The political math is not complicated. The U.S. government and most of the states are broke. Most people don't own aircraft. So, there won't be a populist revolt if in their quest for more revenue the IRS and counterparts at the state level target business aircraft for audits.
Garmin International announced a premium GPS watch designed specifically for aviators. The D2 features Garmin's signature direct-to and nearest navigation functions, as well as a built-in altimeter with adjustable baro setting, altitude alerting capabilities, display of both local and Zulu/UTC time, and the ability to seamlessly integrate with the Garmin Pilot app, VIRB action camera, and many more functions. The price of the D2 is $449.00 and it should be available this month,
Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF), Alexandria, Va., has selected Greg Kinsella, president and CEO of Key Air, to the ACSF Board of Governors. American Eurocopter, Grand Prairie, Texas, named Samuel Adcock to the post of vice president-general manager of the company's helicopter production plant in Columbus, Miss.
I've never taken the time to write back on an article before, but having read “Checking the Descent” (Viewpoint, August 2013) I wanted to share an in-the-trenches view from someone who is trying to start a flight school and get more people into aviation on a day-to-day basis. In my opinion, the biggest issues (behind the declining pilot population) are not what you mention. They're symptoms and not the cause. There is only one reason: Cost. General aviation has become too expensive.
Flush with new funding, Mooney Aircraft is stepping out of its years-long malaise and reports it will return its swift piston singles — specifically, the Acclaim Type S, Ovation 2GX and Ovation 3 series — to production by January, 2014. It's a new day for Mooney. And with a new investment group that is committed to the future, we're expecting to make a strong move in the industry,” noted Barry Hodkin, CFO for the company.
I found “NOTAMs in Transition” (January 2013) to be an excellent article. As a member of the FAA's NOTAM working group we have been pushing for NOTAM improvements for many years, in fact since 2000. Your last paragraph captures the problem perfectly: Stop-and-Go Funding. I would love to see more articles on NOTAMS particularly from the dispatcher's perspective or more importantly explaining the role of the dispatcher. Manager Dispatch Operations
Inefficient certification processes are delaying hundreds of new applications for aircraft operations and repair stations, says Jeffrey Guzzetti, assistant inspector general for aviation audits for the U.S. Transportation Department.
Eyeing difficult budget negotiations and the prospect of more sequestration cuts, a dozen aviation organizations are urging lawmakers to ensure that the contract tower program receives adequate funding and is shielded from potential dismantling. The organizations, representing airports, local communities, business aviation, airlines and other interests, wrote the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Committees endorsing language that dedicates $140 million in funding to the contract tower program.
The surging surplus parts market caught Rockwell Collins off-guard in 2013 and held down the company’s airline aftermarket revenue growth, which still increased 6% on the strength of mandate-related avionics retrofits.
ExecuJet Africa has been awarded the Flight Safety Foundation Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) accreditation and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) Safety 1st Ground rating.
Among the innovations hidden beneath the skin of Dassault’s Falcon 5X is a Thales-developed unit that will both electrically start the aircraft’s Snecma Silvercrest engines and generate power from them to supply aircraft systems. Believed to be the first time such devices have featured on a general aviation aircraft, the Thales TopStar suite on the new Falcon will include two starter-generators for the main engines, one for the auxiliary power unit (APU), three electronic regulators, three transformer rectifiers and a single electronic starter converter.
Miami International Airport will be the third U.S. airport to begin using the FAA’s revised wake turbulence separation criteria, already in place in Memphis International Airport in Tennessee and Louisville International Airport in Kentucky. Beginning Dec. 1, controllers at Miami will allow most aircraft to fly closer together on arrivals and departures without eroding safety margins for wake-induced upsets.
GE Honda Aero Engines expects to achieve its long-awaited FAA certification for the HF120 turbofan by year-end, paving the way for the start of initial production in coming months.
Piaggio says it has a fully approved path to put P.180 Avantis grounded by the collapse of Avantair back into the sky, and that the first recertified aircraft already has been returned to its owner.
While it may have been a quieter, business-as-usual NBAA show for the established players in the corporate jet engine market, it was the relative newcomers that made the headlines.
On the eve of the NBAA convention, Bombardier marked Learjet's 50th anniversary by presenting the first two Model 75s off the line to their new owners: a real estate businessman and a Canadian charter company. Both aircraft are replacing Lear 45s. The updated aircraft features a Garmin G5000 flight deck and Honeywell TFE-731-40B engines, and carries a price tag of $13.7 million.
Nextant Aerospace plans to remanufacture Beechcraft King Air C90s, replacing the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 engines with GE H80 turboprops and the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 with Garmin's G1000 integrated avionics panel. The refurbished aircraft will carry a Nextant warranty. The Cleveland company said it chose to rework the C90 because of its large installed base of more than 1,500 aircraft, and so it would serve as a low-cost entry-level turbine aircraft. The projected price for what Nextant calls the G90XT is $2.2 million, or about half that of a new model.
Honeywell engineers and human-factors experts are investigating a range of new human-machine interface technologies including touchscreen displays, voice recognition systems and “assisted interaction,” a virtual co-pilot. Part government contract and part Honeywell internal research and development, the work is designed to lower workload and increase safety for pilots of next-generation transport and business aviation aircraft.
Aviation Partners Inc. (API) is offering to refit any Boeing Business Jets with its split scimitar winglet (see photo). The modification is already being adapted by airlines operating the Boeing 737, from which the BBJ is derived. The modification is said to improve fuel burn by 2.5-3% and thus increase range by 200 nm. Gary Dunn, API's vice president of sales and marketing, says he expects operators of “a very healthy percentage” of the roughly 130 delivered BBJs to adopt the signature modification.
Eclipse Aerospace has delivered its first Eclipse 550 very light jet to Fred Phillips, president of Petrolift Aviation Services of Shreveport, La. Phillips has owned two Eclipse 500s. The upgraded EA550 features a synthetic vision, XM satellite weather, dual flight management systems with WAAS LPV and antiskid brakes.
The National Business Aviation Association annual convention, held last week in Las Vegas, is the largest industry event in the world, drawing more than 20,000 attendees. Manufacturers, suppliers and service companies typically use the show as a platform for news. A sampling follows. Additional coverage appears on pages 26-30.
Skycatcher has caught a severe downburst with a dire outcome. Cessna's China-made light sport aircraft, which was launched by former CEO Jack Pelton to stimulate pilot starts, was never loved by Scott Ernest, his successor. And when asked about the future of the once-heralded two-seater, Ernest responded, “There is no future.” A follow-up question about the aircraft elicited the same response.
