NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen appealed to senior Internal Revenue Service officials to revise proposed requirements for limits on aircraft deductions when senior executives use company aircraft for entertainment purposes. Bolen testified in late October during a public hearing the IRS held to discuss a proposal the agency released in June that would rewrite the tax code to incorporate measures limiting certain business aircraft deductions that Congress adopted in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.
Readers have frequently asked us if we had one, overall favorite airplane. That's a tough call, but the Pilatus PC-12 ranks near the top of the list. This versatile single-engine turboprop has a slightly larger cabin than a Beech King Air B200, cruise speeds of a King Air C90GT, cabin sound levels that rival those of some turbofan aircraft and impressive short-field performance.
A mixture of new and proven technology is being exploited in business jet refurbs and completions. Starting from a bare cabin and proceeding with a generic interior installation, here's a sampling of what's de rigueur today and, in some cases, what to look out for in terms of potential problems. Shells and Soundproofing Packages
*Cessna Citation 525 airplanes -- Disable the cockpit-mounted pilot relief tube and inspect the lower wing skin structure, forward wing spar, lower fuselage skin, fairings and the external fairing frames for corrosion. Repair any damage found, and apply a corrosion inhibitive sealant to the fuselage fairings before reinstalling.
FlightSafety International, La Guardia Airport, N.Y., has promoted Pete Nily to manager of the Long Beach, Calif., Learning Center. He replaces Chip White, who has been named manager of the Columbus, Ohio, Learning Center. Charlie Harvich has been promoted to manager of the Gulfstream Maintenance Training Center in Savannah, Ga. Chuck Gallagher has been named executive director, regulatory compliance, replacing Mike Lee, who is now vice president, courseware and maintenance training business development.
The GAMA board of directors elected Cirrus Chairman and CEO Alan Klapmeier as chairman of the association's board for 2008. Jeppesen President Mark Van Tine was named the new vice chairman. GAMA also added two new members - Aero Mach Labs in Wichita and Jet Aviation in Zurich, Switzerland. Aero Mach produces various powerplant and electronic instruments, gyro-operated instruments and fuel management systems. In addition to its completions and maintenance work, Jet Aviation has an engineering division that develops FAA STCs for modifications and alterations to aircraft.
A Piper 601P (N717SB) was substantially damaged during a ditching in a lake about seven miles east of Penn Yan, N.Y., after both engines lost power during normal cruise. The accident happened at about 1327 EDT, approximately 17 minutes after the airplane departed Rochester Airport in Rochester, N.Y. According to the FAA safety inspector, the airplane was refueled in Rochester for the continuation of the cross-country flight. After departure, the pilot reported climbing to 5,000 feet, where both engines began to run rough.
I enjoy your occasional articles on the fractional industry. The fall Flexjet newsletter highlights an owner who established an LLC with a couple of his friends to purchase a fractional share. If, as seems likely, the aviation activities of the LLC are not incidental to some non-aviation operating business, the LLC is a commercial operator and in violation of the FARs - and in violation of Flexjet's standard contractual terms.
Embraer created a new Environmental Strategies and Technologies Office, which is designed to integrate and expand the company's environmental initiatives. Satoshi Yokota, Embraer executive vice president, strategic planning and technology, will head the new office and Graciliano Campos has been named director, environmental strategies and technologies, reporting to Yokota. The office will develop strategies for reducing the environmental impact of its production processes and manufactured products.
Embraer, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, has announced that Satoshi Yokota will be the executive vice president, strategic planning and technology development for the newly created Environmental Strategies and Technologies Office and that Graciliano Campos has been named its director.
TWO AIRPORT STORIES. A while ago I was arriving in the D.C. area VFR with traffic building fast. The frequency was alive with lots of voices. Keying Approach, I said I wanted to be cleared into the airspace, but if they couldn't handle me, I could hold, file or simply land elsewhere. "Commander 74 Mike," the controller responded, "This is DCA. The busier we are, the better we like it. You're going to be number two for a visual to Runway 22. Call the traffic."
THERE'S A SERIOUS PROBLEM within the FAA's Air Traffic Organization that isn't getting much public attention even though the situation is growing more serious with each passing day. The problem, believe it or not, can be traced back to the illegal walkout -- and subsequent firing by President Ronald Reagan -- of the more than 11,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization in 1981. The men and women hired to replace those fired PATCO members are now becoming eligible for retirement.
The expression "cone of silence" took on new meaning when British manufacturer Ultra Electronics developed its electronic noise-canceling system for the noisy cabins of turboprop regional airliners. Now Elliott Aviation in Moline, Ill., has improved on the original product to create its Sound Management System (SMS) for the Beech King Air 200, 300 and 350 executive turboprops.
George Larson's "Satcom Services Race" (September, page 104) is an outstanding piece - very insightful and very pure, which is very difficult to do in a space that is so technical by nature. It certainly covers all the bits and bytes, as well as the hot topics, and it also teaches people how to think about things. Even just spending time talking about the individual network offerings is helpful, because people can think . . . Inmarsat gives me XYZ, Iridium gives me ABC, AirCell's Broadband will give me PDQ, etc.
Joe Clark is an aviation businessman to the core. He found his calling at 20 when he took his first ride in a Learjet; by the time he stepped out, he knew he wanted in, for keeps. And so in 1965 he launched Jet Air, the first Lear Jet distributorship in the Northwest, with a sales territory covering Washington, Oregon, Alaska and all of Canada. His next career move was to Raisbeck Engineering as vice president of sales. In 1981, he cofounded Horizon Air, a highly successful Seattle-based regional that was ultimately sold to Alaska Airlines.
THE WINTER OF 1944 was typical for New England: cold, snowy, icy . . . miserable. This, however, was to be our last week at our Navy training base at Groton, Conn., after which our unit was heading for the tropical heat of Saipan where we would rendezvous with the recently repaired U.S.S. Lexington, our new home.
NetJets, Woodbridge, N.J., promoted David M. Powell to vice president of government relations and corporate responsibility. Powell will work on state and local issues impacting the company's business in Ohio and other local communities in the United States. In addition, he will oversee NetJets' environmental affairs program in the United States and coordinate the company's philanthropic activities in Greater Columbus.
*Dassault Falcon 50, 900, 900EX, 2000 and 2000EX airplanes - Verify the correct assembly of the flap rotating rods and associated retaining brackets installed in the left-hand and right-hand wing root compartment and in the left-hand and right-hand main landing gear compartment. Also, inspect the rods for damage. If damage is found, replace any damaged rods prior to further flight. In addition, check to ensure that the rod orientation and bracket positioning is correct, and take corrective actions, if necessary, before the next flight.
Infinity Aviation Group, Nashua, N.H., has acquired the assets of Keyson Airways and Keyson Enterprises, a full-service FBO located at the Nashua Airport.
Forecast International of Newtown, Conn., a provider of market data, recently released a study analyzing the projected delivery of 14,200 rotorcraft in the years 2007 through 2016. Of those, 7,311 aircraft will be turboshaft powered; of those, twin engines are expected to make up a slim majority of 3,708 compared to 3,603 single-engine rotorcraft.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department says GE Security's shoe scanner does not meet minimum detection standards for widespread use at U.S. airports and has halted use of a prototype scanner at Orlando International Airport. "While significant improvements were made," the TSA says, following tests this summer, "the shoe scanner still does not meet standards to ensure detection of explosives." The news was a blow to GE partner Clear, which hoped the scanner would be a market differentiater among companies offering Registered Traveler services and at FBOs.
Intelligence | 15 * NTSB Wants Operators to Calculate 15% Runway Distance Margin * AMI Jet's Certificate Pulled * ADS-B Mandatory by 2020 * 'Green' Debate Could Flare Up Quickly in U.S., Experts Warn Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 9 | Viewpoint By William Garvey Emitting Credibility 88 |Washington By David Collogan The Airlines' Big Lie 90 |Point of Law By Kent S. Jackson Voluntary Disclosure Programs
CAN was presented with a $28,000 check during a ceremony held at Chevron Global Aviation's exhibit during the NBAA's 60th Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlanta. Tom Henricks, president of McGraw-Hill's AVIATION WEEK, presented the check for the net proceeds of the Corporate Angel Award program to Peter Fleiss, CAN's executive director.
