Pilots have successfully landed a helicopter while wearing a helmet with night vision goggles on which a computer-generated path to the landing zone was superimposed. The National Research Council of Canada's Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC-IAR) has developed a helicopter augmented reality night vision system using a laserBIRD helmet position tracker made by Ascension Technology of Burlington, Vt. With the laserBIRD sensor mounted on the helmet, superimposed flight symbology can be projected wherever the pilot looks.
CEOs of 41 Aerospace Industries Association member companies recently signed a letter to operators of the Paris, Dubai, Singapore and Farnborough air shows complaining about the high costs of chalet and exhibition space. AIA estimates that attending European shows costs $10,000 to $15,000 per employee at some companies and could increase substantially if the dollar declines further against the Euro. Evidently, U.S. companies are not the only disgruntled participants.
A Florida fire fighter has developed a single-use chemical and biological agent containment kit for first responders. Jacksonville Fire/Rescue Lt. Rick Rochford began marketing the kit in late 2003 with Safety Solutions, Inc. of Boynton Beach, Fla. Rochford said he was inspired to create it after taking classes in chemical and biological warfare response at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. ``The class showed me that there was no proper sampling equipment available to emergency response personnel,'' he said.
After opening a 6,000-square-foot interior finishing shop in 2003, Atlantic Aero, on the Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in Greensboro, N.C., has dedicated a 5,000-square-foot hangar to house a new cabinetry division, bringing the interior finishing facilities to 11,000 square feet. Atlantic Aero and its subsidiaries provide aerospace engineering services, parts fabrication, and FAA repair station services. It holds numerous PMAs and STCs, operates 25 aircraft and employs 170 people.
Aviation at its most interesting has always been an eclectic mix of the unconventional and the energetic. That's especially true when it comes to rotary aviation. Envisioning the potential of the spindly prototypes of vertical lift's pioneering days required a special way of seeing. Founding a helicopter service, support and sales company in those times required a special faith in the future of that machine.
CABOTAGE, THE TRANSPORTATION of passengers or cargo in an aircraft between two points within a foreign country, concerns commercial operations since under the Chicago Convention, U.S. air carriers cannot, without permission, transport nationals of that foreign country between two points within that country. The required permission is often achieved by obtaining air carrier licenses or certificates in the foreign country or through bilateral and other reciprocal agreements. But does cabotage apply to not for hire FAR Part 91 operation of business aircraft?
The FAA is considering an NRPM intended to help prevent fuel tank explosions by requiring fuel inerting systems that would reduce the flammability of fuel tank vapors on the ground and in flight be installed on Boeing and Airbus models whose air conditioning systems could cause heating of center-wing fuel tanks. The new fuel tank system replaces some of the oxygen in the fuel tank with inert nitrogen gas, preventing flammable vapors. The NTSB has long advocated both eliminating ignition sources and reducing fuel tank flammability.
Wire strikes involving general aviation fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft are on the rise again in various parts of the world. Onboard obstacle warning systems exist and others are under development to help pilots steer clear, but these can be expensive -- too expensive for many operators. Fortunately, an altogether new kind of help may be on the way. OCAS-AS, a small Norwegian engineering firm, has developed a ground-based Obstacle Collision Avoidance System (OCAS) that is capable of warning pilots of a close encounter with a power line or structure.
After GAMA released its 2003 General Aviation Airplane Shipment report (see related item on page 18), the Experimental Aircraft Association was quick to point out that its members built 707 single-engine aircraft from Dec. 17, 2002, to Dec. 17, 2003 (admittedly a period slightly longer than a year) which was more than any single general aviation manufacturer. The manufacturers and their respective single-engine aircraft output were as follows: Cessna, 588; Cirrus, 469; Diamond, 228; New Piper, 185.
Originally designed for techno geeks to carry their gadgets, SCOTTeVEST's TEC line of multi-pocketed coats, vests and jackets has introduced a three-button navy blue blazer in a worsted wool blend, with a silky gold lining, 14 hidden pockets and an abundance of features. The blazer and its counterpart jackets are very suitable for pilots and their passengers, according to the manufacturer, allowing them to carry all their gadgets in one garment that can be removed for security screening.
Human error, not aging aircraft, is the most significant factor in military aviation accidents, a panel of military commanders told House Armed Services Committee members on Feb. 11. The panel met to review the U.S. Department of Defense's progress in identifying the cause of an escalating number of accidents and update members on strategies to reduce or eliminate Class A mishaps, which are crashes or collisions that cause $1 million or more in damage, loss of the aircraft, death or permanent injury.
FlightSafety International, Flushing, N.Y., has named Glenn Moses director of government relations. He will be located in Washington, D.C. In addition, Tom Booth has been named manager of the company's Columbus Learning Center on Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. Booth was previously assistant manager of the FlightSafety Raytheon Learning Center in Wichita.
The FAA wants to create a new Subpart D in FAR Part 183 that would replace the exiting Special FAR 36, the Delegation Option Authorization, Organizational Designated Airworthiness Representative and Designated Alteration Station Authorization programs. The new Subpart D would recognize designees as either an ODA Unit -- an identifiable unit of two or more individuals within an organization -- or an ODA Holder, the parent organization that receives an ODA Letter of Designation.
GAMA says piston-engine airplane shipments increased 9.5 percent in 2003, largely offsetting a decline in shipments of turboprops and business jets -- keeping total industry shipments essentially unchanged from the previous year at 2,686 units. However, the association reported total industry billings declined 15.5 percent to $9.99 billion. At an industry review in Washington, D.C., on Feb.
A large California land development company relies on a Eurocopter AStar as a management tool for overseeing holdings ranging from housing tracts to resorts, a golf course and a rice farm. ``We have numerous residential and commercial building sites and have been able to reduce overhead from 25 to 40 percent by using the helicopter to transport managers to construction sites,'' the firm's chief pilot said. With the helicopter, managers are able to oversee construction and development, landing at job sites if necessary for direct contact with workers.
CPDLC reduces the number of voice messages by using a VHF or satcom link for routine messages, which are displayed on FMS or ACARS screens in the cockpit. Think of it as the flight deck equivalent of wireless e-mail with instant messenger on your laptop. In concept, shifting routine transmissions from voice to data link will reduce voice frequency congestion.
Using a fire extinguisher effectively isn't necessarily difficult, but unless you've had hands-on experience, it's easy to miss the mark. A simple way to remember the basic technique is PASS, which stands for pull, aim, squeeze and sweep. First, pull the pin at the top of the extinguisher that prevents accidental discharge. Aim the extinguisher at the base of the flames. Then squeeze the handle and sweep rapidly back and forth across the base of the flames.
Jerome ``Jerry'' Lederer, a legend in the field of aviation safety, founder of the Flight Safety Foundation and an AOPA charter member, died Feb. 6 in California at the age of 101. Although never a pilot himself, Lederer was considered the father of aviation safety and was one of the very first to study human factors and their role in aviation safety. The Flight Safety Foundation said of Lederer, ``Everyone who boards a commercial airline flight travels more safely because of his lifelong dedication to preventing accidents. From improving the crashworthiness of U.S.
It was January 2003 when the crew of a Hawker HS-125-700A had a close call. About 30 minutes prior to engine start in preparation for a flight with four passengers from Telluride, Colo., to Oxford, Conn., the crew fired up the APU. Everything seemed normal at first, but as the pilots started the number two engine, it quickly became evident that the situation was anything but routine. Trouble was in the air. The crew smelled smoke, and turning around they saw it filling the cabin.
A restored Vietnam-era UH-1H Huey helicopter took off on Feb. 10 from Bell Helicopter's main plant in Hurst, Texas, on a cross-country journey to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The helicopter will become part of the museum's ``The Price of Freedom'' exhibition, which opens on Nov. 11. The exhibit will survey the history of America's military from the colonial times to the present.
Harrods Aviation's Luton (U.K.) engine shop has won approval as a Honeywell AS907 authorized Flight Line Service Center as well as a Bombardier Challenger 300 Approved Service Center. The new FBO at Luton has increased market share by 10 percent in the past year and fuel sales have broken all records, according to Steve Grimes, Harrods Aviation chief executive.
The keys to Keystone's success are three individuals, none of whom could be more different: Peter Wright Sr., Keystone founder. Currently holds title of director emeritus. Present at the creation of the American civil helicopter industry, he is also one of 12 living ``Flying Tigers,'' the famed group of American mercenary fighter pilots who fought for the Chinese Air Force before the United States entered World War II. Peter Wright Jr., vice chairman of Keystone and a key player in its steady growth and recent transformation.
What brought Safe Flight Instrument Corp. into the obstacle-avoidance device business was a Colorado medevac flight that went horribly wrong. On Dec. 14, 1997, an EMS Bell 407 operated by Air Methods Corp. responded in a snowstorm to a multiple-car accident on U.S. Highway 85 near Littleton. After stabilizing the critical patient, the pilot prepared to return to the hospital. The helicopter rose slowly, hovered briefly over the twisted wreckage, then, inexplicably, flew directly into nearby power lines.
En route from Seattle to San Diego sailing along in a Hawker 800 at FL 370 just north of Medford, Ore., we were reminded why folks who operate more modern business jets prefer to climb into the 40s, where the air is usually smoother and winds may be less severe. At FL 370, we crabbed southbound with 143 knots of westerly crosswind, according to the FMS. We were barely atop a particularly nasty winter storm that was sweeping through the Pacific Northwest.
The AOPA hopes that an official FAA investigation of the circumstances surrounding the closing of Chicago's Meigs Field will show that the city of Chicago and Richard Daley violated federal law when the mayor ordered bulldozers to destroy the runway without notice in the middle of the night. The association filed a complaint in April 2003, but the FAA has had it ``under review'' until now. The AOPA and several Chicago business associations fought to keep the field open and seemed to be prevailing until Daley's midnight raid.
