The manufacturers of the next generation of light, personal jets have varying opinions about what this class of aircraft should be called, but they agree that "microjets" just doesn't cut it. The microjets moniker connotes small and is not in the manufacturer's best interest, said Rick Adam, chairman and CEO of Adam Aircraft, who said "personal jet" is a better term.
NEVADA DELEGATION FINDS NUMEROUS FAULTS IN AIR TOUR RULE - Nevada's five-member congressional delegation dissected FAA's proposed air tour rule Friday, part of a series of presentations at a second public hearing on the controversial notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) Friday in Las Vegas.
CMC Electronics was selected to provide its CMA-900 global positioning system-based flight management system for the Brazilian Air Force fleet of C-130, B707, P-95 and Learjet 35 aircraft. CMC Electronics will begin delivering the units immediately for 20 aircraft. The system provides control and display functions for up to three LTN-92 inertial navigation systems.
MATTHEW GOODMAN was named vice president for Stonebridge International, a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C. Goodman is an expert on financial matters relating to Japan and China. He formerly was director for Asian Economic Affairs for the White House's National Security Council, and before that, headed Goldman Sachs' government affairs operations in Tokyo and London.
National Business Aviation Association, which joined forces with the Transportation Department 15 years ago in a case that overturned a Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) peak-hour pricing scheme for Boston Logan Airport (BA, Aug. 21, 1989/57), is meeting this week with several industry groups to discuss Massport's latest peak-hour pricing schedule released this month.
Airbus won approval for 180-minute extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) with its A319, A320 and A321 single-aisle aircraft, including corporate jet versions, from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The European manufacturer also is seeking ETOPS approval for the A318.
Massachusetts Port Authority on May 5 released its peak-pricing plan, a $150 landing fee that would be imposed on all aircraft operations once the airport exceeds its good-weather capacity of about 120 operations per hour. The plan includes exemptions for essential air service flights.
All Nippon Airways placed a firm order for four additional Bombardier Q400 turboprop airliners. The order for the 74-seat aircraft is the fourth by ANA and upon delivery will increase its Q400 fleet to 12 aircraft.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University promoted three administrators to new vice president positions in its External Relations unit. John Metzner was named vice president of external relations, leading the group. He joined ERAU in 2003 as executive director of business development after holding aviation engineering and management positions in Germany and the Middle East. Darryl Niemeyer was named vice president of corporate relations.
HONEYWELL WINS FAA APPROVAL FOR TFE731-20BR ENGINE - Honeywell earned Federal Aviation Administration Part 33 certification for the newest member of its venerable TFE731 family, the TFE731-20BR, and is expecting European Aviation Safety Agency approval to follow in the next few weeks, the company said. Selected to power Bombardier's Learjet 45 XR super-light business jet, the engine will provide 3,650 pounds of thrust at takeoff.
TSA EASES LIMIT FOR BLANKET INTERNATIONAL WAIVERS - The Transportation Security Administration is eliminating a key operational restriction for its International Fleet Waiver, a move the National Business Aviation Association said will open up the blanket waiver to many more operators and dramatically reduce the administrative burden on them.
BOMBARDIER Model Otter DHC-3 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-73-AD; Amendment 39-13585; AD 2004-05-01 R1) - revises AD 2004-05-01, which applies to certain Otter DHC-3 airplanes that have turbine engines installed per one of three supplemental type certificates (STCs). AD 2004-05-01 currently prohibits operation of any affected airplane with these engine and propeller configurations unless a new STC for an elevator servo-tab with a redundant control linkage is installed.
JETSTAR CREW EXECUTES HIGH-SPEED LANDING AFTER LOSING FLAP - The crew of a Lockheed 1329-23E JetStar business jet made a successful landing at Hobby Airport (HOU) in Houston, Texas after losing the entire left flap assembly on final approach. The aircraft, N57NR, was operated by Aircraft Trading Center, Inc. of Tequesta, Fla. and was being flown from Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP) to demonstrate the turbojet to potential buyers who were interested in buying it. There were two crewmembers and two passengers on board.
CAE SimuFlite is developing a Citation X technical training program that it says will be available at its Dallas/Fort Worth training center and other training facilities this fall. The initial training program will last for 10 days while the recurrent program spans five days. CAE SimuFlite offers maintenance-training programs on more than 25 aircraft types.
Connexion By Boeing and Lufthansa German Airlines are offering real-time, WiFi-based, high-speed Internet connectivity on a commercial route. The services was developed through a partnership between Connexion by Boeing and Lufthansa's FlyNet portal onboard the carrier's A340-300 aircraft. FlyNet portal provides travelers updates on travel information, shopping and frequent flyer details and the Connexion by Boeing fee-based service provides travelers Web and e-mail access through a secure connection.
Gary Hart, the former president of Raytheon's Travel Air fractional program, joined fractional market-share leader NetJets last week as vice president-flight operations. Hart, who was with Martin Aviation before heading the Travel Air program, most recently had been vice president-flight at air cargo carrier Ameriflight, which is headquartered in Burbank, Calif. The Travel Air and Flight Options fractional programs were combined about two and one-half years ago (BA, Jan. 1, 2002/5).
Aircraft Technical Publishers is launching a new regulatory information service platform, Navigator V, that the company says will provide easier access to regulatory data through a streamlined user interface, simplified workflow and more robust functionality. "Aviation maintenance organizations are quickly realizing that traditional systems simply are not enough to satisfy the growing need for productivity solutions on the maintenance floor," said Caroline Daniels, CEO of Aircraft Technical Publishers.
Executive Jet Management (EJM) added three aircraft to its charter fleet - a Falcon 50 based at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, a Citation X at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. and a Hawker 800XP based at Midway Airport in Chicago, Ill. EJM manages more than 100 aircraft in 50 locations throughout the country.
West Star Aviation, Grand Junction, Colo., signed a contract with Kohlman Systems Research in Lawrence, Kan. for engineering services to obtain a group reduced vertical separation minimum supplemental type certificate approval for Cessna Conquest II aircraft. West Star engineers are pursuing the STC for RVSM equipment installation and static system modification for the Conquest II. The company expects to complete the RVSM STC work by fourth quarter of 2004.
GULFSTREAM BEGINS G500 CUSTOMER DELIVERIES - Gulfstream Aerospace last week delivered the first customer-bound, long-range G500 to venture capitalist Danny Pettit, the company announced last week. Pettit, who previously owned a G100 and G200, will use his new jet for personal transportation to Europe and Australia, where he has business interests, and other locations worldwide. The delivery followed FAA certification in December.
FlightSafety International won FAA Level D approval for its Sikorsky UH-60/S-70 full flight simulator based at its Daleville, Ala. training center and an ATR 42/72-500 flight simulator based in Houston. The official factory-authorized Sikorsky training organization, FlightSafety also provides S-70 training at its West Palm Beach facility. The new simulator in Houston is the first for the -500 series of ATR aircraft in North America. FlightSafety's Houston center operates three ATR 42/72 simulators.
May 25-27 - European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE2004), Geneva, Switzerland, (202) 783-9000 June 7-11 - 13th International Flight Inspection Symposium, hosted by Nav Canada at Fairmont, The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. E-mail: [email protected], phone: (613) 563-3938, or visit www.navcanada.ca/ifis2004 June 16-17 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers TURBO EXPO 2004, Vienna, Austria, (212) 591-8157, e-mail [email protected], www.asme.org/pi/pr/2004/033104a.html,
Ventura Technologies has developed a flight-recording device for general aviation aircraft that plugs into the lighter receptacle and tracks each flight. The LighterLog flight recorder also monitors systems voltage and warns of possible generator or electrical problems. The recorder plugs into any 12- or 24-volt system and can record and store up to 500 flights for 10 years. The information can be downloaded onto a personal computer. LighterLog can record departure and destination information when attached to a compatible GPS or LORAN digital port.
