Gulfstream Aerospace has enhanced its support of operators attending major U.S.–based events with the addition of its biggest and most capable Field and Airborne Support Teams (FAST) vehicle — a specially equipped 74-ft. (22.6 meters) tractor-trailer. The vehicle debuted at this year's Super Bowl at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Using the capabilities of the FAST vehicle, on-board technicians can perform: line-service repairs; engine exchanges; post-flight and storage inspections; unscheduled inspections; and cabin interior repairs.
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, announced that James “Jim” Walker has joined the company as vice president and managing director of Asia Pacific reporting to Colin Mahoney, senior vice president, International and Service Solutions.
Correction: Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga., hired Kevin Brink and Scott Clarey as sales directors for North America. Kevin Dutton's name was misspelled under his photo in the February “On Duty” section.
When a modern swept-wing aircraft is properly maintained within its certification limits, it is safe. Operating outside of the certification limits or not maintaining the aircraft to its airworthiness specifications can carry a steep price in the high-altitude environment.
The 52-year-old pilot of Beech King Air N987GM, an E90 model, was certainly experienced — the FAA's airman records showed he reported 5,300 hr. total time at his most recent second-class physical examination even though, inexplicably, his personal logbooks showed over 9,000 hr., 6,500 hr. of that in multiengine airplanes. The logbooks also indicated the pilot had accumulated 718 actual instrument flight hours. Whatever the case, he had spent a good amount of time in the cockpit.
Gilbert W. Speed, the founder of SpeedNews publications and conferences, a Penton Media business as is Business & Commercial Aviation, died Jan. 27 after a long illness. He was 81. Speed's 60-year aerospace career began with his apprenticeship at the Bristol Aeroplane Co., thence as an engineer for Eastern Airlines and later with Pan Am where he worked on specifications for the Boeing 727 and 707 Freighter, Concorde and Dassault Fanjet Falcon. He founded SpeedNews in 1979.
The PC-12 you flew in “Finnoff PC-12 Upgrade” is based at Boulder Municipal Airport in Colorado, not California; and Boulder City Airport is in Nevada. Boulder, Colo.
Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. (IS&S) received an FAA STC for its Autothrottle System and Standby Display Unit incorporated into its Integrated Flight Management System (IFMS). The IS&S-developed autothrottle allows a pilot to control the power setting of the aircraft's engines by setting a desired flight characteristic rather than manually controlling fuel flow.
A half century ago, the 280 kt., 1,800-nm range Howard 500 represented the pinnacle of business aviation's Big Piston Era. Durrell Unger “Dee” Howard of San Antonio, Texas, built 16 of these 5,000-hp beasts before losing the sales war to Leroy Grumman's new turboprop Gulfstream in the early 1960s.
It turns out 2013 was even harder for Sabreliner Corporation, which lost half of its business as a result of military budget cutting and defaulted on its bank loan. That, in turn, led to its sale to a Sabreliner Services LLC, which was reportedly formed recently by Innovative Capital Holdings LLC, a Florida investment firm. An investment group that included company Chairman F. Holmes Lamoreux previously had owned the company. As a result of the sale, Lamoreux is exiting, along with President Susan Aselage.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore officially inaugurated the new Singapore Air Traffic Control Centre (SATCC) during the Singapore Airshow in February. The Centre represents a quantum leap in the capacity and ability of CAAS in providing high-quality air navigation services.
For most pilots, transitioning to a swept-wing jet brings the feeling of having finally “gotten to the top of the pyramid” in professional pilot accomplishments. The opportunity to step into one's first swept-wing jet often occurs in business or regional aviation, where sometimes the standardization and quality of training has been insufficient.
Henry Ogrodzinski, the president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) and a longtime industry advocate, died at his home in Washington, D.C. Jan. 22 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 65. A gentlemanly and friendly persuader, the genial “Henry O” spent his entire professional career in aviation, working with NASAO, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and Gulfstream Aerospace, among others.
At the dawn of aviation, among the toughest challenges confronting its pioneers was controlling the aircraft. Otto Lilienthal steered his gliders by shifting his weight and upsetting the balance between the center of lift and gravity. The Wright brothers refined the control in all three axes through a combination of wing warping and coordinated movements of the elevator and rudder using pulleys and cables. As aircraft grew faster and larger, so did the forces necessary to maintain control.
Here are prominent references addressing the necessity for the Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure and how and where it can be flown: International Civil Aviation Organization, Document 4444, Air Traffic Management (PANS-ATM), Chapter 16 (“Miscellaneous Procedures”), Paragraph 5. This is the source document for the justification, implementation, definition, and execution of the Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure in oceanic and “remote continental” airspace. The section is short and to the point, including:
Dassault Falcon Jet, Teterboro, N.J., named Kristen Krueger sales manager for the Pacific Northwest. She has 13 years of industry experience, including as a regional ice president for sales at Netjets. Rhett Reavis is the new sales manager for the Mid-Atlantic and eastern Canada. He was formerly a regional sales manager for FlightSafety International.
Universal Avionics, Tucson, Ariz., named Chris Cannady OEM sales manager responsible for developing and maintaining the company's products to original equipment manufacturers in the U.S.
RUAG has delivered the first Dornier 228-212 to the Venezuelan government at the end of January. This is the first of 10 Dornier 228s in passenger configuration ordered by that government and includes spare parts, ground equipment and training. The Dornier fleet will improve travel between remote areas and regional hubs, and will give residents in hard to reach areas greater access to medical care and government support.
Airbus Corporate Jets, France, named Benoit Defforge managing director responsible for all Airbus corporate jet activity. He replaces Habib Fekih, who played a leading role in establishing the company's business aviation role. Defforge reports to John Leahy, COO-Customers, for all sales activity, and to Tom Williams, EVP Programmes, for the Airbus Corporate Jet Centre.
Daher-Socata delivered 40 TBM 850 single-engine turboprops in 2013, up 5% from 2012 deliveries, and hopes the program will continue to expand as Europe considers permitting commercial operations of such aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The French manufacturer has delivered a total of 662 TBMs since introducing the TBM 700 in 1990; of the total, the 850 accounts for 338.
In 2013 Embraer delivered 209 aircraft, 119 of which were business jets. That record compares to 205 aircraft it delivered in the previous year. A breakdown of 2013 business jet production is: 90 Phenoms, up from 77 in 2012 and reflecting improvement at the lighter end of the market, including major orders for the Phenom 300 from fractional ownership providers NetJets, Flight Options and Executive AirShare. The Brazilian manufacturer's larger business aircraft deliveries also increased in 2013 to 29, compared with 22 in 2012.
Beechcraft is approaching initial deliveries of the Hawker 400XPR upgrade aircraft, with the first three undergoing final airframe modifications. The handover should occur in the first half of this year. The XPR mod involves installation of a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite (Garmin's G5000 suite is optional), replacing the original Pratt & Whitney JT-15D-5 engines with Williams International FJ44-4A-32 turbofans, and winglets, among other improvements.
Dassault has named CAE as its approved training provider for the Falcon 5X jet, now under development. The selection covers pilot, maintenance and cabin crew training. Nick Leontidis, CAE Group President, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services, says his company “will be ready for training with a complete training program, including the deployment of two full-flight simulators, to support entry-to-service of the 5X.” The location of the first 5X simulators has yet to be determined, but CAE says it plans additional deployments as the Falcon 5X fleet grows
Bombardier Aerospace recently received a $537 million order from an undisclosed customer for three Global 6000, two Global 7000 and three Global 8000 jets. Still in development, the Global 7000 and is slated to enter service in 2016, and the 8000 is to follow in 2017. So much for the good news. In January, the Montreal manufacturer announced plans to lay off 1,100 employees in Canada and 600 in the U.S. to contain costs after stretching out development of its CSeries jetliner by at least 12 months and seeing business and commercial aircraft orders decline in 2013.
