Having produced a sorry excess of fractured syntax, bent nails, bounced landings and brainstorms begetting yawns over the years, I have long admired golf's greatest convention: the Mulligan. It is the linksmen's way of simultaneously accommodating failure and encouraging renewal. Do it again, do it better.
Honeywell is fine-tuning a civil helicopter-specific combined vision system based on a recent flight-test campaign that evaluated fused synthetic vision and enhanced vision technologies for the primary flight displays of higher-end models. Though the company had planned to begin offering a helicopter synthetic vision system (SVS) by 2010, complexities in presenting real and database-generated terrain, obstacles and various safety features to a helicopter pilot have slowed the process. Work continues, but no new date has been issued.
Asia's premium airline market is set for a shake-up. AirAsia's group CEO Tony Fernandes is moving ahead with his plan to establish an ultra-premium carrier, Caterham Jet, which will operate Bombardier CRJ200s in a 16-seat VIP configuration from Singapore to destinations across Southeast Asia.
Size can matter when it comes to prizes and, for one of last remaining competitions for human endeavor in flight, a significant boost in the purse has spurred a neck-and-neck race for the finish line. By the time these words are read, one of the longest-standing prizes in aviation could have been won, with two teams vying for the American Helicopter Society (AHS) International's $250,000 Sikorsky Prize for a human-powered helicopter.
Solving a problem for NASA carries a cachet that ensures there is a strong response whenever the space agency posts a challenge to any of the online communities it uses to crowd-source new ideas.
The industry is watching Boeing's 787 tests to determing the future of lithium ion battery technology in the business aviation fleet. Such batteries offer very high energy density along with low weight, but the risk of overheating and even fire must be addressed if any business aviation aircraft can be certified with the batteries. One of the Boeing's two dedicated test 787s, ZA005, made the first electrical system check flight on Feb.
Sherwin-William Aerospace Coatings is now providing an extensive program for the aviation maintenance repair operation industry. The company provides a hands-on training experience that includes everything from applying new chrome and lead hazard free surface treatments and primer systems, to spraying the latest in technology-driven high-quality topcoats. Training will include work with SKYscapes, the new Sherwin-Williams basecoat/clearcoat polyurethane exterior paint system.
International Communications Group, Inc., (ICG) has completed the testing and received the Iridium Certified Equipment (ICE) designation for its NxtLink ICS-220A Iridium Communications System. The approval acknowledges that the unit has fulfilled the requirements and functionality specified by Iridium for interfacing with its on-orbit satellite constellation. The ICS-220A is a three-transceiver device that combines dual LBTs providing two channels of global voice with a Short Burst Data (SBD) modem dedicated to data link services.
Satcom Direct is taking their products for a ride across the country during June and July. The touring, regional road shows will be used to update current Satcom Direct customers on new products and features, including updates on new mobile applications, maintenance training and troubleshooting. They will also offer free training for flight departments who use Satcom Direct products and services. The training program includes about 3 hr. of classroom-type lectures with 2 hr. of hands-on troubleshooting and live testing. All hands-on work will be in their 40-ft.
Piper Aircraft Inc. ended 2012 with increased annual revenue from new aircraft sales of $148,968,967, up more than 13% from $131,263,539 in 2011. The revenue increase was a result of a 16% rise in new Piper deliveries to 158 aircraft in 2012 from 136 the previous year. “We stabilized the manufacturing and delivery of new aircraft throughout the year as our initiative to level-load factory production continued to meet with success. At the same time, our overall aircraft deliveries rose faster than the rest of the industry,” said Piper President and CEO Simon Caldecott.
Sikorsky Global Helicopters (SGH) delivered the first of 16 completed S-92 helicopters that the Avincis Group will use to provide transportation for its customers' offshore oil and gas crews, and for search and rescue. The aircraft order announced in February 2012 is the largest single purchase of S-92 helicopters to date. SGH is the commercial aircraft business arm of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
Sierra Industries delivered its 50th Citation Stallion upgrade with the Williams FJ-44-2A turbofan retrofit. The Uvalde, Texas firm also has delivered more than 20 Eagle 400 upgrades with FJ44-3A engines on Citation II and SII models. The No. 50 Stallion upgrade went to Howard Tobin, a director of the Citation Jet Pilots Association.
Lufthansa Technik AG says it will close its Swiss operations in Basel April 30, eliminating 31 positions, and it will reorganize its German administrative structures, likely trimming 650 positions there. The Hamburg-based international MRO provider has already trimmed its production processes, for example, engine overhaul costs have been reduced by about 20%. Lufthansa Technik employs a total of 13,070 people at its German sites and 26,000 worldwide.
February's Viewpoint (“Who's Up Front?” page 9) was very good, as usual. I am 62. I have been an A&P since 1975 and pretty much worked since then for a certain business jet OEM with headquarters in Teterboro. I was always puzzled by the 65 and out rule for the guys up front. Maybe it's me, but I'm not disappointed to retire early. To steal a phrase from an old baseball player, “Them fancy jets been good to me, man.” Our industry will be in need of wrenches as well as pilots. It's anyone's guess how it will work out.
The purpose of a business aircraft, by definition, is to move company personnel solely to further the interests of the company. On occasion, however, a dependent of one of the passengers will likely be invited to accompany that passenger. Whenever this happens, the company employee is deemed to have incurred personal use of the seat aboard the aircraft that is occupied by their family member.
Pres Henne, who led the design of the Collier Trophy-winning Gulfstream GV and G550 and oversaw development of the new G650, is set to retire from the business-jet manufacturer on March 31. Henne joined Gulfstream in 1994 from McDonnell Douglas (MDC), where he began his career in 1969. At MDC, Henne was responsible for the aerodynamic design of the C-17 wing, and was later vice president and general manager of the MD-90 program. At Gulfstream, he has overseen the introduction of six products and advances such as enhanced and synthetic vision displays.
For the first time, Embraer expects to deliver more executive jets than airline aircraft. Overall Embraer looks to deliver 195-215 aircraft this year, roughly matching the 205 deliveries for 2012 reported in January. But the company expects commercial aircraft deliveries to decline from the 106 delivered in 2012 to 90-95 aircraft, down 10-15%. However, the company says large executive jet deliveries could jump as much as 36% over the 22 recorded in 2012, falling in the range of 25-30 deliveries in 2013.
Used business aircraft transactions reached a record 2,240 in 2012, according to industry analyst Jetnet. The previous record was 2,181, set in 2007. Used market transactions had plunged after the 2007 record, reaching a low point of 1,539 in 2009. But at the same time, business jet prices continued to slide — falling another 0.3% in all of 2012.
L-3 Aviation Products is preparing to increase its presence in India. L-3 plans to add more capability and collaborate on the manufacture, delivery and support of products in India for domestic and international aviation markets, while developing a foundation for a long-term support and services center in the region. L-3 Aviation Products is a major provider of commercial and military avionics.
The new Thales TopDeck avionics suite developed Sikorsky's S-76D is designed to function much as a computer, with the pilot simply calling up a menu, moving a curser to the desired position and hitting “execute.” It is also designed to provide the pilot access to a massive array of capabilities in flight with no more effort than pushing a maximum of two buttons.
A U.K. helicopter operator has received EASA approval that would allow it to begin flying air ambulance operations using night vision goggles (NVG), with pilots using the goggles to make landings into unlighted sites near accident scenes. Until now, air ambulances in the U.K. were allowed to operate only during daylight, with nighttime operations limited to landings on lighted helipads. The rules particularly limited operations in the winter months, forcing emergency services to rely on ground vehicles to reach patients in remote areas.
Congratulations to Features Editor David Esler on the excellent article “NOTAMs in Transition” (January 2013, page 24). I am operations manager in the Frankfurt office of the European AIS Database (EAD), a Eurocontrol service that deals inter alia with 1,000 to 2,500 NOTAMs/SNOWTAMs/ASHTAMs daily. I also have worked on several publications with the intent of harmonizing NOTAM procedures and to make them more user friendly. One of the most popular papers is the “OPADD” (Operating Procedures for AIS Dynamic Data), of which I was one of the authors.
Rarely has aviation history witnessed an era when so many large business jet engines have been simultaneously in development and battling for market share.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has added Aircraft flight Coordinator Training to its online training programming. The AFCT is a certificate program that provides core flight coordinator knowledge with an emphasis on safety and technical expertise to assist crews with in-depth planning.
