Col. John Scherer, USAF (Ret.) (Alder Companies Delavan, Wis. )
“Two Tiers of Training” (June 2013) is right on target! I was a T-37 IP at Reese AFB and taught spins and spin prevents as well. My son (U.S. Naval Academy 2010) just went through Navy pilot training at NAS Pensacola, Vance AFB and NAS Corpus Christi (he's flying P3s in Bahrain now). He described similar training in the T-6 as well.
Buoyed by greater-than-anticipated activity in the single-utility turboprop market, Honeywell is supporting a range of additional applications for its TPE331 family, as well as studying potential new engine developments to compete with Pratt & Whitney Canada's PT6 and its planned successor. “In the downturn we saw that the strongest small airplane market was turboprops, and we were fascinated by that,” says Jim Kroeger, Honeywell's director of engineering for propulsion systems.
Gestair private Aviation, which has 10 FBOs in Spain, reports an investment of about EUR1.2 million to refurbish the old “Authorities Pavilion” at Madrid-Barajas and convert it into a modern FBO. The facility is 472 sq. meters (nearly 5,100 sq. ft.) including three VIP rooms for passengers and a fourth for crew, a passenger services office, a flight-planning area and a staff of 33. Gestair's FBOs handled 7,730 operations in 2012, up from 6,890 in 2011.
Since the human brain is approximately 75% water, when the body becomes dehydrated, headaches, lightheadedness and fatigue are common symptoms. Dehydration results in increased tracking errors, slowed decision making, and decreased short-term memory.
The brooding, blarney and bluster that attend to my surname notwithstanding, the truth is that half my ancestry is German. You see, my given name derives from Wilhelm Gunther, my grandfather, who emigrated alone to the U.S. as a nearly penniless teenager and went on to achieve great success as a commercial printer and paragon of his community. He also loved sports, drove cars too fast, crashed boats with curious regularity and watched proudly but surely with an aching heart as his two sons donned uniforms of his new country and left to defend it from the old.
Perhaps you remember the first time you lowered the canopy on the T-37 in the middle of that hot July sun in Columbus, Miss. Or preflighting a Piper Warrior on the Vero Beach ramp at high noon in August. Or maybe you were learning to hover in that “green house” canopy of a TH-55 at Fort Rucker, Ala., or an R-22 in mid-summer outside Sao Paulo — either way, your Nomex flight suit or cotton shirt was completely drenched in sweat. Back then we were young, eager and not about to show others that the heat was a bother.
Diehl Aerosystems reports that two of its business units have been awarded Bombardier contracts for cabin interior products for Global 7000 and Global 8000 business aircraft. The work package covers cabin peripheries — including the baggage compartments — with high-end surface treatments and optimized acoustic behavior (Diehl Aircabin). The company is to provide all-LED cabin mood lighting. The contracts are a major success for Diehl in business jets, as they are “the first combined approach with both cabin interiors and cabin lighting products” in the segment.
Eurocopter reports its X3 hybrid demonstrator reached a speed of 255 kt. (472 km/hr) in level flight on June 7, thus claiming an unofficial speed record for a helicopter. The speed mark was achieved at an altitude of around 10,000 ft. during a 40-minute flight over southern France near the Istres flight test center. The X3 configuration utilizes a pair of RTM 322 turboshaft FADEC-equipped engines to power a five-blade main rotor system with two propellers installed on short-span fixed wings.
BlackJet's app is available now in the iTunes App store. Members can book a seat on a private jet from their smartphone in seconds, according to BlackJet. The company's technology enables instant private jet seat booking and real time confirmations. The seat service is currently available in San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles and South Florida, with service to Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston and Dallas, with Seattle coming soon. You must be a BlackJet member to use the service.
Sierra Industries has released their 2013-2014 catalog of products and services. It is organized by aircraft model and product category, including detailed information on aircraft performance, costs of operation and comparative information for a variety of competitive business aircraft. Expanded services include flat-rate inspection pages for aircraft ranging from the Citation CJ2/CJ3 through Beechcraft's King Air and Hawker 400/800 models.
Honeywell and Astro-Med have signed a long-term agreement to make the Astro-Med ToughWriter 5 cockpit printer available for Primus Epic and other Honeywell business aviation and regional air transport cockpits. The compact, 7.3-in.-deep printer is more than 5-lb. lighter than current non-Honeywell printers installed in Primus Epic cockpits.
Speaking recently in New York, aviation consultant Rolland “Rollie” Vincent said the latest Jetnet iQ Global Business Aviation Survey forecast 9,300 business jets would be purchased over the next ten years.
FlightSafety International, La Guardia Airport, N.Y., announced the Greg Arend was promoted to director, Commercial Programs for FSI's simulation design, manufacture and support facility in Tulsa, Okla. He will be responsible for delivery of all new training devices, as well as the relocation and modification of existing equipment. George Brady has been promoted to director, Product Support and Simulator Operations.
Honeywell is partnering with Dubai-based Jetex to expand the global reach of its flight support services. Jetex will resell from Honeywell's Global Data Center Flight Support Services to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Jetex will provide international trip planning across multiple regions and after-trip concierge service to Honeywell customers. The agreement will enable end-to-end international flight services for operators globally. The joint services are expected to be available in the fourth quarter.
The long running and contentious contest over a (relatively) small Pentagon contract for a light attack aircraft for Afghanistan's Air Force has ended another round, with Beechcraft the loser. Again. Vying for the contract, potentially worth slightly less than $1 billion, is the Embraer Super Tucano and the Beechcraft AT-6, both single engine turboprops. The U.S. Air Force, which is overseeing the competition, initially chose the Embraer. However, a Beechcraft protest forced a second competition in which the Embraer was selected for a second time.
Renovations of the Jet Centre at London City Airport (LCY) are now complete and a Border Force officer installed thereby supporting the facility's pledge to whisk business aircraft passengers from plane to car within 60 seconds. The airport-owned FBO now features an improved reception area, large passenger lounge, private meeting room, ground floor crew rest area and security screening area, as well as the border checking station.
Operators using Dubai International Airport will face an 80-day runway closure next year that looks set to bring major upheaval. The airport operator has asked airlines to reduce operations or move them to World Central/Al Maktoum International Airport. Freight, general aviation and charter carriers will be barred from the airport during the closure period, set to start on May 1, 2014. Runway 12L/30R is nearing the end of its design life.
Aircell announced that it has signed an agreement with P3 Voith Aerospace GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, to develop several new Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for the Aviator 200 inflight connectivity system in the European market. Under the program, Aircell will provide complete, no-cost STCs to operators installing an Aviator 200 system at an authorized Aircell dealer and activating a new SwiftBroadband service plan with Aircell. The company is seeking aircraft to be used as the certification platform for future STCs. Aircell
Projet Aviation, Leesburg, Va., was awarded the Small Business “Ambassador” Award. The award celebrates a business or organization that promotes a positive image of Leesburg as a business location and tourist destination. Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was named a 2013 Gold Edison award winner in the Safety category for its synthetic vision on a head-up display, The product is currently incorporated in the company's Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system.
Embraer Executive Jets, Melbourne, Fla., named Brenda K. Paauwe-Navori to the position of regional sale director responsible for the Western regional sales for its Large and Ultra-large Division.
SyberJet says it plans to return the SJ30 light jet to production within two years and has selected Cedar City, Utah, as its headquarters and assembly plant location. MT LLC, which acquired the program from bankruptcy in April 2011, renamed the operation SyberJet. State and local officials offered MT a $43 million package to locate in Cedar City, as well as expand the facilities of SyberJet's sister company, Metalcraft Technologies, which is also based there. In the works under various owners since 1986, the Ed Swearingen-designed jet was finally certified in 2004.
