Business & Commercial Aviation

Cessna has rolled the first production CJ3+ off the manufacturing line, a little more than two months after the company announced the upgraded model

Your article on Avantair was nicely done. A possible Part 3 (or business school case) could focus on the role of the board of directors. Were they

I read “Island Appeal” (May 2014) about offshore registrations with interest. As you point it, privacy is perhaps the biggest incentive to choose an

For more than a decade, commercial airlines have been proactively using flight data recorders (FDRs) as key parts of their Flight Operational Quality

"Under Pressure” (June 2014, page 45) was a great article on tires, but your Learjet 60 accident synopsis gives the reader the impression that this was a typical accident for a post-V1 abort. It was not. You wrote that the thrust reversers were activated but omitted that the TRs subsequently stowed (damaged squat switches) and caused the airplane to accelerate as the engines spooled up above the N1 limit for reverse.

Troubles at Diamond Aircraft’s Canadian operations seem to be easing considerably. The manufacturing facility at London International Airport in

Autorotation — do it quickly and do it right

Gulfstream Aerospace donated a G100 business jet that was retired last year from the company’s fleet to Savannah Technical College. The donation continues a 15-year partnership between Gulfstream and the college. Through the partnership, more than 400 students have become Gulfstream employees. In addition to the G100, Gulfstream donated fly-by-wire components, including manifolds and actuators, from the G650 and a flap assembly and fuselage panel assembly from the G450. Savannah Tech, which has a nearly 30,000-sq.-ft.

Is Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) ready for a central role in heavy-duty air traffic management?

It was sad to read we had lost Jim Christiansen (Intelligence, June 2014, page 14). I first met Jim 30-plus years ago at a management seminar for small flight departments that he facilitated with Dick Van Gemert of Xerox. He was generous with his time and shared his knowledge and expertise freely with those of us who were new to our positions.

A pilot’s sense of situational awareness is never more challenged than when operating over — and within — hazardous terrain, especially at night. The

Recently I was again reminded that time is passing and that different lives can be lived, well, unevenly. The confirmation arrived in an email my brother sent to all family members announcing that, after 28 years on the job, he’s retiring. He’s not the first of the seven siblings to punch out, but he’s the youngest by far.

StandardAero’s facility at Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore was recognized as an authorized maintenance repair and overhaul center for Rolls-Royce RR300 helicopter engines. The authorization follows a similar agreement signed in December for StandardAero’s facility in Winnipeg, Canada. The Singapore agreement extends through 2021. StandardAero’s RR300 line will run parallel to the facility’s Rolls-Royce M250 line. The 32,000-sq.-ft. facility is equipped for full repair and overhaul, and test capabilities.

L-3 Aviation Products has been selected to provide its GH-3900 electronic standby instrument system (ESIS) for new production Viking Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft. Canadian-based Viking holds the type certificates for seven legacy de Havilland aircraft — DHC-1 through DHC-7 — and manufactures the 400 Twin Otter. The GH-3900 ESIS is designed to Level A software and hardware standards and can be customized to fit a range of primary systems.

The demands aren’t always what they seem

In keeping with the tradition and agreement between its two shareholders, Airbus Group and Finmeccanica Group subsidiary Alenia Aermacchi, ATR has

With sadness, we in–form you that James F. “Skeets” Coleman passed away recently. Dick Aarons’ response:

Jet-A and Avgas Per Gallon Fuel Prices

Recently aviation’s alphabet groups in Washington, D.C., joined FAA in an eight-month “Got Weather?” national safety campaign.

The Global 6000’s cockpit, featuring Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics, is a work in progress.

Air BP, Sunbury on Thames, U.K., announced the appointment of Norbert Kamp as Global Sales and Marketing director. He will report to Air BP CEO David Gilmour. The appointment follows the retirement of Peter O’Callahan earlier this year.

In today’s litigious society, it’s a given that lawyers representing accident victims will try to access a company’s safety data in order to show that it failed to take all prudent steps to prevent the mishap. Obviously there needs to be a balance between the protection of accident data and the administration of justice, regulatory action and the public’s right to know.

The NTSB hosted a seminar in early May intending to focus the attention of general aviation pilots on stall avoidance. The Safety Board’s presentation

Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA), Aviation Action Safety Programs (ASAP) and Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs complement each other. All provide useful data for an operator’s safety management system (SMS).

A return-to-service flight, also known as a post-maintenance check flight, can be one of the most hazardous missions undertaken by a business aircraft operator. Some flight departments rate them as their highest risk missions. Often, aviation managers personally take active roles in planning, executing and debriefing the flights.