A quarter century ago, a half dozen government agencies, high-powered think tanks and even some airline experts promised an aviation future chock full of breakthrough technologies. Future commercial aircraft would have wall-to-wall LCD glass cockpits with electronic chart libraries, plus enhanced and synthetic vision systems. The aircraft would be built with advanced manufacturing technologies. These and other technologies promised to make flying safer, more affordable and more efficient.
Without a doubt, the buzzword of the day is ``integrity.'' With each passing day, we find ourselves questioning the integrity of political leaders, corporate leaders, religious institutions and accounting services. As we dig deeper into what once looked shiny and sound, we find an underlying erosion that leaves us questioning the very underpinnings of our physical, social, moral and financial safety.
While government leaders refuse to detail specific terrorist threats that are driving general aviation airspace restrictions, security experts say there have indeed been threats. According to Air Security International, individuals with ties to Al Qaeda have tried to purchase a mothballed Boeing 727, charter aircraft and obtain diagrams of four ``large general aviation facilities'' located in New York, New Jersey, Denver and California.
Garmin International Inc. is now offering its GPSmap 196 GPS receiver, designed for multipurpose air, land and sea use. Successor to Garmin's popular GPS195, the new portable unit is WAAS capable and features detailed moving map graphics, HSI steering guidance, a Jeppesen database and many other pilot-friendly features, including a runway extension feature that works as a kind of localizer. The receiver has a 12-level grayscale, 3.75-inch diagonal display and a powerful processor that makes for rapid map draws and scrolling.
Delta Air Lines is targeting Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) for a major expansion of regional jet service. The carrier's Com-air and Atlantic Southeast Airlines subsidiaries will add service to eight cities on Nov. 1, including Charleston, S.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Huntsville, Ala.; as well as Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The carriers are adding three daily roundtrips from DCA to Atlanta, and one daily roundtrip to both Cincinnati and New York's JFK International Airport.
U.S. market interest in the higher-powered Ae270HP has persuaded Czech-Taiwanese Ibis Aerospace to freeze its PT6A-42 version of the design and bring forward the uprated model by one year to offer deliveries from early 2004 onward. Those among the 69 firm customers and option holders who had originally intended to obtain the standard aircraft have mostly been persuaded to follow suit.
DeCrane Aircraft Systems Integration Group has announced the delivery of its first Boeing BBJ-2 executive interior completion. The modifications were undertaken at the company's facility in Georgetown, Del., originally owned by Georgetown Aviation and later purchased by PATS, Inc. for use as a BBJ auxiliary fuel tank installation facility. Over a 10-month period, DeCrane added interior cabinetry, avionics, electrical systems, mechanical systems and a cabin management/entertainment system for an undisclosed customer.
August 26 -- A Bell 206L-3 LongRanger crashed in unknown circumstances while fighting a fire in Gunnison, Colo. One person sustained serious injuries in the crash while the other three people on board were unhurt. August 27 -- A Eurocopter AS350 B2 helicopter sustained substantial damage after a bird strike while at 5,100 feet approximately eight miles west of Toledo (Ohio) Express Airport. The helicop- ter returned to the airport without further incident.
ARINC, the world's leading provider of communications services to the airline industry, will begin offering those services to corporate jet operators in January 2003. The company's new ARINC Direct includes data link, safety, communications and information services. According to Ed Montgomery, ARINC vice president for aviation and air traffic services, ``Business aircraft with AFIS, TeleLink or UniLink service actually use ARINC's data link already -- they just don't know us as the provider.''
Edited by David RimmerMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
The proposed ARJ21 70- to 90-seat regional jet program has been given the go-ahead by the Chinese government and the selected engine is expected to be announced within the month, according to sources close to the program. Western integrated landing gear manufacturers have also held preliminary discussions with the China Aviation Industry Corp. (AVIC).
Developing existing relationships, CHC Helicopter Corp. was awarded a series of contract renewals and expansions valued at $57.6 million (Canadian) to provide helicopter support for operations in the Gulf of Thailand and the Persian Gulf. CHC won an 18-month contract from Chevron Offshore (Thailand) to provide a second Sikorsky S-76A++ to be based at U-Tapao, Thailand. The Thai Government Petroleum Authority also contracted for two S76A++ helicopters to be based in Songhkla.
CMC Electronics and Thales Avionics both believe that liquid crystal displays are key to developing all-new, low-cost head-up displays for smaller business aircraft. So far, HUDs have been restricted to the largest corporate jets because of their size, weight and cost. But, according to Bruce Bailey, vice president of commercial aviation at CMC Electronics, by using technology similar to a digital media projector, an LCD HUD could replace the high-intensity CRT in today's systems, which is heavy, bulky, inherently hot-running and requires a high-voltage power supply.
Ideal Aerosmith, Inc. has a contract from Rockwell Collins for automatic test equipment to support the new Collins eTES inflight entertainment system. Ideal says the contract has a potential value of up to $3.9 million over two years. The company, headquartered in East Grand Forks, Minn., will develop test requirement specifications, design an automated test system, and develop and integrate test program sets for several eTES line replaceable units.
As a general rule, the courts have not been kind to insurance companies that try to deny coverage following an accident. Because the language of the policies is non-negotiable, the courts usually construe any ambiguity against the in-surance company and in favor of the insured. But not always.
Sandel Avionics President Gerry Block says his company is planning to add real-time weather capability to its ST3400 TAWS, but declined to disclose the service providers. He said talks continue with two satellite-based suppliers and that he will announce further details once flight testing begins. An upgrade is expected to be available in early 2003. The ST3400, Block notes, is ``compatible with almost any aircraft,'' and has been installed in a wide range of aircraft -- from piston twins through a Gulfstream IV -- since receiving TSO certification in June.
Orlando proved to be a magnet for new aircraft aluminum in Septem-ber when the NBAA convened its annual convention there. Bombardier sent its renamed Challenger 300, still under development, along with the new Learjet 40. Embraer's Legacy, the ink still wet on its FAA Type Certificate, was on display at Orlando Executive. Raytheon interrupted flight testing to send its Hawker Horizon, Sino Swearingen debuted its first conforming prototype of the sleek SJ30-2, and Adam Aircraft was there with the A500, a twin-boom, push/pull piston twin.
OK, let's start by getting to the nub of the matter. Whenever the subject of single-engine turboprops in business, commercial, or even private, operation comes up, the issue of safety always looms over the discussion like a wooly mammoth.
Business is about change, and as aviation managers serving business, we simply have to cope with that fact. When one's parent company goes on a roller coaster ride, the aviation department is usually relegated to the last car, hanging on for dear life. Think of all the great companies that have risen up, got hammered, and then rose again. How does an aviation department survive such vagaries? The answer is to be proactive to the company's needs rather than being reactive to its immediate circumstances.
Bombardier Aerospace announced the sale of two 70-seat CRJ700s to Shandong Airlines. Shandong will be the first CRJ700 operator in China and in the Asia-Pacific region. Based at Jinan in the Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China, the airline currently operates eight 50-passenger Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets, five of which were acquired from Bombardier and three of which are leased from General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). Deliveries are scheduled for third and fourth quarter 2003.
Nashville-based Aerostructures Corp. has received a contract extension from Gulfstream for the continued supply of G300/G400 wing boxes for a further 10 years. Potential value is $500 million. Previous agreements saw Aerostructures building wings for the Gulfstream II, GIII and GIV, with shipset numbers exceeding a combined total of 1,000. The GIV program started in 1983 with Aerostructures responsible for complete design, tooling and production of wings. With this award, the two companies extend a 37-year relationship.
Gulfstream Aerospace and Hong Kong-based MetroJet have entered into an agreement to introduce a Gulfstream G200 into charter service for Asia. The aircraft will be based out of the Hong Kong Business Aircraft Center, located at Chep Lap Kok International Airport.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in which the trade group will train and certify airport workers to take fingerprints.
There seems to be growing concern about the validity of the FAA forecasts of air traffic and air passenger growth that have been the basis for airport and airspace planning for everything from DRVSM to new Class B airspace reservations. Many now question the bigger overall growth picture painted by the FAA forecasts -- especially in light of post-9/11 circumstances.
Conoco and Phillips Petroleum have completed their merger, thereby creating the third largest energy company in the United States. The combined assets of the two brings ConocoPhillips oil reserves to 8.7 billion barrels, $75 billion in physical assets with a refining capacity of more than 2.6 million barrels per day. ``Today marks the creation of a new international integrated major energy company, with the assets, talent, financial strength and technology needed to achieve superior results,'' said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips' president and CEO.
SimCom's Orlando Learning Center opened a year ago with just one simulator. Today the facility, dedicated to business and general aviation training, houses three Level C full-motion simulators (Learjet 35/36, Citation II and Hawker 800A), 13 FTDs (flight training devices) plus classrooms and customer lounges.
