Goodrich says it is on track to FAA-certify its new SmartDeck cockpit display -- one of the first ``highway in the sky'' avionics platforms -- by early 2003. SmartDeck does away with traditional symbology, replacing it with a series of computer-generated window frames through which the pilot will fly a symbolic airplane over a realistic, shaded, 3-D terrain background. B/CA recently flew a prototype SmartDeck system in Goodrich's King Air 90, accompanied by demonstration pilot Todd Scholten and SmartDeck development engineer Roger Powers.
A. L. Ueltschi President and Founder, FlightSafety International He started FlightSafety in 1951 and nurtured it to become the world's largest independent pilot and maintenance training organization. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired FSI in 1996. Ueltschi, now 84 and a man of considerable wealth, continues as FSI's hard-driving, plain-talking leader. 1 For a while, FlightSafety had the simulator training business pretty much to itself, but now a number of companies have entered. Why?
Raytheon Aircraft and Rockwell Collins have joined forces to sweep the clutter out of the Hawker 800XP cockpit. Indeed, were it not for the Hawker's familiar ``ram's horns'' yokes and distinctive glareshield shape, some might mistake the revamped layout as one belonging in an all-new aircraft. Four, 10-by-eight-inch flat-panel displays dominate the instrument panel of the Hawker 800XP fitted with Pro Line 21 avionics, replacing the old aircraft's high-tech-antique mixture of five small CRTs and almost two dozen ``steam gauges.''
SkyAir TimeJet, a fractional leasing program operating five Pilatus PC-12s, is up and running in Switzerland. The company claims 14 customers and plans to take delivery of another pair of the single-engine turboprops in 2002 to meet expected demand.The man behind SkyAir TimeJet is Juerg Fleischmann, who is also founder and CEO of Lions Air, a charter outfit based in Zurich. He said the new fractional ``is designed for small and medium-size companies that wish to avoid busy international airports and make use of over 2,000 airfields across Europe.''
Overall quality of engine bleed-air used to pressurize and ventilate commercial aircraft cabins was found to be ``excellent,'' according to a preliminary study commissioned by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE). Conducted by Germantown, Md.-based ENERGEN Consulting, Inc., and released this winter, ASHRAE Research Project 959 identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other contaminants suspected of entering aircraft through bleed-air systems.
The movie ``Moscow on Hudson'' contains a scene in which newly arrived Soviet defector Vladimir Ivanoff enters a New York supermarket looking for ``the coffee line.'' He's directed to Aisle 2 and when he turns the corner, he begins hyperventilating. He'd expected to find some sad sack of mealy, dried out beans because that had always been his experience in Mother Russia. Instead he discovers shelves towering with cans, jars, and bins heavy with coffee -- ground, freeze dried, pulverized and roasted -- from every corner of the world.
Five years ago, if you asked any group of business aviation industry pundits about the prospects for the BBJ, few were upbeat, some were ambivalent and many outright negative. This 85-ton behemoth was too big, too conspicuous and too unwieldy, many said. They're eating their words now. Since launching the program with partner General Electric in July 1996, Boeing officially acknowledges 71 sales. By early 2002, insiders say, BBJ orders will top 100. This represents nearly one-quarter of all new, ultra-long-range business aircraft orders.
Blue Fox Executive Airlines is due to start a scheduled one-class ``business first'' service from the United Kingdom to New York JFK in March 2002. Operating twice-daily service out of its own terminal at London Stansted Airport, the airline is to fly three Boeing 767-300ERs with just 138 ``guests'' (as they are to be known) aboard an aircraft, which can accommodate a maximum of 298 seats.
A microcosm of the overall ``dot-com'' online business phenomenon, avia- tion e-commerce continues to evolve at light speed. Change is happening so fast, in fact, that you can't tell the players without a scorecard, or rather, a good search engine. A portent of the latest trend in aviation e-commerce, consolidation, was seen in summer 2000 when three-year-old Skyjet.com, one of the industry's self-styled ``pioneers'' was acquired by Bombardier Aerospace.
The $1.7 billion losses suffered by the Swissair Group are the worst in the 70-year history of the company. To help the tough fight back to profitability, the Group's Swissotel chain is to be sold, as are half of the real estate assets of Avireal. Former Chief Executive Philippe Bruggisser, who was fired in January, was held responsible for the failed strategy of buying into several second- and third-level airlines in an attempt to create a Swissair-centered alliance.
The evolution of the corporate jet into flying office and entertainment center continues, driven by the telecommunications revolution, new classes of extended-range aircraft, and the ongoing need for business to be more productive. Passengers are remaining on board for longer periods of time, and completion centers and cabin equipment manufacturers are responding by creating airborne environments to support both work and relaxation.
In 2000, general aviation aircraft revenues grew by 9.1 percent to $8.6 billion compared to 1999, setting a new record for billings, according to GAMA. More than 900 turbine aircraft were delivered as production capacity soared to keep up with record backlogs in manufacturers' order books. Cessna, for example, doubled the number of Excels it delivered and increased Bravo production by 50 percent. Dassault Falcon Jet deliveries reached 73, five more than in 1999, while its backlog of orders increased. Learjet 45 deliveries were up from 43 in 1999 to 71 in 2000.
Andersen, the big tax, audit and consulting firm formerly known as Arthur Andersen, has issued a white paper on the apparent value of business aircraft to the companies that operate them. While most of the numbers relating to the survey are quite welcome, a couple should give pause. First off, the word ``apparent'' is a frustrating but necessary qualifier because it's virtually impossible to quantify the contribution of a business tool -- be it a letterpress or a Learjet -- that does not generate income directly, regardless of the tool's obvious utility.
The year 2001 has finally arrived, and while we may not have a moon base or manned expeditions to the planets yet, some of the technology flying -- or soon to be -- in business aircraft would have delighted Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke when they were filming ``2001: A Space Odyssey'' in the 1960s. On a more down-to-earth level, strategic alliances and mergers continue to reshape the business aviation landscape.
British Airways (BA) plans to acquire British Regional Airlines (BRAL) and Manx Airlines in a $113 million deal that gives BA control of two thirds of the U.K.'s domestic airline market. BA plans to merge BRAL and Manx operations into those of Brymon Airways, another BA unit. The three respective route networks are complementary, BA says, and no services will be lost. Isle of Man services will continue to operate in Manx colors, according to BA.
Copenhagen Airport has been selected as the preferred bidder for a partnership with Newcastle Airport in the northeast of England. If all goes well Copenhagen Airport will buy a minority stake in the airport, and sign a technical services agreement. Local airport interests will maintain majority control. The other bidder in the short list of two was a consortium of Altera Partners, Singapore Changi Airport Enterprises (SCAE) and Flughafen Zurich Airport Group.
Some readers may be surprised to find Honeywell's AirSat1 satcom telephone system listed in the Satcom table again this year. It turns out that the reports of the demise of the Iridium satcom system were premature. The Iridium constellation of 76 satellites, which was virtually at the point of being turned to toast when the spacecraft were to be de-orbited in summer 2000, has been rescued by the Pentagon under a two-year, $72 million deal, which will guarantee a maximum of 20,000 users, and cover up to 60 percent of Iridium's operating costs.
Sydney International Airport is up for sale, but the Australian government will limit foreign ownership to 49 percent valued at approximately $5.8 billion. The successful bidder will receive the option to build and develop a secondary airport within 100 km of the city's center -- but only if the need can be justified. Potential bidders are believed to include the U.K.'s BAA, which operates Melbourne Airport; the Dutch Schipol Group; and the Changi Airport Group from Singapore, which already holds a share in Auckland International Airport in New Zealand.
Stephan A. Hanvey President/CEO, Piaggio America The P180 Avanti program was suspended when its Italian parent company failed. Now Hanvey, a former U.S. Navy test pilot and head of engineering at Beech/Raytheon, is leading a new group's reintroduction of the unique turboprop. 1 Is there much of a market for a turboprop these days?
Geneva-based charter operator PrivatAir has acquired Ogden's Flight Services Group operations in the United States and its Transair FBO at Paris' Le Bourget airport. FSG says it will keep its corporate identity for the immediate future, though it will be identified as part of the PrivatAir group.
Peggy Chabrian President, Women in Aviation International Founded by Chabrian in 1995, Women in Aviation, International has some 6,000 members of both genders and its annual convention, which took place in late March, was expected to draw 3,000 participants. 1 Can you measure the progress of women as aviation professionals?
Bombardier Aerospace delivered its 600th production Dash 8 aircraft, a Q300 model, to Air Nippon Co. Ltd. (ANK) of Tokyo, Japan on March 6. This milestone was reached just a few weeks short of 18 years from the original rollout on April 19, 1983. Both the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet and Dash 8 Q100 already are in service with Japanese carriers, and in March, Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau certified the Q200 and Q300.
`` I really see this as one of the paramount challenges of our industry.'' The speaker was Don Baldwin, manager of Texaco's Aviation Transport Services, and the ``this'' to which he referred is the steady depletion of the pool of experienced young pilots available for positions with business aviation flight departments. The cause is easily identified.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways has become the second airline customer to use the Learjet 45 for advanced pilot training in the Asia Pacific region. Cathay's order is for one aircraft plus one option for its newly developed advanced pilot training program. The initial aircraft will enter the flying program in the third quarter of this year. The Model 45 will be operated and maintained by BAE Systems Flight Training (Australia) Pty Ltd. on behalf of Cathay, at its flight school at Parafield near Adelaide in South Australia.
