Jet Aviation Palm Beach received FAA approval to maintain and provide avionics services for the Bombardier Global Express. The 1.2-million square-foot Palm Beach center also has FAA approval to maintain the entire fleet of Bombardier Learjets and can maintain a number of other aircraft types including Gulfstream, Falcon, Cessna Citation and Embraer Legacy.
Hester Smith has been named director of research for this leading broker of business jet aircraft. Smith -- who has more than 10 years of research and analysis experience in aviation, aerospace, oil and gas, technology and export -- comes to JB&A from Boeing.
Chelton's 4.5-pound IDUs are very compact, measuring 6.3 inches wide, 5.5 inches high and 3.37 inches deep, not including the connectors. The 640 by 480 pixel AMLCD screens measure 6.4 inches diagonally. They run on 11 to 33 VDC and have a nominal power consumption of 45 watts. Back-light illumination is provided by conventional cold-cathode fluorescent lightbulbs (CCFL) under most light conditions, providing up to 1,000 nit brilliance for directly sunlit viewing. The CCFLs have a half-life of 25,000 hours.
Duncan Aviation announced that it will add 125,000 additional square feet to the existing 200,000-square-foot facility located at the W.K. Kellogg Airport in Battle Creek, Mich. Duncan Aviation is a leading aircraft maintenance, modification and refurbishment service provider with major facilities in Battle Creek and Lincoln, Neb. The expansion will take place in several phases. First, a new maintenance hangar roughly 40,000-square-feet in size will be built. The structure will accommodate some of the largest business aircraft in use today, including Global Express.
The USAF competition for the Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV), a new search and recovery vehicle, is the ``most promising near-term opportunity to inject innovation'' into the U.S. vertical lift industry, according to Suzanne D. Patrick, deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial policy. If the opportunity is missed, she said, the Defense Department and presumably civil helicopter manufacturers would be working with ``legacy'' technology for the next 30 years.
GAMA has selected Scott R. Winter, a senior at the University of Minnesota, and Stefanie Gates, a junior at Purdue University, to receive the 2005 Dr. Harold S. Wood Award for Excellence. The award recognizes top students, enrolled in a National International Flying Association (NIFA) member school, who demonstrate academic excellence while promoting aviation on campus as well as in their community.
LABACE had a record-breaking total of 4,971 attendees, a 33-percent increase in attendance over the 2004 show. It also featured special appearances by NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen and his Brazilian counterpart, Anderson Markiewicz, chairman of Associao Brasileira de Aviao Geral; a keynote speech by FAA Deputy Administrator Robert A. Sturgell, who also opened the event at a ribbon-cutting ceremony; and a variety of in-depth informational sessions on operational issues of interest to the Latin American business aviation community.
Avidyne Corp. has FAA TSO and STC approval to add XM WX satellite weather and CMax electronic approach chart display capabilities to Flightmax EX500 MFDs. This certification also includes approval for EX500 Release 2.0 system software, which adds major roads and rivers to the base map, as well as providing a TIS traffic interface with the GTX330 transponder.
AS I WRITE THIS, I AM on interminable hold awaiting yet another pleasant but unhelpful person to help me with my problem. We recently purchased a home office printer after its predecessor went to Printer Paradise. One of the first steps in connecting the new device is to load a setup CD into the computer. Unfortunately, the CD tried to automatically load its contents onto my C: drive, assuming it was my hard drive. It is not. For reasons unknown, that's my F: drive.
The Air Transport Association continues its public demand for business aircraft operators to pay more for their use of a national airspace system (NAS) structured around airline requirements.
What follows is a CVR transcript covering the last 20 minutes or so of the final flight of Gulfstream III N85VT. It crashed on approach to Houston-Hobby Airport (HOU) in night IMC on Nov. 22, 2004, at 0615 CST. Three crewmembers were fatally injured, and the aircraft, operated by Business Jet Services of Dallas, was destroyed by impact forces and fire. The NTSB has not announced a probable cause for the accident, but there are many lessons to be gleaned from exploration of the factual data and a review of this transcript.
As production of the improved Citation CJ1+ and Citation CJ2+ models gets under way, Cessna officials in late March said they were ``seriously looking at'' whether or not to offer as retrofit packages the many enhancements that have been incorporated into the two light jets. However, they added that they are not ready yet to make a formal announcement regarding such an upgrade program.
Diamond Aircraft of Austria began deliveries of its twin diesel powered DA-42 Twin Star. The first two were delivered to French customers while another was heading across the Atlantic under its own power for delivery in Florida. Production is being stepped up to 17 aircraft a month to meet Diamond's worldwide backlog of over 700 aircraft.
Elliott Aviation has FAA STC approval to install Universal Class A TAWS in all Citation 550/560 series aircraft. Among the other STCs Elliott has for Citation 550/560 aircraft are Universal Class B TAWS, Universal MFD-640, Universal EFI-550 Flat Panel Integrated Displays, Collins AHRS-1000, Honeywell Mark VII & VIII EGPWS, Honeywell CAS-66A TCAS I, Honeywell CAS-67A and Collins TCAS-4000 TCAS II/ACAS.
Harrods Aviation sold three Embraer Legacy corporate jets, which are due for delivery over the next four months. Harrods Sales Director Mike Creed said the three aircraft are going to buyers who chartered but have not owned corporate jets. Two of the aircraft are U.K.-destined, with the third for an Irish client. Harrods was also due to take delivery of a Legacy demonstrator this year, but the new aircraft orders have delayed delivery of the aircraft. Creed regards the fact that Legacies are London City Airport-qualified as very important to its success.
The integrated avionics suites found in modern business aircraft come in a variety of sizes -- mostly industry-standard boxes. Deciding which to buy depends on the aircraft and the complexity of the avionics installed. The large-format display tubes found in the integrated cockpit systems of high-end aircraft are replacing many electromechanical instruments.
Stevens Aviation has developed a customizable system of affordable cabin entertainment packages, adaptable to almost any business aircraft. Versions of Stevens' Elite system have already been installed in a Beechjet, Hawker, King Air 90 and 350, and Piaggio Avanti. A typical Stevens package, featuring CD, DVD, satellite radio, moving maps and high-resolution monitors, is designed to achieve maximum performance at a price significantly below competing systems.
Eclipse Aviation added a second Eclipse 500 to its flight test program April 14 with the first flight of N502EA. The aircraft took off from Albuquerque International Sunport for a 1+30 first flight, completing basic handling tests at various flap settings, and cabin pressurization and electrical system tests. The first aircraft, N503EA, which completed its inaugural flight Dec. 31, 2004, meanwhile, flew 1,300 nm from Eclipse headquarters in Albuquerque to the Sun `n' Fun Regional Fly-In in Lakeland, Fla. The aircraft before then had accumulated 41.3 hours.
AvData released its 2005 edition of the Jet & Propjet Corporate Directory, which lists more than 24,000 aircraft operating in the United States and 141 other nations. The directory includes more than 300 different models and derivatives produced by more than 40 manufacturers. The directory lists aircraft registrations, owners, models, aircraft manufacturers and previous registration marks and costs $21.95. To order, contact AvData Inc., 101 First St., 2nd Floor, Utica, NY 13501; phone: (800) 400-2298; fax: (315) 797-4798; or e-mail: [email protected].
Elliott Aviation recently received an STC for multiple interior modifications that are designed to allow the conversion of a Hawker 700A from a corporate interior into a fully equipped air ambulance in under an hour.
We're happy to report that development of passenger cabin technology offering greater portability, interactivity and resources has continued over the last year. Actually, that's both good news and bad. It's good news because operators can keep up with the tsunami of technical innovation their passengers are adopting on terra firma. But it's bad news because last year's ``gotta have it'' system is now, well, so 2004. We're not sure how to solve that problem, but we can at least let you know what's here now and what's on the horizon.
Helicoptershuttle.com, which specializes in executive air travel and sightseeing tours around Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has selected the Eurocopter EC 130 B4 as the latest addition to its six-helicopter fleet.
A two-year runway renovation program is under way at Kansas City's Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC), part of a $70 million upgrade for one of the United States' oldest airports. The first project involves closing a small portion of Runway 01/19 located north of the intersection of 01/19 and Runway 03/21 for pavement and electrical improvements to portions of the runway, taxiways and ramps. This part of the work, which is not expected to disrupt normal flight operations, is scheduled for completion in August. On Sept.
