For more than a year, a great confrontation expected to be decided a year from now has been escalating between long-term antagonists over the classic prize of turf and how it will be governed and administered.
Yesterday's "navigation fixes" gave way to today's "waypoints," all of which helped define our "course." In the ATC system of the future -- NGATS -- we will be filing for "trajectories."
It's not often that an aircraft manufacturer introduces new derivative models that, compared to their predecessors, weigh more yet climb and cruise faster, burn less fuel and need less runway when departing hot-and-high airports. But that's exactly what Cessna has achieved with the Citations CJ1+ and CJ2+.
The fully integrated Pro Line 21 avionics suite aboard the CJ1+ and CJ2+ has features and functionality on a level with far more expensive aircraft. Indeed, the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 systems aboard the CE 525 family of aircraft offer the most features of any of the current production Citations, including Citations X and Sovereign.
B&CA: What is NATCA's position on the Next Generation Air Transportation System? Do you think it's a sound concept, and if not, why not? Church: We are not involved in either the JPDO or NGATS. The FAA has eliminated collaboration of any kind with controllers. They sent all of our technical experts home to their control facilities, including the one who was our JPDO liaison. This is the FAA's choice for us not to be involved in the JPDO. B&CA: What is your position on automation in general?
"We're supportive of deploying automation improvements in the ATC system, but it's more than that: you have to provide compatible capability on the aircraft to interact with the equipment on the ground and with the controller," Steve Brown, the NBAA's senior vice president of operations, said in answer to B&CA's query on the business aviation organization's position on automation.
An Army brat, Tilton graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1962, but took a commission in the U.S. Air Force because he wanted to fly. After piloting six-engine B-47s, C-141s and B-57 Canberras for seven years, he entered the University of New Mexico as an officer-student, earning a master's degree in biology and then an M.D. Completing his residency, he flew King Airs, T-38s and, finally, F-15s as a physician/pilot. Retiring as a colonel in 1988, he joined Boeing's medical department, ultimately becoming director.
It starts with a premise: If we have the kind of technology that can allow: -UPS or FedEx to automatically track "smart" packages in real time anywhere in the world . . . -A CIA agent on horseback in Afghanistan to call Foggy Bottom on his pocket satphone and order (a) feed for his horse, (b) a Western saddle (because the wooden Afghan one was killing him) and (c) a precision bombing raid by a B2 based in Missouri . . .
"SO, WE'LL MAKE THEM think you just got back from St. Kitts or maybe Aspen," she said as she dusted my mug with a slightly powdery mix of flesh-toned something until my cheeks felt taut and sticky. "Oh, and are you going to wear glasses? Because if you are, I can just leave your eyes alone," she continued. "Otherwise," she paused, "I'll have to do some work on this area," indicating the small, fleshy pillows beneath my peepers. Hmmm. She had her work cut out for her.
"The core idea -- automation capabilities that are so robust that they would increase productivity levels so you could reduce controllers -- isn't something that is done at the flick of a switch at midnight," the NBAA's Steve Brown, senior vice president of operations, told B&CA in answer to why it takes so long to change FAA ATC infrastructure. From 1998 to 2004, Brown oversaw the entire ATC system prior to his retirement from the FAA.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the CJ1+ and CJ2+ under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance. Time and Fuel vs. Distance -- This graph shows the relationship between distance flown, block time and fuel consumption at high-speed cruise and long-range cruise for the CJ1+ and CJ2+.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the CJ1+ and CJ2+ under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance. Time and Fuel vs. Distance -- This graph shows the relationship between distance flown, block time and fuel consumption at high-speed cruise and long-range cruise for the CJ1+ and CJ2+.
Introduced in 1965, the Dassault Falcon 20 has been out of production for more than 20 years. Yet, retrofitted with Honeywell (nee Garrett AiResearch) TFE731-5 turbofans as the Falcon 20F5, E5, D5 or C5, the aircraft remains highly competitive with the latest midsize jets because of its range, cabin comfort and versatility.
The CJ1+'s 1,965-pound-thrust FJ44-1AP turbofans are far more advanced than the -1A engines fitted to the CJ1 and CitationJet. The -1AP engines use several technology elements from the FJ44-3, the latest and most advanced version of the FJ44 model family. The -1AP's wide-chord, damperless fan, for example, is based on the -3 design. It has a 12-percent higher pressure ratio than the fan of the -1A. This enables the -1AP to generate considerably higher hot-and-high takeoff, cruise and climb thrust.
CAPT. LUIS PALANCO HAD JUST returned from a two-day transatlantic trip to Nice and the experience had been a good one. It was a quick out and back with no time for sightseeing -- he'd been in Nice for less than a day -- but such was the life of a charter Challenger captain. His had been a busy schedule, crisscrossing the country six times plus a flight to Florida in the seven days prior to his transatlantic flights. Jet lag could take its toll, especially when the trip board got crowded, but he made a point of resting as much as possible and tried to adjust.
The Slow Starter (Common Bus System) Problem: With the left generator already online, the right generator fails to come online after right engine start. Failure may be caused by uneven wear between the generators, a GCU-to-GCU "hand shaking" malfunction related to load balancing, or an inability to produce enough voltage under load to overcome the reverse current protection function. Solution:
I'VE YEARNED FOR JOBS I never got: fighter pilot, treasure hunter, Sophia Loren's boy toy. And I've turned down some I didn't want: pest control executive, junior banker and office supply journalist -- I still see the interviewer, his fists upraised, earnestly explaining, "Bill, what we do is take the eraser people [he jiggles his right fist] and the pencil people [he jiggles the left] and [now fist touching fist] put them together." Just shoot me. Then there was the job I never knew was mine.
The concept of "security on the road" took on new meaning Oct. 9, 2005, when an unlocked Cessna Citation VII was heisted from a general aviation airport ramp and flown in radio silence at night through a major air traffic area to a landing two states away. There, five passengers allegedly boarded, and the aircraft was taken on a second nocturnal joyride before being returned to the airport and abandoned.
After graduating cum laude from Harvard, Stimpson went home to promote the Seattle World's Fair. One VIP guest was FAA Administrator Najeeb Halaby, who was so impressed with the bright Washington State native he urged him to come to Washington, D.C., and work for him. That decision evolved into seven years at the FAA and a 25-year run as head of GAMA and then a five-year appointment as the U.S. representative to ICAO in Montreal, with the rank of ambassador.
Nickel cadmium, or nicad, batteries were fitted to most early models of turbine aircraft because they have higher power output and flatter discharge rates than similarly sized lead-acid batteries of that era. In other words, the nicad would produce its rated power for relatively longer periods before dropping off into a state of total discharge. That's especially important when starting a turbine engine because the amount of power required to crank the engine actually increases as the engine speeds up near idle.
The Learjet 60 always has had favored status in the Bombardier Aerospace family. That's because it was the first new model to be developed after Bombardier bought the marque from cash-strapped Integrated Resources in 1990. So when Bombardier announced the XR upgrade for its firstborn at the 2005 NBAA Convention, it came as no surprise to anyone in the family back in Wichita.
