Each year B/CA editors honor individuals within business aviation who have demonstrated an unusually high commitment to the community and its betterment -- through improved equipment, operations, regulation or advocacy. Over the years these leaders have come from industry, associations, government and elsewhere, and have hailed from North America, Europe and Asia. The criteria they all meet and the characteristic they all share is effective excellence in furthering business aviation.
The FAA authorized Williams International to extend major periodic inspection intervals on its FJ44 engine models. Effective immediately, the FJ44-2A Check 3 (hot-section inspection) is 1,750 hours and the Check 4 (compressor section inspection) is 3,500 hours. In addition, engine cycles are no longer a consideration for determining FJ44 engine major periodic inspection intervals. The intervals are now defined in engine operating hours only.
Blakey and Chew appeared to be preparing aviation users for elimination of some existing systems as a way to save money. Blakey commented that ``over time, you cannot continue to add enhancements'' (to the NAS system) and not get rid of older systems that are redundant or are used less frequently by pilots. Chew added that the agency would be stifling growth if it did not invest in new technology.
Chicagoland Airport will be the site of a renewable hydrogen fuel airport demonstration project. The Greater Rockford, Ill., Airport Authority is soliciting bids from firms or teams for the purpose of providing planning, designing, building and managing the Northwest Chicagoland Airport Renewable Hydrogen Project. ``The airport of the future will be clean, efficient and fuel independent,'' said Rockford Airport Director Bob O'Brien.
Raytheon Aircraft has teamed with Avtrak Inc. to upgrade the capabilities of the FACTS online maintenance tracking services it provides to Beech and Hawker aircraft operators. Avtrak will use its Web-based application and technology to power Raytheon Aircraft's FACTS program to give operators 24/7 access to their aircraft maintenance from any computer equipped with a Web browser and an Internet connection.
As the National Air Transportation Association feared (Intelligence, September, page 16), confusion has reared its ugly head concerning the applicability of new EPA spill prevention, control and countermeasures (SPCC) regulations to mobile aircraft refuelers -- despite an extension agreed to by the agency.
Issy Boim is trying to convince business aviation that security is as important as safety. Or to put it another way, that one of the elements of your safety checklist should be security.
Chelton Flight Systems' now-certified EFIS makes single-pilot operations of high-performance aircraft much easier. ``This summer we received STC approval for the Cessna Citation 501, which satisfies both TAWS and RVSM mandates, and replaces mechanical autopilot gyros with a fiber-optic AHRS,'' company president Gordon Pratt explained to B/CA. The Boise, Idaho, company also obtained an FAA STC to install its FlightLogic Synthetic Vision EFIS in Cessna Citation 501s.
His may be one of the most fertile minds in aeronautical design. His concepts have always challenged the conventional, the tried and true. He breezily ignores the old maxim, ``If it looks right, it will fly right,'' because his machines have often looked quite wrong, even though they flew, some of them into history. And as VariViggen gave way to the VariEze which was followed by Quickie, Solitaire, Defiant, Grizzly, Catbird, Boom- erang, etc., the giddy winged menagerie of the long-sideburned maverick of the Mojave became legendary.
Cessna Aircraft and its corporate parent, Textron, Inc., were strongly supportive of Jack Pelton, Cessna president and CEO, following a CBS television report that the former longtime McDonnell Douglas executive had received degrees in aeronautical engineering from a diploma mill in Wyoming. A Textron spokesman said that Pelton ``will continue in his current role'' with the Wichita aircraft manufacturer. Cessna characterized Pelton as ``a seasoned industry veteran with strong credentials, an exceptional background and a stellar professional reputation.
Few busy airports in the United States receive as much snow as New York's Buffalo-Niagara International (BUF). Its snow removal team, led by Airport Manager Robert Stone, has won numerous awards for leadership in keeping the runways open despite sometimes monumental snowfalls. ``In 1977, we got hit with 199 inches of snow,'' says Stone, ``and I was actually stranded at the airport for an entire week. The irony was that the airport was open for business the very next day after the monster blizzard hit, but we didn't have any customers because all of the roads were closed.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Grand Caravan Oasis under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance.
Beginning in 2006 the biennial Farnborough air and trade show will be run by Farnborough International Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC). As part of the reorganization, the three-day Business Aviation Park will probably be moved closer to the main static aircraft park despite the organizers' original plan to keep this ``show within a show'' separate.
Aerospace companies added 7,500 new jobs between June and November, bringing employment in the industry to 587,600 nationwide, the Aerospace Industries Association said on Nov. 9. The industry hit a 50-year low in employment in February, according to the AIA.
How's your drinking water? The EPA reports that tests showed galley and tank water on some domestic and international airliners didn't meet the agency's standards. Random tests of 158 water tanks on airplanes at four U.S. airports from Aug. 3 to Sept. 9 by the EPA ``revealed 20 aircraft -- 12.6 percent -- with positive results for total coliform bacteria,'' the agency said. Two also tested positive for E. coli. Meanwhile, the Air Transport Association (ATA) noted that Centers for Disease Control data show no reported cases of illness linked to aircraft drinking water.
AgustaWestland recently opened its new 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, where its U.S. subsidiary, Agusta Aerospace, will assemble and service the A119 Koala helicopter for all commercial operators worldwide. The $6.8 million facility includes avionics assembly, manufacturing, final assembly and completion areas, plus hangar space. The company plans to increase its Philadelphia workforce 50 percent when the new facility is fully operational.
Tronair, Inc.'s new lightweight locking- wheel chock fits all business aircraft and regional airliners. It can be disassembled and packed flat in its own storage bag. The unit weighs 12 pounds. Price: $449.00 -- Model 99-9042-9000 Tronair, Inc. 1740 Eber Rd. Holland, OH 43528 (419) 866-6301 www.tronair.com
Executive Jet Management added three new aircraft to its charter fleet. A Gulfstream 200 will be based at Palwaukee Airport (PWK) in Chicago; a Learjet 45XR at Bowling Green-Warren Airport (BWG) in Bowling Green, Ky.; and a Challenger 601 at Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) in New Haven, Conn. EJM says it now manages over 100 aircraft in more than 60 U.S. locations to meet the demand for retail charter and to support the NetJets Fractional program.
Gulfstream Aerospace has received FAA certification for the G350, the newest model in its expanded line of business jets; the aircraft is expected to enter service during third quarter 2005. The G350 replaces the G300/GIV-SP in the company's product lineup. The G350 has a range of more than 3,800 nm with four passengers and available fuel and can fly those distances at cruise speeds of up to 0.80 Mach. It features the same basic fuselage and cabin dimensions as its predecessor, and is powered by twin Rolls-Royce Tay 611-8C engines.
The AOPA assessed the results of the recent congressional election to be a slight net gain for general aviation in the Senate with industry support in the House ``essentially unchanged.'' In the Senate, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who was not up for reelection, will become chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, a post being vacated by John McCain (R-Ariz.).
What follows is B/CA's first annual Business Aviation Services Guide. We hope you find it useful, but just as importantly, we hope it helps to trigger within you ideas for other data you'd like us to provide so you can put it to use in your operation. We admit that this guide is incomplete, and always will be. The breadth and depth of services available to business aviation operators and personnel is almost limitless, so enumerating them all would be impossible.
True professionalism assumes the practitioner will always be in a process of review and expansion, the former to hone skills and knowledge already obtained, and the latter to adapt to new circumstances -- life's only constant. Both processes are available through training and education.
Premier Air Center of East Alton, Ill., has a new program to update the primary flight displays of Falcon 20s and 200s using Universal Avionics EFI-890R high-definition, active-matrix LCDs. Premier claims that operators can retrofit the Universal displays at between one-quarter and one-half the cost of other Falcon 20/200 avionics packages. Much of the savings comes as a result of the EFI-890R being able to interface with legacy avionics such as autopilots and radar systems.
