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.
Recent high-profile aircraft accidents, most notably the Asiana 214 crash at San Francisco in July 2013, have air safety mavens asking tough questions about the state of flight crews' stick, rudder and energy management skills. Periodic refresher training most often focuses on instrument and night proficiency, systems knowledge and the perfunctory engine failure scenarios. But most refresher training only pays token attention to basic VFR piloting.
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.
Southeast Aerospace, Melbourne, Fla., appointed Darrel Davies regional representative for Canada. He will help expand SEA's service in the Canadian helicopter market.
While aircraft design and certification has certainly minimized the occurrence of Mach Tuck, there are many important lessons to be remembered from earlier investigations that apply to swept-wing training.
Jan. 27 — About 0530 PST, a Beech C90 King Air (N350WA) experienced a hard landing at Columbia Airport (O22), Columbia, Calif. Axis Jet was operating the airplane under FAR Part 91. The commercial pilot and the airline transport pilot were not injured, but the airplane sustained substantial damage by impact forces and the post-crash fire. The cross-country aero-medical positioning flight departed Sacramento, Calif. It was VFR and there was an IFR flight plan filed.
New charter operator World Health Jets of Jackson, Miss., has contracted with JDA Aviation Technology Solutions (JDA) for the company's 135Pro product. The program is a low-cost FAR Part 135 certification support program designed to simplify the certification process and lower costs. It includes manuals tailored to help new charter operators and corporate flight departments satisfy FAA requirements and while obtaining full-time support from the JDA expert 135 team. Visit www.jdasolutions.aero for more information.
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.
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.
Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH), one of the largest independent providers of helicopter air ambulance services, is buying 20 Bell 206L4s. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this year and continue through 2017.
For the aviation industry, Jan. 13 marked the end of a long decade. That was the day that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at long last published its repair station security rule. The action was a bit tardy. After all, Congress had mandated it more than a decade ago, and then became so frustrated by agency inaction that it forbade the FAA from certifying any new foreign repair station until TSA released the rule. That ban has been in place since August 2008.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in its determination of probable cause for the loss of Beech E90, N987GM, that “Contributing to the accident was the failure of air traffic control personnel to use available radar information to provide the pilot with a timely warning that he was about to encounter extreme precipitation and weather along his route of flight or to provide alternative routing to the pilot.”
Business jets operate at significant faster airspeeds and higher altitudes than the large transport sector, and yet the accident record and ASRS reports clearly indicate where training remains inadequate. First: Will you get sufficient exposure to these unique handling aspects in your simulator training? Likely not. The FAA-mandated training and checking maneuvers require so much time that it leaves no open time for delving into the high-altitude/high-speed scenarios.
RUAG Aviation and YASAVA are collaborating to deliver the innovative Astral design concept for long-range, large-cabin business jets such as Dassault Falcon 7Xs, Bombardier Globals and the Embraer Lineage 1000s. Some unique features include a dedicated VIP zone that has a day lounge that converts into a private bedroom with a double bed; a redesigned lav with a full shower. The VIP area for the Global features four 16-g, electrically articulating and swiveling Aiana seats that converts into a full-flat 2-meter bed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Noting that nearly 1,500 helicopters have crashed over the past decade, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has added helicopter operations to this year's “Most Wanted List” of transportation safety improvements.
There are two articles in the January 2014 edition that take medical issues from one extreme to the other. The first, “Keeping your Medical Qualifications,” has the Federal Air Surgeon on his own basically deciding that every pilot take a sleep apnea test. Pilots with a body mass index (BMI) over 40 or a neck circumference over 17 inches will be the first that take the test. Then the BMI will be lowered and lowered “until every pilot with OSA [obstructive sleep apnea] is identified and receives treatment.”
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) wants FAA to permit limited unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations before the agency's small UAS rule is finalized. Beyond that, the association is urging FAA to meet its revised deadline for publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on small unmanned aircraft, and to make the issue a top priority this year. The agency has been working on the NPRM since 2009 and has indicated it expects to publish it this coming November, a schedule, AUVSI notes, that is almost four years late.
It took a data link mandate in the North Atlantic and, finally, pressure from airframe OEMs and operators, but avionics manufacturers are stepping forward with Future Air Navigation System 1/A options and upgrades to allow customers continuous unimpeded access to prime aerial real estate in the North Atlantic region, especially on the Organized Track System. (See “CPDLC: Texting for Pilots,” October 2013 B&CA, page 80.)
Here are some tips from our readers: Hydraulic fluid can be extremely dangerous if you get it on your skin or in your eyes, so always wear appropriate protective gear when working around the stuff. Have a large bucket or two handy when opening a hydraulic line. Once the fluid starts coming out, it will keep flowing — and quickly. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling hydraulic fluid or hydraulic components, since even a tiny bit can burn your eyes or skin.
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.
