Sandel Avionics and Universal Avionics System Corp. successfully defended themselves in federal court against charges by Honeywell that their respective TAWS designs violated Honeywell's Enhanced GPWS patents. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge granted Universal's and Sandel's motions for summary judgment regarding the firms' non-infringement on Honeywell's EGPWS patents on the eve of the trial, which had been set to begin Oct. 31.
David M. Tait, OBE CEO, Avocet Aircraft, Westport, Conn. A native Scot, Tait jokes that he got into the aviation business ``by mistake,'' and has remained for three decades. He helped launch Sir Freddie Laker's transatlantic Skytrain service, and then guided Sir Richard Branson in creating and building Virgin Atlantic. For his service, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Tait, now an American citizen, the Order of the British Empire in 2001. The following year he took charge of Avocet. 1 Eclipse, Mustang, Safire and Adam all have a long head start.
Imitation may be the purist form of flattery, but it doesn't always equate with success in the marketplace, especially where fractional aircraft ownership programs are concerned. Which, perhaps, is another way of saying, just because Richard Santulli pulled it off, doesn't mean you can with one or two airplanes and a handful of shareholders.
Bombardier Aerospace's 7th Annual Safety Standdown, held in Wichita, Oct. 28-30, drew more than 330 attendees. Begun to expose Learjet demonstration pilots to more than what they were learning during simulator-based training, the program was opened to general operators four years ago and attendance has been growing steadily. Explaining the program's appeal, Robert Agostino, Bombardier's chief pilot in Wichita, told B/CA, ``Pilot error has been constant over the last 25 years as a cause of accidents,'' and to change that ``takes attitude, knowledge and discipline.
UPON REACHING MY GATE at Denver International, I encountered a mob of travelers of every stripe and attire. As the boarding time neared, the gate agent announced the flight had been overbooked and that he would give free tickets to those who'd take a later flight. I considered the offer, but I had much work to do and climbed on board. Sitting in my window seat in the back of the 737, I studied each passenger who neared, wondering with whom I was to share extremely close space for the next four-plus hours. The fellow in the suit? The cowboy?
A friend of ours flew with an old mutt named ``Rabbit'' that he swore was so sensitive to airspeed that he'd bark whenever the aircraft was approaching a stall. When I told him he was full of baloney, he piled me and Rabbit into his airplane and off we went. Wouldn't you know that ol' Rabbit woofed just as the plane began to buffet; he was a reliable stall warning indicator after all!
There may be relief in sight for business aircraft operators saddled with sobering hikes in insurance premiums since the deepening of the recession and the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Depending on whom you talk to, there has been either a tapering off of increases in premium renewals or actual decreases since January for operators of turbine-powered, professionally crewed aircraft.
THE INITIAL REPORTS were hearsay. Supposedly some customs officials in France had impounded an American business jet for violating the arcane regulations of cabotage. An unbelievable story had it not been for all the work Contributing Editor David Esler had already accomplished on that very subject. Civilian aviation throughout Europe is undergoing fundamental and pervasive change in its organizational structure. Understanding how the evolving regulations impact operators is of keen importance.
Wherever on the compass rose American operators point the noses of their business jets today, security should be uppermost on the minds of flight crews and passengers alike. Since the war in Iraq, U.S. approval abroad has rarely been lower, according to international surveys publicized this spring. The post-9/11 environment has conferred on operators a new aviation security vocabulary, Air Security International Vice President Charlie LeBlanc claims: Risk assessment: Doing your homework before you go.
Competition between CAE SimuFlite, FlightSafety International (FSI) and SimCom, among others, will provide business aircraft operators with more choices in initial and recurrent training courses during the upcoming year. In addition, simulator-based training firms have added much-needed capacity for popular courses, making it easier for operators to get training slots and reducing the number of ``zero-dark-thirty'' training sessions.
System access and security remain irrevocably linked two years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. ``The only precedent we had prior to 9/11 was having to hold for 10 minutes while Air Force One took off and landed,'' NBAA Vice President of Operations Robert Blouin observed.
IN THE COURSE OF MY working life -- and that goes back to shagging balls as a kid -- I've had bosses of every stripe, ranging from full-speed entrepreneurs, to go-slow rake leaners, to corporate chess masters; they've included bullies, beauties, brainstormers and beanballers, clock-watchers, clock cleaners, powers and cowards. There were lessons to be learned from them all. Recent events have caused two to stand out from that long parade of characters. One, a woman, was smart, able and courageous. And still is.
The data pipes for corporate and charter aircraft are growing bigger, faster and more diversified as OEMs and operators try to keep up with the electronic requirements of modern business. And since the terrorist attacks of 2001, an increased awareness of security and privacy considerations has added a new dimension to the airborne office and infotainment marketplace.
While the present presents challenges for those in business aviation, there are many eager to get into the market with aircraft they believe will help advance and expand the segment. Here are their stories. What a difference a year makes. In the past 12 months several new business aircraft have taken wing, other new designs have emerged, and still others have been purged altogether, victims of a bad economy, bad luck or a bad idea. Among the new, true flying machines is Adam Aircraft's push/pull piston twin, the A500, whose type certification is imminent.
WE ALL SAW THOSE unforgettable images of the aircraft and the terrible destruction wreaked. We marveled at the bold, audacious and precise application of American power. And in the end, despite all the caterwauling, the invaders stood triumphant in the rubble. No, this is not about the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne, but rather the Midnight Marauders of the 2nd City -- Daley's dogs. Upon receiving a photo detailing those deep and vulgar channels hacked through the runway at Chicago's lovely Merrill C.
THE WAFFLE DID ME IN. I had dined in the same restaurant, Washington's woody Willard Room, the previous night and had immensely enjoyed the fare, fusty ambiance and company. But with the dawn my gum was unexpectedly tender, and as I chomped on the fruit-laden waffle, pain exploded from an upper right molar. An emergency visit to the dentist confirmed my worst fear: The tooth was infected; I would need a root canal. Yours truly is a card-carrying dentophobe. The sound of the drill, that gurgly thing that hooks into your mouth, the needles -- I hate it all.
The editors of B/CA created the Vision Awards as a means for publicly recognizing and applauding special effort and achievement by individuals and groups in furthering business aviation.
Just over a year ago, the U.K.'s Menzies Aviation Group set itself the target of opening 25 Execair-branded FBOs in Europe by 2003. So far the company has set up a dozen FBOs in Europe and one at Sao Paulo, Brazil. A corporate operation at St. Maarten in the Dutch Antilles should open by year-end. Additionally during the past year, the company refurbished its FBOs at Glasgow, Scotland, and Dublin, Ireland, and built new facilities at Shannon, Ireland, and Bournemouth, England, and hopes to upgrade the rest of its FBOs in 2003.
Coventry Airport in the British Midlands wants to erect a new terminal building capable of handling up to one million passengers per year. Steve Guynan, company secretary for freight carrier Air Atlantique and Coven-try Airport, said, ``As soon as we get the go-ahead our aim is to get the terminal up and running as soon as possible, which hopefully will be next year. We are hopeful and confident that given the explosion of low-cost carriers around, that maybe one or more will find Coventry a welcoming home.''
The paperless cockpit goal of Honeywell Primus Epic, as implemented in Dassault EASy and Gulfstream PlaneView cockpits, is coming closer to reality, with the recent signing of an agreement between Honey-well and Jeppesen to incorporate Jeppesen navigation data into these systems. Epic cockpits also will be able to display obstructions, geopolitical boundaries, airport information and special-use airspace boundaries.
L. Peter Larson President&CEO, Mooney Aerospace Group A top financial executive with General Dynamics and later at Cessna, Larson joined Mooney as CFO in January and was promoted to CEO upon the resignation of long-time friend and colleague, Roy Norris, in August. Mooney Aerospace is an amalgam of AASI, developer of the ill-fated Jetcruzer, and the then-bankrupt Mooney Aircraft. 1 You've got Mooneys rolling out of Kerrville, Texas, again. How's that feel?
Whenever there's a homework stumper -- say, the reason why Georgia failed to send a representative to the First Continental Congress; xylem's function; or which states have unicameral legislatures -- my kids invariably turn to the Internet. Even though we've got encyclopedias, atlases and almanacs galore, their search for knowledge always begins by questioning Professors Google and Jeeves. Part of what makes the Internet so popular is its easy accessibility. Just click, and you're combing through the Louvre or Looney Tunes' library.
Adam Aircraft, Denver-based de-velopers of the composite construction, push-pull, twin piston A500, is developing a derivative aircraft, the A700 fanjet. The company says the six-seater will be powered by a pair of 1,200-pound-thrust Williams/Rolls-Royce FJ33-1 turbofan engines and will feature a fully integrated avionics suite, including two large-format LCDs. The A700 is priced at $1.995 million.
The U.S. National Aeronautical and Space Administration has selected Bombardier Flexjet to provide fractional ownership business jet transportation services to the organization for a two-year test period, according to Clifford Dickman, president of Bombardier Business Jet Solutions. The agreement provides NASA with a one-half share of a Bombardier Learjet 31A and a one-sixteenth share of a Learjet 60, equivalent to about 450 flight hours.
