Canadian manufacturer Bombardier is getting ready to begin final assembly of the first Global 5000, a shorter version of the very-long-range Global Express that it has been building for several years. The forward fuselage for the first Global 5000 arrived in Bombardier's Toronto facility late last month following shipment from the company's Belfast, Northern Ireland factory. First flight is expected in the first quarter of 2003, with type certification from Canadian, U.S. and European authorities in the first quarter of 2004.
Avquotes.com added Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services, Texas Aviation Services and the HAS Corporation to its subscription list for its maintenance quote service. Launched in January 2000, Avquotes.com provides aircraft operators the ability to solicit aircraft maintenance and refurbishment quotes from a number of companies through a single point of contact.
While most other manufacturers were scaling back production, Cirrus Design Corp. nearly doubled its output, delivering more aircraft so far this year than any other general aviation manufacturer except Cessna. The Duluth, Minn. maker of the single-engine SR20 and SR22 shipped 168 airplanes in the first half of the year. New Piper delivered 157 and Raytheon Aircraft 113. See article as well as BA's unit shipment chart below.
Pratt & Whitney Canada signed a fleet management program with Air Midwest, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, Inc. The deal includes a six-year term cost plan (TCP) covering certain engine maintenance services, in addition to the purchase of select assets of Mesa's Desert Turbine Services maintenance facility in Farmington, N.M. The agreement, valued at $70 million over six years, covers Mesa's 116 installed and spare PT6A-67D engines for its fleet of Beech 1900 airliners.
FlightSafety International's new Hawker 800XP simulator in Wichita, Kan. won FAA Level D certification. The Wichita installation is the third Hawker 800XP simulator built by the company, and FSI said several features of the new unit "qualify it as one of the most advanced in the world." The new simulator incorporates a Wintel or Pentium chip-based host computer, modular construction and a new-generation VITAL-9 visual system that surrounds the cockpit "with day and night scenes of unprecedented texture and clarity" through use of high-resolution technology.
Pratt&Whitney Canada is pursuing an agreement with Russian officials for use of the engine manufacturer's new 10,000-pound-plus thrust powerplant to launch the new PW800 program on a new line of regional jets.
In a parting speech Wednesday before the Aero Club of Washington, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey stressed the collaborative effort between government and industry during her tenure at the helm of FAA. Garvey's last day as administrator is Aug. 4. Below are excerpts from that speech, which she said was her "state of aviation" address.
EMBRAER Model EMB-134 and -145 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-129-AD; Amendment 39-12823; AD 2002-14-23) - requires a one-time inspection of the clutch assembly of the horizontal stabilizer actuator (HSA) to verify that at least one locking tab on the key washer is bent into the locking groove of the clutch nut, and follow-on actions. This action is necessary to prevent a loose or disengaged clutch nut on the HSA clutch assembly, which could result in loss of pitch trim and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane.
Federal Aviation Administration selected five sites for its latest round of awards in the Military Airport Program, which provides funds to facilities that have converted or plan to covert from military to civilian or joint airport use. The airports are: Guam International; San Bernardino International, Calif.; Sawyer Airport, Marquette, Mich.; Mid-America Airport, Belleville, Ill.; and Plattsburgh International, Plattsburgh, N.Y. All but Plattsburgh are already in the program and are being re-designated to continue. A dozen other airports also are in the MAP.
TURBOMECA Arriel Models 1A, 1A1, 1B, 1D, and 1D1 turboshaft engines (Docket No. 2001-NE-35-AD; Amendment 39-12826; AD 2002-14-26) - requires installation of containment shield rings around the free turbine blade area, and installation of a double support around the gearbox free turbine bearing housing. This amendment is prompted by two reports of the cantilevered axis of the free turbine moving from its design position and inducing blade trajectories outside the current design free turbine containment area.
Gulfstream Aerospace is offering the Honeywell/Thales HS-600 high-speed data system on its Gulfstream IV, IV-SP, V and V-SP models. The system, which can be retrofitted on aircraft through Gulfstream service centers, increases that data rate more than 25 times from 2.4 kilobits per second to up to 64. The HS-600 entered production in June and is the first airborne data system to use Inmarsat Corporation's Swift64 high-speed data service.
Business aviation advocates in Washington, aggravated by the continuing failure of government officials to warn them before implementing Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), fear that the industry will have to cope with "hundreds" more TFRs down the road. Not only do TFRs make it difficult or impossible to fly to certain locations, the lack of notice prior to implementation results in aircraft being "trapped" in a TFR and unable to fly anywhere.
Gulfstream's first production GV-SP took to the skies for the first time July 18, completing a five-hour and one-minute flight from Savannah International Airport. The flight of Serial Number 5001 came 16 days after the 100th flight of the GV-SP test article. The GV-SP, Gulfstream's follow-on to its long-range G-V, can fly eight passengers and four crew 6,750 nautical miles, reaching speeds up to Mach .88 and altitudes of up to 51,000 feet. It incorporates Gulfsteam's new PlaneView cockpit, which includes an Enhanced Vision System.
Dassault Falcon Jet officials "are still interested" in developing a supersonic business jet, but President Jean Rosanvallon believes it will be at least five years before the company can give the go-ahead for the program. A number of issues must still be resolved, including engine selection, how to mitigate the impact of sonic booms over land and determining a feasible size for the cabin. "If and when we go - and I hope we go," Rosanvallon told BA, Dassault also will want to team with U.S. partners to spread the risk of a supersonic program and ensure success.
DIAMOND Models H-36 "Dimona," HK 36 R "Super Dimona," HK 36 TC, HK 36 TS, HK 36 TTC, HK 36 TTC-ECO, HK 36 TTC-ECO (Restricted Category), and HK 36 TTS Sailplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-11-AD; Amendment 39-12829; AD 2002-15-01) - requires inspection of the long aileron push rods in both wings for damag
Avquotes.com added Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services, Texas Aviation Services and the HAS Corporation to its subscription list for its maintenance quote service. Launched in January 2000, Avquotes.com provides aircraft operators the ability to solicit aircraft maintenance and refurbishment quotes from a number of companies through a single point of contact.
CESSNA Model 650 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-388-AD; Amendment 39-12824; AD 2002-14-24) - requires a one-time inspection of the side brace mechanism assemblies of the left and right main landing gears (MLG) to detect any incorrect part number, and corrective actions if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent inadvertent disengagement of the locking mechanism of the side brace mechanism assembly, which could lead to collapse of the respective MLG, and result in a gear-up landing and possible injury to passengers and crew.
Air travel security should "rely less on inconveniencing the public and more on better thought-out government practices," the American Society of Travel Agents said last week. In a policy statement on the effects of the post-9/11 security measures, ASTA said air travel security is not inadequate in a safety sense, "but it can be unnecessarily burdensome and inconvenient to travelers," said President Richard M. Copland.
Air travel security should "rely less on inconveniencing the public and more on better thought-out government practices," the American Society of Travel Agents said last week. In a policy statement on the effects of the post-9/11 security measures, ASTA said air travel security is not inadequate in
Cessna Aircraft is offering the Honeywell Bendix/King KDR 510 flight information system and Bendix/King KMH 880 multi-hazard awareness system as factory-installed options on the Caravan single-turboprop beginning in 2003. The KDR 510 flight information system provides text and graphic weather and can be integrated with KMH 880 data such as the pilot's flight plan and current weather picture.
CARGO PILOT KILLED DURING NIGHT LANDING ATTEMPT - The pilot of a Piper Aerostar cargo flight was killed July 18 while attempting a pre-dawn landing at a fog-shrouded airport. National Transportation Safety Board investigators said the pilot of a Grand Aire Express, Inc. aircraft was fatally injured when the airplane, N158GA, crashed onto the runway at the Columbus Municipal Airport (BAK) in Columbus, Ind. The flight was operating under Part 135 of the FARs and was on an instrument flight rules flight plan.
Despite production cutbacks by some of its competitors, Rosanvallon says Dassault Falcon Jet will continue to produce business jets at a rate of seven per month through 2002 and probably through 2003 as well. He noted that 2003 is an important year for the company as it begins delivery of the Falcon 900EX with the EASy cockpit avionics package and the first units of the Falcon 2000EX.
The Federal Aviation Administration is temporarily barring the issuance of private pilot certificates based on a foreign pilot's license under FAR 61.75. FAA directed Flight Standards division managers this month to immediately stop issuing the private pilot certificates. AOPA estimated that about 2,800 foreign pilots earn U.S. certificates under 61.75 each year.
Congress last week passed a supplemental spending bill that would provide an additional $3.85 billion for the Transportation Security Administration - $550 million less than the Bush Administration sought. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told separate House and Senate panels that the funding shortage threatened key security deadlines. "The administration's emergency supplemental request was the amount we needed to do the job. No more, no less," Mineta said. "Congress has given us a strict and inflexible mandate, and insufficient funds to meet it."
General aviation shipments continued to slide in the second quarter of the year with manufacturers worldwide delivering 17 percent fewer airplanes than in the second quarter of 2001, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported. General aviation companies shipped 668 new airplanes in the second quarter of 2002, compared with 806 during the same period in 2001. Billings during the quarter dropped 14.6 percent, from $3.57 billion a year ago to $3.05 billion in the most recent quarter, GAMA said.
