Business & Commercial Aviation

Kerry Lynch
During the National Business Aviation Association's (NBAA) most recent convention in Las Vegas, John Pistole, who heads the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), had welcome words for the business aviation community. He pledged to continue to work with industry on initiatives to improve access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Frederick, Md., named James W. Coon as senior vice president of Government Affairs and Advocacy. He will be based in the Washington office where he will manage the association's advocacy team on issues including medical certification, FAA funding and avgas alternatives.
Business Aviation

By William Garvey
It has long been one of the true world capitals, a center of international finance, culture and power. Moreover, London generates a kind of permanent vortex that draws in those from throughout the globe who hope to enrich their coffers or enhance their status. All roads may have led to Rome, but the sea lanes and airways all find their way to the storied metropolis 30 miles up the River Thames.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Priester Aviation, Wheeling, Ill., hired William (Bill) L. McNease as vice president and director of Flight Operations. Kevin Brink was named sales director, North American Sales responsible for sales in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Hawaii, Nevada eastern Oregon, Saskatchewan and Washington. Scott Clarey joined the company as sales director, North American sales for Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Utrak. He is based in Tempe, Ariz.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Elliott Aviation,. Moline, Ill, hired Scott Noack as regional sales manager for the South Central U.S., responsible for maintaining and building Elliott's customer relationships in that region
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Cutter Aviation's facility in Phoenix, Ariz., was appointed an authorized service center for Beechcraft Beechjet/Hawker 400XP series aircraft. The designation expands upon Cutter's Beechcraft authorizations, which also cover Baron, Bonanza and King Air series aircraft. Cutter 's facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Addison, Texas are also authorized service centers for Baron and Bonanza series aircraft .
Business Aviation

By Fred George
Model 45 became only the second clean-sheet Learjet since the 1963 Learjet 23 when it was launched by launched in June 1990. It was built from 1998 to 2012. It was replaced by the higher performing Learjet 75 in November 2013.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Call letters of the renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport changed from IDL to JFK. The cost, including navaid signals, air navigation charts and reservation computer codes, is estimated at $500,000. Then, there's all those little baggage tags. No matter how successful, an airplane sooner or later goes back to the drawing board to be taken from good to better. The twin-Baron recently emerged from a face lifting with a longer airframe, added baggage space, increased useful load and upped performance figures.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno, William Garvey
Next month the FAA is expected to issue a draft request for proposals for private companies to operate the agency's 252 contract control towers for the next five years. The current contract expires in September. The towers use a civilian workforce to handle operations at visual flight rules airports in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Saipan.
Business Aviation

By William Garvey
Questions for Dr. Peggy Chabrian Sure she was going to be an elementary school teacher, Chabrian recalculated her life after taking aflight in a 1946 Ercoupe. 1. How is it that the WAI and conference came to be?
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Biggin Hill Airport, London, appointed Robert Walters as director. He spent seven years as business development manager for the airport and will continue to lead sales and marketing but will also manage customer service.
Business Aviation

Douglas Nelms
Considering all their powered, moving parts, helicopters are by their very nature noisy conveyances. They are, however, in the process of getting quieter, much to the relief of those within and without. Noise reduction of rotary wing aircraft is obviously a major goal of the industry, and in view of the news reports regarding the quiet, special ops helicopters used in the assault against Osama Bin Laden, the technology is gaining.
Business Aviation

Richard N. Aarons
This month, we'll look at two NTSB investigations —one recent, one many years past — both involving inflight fire. One tells of the importance of maintenance follow-up; the other demonstrates how a small deviation from checklist procedures can lead to disaster. Cessna 401 (N9DM) was lost on May 11, 2012 in Chanute, Kan. Four persons died and one was seriously injured.
Business Aviation

By Fred George
In April 1997, the American Airlines Flight Academy produced a seminar on the hazards of automation dependency, particularly the perils of attempting to reprogram flight management computers in time-sensitive, high workload environments.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
January 2014
Business Aviation

Mike Gamauf
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) was founded in 1984 to act as an advocate for its members, provide regulatory compliance assistance and act as an industry advocate before government bodies and the media. It also provides training, advisory materials, news services, and regulatory expertise to help members remain compliant in a heavily regulated industry. The organization also offers technical and legal expertise to analyze and respond to government actions.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Gulfstream Aerospace 's service center at London Luton Airport in the U.K. recently received European Aviation Safety Agency approval to perform maintenance on the Gulfstream G280.The facility earned similar EASA approval for Gulfstream 's G650 last year. The G280 entered service in November 2012, followed by the G650 in December 2012.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Raisbeck Engineering's Swept Blade Turbofan Propellers are now being delivered after their FAA certification covering the entire King Air C90 and E90 family. When added to the Raisbeck EPIC Performance Package for the C90/E90 aircraft, the Swept Blade Propellers deliver performance increases across the board, according to Raisbeck. The EPIC Package is priced at $99,864 plus installation and includes Raisbeck Dual Aft Body Strakes and FAA-Approved Airplane Flight Manual Supplement.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno, William Garvey
Avic has launched full-scale development of its MA700 78-seat turboprop airliner, aiming at a first flight in 2016 and first delivery in 2019. New details show the MA700's cabin width has shrunk during pre-development. Adoption of a narrower fuselage and shorter wingspan than previously planned partly explain a reduction in what already looked like an aggressive weight target. Avic will choose an engine supplier within a few months, according to MA700 designer Dong Jianhong. Bids were due in June.

By Jessica A. Salerno
Sporty's says that your flight bag just got lighter — their FAR/AIM book is now available as an app for your iPhone or iPad. The new app has additional advanced features making it easier to find information. You can highlight and bookmark passages for quick retrieval or you can study content based on your current flight training. The app includes free updates and is available in the App Store.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
WSI Corporation's Fusion Operations Management platform now supports flight tracking for Honeywell GDC Datalink customers. Using the Honeywell position reports, WSI Fusion is enabled with global contiguous flight tracking and monitoring of equipped flight departments. WSI has also announced the debut of WSI Business Aviation Solution, a platform to improve safety and efficiency of flight operations. The tool combines weather information, airspace constraints, flight information and operational data in a clear picture, according to WSI.
Business Aviation

By Jessica A. Salerno
Avflight has increas–ed its chain of FBOs with the acquisition of the assets of America Jet at Salina Regional Airport. Avflight will provide the serves out of the existing FBO facilities. An Avfuel-branded dealer, Avflight operates at eight other locations,including Detroit (DET), Flint (FNT), Lansing (LAN), Saginaw (MBS), and Ypsilanti, Mich. (YIP), along with Durango, Colo. (DRO), Harrisburg, Pa. (MDT) and Roswell, N.M. (ROW).

By Jessica A. Salerno, William Garvey
Textron, parent of Cessna Aircraft and Bell Helicopter, plans to add Beechcraft to its corporate stable in $1.4 billion acquisition. The initial plan appears to maintain Beechcraft as a separate unit and keep its leadership intact. The acquisition is expected to conclude by mid-2014. Beechcraft's equity holders have already approved the agreement.
Business Aviation

Patrick R. Veillette, Ph.D.
The working group involved in the 2013 “Operational Use of Flight Path Management Systems” study found continued instances of pilots being unaware of the potential consequences of selection of certain FMS modes.
Business Aviation

Nihad E. Daidzic, Ph.D. ATP, CFII, MEI, CFIG Professor of Aviation and Mechanical Engineering (Minnesota State University Mankato, Minn. )
Regarding “Cause & Circumstance” (December 2013), two pilots needlessly died primarily due to lack of proper training and understanding of multiengine airplane control and performance during dynamic asymmetric-thrust operations. In order to regain control, the airplane performance must be first sacrificed. Pilots just did not have enough altitude for that tradeoff, sadly only 20 seconds from touchdown.
Business Aviation