Security officials from the TSA briefed general aviation association leaders on March 7 about possible additional flight restrictions in response to U.S. military or terrorist action. While it was apparent to the attendees that no decision had been made about implementing any specific solution, the TSA is considering a broad range of options to address general aviation security. The NBAA, along with other general aviation organizations, was given a small window of opportunity to respond to the classified briefing.
The 600th Bombardier Challenger widebody business jet, serial number 5557, recently rolled off the assembly line in Montreal and is now at Bombardier's completion center in Tucson, AZ. ``This is a significant achievement for corporate aviation, for the Bombardier Challenger program and for our employees,'' stated Peter Edwards, president, Bombardier Business Aircraft.
WE'VE SEEN OFTEN that crew pairing can become an issue in accident investigation -- typically when an assertive pilot is paired with a timid flyer. In that case the strong personality usually makes all the go/no-go decisions (regardless of the seat occupied) while the weaker personality simply goes along for the ride. But what happens when two non-assertive pilots team up? Can a marginal situation deteriorate with neither crewmember taking decisive action?
Greg Jackson, manager of tax issues for the NBAA from 1999 to 2002, suffered fatal injuries when the Socata TBM-700 that he was crewing crashed on March 1 while attempting to land at Leesburg Airport (JYO) in Virginia. He had been serving in a flying position for High Performance Technologies, Inc. since leaving his job at the NBAA. Jackson is survived by his wife and two children.
Cessna Aircraft Co. recently delivered the 100th Citation Encore -- the third-generation Model 560 that began life as Citation V in 1994 -- less than three years into production. Arguably the fastest straight-wing Citation in current production, the Encore won qualified praise from almost every operator contacted by B/CA in our recent Operator Survey.
Advanced Navigation & Positioning Corp.'s Transponder Landing System (TLS) continues to gather steam as the U.S. Congress appropriates new funds in the 2003 transportation bill. The legislation includes $18 million for the installation of nine new TLS systems. TLS is a precision approach aid that allows aircraft to land in adverse weather by providing them with horizontal and vertical guidance to the runway.
By current standards the business aircraft accident rate in the late 1970s was appalling: 1.78 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, the well-known safety statistic tracking firm based in Boca Raton, Fla. That was before simulator-based training became standard practice in the business aircraft community, Breiling explained. But, by the mid 1980s, business and corporate aircraft operators, following the lead of the airlines, had embraced simulator-based training.
MicroSenzor is a hand-held, battery-powered hazard detector that can be carried in the field to test various unknown substances. The manufacturer claims that it can remotely and non-intrusively decipher chemical formulas of concealed substances through steel and other barriers. The device already has been used to determine the presence of anthrax. In the test, fast neutrons were used to irradiate a sample of anthrax simulant powder supplied by the Department of Defense.
Xian Aircraft Co. of China has selected Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics for integration into its new MA-60 regional aircraft. Deliveries of the initial shipsets will begin later this year, with aircraft certification expected in 2004. The package includes the FMS 3000, a full complement of Pro Line 21 software-upgradeable CNS equipment, an AHS 3000 attitude heading reference system (AHRS) and a TWR 800 color weather radar.
Nashville Jet Charters, Inc., Nashville, has added Enrique Henry Marquez to its maintenance staff. Michele Montgomery has been hired as marketing and sales manager. Her responsibilities include scheduling and dispatching, sales and customer service. Haylee Waddey has been named general manager. Previously, she served as director of sales and marketing for the company. In addition, NJC has hired three full-time pilots: Eric Hatfield, Jack Patterson and Todd Ross.
The CQAR (card quick access recorder) fitted to Bristow Helicopters' Super Pumas enables flight data to be downloaded to a standard PCMCIA card. This is removed every flight and taken to a nearby office, where it is fed into a reader and downloaded once more into a PC. It's a routine operation and takes only five minutes or so. But time, now more than ever, is money. The Bristow CQAR is about the size of an automobile stereo, and requires CAA approval before it is installed. Now Avionica Inc.
The FAA published a much-anticipated notice announcing a regulatory review of FAR Parts 135 and 125, the first official step in a process that is expected to result in a significant impact on the charter industry. (See ``Rethinking Part 135,'' B/CA, December 2002, page 94.) The notice establishes an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to conduct the review and invites people to participate on the committee, which will consist of a steering committee and specialized work groups.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a new guidebook to tell U.S. citizens how to prepare for terrorist attacks and other potential disasters. The 102-page handbook, Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness, is the most comprehensive to date, according to FEMA, and devotes 14 pages to terrorist-related disasters. The guidebook, available for free at www.fema.gov or by calling (800) 480-2520, also offers recommendations on how people and communities can improve their preparedness.
Heli-Dyne Systems, Inc., Hurst, Texas, has appointed Jerry M. Mullins president and chief operating officer. Mullins joined Heli-Dyne as general manager in 1993.
Dear B/CA Staff: As you know, Fran and I are in Kabul for several weeks helping with a King Air program that provides flight services to the many aid organizations currently working in Afghanistan. (See ``Letter From Kabul,'' February 2003, page 44.) Well, by now you know a little about how PACTEC (Partners in Aviation and Communications Technology) provides turnkey flight operations as a hands-on partner with humanitarian non-profit organizations and government agencies in reaching out to people in crisis. In Afghanistan, PACTEC, a U.S.
The Homeland Security threat level was raised to High on Feb. 7, based on intercepted communications ``chatter'' and ``specific intelligence received and analyzed by the full intelligence community,'' stated Attorney General John Ashcroft in a joint appearance with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. He added that the intelligence has been ``fully validated.'' In terms of the previously announced security threat level color code, the threat level has been raised from yellow to orange, the second highest level.
The FAA and TSA are accepting comments on the security threat rules through March 25. Comments must be sent to the Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh St. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. Comments must specify docket number FAA-2003-14293 for the FAA's rule covering the certificate revocation, docket number TSA-2002-13732 for the TSA's rule establishing procedures for threat notifications for U.S. citizens or TSA-2002-13733 for the TSA's rules establishing procedures for non-U.S. citizens.
SouthEast Piper is the newest New Piper Aircraft dealer. The company's sales territory covers Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. SouthEast Piper is the new trade name for the aircraft sales division of Florida-based Flightline Group, Inc., which already operates as the exclusive New Piper dealer in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Florida. SouthEast Piper will operate sales offices in Atlanta and in Tallahassee and Vero Beach, Fla. Service Centers will operate throughout the territory.
Southwest Jet Aviation of Scottsdale, Ariz., added two new charter aircraft, bringing its fleet total to 16. A 1999 Raytheon Hawker 800 XP will be based in Phoenix, and a 1996 Learjet 60 in Santa Fe. Southwest Jet has been adding about four aircraft every year since new management took over in 1999. The company said it expects to add more aircraft before the end of the first quarter.
David Hurley has been named vice chairman of charter operator PrivatAir. Hurley was CEO for the past three years and co-founder of Flight Services Group. Greg Thomas, 36, chief operating officer of PrivatAir since December 2000, was named CEO of the company to succeed Hurley. The company said Thomas has reorganized the company into two divisions. Hugh Regan, group chief financial officer, was named president of PrivatAir Inc. and COO of North American operations.
Despite a strong 2002, Cessna Aircraft is further reducing business jet production because it didn't sell enough aircraft for delivery in 2003. Textron Chairman Lewis Campbell said Cessna's delivery of 307 business jets last year was just six shy of its record mark of 313 delivered in 2001, and helped make 2002 the highest revenue year in Cessna's history.
The beleaguered Lancair Co. closed a $55 million funding agreement with Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), Lancair's original investor, for its certificated aircraft operations. ``Our every effort is now directed at the re-start of manufacturing and delivery of the Columbia aircraft in all its configurations and options,'' said Lancair President Bing Lantis.
Air Services Australia and the Australian national airline Qantas played a major role both in developing CNS/ATM technology and in seeing it deployed in the South Pacific. In the words of IBAC's Peter Ingleton, director of ICAO liaison, ``This was a watershed for the larger industry.'' One of the principals not only in that development but in the long and arduous international definition phase of the Future Air Navigation System (FANS) was Australian Brian O'Keefe, formerly special technical advisor to Air Services Australia.
Superior Air Parts announced a new manufacturing facility for production of its new SP-360 engine, which the company anticipates will receive FAA type certification in April. The SP-360, targeted to new aircraft manufacturers, STC replacements for the after-market and kit builders, will be the first production piston engine of its type to receive a type certificate in 46 years. The four-cylinder engine, incorporating what Superior calls ``the latest available improvements in materials and technology,'' will come in 180- and 200-hp configurations.
