TBI, which owns London-Luton, Britain's busiest corporate aviation airport, along with Belfast International, Cardiff International and Stockholm Skavsta airports, and which manages Sanford, Fla., Airport and three other airports in Bolivia, is in the process of being taken over by Airport Concessions and Development Ltd (ACDL). The acquiring company is owned by Spain's Abertis Infraestructuras and Aena Internacional.
AFTER THREE YEARS of field and laboratory investigations and studies, the NTSB issued a remarkable finding of probable cause of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587. The Airbus Industrie A300-605R came down in a residential area of Belle Harbor, N.Y., on Nov.12, 2001, about 0916 EST shortly after takeoff from JFK on a scheduled FAR Part 121 flight to the Dominican Republic. The first officer was at the controls, the captain was handling non-flying pilot duties, and seven cabin attendants were in their seats, as were the flight's 251 passengers.
Gulfstream has received a production certificate from the FAA for its G450 and G350 business jets. The FAA's Atlanta Manufacturing Inspection District Office issued the certificate following an audit that examined Gulfstream's supplier, manufacturing and quality systems. Gulfstream Chief Operations Officer Joe Lombardo said the certificate ``serves as recognition to everyone in our Engineering, Materials, Operations and Quality departments.
Like most previously owned turbine-powered business aircraft, the Beech King Air, long considered a benchmark aircraft, has enjoyed a resurgence in value during 2004. As the economy has improved and the percentage of the fleet available for sale has declined, prices for most models of the venerable twin turboprop have risen. Naturally, low-time, well-equipped, late-model airplanes command the highest prices.
The Embraer 195 airliner made its first flight Dec. 7, 2004, at Embraer's So Jose dos Campos headquarters. The airplane took off at 11:58 a.m. and landed one hour and 56 minutes later. The 108-seat 195 is the largest aircraft ever built by Embraer. Powered by two General Electric CF34-10E engines, the aircraft has a maximum payload of 29,829 pounds (13,530 kilos). Flight tests will continue at the Gavio Peixoto facility, in the interior of the state of So Paulo, where the certification trials of the other members of the Embraer 170/190 family are also taking place.
Flying as a corporate pilot is not always an easy job. You must constantly deal with challenges like changing weather conditions, unfamiliar airports, erratic schedules, and FBO facilities and services that vary from great to, well, not so great. However, rather than discussing these or any of the other difficult aspects of corporate aviation, I'd like to provide a bit of balance by reminding you of some of the positive things that accompany this job of helping people get from one location to another.
One way to develop a scheduler's skills is to encourage him or her to earn an FAA dispatcher certificate. Originally developed for the airlines, the rating embodies many skills valued in an FAR Part 91 operation.
Brainchild of Bob Bornhofen, head of Monument, Colo.-based Excel-Jet Ltd., the single-turbofan Sport-Jet is a four-place, 4,900-pound, all-composite VLJ priced under $1 million with the footprint of a single-engine piston aircraft. Powered by a single 1,400-pound-thrust turbofan, the Sport-Jet will have a 375 KTAS high- speed cruise and be capable of flying 1,000 nm at 310 KTAS at FL 250. The cabin will be 4.9 feet wide, 3.9 feet high and 7.9 feet long. Estimated takeoff distance is 2,300 feet.
Toronto's Economic Development and Parks Committee has voted to support a financial incentives package to attract the Bombardier C-Series Jet final assembly program. If Toronto wins the bid to manufacture the new line of commercial aircraft, Bombardier will rebuild a significant proportion of its facility there, thereby increasing property taxes. Toronto is proposing to return a percentage of the new tax income as a grant.
The FAA named William Johnson chief scientist and technical adviser to support the agency on human factors in aircraft maintenance systems. A certified private pilot and A&P mechanic, Johnson will be based in the FAA's Southern Regional Office in Atlanta. He previously was regional director for the Americas at Lufthansa Technik.
THE FAA'S OFFICE of Aviation Policy recently issued a long overdue report -- Part 135 Air Taxi Operators (ATO) Study -- to Congress that purports to provide an updated look at one of the fastest-growing segments of the aviation industry. What it actually shows, once again, is that the Office of Aviation Policy is out of touch with reality, set in its ways and one of the few agency precincts that apparently doesn't have to participate in the FAA's new emphasis on performance metrics that apply to the rest of the organization.
National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne convinced Air Transport Association President James May to speak at NATA's annual convention in March in Las Vegas. Coyne cited the ATA's battle to revise the aviation tax structure to make business jet operators pay more and called May's past speeches ``fighting words.'' He said, ``We may have something approaching a real argument at our convention.''
The European Union has published maximum flight and duty time rules for flight crews that leave detailed implementation up to the individual member states. The new rules harmonize member states' rest and duty time regulations. Accepted by Europe's Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, the new rules are not lax as some critics claim, says the European Regions Airline Association (ERA). Mike Ambrose, ERA director general, said that the new rules are largely comparable to most existing rules within the EU.
The BBA Group says it will add Executive Aviation Services' FBO at London Heathrow to its Signature Flight Support network, and Airport Group International, an airport services company, to its commercial aviation and airline handling unit, ASIG. The Executive Aviation acquisition will cost $8.2 million while the AGI takeover will cost an additional $24 million, according to BBA.
NetJets Europe has contracted for the largest ever business jet purchase in Europe, upping its order for Hawker 400XPs from 20 to 25, with a total value of $160 million. The first 10 aircraft are slated for delivery this year with the remainder by 2007. This is the first time that NetJets Europe has purchased its own aircraft. The 400XP will become NetJets Europe's new entry-level fractional aircraft, configured with seven seats.
ON A RECENT FORAY into Manhattan, I was impressed to see one of those electronics and souvenir shops that populate the midtown avenues, their display windows laden with computers, PDAs, cell phones and Statues of Liberties in 15 different sizes. This particular store beckoned passersby to come in quickly for the painted banner overhead read: ``Going Out of Business.'' Tough business, I thought, and then smiled. I'd seen that sign every day when I passed the shop on the way to a job in the city. That was maybe 15 years ago.
From Kell-Strom Tool Co. Inc., and designed specifically for the aircraft industry, the Mastic Removal System removes caulking, sealant, PRC, RTV, silicone, glues and other adhesives from aircraft metal, plastic and composite surfaces. The system uses a vibrating gun with an attached blade to chisel away the adhesives. Adjustable speed control allows the operator to accurately adjust the number of strokes per minute to match the task. The system comes with a grounded air hose to prevent electrostatic buildup.
The FAA awarded a grant to GCR & Associates Inc. to expedite the collection of airport facility data at all of the approximately 5,000 public-use, general aviation airports in North America for the agency's airport database. GCR is spearheading the compilation of detailed information such as runway lengths, approach standards, navaids and myriad facility and operational data. The New Orleans-based company has subcontracted with Southern Illinois University Carbondale to assist in the effort.
Avionics software issues have pushed back the Hawker Horizon's anticipated full certification to mid-year, with provisional certification expected by early this month, according to Brad Hatt, president and general manager of Raytheon's Hawker unit. ``Flight-testing has achieved 1,700 hours with four aircraft,'' Hatt said, ``but we have some software issues still ongoing with Honeywell Epic regarding functionality reliability tests. These tests are being carried out by aircraft RC-4.''
NetJets and Jeppesen have agreed to a new four-year contract that will expand the latter's support of the fractional ownership operator. Jeppesen began delivering its International Trip Planning Service to NetJets in January 2000, and today has employees stationed at NetJets' Columbus, Ohio, flight operations center and providing round-the-clock customized trip handling for nearly all international flights. In addition, Jeppesen provides computerized flight plans and crew weather briefings and complete global chart services.
Veteran business aviation safety analyst Robert E. Breiling characterized the recent spate of business jet accidents as ``very unusual.'' Having tracked the industry's safety record for more than 30 years, Breiling noted that three of the latest accidents involved a Gulfstream III, a Gulfstream IV and a Bombardier Challenger 601, each of which has an outstanding safety record. Through 2003, those aircraft models had been in just one, two and three accidents, respectively. Breiling said U.S.
The National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) has added nearly 20 new regular and associate members, bringing the total number of companies in the trade group to more than 100. Alexandria, Va.-based NARA, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, added five new broker/dealer members at its annual membership meeting in October 2004: Axiom Aviation, Business Aircraft Group, Caribbean Aviation, Denison Jet Sales and Jeteffect, Inc.
Manufacturers of the newly labeled very light jets (VLJ) are all smiles over Rolls-Royce's market forecast released at the NBAA Convention in October 2004. The turbine engine manufacturer projects that 8,000 four- to six-seat turbofan-powered VLJs will be delivered during the next two decades, accounting for more than one-third of all new business jet sales from 2004 until 2023.
During October's NBAA Convention in Las Vegas, Jet Aviation unveiled JetResponse, a 24-hour program to get AOG aircraft flying again. ``The JetResponse program offers a quick response and peace of mind when problems that have grounded an aircraft occur. Our maintenance facilities can offer technical expertise on a wide range of aircraft during almost any maintenance emergency,'' explains David Heydt, director of maintenance at Jet Aviation Teterboro. There is no contract or service agreement needed for the free phone call.
