Two stories in the January B&CA warrant comment. In ``A New Deal in Business Jets'' (page 36), an error was reported in the prices. The Eclipse 500's list price (in June 2000 dollars) is $1.175 million. CPI-W from June 2000 through December 2004 (estimated) was 10.6 percent and so the price in December 2004 dollars is $1.3 million.
Greer Aviation opened an FBO at Edinburgh Airport, adding to its first at Glasgow-Prestwick, opened three and a half years ago. The new facility, although currently smaller than Prestwick (which doubled in size in 2004), includes two lounges, bathrooms and a large kitchen. A bonus for pilots at Edinburgh is a free car for 24 hours and use of the nearby Hilton Hotel leisure facilities.
Ever been in this situation? It's about 45 minutes before scheduled takeoff. This is going to be a long ride. Cairo back to Washington, D.C., or Tokyo back to New York. You ran the flight plan for the entire week before you left and, if the weather holds, it's doable. You will arrive at destination with just enough fuel for NBAA reserves. The tanks are just about full. Fifteen hundred pounds more and you'll be set for the long ride home as Capt. Hero, making one of the longest nonstops in recent corporate history. Then the fuel truck shuts off.
Before the Feb. 2 TEB crash, National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne had already raised the issue of charter safety and had announced that the association would work proactively with its charter members to develop recommendations and forestall possibly inappropriate FAA regulatory action.
Sao Paulo is a city of over 18 million people, where the poor public transportation system has helped spur car ownership so that now, on average, there's about one car for every two inhabitants. The result is ground traffic chaos, particularly on rainy days when traffic jams can stretch a staggering 120 miles throughout the city's streets.
After a stint as a prosecutor in the New York District Attorney's office, Santo, a pilot, joined a law firm that he helped expand rapidly by flying Mooneys, Malibus, Cheyennes and King Airs to reach new, distant clients. That experience evolved into an aircraft leasing business and, in 2002, the founding of Avantair, a fractional program that operates the Piaggio Avanti P180 exclusively. The company currently flies 16 aircraft for 100 owners and plans to add another 20 aircraft by 2006.
Embraer announced new advanced range versions of the EMB 190 and 195. JetBlue, the launch customer for the Embraer 190, is the first operator to opt for the new AR version, converting its order of 100 firm aircraft plus 100 options from LR (Long Range) into AR. The new versions have structural reinforcements in the fuselage, wings, pylons and flight control surfaces that allow the aircraft to be operated at higher maximum takeoff and landing weights, translating to an extra 300-nm range.
Raytheon Aircraft Services introduced an anti-terrorist system that is designed to disable the engine-start circuits of light turbine-powered airplanes to prevent their unauthorized use. Called Secure Start 1000, the system uses a double access-code keyboard to thwart would-be aircraft thieves; however, the unit's patent-pending design assures that the system cannot be locked in flight. The system also can indicate if an unauthorized attempt has been made to start the powerplant.
Sikorsky also announced that CHC Helicopter Corp., based in Vancouver, B.C., signed a contract for five new S-76s for offshore operations around the world. CHC and its subsidiaries have been operating Sikorsky helicopters for more than 40 years in all types of utility and transport operations. The latest order for five new S-76s comes as a follow-on to a previous order for 10 new S-76s executed in 2004. In addition, CHC said it will add S-92 helicopters to its North Sea offshore fleet.
Further to the Strange Bedfellows Department, it seems that a major neighborhood association flanking Southern California's Daugherty Field/Long Beach International Airport (LGB) has joined aviation interests in opposing a plan put forward by none other than the Boeing Co. to add a 1,400-unit housing development sited literally on airport property.
A BAe 146-100 performed aerial firefighting demonstration flight tests over the Nevada desert to check its performance as a water bomber. Minden Air Corp. of Minden, Nev., flew the unmodified, but instrumented and ballasted aircraft on nine low-level firefighting profiles to demonstrate performance and handling. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management witnessed the tests. The Forest Service has identified the need for 35 new turbofan-powered water bombers by 2008.
The NBAA is concerned that the U.S. government has supported the establishment of a new international registry for aircraft and engines without knowing exactly what the economic burden will be on aircraft operators.
Garmin International Inc. has introduced the iQue 3600a, a palm-sized PDA with a yoke-mounted cradle; built-in basemap; and terrain, obstacle and Jeppesen databases. Instead of using a stylus for data input, insert the unit into the cradle and navigate using the dedicated Direct To, Nearest, Menu, Escape, Enter and directional rocker buttons. In addition, the device features automotive turn-by-turn capabilities and personal information management (PIM) applications. Additional functions include:
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: Liquids increase in volume as their temperatures increase. The coefficient of thermal expansion is a measure of the rate of volume increase with temperature. A typical value for the coefficient of thermal expansion of kerosene-type jet fuel is 0.00099 per degree Celsius [(C)-1] [(0.00055F)-1]. At this rate, one gallon of jet fuel will expand 4.0 percent for an increase in temperature of 40C [1.000 gallon at 0C (32F): 1.040 gallon at 40C (104F)].
Each year at the Helicopter Association International's Heli-Expo, Honeywell and Rolls-Royce release independent forecasts of the helicopter market. Although they crosscut the marketplace quite differently, taken together they have been strikingly consistent with each other -- and strikingly prescient for the past two years. For the past four years, Rolls-Royce has teamed with the Teal Group, a specialized forecast company. Taken together, the forecasts in 2003 showed the tipping point for industry revival to be in early 2004.
Bombardier delivered a new Special Edition Bombardier Learjet 60 to the government of Macedonia for transporting senior officials. The eight-passenger aircraft, which is fully compliant with RVSM and European JAR-OPS1 regulations, features an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, TCAS II and an APU, all now standard on Learjet 60s. The government will operate the jet under civil registry from Skopje, the nation's capital.
Schweizer Aircraft Corp. signed a contract with Caseright Aviation for 10 new 300CBi helicopters with deliveries beginning in early 2006. Caseright is a Schweizer Distributor for the United Kingdom and provides sales and service for Schweizer helicopters from its Turweston Airfield operation.
Bell unveiled mockups of the corporate and EMS versions of the Bell 429 GlobalRanger light-twin helicopter, the first implementation of its Modular Affordable Product Line (MAPL) concepts, at February's Heli-Expo in Anaheim, Calif. MAPL core goals include: 20-percent productivity improvement via speed and useful load improvements, 20-percent reduction in operating costs, 10 dB noise reduction and 99-percent dispatch reliability. Bell plans the first Model 429 deliveries in 2007.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey gave agency veteran Charles Keegan broad oversight of the agency's ATC planning efforts, naming him the FAA's vice president of operations planning in addition to his role as director of the Joint Planning Development Office (JPDO). Keegan is now ``responsible for both the short- and near-term planning for the [FAA's Air Traffic Organization], as well as the longer-term planning for the JPDO,'' the agency said. Blakey said Keegan's ``dual roles will give him a vantage point . . .
Safe Flight Instrument Corp. of White Plains, N.Y., was granted an STC for its Powerline Detection System for Bell 206 helicopters. The system is designed to prevent rotary-wing aircraft from striking electric power lines.
Aircraft Services Group, Inc., Ramsey, N.J., promoted Peter C. Wendt (formerly director of flight operations) to vice president of business development. In addition, the company's chief pilot, Patrick Cassidy, was promoted to director of operations.
Flexjet, the fractional ownership program of Bombardier Aerospace, said it experienced a strong rebound in aircraft sales and orders in 2004. The manufacturer reported a 32-percent increase in the sale of shares of Learjet and Challenger aircraft in the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2004, compared with the previous year. December was also the strongest month in sales Flexjet has seen in more than three years, and transactions completed during fourth quarter 2004 were up more than 70 percent compared with the same period in 2003.
AMSTAT, a New Jersey-based provider of aircraft market research, plans to soon ship a new software package that will help brokers, dealers and other aviation professionals monitor the corporate helicopter market. AMSTAT plans to track approximately 8,000 individual aircraft produced by Agusta, Bell, Eurocopter and Sikorsky.
The NTSB wants the FAA to limit the number of times a pilot can fail a flight check and to require FAR Part 121 and 135 carriers to obtain flight-check failure background data on new hire candidates. The NTSB recommendations stem from its investigation of a July 13, 2003, crash of an Air Sunshine Cessna 402C, which ditched in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas after an inflight failure of the right engine on a scheduled Part 135 flight. An adult and a child were killed.
