Sacramento, Calif., wants to fast track attracting an FBO to SMF. Approximately 10 individuals, including representatives of existing California FBOs, attended a non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting on Dec. 1, 2004. Following the Jan. 6 deadline for bid submission, officials hope to meet with finalists this month, finalize terms and conditions by the end of March and have the winning FBO in place by May 1. No FBO currently serves SMF. Private aircraft are handled by the airlines' fuel supplier, with the assistance of county employees.
Raytheon Aircraft has been awarded a $240 million contract option by the U.S. government for 50 more T-6A aircraft, part of the JPATS training system. This is the 12th straight option year exercised, out of a potential total of 19 for the entire program extends deliveries through 2008. The JPATS program, which is the primary pilot training program for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, calls for nearly 800 aircraft through the year 2017. To date, the Air Force and Navy have ordered 354 aircraft, and 215 have been delivered -- 172 to the Air Force and 43 to the Navy.
Sikorsky countered with a grand opening of its VXX assembly and support facility at its Stratford, Conn., headquarters. The facility has special security provisions required to work on the presidential helicopters.
Three additional Jet Aviation maintenance facilities in the United States have been named authorized service centers for the Embraer Legacy aircraft. With the addition of Bedford/Boston, Mass., Dallas and Teterboro, N.J., Jet Aviation's global maintenance network now includes a total of six Legacy service centers with facilities in Palm Beach, Fla.; Dusseldorf, Germany; and London's Biggin Hill.
General Electric has initiated tests for its new GEnx engine that the company says advances the use of composites in jet engines in ways never before experienced. The GEnx is the only jet engine being developed with both the front fan case and fan blades made of composite materials, which are intended to provide greater durability and dramatic weight reduction. At GE Transportation's headquarters in Evendale, Ohio, the company ran a successful ``blade-out'' rig test using a composite fan case and composite blades representative of the GEnx configuration.
Engine intake plugs protect your aircraft and will keep your engine free of damaging debris while stored in a hangar or tie-down space. Made of a thick, all-weather 420 nylon, these plugs will also prevent birds or other animals from accessing your engine compartment. They are durable yet lightweight and are made to fit each aircraft model exactly, forming a secure seal. Since these plugs are bright red and include a red ``Remove Before Flight'' streamer, it is easy to remember to remove them.
Pentastar Aviation, Waterford, Mich., promoted Richard Barley to the position of executive chef, in which capacity he will oversee food production, train and supervise chefs and culinarians, and maintain food quality and standards. Barley is also a professional ice carver.
The Los Angeles Times got it right. It published an article on Dec. 12, 2004, headlined, ``High-Profile Business Plane Crashes Belie Safety,'' that stressed that both corporate and charter jet operations are about as safe as airline flying. The paper had all the right numbers and stressed the high quality of equipment and training typical of corporate charter ops. Google the article and print it out.
The FAA is pushing ahead with plans to develop a numerical index that will depict the overall safety of the U.S. aviation industry from general aviation to scheduled airline service. Despite skepticism in some quarters about the value of developing a matrix that encompasses such widely different types of flying, the FAA wants the new safety index in place by the end of 2006. The prototype safety index ``will measure aviation fatalities and injuries in all segments of the industry,'' the FAA said.
The FAA has reached an agreement with Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury, Conn., on the matter of tree clearing required to keep the Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR) Runway 08 at its current published length of 4,422 feet. For years, the FAA nagged the city about the growing obstructions. If the trees on the approach were not removed, the FAA would be forced to eliminate 1,000 feet from the end of the already short runway, making the airport almost unusable in IFR to many aircraft. Money wasn't a problem.
Of the volumes of existing flight regulations, donning one's oxygen mask when required must surely be one of the most neglected by flight crews. One veteran aviator probably spoke for many when he admitted, ``It's not that I have a good reason for never wearing the mask, it's just that I never seem to think about it, period.''
Nordam Group's Transparency Division won the contract to provide the windshields, cockpit side windows and cabin windows for the Eclipse 500. This is Nordam's first program to be the supplier of all windows on an aircraft, and the company says if Eclipse ramps up to its planned full production rate, the program will require 10,000 windows a year. Nordam is headquartered in Tulsa.
FlightSafety's new Level ``D'' simulator for the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter at the company's West Palm Beach Learning Center has received FAA approval. Pilot and maintenance technician training programs are in progress. The full-flight simulator is the world's first for Sikorsky's new-generation S-92 helicopter. Surrounding the S-92 cockpit is a VITAL-9 five-channel visual system that displays 220 degrees horizontally and 60 degrees vertically. The Sikorsky S-92 simulator incorporates digital map displays, EGPWS, TCAS and dual FMS.
CAE, Montreal, Canada, appointed Marc Parent to the position of group president, simulation products. Parent was formerly vice president and general manager of Bombardier Aerospace.
On Nov. 22, 2004, about 0615 CST, a Gulfstream III crashed on the ILS Runway 04 approach to Houston Hobby Airport (HOU). The three crewmembers -- 67-year-old pilot Milford Dickson of Terrell, Texas, 62-year-old first officer Michael DeSalvo of Roanoke, Texas, and 54-year-old flight attendant Kristi Dunn of Addison, Texas -- were killed. The aircraft, operated by Business Jet Services, was en route to HOU from Dallas Love Field to pick up former President George H. W. Bush for a South American trip.
Museum of Flight, Seattle -- Jet engine pioneer Dr. Sam B. Williams was inducted into the museum's Pathfinder Hall of Fame on Oct. 16, 2004. First presented in 1982, the annual Pathfinder Award recognized individuals ``with ties to the Pacific Northwest who have made signal contributions to the development of aviation or aerospace.'' Williams was recognized in the ``manufacturing'' category for his achievements as an inventor, entrepreneur and businessman.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany say that it is necessary to lower mandatory carriage of 8.33 kHz radios down to FL 195 by March 2007 across the entire ICAO EUR region. Currently FL 245 is the mandatory base for 8.33 kHz operations across most of Europe and operators are worried about the extra fuel burn incurred at lower flight levels.
Cessna expects to add hundreds of employees as it ``grows into'' its new service center. The manufacturer built about 104,000 square feet of office space into the center to house most of the company's Citation aftermarket customer service team. The company expects that the center will be fully operational by the beginning of 2006, initially employing 600 and using about 70 percent of the available space.
Raytheon Aircraft Services launched a program to provide Beechjet 400A operators with a new interior with only eight days of downtime. The quick-change interior program is available for aircraft with serial numbers 110 or higher.
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report notes that ``the small size, lack of fuel capacity and minimal destructive power of most general aviation aircraft make them unattractive to terrorists and thereby, reduce the possibility of threat associated with their misuse.'' The report concludes that continued partnerships between the general aviation industry and the government -- such as the AOPA's Airport Watch program -- are vital to the long-term success of efforts to enhance security at the nation's nearly 19,000 general aviation landing facilities.
Four firms have joined forces to train Bell 412 helicopter pilots in the Middle East. Officials of Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) CAE Simuflite, Bell Helicopter and Hawker Pacific signed an agreement under which Bell Helicopter will begin sending students to ECFT as soon as the training center's Bell 412 full-flight simulator has been approved by the FAA and the European Joint Aviation Authorities. The simulator is slated for installation at ECFT's facility in Dubai by the end of this year.
GLN Compliance Group will offer online RVSM compliance training to its clients. GLN, which provides compliance solutions to FAR Part 121, 125 and 135 operators, announced it has entered an agreement with DigiFlite to offer DigiFlite's ``Affirm RVSM'' online RVSM pilot certification course to its clients nationwide and will feature it in their portfolio of compliance solutions. DigiFlite created the Web-based RVSM course to prepare pilots for RSVM rules that take effect on Jan. 20.
Bombardier Flexjet, Dallas, appointed Dave Armstrong senior director of sales. Armstrong was previously at Cessna Aircraft Co. In addition, four sales directors have been newly appointed: Bob Osvold, Spencer Bain, Eli Flint and Scott Shatzer.
