Rockwell Collins said a new Collins avionics suite won FAA certification on a U.S. Army C-12 (King Air 200). The manufacturer said the installation certification permits the Army to modify 21 of the C-12s to meet Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) requirements. The new installation includes satellite-based navigation and flight display overlay capabilities and expanded data-link capabilities.
American Airlines has retired its last Boeing 727. At one time, American was the largest 727 operator, with a fleet totaling 182 727s at its peak. On April 30, the airline still operated eight 727-200s, all of which were retired that day. The last 727 flight for American was Flight 926 from Miami to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., which pushed back at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Replacing the 727s will be Boeing 737-800s, which carry the same number of passengers but consume about 60-percent less fuel per passenger than the tri-motors.
-- April 22 -- The airstair door of a Beech King Air 200 separated from the aircraft while cruising at FL 190. None of the nine people aboard the aircraft were injured, and it sustained only minor damage. The door was found 30 nm northwest of Eau Claire, Wis., and was observed to be in the locked position. The FAR Part 135 flight was en route from St. Paul Downtown Holman Field in Minnesota to Outagamie County Regional Airport in Appleton, Wis., at the time of the incident.
His all-guys skiing vacation in Vail, Colo., was nearing an end when a business acquaintance offered to give him a ride back to New York in his company Learjet, an offer he couldn't refuse. So come Sunday evening, happy, tired and unshaven, he climbed aboard, and the Learjet climbed out of the Rockies, hastening east. Soon -- too soon, he thought -- the aircraft began descending. The pilot explained that the airplane didn't have the range to make it nonstop, so they were going to fuel up in Columbus, Ohio.
In fractional ownership, managing your flight time -- your annual allotment of operating hours -- is everything in terms of getting the most out of your travel investment. This begins with understanding how fractional providers assess operating charges and how this can work against the shareholder, depending on individual travel patterns.
B/CA contributor David Esler assembled a ``virtual panel discussion'' on the pros and cons of using fractional shares for supplemental airlift in corporate flight departments by arranging extracts from his interviews with flight department managers. ``Participating'' are Don Baldwin, director of aviation for Coca-Cola Co., a position he held formerly at Texaco; Fred Towers, manager, scheduling and dispatch operations, for Vivendi Universal; and an anonymous aviation manager for a major aerospace corporation (he's the one sitting in shadow with his voice filtered).
Making an objective evaluation of our fitness for flight can be difficult, but the I'M SAFE checklist found in the Aeronautical Information Manual provides one means of making just such a personal assessment. The mnemonic is used to remind us of six critical areas of self-assessment: Illness -- Any form of illness can cause a reduction in alertness, reasoning or reaction, but some can also cause particularly debilitating effects at altitude.
While pressures to fly are generally considered a real-world aspect of commercial aviation, a number of steps, policies and mechanisms have been adopted by flight operations to help reduce those pressures and preserve good judgment and decision-making. Consider the following: Flight Departments -- Provide minimum weather criteria to eliminate gray areas in decision-making. -- Consider high minimums for high-risk maneuvers such as night circling approaches.
I typed ``CRM'' into a major Internet search engine and the following message came up: ``Results 1-10 of about 1,710,000. Search took 0.008 seconds.'' Eight one-thousandths of a second to find almost two million sites. It boggles the mind, especially the mind of someone who promised his editor that he would write an article on the current state of crew resource management (CRM).
Can an ILS system generate false information without flagging the cockpit instrumentation? Most pilots would answer ``no,'' but a group of air carrier safety experts discovered that the answer is sometimes ``yes.'' This unsettling situation first came to light at a Flight Safety Foundation CFIT/ALAR Action Group (CAAG) committee meeting in Amsterdam. SAS Capt. Erik Reed-mohn asked if anyone had information about an Air France B-777 incident in Rio de Janeiro in which the crew was misled by bad ILS ground signals.
The April B/CA special report ``Tech Training Gets a `C''' presented flight department maintenance managers' and technicians' views on the state of maintenance training today. They noted some positive elements -- for example, they said most technicians train regularly, and they gave high marks to programs conducted by Pratt&Whitney Canada, Honeywell, Bombardier and Rockwell Collins. But they faulted the training system overall and cited several deficiencies, including:
As we noted in the first edition of this calendar (March, page 80) B/CA ordinarily reports on the ``what'' and ``how'' of business aviation, but this feature enables us to take a look at the ``where'' and ``when.'' This month we continue by highlighting a trio of events where you're likely to meet others who value the benefits of business aviation. This time we've expanded our coverage a bit by including more information on the airports, FBOs and handlers some of you may encounter.
Robert E. Breiling President, Robert E. Breiling Associates Inc., Boca Raton, Fla. After piloting Banshees and S2Fs off carriers, Breiling flew for Pan Am until a furlough steered him into the insurance business, where he specialized in aviation analysis. He then helped fledgling SimuFlite take wing before founding his own aviation consultancy. His annual ``Business Turbine Aircraft Accident Review'' is a reference standard.
First the buzz: COMDEX Atlanta 2002 will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in conjunction with Key3Media Group's NetWorld+ Interop event. COMDEX was last held in Atlanta in 1997. NetWorld+Interop has been held in Atlanta since 1994. The combination of COMDEX Atlanta 2002/ NetWorld+Interop Atlanta 2002 could make the Georgia capital the galactic center of the Internet, telecom and Info-Tech marketplace, at least briefly.
This could be big. About 60,000 attendees to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) hope to at last shape a concrete action plan that will pull the world's poor people out of impoverishment without inflicting lasting damage to the environment. Delegates, including some 100 heads of state, are expected to attend the gathering, whose deliberations could have far-reaching effects on trade, the environment and the global economy. It is for these reasons the summit is likely to attract a fair number of business and charter aircraft.
Nov. 21, 1978, in Bridgeport, Conn., was a raw, late-autumn day. The temperature was only in the upper 30s, a half-dozen degrees below normal, and the ground had been dusted with a half-inch of snow driven by a moderate northeast wind that foreshadowed the bitter winter storms to come.
Elsewhere in this issue we examine the business jet safety record for 2001. Obvious in the numbers is the good news that pilot/crew actions account for only about one-third of all jet accidents. That compares with pilot error rates of over 80 percent in most other general aviation segments. On the other hand, airframe and maintenance problems are filling the causal gap, accounting for ever larger percentages of mishaps.
Just about the time the August issue of B/CA arrives at your door, Jane Garvey will finish packing up her office, end her five years as FAA administrator and move back to Massachusetts to get on with the rest of her life. To say her departure will leave a void isn't close to adequate. The loss of her unique combination of skills, demeanor and leadership will be a major blow to the aviation community, which has enjoyed a harmonious and productive relationship with Mrs. Garvey during the past 58 months.
Flightcom has introduced its ANR headset. Weighing just over 17 ounces, the headset incorporates proprietary circuitry that provides an additional 14 to 18 dB of low-frequency noise attenuation above the passive model performance. The manufacturer claims one-inch-thick Confor foam ear seals completely enclose the ear, effectively blocking sound from intruding, and the washable polar-fleece head pad evenly distributes the pressure from the headband over the entire top surface of the pilot's head. Flightcom offers a three-year warranty. Price: $389
Garrett Metal Detectors says its new walk-through Magnascanner PD 6500 features an ultra-enhanced multi-coil detection field that pinpoints any metal object within 33 distinct areas of the archway, and thus anywhere on a body. Bright, easy-to-interpret LED pinpoint lights on the archway's exit side, together with green and red patron pacing lights on the archway's entrance side, help improve overall traffic throughput. In addition, 200 levels of sensitivity for each zone provide greater versatility and improve discrimination. Price: $5,000
LPS Laboratories has added NoSpark Electrical Cleaner to its line of aviation maintenance repair and overhaul products. According to the manufacturer, the formula offers effective cleaning without damage to plastic components. The chemical is a fast-evaporating, nonflammable cleaner that leaves no residue. In addition, it does not use HCFCs or other chlorinated solvents. Price: $23.25 LPS Laboratories P.O. Box 105052 4647 Hugh Howell Rd. Tucker, GA 30085 Phone: (800) 241-8334
RMS Technology is now offering users Flitesoft Express, a new flight-planning and moving map program that runs on Pocket PC computers, like the Compaq iPAQ. Flitesoft Express supports point-and-click routing on the chart, identifier entry on the Flight Log and compatibility with saved routes from the main Flitesoft program. Settings for both IFR and VFR provide instant access to two different styles of charts that operators can customize.
AMSTAT's Aviation Marketing and Prospecting Service (AMPS) program tracks information on owners and operators of corporate aircraft. Originally designed for the dealer/broker, AMPS can be used by flight departments. The software allows users to compile lists of like aircraft operators, as well as lists of owners and operators customized by make/model/serial number, hangar/executive contact, geographic location, and date of purchase or lease. Price: $300 per month (monthly updates); $600 per quarter (quarterly updates) AMSTAT Corp.
Avionics Innovations has released the DMP100, a self-contained MP3 audio player. Audio files are stored in a removable Compact Flash memory card prepared and installed by the user. The user can store up to 255 different audio tracks for playback on the cabin audio or intercom system. In addition, RS232 data from a GPS unit can be connected to the DMP100 to allow triggering of audio files based on geographical position. The unit provides a single pair of ground-referenced stereo line-level output signals. Price: $2,995 Avionics Innovations, Inc.
