Cessna Aircraft recently confirmed the Mach 0.935 speed of its new Citation X in high-speed certification flights with the FAA, taking a key step toward reclaiming the fastest business jet title. Cessna says it has now completed all testing requirements to validate the Mach 0.935 speed. The original X reigned as the fastest business jet with a top speed of Mach 0.92 until Gulfstream's Mach 0.925 G650 reached market last year.
Cessna Aircraft reports “a landmark deal that will see Citation Mustangs being flown for charter services in China for the first time.” The Yunnan Ruifeng General Aviation Company is buying two of the light jets, Cessna says, and will offer connections to high-altitude airports — approximately 13,000 ft. (4,000 meters) above sea level. The first delivery is scheduled for December, and the second slated for 2014. “This deal proves again the growing demand in the Chinese business aviation market,” said Kevin Wu, Cessna regional sales VP for greater China.
San Antonio-based Gore Design Completions has won an international competition to complete two Boeing 787 head-of-state aircraft. “Winning this contract against tough international competition shows that GDC is truly a world leader in head-of-state and VIP aircraft completions,” said GDC general partner Mohammed Alzeer. “We are on track to deliver an industry record of four aircraft this year,” Alzeer added — three widebody Airbus A340s and one BBJ3. GDC is adding ERP (enterprise resource planning) and Catia software, he said.
How can you protect yourself or your employer from the fate of Avantair's program participants? Begin with due diligence. “The structure of Avantair was very unusual in terms of their customer contracts and their capacity to deal with the situation they ultimately wound up in,” said Mike Riegel, president of Aviation IQ, a California-based consultancy. “Their contracts do not guarantee liquidity. All the major providers do. So this is obviously something to look at when considering a provider, especially one that is also operating a charter card program.”
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning biographer of Lyndon Johnson, the Kennedys, Roosevelts Teddy and Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln, said in a recent interview that her years-long research involves poring over her subjects' letters, speeches, notes and diaries. And, she adds, that kind of close analysis of original documents will be a problem for those historians of the future since the emails, blogs and social media postings favored today by tomorrow's lions will simply disappear in the electronic evanescence.
The FAA has certified the Learjet 75, clearing the way for deliveries to formally begin. The approval, which came Nov. 14, had been slowed by delays in certification of the Garmin 5000 avionics panel and more recently by the government shutdown. The first customers of the new Learjets are banker and real estate mogul Louis Beck and London Air Services, a charter operator. Fractional operator FlexJet is also expected to begin taking delivery soon.
Business Jet Access, Dallas, announced two additions to their team. Jerry B. Tindel Jr., has been hired as maintenance supervisor overseeing operations at the BJA facility at Love Field Airport. David Garvey is the new Supply Chain manager who will manage all areas of materials and supply chain logistics for BJA.
With regards to Ross Detwiler's articlepointing out the shortcomings of HUDs (“Thumbs Down for Head Up,” October 2013, page 62), there are a couple of things that should be noted. First, in vintage HUDs the eyebox is definitely too small and requires flying “at attention.” Current generation HUDs (C130J, Kollsman AT-HUD) have a larger eyebox, allow for much more head movement and are easier to fly.
ARGUS International, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, announced that Justin Roberts has joined the company as marketing manager, based in the Cincinnati office. His background is in strategic multimedia management, website development and optimization, marketing research, and project and budget execution. He is an air defense officer in the Ohio Army National Guard.
Jetex Flight Support in collaboration with Honeywell launched MyJETEX, an app for Apple platforms that provides operators with flight support solutions. Operators can plan and manage their worldwide trips via the app with flight planning, aircraft datalink, flight following and international trip support services. The app is one of a suite of tools used jointly by Jetex and Honeywell to expand Honeywell's Global Data Center's Flight Sentinel services worldwide.
Securaplane, Tucson, Az., appointed George DeClue regional sales manager who will be based in New York. Manuel Herrero will be the European account executive and Christian Fredericks is marketing manager.
Dr. Perry Inhofe, the son of Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), was killed Nov. 10 when the Mitsubishi MU-2B-25 he was piloting crashed on approach to Tulsa, Okla., International Airport. The 52-year-old orthopedic surgeon was the only person aboard. The aircraft, which Dr. Inhofe had recently acquired, was en route from Salina, Kan., when the accident occurred. Weather was not believed to be a factor. However, initial reports indicated the aircraft lost an engine in flight, and NTSB did find the left engine propeller in the feathered position.
2002—Steven F. Santo, an attorney, pilot and former prosecutor, conceives Avantair, a fractional aircraft ownership program based solely on the Piaggio P180 Avanti turboprop. Service launches following year. 2005 – Having moved from New Jersey to Clearwater, Fla., Avantair operates 16 Avantis for 100 shareowners and announces plans to add another 20 aircraft within a year. The publicly traded firm adds charter card program. 2008 — Employs some 400 people; takes delivery of its 50th P180; announces 58 more Avanti IIs on order.
Becker Avionics introduced its DVC6100 digital Voice Communication System for business and commuter aircraft — particularly the Beechcraft King Air 200 and 350 series. It provides flight phone service, intercom and cabin/passenger address capabilities and is offered as a retrofit or upgrade by several completion centers. The DVC6100 includes microphone/oxygen mask switching, audio output for CVR/DVR recording, flight crew satphone over headsets, and chime and warning tone generation.
The making of light aircraft is about to undergo a complete rethinking. The U.S. Congress has overwhelmingly approved bill — likely signed into law by now by President Obama — that calls on FAA to adopt new Part 23 certification standards by the end of 2015. The move is an endorsement of recommendations from the Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee and centers on the concept of “consensus standards.” The ARC's goal was to double general aviation safety while cutting the costs of certification in half.
Colt International's online flight planning (OFP) is a “one-stop shop for all your flight planning needs,” according to the company. OFP allows operators to file domestic flight plans for free; click, drag and drop to build graphical routes; build itineraries; secure regulatory requirements; ensure trip quality with visual display of trip tasks; and modify trip details.
Two-year-old CAEA Aviation of Beijing, exclusive distributor for mainland China, has signed a contract for up to 10 extended-range Piaggio P180 Avanti II turboprops. The first two aircraft will be delivered in 2014. The eight options are destined for SR Jet, a subsidiary of Beijing-based Sparkle Roll Investment Holdings LTD. Piaggio is fitting the aircraft with a removable 400-lb.-capacity auxiliary fuel tank that mounts on one side of the lavatory. The extra fuel extends four-passenger range by 210 nm.
Banyan Air Service recently completed MagnaStar digital phone upgrades on a Challenger, Hawker and Citation, in advance of the system's phase-out this month. “With over 1,100 aircraft operating with the MagnaStar system, operators need to plan their upgrades very soon, as time is running out and the number of qualified shops and available equipment will reach capacity,” warns Brian Wilson, Banyan's director of avionics.
Zenith Aviation, Fredericksburg, Va., named Bryan Shelton director, Field Operations. Shelton recently ended a 20-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps where he retired as senior manager, Aviation Maintenance Operations for the Presidential Helicopter Squadron (Executive Division).
In 2014, Eurocopter will upgrade its American Eurocopter plant in Columbus, Miss., to become a final assembly and test center for AS350s. Production will start in 4Q 2014 and is expected to total 60 helicopters annually by 2016. The plan has two main objectives: offsetting the impact of reduced production of UH-72A Lakotas for the U.S. Army at the site, and boosting AS350 sales in the U.S. market, especially with government and law enforcement agencies.
China business aviation insiders are seeing a slowdown in the pace of growth there, driven by tremors in the economy but also by the recent change in government. Nextant Aerospace's China business development director, Jing Wei, notes that the new administration of Xi Jinping has promoted a policy of austerity that has left many previous aircraft charter customers less willing — and able — to hire private aircraft.
Not entirely unexpected — in view of the fact that they are already in the pipeline for Boeing 737 airliners — was the recent announcement from Aviation Partners' that their new Split Scimitar winglets will be available for fitment and retrofit to BBJs following their certification in about three months. Joe Clark, AP's chairman, noted that his company's winglets are now providing performance benefits to 5,000 Boeing 737/BBJs, mainly new-build but including 773 retrofits.
Even though an aircraft is just a collection of metal parts (and composites these days), pilots and maintenance technicians often form a close bond to their machine. During World War II, pilots and aircrews would name their aircraft and personalize them with nose art. Some gave their airplane names to remind them of loved ones back home, while others gave them unique monikers to represent the machines' unique personality.
The Learjet 75's Honeywell TFE731-40BR engines have essentially the same internal parts as the -20BRs that power the Model 45XR. To boost the -40BR's thrust to 3,850 lb. from 3,500 lb., virtually all that was needed was a 10% throttle push involving a software change inside the -20BR's digital electronic engine control. The -20BR already had the -40BR's 4,700-lb. thrust thermodynamic rating. That's what gave the -20BR such wide flat-rating margins.
