Cessna mated the wing to the fuselage of the Mustang business jet, the latest milestone in preparation for first flight later this year. Cessna relocated 50 of its employees in Independence, Kan., and Columbus, Ga., to Wichita, where the first five Mustangs will be built. The airframes are in various stages of assembly. Three of the aircraft will be used for flight testing and two will be used for structural testing. Cessna has begun testing of various components, including the engine, avionics, autopilot, landing gear, environmental system and flight controls.
GAMA celebrated the 10th anniversary of the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) at its Annual Industry Review on Feb. 14. Then-President Bill Clinton signed GARA in 1994. By reducing the number of frivolous lawsuits against general aviation manufacturers, GARA allowed a rebirth of the piston-engine airplane industry in the United States.
Good-hearted controllers evidently took care of the non-RVSM-qualified, clearing them to climb and descend through RVSM airspace, even though they were technically obligated to handle only one non-compliant aircraft per sector at a time. The FAA reported that on the first day of implementation, the agency did not experience a single operational error at any of the 21 air route traffic control centers. Recent estimates are that about one-third of the 10,000 aircraft that routinely fly at higher altitudes have not yet obtained RVSM approval.
Several years ago, values for Bombardier Challengers, like those of many other heavy-iron aircraft, dropped precipitously from their peaks. However, starting about a year ago, prices for Challenger 3As and 3Rs started to stabilize and have rebounded nicely in the succeeding months. Challenger 604s have fared even better.
Anthony P. Brown ( Flight Research Laboratory, NRC Canada Gloucester, Ottawa)
Events have shown that the aviation community has needed icing awareness further raised and Patrick Veillette's ``Super Ice, Serious Trouble'' (B&CA, January, page 56) goes toward serving that purpose. Perhaps a couple of clarifications would be helpful.
UNTIL TWO YEARS AGO, I crewed with a friend on his Hawker 125-700 mostly to stay current in jets, and because it was fun. Although we were not full-time professional pilots, we worked to meet that standard. We were both type rated and trained annually at SimuFlite.
Qantas Airways has become a new Dash 8 Q400 customer with its order for seven and options for a further 10, to be operated by regional subsidiary QantasLink. The firm order is valued at $168 million, with first deliveries scheduled for first quarter 2006.
DRVSM was implemented without a hitch on Jan. 20, according to the FAA and Robert Lamond, the NBAA's director of air traffic services and infrastructure. Besides U.S. airspace, RVSM (1,000-foot vertical separation between FL 290 and FL 410) took effect in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. Although the FAA maintains a database of RVSM-approved operators, U.S. controllers do not use a list to approve or deny access to RVSM airspace.
On May 10, 2004, a twin-engine Piper Seminole crashed on a mountain near Julian, Calif. The two pilots aboard were killed. As with so many such tragedies, this one involved failures -- and a system of long-standing -- that could compromise any one of us.
There is one decidedly low-tech system designed to combat cockpit smoke that's gaining favor within the business aviation community. It's the Emergency Vision Assurance System, or simply EVAS, and it could save your life. Essentially a see-through inflatable device forms a ``window'' between the pilot and the windscreen and flight instruments, allowing control of the aircraft to be maintained.
Business Jet Center at Oakland International Airport (OAK) completed construction of a new fuel farm, which allows the FBO to store 40,000 gallons of Jet-A and 12,000 gallons of avgas at the facility. This effectively triples the operator's previous capacity for Jet-A. The additional above-ground Fireguard fuel storage tanks were added to handle the increased traffic to the FBO. In late December 2004, Business Jet Center sold its one-millionth gallon of fuel at OAK.
THE WEATHER IN the Spokane, Wash., area on Nov. 29, 2003, was typical winter -- the ceiling that morning at Felts Field (SFF) ranged from 300 to 400 feet. Visibility was reported as 10 miles but the temperature and dew point were together at 6C, and local residents experienced patches of quarter-mile visibilities and total obscurations in the neighborhood. Winds were steady out of the southwest at 5 knots.
Immediately following an incident, pilots have a natural tendency to want to tell everyone everything about what just happened. However, if something untoward occurs involving you, my considered advice is: Put a sock in it.
The McGraw-Hill Cos.' third annual Homeland Security Summit & Exposition will be held May 24 and 25, at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Washington D.C. The gathering will emphasize the need for continued cooperation between the public and private sectors, and review how they have worked together to prepare for new threats of terrorism in the three years since heightened security measures were first implemented. Additional information and online registration is available at www.
At some point in the evolution of the FAA's MVA and MIA standards, the same obstacle clearance standards were chosen that are applied to IFR aircraft separation. Those values are not less than 1,000 feet vertically or three miles horizontally within 40 miles of an approach control radar antenna. The horizontal minimum is increased to five miles beyond 40 miles. Center radars use a minimum of five miles, regardless of distance, because of the mosaic nature of en route radar systems (radar data from center radars are computer processed and combined).
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University aviation business student Jamail Larkins, at age 21 the nation's youngest aerobatic pilot, signed an Ambassadorship Agreement with FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. As the FAA Ambassador for Aviation and Space Education, Larkins will promote aviation and aerospace career opportunities to youth across the United States. He will also represent the FAA's Aviation and Space Education Division at events throughout the year.
Jan. 1 -- Prior to landing at Ainsworth Municipal Airport (ANW), Ainsworth, Neb., under IMC conditions, a Cessna 551 (Citation II) pilot noticed that his aircraft begin to accumulate ice at around 4,000 feet msl. He reported that as he descended out of IMC between 300 and 400 feet agl, the cockpit windows were obscured by ice. The pilot elected to land the airplane instead of executing the published missed-approach procedure. The aircraft was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during the landing attempt. Two passengers reported minor injuries.
Reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM) went into effect in U.S. airspace on Jan. 20, but approximately one-third of American-registered aircraft that routinely operate at high altitudes have yet to secure RVSM certification, according to the latest statistics issued by the FAA.
The National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA), Washington, D.C., elected J. Philip Jordan to the post of treasurer. Jordan is executive vice president of Business Air at Denton Municipal Airport in Texas, as well as partner and part owner of Jet Works Air Center, also in Denton.
Avitat Westchester, White Plains, N.Y., named Terry Delorenzo, Charlie Assalty and Jackie Perser employees of the year for 2004. They were each awarded a cruise to Bermuda with their spouses.
EADS Socata, Tarbes, France, named Nicolas Chabbert vice president of customer support. Chabbert has 15 years of aviation industry experience, nine of which were with Socata.
You've advanced the power levers for takeoff and are rapidly accelerating down the runway. Just as the copilot calls, ``V1,'' both of you suddenly see a windscreen full of birds and you hear the ``Thump! . . . Thump! . . . Thump!'' of them smashing into your jet. Quick, what do you do?
Marquis Jet, which packages and sells time in NetJets aircraft, is offering customers a new 25-hour combination card that provides 12.5 hours in each of two different aircraft types in the NetJets fleet. The company is offering cards for either a Citation Excel/Hawker 800XP or Citation X/Citation Excel combination. Marquis Jet said it developed the new offering after customers said they needed more flexibility to meet their travel needs.
ARINC has a new information service for business aviation, based on the FAA/industry Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) program that links operators and FAA controllers to provide real-time information about air traffic volume, possible delays, equipment problems, restrictions or other system constraints. Previously used exclusively by airlines, CDM participants send flight intentions to the FAA, which uses the information to predict and manage air traffic, particularly during bad weather or peak-demand times.
