The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) wants a big charge to go away. The association was caught by surprise in May when the FAA informed the organization that it would have to cover the costs of extra controllers assigned to handle air traffic at the annual AirVenture fly-in set for July 29-Aug. 4 at Wittman Field, Oshkosh, Wis. The bill? $450,000. Without any ready alternative, the EAA reluctantly agreed to the charge, but on July 3 filed a petition for relief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.
Flight Safety Foundation has created a new Legal Advisory Committee in an effort to protect safety information data. The committee will comprise leading plaintiff and defense accident lawyers, regulators and airline/aerospace counsel throughout the world. FSF General Counsel Ken Quinn observed, “It's become readily apparent that legal regimes are lagging far behind in protecting an ever-increasing amount of safety information that is being gathered, shared and analyzed, which is critical to saving lives.
Bombardier Aerospace recently delivered the 400th Challenger 300 super-midsize jet to Russian charter operator BJET. The company also operates a Global 5000 and 6000, a Challenger 605 and Challenger 850 and a Learjet 60. The Challenger 300 can seat eight-to-10 passengers and has a range of about 3,065 nm. The 300 entered service in 2004 and its dispatch reliability has been consistently about 99.7, according to Bombardier.
Europe is fielding a competitor to Robinson's Helicopter's mighty mite, the R22. Bruno Guimbal, an aeronautical engineer with Eurocopter, believed there was a market for a small, piston-powered helicopter with excellent performance — something well below his employer's line. And so he, too, set out on his own. By 2005, his two-place Cabri G2 was flying and setting world records — height attained without a payload 6,658 m (21,838 ft.); duration of a climb to 3,000 m (9840 ft.) of 6 min., 42 sec.; and duration of a climb to 6,000 m (19,680 ft.) of 22 min., 6 sec.
Europe's goal of developing a database that collects aviation occurrence reports from across the region and helps identify broad safety trends is moving closer to reality as both data quality and reporting consistency improve, the EASA reports. The European Commission's European Central Repository (ECR) has amassed nearly 665,000 aviation occurrence reports since 2005 and 2011 was the first year that all 31 EASA member states contributed reports.
Aircraft operating costs are presented in a format that separates the data into seven separate areas: Mission Costs, Variable Costs, Fixed Annual Costs, Periodic Costs, Personnel Costs, Training Costs and Facilities Costs.
Nepal's Shree Airlines has ordered five AS350 B3e and three EC130 T2 helicopters from Eurocopter. They will be used for search and rescue, aerial work, disaster relief missions and tourism. With this acquisition, Shree Airlines becomes the largest Ecureuil operator in South Asia with a total of nine aircraft.
Landmark Aviation officially began operations at Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) in Grand Rapids, Mich., on July 1 through the acquisition of the assets of Northern Air and the Grand Rapids Air Center. They will be operating out of the Northern Air facility, and will offer both FBO and MRO services. There is a VIP lounge, executive conference room and a flight-planning center. Hangar and office space is also available.
Nineteen years after being awarded certification of its single-engine PC-12, Pilatus Aircraft planned to deliver the 1,200th unit. The delivery ceremony was set for Aug. 7 in Portsmouth, N.H., where Thomas Bosshard, president and CEO of Pilatus Business Aircraft will hand the keys to George Antoniadis, his counterpart at PlaneSense, Inc. The fractional ownership provider's fleet will then expand to 49 of the Swiss-made turboprops, the world's largest civilian fleet of PC-12s.
Corporate Fleet Services, Cornelius, N.C., announced that Mike Thomas recently joined the company as vice president Business Aircraft Sales and Acquisitions. He comes to CFS from Nextant Aerospace. He has held positions at General Electric Credit, Chase Aircraft Finance and CIT Financial. Thomas also was regional sales director for the Hawker at Beechcraft Corp.
The National Research Council Canada (NRC) has formally launched a concentrated research effort to find and test potential replacement fuels for 100LL avgas. Such an alternative is vital to ensuring the long-term operational viability of piston-powered aircraft, says Jerzy Komorowski, general manager of the NRC's aerospace division. General aviation is a key part of Canada's transportation infrastructure, particularly in rural and northern parts of the country where it provides the main mode of air transport for people and cargo.
Flying to the Paris Air Show was a Grand Commander flown by Bjorn Bostad of Flo-Aire, Inc., Newton, Kan. The airplane covered 2,850 mi. non-stop from Gander, Newfoundland, to Zurich. Power settings at 13,000-15,000 ft. were 55-60%, giving the Commander a 203 mph block-to-black speed for the 15 hr. 10 min. trip.
Gulfstream's new 9,300-sq.-ft. sales and design center in Dallas is now open to customers. “With the entry-into-service of the G280, we wanted to offer mid-cabin customers cabin-design capability at the same location where their aircraft is being completed,” said Tray Crow, director, Interior Design. Gulfstream Dallas comprises a completions center for Gulfstream mid-cabin aircraft (G280 and G150) and a service center for all Gulfstream aircraft.
On the night of Dec. 20, 1995, American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757 carrying 151 passengers and eight crewmembers, crashed on a 9,800-ft. mountaintop while attempting a straight-in approach to Runway 19 at Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport at Cali, Colombia. Only five passengers survived the accident, one of whom died later in hospital.
Ed Iacobucci, founder of DayJet, the on-demand air-travel enterprise, died June 21. He was 59. Although Iacobucci is best remembered in the aviation community standing proudly next to one of his Eclipse 500s, DayJet was built on his expertise in the information technology industry. The former IBMer founded Citrix, the original cross-platform system that delivered enterprise software on a central server, and under his leadership the company grew to become a tech giant.
If you're heading for that big continent in the southern half of the Western Hemisphere with a cabin full of high-worth individuals, you might first want to read Pablo Penalva's “Top Five Things to Know Before Flying to South America.”
“One thing both we as crew as well as our passengers did for this trip was register with the U.S. Department of State in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP,” Capt. Bob Lazear, who flies for retailer Costco, told BCA about his flight department's preflight planning for a spring 2013 flight to Colombia to visit coffee plantations.
Jeppesen and Pacific Coast Avionics are offering NavData and charting information in bundled service options. A dedicated Pacific Coast Avionics Web portal has been created for customers to directly order Jeppesen bundled services. Options provide NavData, JeppView, Jeppesen obstacle, terrain and cultural information, and eCharts for multi-function display. Garmin GTN PilotPak bundle plans with Jepp data are also available. Jeppesen database updates are also simplified for Pacific Coast customers. Visit www.jeppesen.com or www.pacificcoastavionics.com
The seven-year-old Independent Fixed Base Operators Association (IFBOA) reports its membership has topped the 500 mark. “Reaching 500 members is a terrific milestone for us,” said John Wraga, founder and executive director of the organization comprising flight schools, repair stations, aircraft management and sales organizations, and other aviation businesses, along with FBOs.
The Government of Aruba has introduced a ministerial ordinance codifying the use of designated inspectors (DI) by the director of the Department of Civil Aviation of Aruba (DCA). This framework allows DI's to be engaged by the Registry in procedures regarding airworthiness, crew licensing, operators' manuals and compliance of flight simulators with the local regulations. The Designated Inspectors will be located around the world to best service the industry (USA, Europe, Russia, and CIS Middle East and Asia-Pacific).
Aircell announced that Travel Management Company (TMC) will introduce Aircell's Gogo Biz service across its entire fleet of light jet charter aircraft. The expansion is expected to be complete in October and will encompass nearly 70 aircraft with complimentary Gogo Biz service. TMC operates the largest, privately owned fleet of Hawker 400XP and 800XP charter aircraft in the U.S. John Wade, Aircell's executive vice president and general manager said, inflight connectivity “. . .
On July 2 the death sentence for Stage 2 business jets was published in the Federal Register. The FAA final rule, which prohibits operation of the noisy jets in the contiguous U.S. as of midnight, Dec. 31, 2015, essentially implements a ban that Congress made law as part of the FAA Modernization Reform Act of 2012. The rule applies to jet aircraft that weigh less than 75,000 lb. and do not meet Stage 3 noise levels. Commercial Stage 2 jets were banned as of Dec. 31, 1999. In the U.S., nearly 600 business jets will be affected by the ban.
Flight Display Systems announced that all company operations have been consolidated at their new Shiloh road, Alpharetta, Ga., location. “Bringing all company functions together under one roof creates a new synergy for us,” said CEO David Gray. “The 56,000-sq.-ft. facility will accommodate growth and the addition of several new product lines in the next few years.”
Executive AirShare, Kansas City, Kan., announced industry veteran Steve Gentry joined the company as senior sales director and will be based at the company's Love Field, Dallas facility. Gentry previously held positions at CitationAir, Bombardier FlexJet and a national turboprop fraction program. He is a pilot with more than 600 flight hours.
