Rifton Aviation has been FAA-certified to operate under FAR Part 135, which enables the Stewart International Airport (Newburgh, N. Y.) FBO to offer services as an on-demand charter operator. A Falcon 2000 was the first Rifton aircraft to receive the certification, and plans are to qualify a Gulfstream IV and a Citation Excel.
Healthy backlogs in the business aviation and regional airliner markets coupled with stability in its government business will help propel Rockwell Collins as an independent company, said company President and Chief Executive Clay Jones. Speaking to reporters recently in Washington, D.C., Jones outlined his vision of the recently spun-off Rockwell Collins, with plans to grow through strengthened and integrated product lines, acquisitions and alliances.
August 10: NTSB investigators are looking into the cause of a Papillon Helicopters Eurocopter AS-350 B2 Ecureuil crash in the Grand Canyon. According to eyewitnesses, the helicopter impacted a 3,700-foot cliff near Meadview, Ariz., and burst into flames. The pilot and five passengers were killed and the lone survivor suffered severe burns and internal injuries. The helicopter was returning to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas after a sightseeing flight.
August 6: The pilot and sole occupant were uninjured when the right main landing gear of a Raytheon King Air C90A collapsed on landing in Summerville, N.C.
The U.S. Senate is considering a fiscal 2002 transportation appropriations bill that increases funding for FAA operations and calls on the agency to boost its inspector staff and promote general aviation safety initiatives. The Senate bill would give the FAA $13.26 billion in fiscal 2002, including $6.92 billion for operations, compared with the Bush administration request for $6.87 billion.
By Paul Richfield Formation Flight for Business Jets and Airliners?
With help from NASA and Boeing, researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) are developing ways to help pilots to fly multiple aircraft in V-formations, an arrangement that could one day reduce the fuel consumption of transport-category aircraft by as much as 20 percent.
Hillaero Modification Center, located at Lincoln Municipal Airport (LNK), Neb., is celebrating 25 years of performing refurbishment work on business jets and turboprops. Founded in 1976 by Doug Hill, the company has grown from four employees to 32 and now offers a full range of interior ``re-rag'' and exterior painting services. The company says it has worked on more than 3,000 aircraft and the demand for refurbishment services still remains high.
Flight Options' Gulfstream IV will star on network television this fall. Twelve contestants on NBC-TV's new reality series ``Lost'' flew from the fractional operator's Cleveland headquarters to an undisclosed location where their survival skills will be put to the test. The first two-person team to make their way to the Statue of Liberty wins, but they must do so with limited cash, no credit cards, no contact with friends or family, and without using ATM cards or frequent flier miles.
Aircraft structural icing is classified in three primary categories: rime, clear and mixed. The type of ice that forms on an aircraft is largely a function of temperature and water droplet size.
Now that regulators have vetoed US Airways' proposed merger with United Airlines, US Airways says it is focusing on the future -- a future the carrier says relies heavily on regional jets. The airline hopes to finalize negotiations shortly for the introduction of 50 to 69 regional jets for use on mainline routes. Plans call for US Airways' Air Line Pilots Association members to operate the RJs, which will replace larger jets on routes through hub cities without sufficient traffic to support the larger aircraft.
StormGuard, the newest data product from DTN Weather Services, can now download live weather images to your Palm/OS or PDA via a cellular connection. This means being mobile does not limit your ability to get reliable storm information. In the download, you will receive full-color radar of the four most current five-minute updates. In addition, you get city forecasts in three-hour increments.
The AOPA continues to fight an FAA effort to revise the airspace around Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. The agency has proposed changing the airspace from Class D to more-restrictive Class C airspace, largely due to heavy general and business aviation traffic to the island during the summer vacation season. The AOPA maintains that Cape TRACON and the tower at Nantucket provide sufficient radar and separation services, eliminating the need for Class C designation.
According to the NTSB's history of crash investigation, the number of aircraft that have ditched from 1996 to present constitutes only 1.4 percent of all the recorded accidents. What's surprising is that only 14 percent of all ditching accidents were fatal. Now bear in mind that the majority of the accidents occurred in light single-engine aircraft, but corporate aviation had its share. The following are examples of just a few of them. Pacific Pilatus
Lawrence Municipal Airport (LWC), Kan., is rushing to complete $1.9 million in runway improvements before the September 28 Kansas 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at nearby Kansas Speedway.
British Airways is aiming for a resumption of Concorde supersonic London-New York service late this month, and Air France's Paris-New York service will start about a month later. Before this can happen Concorde's certificate of airworthiness has to be re-instated to both airlines. A British Airways-modified Concorde flew two verification flights out of Heathrow and they are claimed to be a complete success by Capt. Mike Bannister, chief BA Concorde pilot.
The first 2001 edition of The Official Helicopter Blue Book is now available in loose-leaf and CD-ROM formats from HeliValue$. The Blue Book contains financial and technical details on more than 120 helicopter models, their year-by-year production history, original prices when new, and recent resale price ranges. Full subscribers to the Blue Book, which is published three times annually, receive The Official Helicopter Specification Book, or it can be purchased separately.
Chief executive officers at major corporations received a record-breaking $20 million in compensation last year, 531 times the average blue-collar worker's pay. Source: AFL-CIO
A federal judge has eliminated a key judicial barrier that had previously blocked efforts to ban the operations of Stage 2 jet aircraft at Florida's Naples Municipal Airport (APF). The August 8 ruling by Judge Gregory A. Presnell granted the city's request for summary judgment, while upholding the Naples Airport Authority's ``anti-aircraft'' position on nearly every issue.
A California company is introducing a regional fractional ownership program that promises no monthly management fees and prices far below the more-established fractionals. Calling itself ``the affordable fractional,'' Modesto, Calif.-based West Coast Jet Corp. is offering shares in used Raytheon King Air 200s and Learjet 55s for a $25,000 and $55,000 deposit, respectively.
Online auction site eBay has created an aviation section. A longtime source of aviation supplies, aircraft and memorabilia, eBay has now concentrated aviation-related items in one section, which covers everything from airline safety cards and barf bags to business jets. Tyler Jet and aircdraftdealer.com are sponsors of the new area. Recent listings included a 1975 King Air C90, various Cessna Citations, a Lockheed JetStar 731, and a Gulfstream II. Certain novelty aircraft also were for sale in the section, such as John F.
It's important to map out an approach to dealing with fatigue before it becomes an issue in the cockpit. As part of your plan for fighting fatigue, consider the following: Watch out -- Watch your captain or copilot for signs of fatigue, and take appropriate action when the symptoms become apparent. Typical symptoms include multiple eye blinks, extended eye blinks, yawning, drooping eyelids and head nodding.
In an effort to boost its TFE731 engine overhaul capabilities, Signature Flight Support parent BBA has completed its acquisition of the Barrett Turbine Engine Co. (BTEC). Headquartered in Augusta, Ga., Barrett specializes in services concerning the operation, maintenance and improvements to Honeywell TFE731 and TPE331 engines. BBA Aviation North America President and CEO Bruce Van Allen said BTEC founder/President Bill Barrett and Vice President Russell Cathey will remain in charge of the operation, and BTEC will retain its brand name.
The Legacy comes loaded with a Primus 1000 avionics package, featuring five large-format CRTs. The base system includes dual LASEREF IV, dual FMS with approach-certified GPS, dual Primus II C/N/S radio systems, dual DADCs, dual GPS-synched chronometers, CVR, FDR, TCAS and TAWS, Primus 880 Doppler turbulence detection weather radar, HF with SELCAL, single-channel CAT II autopilot and Smiths Industries Integrated Standby Instrument System.
Flight attendants who want to learn more about ionizing radiation and the efforts of the Airline Flight Attendant Association (AFA) to control their exposure to radiation should log on to www.afanet.org/cosmicradiation.htm. Click on AFA HOME and you'll find links, contacts numbers and chat rooms.
By David Collogan Senate Moves to Protect Meigs Field
The U.S. Senate has approved a measure designed to protect Chicago-area reliever airports, including embattled Meigs Field. The measure, introduced by Sens. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), was included as an amendment to the fiscal 2002 transportation appropriations bill, which passed by voice vote in early August after a week-long, contentious debate over Mexican trucking.
