Photograph: Honeywel/Racal MCS-3000 system. Not so long ago, you could settle into the confines of an aircraft seat and know you were beyond the reach of the rest of the world for a few hours. For some that was a perk, but for others it became a nuisance -- and so the airborne telephone was born. Over the last two decades, telephones in the cockpits and cabins of business aircraft from Bonanzas to Boeings have become commonplace.
Teledyne Controls' new Cellular Phone Interface adds ground cellular phone capability, for incoming and outgoing calls, to the MagnaStar C-2000 and C-750 inflight phone systems. A weight-on-wheels feature disables phone operation once the aircraft is airborne. The CPI weighs 2.8 pounds and requires 28 VDC input. Price: $13,035, including CPI, CPI cable assembly, CPI connector kit, antenna and analog interface unit Teledyne Controls 22522 29th Dr. S.E., Ste. 201 Bothell, Wash. 98021
The young pilot called in sick after coming down with a bad cold that had been going around. He had visited his doctor, who prescribed some antibiotics and cold medicine. The next day, after another pilot called in sick with a bad cold, a dispatcher called the young pilot to see if there was any improvement in his condition.
After operating a flight department for more than 55 years, Square D has closed its in-house aviation operation and plans to sign up with a fractional ownership plan. The Palatine, Ill.-based maker of equipment for the electrical power industry has laid off all 10 of its aviation employees and is selling its two aircraft, a Cessna Citation VII and Dassault Falcon 2000. In 1998, Square D's flight department logged approximately 1,200 hours and received a 55-year safety award from the NBAA.
Acknowledging the importance of information technology to the job of scheduling and dispatching, the NBAA made the subject one of its high priorities at its 10th NBAA Schedulers&Dispatchers Conference in Orlando. ``The first thing I do when I get to work is check in on my computer,'' said outgoing S&D chairperson Lucille Fisher, scheduler for Quality Resources flight operations in Cleveland. ``Today, you can't do this job without computer skills.''
Virtual Prototypes has released new versions of its FLSIM and HELISIM flight-simulator software products, which run on Silicon Graphics and Windows NT platforms
The number of aircraft stolen in 1998 was down by half, according to preliminary figures from the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute (ACPI). Burglaries also were down slightly. Twenty-one aircraft were reported stolen, the fewest since 1988. In addition, 111 aircraft were burglarized for their avionics and other equipment in 1998. ACPI believes one reason for the downturn in theft is that aircraft are better protected than ever.
AOPA reported 4,000 prospective new pilots were recruited in 1998 through its Project Pilot program, and celebrated its 2,000th new private pilot last year
In a market that many already consider crowded, Brazilian manufacturer Embraer has announced that it will offer two new, large regional jets. The offerings are a 70-seat ERJ-170 and a 90-seat ERJ-190. In a ``pre-launch'' announcement in mid-February, Embraer said it is ``actively pursuing commitments from airlines, major suppliers and partners'' and will make a final go-ahead decision toward the end of the second quarter. The announcement would likely come at the Paris Air Show in June.
Edited By Robert A. SearlesArnold Lewis Arizona Town Buys Own Commuter Plane
Show Low, a resort community in the White Mountains of Northeastern Arizona, has acquired its own airplane to provide commuter service to and from Phoenix. The aircraft is a Beech King Air 200 that originally was the personal airplane of former Beech Aircraft President Olive Ann Beech. It has been modified by Commuter Air Technology (CATPASS) of Scottsdale, Ariz. It is operated and maintained by Phoenix-based Express Air Inc. as Sunrise Airlines, named for Show Low's Sunrise ski resort.
The first Falcon 2000 for the NetJets fractional aircraft ownership program was delivered to Executive Jet Aviation in late January. EJA purchased a total of 38 Falcon 2000s in 1997 and 1998, making the fractional ownership provider Dassault Falcon Jet's largest customer. The handover took place at Falcon Jet's new 10,000-square-foot hangar in Little Rock, which recently was completed as part of a three-year renovation program to prepare the facility for completing up to 60 Falcons per year beginning in 2000.
Version 5.5 of Aviation Supplies&Academics' (www.asa2fly. com/asa) On Top IFR proficiency simulator software ($395 new or $9.95 upgrade) features new out-the-window graphics that reveal photo-realistic runway environments, haze and weather modeling. On Top also includes U.S. airports, a completely redesigned manual, new setup screens and a map replay ``flight data recorder'' tool that shows aircraft configuration, rate of descent, marker passage, and rpm indicator and/or manifold pressure settings
Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, N.Y., reported a 10-percent decline in the number of operations by based business aircraft in 1998 versus 1997. Movements declined from 17,526 in 1997 to 15,690 in 1998. However, the number of transient business aircraft operations remained almost the same -- 25,036 in 1998, compared with 25,086 in 1997. HPN's air carrier operations declined from 10,802 in 1997 to 8,934 in 1998, a 17-percent drop. However, commuter operations at the New York area field almost doubled from 1997's total of 2,952 to 5,828 in 1998.
Atlantic Aviation will build an FBO on a new site on the east side of Philadelphia International Airport as part of a recently concluded deal with the city. Atlantic has signed a 20-year lease, with two additional five-year options, to operate FBOs at Philadelphia International Airport and Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The new FBO is slated to open in time for the Republican National Convention, which is to be held in Philadelphia in July 2000. Atlantic also will spend $1 million to refurbish its Northeast Philadelphia FBO facility.
Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport has completed installation of an ILS for its 6,198-foot Runway 24R. The reliever airport has two full-service FBOs -- Million Air Cleveland and Business Aircraft Center -- and offers on-site Customs service and a 24-hour control tower.
The following are target dates for emerging turbine aircraft. These dates, supplied by the airframe manufacturers, are subject to change--and frequently do--as a result of design revisions, funding, testing delays or extensions, and/or the resolution of unforeseen problems. Each month, this table will endeavor to show the most-current schedule. *Indicates a change/addition since the previous issue. Manufacturer Model Milestone AASI Jetcruzer 500 Turboprop Certification
Underscoring its airborne satcom intentions, Iridium will purchase Claircom Communications Group, Inc. (Claircom) from AT&T and Rogers Cantel for $65 million in cash and debt. The acquisition, subject to regulatory approvals, will complement Iridium's portfolio of services tailored for the business-traveling professional by adding Claircom's inflight telephone services. Following completion of the deal, Claircom phones will carry the Iridium brand, and will be folded into Iridium's global wireless telephone and paging services.
At first glance, you might conclude that Cessna's newest Citation has an identity crisis. For example, if you were blindfolded, led inside and then shown the cabin, initially you might assume that you're seated in a midsize Citation VII. On closer examination you'd discover that this aircraft, however, has a continuous, dropped aisle, with no spar intruding through the rear floor of the cabin. This Citation actually has more seated head and shoulder room because its floor has been lowered.
The Smart-Link cabin management system from DPI Labs, of La Verne, Calif., was selected for a Boeing Business Jet being outfitted by Greenpoint Technologies of Kirkland, Wash.
A November 1998 Intelligence item (page 20) incorrectly stated that Universal Avionics Systems Corp. is the exclusive marketing agent for Thrane&Thrane's TT-5000 Aero-I satcom system. Universal has exclusive rights to market Thrane&Thrane satcoms to corporate and commercial aviation. Sea-Land Systems markets the equipment to military operators.
Dunned by protests from the AOPA and from pilots, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has postponed its earlier decision to stop printing World Aeronautical Charts. NOAA also delayed increasing the price of its remaining aeronautical products by six percent. In January, NOAA claimed a $5.2 million shortfall and announced plans to discontinue the charts now funded by the Department of Commerce. The AOPA argued, ``The charts are essential to aviation safety, and the department can and should find the money to continue this important safety program.''
Edited By Robert A. SearlesPerry Bradley in Miami Continental on Track for Spring Launch
Bombardier is moving closer to a formal launch of its Continental super-midsize jet, and is in the process of finalizing aerodynamic performance and securing vendor agreements for major aircraft systems. Rockwell Collins and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries joined the program in January.
Corporate Angel Network (White Plains, N.Y.)--Judith H. Haims is the new president of this organization that arranges free flights on corporate aircraft for cancer patients traveling to treatment centers.
