Piper Aircraft Co. was acquired May 7 by Imprimis Fund, which purchased 100 percent of Piper’s stock from The American Fund, which has owned the planemaker since 2003. The terms of the sale were not disclosed, but The American Fund announced that the acquisition price represented a $31 million increase over its original purchase of Piper. Imprimis is based in Singapore, but Stephen Berger, its managing partner, is a native of Philadelphia.
ARINC Direct is offering a new Web-based package of flight support services for VLJs, plus other general aviation aircraft weighing less than 12,500 pounds at takeoff. The subscription price of only $1,500 per year, includes flight planning, complete weather information, aircraft tracking, runway analysis and weight and balance calculations. It also includes participation in ARINC’s discount fuel service. Dispatchers and crews can access the service from anywhere using any Internet device or smartphone.
The NTSB determined the probable cause of a midair collision between two EMS helicopters last year was both pilots’ failure to see and avoid the other helicopter on approach to the helipad. Contributing to the accident were the failure of one of the pilots to follow arrival and noise abatement guidelines and the failure of the other pilot to follow communications guidelines. On June 29, 2008, about 3:47 p.m. MST, two Bell 407 EMS helicopters, operated by Air Methods Corp.
June 15-21: International Paris Air Show, Le Bourget Exhibition Centre, Le Bourget, France. www.paris-air-show.com June 24: NBAA Regional Forum, Signature Flight Support, St. Paul Downtown Airport, Minn. www.nbaa.org June 25-27: 14th Annual Flight Attendants Conference, Doubletree Hotel, New Orleans. www.nbaa.org July 16: Demonstrating & Quantifying the Value of Business Aviation, McGraw-Hill Corporate Headquarters, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. (800) 240-7645. www.aviationweek.com/conferences
Executive AirShare took delivery of its first Embraer Phenom 100 in early April. The fractional aircraft ownership company based in Kansas City, Mo., is the first fleet customer to receive a Phenom jet, out of a total firm order for 44 Phenom 100s and six Phenom 300s. In May 2007, Executive AirShare placed its initial order for seven Phenom 100s, with options for seven more. The order was expanded in September of the same year to include two Phenom 300s and options for two more jets.
The ninth European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) drew to a close May 14. Event organizers cheered the show as the third-largest EBACE ever, with 10,917 registered attendees. The three-day event opened May 12 in Geneva, Switzerland with 9,300 pre-registered attendees, 411 exhibitors and 65 aircraft on static display — five more aircraft than in 2008. BCA had our Show News staff on site, where they published an issue each day and posted it to the AviationWeek.com free Web site, where they’re still available.
All large aircraft operators intending to fly in European airspace after Jan. 1, 2012, must file Monitoring, Reporting and Verification [MRV] procedures for computing the precise quantity of CO2 their aircraft emit on each flight and their plans to offset the effects of those carbon emissions by Aug. 31, 2009, according to Brian Humphries, president of the European Business Aviation Association.
Final Rules Agusta AB139 and AW139 helicopters — Remove the left-hand and right-hand side cockpit door windows and replace them with airworthy cockpit door windows. Also, install an emergency jettison strap with each cockpit door window, along with an external emergency-exit placard, on each cockpit door external side. Bell 206A, 206B, 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, 206L-4, 222, 222B, 222U, 230, 407, 427 and 430 helicopters — Before further flight, replace certain rotor blades with an airworthy blade.
I’d joined the U.S. Army as a teenager, hoping to become a pilot, and after a couple of years working as a missile technician, I got the chance, but only if I reenlisted. I chose to get a degree at Embry-Riddle instead. That was in 1962.
GAMA reported a 41.1-percent drop in general aviation shipments in the first three months of 2009 compared to the same period last year. Deliveries of general aviation airplanes totaled 462 units, with industry billings falling 18.2 percent to $4.34 billion. “This is an extremely difficult time for our industry,” said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce. “We are dealing first and foremost with the severe negative effects of a worldwide economic downturn, but also with unwarranted criticism focused on the industry.
Embraer has been awarded two Diamond Certificates of Excellence by the U.S. FAA for its recently certified company-owned executive jet service centers in Mesa, Ariz., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Diamond Certificate of Excellence is the FAA’s highest award for excellence in aviation maintenance training. Both Embraer service centers are part of a $100 million investment by the company to support executive jets
The May edition of J.P. Morgan’s Business Jet Monthly reported that inventories of used business jets fell 10 basis points in April, the first drop in 18 months. “While one data point does not make a trend, we’ll be watching closely for further signs of inventory stabilization,” declared the analysts at the financial services company. “We believe the business jet downturn still has a long way to run, but it appears we could be approaching the end of the beginning of it.”
I have an acquaintance — a light-twin business pilot — who always files IFR for any trip away from his immediate local area for two reasons: “One, I’ve got someone to talk to and help me watch for traffic; and, two, staying IFR keeps me on track for the correct airport, especially at night.” Not a bad idea, especially for a lone pilot in busy airspace.
Sikorsky Aerospace Services opened a regional parts stocking facility at Times Aerospace Korea at Gimpo Aerospace Industrial Complex. The Trumbull, Conn.-based subsidiary handles the aftermarket business of Sikorsky Global. The new facility, near Inchon and Gimpo International Airports, will receive, stock and ship parts to support a mix of civil and commercial rotorcraft, including the S-61, S-76 and S-92, as well as the VX/H-92 helicopter, flown by South Korea’s air force.
Revolution Air, a charter broker company providing private jet charter services and travel solutions, is now offering online shopping and purchasing of luxury products onboard their charter flights using SkyBuyHigh’s proprietary catalog and ordering system. The SkyBuyHigh concept operates through a closed network on the aircraft. Items available for purchase are displayed on a laptop or tablet placed on flights lasting two hours or more. According to the company, all merchandise is sold tax free with free shipping. Price: Free of charge
— On or about May 15, 2007, at an unknown time (possibly 1300 CDT), a Robinson R22 (N456PH) piloted by a non-certificated pilot, was substantially damaged when it struck a pole and impacted terrain either during takeoff or landing at a ranch in Midland, Texas. VMC was assumed to have prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot reportedly was uninjured.
Productivity is the essential quality for making a profit in the regional airline industry, and as one leading airline executive put it, “You build from profitability, not to profitability.” Productivity is derived from operating cost, block-to-block speed, runway field performance, passenger and freight capacity, and the versatility to operate profitably over widely ranging mission distances.
Brian Foley Associates, the Sparta, N.J.-based aircraft consultant, predicted in March that the inventory of used business jets would peak by midyear. “That’s not to say there will be an immediate decrease [in inventories], just that it won’t get much higher,” declared Brian Foley. “At the peak, inventory levels will meander for a few months before falling somewhat by year-end.”
The NTSB this month undertakes a new look at pilot training in stall recognition and response as part of its investigation into the Feb. 12, 2009, loss of Continental Connection Flight 3407 during approach to Buffalo-Niagara International Airport (BUF).
Thank you so much for publishing the article by Tom Gillespie (Flight Log, February, page 84), my old mentor at Piper Aircraft, who started me on a rewarding general aviation career. After Business & Commercial Aviation provided me with his contact information, I called him and sent articles from the October and November issues in which he received accolades for his flying the MS-760 Paris Jet at the 1958 NBAA Convention in Philadelphia.
To learn more about aircraft wiring, visit the ATSRAC Web site at www.caasd.org/atsrac/index.html. The group has plenty of information on aging aircraft issues and has links to both the FAA guidance and advisory material. It even contains material on Time Domain Reflectometry, which is a method for determining wire integrty by sending a measured pulse signal through a wire and measuring the return signal, much like radar operates. The signal can pinpoint problem areas in terms of distance along the wire length.
Gulfstream Aerospace has received FAA authorization to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Contract (ADS-C) capabilities built into its PlaneView avionics for oceanic and remote area position reporting. Gulfstream is the first purpose-built business jet manufacturer to receive such approval. ADS-C is part of the Future Air Navigation System (FANS) data link application, which will include Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC). In late 2008, Gulfstream completed a full FANS flight across the Atlantic Ocean using CPDLC with ADS-C.
The six-month-long process of converting a former Atlantic Coast Airlines Dornier 328 into a 12-passenger VIP twinjet is under way at the 328 Support Services hangar at Operpfaffenhofen Airport, near Munich, Germany.
The FAA plans to formally withdraw a controversial NPRM that has generated significant opposition from general aviation groups since 2006. The proposal would establish new classifications for repair stations, and require quality programs. Opponents have complained that the requirements did not take into account small repair stations that worked on light aircraft. FAA earlier in the decade had to shelve a previous attempt at addressing those issues after receiving a similar outpouring of opposition. So for the second time, the FAA is capitulating.
