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.
Flight Deck Resources is now offering its latest flight deck management system (FDMS), the SkyTab 770. The FDMS is a Class 2 portable electronic flight bag (EFB) as defined by FAA AC 120-76A and is capable of displaying Chartrax or JeppView digital charts, company policies and preflight planning applications, performance calculations and real-time weather information. The SkyTab 770 has an 8.4-inch LCD and weighs 2.3 pounds.
Charles Taylor's 1903 engine was an example of high mechanical art for its era, a time when some would-be aviation designers were experimenting with steam engines. The technical information that follows comes courtesy of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Taylor's gasoline-powered mill featured a water-cooling system composed of a radiator mounted on the airframe, hoses and a water jacket around the cylinders. A large flywheel is used to dampen engine vibrations, and near the flywheel is the magneto that generates the electricity for the ignition system.
Pilots brought their chartered Learjet 24D down in an Illinois field after apparently striking a flock of birds moments after takeoff on Nov. 12. The Learjet, operated by Multi Aero, Inc. of Festus, Mo., departed St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) in Cahokia, Ill., at about 6:45 a.m. carrying two passengers on a business flight bound for North Platte, Neb. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the pilot, Ivan Storz, heard a loud thump just after takeoff and the copilot, Michael Walden, told officials the aircraft flew through a flock of birds.
Jeppesen has released its latest computer-based training program designed specifically for corporate flight department pilots. Called FliteCrew DLS v2.0, the interactive CD-ROM features 28 hours of interactive courseware that allows the pilot to study from their own computer, anywhere. The courses are FAR Part 135 compliant and include topics such as weather, performance, charts/navigation, airport operations, regulations, AIM procedures, human factors and MedAire inflight medical training.
Global Jet Shares, launched at the NBAA convention as the only fractional aircraft program offering pre-owned Gulfstream IIIs, will make its fleet Stage 3 compliant with hush kits from Quiet Technology Aerospace (QTA) of Opa Locka, Fla. The first will be installed in January 2004, and Global Jet Shares has committed to equip its next four GIIIs with the $1.35 million QTA Stage 3 Hush Kit. Quiet Technology has installed 10 hush kit sets since receiving its STC in January, and plans to install another three by year-end.
