RUAG Aviation has performed an avionics modification on an Airbus Helicopter AS350 B3e that provides significant advantages over the original avionics system, according to the company. Modifications include the integration of a Garmin G500H Electronic Flight Display and an L3 ESI-2000 Standby Indicator and a Garmin GTN650 Nav/Com Dual Installation. RUAG also installed an Avidyne TAS605 and a Cobham HeliSAS autopilot and a Freeflight RA4000 radar altimeter. Whelen LED strobe lights were installed on the fuselage.
On April 2, 2011, a Gulfstream 650 test crew perished while completing steps along that airplane’s road to certification under Title 14 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 25 (14 CFR 25). They had been hard at work, proving the aircraft could fly the very low takeoff safety speeds predicted by its designers.
Cirrus Aircraft has begun offering its Performance Braking System for operators of Generation 3 and newer aircraft from Cirrus Direct, the company owned parts distribution system. The high-performance, single-caliper brake system uses tubeless tires and redesigned wheel fairings to improve reliability and performance. The system is standard on new SR22T, SR22 and SR20 models. Cirrus is additionally developing the upgrade for earlier model aircraft. The system is priced at $15,300 for Generation 3 and newer models.
Parking on a distant ramp assessed at $4,000 a day. To tow an aircraft to the general aviation terminal: $1,000. Landing permits billed at $15,000 for one trip, plus $7,500 for ground handling “coordination.” More than $2,000 each for weather briefings and flight planning. And that was just the beginning. Maybe we should have stayed home.
Garmin has received approval for its angle of attack (AOA) system for a range of general aviation aircraft. Garmin has begun shipment of the systems, which comprise a GI 260 AOA indicator, GAP 26 angle of attack probe and GSU 25 air data computer. The GI 260 AOA indicator provides audible and visual alerts as the aircraft approach stall angle of attack. The system corrects for weight, g-loading, density altitude and airspeed, providing a higher level of accuracy than lift reserve indicators. The system is priced beginning at $1,499.
The Challenger 300 is a tough act to follow. When it made its debut in late 2003, it instantly became a modern day and more affordable successor to the Gulfstream II, with plenty of thrust, a generously sized wing and sporty performance. Similar to the GII, it had transcontinental U.S. range, a flat floor, room for eight in a double club cabin, inflight baggage access and rock-solid reliability. If it had wide oval cabin windows and a heavy-iron price tag, people might have thought it was built in Savannah, Ga., rather than Montreal.
Embraer Executive Jets on Oct. 10 officially entered the midsize jet market with the delivery of its Legacy 500 business jet to a Brazilian customer. The delivery followed Brazilian ANAC certification in August. U.S. FAA certification is anticipated within weeks, Embraer executives say. The delivery marked two celebrations the Brazilian airframer held last week. The second involved the groundbreaking on an 236,000-sq.-ft. expansion that will double its footprint in Melbourne, Florida. That expansion will provide space for U.S.
Colorado Springs-based Trine Aerospace & Defense has developed a Stage 3-compliant hushkit to help save Learjet 20 series aircraft from extinction. At the direction of Congress, the FAA is mandating the phaseout of all Stage II business jets by the end of 2015.
Cessna has shipped the first two of three Grand Caravan EX Amphibian aircraft to Hai Au Aviation in Vietnam. The third aircraft is to be delivered later this year. The aircraft are the first of the Grand Caravan EX Amphibians to be operated in Vietnam. The aircraft are configured to seat up to 12 passengers for a range of missions, including scenic flights, transport and customized flights.
Two FADEC-equipped, 7,323-lb. thrust AS907-2-1A engines, marketed as HTF7350 turbofans, power the aircraft. Normal takeoff thrust is available to ISA+15C. APR increases the takeoff thrust flat-rating to ISA+20C.
Granite Aviation recently opened its fixed-base operation facility at Sandpoint Airport (SZT) in Idaho. The $1.6 million facility includes a 3,700-sq.-ft. terminal, a 7,000-sq.-ft. hangar, four aircraft refueling trucks, deicer truck and a new 190-ft.-by-900-ft. aircraft ramp. Granite, a Phillips 66 dealer, opens the new FBO as the airport has undergone a recent increase in business and personal traffic. The airport is home to several other aerospace companies, including Tamarack Aerospace, Quest Aircraft and Timberline Helicopters.
London City Airport (EGLC) is the closest airport to the London financial district (“the City”), but it has a reputation for being frightfully expensive. But does that constitute gouging?
Daher-Socata handed over its first TBM 700 single-turboprop aircraft upgraded with the Garmin G600/GTN 750 glass cockpit avionics. The retrofit project replaces mechanical equipment and first-generation cathode ray tube electronic flight displays. The Garmin G600 upgrade includes liquid-crystal primary flight display (PFD) and multi-function display (MFD) in a single 10-in. bezel.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of Challenger 350 under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance.
The National Business Aviation Association has set three regional forums for 2015, beginning Feb. 19 in West Palm Beach, Fla. That event will take place at Atlantic Aviation at Palm Beach International with support from GAMA Aviation and Signature Flight Support. Other events are scheduled for June 25 at Landmark Aviation in Teterboro, N.J. and Sept. 17 at Jet Aviation at St. Louis Downtown Airport in East St. Louis, Ill.
The International Registry of Mobile Assets (IRMA), an online business that was founded in 2006 under the Cape Town Convention and Protocol of 2001, has surpassed 500,000 registrations covering 110,000 aircraft “objects” valued at more than $500 billion (U.S.). The registry is averaging 7,000 registrations a month, 68% of which are en
Bell made the first Model 429 Wheeled Landing Gear (WLG) sale in Europe and the aircraft will also be outfitted with the first Bell 429 MAGnificent luxury cabin interior created by Italy-based Mecaer Aviation Groug (MAG). The Bell 429 is the first helicopter certified through the MSG-3 process, resulting in reduced maintenance costs for operators.
Garmin has begun flight testing its G5000 retrofit on a Beechjet 400A, a milestone that puts the program on target for certification later in 2015. The G5000 is Garmin’s first foray into the Part 25 market and has already been certified on Cessna’s Citation X+ and Sovereign+, along with Bombardier’s Learjet 70/75 program. For the Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP, Garmin is offering three 12-in. flight displays with two touchscreen display/controllers.
Questions for Shawn Vick This management team really understands aircraft, their values, the companies that built them and the individuals and corporations that require them.
Houston-based Galaxy Aviation is planning to add another facility at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) after the Houston City Council approved a lease over the objections of existing airport tenants. For Galaxy, the FBO would be its third location since owner Black Forest Investments bought the original facility in late 2012. Black Forest has since increased its reach in the Houston market with the addition of a heliport in North Houston.
Designers attempt to give exceptional capabilities in all areas, including price, but the laws of physics, thermodynamics and aerodynamics do not allow one aircraft to do all missions with equal efficiency. Tradeoffs are a reality of aircraft design.
German investigators probing the crash of a military-chartered Learjet 35A have found that the aircraft banked into one of two German air force Eurofighter Typhoons that were escorting it over Germany. In its interim report, published Sept. 23, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation said the 28-year-old Learjet, operated by Airbus Group-owned Gesellschaft Flugzieldarstellung GmbH (GFD), was being escorted by the Typhoons as part of an interception exercise.
The wait is over. On October 14, Gulfstream rolled out the G500, the first of two models from its secretive P42 development program. In the works since 2008, the project actually spawned two new models, the 5,000-nm G500 and the 6,200-nm G600. Both look a lot like the firm’s 7,000-nm G650 flagship, but they have less range, smaller cabin cross-sections and lower price tags. The G500 is priced at $43.5 million and the longer G600 will go for $54.5 million.
Gulfstream Aerospace’s new G500, which rolled out before an audience of 3,000 under its own power Oct. 14 alongside the mockup of the G600, is already capturing significant orders and options. Fractional ownership provider Flexjet, in a major departure from its all-Bombardier fleet, is turning to rival Gulfstream to launch Gulfstream’s all-new G500 aircraft. The Flexjet deal includes 22 firm orders — 10 450s and six apiece of the 500 and 650. Delivery of the 450s will begin in 2015, followed by the 650 in 2016.
