Jessica is Executive Editor of Business & Commercial Aviation magazine. She started as Editor of ShowNews Online, Aviation Week's on-site trade show daily published at the Paris Air Show, NBAA Annual Convention, Singapore Air Show and at other significant aerospace gatherings.
Jessica has worked in television production and management consulting. While not yet a licensed pilot, Ms. Salerno has received flight instruction and has soloed.
The belly of a Eurocopter SA330J hit the runway surface at Lake County Airport in Lakeview, Ore. The pilot, student and a third passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned by Sky Cats Puma Corp. and operated by Evergreen Helicopters International, received serious damage. According to the pilot, during a simulated single-engine minimum ground run landing, the flight crew forgot to extend the landing gear and the helicopter touched down on its belly, driving the external load hook up into the airframe.
Turbine-powered and some piston aircraft operators can now expect more from their battery. Gill Battery's new 7638-44 sealed, valve regulated lead acid (VRLA), 44 AH 24-volt batteries will deliver more power and significantly better shelf life than traditional VRLA batteries, according to the company. Developed in-house by the engineering team at Gill Battery, a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies, Inc. and thoroughly tested by an independent test and measurement firm, the 7638-44 employs an optimal lead alloy to enable the best possible performance in this chemistry.
Raytheon Aircraft Co. is offering electronic dimmable window shades for all of the approximately 6,200 King Airs in service. These window shades, which permit passengers and pilots to instantly control the darkness of cabin windows by dynamically varying the tint, are being supplied by InspecTech Aero Service, Inc. The system utilizes a special patented SPD (suspended particle device) light-control film developed and licensed by Research Frontiers Inc.
