Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino continues to collect recognitions for his contributions to the novel over-the-wing engine mount configuration for the HondaJet light business jet.
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. Trade offs are a reality of aircraft design.
Sierra Industries, Ltd., is offering performance upgrades to the Cessna 525 Citation Jet series. Know as the Sapphire, the program is designed to be a comprehensive package of modifications that will enhance performance, reliability and comfort for legacy CJ aircraft.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has begun replacing its fleet of a dozen AStar helicopters with new versions of the same. The department has contracted with Airbus Helicopters up to 15 AS350B3e helicopters. The initial order is for three new AStars, with deliveries beginning in December.
Quest Aircraft received FAA approval for the integration of the Garmin GFC 700 automatic flight control system aboard the Kodiak single-turboprop aircraft. The attitude-based autopilot integrates with the Kodiak’s Garmin G1000 avionics suite. Quest expects to begin delivery of GFC-700-equipped Kodiaks later this year.
Rated at 5,907 lb. thrust for takeoff up to ISA+16C, the PW306D is a 2% higher output and reduced emissions version of the 306C that powers the original Sovereign. The engine is a conventional twin-spool turbofan with a 4.4:1 bypass ratio.
Jet Aviation Saudi Arabia has recently been approved by the FAA to operate as a repair station for Gulfstream aircraft. With the approval Jet Aviation can support it customers in Jeddah and Riyadh with light scheduled maintenance (A checks) on Gulfstream GII, GIII, GIV and GV aircraft.
FAA has declared the Griffiss International Airport unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test site in Rome, N.Y., as operational, making it the fifth of six sites to reach that status. In addition to the traditional UAS studies, the Giffiss site will also evaluate means of scouting agricultural fields through different types of sensors, including visual, thermal and multispectral equipment. “We are accomplishing two important missions with the launch of this test site,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says.
In the wake of two recent crashes within a week of each other in which the pilots are suspected of being rendered unconscious by hypoxia, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation (ASF) issued a safety alert warning to pilots to remain on guard to the condition’s symptoms. The first crash, which occurred Aug. 30, involved a Cirrus SR-22T en route to Manassas, Virginia, from Wisconsin, but entered restricted airspace in the Washington, D.C., and continued out over the Atlantic.
Robert A. (Bob) Hoover and R.W. (Bill) de Decker were selected to receive the National Business Aviation Association’s Meritorious Service to Aviation Award and John P. “Jack” Doswell Award, respectively. NBAA will present its top honors in October during its Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida.
The reorganization at Bombardier saw additional departures in September as Ralph Acs, head of the Learjet line, Stephane Leblanc, his counterpart for Challenger programs, and Marie-Helene Pelletier head of the business aircraft unit’s supply chain, cleared out their desks.
Kenny Dichter is at it again, making business aviation more accessible to a wider group of users as he did when he cofounded the Marquis Jet Card program piggybacked on the NetJets fractional ownership operation. But the twist in his latest venture, Wheels Up, is that the turboprop and jet program isn’t based on 25-hr. jet cards but memberships.
Blackhawk Modifications is developing a new engine upgrade for the Cessna 208A Caravan and 208B Grand Caravan that will replace the standard 600-hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114 or 675-hp PT6A-114A-hp turboprop engine with the 867-hp PT6A-140 engine.
Mountain Aviation, a Broomfield, Colo.-based charter and management firm, has come under new ownership by a private investment firm, a move the company says will help it expand its core markets in the Rocky Mountain region along with looking at new opportunities in the oil and gas and government markets. The company notes that it has extensive experience operating in rugged environments, giving it “a strong foundation for expanded capabilities” in the oil and gas and government markets.
Gatwick-based Air Partner, which numbers among its clients the British royal family, is reaping an upsurge in chartered jet travel, having raked in 5 million pounds ($8.3 million) in JetCard sales in the first six months of 2014.
Embraer’s U.S. footprint expanded considerably last month when it opened it’s a new $26 million Engineering and Technology Center adjacent to its Phenom assembly and customer center at Melbourne Airport in Florida. The 75,000-sq.-ft.
The Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association is planning to focus on industry growth during its next MEBAA convention Dec. 8-10 in Dubai. The event is expected to draw more than 8,000 participants, building on 20% growth in 2012 when 7,549 attended from 84 countries.
With some Fortune 500 companies examining their flight departments’ costs and exposure — with some prominent closures as a result — does this foretell a trend? And will upper management issue jet cards for business travel? B&CA asked principals of charter brokerages and operators marketing jet cards their opinions:
Bell Helicopter received orders from the first two customers to take delivery of Bell 429s in Poland. The orders were taken through JB Investments, Bell’s independent representative in Poland. Bell previously had sold three Bell 407GX to customers in Poland.
