Reductions in air service between smaller communities and congested hubs could result from European Commission proposals to amend the slot allocation regulations. ``We believe that if this becomes law, it could happen,'' said Mike Ambrose, director general of European Region's Airline Association (ERA).
With many tower-controlled airports experiencing soaring traffic growth and periods of saturation, flight departments now more than ever are choosing to operate from satellite airports -- many of which are uncontrolled.
Jet Aviation is increasing hangar space at its maintenance facility in Geneva, Switzerland, to 54,465 square feet. Jet Aviation Geneva cited a surge in demand for services for the expansion. The additional space will provide sufficient capacity for large business jets including Gulfstream Vs and Boeing Business Jets.
For the residents of Sao Jose dos Campos, Carnival may start in late December, which is a few weeks early for the ultimate Brazilian party. You see, Sao Jose dos Campos is the home of Empresa Braziliera de Aeronautica S.A.-- Embraer -- and by year's end, folks there expect to celebrate certification of the Legacy business jet.
Era Aviation has signed a contract with Sikorsky Aircraft to purchase three S-92 helicopters for delivery in 2003. An Era spokesman told B/CA, ``The S-92s will primarily operate in the Gulf of Mexico at our Lake Charles facility to provide deep water offshore services.''
TAC Air has completed expansion and refurbishment of its facilities at Denver's Centennial Airport (APA) and is offering fuel discounts and weekly prize drawings this month. In November 2000, TAC Air acquired the 70,000-square-foot terminal and hangar facility previously owned by Qwest Communications. After the purchase, the company demolished its old AMR Combs terminal, built a new ramp stressed to 99,000 pounds and constructed a self-serve avgas facility for piston aircraft.
The facts of the accident are pretty straightforward. On the night of March 5, 2000, after an uneventful hop from Las Vegas in VMC conditions, Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 landed on Runway 8 at California's Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport and overran the departure end. The Boeing 737-300 traveled through a blast fence and came to rest on Hollywood Way, a four-lane highway outside the airport perimeter.
In response to FAA safety concerns, the Arizona Cardinals football team is relocating its planned Tempe, Ariz., stadium 1,600 feet south and east of its original site. The agency and other aviation interests were concerned because the original site was situated under the extended centerline of Runway 26 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Cost of the move is estimated at $10 million to $12 million. The new plan is part of a formal response to the FAA's preliminary stadium safety report. A final FAA determination of safety is expected no later than September 11.
The FARs have become so complex that pilots can easily find themselves wrapped up in the legalese of the laws and miss their meaning. Federal Aviation Regulations Explained by B/CA contributor Kent Jackson and Joseph Brennan should help prevent that problem. The book contains Parts 1, 61, 91 and 141 and NTSB 830 along with explanations, preamble information, cross-references to other regulations, related Advisory Circulars and NTSB/FAA case excerpts. Price: $30.95 Jeppesen 55 Inverness Dr. East Englewood, Colo. 80112
Gulfstream Aerospace rolled out the first G-VSP ``test article'' on August 8, at the company's plant near Savannah. Electrical power in the aircraft was turned on ahead of schedule, Gulfstream said, and integration testing of the test aircraft's avionics suite is complete. Drag reduction modifications to the aircraft are finished as well. ``We're all looking forward to final ground tests and the first flight of the G-VSP test article in the coming months,'' said Pres Henne, Gulfstream's senior vice president, programs.
Weakness in the economy hasn't affected this month's NBAA convention in New Orleans. The NBAA says 1,035 exhibitors have secured floor space at the 54th annual Convention and Meeting, including 124 first-time exhibitors. That number -- while not yet a sellout -- is up from 965 exhibitors in 2000 and the all-time high of 968 exhibitors. The convention will occupy over one million square feet on the main floor of New Orleans' Ernest N.
UHL Flight Reconstruction System (FRS) is developing a low-cost approach to providing immediate postflight reconstruction of flight dynamics using a single GPS recorder. Applications for the software include pilot training, flight-monitoring FOQA, flight testing, aircraft racing and postaccident analysis. In addition to standard GPS outputs of position, heading and ground speed, the UHL-FRS provides information such as indicated airspeed, body yaw-pitch-roll, g-loading, angle of attack and rate of climb.
Pilots aren't the only ones who suffer from the effects of changing work schedules and roving rest periods. In some cases, it's controllers, ramp personnel or maintenance workers who pose the greatest threat to safety.
A long-time FAA adversary has created a Web site critical of the agency. The stated purpose of Arizona attorney Lawrence Smith's new www.faajustice.com is ``. . . to educate one million active pilots and mechanics to the fact that license penalties ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration for violations of air safety rules have no basis in law.'' A one-time staff-lawyer in the FAA's Office of General Counsel, Smith earned his pilot license in 1946 and has spent much of the past two decades challenging the FAA's authority.
This summer, four old men and their families sailed into Washing-ton, D.C., aboard a C-9 and then were whisked downtown where they became the focus of much attention. Reporters, photographers and camera crews jostled for position as the high and mighty made grand pronouncements. President George W. Bush spoke of the visitors' ``place in history'' and that the nation's gratitude for their service was ``rightly deserved.'' For the most part, the old timers were quiet and reserved, but the honors being bestowed upon them were for behavior of quite a different sort.
Airport Closures Due to various work in progress, Runway 36R/18L at Italy's Milan Linate Airport (LIML) will be closed from 2230 to 0430Z on September 14 and October 19. Due to ``industrial action,'' Nassau International Airport (MYNN) in the Bahamas will be closed from 0600 to 1000Z through October 2. Source: Universal Weather Arabian Peninsula Warning
Dassault Falcon Jet plans to expand operations at the former Atlantic Aviation service facility in Wilmington, Del. Located at New Castle Airport (ILG), Falcon expects to add personnel as well as renovate and upgrade the existing 179,000-square-foot facility. The Delaware River&Bay Authority, which operates the airport, has said it will contribute $8.5 million to the improvement.
While flight crews of supersonic aircraft are subject to the highest radiation dose rates experienced in civil aviation they don't necessarily receive the highest doses. British Airways data for Concorde pilots in 1994 indicates a 12-month average duty time of 382 hours resulting in an effective dose of four to six mSv. Some U.K. long-haul flight crewmembers who predominantly fly polar routes may receive an annual dose of around six mSv, according to the NRPB.
The Legacy's 1,410-cubic-foot cabin has twice the volume of most midsize business jets and 60-percent more volume than most other $20 million class, super midsize aircraft.
Most people in aviation recognize the fly-by-wire (FBW) concept. Many associate it with high-performance, military aircraft even though the first civil aircraft to use FBW for primary control, the Airbus Industrie A320, was introduced in 1988. The art, engineering and science of motion control is about a decade old in corporate and regional aviation applications. Initial application was full authority digital engine controls (FADEC).
Midway Airlines' mid-August bankruptcy filing will result in the grounding of more than half of the carrier's Canadair Regional Jet fleet. Citing a ``calamitous drop'' in business travel, ``stubbornly high fuel prices'' and lower fares on many of its routes, the Morrisville, N.C.-based airline discontinued service to nine cities, slashed staff by 50 percent and ceased flying 13 of 24 CRJs and all four Fokker F100s. Corporate Airlines' code-share service at Midway's RDU hub is unaffected by the filing.
Techtest Ltd. has introduced its FAA-approved triple-frequency 406ELT with two-way voice capability. The unit pinpoints your location within two square miles and transmits on 121.5 MHz, 243 MHz and 406.025 MHz. Compatible with rescue equipment including COSPAS/ SARSAT satellite-based location apparatus, the ELT is a one-piece unit with the transmitter housed in a thermoplastic case. Activated automatically or manually the unit is designed to survive for up to 10 years. Price: Call for pricing Winslow Life Rafts (U.S. Distributor)
The Avro RJX-85 development aircraft, G-ORJX, has been fitted with four ``block 2'' engines and has accumulated approximately 130 hours in more than 60 flights. The aircraft was due to leave the United Kingdom for three months of ``hot and high'' and cold weather trials at Eglin Air Force base, Fla., at the end of August. The plan is for the aircraft to fly to engine-maker Honeywell's base at Phoenix and then on to Colorado Springs, Colo. Cold weather trials will follow in the Freezing Chamber at Eglin.
A potential problem for high-altitude supersonic aircraft is the possibility of magnetic disturbance near the surface of the sun called solar particle events (SPEs). SPEs can produce significant doses of ionizing radiation at high altitudes. SPEs are of short duration -- typically a few hours -- and highly variable in nature. Real-time monitoring of exposure to ionizing radiation including solar flares is standard equipment on high-altitude supersonic aircraft.
Manhattan dwellers got a good look at Embraer's ERJ-190 regional jet mockup on July 23 and 24, when it visited Rockefeller Plaza as part of an eight-week, 12-city tour.
