An NTSB report indicates that the 1999 fatal crash of a Model 1124A Westwind business jet was due to the disconnection of the horizontal stabilizer from the actuator, a situation that investigators suggest may have been related to maintenance performed on the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer control system two days before the accident. Excerpts from the aircraft cockpit voice recorder revealed the pilots discussing problems with the aircraft's trim system. For further information about the accident and the NTSB investigation, please turn to page 102.
Canada's business aviation trade group -- the Canadian Business Aircraft Association (CBAA) -- is continuing its push to regulate the industry it supports, apparently with fresh government backing. Transport Canada has accepted the CBAA's latest report on ``self-regulation'' in principle, and agreed to seek funding for additional work toward finalizing specific standards, processes and procedures.
Goodrich says it is on track to FAA-certify its new SmartDeck cockpit display -- one of the first ``highway in the sky'' avionics platforms -- by early 2003. SmartDeck does away with traditional symbology, replacing it with a series of computer-generated window frames through which the pilot will fly a symbolic airplane over a realistic, shaded, 3-D terrain background. B/CA recently flew a prototype SmartDeck system in Goodrich's King Air 90, accompanied by demonstration pilot Todd Scholten and SmartDeck development engineer Roger Powers.
A. L. Ueltschi President and Founder, FlightSafety International He started FlightSafety in 1951 and nurtured it to become the world's largest independent pilot and maintenance training organization. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired FSI in 1996. Ueltschi, now 84 and a man of considerable wealth, continues as FSI's hard-driving, plain-talking leader. 1 For a while, FlightSafety had the simulator training business pretty much to itself, but now a number of companies have entered. Why?
As part of its aviation access project to raise visibility and preserve access to the nation's general aviation airports, the National Air Transportation Association developed an Airport Community Relations Toolkit workbook. The workbook includes five sections to help aviation businesses maintain good airport community relations: Developing a Community Relations Program; Implementing Community Outreach Elements; Communicating Effectively and Resolving Conflicts; Pulling It All Together - Strategies for Action; and Additional Resources.
They call it the Rocket Ship. By sheer numbers, Gulfstream's G-IV is the heavyweight champion of the in-service, intercontinental-range business jet class. I went down to FlightSafety International's Gulfstream Learning Center in Savannah to learn how to fly one and try to earn a type-rating in the process.
April 25: The elevator trim control of a Continental Express Embraer ERJ-145 failed at cruise altitude during a flight from Newark International Airport to Norfolk, Va. The aircraft landed uneventfully in Norfolk.
Raytheon, Lexington, Mass., has named Thomas M. Culligan as its senior executive vice president and president of Raytheon International. Culligan's responsibilities will also include the Wichita aircraft manufacturing facility.
The Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance (AWAM) has elected Robin Lamar, an aviation maintenance technician at United Airlines, as its new president. Lamar was recently recognized as Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year at the annual Women in Aviation International conference. One of the group's founders, Lamar succeeds Marcia Buckingham who was elected AWAM vice president.
The Air Line Pilots Association said it has launched a ``grassroots campaign'' to pressure the U.S. Congress to vote in favor of maintaining the current age 60 retirement rule for commercial airline pilots. The Senate Commerce Committee has already approved its bill, S.361, which would raise the mandatory retirement age to 63. Further action by the full Senate could come soon. ALPA is seeking to block a similar bill, H.R.488, in the House of Representatives.
Becker Avionics is now offering operators its latest audio system, the DP 4100, designed to reproduce high quality digital sound in any aircraft cabin both for music and public address announcements. The DP 4100 is controlled through standard disc player icons, similar to home audio players. The music is stored in an MP3 format on standard PCMCIA flash-memory cards. The cards are inserted through a locking flap that is accessed on the front of the display.
Much of the turbulence we pilots have come to accept as a minor annoyance can be unsettling, even terrifying, to the unwary passenger. The problem is, passengers don't know how bad is bad, and if the ride feels like a car careening down a bumpy dirt road, then they may assume we're on the verge of losing control. Even when we explain to them that the turbulence is not dangerous, even when we warn them that it's coming, we find them clutching the armrest in a white-knuckled death grip.
Taking advantage of advances in display and microprocessors, ASA's new CX-2 Pathfinder electronic flight computer provides users a menu of 34 functions with access to 40 aviation calculations. The CX-2 complies with AC 60-11 and can be used for all pilot, mechanic, dispatcher and FAA exams. The easy-to-read LCD provides prompts for ease of operation. Inputs and outputs are labeled and numbers are displayed with units. The CX-2 also has a built-in stopwatch with count up/down function and an internal clock that displays local and UTC time.
Hire an experienced aviation law firm for representation Buyer conducts preliminary, informal walk-around inspection Buyer tenders to seller an Offer to Purchase letter with requirement that immediately after acceptance, seller must take the aircraft off the market Buyer wire transfers into escrow a sizable "earnest money" deposit Negotiate comprehensive sales agreement Escrow agent acknowledges receipt of sales agreement and agrees to its conditions regarding escrow agent responsibilities
Gulfstream Aerospace remains a major element in General Dynamics' continued strong financial performance, according to GD's first-quarter financial report. GD reported net earnings of $240 million on revenues of $2.7 billion for the quarter ended March 31. ``The year is off to a strong start,'' said GD Chairman Nicholas Chabraja.
Two key members of the House of Representatives wrote to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey demanding a quick answer as to why she has ignored congressional mandates to implement quiet technology provisions in rules governing air tour operators at Grand Canyon National Park. Reps.
As pilots or managers charged with the safe and efficient air transportation of our employer's executives and fellow wage slaves, we are accustomed to being in total control. Within our corporate flight department, we can set standards for safety and quality, then if we're doing our jobs as managers, ensure that everyone connected with the operation adheres to them. Thus, by creating and nurturing a culture of safety and service, we assure the confidence of our ridership and the success of their endeavors.
The major regional aircraft builders offered upbeat status reports at the RAA gathering in May, though major announcements were held for the upcoming Paris Air Show. Bombardier Regional Aircraft chief Steve Ridolfi said he expects to firm up Mesa's proposed CRJ900 launch order soon, but the China market remains ``difficult to predict,'' despite recent success there. He said teething troubles with the Dash 8Q-400 are resolved, and Bombardier will be looking toward expanding its aviation services business in Europe.
The looming maintenance technician shortage caused by alternate industries gleaming the workforce is forcing maintenance managers to reexamine A&P career paths and consider new strategies for retaining technical personnel.
Most people in business aviation know Grumman as the original manufacturer of the Gulfstream business jets. However, the Long Island-based company, which was founded in 1930, first came to prominence by producing outstanding naval aircraft, from the TBF Avengers and F6F Hellcats of World War II to the F-14 Tomcats that operate from U.S. aircraft carriers today. The durability of these and other fighter, patrol and transport aircraft built by the ``Grumman Ironworks'' is legendary -- ``a Grumman will get you home,'' was an aphorism among naval aviators.
Raytheon Aircraft and Rockwell Collins have joined forces to sweep the clutter out of the Hawker 800XP cockpit. Indeed, were it not for the Hawker's familiar ``ram's horns'' yokes and distinctive glareshield shape, some might mistake the revamped layout as one belonging in an all-new aircraft. Four, 10-by-eight-inch flat-panel displays dominate the instrument panel of the Hawker 800XP fitted with Pro Line 21 avionics, replacing the old aircraft's high-tech-antique mixture of five small CRTs and almost two dozen ``steam gauges.''
Aviation industry groups urged air charter providers to change the way they assess taxes on their services, but vowed to continue to fight a recent U.S. Internal Revenue Service determination that some officials estimated could cost operators ``hundreds of thousands of dollars.'' The IRS recently issued a technical advice memorandum (TAM) to a Minnesota-based on-demand air carrier that called for the operator to assess the $2.75 air transportation segment fee on a per-passenger basis rather than on a per-aircraft-chartered basis.
The NBAA will honor Experimental Aircraft Association founder Paul Poberezny and Myron Collier, a former chief pilot and long-time designated pilot examiner, with annual service awards at this year's Annual Meeting and Convention in New Orleans. Collier is slated to receive the John P. ``Jack'' Doswell Award, recognizing ``lifelong individual achievement on behalf of and in support of the aims, goals and objectives of business aviation.'' Collier, a 33,000-hour pilot, served as chief pilot/manager of operations at Cyclops Corp.
