Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is a key technology in the Federal Aviation Administration's move to a satellite-based Next Generation (NextGen) air traffic management system for operations throughout the U.S. However, one of the first and most welcome applications of the advanced system required some specialized adaptation and a strong stomach since tight quarters and boat rides were involved.
Here is one simple lesson to be gleaned from Aviation Week's Top-Performing Companies (TPC Study): avoid overconfidence. History shows that a first-place finish is no guarantee of long-term success. Conversely, even consistently strong performers have a bad year every now and then.
As top-tier defense contractors begin to move away from an era of big-ticket weapons procurements, they are scrutinizing their portfolios in an effort to weed out lower-performing businesses. And one problem area keeps coming to the forefront: low-margin government services businesses.
Max-Viz anticipates June approval for installation of its Enhanced Vision System (EVS) on the Hawker series of business jets. Award of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) will extend to well over 200 different aircraft models for which the system is approved—a remarkable showing for a young outfit with just 10 employees and focused on a single technology. EVS thermal imaging effectively “turns night into day,” enabling a pilot to view objects, including wildlife, on moonless nights or in smoke or haze.
When the U.S. Air Force showed only a tepid interest in unmanned aircraft, a small San Diego company, General Atomics, decided to build them on its own dime. So when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks hit and U.S. forces were suddenly sent to combat guerilla-like forces in the mountains of Afghanistan, the company's Hellfire-equipped Predators were not just a concept—they were in production.
The FAA’s latest effort to modernize repair station regulations could create as many challenges as it solves, expect several industry experts. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published May 21 is the latest step in a 23-year odyssey to update FAR Part 145, the rules that govern repair station certficiation. The draft rule’s biggest change is a new ratings system classification aimed at more accurately reflecting today’s industry standards.
A recent spate of commercial carrier accidents and incidents in the U.S. involving hail and lightning strikes is prompting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to seek improvements in weather information furnished to both air traffic controllers and pilots. The NTSB recommends that the FAA study the potential of providing real-time total lightning information on air traffic controller displays, both at air route traffic control centers and terminal radar approach control facilities.
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SIKORSKY Model S-92A helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0216; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-025-AD] – proposes to require inspecting the tail rotor (T/R) pylon for a loose or missing fastener, a crack, damage, or corrosion and adding an internal doubler to the aft shear deck tunnel assembly. This proposed AD is prompted by the discovery of cracks in T/R pylons.
As the market remains weak in Europe, so are flight operations. Business aircraft flights within Europe have been down year-over-year every month since September, with April’s flights marking the greatest drop (down 5.4%). In the past 12 months, business aircraft flights are down 0.8% within Europe. However, including international departures and/or arrivals, traffic is up overall for the past 12 months (1.4% for arrivals and 1.5% for departures). See related charts on Pgs. 1, 11 and 12.
Hawker Beechcraft’s May 3 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is enabling the Wichita, Kan., airframer to sort out its supplier relationships, a senior executives says. With uncertainty hanging over the company’s financial future in the run-up to the filing, some suppliers were holding off shipping parts, impacting the aircraft maker’s ability to build its product. The company has issued rolling furloughs, in addition to layoffs, in part to adjust to supply issues.
12,638: The 12th Annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva drew 12,638 attendees from 99 countries, nearly the same as last year. The convention also hosted 491 exhibitors that occupied a record-breaking 2,280 booth spaces, while 60 aircraft were on static display thanks to a 10% increase in ramp space.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND Model BO-105A, BO-105C and BO-105S helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0503; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-032-AD] – proposes to requires repetitive inspections of the MGB oil filter and MGB magnetic plug. If the MGB oil filter or MGB magnetic plug contains metallic fuzz, depending on the amount of metallic fuzz, this proposed AD would require cleaning the magnetic plug, flushing the main transmission, changing the oil, and performing a ground run.
Cessna’s unveiling of the Longitude last week brings the Wichita airframer back to the super mid-size market that it walked away from just a few years ago. In 2008, at the height of the business aircraft boom, the Textron division launched the ambitious Columbus with great fanfare. A year later, with business aviation sales tanking, the company aborted the $750 million development plan. Now, with hints of recovery, Cessna is returning. However, the Citation Longitude represents a far more modest and cheaper development effort, reflecting a more modest market outlook.
WILLIAM CLAREY was appointed sales director in Gulfstream Aerospace’s North American Sales, East Division, Mid-Atlantic Region. Clarey, based in Northern Virginia, will be responsible for sales in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. He joins Gulfstream from Hawker Beechcraft, where he was sales director for the Pacific Northwest. He also has held sales positions of increasing responsibility for Phoenix-based Cutter Aviation and Boise, Idaho-based Western Aircraft.
The Aircraft Performance Group (APG) has updated its iPreFlight application for the iPad to enable standalone computation of takeoff and landing performance without the Internet. The app integrates their Runway Analysis and Weight and Balance systems with a flight-planning module. In addition, the latest version has a Mobile Content Management and Document Management system.
FAA is formally revoking standards used to build emergency locator transmitter (ELT) equipment that transmit via the 121.5 MHz frequency, a move largely expected since the internationally supported Cospas-Sarsat satellite system stopped processing such signals in 2009.
STEVE SIMPSON was promoted to director of training for Executive AirShare, a regional fractional ownership company that operates Embraer Phenom, Hawker Beechcraft Beechjet and King Air aircraft. Simpson has more than 35 years of aviation experience, including a career in the U.S. Air Force and Naval Reserves. He also spent 22 years as a pilot with American Airlines and has served with CAE Simuflite.
Bombardier Aerospace has begun work on the two first flight test Learjet 85 aircraft, and the complete aircraft static test article is under way, with the production of composite components including the unique 32-ft. composite pressure fuselage. Joining the forward fuselage to the main pressure fuselage, as well as the assembly of the aft fuselage, vertical stabilizer and tailcone fuselage sections, are ongoing at Bombardier sites in Wichita and Querétaro, Mexico.
Embraer’s Phenom 100 has flown 100,000 flight hours, a little more than three years since it entered service in December 2008. The company has delivered 240 of the entry-level executive jets worldwide. “This is a significant milestone achieved in such a short time,” said Luciano Castro, Embraer vice president of executive jet programs. Designed for high utilization, the Phenom 100 can accommodate up to eight occupants.
Bombardier has developed a document management application for use on the Apple iPad. The Bombardier Flight Deck app provides an electronic flight manual capable of automatically receiving updates by Bombardier. The app further enables flight departments to independently manage and distribute their own documentation to their fleet. Bombardier test pilots worked with the Bombardier business aircraft technical publications team to test and refine the functionality over the past year.
Field Aviation has teamed with Hawker Pacific to collaborate on sales and installations of Field Aviation’s Bombardier DHC-8 flight deck upgrade. Developed in concert with Universal Avionics for classic Dash 8 100/200/300 series aircraft, the upgrade includes five Universal EFI-890R, high-definition flat panel displays. Four displays present navigation and flight information, while the fifth center display provides engine information. The system provides upgrade paths for synthetic vision, radio control units, flight management systems and weather radar upgrade.
