The October 29 issue of Forbes magazine lists Mercury Air Group as one of the ``200 Best Small Companies in America.'' Mercury Air Group operates at 90 locations worldwide, including 19 corporate jet facilities in the United States.
Marion Clifton Blakey, a veteran government employee and more recently a principal in a public affairs firm, in late September was sworn in as the ninth chairman of the NTSB.
Edited by David RimmerBy Richard N. Aarons Business Aviation Safety Stats Dive Accidents and fatalities up significantly over last year
The U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet safety record is slipping badly this year with increases in total accidents, fatal accidents, fatalities and incidents. The turbine fleet suffered 53 accidents in the first nine months of 2001, some 20 of them resulting in 43 passenger deaths and 23 crew fatalities.
On one hand, the business aviation community should be grateful that Norman Mineta and Jane Garvey were heading the DOT and the FAA when our world blew up and the airspace over the United States became an enormous no-fly zone. It took two days for the airliners to start moving again and four days to get GA IFR flights back in the air. Those 96 hours may have seemed like an eternity for those attempting to run their businesses and haul passengers and cargo.
Air Partner, a U.K.-based air charter broker, has opened a new office in London City at Canary Wharf. The office is the company's 13th worldwide and its third in the city's central business district. Creating downtown offices has become a key business strategy, according to Air Partner, with the company's Mark Sale saying, ``clients are far more likely to want to chat through important projects over a cup of coffee than via long telephone calls and tedious faxes.'' Air Partner also has downtown offices in Frankfurt and New York City.
Why didn't I get that house payment in the mail? . . . I hate those dunning letters -- darn creditors are like wolves . . . Lisa's doctor appointment was at nine, she should have the results by now . . . I'll call later, hope it's not serious . . . Bobby's still ill -- wish I could have stayed home with him . . . Never get a day off . . . ``Hey, Bob! Bob! That's twice I called for the descent checklist. Wake up!''
The New York skyline, strangely devoid of the World Trade Center towers, is visible from the ramp at First Aviation Services, one of five FBOs servicing business aviation at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport.
EADS' Hellas obstacle clearance warning system will be installed on German Federal Border Guard EC 135 and EC 155 helicopters. The Hellas system is based on eye-safe laser radar technology and provides aural and visual cues of obstacles in the aircraft's flight path. It can interface with a multi-function display for more precise obstacle information. Twenty-five systems are scheduled to be installed in the border guard squadron.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is encouraging FBOs and operators to adopt a number of security guidelines in the hope they'll be acceptable to FAA and federal law enforcement agencies, thus avoiding further, more severe restrictions that could be imposed. For Aviation Businesses
A vital element of airmanship -- one that gets far too little time and attention in most formal flight training programs -- is risk awareness and evaluation. While there are numerous definitions of risk awareness, the concept boils down to simply knowing when you are venturing into harm's way.
Charles Ryan, president and chief operating officer of the NORDAM Group, was killed in mid-October when the seaplane he was aboard crashed on a lake in Northern Canada. Also killed in the crash were the pilot and another passenger, while four others -- including two NORDAM employees -- were injured. Headquartered in Tulsa, NORDAM manufactures and repairs aircraft components including engine reversers, hush kits and aircraft interiors.
After sitting out the three-day post-attack FAR Part 91 hiatus, Mike Dolphin, president of Avitat Westchester at New York's Westchester County Airport (HPN), expected his independent FBO would be busy. But what greeted him in the ensuing days was beyond anything in his considerable experience. ``What I didn't plan on was that when they lifted the Part 91 ban on Friday the 14th, it wouldn't include Teterboro,'' Dolphin told B/CA. ``The effect of that was that every Part 91 airplane that was trying to relocate its operator's employees headed for White Plains.
Aviation Learning, Inc. and Rolls-Royce have teamed up to produce CD-ROM and Internet-delivered training products for Rolls customers. In addition, Aviation Learning will sell existing Rolls-Royce training products including books, videos and PC-based reference tools. The first fruit of the new partnership, ``Borescope Inspection for the AE3007 Series Engine'' is available now. It's a three-hour interactive unit that includes component overviews, actual inspection video footage, procedures, quizzes and reference.
Executive Jet Management (EJM), the FAR Part 135 air charter division of Executive Jet, has added 10 new aircraft to its domestic charter fleet. The additions include a Cincinnati-based Hawker 700 and 800, a Falcon 2000 and Cessna Citation Excel based in the Chicago area, a St. Louis-based Learjet 55 and Gulfstream III, a Beech King Air 200 based in Morristown, N.J., and a Falcon 50 and 2000 based in South Florida.
Jim Christiansen has surfaced at Executive Jet following his announced departure from TAG Aviation. He is now vice president of national accounts for Executive's NetJets fractional program. Christiansen is among the industry figures who have quietly accumulated a ``fan club'' by serving their companies and the industry equally well. He will remain chairman of the National Air Transportation Association and is acting chairman of its new fractional aircraft business council.
Cessna Aircraft workers represented by the International Association of Machin-ists and Aerospace Workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new four-year contract with the aircraft manufacturer. About 77 percent of those present -- or 2,567 workers -- voted for ratification. The contract calls for a total of 11.50 percent in wage increases through October 2004, including an immediate 4.25-percent bump, followed by a four-percent and 3.25-percent increase in the final two years. Workers also receive increased pension and welfare benefits.
According to the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), it's important to be aware of self-imposed stresses you can control. These controllable factors can lower your tolerance to acute and chronic stress and further degrade your performance in the cockpit. The more-common controllable stresses include alcohol consumption, self-medication, drug use, tobacco use, inadequate diet and nutrition, and physiological stress.
The flight deck is where the action is and you probably enjoy the routine stress and increased level of alertness it provides. A noise abatement departure at Orange County, a river visual at National, a down-to-minimums ILS followed by a missed approach all produce manageable stress upon which competent flight crews can thrive.
The first S-92 in final production configuration made its first flight October 5 at the Sikorsky factory in Stratford, Conn. Aircraft 4 is the last S-92 prototype and the first that includes both customer-inspired design changes and the Rockwell Collins glass cockpit. The S-92 program has accumulated more than 760 flight test hours, and certification of the new helicopter is scheduled for 2002.
Midcoast Aviation, St. Louis, has promoted Kurt Sutterer to executive vice president, and has named Kevin Gettemeier as director-operations support and Jay Roever as manager-operations support at its St. Louis Downtown Airport operation.
The AOPA has made its airport directory available for use on both personal computers and personal digital assistants. The Airport eDirectory's database includes pertinent preflight information for more than 5,200 public-use airports, seaplane bases and heliports in the United States and more than 6,000 FBOs/aviation service companies. Included in the directory are listings for restaurants, lodging, transportation and local services.
Edited by David RimmerBy Mike Vines, in Birmingham, England
Photograph: NH90 After deliberating for two years, the four countries participating in the Nordic Standard Helicopter Program have settled on two different helicopters. Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark were striving to define a single helicopter platform, but eventually placed firm orders for 52 NH Industries NH90s with options for seven additional aircraft, and 14 AgustaWestland EH101s. The deals are valued at some $2 billion. The order was a blow to Sikorsky, whose S-92 was the only other short-listed contender in the program.
Concord (N.C.) Regional Airport has built three new hangars, one of which has just been leased to NASCAR. The stock car racing association will sign a 15-year lease for a 12,000-square-foot building. The other two hangars, part of a $2.8 million airport expansion project, are 28,000 and 6,400 square feet, respectively. There are already more than 40 aircraft associated with various race teams based at Concord, which is open 24/7 and staffed by 34 city employees.
Photograph: James D. Raisbeck CEO, Raisbeck Engineering Unabashedly opinionated, Raisbeck worked at Boeing and at Robert-son Aircraft before founding his own firm in 1973. He has been integral in developing performance mods for King Airs, Sabreliners and 30-series Learjets, among other things. Outside aviation, he is passionate about the ballet, opera, vintage cars, his family and Purdue University, his alma mater. 1 Has Raisbeck Engineering been affected by the terrible events of September?
