They are those convenient intellectual shortcuts we use to streamline our decision-making processes. Cognitive biases help us process information expeditiously when we're under pressure.
The Model 23 Learjet, Fan Jet Falcon and Piaggio-Douglas PD808 appeared in the pages of the April 1966 issue of Business & Commercial Aviation. In 1966, the industry was already looking back on itself. BCA reported that historians cited United States Steel's purchase of three Viscounts from Vickers in 1955 as the beginning of the turbine era in business aviation.
I am a gear head — a mechanical guy; a dying breed. From age 15 I did all of my own tune-ups. And then one day I bought a car that had no distributor. My precious timing light and dwell meter were instantly buggy whips in a horseless world. And I was technologically back to square one. I felt helpless as my slow downward drift into cyber bewilderment began.
“At first I thought it was a jet practicing maneuvers, but it didn’t pull up. I then realized it was a small jet that appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed with black smoke trailing it and what appeared to be fire," said a Mulvane, Kan., woman who witnessed the crash of a Cessna Citation 500 near Wichita in 2013.
The NTSB, after finding icing as a probable cause of the loss of Citation 500 N610ED, urged pilots to review icing basics — specifically those in FAA Instrument Flying Handbook and the Aeronautical Information Manual.
While this may be the age of same-day shipping, computer-controlled inventories, global distribution networks and numerous third-party parts suppliers, chances are good that your airplane will break at the worst possible time and the part that you need will be in a building buried in a blizzard half a continent away. Meanwhile, the boss is packing for an imminent trip to close a do-or-die deal. You may be willing to bet your career on the part showing up in time to launch on that mission, but be sure your resume is up to date, just in case.
We are told that on May 31, 2014, the professional pilot world got a wake-up call when two pilots crashed their Gulfstream IV (N121JM) at Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, and killed all on board. The NTSB rightfully called their performance an act of intentional, habitual noncompliance, but that was being charitable.
The DC-9 captain told the NTSB investigators that there had been thunderstorms all around the airport and the crew used the aircraft's weather radar to scan the area while taxiing to Runway 19. He said the largest echo was east-northeast, that the cell contoured when he switched to that mode, and the gradient was very steep.
BCA is conducting a second 7X Operators Survey now that the aircraft has had time to mature and dozens of product improvements have been made. Consistent with our findings in our March 2011 Operators Survey, Falcon 7X operators contacted for this follow-up report say the aircraft provides substantially more speed, range and cabin comfort compared to midsize and large-cabin aircraft they previously flew.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Jet Aviation will acquire Avjet Corp., a Los Angeles-based jet charter and management company, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will expand Jet Aviation’s aircraft management and charter services on the West Coast.
SOPs — Timely Topic I thoroughly enjoyed your article “ Sticking With SOPs,” (March 2016, page 52) You nailed it! I’m having it scanned and distributed within NTSB. Just wanted to thank you for ad–dressing this important and timely topic. Robert Sumwalt Member National Transportation Safety Board Washington, D.C. Get Out of the Way
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Honeywell Aerospace forecasts demand for 4,300 to 4,800 helicopters for civilian use over the next five years. That’s roughly 400 aircraft lower than last year’s five-year forecast.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Banyan Air Service signs an agreement with Aircraft Technical Publishers to transition Banyan’s technical information library from CD-based services to the ATP Aviation Hub.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
The National Transportation Safety Board has ruled that the probable cause of the fatal Oct. 30, 2014, crash of a King Air B200 into the FlightSafety International training center in Wichita was the pilot’s “failure to maintain control of the airplane after a reduction in left engine power” and “inappropriate rudder input.”
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Duncan Aviation has been selected as the exclusive aircraft-on-ground (AOG) service partner for inflight connectivity specialist Gogo Business Aviation.
When a hacker last year claimed to have tapped into an airliner’s entertainment system and then wormed his way into the flight control system, the major avionics companies were quick to internally debunk the claim, but they were less outspoken in public. That’s because the bourgeoning number of federated boxes that are increasingly common in connected cockpits are outside their direct control.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
West Star Aviation receives an STC for the upgrade of the Honeywell CAS-81A/TPA-81A or CAS-100A/TPA-100A with 7.0 software to the CAS-100B/TPA-100B with 7.1 software.
By William Garvey, Molly McMillin, Jessica A. Salerno
Key business jet market indicators, measured by a monthly UBS Business Jet Market Index survey, point to a weakening global market and have fallen back to levels tracked in 2008-09.
