Eurocopter flew the world's first series-produced helicopter with full fly-by-wire controls aboard an NH Industries NH90 on Dec. 15, 2003, from its Marignane site. The three-man crew checked out the entire flight envelope during the 50 minute flight and reported no problems. The aircraft is the third prototype NH90 and is representative of the production version of the helicopter. Development of the FBW systems has been a joint effort between the French General Delegation for Armaments (DGA) and Eurocopter France.
Bombardier delivered the first Challenger 300 to Bombardier Business Jet Solutions on Dec. 23, 2003, to be operated in the company's Flexjet fractional ownership program. Aircraft serial number 20006 is the first of 25 Challenger 300s ordered for Flexjet, and features a standard interior floor plan with double-club seating. ``The Challenger 300 has been designed with the unique needs of Flexjet program owners and the high-utilization requirements of fractional ownership in mind,'' explained Michael McQuay, president of Bombardier Business Jet Solutions.
Now, there's one-stop Web shopping for Hawker and Beech parts. Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory & Distribution (RAPID) has teamed with Aviall Inc. to integrate Aviall's parts listings of more than 60,000 non-factory parts and supplies applicable to Raytheon Beech and Hawker aircraft on the RAPID Web site along with Raytheon's OEM parts. Aviall, which markets and distributes products for more than 215 aviation manufacturers, will provide a full line of nonfactory parts such as aviation batteries, hoses, wheels and brakes, oxygen and paint mixing services.
The CBS report included an on-camera ``expert'' with no general aviation security credentials, Peter Goetz -- whom the AOPA determined was a PR consultant, ``with grief counseling experience at the NTSB.'' Goetz asserted, among other inaccuracies, that private airparks are where the 9/11 terrorists learned to fly. The EAA reported that CBS had declined an interview with the TSA that would outline security improvements in general aviation since 9/11 -- despite that agency's requests for such an interview.
Raytheon is offering an integrated TCAS II and Class A TAWS retrofit package for Beechcraft 1900C and 1900D regional airliners. Trademarked T2CAS, the system is manufactured by ACSS, a company jointly owned by L-3 Communications and Thales. The system was designed as a ``plug and play'' replacement for ACSS's second-generation TCAS 2000, currently flying on more than 7,000 corporate, regional, air transport and military aircraft and first certificated in 2003.
My company's policy manual details the duties of the flight attendant position: When specifically requested or whenever the director of operations deems it necessary to provide the assistance of a flight attendant on passenger flights, a highly qualified flight attendant will be assigned to the trip. This will ensure the safety and integrity of the passenger compartment. The flight attendant is operationally responsible to the pilot-in-command for that flight.
Shell Aviation, a global supplier of aviation fuels, lubricants and services, and Servisair/GlobeGround, a worldwide company specializing in airport ground services, plan to form a new joint venture company called Servisair & Shell Fuel Services LLC. The new company will pursue new airport fueling service contracts at all major airports in North America. The fuel sales business of Shell and the fuel management business of Servisair/GlobeGround are not within the scope of the new company and remain totally independent businesses, according to Shell's announcement.
THE TEAM HERE AT B/CA has a notably broad range of expertise. We've a make-it-from-scratch-just-like-grandmama-mia chef, a peripatetic competition bass fisherman, a trophy-winning kickboxer, a know-it-all Yankee fan, a Grand Canyon curator, a clock meister, and a masterly mariner. Then, too, we all know a few things about airplanes. It was because of that last body of knowledge that an aviation savvy executive recently got us invited to a working session of a Wall Street outfit that was reviewing its executive travel, with an eye toward business aviation.
According to Transport Canada, more than 300 aircraft cross the Atlantic between North America and Europe, each way, every day. This traffic volume makes this oceanic route the most heavily flown by a wide margin for both airliners and business aircraft compared with any other intercontinental flyway. Most business aircraft operators, though, face far greater challenges when operating in this region because few have access to the home office and jetport infrastructure available to airline pilots.
In January, the U.S. government lowered the national terror threat level to yellow (elevated) from orange (high). The Experimental Aircraft Association is pressing for an end to general aviation-specific restrictions absent any specific and credible intelligence pointing to general aviation as being a threat. ``As we understand it, the greatest concern over aviation security has been centered on threats against large commercial aviation enterprises,'' said Doug Macnair, EAA vice president of government relations.
Not long ago, Steve Nielsen, aviation director at Yum Brands and member of the NBAA's board of directors, was flying a trip to Madrid with a fuel stop scheduled in the Azores. As is often the case on his company flights, this one had a third crewmember aboard to handle cabin duties. That day's flight attendant was Bob Heine, chief of maintenance. Annual training in cabin safety is mandatory for all crewmembers in the flight department. A good thing.
These days, the focus of many flight departments is on managing costs, and distance learning can often help maintain the bottom line. The cost for a basic distance learning system for the general knowledge portion of training ranges from $175 to $275 per pilot. Aircraft-specific training offered by Computer Training Systems (CTS) can run an additional $75 to $400 per pilot, depending on the aircraft and the depth of the training provided, but Vice President of Sales Bob Brown notes that 95 percent of its aircraft-specific training programs are under $200 per pilot.
Jet Aviation's Basel, Switzerland, facility performed its first skin replacement on a Bombardier Challenger 604 and also delivered its ninth BBJ completion -- to a repeat customer in the Middle East. The Challenger was hit by a service truck, damaging the lower right-side fuselage structure. Jet had to fabricate a shoring system to hold the right wing in precise position. To accomplish this, they also had to remove the right engine, engine pylon and saddle tank.
Hampson Industries of England has been selected to manufacture the empennage assembly for the Eclipse 500 jet. The deal is potentially worth $380 million over 10 years. Hampson will supply horizontal and vertical stabilizers and the aft fuselage, which splices into the rear bulkhead. Manufactured in aluminum and rivet assembly, rather than friction stir welding, work on the first shipset is to begin in March. During the aircraft's preproduction phase, Hampson will ship at least three empennage sets.
Raytheon Aircraft's in-house repair station has received the FAA's Diamond Award. The award is the FAA's highest honor for maintenance training, recognizing professional technicians and their employers. A facility must have at least 25 percent of its employees participating in the FAA's Maintenance Technician Program. A total of 185 of the 198 Raytheon Aircraft repair station employees, or 95 percent, will qualify for an individual award. The company says its goal for this year is 100-percent participation.
Guardian Jet Center at Ontario International Airport in California will undergo a $3 million expansion during the next year with the construction of an additional hangar and new executive terminal facilities. In operation since November 2002, the FBO has outgrown its current 24,000-square-foot hangar. The new hangar will have an additional 22,000 square feet. ``We are nearly at maximum capacity on a daily basis,'' said Steve Lassetter, Guardian's recently installed president.
Honeywell is overhauling the way it names its engines, starting with the newest engine powering the Bombardier Challenger 300. While its current engines will keep the designations issued when they were certified, new engines will be identified as Honeywell engines by engine type and power class -- using letters to identify propulsion type such as Honeywell Turbofan (HTF), Honeywell Turboprop (HTP) and Honeywell Turboshaft (HTS), followed by numbers designating a power class.
Raytheon Aircraft Services, Wichita, appointed Tom Genovese as senior manager of area sales. Genovese will oversee all RAS regional sales managers and drive new sales in the areas of aircraft maintenance, avionics, refurbishments and modifications. He most recently served as central region area sales manager for Honeywell.
``I'm so proud to be able to support the work of Burt Rutan and his pioneering team at Scaled Composites. SpaceShipOne is a tangible example of continuing humankind's efforts to travel into space, effectively demonstrating that private, non-government resources can make a big difference in this field of discovery and invention.'' So spoke Paul Allen, owner of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team and the Seattle Seahawks football team, partner in DreamWorks SKG, and, in 1975, cofounder of a promising software outfit called Microsoft Corp.
ARINC subscribers have a new choice when it comes to SELCAL decoders -- Jet Call. The unit uses external thumb-wheel coding, no wire jumpers or remote switches and only takes about 10 seconds to set. Two or five decoder channels are available to handle VHF and/or two HF transceivers. Sixteen available code letter tones for all four code-wheels provide 43,680 code letter combinations and 10,920 tones.
On Jan. 7, a 24-year-old CFI departing DXR in a Piper Warrior experienced sudden power loss. While attempting a turn back to the runway, the aircraft crashed upside down and fuel ignited in a brook in the very wooded area under contention in the item above. Two employees from the FedEx facility on the airport perimeter dragged the pilot, the sole occupant, to dry land. The pilot was hospitalized in critical condition with burns and inhalation damage to his lungs.
The next time aviators gather to tell ``war stories,'' it's unlikely that one of the hair-raising yarns will involve taxiing. Compared with V1 engine failures, systems malfunctions and low visibility approaches, taxiing may well be the Rodney Dangerfield of aviators' tasks; i.e., it gets little or no respect. Yet studies show that what seems to be a simple procedure can be anything but. Getting from the runway to the ramp may be easier than getting from the outer marker to the runway.
The U.K. Government's White Paper on air transport for the next 30 years has officially backed the proposal for one extra runway at London Stansted, and hasn't ruled out a third runway for Heathrow. Stansted's new runway could be in service by 2012 but Heathrow's third runway will depend on local automobile and aircraft pollution levels being reduced to meet EU emissions rules. If, as expected, the rules cannot be met by 2015, the government favors building a second parallel runway at London Gatwick.
The NBAA will launch its 2004 Business Aviation Regional Forum series at Jet Aviation, Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), on March 10. Essentially mini NBAA conventions, the regional forums bring together industry personnel at locations across the United States to address issues and showcase products and services. Forums feature indoor exhibits, a static display of aircraft and a full slate of informational seminars. For more information about the regional events, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nbaa.org/forums.
Heritage Flight, South Burlington, Vt., has added Hobart C. Tomlinson to its flight department as a charter captain. He will continue his role as a local FAA Designated Flight Examiner, which he has held for the last 27 years.
