You send them away with the hope they will return ``better'' than when they left. You worry and worry more. You know the cost will be high, and you are not at all certain what the final tally will be. You knock on wood and hope for the best. No, you are not sending your kids off to college; you are sending one of your engines off for overhaul. By some measure, the consequences could be equally significant since your future support may depend on either.
Duncan Aviation-Battle Creek has been named an authorized service facility for Bombardier Aerospace, the 12th facility to receive such approval from the manufacturer. The network provides warranty work, engine and airframe inspections and repair, Service Bulletin installations and related service and support for current production Bombardier Challenger 604 business jets as well as the Challenger 600 and 601 models.
Southampton, U.K.-based corporate jet charter operator Club328 is to double its business jet charter fleet from five to 10 aircraft by year-end as a result of a surge in business and re-assessment of its aircraft requirements in the light of AvCraft/Dornier's demise. ``We had eight 328Jet Envoy aircraft on order; we have taken delivery of one and might buy two more from the official receiver, if the price is right, and then fit them with 19-seat VIP interiors,'' said Club328 Managing Director Mike Farge.
PrivatAir has added a Global Express to its fleet of aircraft available for charter. Based in Geneva six months out of the year, the 12-passenger, ultra-long-range aircraft spends the remainder of its time in the Caribbean.
Adam Aircraft has finally earned FAA Type Certification for its A500, a pressurized, carbon-fiber push/pull piston twin. Awarded May 11, the TC comes after a nearly two-year delay during which the company faced numerous unforeseen development and certification hurdles. Even with the TC, much work must be done prior to scheduled customer deliveries in the third quarter 2005. In its present state, the aircraft cannot be pressurized, so flight above 12,500 feet msl is unapproved without supplemental oxygen.
Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), Chicago, appointed Chistophe Canard to the position of director of technical operations, Eastern Hemisphere. Canard joined JSSI from Dassault Falcon Jet in Teterboro, N.J., where he was manager of service programs for 10 years.
Sentient Jet, the private jet membership provider based in Norwell, Mass., has formed a strategic alliance with international charter broker Air Partner. The alliance will allow Sentient members to fly within Europe under the Air Partner program at fixed hourly rates with guaranteed availability. Air Partner will add features to its Jet Membership Program to make it nearly identical to the Sentient program. Air Partner customers will receive benefits in the U.S. through the Sentient program.
Palm Beach, Fla.-based Jet Aviation has installed into a Dassault Falcon 900 a cabin network accelerator, a device that boosts the performance of the satellite communications system installed on the airplane.
Rockwell Collins' AHS-1000 Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) won STC approval from the FAA for installations on Learjet 31/35/35A/36/36A business jets. The AHS-1000 replaces earlier-generation analog and iron gyro systems, Collins said.
FAA has selected CAE to provide initial and recurrent training to more than 150 agency pilots in various business aircraft. The five-year contract was awarded by FAA's Aviation System Standards Aviation Training Team at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. CAE will train pilots at the CAE SimuFlite and Bombardier training centers in Dallas, Tex. The training aircraft will include the King Air 300, Hawker 800, Challenger 601 and 604 and Learjet 60.
Truman Arnold Companies expanded its TAC Air FBO chain to 11 facilities with the acquisition of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Knox Air. Based at McGhee Tyson Airfield for more than 30 years, the Knox Air facility includes three hangars and three rows of T-hangars. TAC moved Randall Honea, who had been general manager of the Amarillo, Tex., TAC Air FBO, to manage the new Knoxville operation. Mike Ryan, the former manager of TAC's Texarkana, Ark. location, takes over Amarillo, while Scott Field succeeds him at Texarkana.
Rockwell Collins has received an FAA STC of its Tailwind 550 satellite TV system installed in the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ). Jet Aviation in Basel, Switzerland, completed the installation. ``This certification allows us to deliver global television solutions for current and potential BBJ customers,'' said Tim Rayl, senior director of Airshow Systems for Rockwell Collins.
The FlightSafety Academy has added an Embraer ERJ-145 FAA Level ``D'' simulator to its Vero Beach, Fla., campus. The simulator -- designed and built by FlightSafety International -- features Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics, Vital VIII visuals and is part of the FlightSafety Academy's Advanced Airline Training program.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the FAA's financial pickle and forecast capacity shortfalls, according to a May 12 report from the FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC), a group of 11 industry representatives established in 1996 to advise the FAA administrator. The report said the White House shortchanges the FAA with budget cuts, while Congress imposes unfunded pay increases and pet projects.
Jahid Fazal-Karim has been appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president of new aircraft sales. Fazal-Karim now oversees the U.S. and international sales teams, as well as Bombardier's Skyjet International charter operations. Also, Saul Arceo has been appointed as a director of new business aircraft sales in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and the countries on the northern border of South America. Arceo is based in Dallas.
Eclipse Aviation now has three fully configured aircraft in its flight test program. The third aircraft, N504EA flew April 28, and will test electrical, communication and navigation systems, as well as the autopilot, radar, datalink and displays. All three aircraft are fitted with pressurization, climate control and ice protection systems as well as the Avio aircraft integration system. The flight envelope has expanded to 30,000 feet and 238 knots.
To prevent the accumulation of fuel or fuel vapor in the spoiler mixer bay or the aft fuselage compartment (which could cause a fire), conduct a one-time inspection of panels in the spoiler mixer bay for the presence of drain holes and add at least one new drain hole. Also, perform a one-time inspection for discrepancies of the sealant on the relief cutout on the aft pressure bulkhead and on certain baffles, and take corrective actions if necessary.
ACI Aviation Consulting, Warrenton, Va., named Charles (Charley) Cleaver as president and chief operating officer. Cleaver, formerly vice president and treasurer of American Trans Air, Inc., will manage ACI's rapid growth, with a focus on the current business lines and the aviation finance industry. Quentin Brasie, the founder of ACI, will continue to lead the firm as chairman and CEO.
The Dassult Falcon 900DX business jet made a successful first flight from the company's facility in Bordeaux, France. During the three-hour, 10-minute mission the aircraft reached an altitude of 41,000 feet and a maximum speed of 370 knots. ``All systems performed flawlessly,'' said Etienne Faurdessus, one of two test pilots on board. ``We verified aircraft and navigation systems.
Operators of corporate Boeing airliners take note: The FAA has proposed that owners of more than 800 U.S.-registered 727s, 737s, 747s, 757s and 767s be required to replace or modify certain insulation blankets over the next six years. The proposed airworthiness directive was prompted by the discovery that certain insulation blankets, which are coated with a film called AN-26, no longer meet the standards for preventing the spread of fire.
Honeywell has begun flight-testing its new TFE731-50 turbofan engine on a Falcon 20 testbed aircraft. The latest variant of the venerable TFE731 line, the -50 is a derivative of the -60 production engine that uses a common core and a scaled wide-chord damperless fan. The -50 incorporates N1 digital electronic engine control with hydromechanical backup. On schedule for certification in 2006, the engine has accumulated nearly 100 hours of run time and 26 flight hours.
This past January there was some brief mention in the aviation trade media that Alaska Airlines had begun to use a radically different type of instrument approach procedure to reduce IFR approach and landing minimums at terrain-laden Palm Springs, Calif., Airport (KPSP). The long-standing VOR circling-only minimums of 1,826 feet above the airport (with 3 miles visibility minimum for Approach Categories C and D) have been reduced to straight-in minimums of 250 feet and a visibility minimum of three-quarters of a mile.
AN UNEXPECTED RESIGNATION prompted us to place a classified ad in the local daily, hoping to attract a pleasant but persnickety desk editor. Meanwhile, a young librarian with literary yearnings happened upon our ad and felt a frisson. Two days later Stacie Raffaele was interviewing in our offices and three weeks after that, she was at work editing this message. That's happy, coincidental convergence. When task forces merge to pulverize an enemy, that's convergence, too -- but directed, confrontational and devastating.
Even experienced pilots can have trouble understanding air traffic control instructions. Bob Gardner, author of Say Again, Please, has released his third edition of his guide to radio communications. The new edition adds material on GPS, runway incursion avoidance and IFR procedures, and updates information communication equipment. Chapters are dedicated to communication etiquette and rules, and emergency situations. An audio book and computer-based tutorial package also is available. Price: $19.95 (book); $79.95 (audio book and software)
Eurocopter has delivered its 400th EC135 light twin to Transportes Aereos Pegaso in Mexico City. It will be used in support of the PEMEX offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the third EC135 delivered to Pegaso this year. Eurocopter says that since the EC135 entered service in 1996, the model has gained 65 percent market share in its class. Eurocopter delivered 60 EC135s and four EC635s in 2004 and is increasing production to 72 units this year.
