Marla Gelfond, executive vice president, chief financial officer and founding partner of Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) of Chicago, was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame on March 10. Gelfond was selected from among thousands of qualified entrepreneurs in the Chicago area.
Rotorcraft Enterprises' Start Pac Cool Air portable vapor cycle air conditioner unit can be taken in and out of a helicopter as needed. Initial installation of the Start Pac Cool Air can be performed in as little as two hours, and when not needed, the entire unit can be removed in minutes. The unit weighs 75 pounds and is rated at 12,000 to 15,000 BTUs. The Start Pac Cool Air can be mounted flat on the floor or upright against a bulkhead, and draws 16 to 75 amps, 28 volts DC. Price: $9,800 (Limited introductory price) Rotorcraft Enterprises
The costs of the war on Iraq, the war on terrorism and other spending priorities have caused the federal government to incur record spending deficits. In reaction, President Bush in February sent to Congress one of the leanest spending plans in his presidency, a $2.5 trillion package that trims funding at most federal agencies in an effort to control the mushrooming federal budget deficit. Aviation is affected.
MAKING MISTAKES IS A PART of everyday living. In fact, it's essential to life since that's how we come to identify wrong actions and their consequences and to develop strategies to avoid or overcome them in the future. A child puts his finger on a hot stove but once.
LIKE THOSE OF ARMY BRATS, my childhood and youth were invested with my dad's calling. He was a Toronto- and Cambridge-educated mechanical and aeronautical engineer who earned his pilot's license in 1937. The Cambridge University Air Squadron afforded him 125 hours in the Tutor and Audax, both Avro biplanes, along with the then-new Hawker Hind. Arriving back in Canada as war broke out in Europe, he never piloted an aircraft again -- and this, to me, seemed odd. I think I know why now.
Cirrus Design Corp. is now the world's second largest maker of single-engine piston aircraft. The Duluth, Minn., manufacturer delivered 553 new airplanes in 2004. Number one Cessna delivered 654 piston singles from its Independence, Kan., facility.
On the morning of Aug. 16, 1999, at about 0700 EDT, the flight crew of a Canadair CL-600 departed for Newnan, Ga., where they picked up a passenger whom they flew to New Orleans. Next, a deadhead to Houston, where two passengers boarded for a flight to Aspen, Colo. After fueling in Pueblo, Colo., the pilots departed for Columbia, S.C. The time was 2018. About 1:20 into the flight, the left windshield cracked. The captain called in the problem and was told to divert to Fort Lauderdale for repairs.
Newer models of the Dassault Falcon -- especially the 2000, 2000EX, 900EX and late-model 50s -- are among the hottest-selling business airplanes in today's robust used aircraft market. Skip Flint, director of preowned aircraft sales for Dassault Falcon Jet, said that 2004 was ``a great year'' for his organization. At the beginning of last year, the company had 21 aircraft in its inventory. By February 2005 there were just five.
Jet Professionals is teaming with the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) in a joint venture to deliver staffing solutions to PAMA members. The first product of the venture will be a Web site, implemented in three stages: The first phase will allow PAMA members to post their resumes on the Web in a confidential and safe environment. The resumes will be available for potential employers to search while looking for job candidates.
Sentient Jet, a Norwell, Mass., firm that arranges business jet transportation on aircraft operated by FAR Part 135 certificate holders through a private jet membership program, named a five-member independent safety board.
While the FAA is not undertaking knee-jerk regulatory changes, Kathy Perfetti, the FAA's national resource specialist for Part 135 operations, said the agency is casting a jaundiced eye at how companies are using d/b/a relationships. Accident investigators are having a hard time tracing who had operational control of aircraft in some of the most recent accidents -- including the King Air crash that killed Senator Paul Wellstone and the Challenger runway overrun at Teterboro in February (see side column).
AvQuotes.com offers no-charge access to over 60 maintenance and refurbishment providers throughout the United States. Quote seekers register basic contact information and use simple menus to specify the scope of work, preferences and other information related to they type of work that needs to be done. Requests are then posted on the AvQuotes site and immediately distributed to enrolled maintenance and refurbishment centers for their review. Quotes are provided directly to the aircraft operator by those maintenance and refurbishment centers.
One of the rotary-wing celebrities at the Helicopter Association International convention this February in Anaheim, Calif., was the AB139, the new medium hauler produced by Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. Not only was the big twin there to be admired, but also its makers got to announce that Seacor Holdings of Houston had signed for 20 aircraft, raising the order book count to an even 100.
Women In Aviation International celebrated its 10th anniversary at the group's annual convention in Dallas in March. The organization awarded more than 425 scholarships valued at $3.5 million to women seeking careers in aviation in its first nine years, and that total was expected to exceed $4 million by the end of March's meeting.
Raytheon Aircraft is rolling back prices on over 17,500 parts. Through the Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory and Distribution (RAPID) program, Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft customers will be able to purchase parts 24/7 from the company's Customer Support organization at prices reduced as much as 50 percent. This follows an October 2004 price reduction of over 10,000 parts.
Gulfstream Aerospace G200 operators now can have a high-speed Internet and e-mail system installed on their aircraft. The FAA has issued an STC to Gulfstream approving the installation of the High-Speed Data System (HSDS) as a retrofit for the business jet. Earlier, Gulfstream won certification for a similar system on the GIV and GV.
Gulfstream signed on as an official NASCAR sponsor. A Gulfstream official said that races sanctioned by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing are, ``the second most watched sport on network television in the United States.'' The sponsorship will result in a variety of cooperative advertising, public relations and hospitality endeavors that include customer, supplier and employee-related opportunities.
UPS will build a new heavy air freight handling facility at its main Louisville, Ky., hub, to replace the Dayton, Ohio, air freight hub operated by its Menlo freight forwarding subsidiary. UPS bought Menlo in December 2004 to acquire Menlo's heavy air freight capability, but it made no sense to have the heavy freight hub in Dayton, where UPS has no flights.
Frank Jensen Jr. died Feb. 12 at age 76. A decorated U.S. Army veteran, Jensen spent more than 20 years heading first the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, then the Helicopter Association International. He began his military career in 1943 at the age of 15, when he joined the U.S. Navy, becoming a combat aircrewman. After World War II, Jensen joined the Army, graduating with honors from Officer Candidate School, and served in the Korean War with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.
EAA Aviation Center, Oshkosh, Wis., received Aviation Week & Space Technology's ``Laurel'' Award honoring Tom Poberezny's leadership in two areas critical to aviation's future: the new sport pilot/light-sport aircraft rule and the Experimental Aircraft Association's youth aviation education programs.
Stevens Aviation Greenville, S.C., named aviation industry veteran Dave Grup Cessna Citation technical sales specialist. Grup comes to Stevens after an 18-year career at Cessna.
Officials at Garrett Aviation, which offers the FJ44 Eagle II engine and wing modification program for Cessna Citation 500s and 501Ps, say they see continued ``steady demand for eight to 10 aircraft per year.'' In addition, they expect to decide soon whether or not to pursue two related programs: an engine-only replacement for the aforementioned Citations and a possible reengining of the Citation II.
King Schools has announced an interactive CD-ROM to help pilots train to use the Lowrance AirMap 500 and 1000 GPS while on the ground. The VFLITE guide features scenario-based training with realistic product emulator (Virtual AirMap Device); detailed, narrated demonstration movies with on-screen text prompts to help users complete tasks; over 34 topics explained in detail; actual AirMap visuals used for emulation and animation; and a feedback system to keep users on the learning path.
Airline travel remains vulnerable to terrorist attack nearly four years after 9/11, the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association announced in releasing its Aviation Security Report Card, which takes a broad look at the nation's aviation security from airport perimeters to aircraft cockpits to screening passengers and bags. CAPA is a trade association that represents the pilots who fly for American Airlines, UPS, ABX Air, Southwest and AirTran.
