ExecuJet Middle East, Dubai International Airport, appointed Horm Irani as sales/deputy managing director. Irani, who possesses 18 years of aerospace industry experience, has previously been employed by Goodrich Aerospace, Bombardier Aerospace Regional Aircraft and the Canadian Air Force.
Lufthansa Technik is hard at work in Hamburg outfitting the two Airbus A319LRs to be operated by PrivatAir between Newark and Munich, and Chicago and Dusseldorf under Lufthansa colors. Each will have 48 business-class seats. Lufthansa also completed all three of PrivatAir's BBJs, one of which is also configured with 48 seats and operates as a Lufthansa flight between England and Germany.
There's been a change in the dates for the 2nd Annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (LABACE2004). Originally scheduled for March 4 to 6, 2004, LABACE has been rescheduled for April 15 to 17, 2004. The only Latin American event of its kind to focus exclusively on business aviation, LABACE is hosted jointly by the Associao Brasileira de Aviao Geral (ABAG) in Brazil and the NBAA in the United States.
Costa Rica -- Visitors must present a valid passport to enter. Tourist cards are no longer accepted. Germany -- Mengid Airfield (ETHM) will be open to civilian traffic during the European Formula 1 race taking place from June 23 through July 1. PPR will be required for all aircraft. Ireland -- PPR is required for all aircraft requiring daytime and overnight parking at Cork Airport (EICK). Israel -- The Civil Aviation Authority will be striking through July 1.
Collins Pro Line CNS 21 radio sensors now have STC approval on the Challenger 601. The Rockwell Collins sensor package is designed for installation on current and new-design aircraft to seamlessly bridge the future transition from voice to data information exchange. The Collins VHF-4000 voice/data transceiver supports VDL (VHF Data Link) Mode 2 and can grow to accommodate VDL Modes 3 and 4. Similarly, the navigation receiver, GPS and transponder elements of the system fully support current and future planned regulatory and operational requirements and standards.
The largest of Embraer's regional jets, the EMB 195, will begin flight tests this fall, with first delivery to occur in late 2004. The 195 program's critical design review phase has been met and production of parts and components has started -- first metal was cut in August 2002. In parallel the 195's all-new General Electric 18,500-pound-thrust CF34-10E engine is due to be certified this September.
``You have to have compatible needs -- the same type of travel or travel that is a good fit between the partners,'' one charter/management executive who has put together several shared ownership arrangements said, concerning the first ingredient to success in a multiple-ownership pact.
Gold Air will move most of its aircraft from its base at Biggin Hill, Kent, to other London-based airports to avoid high fuel and landing fees, according to Capt. William Curtis, managing director of Gold Air International. The company has already started operations from London Stansted. Curtis said, ``The Biggin landing fee for a Learjet 45 is around $280. This roughly equates to the total landing fee and handling charge at the BAA's [British Airports Authority] sites such as Stansted. Fuel at Biggin is expensive at the equivalent of 54 U.S. cents per liter.
Having received two major orders, the Bombardier Q400's immediate future seems assured. Steve Ridolfi, Bombardier Regional Aircraft president, said a dearth of orders for the turboprop had resulted in a production halt from late November 2002 until February. However, the line came to life when FlyBe placed an order for 17 aircraft with options for 20 more. And Regional Airlines Holdings Inc. (Regco), a Toronto-based start-up, signed a letter of intent for 10 with 15 options.
A King Air 200 crash on April 4 in Leominster, Mass., killed Anthony and Ann Fisher. The couple were patrons of the Fisher House Foundation that operates 30 residences near military and veterans hospitals for the use of relatives while patients recuperate. Anthony Fisher, partner in a New York City real-estate firm, was also CEO of the Intrepid Museum Foundation. The museum, housed in the aircraft carrier Intrepid permanently moored in the Port of New York, is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Jetflite Ltd. is the first Finnish business aviation company to qualify for Category II operations (100-foot decision height, 1,000-foot horizontal visibility). This enables landings in poorer weather conditions and improves dependability.
Three flight departments -- Entergy Services, Coca-Cola and Weldwood Inc., based in New Orleans, Atlanta and Vancouver, respectively -- are the first to receive Certificates of Registration for the new International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO). Four years in the making, IS-BAO is designed to establish a global standard of best practices for flight departments (see ``Taking Full Measure,'' March 2003, page 108). Those applying for certification must undergo a thorough review of their operations, policies and procedures by an accredited auditor.
The NBAA Forum & Static Display, held at Long Beach Airport (LGB) in California on March 28, drew more than 1,500 people, including 55 indoor exhibitors and 37 airplanes. ``It was an unqualified success,'' according to Joe Ponte, NBAA vice president, membership, marketing and regional programs. ``This was our third regional Forum and the feedback we have received has been extremely positive and encouraging.
Re-Verber-Ray's HL-2 Series gas infrared heaters are characterized by a ``high'' fire and ``low'' fire mode. The high fire mode has a rated BTU/H input that is 35-percent greater than the low fire mode. The manufacturer claims that an independent study documented that the high/low feature of two-stage models can save a minimum of 12 percent in fuel costs over single-stage systems. The heaters feature a stainless-steel burner and titanium and/or aluminized steel, black-coated combustion and radiant tubes. Price: Call for pricing Detroit Radiant Products Co.
Signature Flight Support, Orlando, has announced the promotions of key management personnel. Steve Lee is promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer. John ``Cy'' Farmer has been promoted to vice president, operations. David Vaughan is vice president, sales and marketing. John Hagel is regional vice president for the western region. Doug Crowther is regional vice president for the eastern region. Iver Retrum and Kristin Kirschbaum are national sales managers.
Gulfstream Aerospace has acquired the Signature Flight Engineering facility at London Luton Airport from the BBA Group. Intelligence reported in March (page 16) that Signature Luton would take over Gulfstream maintenance from Marshall Aerospace after Marshall decided to discontinue servicing both Gulfstream and Bombardier aircraft. Business under the new ownership started almost before the ink was dry, when a U.S. Air Force C-24G (Gulfstream IV) arrived for maintenance. Luton will be Gulfstream's first company-owned service center outside the United States.
DAR Corp.'s Advanced Aircraft Analysis (AAA) Version 2.4 provides a framework to support the process of aircraft preliminary design or redesign. The AAA program allows engineers to rapidly evolve an aircraft configuration from early weight sizing through open-loop and closed-loop dynamic stability and sensitivity analysis, while working within regulatory and cost constraints. The software can be used for small airplanes all the way up to military and transport airplanes. Price: $7,350 DAR Corp. 1440 Wakarusa Dr., Ste.
A AC -- Advisory circular ACARS -- Airline communications addressing and reporting system ACAS -- Aircraft collision avoidance system ADC -- Air data computer ADF -- Automatic direction finder ADI -- Attitude direction indicator ADS -- Air data system ADS-B -- Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast AES -- Aircraft earth station AFCS -- Automatic flight control system AFIS -- Automated flight information system (Honeywell) AHRS -- Attitude-heading reference system Air Data -- Values computed from pitot, static and temperature measurements, usually by means of a digital
It will be 2005 before ``commercial air operations'' counts at the FAA and contract control towers recover to year 2000 levels, according to the FAA's latest forecast. The agency predicts the recovery will come from regional and air taxi operations, not the major airlines, which aren't expected to return to 2000 levels until 2010.
The Civil Air Patrol has been ``reframing'' itself to adapt its capabilities to the post-9/11 world. Maj. Gen. Rick Bowling, CAP national commander, met with Homeland Defense Secretary Tom Ridge to volunteer the organization's services. With more than 64,000 members nationwide, CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, already has aircraft and trained personnel set up to handle security missions. According to Bowling, CAP volunteers can help rein in the costs of national homeland security.
The recurrent theme at the European Regions Airlines Association (ERA) meeting in March in Stuttgart, Germany, was that European regulators are hampering the industry's growth at a time when airline survival is at risk. ERA president and president of Portugalia Airlines Joo Ribeiro da Fonseca cited unfair competition between airlines and rail, road and sea traffic; excessive regulation; avoidable and unreasonable imposed costs; and the collective failure of Europe's regulators to solve institutional problems that hamper the regional airline industry's growth.
