the Southeastern United States. Headquartered in Sarasota, Fla., Elite is also in negotiations to acquire Atlanta-based Aircraft Source to further expand its charter business. For further information go to www.flyjets.biz.
Jet Source, Carlsbad, Calif., has named Ian Ewing to the newly created position of vice president of aircraft management sales. Ewing has nearly 30 years of experience in the aviation industry and has worked for aircraft manufacturers Cessna, Learjet and Fairchild Dornier.
NASA has amassed ``more than 1,300 high-quality recordings of sonic booms,'' said Ed Haering, principal investigator for sonic boom research at NASA Dryden Research Center. In 2003, a NASA-industry team, flying a modified F-5E, demonstrated that by carefully altering the contours of a supersonic aircraft, the sonic boom can be shaped.
Israel Aircraft Industries reported sales of $1.87 billion in 2003, an 11-percent decline from the $2.06 billion in sales in 2002. Net profits totaled $15 million last year, compared with $33 million the previous year. The company's year-over-year order backlog remained static at $4.5 billion, but officials noted it signed a contract this month to sell three early warning aircraft to the Indian Air Force, a deal that boosts company backlog to $5.6 billion.
Nav Canada claims its rates are ``in line'' with most air navigation service providers (ANSPs) in other parts of the world. Except for flat rates offered operators of smaller general aviation aircraft, route charges for the majority of the system's users, which include the airlines and operators of larger business jets, are calculated on aircraft weight and distance flown, following ICAO's ``value-of-service'' principle.
ATD Flight Systems has combined multiple databases to create a tool intended for IFR preflight planning, alternate airport planning and as an inflight diversion aid. Pilot's Plan ``B'' is a tome packed with information that the authors believe makes it the most comprehensive directory ever gathered in one publication. The information includes all airports with at least 3,000 feet of hard runway surface, although in some cases the listed runway length might be less because of a displaced threshold.
Earlier this year, the Jackson Hole, Wyo., Airport Board set in motion plans to ban Stage 2 aircraft weighing less than 75,000 pounds at the Jackson Hole Airport (JAC). The board had been one of a number of airport boards carefully watching the progress of the Stage 2 ban at Naples Municipal Airport (APF) at Naples, Fla., before making a similar move. Naples decided to forge ahead with its own ban before it secured the FAA's blessing and has been mired in litigation and enforcement action since. But unlike Naples, Jackson Hole received help.
AvQuotes.com has signed Alternative Avionics and ARINC to its list of enrolled maintenance and refurbishment service providers. Alternative Avionics, based at Oakland County International Airport in Waterford, Mich., is a Raytheon/Beechcraft dealership and is also a dealer for most avionics manufacturers. ARINC Inc., based in Annapolis, Md., can provide turnkey RVSM solutions from its FAA- and JAA-certified repair stations in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Scottsdale, Ariz.
There are no new accidents. The FAA said the pilot of a Beech Duchess was practicing single-engine approaches at the St. Charles, Mo., County Airport in late February when he forgot to lower the landing gear. The aircraft landed on the runway centerline and skidded 800 feet, damaging the belly skin and both propellers.
Jet and Propjet 2004, a detailed directory of turbine-powered corporate aircraft, is now available. The latest edition lists more than 14,500 jets and 11,500 turboprops built by 45 manufacturers and operating in 144 countries. The directory, now in its 26th year, includes 454 new jets that were added to the worldwide file in 2003 and 1,261 jets that changed hands. Compiled by Peter Simmonds and Dave Richardson, the 520-page paperback lists aircraft by registration number, make and model, serial number, owner and previous registration number.
B/E Aerospace has STC approval for installation of its LED-based interior lighting products on Citation 500-series aircraft. The STC covers aftermarket installation of both direct and indirect lighting. B/E's LED lighting system consists of reading lights and wash lighting that feature high reliability, low power requirements, weight savings, lower maintenance costs and a patented temperature compensation circuitry designed to maintain the quality of light output over time.
Sandel Avionics announced it will develop a new color HSI/Map unit for the regional airline, corporate and general aviation markets to replace its SN3308 HIS, now out of production. The new, 3-ATI unit will be a third-generation, TSOed product suitable for both turbine and piston aircraft. Sandel wants to build on the strengths of its predecessor, which has been installed in nearly 4,000 aircraft, according to the company.
Transport Canada reinstated the operating certificate of Georgian Express of Mississauga, Ontario, just three days after suspending it following the crash of the company's Caravan after takeoff from Pelee Island on Jan. 17 (see B/CA, March, page 12). The aircraft crashed through the ice into Lake Erie with 10 people aboard and was the subject of a lengthy and difficult recovery operation. Contrary to some reports, there were no witnesses to the takeoff and subsequent crash.
Ranger Jet Center, Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM), Fla., has appointed Bill Blackford as its new general manager. He brings over 30 years of FBO experience to the operation.
Eclipse Aviation dedicated its new friction stir weld center in Albuquerque on March 10. The friction stir welding process is at the heart of the company's program to produce the low-cost Eclipse 500 entry-level jet. Company officials say the new technology will permit Eclipse to build its aircraft with far fewer parts and with significantly less man-hours of production time than is typical among conventional aircraft manufacturers.
Trego/Dugan Aviation, Inc., an FBO in North Platte, Neb., acquired most of the assets of Avionics Systems, Inc., d/b/a Grand Island Aviation. Trego/Dugan Aviation, originally known as Trego Aviation, was started at the North Platte Regional Airport (LBF) in 1970 by Gary Trego. For years the facility was managed by Trego and his wife, Terry. The name was changed in 1994 when Gary's daughter, Traci, and son-in-law, Vince Dugan, joined the operation.
Tiger Aircraft, LLC has agreed to buy a controlling interest in Aviation General, Inc., the parent company of Commander Aircraft Co., which has been in bankruptcy since the end of 2002.
Northrop Grumman is working on a ground-based laser to counter shoulder-fired missile attacks on jetliners, but the technology is still at least four years from fruition under a best-case scenario of unlimited research and development funding, a company official said. The Hazardous Ordnance Engagement Toolkit (HORNET) is a high-energy laser system that can be truck-mounted at airports to protect aircraft during takeoff and landing.
