BizJet International, a Lufthansa Technik Service Co., has been granted an STC by the FAA for its Learjet 20 series RVSM installation. The system modification includes an IS&S digital air data computer, an autopilot interface unit and Rosemount probes. BizJet said it has the capability of handling four to six RVSM installs per month out of its Tulsa facility and the turnaround time is 14 days. In addition, the company said if the facility becomes too backed up with work, it would consider selling the STC installations to BizJet-approved facilities.
Jet Professionals, an aviation staffing company, unveiled a new corporate identity more closely aligned with that of its parent, Jet Aviation. The Teterboro, N.J.-based company is celebrating its 20-year anniversary. Jet Professionals works with flight departments seeking pilots, flight attendants, corporate aviation executives, maintenance technicians, flight schedulers, dispatchers and other general support staff -- permanent or temporary.
His timing was awful, graduating from the University of Wichita with an aeronautical engineering degree in 1933. The Great Depression was choking the nation, and the citizenry was looking for full lunch pails, not airplanes. But Dwane Wallace found work with Walter Beech's fledgling company, helping conduct stress analysis on its first product, an unusual cabin biplane with negative stagger wings. He was pleased to be using his training, of course, but he wanted more. Young Wallace's dream was to restart the shuttered company founded by his uncle, Clyde Cessna.
Thunder Aviation, Chesterfield, Mo., has hired Karl R. Childs as director of special project sales. Childs, who has more than 35 years of aviation experience, recently retired from Raytheon Aircraft after 10 years of service. He previously was employed by Sabreliner Corp. and Cessna Aircraft.
The V-173 ``Flying Pancake'' has been shipped to Vought Aircraft Industries' headquarters in Dallas, where it will be restored by retirees. Built for the Navy by Chance Vought Aircraft in the early 1940s, the odd-looking experimental aircraft accumulated 131 hours in several hundred test flights, some of which were flown by Charles Lindbergh. Powered by two 80-hp engines, the wood and fabric pancake could fly as slowly as 15 mph and had a top speed of 138 mph. The program was finally canceled in 1947.
It was just another hectic Saturday morning. The ``to do'' list was long, my tired mug unshaven, the kids amok. And then the front doorbell rang. When the bell sounds at that time of day on that day of the week, too often I open the door and encounter earnest, plain-dressed strangers who want to share with me their joy of biblical insight and peace. Bless them all, but I'm really not keen on pre-caffeine proselytizing and, besides, if they slip off my steps, I'm liable.
Imitation may be the purist form of flattery, but it doesn't always equate with success in the marketplace, especially where fractional aircraft ownership programs are concerned. Which, perhaps, is another way of saying, just because Richard Santulli pulled it off, doesn't mean you can with one or two airplanes and a handful of shareholders.
Alaska Air saved about $3 million this year thanks to its Required Navigation Performance (RNP) systems at eight qualified airports. So far in 2003, 473 Alaska Air flights -- 363 arrivals and 110 departures -- have avoided bad weather delays, diversions or cancellations because of its RNP-qualified avionics.
West Chester, Pa., has promoted David A. Ford to senior vice president of technical services. Since joining Keystone Helicopter in 1996, Ford served as vice president and general manager for the helicopter services division. He also has experience at B/E Aerospace, Bell Helicopter and Textron Lycoming. In addition, the company has appointed Craig S.
The FAA and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) are launching a trial whereby FAA general aviation operations inspectors will take courses at the university's Daytona Beach, Fla., campus using simulators and light airplanes. The inspectors will practice flying procedures and responses to emergencies in Cessna 172 and Piper Seminole simulators, and then reinforce that training in flight. The FAA estimates that the program could save the agency as much as $7,880 per student annually, for a total of more than $646,000. Visit www.embryriddle.edu.
Read NBAA President and CEO Shelley A. Longmuir's letter to the editor of The New York Times in response to an article published on Oct. 28 titled, ``Security Is Looser on Corporate Aircraft,'' at the NBAA Web site, www.nbaa.org.
About 97 percent of Atlantic Coast Airlines pilots voted to approve a deal that would cancel the 3-percent pay cut they previously agreed to if the airline changes hands. Air Line Pilots Association leaders say the approval shows pilots are ``strongly opposed'' to other options that would only result in a ``long, drawn-out process detrimental to anyone involved.'' Mesa Air has proposed a hostile takeover of the carrier.
The SoCal TRACON (Southern California Consolidated Terminal Radar Control) was forced to shut down in November because of nearby wildfires. It wasn't just a precaution either. The TRACON filled with smoke and controllers couldn't see across the room. The shutdown caused massive disruptions, but the FAA coped by means of some pretty clever workload shifting among surrounding facilities, from centers to control towers. Creative controllers pitched in to keep the system working as well as it did.
Certified in December 2002, the 13,850-pound-thrust -8C is an improved version of the Rolls-Royce Tay 611 with a 44.8-inch-diameter fan borrowed from the 15,100-pound-thrust Tay 650, an increased efficiency high-pressure turbine section and a 16-lobe mixer nozzle, versus a 12-lobe unit on the -8, that provides better high-altitude thrust output and even lower noise levels. Stage IV compliance will be a snap for the -8C engine, Rolls-Royce officials told B/CA.
The Embraer ERJ135 regional jet has been certificated for steep (5.5 degrees) approach operations into London City Airport (LCY) by the U.K.'s CAA after a five-month test period. Start-up Irish airline Jet Magic will be the first ERJ135 operator into the airport, with three times daily service from Cork.
Cessna Aircraft President Charles Johnson has retired. The Cessna veteran had been on medical leave for several months. In a brief statement Cessna said, ``While we are pleased to report that Charlie's health has improved and he is on the road to full recovery, he has decided to retire effective immediately. Jack Pelton, senior vice president of production engineering, will continue to handle leadership responsibilities until further notice.''
The Dassault Falcon Cycling Team hit the road in September for a two-day, 100-mile bike tour to raise money for the North Jersey Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). The team, comprising eight DFJ employees and eight friends and associates, raised over $72,000 for the cause.
The NTSB has released an update on its investigation of the Nov. 12, 2001, crash of American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300-600, in Belle Harbor, N.Y., which resulted in the deaths of all 260 people aboard and five people on the ground. On Aug. 13, 2003, the NTSB conducted a test on a tail fin rear main attachment lug from an A310-300 Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) fin box skin panel to demonstrate its behavior under a load condition similar to that experienced by Flight 587.
DoberDocs, specialists in document and data management, wants to help aircraft operators tackle maintenance tracking issues. The company's Aviation Services Group can review and clean up a flight department's maintenance data, including all airframe and engine logs (and, if they exist, propeller and avionics logs), AD listings, STCs, SBs, 337s, yellow tags, component sheets, maintenance schedules and other documents required by the FAA designee and deliver them in a simple-to-use electronic format.
Rockwell Collins has introduced its latest satcom -- the SAT-6100. The system is designed to provide multiple voice and data communications for both the cockpit and cabin. It comprises a Collins SRT-2100 and two Collins HST-2100 transceivers and provides three Aero-I/H/H+ channels and two Swift64 channels. The SAT-6100 can be installed outside of the pressure vessel in order to preserve space. A new 50-watt high-power amplifier allows simultaneous usage of two voice, two high-speed data and one low-speed data channels.
AvQuotes.com, an online aviation maintenance and refurbishment quote system, has added Palwaukee Service Center of Wheeling, Ill., to its list of service providers. Founded in January 2000, the Greer, S.C.-based service provides aircraft operators a method for obtaining quotes from over 60 maintenance and refurbishment centers throughout the United States.
London City Airport's general aviation certification manager Anthony Grant said that he expects imminent steep approach certification of the Embraer Legacy business jet. He also said that the airport is working with Cessna on gaining Citation Encore certification and is looking into the possibility of Citation Sovereign operations as well. The Raytheon Hawker 800XP is also being viewed as a potential candidate for possible LCY certification.
Bombardier Aerospace's 7th Annual Safety Standdown, held in Wichita, Oct. 28-30, drew more than 330 attendees. Begun to expose Learjet demonstration pilots to more than what they were learning during simulator-based training, the program was opened to general operators four years ago and attendance has been growing steadily. Explaining the program's appeal, Robert Agostino, Bombardier's chief pilot in Wichita, told B/CA, ``Pilot error has been constant over the last 25 years as a cause of accidents,'' and to change that ``takes attitude, knowledge and discipline.
Raytheon Co. is working with Israel Aircraft Industries' Elta Systems to equip commercial aircraft with missile protection systems. The Raytheon/Elta system, dubbed SafeFlight, is intended to be a low-cost solution combining Elta's Doppler radar missile approach warning system and Raytheon's countermeasure dispensing system. In operation, SafeFlight is intended to detect an incoming missile and divert it from the targeted aircraft.
NavAero has introduced its latest electronic flight bag system called tBag C2. The system is currently going through the FAA approval process, with planned availability scheduled for early 2004. Rather than a full subscription, operators can order specific services designed for the tBag C2 unit.
