The following description of how a veteran flight department prepares for and conducts an international flight illustrates the synergy that must exist in the post-9/11 world between corporate security and flight operations. The aviation manager who provided it asked that he and his employer not be identified. This is a Fortune 100 company with a large flight department engaged in frequent trips abroad. ``Let's say we're going to the Philippines,'' the aviation manager began. ``The schedule is released for a trip.
The NBAA's 15th Annual Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference, held Jan. 10-14 in Savannah, was the largest ever, drawing some 1,400 attendees and a record-breaking 236 exhibitors. In welcoming those attending the opening session, NBAA President Shelley A. Longmuir said the association was working hard to make the Transportation Security Administration Access Certificate (TSAAC) program -- a subject of keen importance to her audience -- succeed. Edsel B.
TEN MILES FROM the downtown post office of most any metropolitan enclave in the USA there is an airpatch and on this airpatch there is a hangar. This hangar is the eminent domain of Capt. Primo O'Donnal (chief pilot, Shippensburg Sheet and Mattress Co.), DFC, DSM, USNR, O.E.S., Cubmaster of Pack 33 and foremost exponent and practitioner of the COSHASTIRS. In fact, if it were not for Primo O'Donnal and a few dozen others of his ilk, the COSHASTIRS would fade out of the picture entirely. What's that you say, Herschel? Who and what are the COSHASTIRS?
For the third year in a row, Flight Options donated flight time to the Corporate Angel Network on behalf of its more than 2,000 owners to fly cancer patients to medical centers across the country in order for them to receive specialized, and often lifesaving, treatment. Corporate Angel Network typically transports about 160 cancer patients a month and recently flew its 17,000th patient.
An A for airmanship. On Jan. 5, Austrian Airlines Capt. Jan Michael Kurka successfully landed his Fokker 70 in a frozen field short of Runway 26 in Munich after a sudden simultaneous thrust loss on both engines left him with roughly 30 percent of normal thrust. In the subsequent emergency landing, none of the 32 people on board were seriously injured, but the aircraft's gear was ripped off. A preliminary examination of the Rolls-Royce Tays showed that the ice impact trays, mounted behind the fan to protect the core from ice, had ripped off both engines.
Parker Hannifin's Airborne Division has introduced its new 2J4 air filter with stainless steel housing. The unit is damage- and corrosion-resistant and is smaller and lighter in weight than existing filters. The FAA/PMA-approved filter is available through Airborne distributors and is a direct replacement for the 1J4 filter. Parker suggests that owners should check their parts manual to determine if the 1J4 was originally used on their aircraft. Such aircraft manufacturers include Grumman, Mooney, Piper and Beechcraft.
The Company Jet, a fractional jet ownership company headquartered at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., appointed Greg Robbins as its new business development manager. The Company Jet was founded in 2002 by Northern Jet Management, a corporate aviation management company specializing in aircraft and flight department management, fractional aircraft ownership, on-demand executive charter service and aviation consulting services.
Air Technical Industries has introduced a series of giant platform lifts for maintenance work including aircraft repair, lifting bulky materials, equipment maintenance and assembly work. A riser platform is installed on the main deck and the lift can be equipped with a jet engine cradle or circular steps to encompass the circumference of an engine and provide access on all sides. The unit is equipped with pneumatic tires and can be set up for towing or be self-propelled.
Regional Airlines Holdings Inc. (REGCO) is suing the city of Toronto, Canada, for damages in excess of $500 million (Canadian). The company has been preparing to launch scheduled airline service later this year from Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA) to 17 Canadian and U.S. destinations. The City Centre Airport's island location would offer travelers easy access to downtown Toronto -- if there were a bridge to the island. The previous city government had entered into an agreement with the Toronto Port Authority and the Canadian federal government to build the bridge.
The best of the NBAA's Operations Service Group (OSG) is now available for open access on the Web. The OSG fields many questions from members pertaining to flight department operations by both e-mail and telephone. Business aviation operators now can access the NBAA's new Flight Department Operations Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Web page, which contains not only questions received by the OSG and its answers, but also operational nuggets from past issues of NBAA Updates. For more information, visit http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/faq.
Honeywell Aerospace has completed the acquisition of the Hymatic Group Ltd. of Redditch, Worcestershire, England, a manufacturer of environmental control systems for the aerospace industry. Terms of the transaction were not announced. Hymatic designs, manufactures and supports pneumatic equipment for aircraft, cryogenic cooling systems and pure air systems and will become part of Honeywell Aerospace's Engines, Systems & Services business unit.
The EMB 202 Ipanema crop-duster No. 900 has been delivered to Grupo Maggi, Brazil, one of the world's largest soybean cultivators, and is the sixth EMB 202 in its fleet, with a seventh on order. The Ipanema has 30 years of uninterrupted production and the order book currently counts 56 firm orders, valued at $12 million. Aircraft are delivered with gasoline-fueled engines, but most of the contracts are signed with the option for a retrofit to burn alcohol.
Magnifoam Technology International Inc. (MTII) has launched an Environmental Control Systems (ECS) design services group. MagniFlow Design Services will offer ECS design, integration, test and troubleshooting services in the aerospace market. MagniFlow will be able to offer improved performance of aircraft ECS, providing customers with a system that increases cabin comfort and lessens noise, with a goal to reduce aircraft operating cost. MTI is an insulation supplier for Bombardier and Embraer aircraft programs.
General Electrodynamics Corp. (GEC) has developed a new aircraft weighing program for FBOs. With a one-time start-up fee and a monthly license charge, FBOs receive all the training and equipment they need to weigh aircraft up to 30,000 pounds. The ULP 410 platform weighs only 23 pounds, stands less than an inch high and is self-contained. The unit comes with rechargeable batteries, which means no cords or cables. In addition, maintenance and calibration are included in the program price. Price: $1,000 start-up General Electrodynamics Corp. P.O.
Acting TSA chief Rear Adm. David Stone has begun meeting with aviation associations to discuss their views on security issues. Stone, who took over the TSA in December 2003, met with the AOPA and the National Air Transportation Association regarding issues about temporary flight restrictions, security-related certificate revocations and general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Both associations said they found Stone receptive to their concerns.
Corporate/executive turbine operators had zero accidents in 2003, even though the total U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet suffered an increase in the number and severity of accidents last year, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. Breiling said the U.S. commercial air taxi and private/business sectors experienced 72 accidents in 2003 including 28 fatal accidents that resulted in 61 passenger and crew fatalities.
Keystone Helicopter, West Chester, Pa., has promoted Peter Wright Jr. to vice chairman. Wright began his career with the company in 1968 and was appointed secretary/treasurer in 1970, vice president in 1973 and president in 1985.
The terrorists are said to have won if they are able, in the long run, to disrupt the normal course of our lives. Interrupting the flow of commerce is a logical manifestation of this tactic, as the attack on the World Trade Center demonstrated -- a target chosen as much for its proximity to the planet's financial nexus as for its symbolic value. Since free movement about the globe is essential to the conduct of trade, the terrorists chalk up marks in their win columns when they are able to discourage travel to different parts of the world.
Cessna's Model 680 Citation Sovereign won its provisional type certificate on Dec. 24, 2003. The company says it anticipates full FAA type certification on the all-new model in the first quarter of this year. Cessna also released some flight-test performance numbers. The Sovereign has a top speed of 0.80 Mach, a maximum nonstop range of 3,040 nm, and what Cessna claims is the shortest takeoff capabilities in its class, 3,694 feet.
LAST MONTH'S B/CA interview with John Goglia was a poignant reminder of how much he will be missed when he steps down from his seat on the NTSB (``Plane Speaking Man,'' January, page 76). Goglia, the former USAir mechanic, brought a unique perspective to the NTSB that included decades as a wrench turner. But as valuable as his background and experience was his willingness to speak up when he felt a safety issue was not being properly addressed.
The FAA is conducting a public-private competition for providing Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) services in accordance with OMB circular A-76, which covers outsourcing. The FAA is conducting the acquisition using the best value method, meaning that price is not the sole criterion. Interested parties were to notify the FAA by Jan. 15. The FAA is looking for prime service providers that have recent knowledge, capability and experience of operations in an A-76 environment, similar to the geographically dispersed AFSS operations.
Hartzell Propeller has introduced a new three-blade propeller for Beech Bonanzas and Debonairs. The hybrid prop is designed to maintain high levels of structural integrity, while incorporating improvements like those found on newer blended airfoils. The 82-inch-diameter propeller increases takeoff and climb performance and comes with a 2,400-hour/ six-year TBO and a three-year/1,000-hour warranty. Price: $8,995 Hartzell Propeller One Propeller Pl. Piqua, OH 45356 Phone: (937) 778-4200 Fax: (937) 778-4321 www.hartzellprop.com
There's no end in sight to the squeeze on propylene glycol-based deice fluids. Dow Chemical Co. raised the price of industrial and USP-grade propylene glycol by four cents per pound on Jan. 1. The company also announced that it will extend its current order control (rationing) program for the two products through March 31, due to the continued tight supply situation.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) will take over DaimlerChrysler's MTU Aero Engines for E1.4 billion (US$1.6 billion), according to industry sources, but neither side would confirm the price. DaimlerChrysler decided to sell MTU because the company no longer considers it part of its core business. However, DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board as well as antitrust and financial regulators must approve the KKR transaction.
Operators praise the ease of operation with the Premier I's DEEC-equipped Williams FJ44-2 turbofans. But they said the aircraft needs more thrust, especially for hot-and-high takeoffs and when the bleed air anti-ice system is in operation. A software change is in the works to minimize the thrust loss while using anti-ice, but no thrust increase has been announced. Some folks also said that oil contamination chip lights have illuminated, requiring 25-hour oil analysis cycles and much increased maintenance.
