One of the challenges of aviation's so-called Golden Age was the installation of radios. After all, how would you connect to the circuit to ground? The answer turned out to be using the metal airframe as a substitute for good old terra firma. Still, early radios were plagued with interference and noise issues. One solution was to add braided wire shielding to prevent stray electric fields from interfering with the radio transmission.
A total support solution for Eurocopter helicopters in deployed operations was launched recently by Eurocopter, DAHER, DCI, Eurotradia and Vector Aerospace. Designated E-HOTS (Eurocopter Helicopter On Theatre Services), the consortium consolidates the five partners' expertise and pools their resources providing a turnkey support package that covers a range of services for rotorcraft in any deployed operation such as humanitarian and crisis relief missions, conflict zones and oil and gas exploration.
Executive AirShare, Kansas City, Kan., announced industry veteran Steve Gentry joined the company as senior sales director and will be based at the company's Love Field, Dallas facility. Gentry previously held positions at CitationAir, Bombardier FlexJet and a national turboprop fraction program. He is a pilot with more than 600 flight hours.
Europe is fielding a competitor to Robinson's Helicopter's mighty mite, the R22. Bruno Guimbal, an aeronautical engineer with Eurocopter, believed there was a market for a small, piston-powered helicopter with excellent performance — something well below his employer's line. And so he, too, set out on his own. By 2005, his two-place Cabri G2 was flying and setting world records — height attained without a payload 6,658 m (21,838 ft.); duration of a climb to 3,000 m (9840 ft.) of 6 min., 42 sec.; and duration of a climb to 6,000 m (19,680 ft.) of 22 min., 6 sec.
TWC Aviation, San Jose, Calif., promoted Jack Mulder to director of Operations. He has been with the company for seven and has chief pilot, director of Training and was a line pilot.
ExecuJet, Zurich, appointed Paul Desgrosseilliers general manager of the company's Haite Aviation Services, the company's joint venture with the Sichuan Haite Group, based in Tianjin, China.
Ed Iacobucci, founder of DayJet, the on-demand air-travel enterprise, died June 21. He was 59. Although Iacobucci is best remembered in the aviation community standing proudly next to one of his Eclipse 500s, DayJet was built on his expertise in the information technology industry. The former IBMer founded Citrix, the original cross-platform system that delivered enterprise software on a central server, and under his leadership the company grew to become a tech giant.
Bell Helicopter is re-entering what it calls the Short Light Single (SLS) turbine market with a new, as yet unnamed successor to the ubiquitous JetRanger. Since production of the latter ended in 2010, both the Robinson R66 and Eurocopter EC120 have rushed to fill the void. The new aircraft, which is to make its first flight in 2014, will be powered by a 450-550 shp Arrius 2R, similar to the EC120's power plant and the first Bell product to use a Turbomeca engine. The new aircraft will be a mix of metal and carbon fiber construction.
First it was Mexico denying operators overflight permits for alleged nonpayment of navigation fees. Now, it's Venezuela. Applying for overflight permits from the Venezuelan civil aviation authority Instituto Nacional de Aeronautica Civil (INAC), some international business aviation operators in the past year have been surprised when they subsequently received huge invoices for allegedly overdue navigation fees from previous trips. These can amount to tens of thousands of dollars, often charged for flights never made in Venezuelan airspace.
June 21 — At 1240 EDT, a Cessna 172M (N9926Q) crashed during takeoff at the Oakland County International Airport (KPTK), Waterford, Mich. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. The Cessna was registered to and operated by Flight 101, LLC, Waterford, Mich., as a FAR Part 91 personal flight. It was operating VFR with no flight plan and the local flight was originating at the time of the accident. Control tower personnel saw the airplane lift off from Runway 09L and attained an altitude of about 100 ft.
ForeFlight digital navigation charts and information are now available for Canada. The complete set of NAV CANADA charts, optimized for iPad display, includes Visual Navigation Charts (VNC), Visual Terminal Area Charts (VTA), and the Canadian Flight Supplement (CFS). ForeFlight Mobile now offers flight-planning capabilities; preflight weather information including METARs, TAFs, and radar from Environment Canada; and, inflight access to navigation charts, weather and moving map capabilities.
Flight Displays, Alpharetta, Ga., announced that Reed Macdonald has joined the company as chief operating officer responsible for overseeing all aspects of company operations including oversight of research, product design, manufacturing, logistics, customer service, accounting and finance.
Europe's goal of developing a database that collects aviation occurrence reports from across the region and helps identify broad safety trends is moving closer to reality as both data quality and reporting consistency improve, the EASA reports. The European Commission's European Central Repository (ECR) has amassed nearly 665,000 aviation occurrence reports since 2005 and 2011 was the first year that all 31 EASA member states contributed reports.
You know the drill. Same stuff, different day during the simulator session. If it's Tuesday, it must be time for V1 cuts. Wednesday, it will be electrical malfunctions and engine fires. Thursday, we'll see single engine circling approaches. Just put an X in every FAA or EASA required box and let's go home.
A resurgence of interest in the updated Dornier 228 NG from commuter airlines has prompted RUAG Aviation to consider producing another batch of the twin-turboprop multirole aircraft. “We want to pre-sell the next batch before we go ahead with it, but then keep on selling for another batch afterward,” says RUAG. Airframe structures for the 19-seat Dornier 228 NG are made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) in India and shipped to RUAG in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, for outfitting and completion as airliners or special-mission aircraft.
If you're heading for that big continent in the southern half of the Western Hemisphere with a cabin full of high-worth individuals, you might first want to read Pablo Penalva's “Top Five Things to Know Before Flying to South America.”
Bristow Group has taken over search-and-rescue helicopter operations in the North of Scotland. As of July 1, Bristow crews flying Sikorsky S-92s took over from CHC flying SAR missions on behalf of the U.K. Maritime and Coast Guard Agency (MCA) under its Gap SAR contract awarded in February 2012.
Signature Flight Support Dublin Ltd. acquired the assets of gategroup's aircraft deicing business at Dublin Airport (DUB/EIDW). This announcement follows BBA Aviation's acquisition of gategroup's deicing, washing and cabin cleaning business at London Heathrow and London Gatwick, which will be operated by Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG). Deicing services will be available to both business and general aviation as well as commercial airline customers, marking Signature's entrance into commercial ground handling services at Dublin Airport.
Jet Professional is commemorating its 30th anniversary by launching a new global website with enhanced capabilities, user-friendly features and a streamlined presentation of information on the company's extensive line-up of human resources and staffing solutions. It features a new browse feature to view and apply to open positions and register a candidate profile for future consideration. There is quick access to pertinent documents such as time sheets, payroll cut-of dates and expense forms. There are also links to social media accounts.
A bill calling for the rewriting of FAR Part 23 and designed to stimulate the light aircraft industry received unanimous approval by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee July 10. Aviation subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) said the “Small Airplane Revitalization Act” entailed “necessary, common sense reforms” which together “will improve the safety of general aviation at half the cost and help revitalize this critical industry.” The Senate's Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is expected to approve a companion measure.
Musical chairs in Washington. In a rare 100-0 vote, the U.S. Senate in late June confirmed Anthony Foxx to become U.S. transportation secretary, succeeding Ray LaHood. The former mayor of Charlotte, N.C., assumes leadership of a Cabinet department that oversees the FAA, the Maritime Administration and numerous other related federal agencies. Two weeks later Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced she was resigning her Cabinet post and likely become president of the University of California system.
Aircraft operating costs are presented in a format that separates the data into seven separate areas: Mission Costs, Variable Costs, Fixed Annual Costs, Periodic Costs, Personnel Costs, Training Costs and Facilities Costs.
In May, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker heartened hundreds of people gathered in a hangar in Appleton by saying he was proud “to celebrate and promote general aviation. The economic impact created by general aviation is strong, and it plays such an important role in providing the transportation needs of individuals and businesses across the globe.”
