London Executive Aviation has begun offering charters with Great Britain's first Cessna Citation Excel. The Excel, two Cessna Citation IIs, a King Air B200 and a Piper Chieftan are based at three area airports: London City, Stansted and Stapleford.
General aviation leaders in mid-October launched a lobbying and public relations campaign as losses resulting from operating restrictions approached ``catastrophic'' proportions. NBAA President Jack Olcott, AOPA President Phil Boyer and GAMA President Ed Bolen have been speaking to Congress and the press to help spread the word about the plight of general aviation and to build support for a bill introduced in Congress that would provide grants and loans to small aviation businesses.
Goodrich Corp. will supply wheels and brakes for Embraer's Legacy business business jet. The company already produces wheels and breaks for the ERJ-135, -140 and -145 regional jets.
FBO Mercury Air Centers is launching a new online aircraft charter reservation system. ``Mercury Easy Charter by UltraJet'' will be a joint effort between Mercury Air Centers and UltraJet, an Avbase Aviation companion company based in Cleveland, to provide on-demand charter service.
Amphitech International of Laval, Quebec, and DART Aerospace of Hawkesbury, Ontario, have formed a partnership to support the installation and certification of Amphitech's OASYS obstacle avoidance radar system in helicopters. OASYS alerts helicopter pilots to obstacles such as wires, towers and terrain. The first installation will be in a Bell 212 operated by Canadian Helicopters Ltd. supporting a customer in Labrador.
Edited by David RimmerDavid Rimmer Layoffs Take Heavy Toll in Business Aviation
Major business aviation OEMs are continuing to trim their staff -- and say further deep cuts are possible in 2002 -- in light of uncertainty following the September 11 terror attacks. Already weakened by a sluggish economy, companies have been hit by operational restrictions and retrenching among customers. The following cutbacks are representative of the malaise hitting business and general aviation:
Flight2ground.com is a free, Web-based service developed specifically for flight departments, schedulers, pilots and any-one responsible for aircraft travel services. Developed jointly by the Valley Oil Co. and Multi Service Corp., flight2ground. com provides real-time pricing, scheduling and confirmation for services including fuel, catering, ground transportation and hotels. Valley Oil said the Web service was based on input from aviation personnel at companies such as Addison Express, Boise Executive Terminal, Million Air Long Beach and North American Jet.
Duncan Aviation has written a booklet, Straight Talk About RVSM. The company has received the first RVSM Operational STC for a JetStar II. Duncan Vice President of Modifications John Slieter stated that the company is eager to expand its retrofit RVSM program to multiple types and models. To get a copy of the RVSM booklet, e-mail RVSM@ DuncanAviation.com or call (800) 228-4277.
Richard Daley is the Democratic mayor of Chicago. He got the job after his daddy the mayor upped and died whilst still in office. To make things all legal, they had an election, which was semi-farcical, because the Daley Democratic machine runs smoothly in all precincts and has for years. You understand that there is no chicanery involved.
The wake-up call comes much too early. It's still dark and cold outside. You ease out of bed, stretch, and shuffle to the door. A peek out the peephole confirms that the paper's arrived. Unlatch the safety lock, crack open the door and then drag the USA Today into the hotel room. You scan the headlines and suddenly your sleepy eyes are wide open and flying across the columns. An airliner's gone down; there are apparently no survivors.
Avbase, Cleveland, has named Mike Driller as its general manager responsible for all flight operations. Driller will oversee the company's charter scheduling and dispatch operations.
If you think plant-based jet fuel is a far-fetched idea, check out the early results of flight- and bench-testing conducted by researchers at Baylor and Purdue universities. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the two schools are evaluating the use of biodiesel fuel in a King Air 90 and a Garrett TPE331-3U-303V engine, respectively. Biodiesel is made from soybeans and is currently used by farmers for operating tractors, a growing number of Midwestern city transit vehicles and some automobiles.
Jet Aviation is continuing to expand at its London Biggin Hill and Teterboro, N.J. (TEB) facilities, and has recently established a new service called Jet Aviation Engineering services. Construction is now under way at the Biggin Hill hangar, which will be devoted to aircraft maintenance, refurbishment and storage. In addition, a new passenger lounge, workshops and office space will simultaneously be constructed. Jet Aviation expects that the new facility will be operational for maintenance and outfitting by the beginning of 2002.
Edited by David RimmerBy Fred George, in San Diego New Round of Synthetic Vision Flights
NASA's goal of equipping aircraft with Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS), featuring ``super accurate'' terrain databases and three-dimensional terrain depictions, is one step closer to reality, following the completion of 100 flight test approaches flown in NASA's Boeing 757 test bed at Eagle, Colo., in late summer. Considering the high terrain adjacent to the runways, Eagle County Airport is a particularly appropriate site for such flight tests. As many as 20 jetliners, as well as many more corporate aircraft, arrive and depart each day.
One evening not long ago I was at a Manhattan restaurant sawing through an outrageously thick steak. At the table were my kid brother, Tom, and a long-time family friend, both of whom were hungrily packing away even larger slabs of meat. Vegetarians might have wept at the sight, but we had fun reminiscing and catching up on each other's lives. Our out-of-town guest said he was particularly happy to share the meal; he'd been putting in some long hours over the past few weeks and the evening was a welcome respite.
AirCare International has purchased the STARK Survival Co. and will combine STARK programs with its own FACTS training division. FACTS specializes in emergency procedures training for private, charter and corporate operators, conducted on-site and at training ``hubs'' in Los Angeles, Dallas and New York. STARK conducts on-site training for corporate flight crews and offers fixed-wing and helicopter open-water training in ditching, water evacuation, sea survival and underwater egress.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research wants to buy a Gulfstream V for atmospheric research. Funding for the purchase, modification and equipping of the aircraft will come from NCAR's primary sponsor, the National Science Foundation. NCAR currently operates a C-130 equipped for atmospheric research. The addition of the G-V, with its long range and the ability to take scientists and their equipment to 50,000 feet, will open up new areas of investigation beyond the reach of the C-130's 3,100-nm range and 35,000-foot maximum altitude.
The nation's regional airlines accounted for almost half the applicants for federal aid under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act.
Executive Jet Aviation in September took delivery of Dassault Aviation's 1,500th Falcon Jet. The Falcon 2000 was the 29th to join the NetJets fractional ownership program, with more than 70 additional Falcon Jets on order. The first Falcon 20 was delivered in 1963. Executive Jet Senior Vice President Kevin Russell (left) accepted the aircraft from Dassault Chairman Charles Edelstenne at the manufacturer's Teterboro, N.J., headquarters.
September 18: A LET 410 UVP-E crashed on takeoff from Guatemala City, Guatemala, killing the pilot and seven passengers and seriously injuring the copilot and four additional passengers. Operated by Atlantic Airlines, the flight was destined for San Pedro Sula in Honduras, a 161-nm flight. Guatemalan aviation officials are investigating the cause of the crash, the third for a LET 410 in the past year.
Westchester Air CEO Millie Hernandez-Becker has received the Northeast Region Businesswoman of the Year Award from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes major accomplishments achieved in the areas of business and economic development, leadership and quality of service, and innovation in promoting the growth of Hispanic businesses.
While airlines of all sizes digest the business challenges created by the September attacks, Chalk's Ocean Airways -- the latest incarnation of the legendary South Florida seaplane carrier -- is facing some unique challenges and offering some unique solutions. Like many of its larger peers, 82-year-old Chalk's responded with staff furloughs across all departments, 20- to 25-percent schedule reductions, and a thinning of its active fleet from four full-time aircraft to three operating on a part-time schedule.
Pratt&Whitney Canada has delivered the 1,000th PW500 engine to Cessna. ``The PW500 engine family was born with Cessna and grew with Cessna, which makes this milestone all the more special,'' said P&WC president and CEO Gilles Ouimet. The PW500 turbofan family currently has three members. The PW530A powers the Citation Bravo. The PW535A entered service with the Citation Ultra Encore. The PW545A powers the Citation Excel.
