If the next fleet addition is a Boeing Business Jet, the first issue the lucky director of maintenance must resolve is sheltering it. With a 112-foot wingspan, nose-to-tail length exceeding 110 feet and a tail soaring 41 feet above the tarmac, the BBJ is too much of a good thing for most standard business jet hangars. ``It's like trying to jam a fat woman into a pair of size-two pants,'' said one operator. ``You might get the feet in, but the tail is going to stick out the door.''
The Aircraft Electronics Association, Independence, Mo., has hired Ric Peri as its governmental affairs director, replacing Terry Pearsall and Charles Fellows.
Nav Canada has agreed to help in the fight against air traffic congestion, signing a memorandum of understanding with the FAA to open some Canadian airspace to U.S. traffic. The MOU was struck after the FAA worked with the Canadian organization on staffing and workload issues, but FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said, ``they were very open to it.'' The MOU, she said, already is paying off: Nav Canada recently accommodated 300 aircraft within Canadian airspace that otherwise would have been stuck on the ground during bad weather.
The first Avro RJX regional jet made its 2:54 maiden flight on April 28 from the BAE Systems airfield at Woodford, Cheshire, United Kingdom. This first (new build) aircraft is an RJX-85; the mid-size member of the 70 to 100seat RJX family. The RJX will be the first aircraft in service powered by Honeywell AS977 engines.
Safety guru and statistician Bob Breiling, president of Robert E. Breiling Associates, offered the following list of questions to ask when selecting a charter operator: How long have they been in business? Who insures them, if not Lloyds or a major U.S. insurance carrier? How much liability insurance do they carry? (Breiling recommends more than $5 million.)
ExecutiveJet Management, Woodbridge, N.J., has named Albert Pod as its president and CEO. Prior to this position, Pod served as executive vice president.
A major high-altitude manifestation of turbulence comes in the form of clear air turbulence (CAT). The difficulty in dealing with CAT is that we often don't know it's there. Without visual signposts or solid precipitation, we don't see it through the windscreen or on our weather radars. Instead, we rely on forecasts, pilot reports and a few rules of thumb.
TAG Aviation, San Francisco, has appointed Capt. Larry Edeal as its director of flight standards. Edeal has served as the company's lead captain for a TAG client for over two years, and holds an ATP rating for airplane, rotorcraft and is type-rated in several corporate aircraft. During his army aviation career in Vietnam Edeal was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Distinguished Flying Cross while operating a Huey Cobra gunship.
Market demand for business jet and propjet aircraft in the first quarter was better than a year earlier in spite of a wobbly stock market and increased jobless claims in the United States.
Microvision's Nomad maintenance data display introduces the idea of augmented vision, using a proprietary technology called retinal scanning display (RSD). The RSD approach scans a beam of light directly onto the back of the user's retina in a raster pattern, thereby painting an image that is seen as a virtual image superimposed on his or her normal field of vision. Similar to a head-up display, the RSD system puts the information directly in front of the user's eye.
The NTSB says a series of pilot and controller errors may have led to an October 2000 midair involving a Raytheon King Air C90 and a Gulfstream III on final approach to Van Nuys Airport in California. The coincidental errors caused air traffic controllers to lose basic aircraft and altitude radar information on the King Air, which led to the smaller aircraft being struck by the Gulfstream's bottom left flap. While the collision caused substantial damage to the King Air, both aircraft landed safely without any injuries to those on board.
A surprising family rift was the topic of much discussion at this year's Regional Airline Association (RAA) convention, held April 29-May 3 in Tampa, Fla. More than 250 airline representatives attended the three-day event, but conspicuously absent was Mesa Airlines CEO Jonathan Ornstein. He canceled Mesa's RAA membership in April, alleging that the group's lobbying efforts were tilted toward the largest regionals and their major airline partners.
Several recent high-profile accidents involving business turbine aircraft have cast a shadow on the safety of modern business/executive transport operations. This month we shine some light on the subject with an overview of the safety results for 2000 and the first quarter of this year. The news is good -- much better than the talking heads of the 24-hour cable news outlets would suggest.
FAR Part 25 governs the certification of transport category aircraft. Within this regulation is specific guidance as to the design of thrust reverser systems.
Despite suggestions that a continued strike could lead to Comair folding, pilots in mid-May overwhelmingly defeated a proposed contract settlement. The National Mediation Board crafted the agreement, which was sent to the membership with Comair's approval but without the endorsement of ALPA leadership. The contract was defeated by a margin of 1,042 to 99. A war of words between the airline and its pilots continues, with Comair posting the entire 160-page contract proposal on its Web site along with an ``explanatory'' Facts of Feeder Airline Pay page.
Here are some guidelines from the VanAllen Group's Pete Agur to ensure that your charter providers meet your expectations. Select the crews to be people that you qualify. Within any operation there will be variety of people available. Choose the best, based on experience, qualifications, etc. If the charter provider wants to substitute crew members, you need to approve the substitution.
Q My FMS is certified to fly RNAV (GPS) approaches. Some holding patterns are in the FMS database and some aren't. What's the story? -- Citation X captain A Holding patterns associated with Instrument Approach Procedures are stored in the FMS database. These are either course-reversal holds or missed approach holding patterns. Other published holding patterns, such as those depicted on STARs and en route charts are not found in the database. Database Holds
Explosion Suppression Foam has been successfully used in military aircraft and is now being offered by Crest Industries for corporate aircraft. The SafeCrest reticulated polyure-thane foam is designed to suppress explosions and surges, and mitigates noise. The foam insert exhibits anti-static characteristics down to -25F, which prevents catastrophic explosions due to ignited vapor, electrical arcing and lightning strikes. SafeCrest contains no moving parts, making it maintenance free.
Despite a strong business jet performance, U.S. general aviation manufacturers reported the first decline in first quarter aircraft deliveries since 1993. According to GAMA, manufacturers delivered 568 general aviation aircraft in the first quarter, down from first quarter 2000 deliveries of 613. Piston-aircraft deliveries dropped 13.3 percent over the same period in 2000 and turboprop deliveries dipped 2.6 percent. Meanwhile, business jet deliveries jumped 7.4 percent, from 136 to 146 aircraft.
Close to the ground, we again get a rough ride when we tangle with mechanical turbulence, the effects of nearby thunderstorms and other convective elements. Low-Level Wind-Shear Alerting Systems (LLWAS) using Doppler sensing technology are currently installed at many major airports, and the data are readily available in the form or ASOS/AWOS, ATIS and direct ATC communications.
Defense giant General Dynamics is returning to business aviation with a vengeance, adding Galaxy Aerospace to its burgeoning aeronautical family of companies. The addition of the Galaxy and Astra SPX jets to its product line places Gulfstream on a more equal footing with Canadian rival Bombardier, which offers an extensive family of business jets. France's Dassault now is the only business jet manufacturer without a small jet to offer customers.
Hamilton Standard and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) have approved a new contract that over its three-year life will increase the average hourly employee wage by 10 percent to $23. The new agreement affects approximately 1,300 hourly employees at the company's facility in Windsor Locks, Conn.
The mercury's rising, summer's promise is becoming a reality and you're looking forward to some relaxed flying in the lazy, hazy months. In anticipation of summer, flight crews brush up on an assortment of operating concerns, but often ignored is how the human body performs in our thermal environment. High ambient temperatures and other performance factors affect it in much the same manner as an aircraft.
Seventy-six percent of all business aircraft are equipped with telephones. Source: NBAA Brazil is home to 673 turbine-powered business aircraft, South Africa has 251 and Russia has nine. Source: AvData Wichita Operating a Dassault Falcon 900 into Nice, France, involves arrival and departure fees of $250 to $400, depending upon weather and ATC services required, and a parking fee of $110 per day. Fuel costs $2.20 per gallon. Source: Universal Weather&Aviation
