The results of the 2007 J.D. Power and Associates' (JDPA) Business Aircraft Customer Satisfaction Survey now have been tallied and they produced useful, but qualified, findings. Both JDPA and B&CA are part of The McGraw-Hill Companies. In this launch effort, B&CA assisted the polling professionals at JDPA in refining the questionnaire and interpreting some of the resulting data.
Aviation Research Group/U.S. (ARG/US) has expanded its Charter Evaluation and Qualification (CHEQ) service to include international air charter operators. A series of audits in the European Union began early this year. The company is also planning to expand the I-CHEQ program to Mexico, South America and possibly the Far East. The CHEQ system provides access to the safety rating of 915 charter operators including 95 audited companies. the TripCHEQ feature provided information on the qualification of over 14,088 charter pilots and profiles of 3,870 charter aircraft.
The PilotView electronic flight bag (EFB) from Canadian-based CMC Electronics has been selected by Embraer for the flight decks of its Legacy 600, E-Jets and Lineage 1000 aircraft. PilotView gives the flight crew access to up-to-date aircraft documentation and flight planning information. En route and approach charts, moving map display and real-time graphical weather are all readily supported, according to CMC. The unit is a compact, lightweight system with a display/processor unit featuring a wireless connection.
Jet Stream Aviation Products has opened the Jet Stream Aviation Cosmetic Detailing University at its Dallas Love Field headquarters. The University provides a three-day certification program for professionals interested in acquiring knowledge in the safe and proper procedures for detailing all aspects of jet aircraft exteriors and interiors. According to Jet Stream, this program, which is designed for individuals and flight departments, is the first curriculum developed to teach aircraft detailing in a classroom environment. Price: Contact vendor
Garmin (Europe) Ltd., a unit of Garmin Ltd., introduced the GTSX 328 Mode S transponder to meet the European regulation for Mode S implementation for VFR aircraft by March 31, 2008. The new unit is intended to serve VFR/Class 2 aircraft where there is adequate size and power consumption support for a GTX 328. It is designed to be a straightforward retrofit and maintains many of the STX 330 features such as OAT, altitude monitoring, count-up and countdown timers, density altitude functions, and front-panel input for flight ID.
The 2007 edition of Jet & Propjet is shipping. The new directory has been completely updated to include U.S. and non-U.S. aircraft current through mid-December 2006. The directory lists 29,357 entries for 167 countries, including aircraft make, model, owner, serial number, registration number and previous registration number. Aircraft that have been written off or otherwise withdrawn from service are also listed.The 650-page book contains 334 aircraft models and variants manufactured by over 30 companies. Price: $21.95 JETNET LLC/AvData, Inc.
A Cessna CitationJet 525 operated by Sunquest Executive Air Charter collided with terrain in Van Nuys, Calif. Both pilots died and the airplane was destroyed. Linemen added 190 gallons of fuel in each wing before the flight. One of the linemen observed the copilot preflight the airplane and load bags into the left front baggage compartment. He noted that the copilot pulled the front left baggage door down with one hand, but did not see him latch or lock it.
Imagine rolling down the runway at full thrust and just as you reach the V1 takeoff decision speed, a bright red "FIRE" warning annunciator illuminates. A fire warning bell, buzzer or "Bong! Bong! Bong!" chime also sounds, as loud as a klaxon. Without doubt, there's nothing quite like a fire onboard an aircraft to rivet your attention.
The European Regions Airline Association has launched an online timetable of its member airlines that allows users to search for flights and book online. The system has been developed in partnership with OAG, the leading provider of airline schedules worldwide. ERA member airlines operate 1.7 million flights per year throughout Europe.
ONE SPRING DAY I was out front trimming unruly hedges when a neighbor came by. My clippers chomping away, he cautioned, "Careful of that poison ivy." I pulled back, surprised. "Poison ivy? Where?" He looked at me in an odd way and after a moment responded, "Where? Everywhere! The whole hedge is full of poison ivy! You didn't know?" Another Duh! moment for failing to recognize what was right before my eyes. Such experiences continue to accumulate.
I think that the FAA would answer that this is a mechanic's job, because this function is not listed in Part 43, Appendix A, is part of a (rather important) flight control system and the function is described in the maintenance manual, not the pilot operating handbook. If you operate under Part 135, then I think the FAA would be especially strict in viewing this as a mechanic function. If the helicopter is experimental, or the manufacturer specifically authorizes a pilot to perform this function, then the pilot could do so.
BIG TIMBER IS A SMALL TOWN with a big view of the magnificent natural formations that give Montana its name. To the west tower the Crazy Mountain peaks rising 11,000 feet; to the east, the plains go on and on. Big Sky Country. And on Saturday, June 24, 2006, the weather was VMC, inviting conditions for some afternoon air work in that endless expanse.
At 1426 EST, a Mooney M-20F collided with terrain after loss of control during a local flight over Mount Gilead, Ohio. The ATP pilot and the flight instructor were fatally injured. The flight was a VFR familiarization and training fight operating without a flight plan that originated from the Knox County Airport, Mount Vernon, Ohio, at about 1245 EST. The pilot has purchased the Mooney earlier in the month and was taking instruction for insurance purposes. Witnesses reported seeing and hearing the airplane flying from east to west prior to the accident.
Yes, all maintenance must be logged, even preventative maintenance by pilots. Column space is limited, and because I had to abbreviate the approved preventative maintenance list, I didn't have room to write about maintenance entries. I frequently speak at IA renewal seminars, and I find that even mechanics tend to be too brief in their entries, so I suspect that pilots would be worse.
At 2030 EST, a Cessna 414A (N62950) registered to ATA of Broward Corp. and operated by a private pilot as an FAR Part 91 flight, collided with trees during an instrument approach into Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field (LZU), in Lawrenceville, Ga. The Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center reported that the pilot was given the current weather information before attempting his first instrument approach. The winds were calm, there was fog and the ceiling was 100 feet.
In its 75-year history, few innovations in business aviation have had the impact of fractional ownership, and today those programs account for as much as 20 percent of new turbine-powered aircraft deliveries. But after two decades of existence, is the fractional model becoming a victim of its own success?
In early January, the NTSB reported that during the 12-day holiday period between Dec. 22, 2006 and Jan. 2, 2007, it dispatched regional air safety investigators to 12 fatal general aviation accidents. These accidents resulted in a total of 31 fatalities. Below are details on three of these accidents.
Kaballit Nunaat is thawing quickly. The ice mass of the world's largest island -- a.k.a. Greenland -- is melting at a rate of 41 cubic miles per year. Using a technique that reveals regional changes in the weight of the massive ice sheet across the entire landmass, NASA scientists report that Greenland's low coastal regions lost 155 gigatons of ice per year between 2003 and 2005 from excess melting and icebergs, while the high-elevation interior gained 54 gigatons annually from excess snowfall.
A Cessna 414 (N400CS), operated by Flight Source LLC, was destroyed with it hit terrain at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (JST) in Johnstown, Pa. The fight was on an IFR flight plan between Morgantown Municipal-Walter L. Bill Hart Field (MGW), Morgantown, W.Va., and Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey. This was a positioning flight operated under FAR Part 91.
EVERY YEAR IT PLAYS out the exact same way. The unflagging optimist, I plan a reasonable mid-morning getaway for the Christmas reunion, but my ETA is viewed as a quaint suggestion at best and is mostly ignored as searches are conducted for lost things; fraternal disputes erupt loudly, subside and then flare nosily again; packages get wrapped and ribboned; bags get stuffed; and the dog is shuffled off to the pet motel. And finally, finally, we leave.
For less than $2 million, you can buy an early 1990s CitationJet that carries a pilot and two to three passengers up to 1,400 miles in four hours flat. These aircraft are holding their values well in the resale market because they're reliable, easy to fly and relatively inexpensive to maintain. Cessna delivered 359 units between 1993 and 1999. In 2000, it replaced the CJ with the CJ1.
Just before the NBAA's 2006 convention in Orlando, Cessna Aircraft introduced the CJ4, the fourth and newest member of its Citation CJ family. Although Cessna personnel were all-smiles, the announcement elicited yawns from many industry technocrats and harrumphs from those of the faster-higher-farther philosophy of aviation. After all, to them what was being unveiled was just the sequel to the sequel to the sequel. The aeronautical equivalent of double vanilla.
Larger, heavier, faster airplanes need considerably more capable wheel brakes and steering systems because the loads on them increase proportionately to weight and the square of the speed. The wheel brakes of a typical business jet must have 50 to 100 times the energy absorbing capacity of those of a light airplane. Powerful brakes, though, easily can overwhelm the friction of the tires on the runway, potentially resulting in complete loss of stopping performance or even a skid off the pavement.
