Loch Lomond Seaplanes, a new Scottish operator, will offer amphibious Cessna 206H Turbo Stationair charters beginning April 2004, if all approvals are met. This application for a public transport floatplane certificate is the first in a very long time in the United Kingdom. The operation is aimed at golf and fishing excursions, and sightseers, with a price of around $160 per seat or $1,300 to charter the whole five-passenger aircraft.
In reviewing August's B/CA Operations Planning Guide (a prodigious piece of work, I should add), we noted what looks like a discrepancy. Please have someone review the following: It states on page 66 that ``the hourly fuel expense is figured utilizing the fuel consumption numbers for the aircraft missions that were computed for the May Handbook.'' The May issue shows a Falcon 2000 using 6.7 percent more fuel than a G200 for a 600 nm trip, and 2.7 percent more for a 1,000 nm trip.
The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) objects to an FAA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) addressing fraud and false and misleading statements involving aircraft products, parts and materials.
Four Middle Eastern countries plan to outfit their head-of-state aircraft with U.S.-supplied anti-missile infrared countermeasures, the Department of Defense has told Congress. Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia intend to buy AN/AAQ-24(V) Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) systems, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced on Sept. 3.
TRAIN AND PRACTICE, train and practice -- it's a mantra here at the Cause & Circumstance desk. We urge all flight crewmembers to get all the training and practice that money and time will allow. But even a good thing (like practice) can come to a bad end (like a fatal accident) if pilots forget the basics. The basic element we're talking about here is the absolute requirement to bring along a safety pilot if you are going to practice IFR in restricted visibility. You would think this would be a no-brainer, but accident records suggest otherwise.
Signature Flight Support's new megahangar at its Luton facility was formally opened in September. It is the largest in Signature's world network and can hold up to six Boeing Business Jets.
Airports and airport executives are joining in opposition to the FAA's proposed policy that would prevent airports from imposing weight-based restrictions as proxies for noise restrictions. Officials at California's Santa Monica Airport (SMA) told the FAA that the proposal would create a ``nightmare for airport operators'' and should be rejected.
On-Board Data Systems (OBDS) of Montreal, Quebec, is announcing a new bundle of services to display checklist and other electronic flight bag (EFB) information on multifunction displays (MFDs). The bundle includes data and document storage and retrieval and the software to manage and distribute the data. The OBDS suite of services works with all Class I and II EFB devices. Fleet managers can assemble custom document libraries on a desktop PC.
China-based AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co. Ltd. (ACAC) has chosen Honeywell and Parker Hannifin to jointly develop, produce and support the primary fly-by-wire flight control system for ACAC's new 70- to 90-passenger ARJ21 airliner. The estimated value of the program for Honeywell, which includes controls for airplane plus follow-on support and spare parts, exceeds $200 million over the life of the program. ACAC estimates it will sell approximately 500 ARJ21s over a 20-year period.
New Million Air FBOs opened at California's Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena (BUR) and Oxnard (OXR) airports. Million Air Burbank is based in a remodeled 5,000-square-foot terminal building that houses a conference room and a pilots' lounge with satellite television and Internet access. Harold Lee, who owns two other FBOs in California, will operate the new Burbank facility. Million Air Oxnard held its grand opening party on Sept. 17. It's located at 1601 West 5th Street.
Days after a man air-freighted himself from New York to Dallas, Pilot Air Freight CEO Richard G. Phillips issued a curious statement on Sept. 9, saying that the event ``highlights the effectiveness of the TSA Known Shipper Program and how it is safeguarding American skies.'' He said the shipment originated with UPS and was consigned to Pilot Air Freight, which ``rigidly complied'' with the TSA program and routed it to Kitty Hawk Cargo, an all-cargo carrier.
CSS Aerospace selected Rockwell Collins to provide avionics maintenance repair and technical support for its managed fleet of Jetstreams. Under the five-year agreement, Rockwell Collins Aviation Services (CAS) will provide avionics repairs for all Rockwell Collins equipment on a fleet of 17, growing to 30, Jetstream 31/32. The maintenance agreement for CSS Aerospace calls for fixed prices for repairs and No Faults Found (NFF), predictable costs and reduction of administration requirements.
The Gulfstream IV/IV-SP has received type certification from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (NZCAA), enabling the aircraft to be registered in New Zealand. Air National, a large New Zealand air transport operator, recently purchased a GIV-SP for charter operations.
In the not-too-distant past, the best forecast of mountain waves came from pilots' own experience, based on local terrain and wind speeds. However, a relatively new tool available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aviation Weather Center (AWC) has come onto the scene. Called MWAVE, the program developed by the AWC's Experimental Forecast Facility uses parameters including wind speed, stability and mountain height to predict the occurrence of mountain wave turbulence in the coterminous United States, Alaska and British Columbia.
The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) is calling for required training programs and training regulations for all aviation maintenance professionals, asserting that these requirements will ensure a higher level of professionalism, bolster respect for maintainers and help minimize maintenance errors. PAMA President Brian Finnegan notes that FARs are very specific in training requirements for pilots, flight engineers, flight attendants and dispatchers who must receive approved initial and regular recurrent training.
-- A Bell 47B helicopter was dedicated to aviation pioneer Carl Brady Sr. in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 29 for a lifetime of contribution to aviation in Alaska. The helicopter, which is the ``sister ship'' of the aircraft that Brady brought to Alaska in 1948, had been flown by him for 150 hours on the U.S. west coast. -- Keystone Helicopter, West Chester, Pa., received the NBAA Commercial Business Flying Award in recognition of five years of flying without an accident.
John Zimmerman, 70, chairman and CEO of Aviation Data Service, Inc. (AvData), died Aug. 31 at the Via Christi/St. Francis Medical Center in Wichita. Zimmerman, who was diabetic, had suffered a number of health challenges in recent months. A former aviation reporter for the Wichita Eagle and Beacon and founding editor of B/CA sister publication the Weekly of Business Aviation, Zimmerman went on to found AvData in Wichita in 1966.
The DOT's inspector general released a study reaffirming earlier claims that privately operated VFR towers continue to have fewer reported operational errors than towers run by the FAA (see ``Capitalism in the Tower Cab,'' B/CA, September, page 62). The report comes as the fight over whether to provide FAA the latitude to contract out up to 69 of the 71 remaining federally run VFR towers has reached a fever pitch. Democrats and labor unions warn that the program jeopardizes safety, but industry and general aviation groups dispute those warnings (see below).
Bose Corp. has introduced its new Aviation Headset X with AdaptiSense technology, a power-management system that conserves energy and takes the guesswork out of battery status. Now a pilot can expect up to 40 hours of operation from just two AA alkaline batteries. Other improvements to the headset include a new portable control module. Smaller than the previous version by 30 percent, it fits the hand more comfortably and places all of the functions within easy reach. Price: $995 Bose Corp. The Mountain Framingham, MA 01701 Phone: (800) 242-9008 www.bose.com
The United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority holds the view that fractional providers are more commercial than not and should be regulated accordingly. U.S. FAA, DOT and State Department officials met with CAA representatives in late summer in the United Kingdom to discuss the issue. Some observers feared that the U.K. stance might be a stumbling block for the U.S. fractional ownership rule as written. And indeed it did cause some delay in issuing the final rules for comment. Finally, FAA officials decided to treat the U.K.
The sum of the parts was worth more than the market was willing to bear for the airworthy aircraft . . .'' the man uttered sotto voce, in the manner of a physician explaining the most terrible diagnosis to a patient's family. In this case the speaker is J.R. Dodson, proprietor of Dodson International Parts, an aircraft salvage yard in Rantoul, Kan.
The TSA has certified a $350,000 explosive detection system: L-3 Communications' eXaminer 3DX 1000, which is three-quarters the weight and 10 feet shorter than the company's larger, more expensive machines, L-3 program manager Dawn Golden said. The smaller machine is slower (50 bags per hour vs. a standard-size EDS unit's 500 bph), but it is capable of detecting small amounts of explosives, she said, and is suitable for commuter airports (or corporate/ FBO applications). The machine must undergo a 90-day TSA field test before it can be put into service at U.S.
A ``Queen's Flight'' BAe 146-100 has been purchased by an Indonesian presidential candidate as a VVIP transport. The aircraft features a three-cabin layout with four rows of three-abreast seating forward, an eight-seat luxury mid-cabin section and a large divan in the rear. The sale leaves the Royal Air Force's 32 Royal Squadron operating two 146s in behalf of Queen Elizabeth II and high-ranking government officials. M.V.
Q: Business aviation has been concerned about security issues -- such as not being able to fly into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and presidential TFRs popping up. How does the agency navigate through those concerns when they involve matters in which the FAA has little latitude?
The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) is now distributing the AEA Part 145 Transitional Guidance Workbook to its members. The workbook assists AEA members in revising their Inspection Procedures Manuals to the new format required by FAR Part 145 for a repair station manual and quality control manual. The workbook is free for AEA members. Nonmembers can get one for $500. AEA Headquarters is in Independence, Mo.
