Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. plans to buy two Sikorsky S-92 medium-lift helicopters in support of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The aircraft are due for delivery in 2004. Earlier this summer, Norwegian operator Norsk Helikopter announced that it was adding an additional two S-92s to its earlier order for two; all are scheduled for 2004 delivery. The first two aircraft are to replace a pair of AS 332l Super Pumas stationed at Bergen; the latter pair will also be based in Norway on Norwegian Shelf operations.
Raytheon Aircraft Services recently awarded Innovative Solutions and Support, Inc. (IS&S) a $3 million order for air data display and analog interface units for installation on the Beechjet 400 (and MU300) and Hawker 700 series of aircraft. IS&S already provides RVSM and other air data instrumentation for Raytheon's Beech King Air 200 and 350 and the Beech 1900.
Vertex Aerospace, formerly Raytheon Aerospace, which performed maintenance on the Beech 1900D that crashed after takeoff from Charlotte, N.C., in January, claims the aircraft flew outside of center of gravity (c.g.) limits, rendering it unstable and uncontrollable. ``Simply put, an airplane that is unstable may not fly even when full elevator control authority is available,'' the company said.
Aviation Safety Training (AST), the Houston outfit that helped launch the upset training concept in T-34s (an aircraft, it's quick to note, whose roll performance mimics most business aircraft and whose full instrumentation allows for ``panel recovery,'' which is the way most pilots would recover from an upset), now shakes up simulator sessions as well. AST instructors have been invited, upon customer request, to use FlightSafety International and SimuFlite, Bombardier, to provide daylong sessions in high- and low-altitude upset recovery.
I read with interest your article, ``The Power Curve's Back Side'' (Cause & Circumstance, September, page 94), since it brought back memories of an incident that happened to my best friend and fellow student in Air Force pilot training about 1960. At that time I was learning in T-33 trainers that resemble the Learjet 20 series in many ways, except they were single-engine and suffered a great lack of power -- a feature that probably saved my friend's life on that spring day at Greenville AFB, Miss.
Robert P. Warren has been named the NBAA's executive vice president and chief operating officer, a new position. The appointment makes Warren, a former prosecutor and recently top attorney for the Air Transport Association (ATA), second in command to President Shelley Longmuir, who is also an attorney with an airline background. During his eight years as senior vice president and chief counsel at the ATA, Warren oversaw matters involving ICAO, the FAA, Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. has released its 2004 FAR/AIM series of books. ASA consolidates the FARs and the Aeronautical Information Manual into easy-to-use reference books, which show all of the changes since the last release, marked clearly for quick reference. Books are indexed to provide a clear listing of subject matter and paragraph number or regulation. The FAR/AIM contains lists of FAA, NTSB, NOS and FSDO contact information. Updates will be available as a free download from the ASA Web site for instant access to regulation and procedural changes.
The National Air Transportation Association gained the support of House Small Business Administration Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) in its opposition to the FAA's domestic RVSM (DRVSM) implementation date of January 2005. Manzullo told the Office of Management and Budget that the FAA had erroneously concluded that full implementation by that date would have little impact on operators. He said the agency had limited its analysis to the impact on air carriers.
Missing from most training center curricula is the broad category of surface operations at airports. While many might think an hour on ramp etiquette during recurrent training would be productive, the consensus seems to be otherwise: Getting an airplane to and from the runway is just too basic a concept to be treated in the same category as advanced airmanship. Pilots train hard on the normal and abnormal procedures that begin and end on a runway. The consequences of poor performance while airborne can be grave.
A system that predicts potential traffic conflicts up to 20 minutes in advance and determines if pilot-requested changes to a flight plan are free of traffic conflicts is now operational at Jacksonville ARTCC. Developed by Lockheed Martin, the User Request Evaluation Tool (URET) system provides automated planning capability for controllers who previously had to make conflict ``guestimates'' based on flight data on paper flight progress strips.
Frank Kingston Smith died on Sept. 3 at the age of 84. The aviation writer, speaker and attorney will be well remembered for his professional contributions to general aviation and communicating his unabashed personal pleasure in the act of flying. Although a successful attorney, he wrote prolifically for Flying, AOPA Pilot, Air Progress, Professional Pilot, Air & Space and other publications through the years. In total, he wrote over 1,000 articles and 16 books including Weekend Pilot.
Face-recognition technology tested at Boston's Logan International Airport (BOS) didn't work, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), citing a confidential report by an independent security contractor. The ACLU -- which also charged that the technology hasn't worked in other locations -- said the system generated too many false positives and required the constant, undivided attention of staff.
During its planning and evolution, Honeywell's newest turbofan, the AS907, went through the same MSG-3 process as the Challenger 300 airframe it propels. The engine's design team included technicians from flight departments, service centers and the government, who helped to develop, build and validate the AS907's maintenance functionality. And once it was assembled, the powerplant underwent the most rigorous testing of any engine the firm has yet brought to market.
A boon to pilots needing ``special issuance'' medical certificates. The FAA has taken concrete measures to relieve the backlog of medical certificate applications that at times has exceeded 50,000. The FAA's Aerospace Medical Certification Division filled several critical positions that have been vacant, ordered mandatory overtime for medical review staff, and implemented a digital imaging system that converts paper medical files to an electronic format, allowing the applications to be processed electronically.
The U.S. resumed the drug interdiction program with Colombia that allows the use of deadly force against civilian aircraft. The ``Airbridge Denial Program'' had been suspended after the tragic shootdown of a missionary aircraft in Peru in 2001.
As vice president of tech services for a major express freight contractor servicing the automobile manufacturing industry, Mitch Noble has one of the most challenging jobs in aviation maintenance. It's not just that USA Jet Airlines, the operations end of Active Aero Charter, fields a fleet of 1960s-era McDonnell Douglas (OK, Boeing) DC-9s and Dassault Falcon 20 freighters; the Willow Run, Mich.-based cargo hustler writes response-time guarantees into its on-call contracts.
Last-minute international concerns slowed its progress, but the FAA has finally sent the new FAR Part 91 Subpart K regulations governing fractional ownership to the Federal Register for publication. FAA staffers are putting together a series of packages that will include new inspector guidance, management specifications, operations specifications and Advisory Circular material. The regulations won all the necessary governmental approvals in early July, but had been delayed as FAA officials gave them a final look.
There was strong language from another FAA union also. Tom Brantley, president-elect of Professional Airways System Specialists (PASS), accused FAA Administrator Marion Blakey (see ``Marion's Way,'' page 90) of using ``bullying'' tactics on agency employees. He said Blakey sent a ``Dear Colleague'' e-mail to ``many'' employees on Sept. 9 claiming there might be ``the possibility of a furlough'' if the administration's version of the FAA reauthorization legislation, which contains the contract tower expansion provision, didn't pass before Sept.
HiEnergy Technologies, Inc. has a technology it calls CarBomb Finder designed to detect explosives hidden in vehicles. Bogdan Maglich, the company's chairman, CEO and chief scientific officer, told our sister publication Homeland Security & Defense that the device uses an accelerator to ``bombard the target'' with neutrons. Legal restrictions in the United States would bar its use if anyone were within 3 feet of the suspect car, Maglich said, but it could examine them at screening points at FBOs and corporate flight operations after occupants exit a vehicle.
The Westchester Aircraft Maintenance Association (WAMA) held its 2003 golf outing at Casperkill Country Club, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with just fewer than 150 in attendance. During the event, B/CA's own Dave Benoff, aircraft maintenance editor, caught the duffers and swingers in action. At the evening's dinner festivity, the players had a chance to see themselves immortalized in a slide show.
National Air Services, a fractional jet operator based in Saudi Arabia, has contracted with MedAire, Inc. for a complete bundle of services. MedAire (www.medaire.com) will provide 24/7 emergency physician advice from its hospital-based Global Response Center, which can be contacted from anywhere around the world using an aircraft's existing communications system. The center also coordinates patient care on the ground. National Air Services' flight crews will receive both initial and recurrent training from MedAire in handling inflight illness and injury.
With Bombardier's Challenger 300 recently receiving its type certification, the super-midsize business jet derby has become as exciting a horse race as Seabiscuit's championship run. Now, as then, there are five main contenders for the trophy: Cessna's Citation X, Dassault Falcon's 50EX, Gulfstream's G200, and the latest, Bombardier's Challenger 300, are already well out of the starting gate, while Raytheon's Hawker Horizon is getting ready to step onto the track. How did we arrive at those five?
Wilson Locking Systems is now offering its PropLock anti-theft device for general aviation aircraft. About the size of a tissue box, the device clamps onto the propeller base in approximately five to 10 seconds. Any attempt to crank the motor throws the propeller out of balance. Constructed from manganese with a neoprene inner core, the PropLock is designed to be durable on the outside, yet not scratch the propeller itself. Price: Call for pricing Wilson Locking Systems 1295 Clark Rd., Ste.
-- AirNet Systems, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, has appointed Gary W. Qualmann chief financial officer, treasurer and secretary of the company. Previously, Qualmann was CFO and treasurer of Metatec, Inc. -- Boston JetSearch, Inc., Bedford, Mass., has added George B. Dom as a senior vice president. Dom recently retired from the U.S. Navy, where he held a number of aviation-related leadership positions, including commanding officer and flight leader of the Blue Angels. Boston JetSearch is an independent consulting firm for corporate jet buyers.
Stevens Aviation in Greenville, S.C., has developed a refreshment cabinet with room for two separate hot/cold one-gallon containers, capable of maintaining temperatures for up to seven hours without power, and large drawers for storing snack bags, upright six-packs and coolers. The cabinet, which features LED lighting, Lexan mirrors and Sorrell countertops, is approximately 26 inches wide, 32 inches high and weighs 55 pounds. Although originally developed for installation on a Piaggio P180, Stevens says the cabinet is readily adaptable to other aircraft.
