In the 1963 Handbook for Planning & Purchasing, the five most expensive aircraft listed in the “Fixed-Wing Business/Utility Aircraft” tables were: Lockheed JetStar 1329-23A, $1,450,000; Fairchild Stratos Corp., F-27 Business, $895,000; North American Aviation, Sabreliner 265-40, $795,000; de Havilland DH 125 Series I, $625,000; Howard Aero, Howard 500, $597,000. (In BCA's 2012 edition the most expensive airplanes listed are the Airbus Corporate Jetliner at $80 million and the Boeing BBJ at $70 million).
The Bell 47 is reborn as a turbine. Scott's — Bell 47 (SB47), a Minnesota-based upgrade and modification specialist, has launched a program to restart production of an all-new variant of the venerable Bell 47 light utility helicopter. Although outwardly identical in most respects to the original 1946-vintage design, the new variant will feature an array of 21st century features, including composite main rotor blades, an improved instrument panel with solid-state electronics, LED lighting and a new interior.
The NTSB, March 12, issued five safety alerts aimed at reducing the number of general aviation accidents: reduced-visual reference; aerodynamic stalls at low altitude; pilot inattention to indications of mechanical problems; risk management of aviation maintenance technicians and risk management for pilots. The five Safety Alerts issued are: “Is Your Aircraft Talking to You?
EASA has updated guidance for flying in volcanic ash-contaminated airspace, revamping its recommendations to reflect the latest research conducted by industry groups studying the threat of ash to aircraft operations. Feedback from original equipment manufacturers convinced EASA to take a more aggressive stance on flying through ash clouds, and the agency's first recommendation urges carriers to “avoid operations in visible volcanic ash.”
The FAA is gauging the interest of aerospace companies in developing upgrades to the ground-based portions of its wide-area augmentation system (WAAS) in advance of dual-frequency GPS operations for the aviation community later this decade. WAAS uses a network of ground-based reference and control stations, and three geostationary satellites, to augment the accuracy of GPS signals to enable satellite-based instrument approaches and precision navigation operations in North America. Similar satellite-based augmentation systems are available in Europe, Japan and elsewhere.
Metro Aviation has released a smart phone app with the potential to decrease response time by up to 5 min. When air transport is needed, hospitals and first responders can use Metro Alert to notify one of Metro Aviation's bases and send GPS coordinates using the helo- alert function. Users will receive an estimated time of arrival and availability of the closest helicopter, as well as have access to other functions such as tips for preparing the landing zone.
Soloy Aviation Solutions has engineered and received STC approval for an LED-based aircraft lighting kit for the Cessna 206G and 206H. The kit installs a second light source on the leading wedge of the right wing to complement the factory installed left wing taxi and landing lights. It further converts both sides to LED illumination and is compatible with the 50-gal. fuel tanks from Sierra Industries. The new kit includes pulse-light capability pulsing the landing light between the two wings.
A Frasca Sikorsky S76 Level B full- flight simulator (FFS) is on its way to Bristow Helicopters in Scotland to join two other Frasca FFSs (for the S92 and EC225) already in service. Also, nearing delivery is an AW139 Level 6 flight training device (FTD) for the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard and a Bell 206 FTD for the Japanese Coast Guard.
Helicopter Association International is mounting a legal challenge in federal court in Washington to what it sees as a potentially growing and unwarranted threat to airspace access for helicopters over residential areas of the U.S. The move follows the reintroduction of a bill in Congress that requires the FAA to set guidelines on flight paths and minimum altitudes used by helicopter operators over residential areas of Los Angeles County. The bill, which has been reintroduced in both the House and Senate, is sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sens.
Dassault expects to see a boost in Falcon sales and slight increase in deliveries to 70 Falcon business jets in 2013. The improving sales would follow a year in which Dassault's Falcon net order intake (minus cancellations) increased by more than 50%, from 36 in 2011 to 58 in 2012. Deliveries were up last year by three units from 2011 to 66. But with the lead time in orders to deliveries, Dassault's production output is still reflecting slow orders during the downturn and is well beneath the 2010 peak of 95 deliveries.
Cessna Aircraft says it wants to increase its sales force by 50% as the manufacturer is bringing six new or upgraded aircraft to market this year. The first of which, a more powerful Caravan, has already entered service. Cessna is planning decentralized satellite offices worldwide to expand its reach in growing markets and reinforce its presence in well-established ones.
Despite broader economic woes and a continuing climate of fiscal uncertainty, this year's Heli-Expo convention set another record for attendance with well more than 20,393 visitors. The record marks the sixth consecutive year of growth. Matt Zuccaro, president of Heli-Expo organizer Helicopter Association International (HAI), says for the past five years “it has been trending up each year and exceeding attendance from the previous year.” Some 730 exhibitors booked 1 million sq. ft.
IMP Group Limited (IMP), the Canadian conglomerate that owns Canjet, Innotech Aviation, Execaire and Pacific Avionics, continues to expand its aviation portfolio with the acquisition of Toronto-based Image Air Charter to compliment Execaire's charter and management services. The company, which has 60 employees, manages a fleet of 20 aircraft. Execaire employs 290 workers and has a managed fleet of 53 aircraft.
EASA certified both the Dassault Falcon 2000S and 2000LXS March 11. This puts the 2000LXS ahead of schedule. It was originally anticipated to enter the market in 2014, but Dassault now expects the aircraft to enter service in the second half of this year. The Falcon 2000S is slated for first deliveries in the second quarter. Dassault unveiled the Falcon 2000S during the 2011 European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition as a successor to the Falcon 2000DX.
Four, 14.1-in., landscape configuration LCD screens dominate the Gulfstream G650's second-generation PlaneView instrument panel with several layouts that can be customized by the flight crew. The outboard displays normally are configured as PFDs and the inboards as MFDs. The glareshield-mounted flight guidance panel has improved functionality, including LED illumination and annunciator buttons, an “FLXXX” flight level indication in the altitude window above the transition altitude, a push in/pull out, 1,000 ft./100 ft.
Gulfstream and FlightSafety International worked together three years prior to the G650's entering service to develop flight crew, cabin crew and maintenance technician training programs. Each G650 pilot instructor has flight time in the actual aircraft and each maintenance instructor has turned wrenches on real aircraft.
Boeing is moving all of its full-flight simulators (FFS) from Seattle to Miami. The relocation began when the first 787 simulator was shipped by truck to the company's training facility at Miami International Airport. This starts a consolidation of the company's pilot training activities in Miami that is expected to finish by year-end. Maintenance training for all but the 787 will remain in Seattle.
Robert E. Breiling Associates' annual Business Turbine Aircraft Accident Review has become the industry's guide for detailed narrative accounts of business aviation accidents worldwide. The Review is 500 pages with accounts of over 415 reported fixed- and rotary-wing turbine aircraft accidents and incidents. A summary of each accident includes model, operator type, phase of operation, conditions and a factual description of all reported circumstances.
Duncan Aviation has put together an airframe-specific team dedicated to Gulfstream work at the company's Lincoln, Nebraska, campus. Duncan Aviation's Battle Creek, Michigan, location has been running with a dedicated Gulfstream airframe team since 1993, says Rod Christensen, Airframe Services Manager at Duncan's Battle Creek location.
The approach into Juneau, Alaska, International is infamous because the majestic mountains that tightly encircle the airport produce a complex wind-flow pattern and constrain maneuvers when arriving or departing. It is no surprise that JNU has a lengthy history of turbulence-related incidents involving passenger jets.
The King Schools Online High-Altitude Weather course contains seven major subject lessons including such topics as mountain waves, jet stream turbulence avoidance, thunderstorm avoidance, coping with icing conditions, among others. The course helps pilots meet the initial and transition pilot training requirements for weather, FAR 135.345(a)(3) and recurrent training, Part 135.351, also Part 91K (91.1065). Pilot may individually order and enroll or flight departments may order multiple courses.
