If you've been flying professionally for a while your hangar-flying repertoire probably includes tales of a lightning strike or two. If your encounter was like most of the thousands that occur around the world each year, the event was scary, but benign. You, your passengers, the airplane and its systems probably escaped none the worse for wear.
Photograph: David Hurley, CEO, PrivatAir Group When Geneva-based PrivatAir acquired Flight Services Group earlier this year, it installed FSG founder Hurley as head of the entire operation. PrivatAir now manages or owns 57 aircraft, including three BBJs, a Boeing 757, a 737-300 and five FBOs. 1What are you going to do with all those Boeings? Hurley: Executive charter, board meetings and special events. We're already booking for the Athens Olympics in 2004. We see great potential in the shuttle business.
Saab Aircraft Leasing and Piedmont Hawthorne are teaming up to market corporate versions of the Saab 340A and 340B turboprops. Piedmont Hawthorne is reconfiguring one of the leasing company's aircraft as a corporate demonstrator, which it expects to be completed this fall. Like many turboprops in the regional airliner market, the Saab 340 is out of production. Saab, like other turboprop manufacturers, is scrambling to find new applications for aircraft in their portfolios such as corporate short-haul shuttles.
Eclipse Aviation has pushed back the development and certification milestones for its Eclipse 500 jet a few weeks, saying the move will allow more efficient use of the company's financial resources.
For any aircraft with a 4,000 nm-range traveling from Anchorage, Alaska, to Beijing, China, use of G212 is recommended due to its 95-percent reliability. If nonstop operations are not an option, consider using Khabarovsk as a fueling stop because it is located beneath G212 and is approximately two hours from Beijing. Note: The airport is closed from 1300 to 1500 hours local time. Source: Air Routing
Getting a handle on costs, and what drives them, is increasingly important in today's business environment, where managers face seemingly constant pressure to provide safe, efficient and cost-effective transportation. The Operations Planning Guide is a complement to the May Purchase Planning Handbook, and is intended to be used as a tool for developing and analyzing flight department activity and budgets. The operating cost data presented in the following tables are optimized for use as a benchmarking tool for analysis of your own costs.
MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) recently sold the first two Explorers earmarked for the Indonesian offshore oil support mission, and the first two Explorers to enter the U.S. law enforcement market have joined New York's Suffolk County Police. The company expects to build 65 aircraft this year, including 27 Explor-er twins, and nine additional Explorers will be completed at MDHI's Mesa, Ariz,. plant.
Sikorsky now expects certification of the S-92 in November 2002. The flight test program has amassed more than 600 hours, including 50 on aircraft No. 5, the first to incorporate all of the airframe modifications since the start of the program. If the flight testing and development proceed according to the manufacturer's current schedule, 100 aircraft will be delivered in the first five years after certification, including seven in 2002 and up to two dozen in 2003.
ATR, manufacturer of the ATR 42 and 72 turboprops, believes that the virtual collapse in demand for regional turboprops is over and that the market has now stabilized. The company still faces fierce competition for market share from Bombardier and from the glut of used turboprops forced into retirement by the seemingly insatiable demand for regional jets. The company anticipates an annual market of 60 aircraft and is hopeful that the high cost of oil may force operators to reconsider turboprops for short-haul routes.
The Philippine government has announced a level-five alert for the area around Mayon Volcano in Albay Province. This alert level reflects the eruption in progress, frequent quakes, tremors and intense geological unrest. Philippine government officials have advised residents within the permanent six-km-radius danger zone to resettle to safer areas. Source: Universal Weather
DuPont Sontara window wipes were designed exclusively for use on aircraft windshields and passenger windows. The wipes are manufactured with tiny apertures in the fabric that create absorbent channels that help pull away dirt and grit, reducing the potential for scratching sensitive surfaces. DuPont also offers the Sontara production and maintenance cloth for all manufacturing and maintenance surface cleaning, preparation and bright work applications.
Trans States Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines will continue to provide regional jet service for American Airlines at the former TWA hub in St. Louis. Under the terms of the new multi-year deals, each of the regional carriers will deploy as many as 35 Embraer ERJ-140 aircraft on American code-share flights. American is still negotiating the terms of Trans States' turboprop feeder service contract in St. Louis.
A group of armed men abducted a U.S. businessman residing in Acapulco. The precise date of the abduction is unknown. The kidnappers, driving two separate vehicles, intercepted the businessman's car while he was driving along Acapulco's Miguel Aleman waterfront and forced him into one of their vehicles. The businessman has reportedly been living in Acapulco and operating his own real estate company since 1964. Source: Air Security
King Mswati III of Swaziland declared a state of emergency in June without explaining his decision. Under the state of emergency, bails for many crimes are eliminated, newspapers cannot contest publishing bans and the King is granted power to jail anyone who voices criticism against him. Human rights groups are seeking legal measures to overturn the decree because of the sweeping powers it gives to the King. Source: Air Security
Dassault Aviation is teaming with the French aerospace research institute Onera to pursue new development projects including quiet-aircraft technology that could resurrect plans for a supersonic business jet (SSBJ). Specifically the Dassault/Onera team will look at lowering drag, which would cut fuel consumption and reduce cabin noise caused by aircraft vibration. ``Development of a supersonic corporate jet may also result,'' the company said.
A thrilling new type of recreation adventure awaits users of the SoloTrek Exo-Skeletor Flying Vehicle (XFV). This prototype vehicle is designed to enable the adventurer to take off straight up into the air, travel for up to an hour and a half, and then land anywhere. Using ordinary automotive fuel, the XFV is planned to reach speeds of up to 70 knots, and traverse distances of up to 130 nm. SoloTrek says the XFV has been designed to be safe, easy to fly and easy to maintain.
Constructed on the site of the original 1952 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) terminal, AvCenter PIT has opened its Business Aviation Center dedicated to supporting private and corporate aircraft. The $13 million center features 40,000 square feet of hangar space and 11,000 square feet of terminal space. The heated hangar can handle Boeing 757-size aircraft and has an independent maintenance facility with avionics services.The main terminal has a private VIP conference suite, pilot's lounge offering crew briefing and a game room with a pool table.
The Battle of Britain will be fought all over again at this year's NBAA Convention in New Orleans (September 18-20), as FBOs ringing the U.K. capital slug it out to attract transatlantic traffic. Congestion, limited slot availability and high landing fees at Heathrow and Gatwick airports have conspired to brighten the business aviation prospects of London's satellite fields -- with Biggin Hill the latest to shine.
The next all-new engine from Pratt&Whitney Canada will be the PW800, a geared turbofan aimed at 70- to 100-passenger regional airliners and large business jets. If it sounds familiar, it is. The PW800 is the next step in bringing the company's Advanced Fan Technology (AFT) Integrator engine to market, following a successful series of tests in anticipation of first flight in first quarter 2002.
The FAA has adopted nearly all of the proposals developed by the Fractional Ownership Aviation Rulemaking Committee (FOARC), the 27-member industry panel convened to develop regulatory guidelines for fractional ownership operations.
Cobham PLC is acquiring EFIS manufacturer Sierra Flight Systems for an undisclosed sum. Sierra says its synthetic vision EFIS is revolutionary, featuring a virtual reality, 3-D terrain display. Most competitive systems are ``computer displays that merely mimic traditional mechanical instruments.'' Sierra Flight Systems displays are geared for aircraft ranging from high-end single-engine general aviation aircraft through light jets.
An FAA study has revealed that the number of ``severe'' runway incursion incidents at U.S. airports is more or less constant from year to year, but minor incursion events are increasing at a rapid rate. The findings come as part of a study of runway incursion trends at U.S. tower-controlled airports between 1997 and 2000 -- the FAA's first attempt to measure the relative severity of runway incursion incidents as a step toward addressing the issue.
