Bombardier Flexjet and Bombardier Skyjet have begun a strategic marketing agreement in which Ultimate Resort has been named the official destination club of Bombardier and Bombardier has been named the official private jet partner of Ultimate Resort. Resort members will receive special incentives for purchasing charter flight and jet cards through Skyjet, Flexjet 25 Jet Card and Flexjet fractional interest. Bombardier's owners and customers will be offered preferred discounts on Ultimate Resort club memberships and other membership benefits.
Much has been written of late, including in these pages, about the forthcoming Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen, in current FAA parlance) and its enabling technologies, notably ADS-B (see "ADS-B's Impact on Business Aviation," November 2007, page 68 and "ADS-B in the Gulf," February 2008, page 56). NextGen is intended to accommodate the increased air traffic anticipated over the next 20 years into the existing system of airports and airspace without any decrease in safety.
A Cirrus SR22, N729SR, was destroyed when it impacted water following a loss of control near Hemphill, Texas. The airplane was registered to and operated by McAir LLC, of West Memphis, Ark. The 427-nm cross-country flight originated from Tupelo Regional Airport (TIP), Tupelo, Miss., and was destined for David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH) in Houston. Preliminary information indicates that while the airplane was in cruise flight near Monroe, La., ATC attempted to contact the pilot with a frequency change. However, the pilot did not respond.
Alex Wilcox, a founding member of JetBlue, has taken an air-taxi concept once known as Magnum Jet and revised its business plan to create a new venture now called JetSuite. This company plans to start its first revenue charter service in the Western United States with an Embraer Phenom 100 in June 2009, and expects to be operating a fleet of 100 Phenom 100s and 300s within four years of its launch. Embraer, which expects to certify its Phenom 100 in mid-2008, is to begin delivering JetSuite's aircraft in April 2009.
At 1010 PDT, a Cessna Citation Mustang, N54PV, sustained substantial damage following the pilot's intentional ground loop maneuver during the landing roll on Runway 24 at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif. The pilot (also president of California Natural Products, the operating company) reported to the investigators that on the morning of the accident he flew the airplane from Stockton, Calif., to Lincoln, Calif., to pick up passengers. He subsequently departed and was cleared to 35,000 feet as requested on his IFR flight plan.
The U.S. Senate took up FAA reauthorization legislation for the second time in two weeks, May 5 -- to no avail -- with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for delaying the bill, which has been pending for more than seven months. Meanwhile, the White House has threatened a veto of the FAA authorization legislation if it includes non-aviation funding proposals for highways, railroads and the oil-spill liability trust fund. The administration also objects to provisions that would limit the DOT's attempts to manage congestion, or would eliminate the user-fee concept.
*Agusta A109A, A109A II and A109C helicopters - Remove, clean and inspect the four grooved clamps that attach the engine exhaust ducts. If any cracks or corrosion are found, replace the unairworthy grooved clamp with an airworthy one before further flight. *Bombardier Challenger CL-600, -601, -601-3A, -601-3R, -604 and -605 airplanes - Revise the airplane flight manual to modify the cold-weather operations limitations and include additional limitations and procedures.
Gulfstream Aerospace officials have been more than a little, and happily, surprised at the strong demand for its new G650 since the company in March announced plans to build the largest non-airliner business jet in the market, an aircraft with an array of sophisticated electronic systems for use by pilots and passengers. Analysts said the company has received letters of intent representing more than 500 aircraft. Units slated for delivery in 2012 carry a price of $58.5 million. That price will rise to $59.5 million for deliveries the following year.
This durable, four-color flashlight from Sporty's featuring the AOPA wings logo is a great new addition for any flight bag. It's aluminum casting houses four independent switches to quickly select a white, blue, red or green beam. It has three high-intensity white LEDs ideal for a preflight. the flashlight measures three inches and comes with a sheath and a lanyard. It uses three AAA batteries. Price: $59.95 Sporty's www.sportys.com
Business aircraft and engine manufacturers have instituted green policies in their factories because it's good for the environment, and for the bottom line. "We have always been doing things in an environmentally friendly way," Cessna Aircraft Vice President for Communications Robert Stangarone said. "We recycle tons of industrial material -- aluminum, wood and so forth. And we've also done it because it's a cost issue -- it saves money. A lot of the things friendly to the environment are cost-friendly, as well."
Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, announced the addition of Henry Davis as vice president, aircraft manufacturing and assembly. Dean Jones is the new vice president, quality compliance and performance excellence and Ken Rohling is director of Wichita flight completions and paint operations.
Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service was the first airborne health care system and has become the best known in the world after being established shortly after World War I to serve the country's huge Outback areas. It currently operates a mixed fleet of 47 aircraft made up of King Airs and Pilatus PC-12s from 21 bases scattered throughout the country. In 2007, the RFDS served more than 35,000 patients with emergency air transportation.
W ith a recent announcement of contract awards to IBM and OATSystems, Airbus made it clear that it will begin incorporating radio frequency identification (RFID) technology into its industrial process. The European OEM described the contract as"the manufacturing industry's single largest RFID software transaction to date."
Pratt & Whitney's shorthand for its Geared Turbofan engine is GTF, but if the fuel consumption and emissions numbers reportedly being recorded on the test stand translate to daily flight operations, the abbreviation could just as well stand for "Green Turbofan."
CFM (Corporate Flight Management), Smyrna, Tenn., announced that former naval aviator and senior airline captain Bill Minkoff has joined the CFM team as vice president of marketing.
According to a recent inspector general report, between November 2005 and July 2007 management at the DFW TRACON routinely classified 62 loss-of-separation incidents as pilot deviations or non-events, when in fact they should have been classified as 52 operational errors and 10 operational deviations. FAA Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski said he was "deeply disturbed" by the report. The agency has removed a facility manager and assistant manager from DFW, and said more personnel actions may be taken.
CAE has signed agreements to identify, recruit and train more than 600 candidate pilots for Jazeera Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Wizz Air over a four-year period. The contracts were awarded over the last few months during CAE's 2008 fiscal year. Jeff Roberts, CAE group president, civil training & services and innovation, said, "Over the past 12 months, CAE has already recruited and trained more than 700 pilots through its pilot supply programs.
Gulfstream Aerospace won an STC for the installation of a muffler on the Gulfstream G200 auxiliary power unit. The muffler is designed to reduce noise from the surge-control valve by 10-12 decibels, which cuts the noise by more than half the current level, the company said.
Gradient Lens Corp. (GLC) is offering manufacturers an easy way to capture, share and store borescope inspection images. The Luxxor Video System connects to any rigid or flexible Hawkeye Precision Borescope, as well as to most other borescope brands. According to GLC, some of the benefits include: easy documentation of inspections and storage of video or still images on a computer hard drive; ability to share and display inspection images for group reviews.
THE FIRST NIGHT OF a three-day layover in Hong Kong, I headed downstairs for a glass of wine and a quiet dinner. As I perused the menu, one in a lively group of Brits -- a Virgin A340 crew, it turned out -- said I shouldn't drink alone and invited me into their fold. I readily accepted, and was immediately swallowed up by them.
The PW305 was the first of a new series of small, fuel-efficient turbofan engines introduced by Pratt & Whitney Canada in the early 1990s having higher bypass ratios than earlier engines in the 4,500- to 7,000-pound-thrust class. These engines also were among the first general aviation turbine powerplants to be fitted with FADECs, computer controls that slash pilot workload, set thrust precisely for ambient conditions and provide full envelope protection to help prevent damage from malfunctions.
Aerion Corp. reported in April that it has received more than 30 $150,000 deposits for delivery positions on its supersonic business jets and hopes to announce a manufacturing partner by year-end. Backed by Robert Bass, the Texas financier, the $80 million aircraft is being sold by Execujet of Zurich, Switzerland, and the Aero Toy Store of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as by Aerion itself. At this point, customer deposits are refundable.
A Cessna Citation 560XL, N590AK, was substantially damaged when it veered off the runway at Port Heiden, Alaska. The captain reported to the NTSB that his approach to Runway 23 required a correction for a right crosswind, and that the initial touchdown on the 5,000-by- 100-foot-wide gravel runway was uneventful. He said he continued to apply a small amount of left rudder to correct for the crosswind as the nosewheel touched down. As soon as it did, the airplane veered sharply to the left and went off the left side of the runway.
*The federal government is considering a recommendation by Bill Lear that all aircraft use fluorescent paint and quarter-million-candle-power condenser-discharge lights to be developed by Lear and General Electric. *First positive-control, all-weather airways have been set up by the CAB, with prompt CAA and military agreement. Airways are 40 miles wide between New York and Los Angeles and went into effect June 15. One goes via Chicago; the other via St. Louis with spurs to San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
