As the Darwinian financial realities of the early 21st century sink in and the United States strives to convert as much of the world as possible to the mantra of free-market economics, the issue of outsourcing services and functions traditionally governmental in nature has come to the fore. Get used to it, the proponents of privatization say: It's one of the dominant features of the New Economy, where everything is reduced to the bottom line and all endeavors must make or break it within the competitive arena of the marketplace.
The Citation XLS's 4,500-pound thermodynamic Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545B engines are rated at 3,991 pounds of thrust to ISA+13C for takeoff. The powerplants feature a recambered single-piece fan that turns at about 2 percent higher N1 rpm to produce most of the 4.9-percent increase in takeoff thrust and 2-percent increase in climb and cruise thrust, which is now approximately 950 pounds at 40,000 feet, ISA, uninstalled.
Possibly just going through the motions, the TSA has started drafting a plan for general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Congress mandated the plan in the Vision 100 -- Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. (See ``Vision 100: Why It Matters So Much,'' page 50.) However, that mandate also allows the president to suspend the plan due to national security concerns. Speaking before the Aero Club of Washington, D.C., Sen.
Helicopter operators in this year's Honeywell surveys shared their concerns over factors affecting their aircraft missions, flying hours and new aircraft purchase decisions. In North America, the top five factors of most concern to operators this year were: the impact of temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), flight department budget cuts (especially government related), increasing insurance costs and local noise ordinances.
The TSA is funding law-enforcement officers to close security gaps at some small airports, it said at a briefing on Feb. 17. The issue of law enforcement presence at airports has arisen as the TSA works to launch its CAPPS II, the updated Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System. One question is whether airports, particularly small ones, will be properly staffed to detain passengers flagged by CAPPS II as security risks.
Honeywell's accompanying survey of future purchase expectations showed that more than 80 percent of operators who plan to replace their older rotorcraft will not ``trade up,'' but will replace them with helicopters in the same size/capability and price class. Only about 7 percent of operators plan to trade down to less expensive machines. The survey of civil helicopter operators' future purchase expectations indicates a strengthening of demand for new aircraft over the next five years despite the fact that expectations fell compared with year's survey.
The FAA used an Internet-based forum to gather input on its very controversial air-tour proposal. The forum was established in response to the industry uproar and overwhelming number of public comments generated by the FAA's proposal to all but eliminate a special provision permitting local sightseeing flights under FAR Part 91 regulations. The rules also seek to impose strict new operational limitations and equipment requirements on all air tours.
Sicma Aero Seat, Issy-les-moulineaux, France, a company within Zodiac's Airline Equipment Segment, has appointed Gille Morin chairman. He succeeds Christian Novella, who becomes senior vice president, technology segment of the Zodiac Group.
There's a new corporate aircraft servicing and refurbishing business at Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Quebec. Montreal Jet Center (MJET) is a joint venture of DEM Capital, which provides aircraft maintenance and refurbishment, and Elisen Technologies, an aeronautics engineering company authorized as a design approval organization by Transport Canada. In addition, DeCrane Aircraft Holdings will operate DeCrane Cabin Interiors Canada at MJET, and corporate aircraft manager ACASS has formed an alliance with the center.
The FAA made its case for ADs to address potential wing spar structural problems on 400-series Cessna twins at a two-day meeting with Cessna Pilots Association members and AOPA staffers. ``The good news is the FAA finally showed its hand and explained why it wants to impose the ADs on most 400-series Cessnas,'' said AOPA Director of Regulatory and Certification Policy Luis Gutierrez.
The Czech Police Aviation Department has taken delivery of the first of eight Eurocopter EC-135 helicopters. This first machine will be used on emergency medical missions and will be joined by two others. Four of the remaining five aircraft will be used in surveillance, anti-terrorist and in crime-fighting roles, while the final one will be reserved for flexible response missions. The Czech Republic operates an integrated rescue system through the Police Aviation Department, and is responsible for aerial fire fighting, mountain rescue and search and rescue missions.
Gulfstream's newly opened London Luton Airport Service Center is the first aircraft maintenance center outside the United States to be awarded the Aviation Maintenance Technician Diamond Certificate of Excellence Award by the FAA. Gulfstream London Luton joins Gulfstream's five U.S.-based service centers as recognized AMT Diamond stations. The Luton facility provides service for all Gulfstream models as well as maintenance for Citation, Falcon and Hawker owners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Helicopter Support Inc. has consolidated five of its units in a new 180,000-square-foot facility in Trumbull, Conn. HSI previously leased six separate facilities around the state. HSI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sikorsky Aircraft but is an authorized service center for Agusta, Bell, Robinson and Schweizer and supports the General Electric T-700 and T-58 engines.
Boeing Business Aviation Services, Wichita, has named Rob Mauracher general manager of the company's Tucson service center. Mauracher, who joined Bombardier Aerospace in 2002, is a licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic.
TAG Aviation, San Francisco, has named Ken Sowa director of regional business development, based in New York. He is responsible for developing and supporting new aircraft management and charter certification clients in the Northeastern United States. Sowa has over 25 years of aviation experience in maintenance, sales and client service; he has held positions with Learjet, Bombardier and PrivatAir.
An extraordinary set of pictures arrived in this morning's e-mail from one of my colleagues in the International Society of Air Safety Investigators. The photos show a DHL A300-B4 touching down at Baghdad International airport in November 2003 after taking a SAM hit to the left wing. The airplane had departed 16 minutes earlier and was struck while climbing through 8,000 feet. The crew discovered they had lost all hydraulics and thus all flight controls.
The National Air Transportation Association is offering a special tax seminar specifically geared towards FAR Part 135 air charter operators to provide answers to some of the most common tax-related issues faced by the charter industry. The one-day seminar will take place on at the Las Vegas Hilton on May 17, the day before the start of the association's three-day annual convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The NATA has partnered with Conklin & de Decker on the seminar.
The National Air Transportation Association is unconvinced that the FAA has made its case for requiring aerial sightseeing operators be certificated under FAR Part 135. The NATA notes that the FAA itself has estimated about 700 of the 1,700 Part 91 air tour operators would be driven out of business by new requirements contained in its NPRM.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp., White Plains, N.Y., has promoted Joseph M. Wilson to the position of executive vice president. He was previously vice president of operations.
Diamond Industries has opened a new 117,000-square-foot Diamond Composite production center at Weiner Neustadt, Austria. Aircraft parts produced there will move into the production chain of the existing factory in Weiner Neustadt and at Diamond's assembly plant in London, Ontario. The company said the expansion was necessary to accommodate high world demand for its DA-42 Twin Star and the upcoming single-engine five-seat D-JET. The expansion allows for a total production capacity of up to 600 aircraft per year.
CHC Helicopter Corp. acquired Schreiner Aviation Group of Hoofddorp, the Netherlands on Feb. 16. Schreiner operates a worldwide fleet of approximately 50 aircraft, providing helicopter and fixed-wing aviation services primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry in Europe, Africa and Asia. Headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland, CHC is the world's largest provider of helicopter services to the global offshore oil and gas industry, with aircraft operating in 30 countries and approximately 3,400 employees worldwide.
``As long as I can remember coming to Keystone company meetings, and for me that's been a long time,'' says Peter Wright Jr., ``the first order of business has been to make the shop and our operations safer, better and in compliance with new rules, old rules, everything.'' Ten of Keystone's pilots were recently recognized by the NBAA for as many as 13,000 hours of safe flight each. Keystone itself was cited for a total of 49,441 consecutive accident-free hours flown over a five-year period.
Five Learjet 40 light business jets have been delivered to operators in North America and Europe. Two of the Learjet 40s went to traditional U.S. operators, two entered service with Bombardier's Flexjet fractional ownership program, and one aircraft was delivered to Cirrus Aviation, a charter operator based in Germany. All five jets were delivered in January.
Basically, the executive helicopter costs twice as much to operate, plus presents a high acquisition price per passenger seat when compared with a typical fixed-wing jet, a Sikorsky sales rep pointed out. So why buy one? ``Fundamentally, the helicopter saves executives in a corporation the same amount of time as a jet, only over a shorter distance,'' the marketing maven explained.
