Piaggio America has unveiled the P.180 Avanti II, a $5.97 million upgraded variant of the high-speed twin-turboprop. First flight is imminent in Italy, and certification is expected by mid-2005. Among the enhancements to the Avanti II will be the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics package, which includes three 8-by-10-inch Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCD); MTOW increase from 11,550 pounds to 12,000 pounds; and increased maximum zero-fuel weight from 9,000 pounds to 9,800 pounds.
Duncan Aviation is undertaking ``a fundamental shift in our approach to major avionics retrofit projects,'' according to Ron Hall, a Duncan Aviation avionics sales executive. Hall and fellow avionics sales executive Gary Harpster outlined Duncan's Glass Box Project at October's NBAA Convention. The company will now use an integrated retrofit system to best match each aircraft. Hall said, ``We have shifted from a tactical, reactive approach to a strategic approach that researches products, airframes and hull values prior to committing to investing in system certification.
For decades, business aircraft operators -- particularly those who often fly transoceanic missions -- were given vague assurances that an affordable, practical, long-distance supersonic business jet was possible. Now, suddenly, the concept has been given definition and two all-new organizations, the Aerion Corp. and Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI), say they each plan to deliver that long-promised time machine.
Midcoast Aviation, a Saint Louis-based aviation support company, has earned an STC for installation of dual ADR FG-5000 electronic flight bags (EFBs) in the Bombardier Challenger 604. ``These flight bags allow Challenger 604 operators to experience the flight freedom that comes from converting charts and other paper-based information into electronic form and gaining fingertip control over aircraft operations manuals, logs, checklists and much more,'' said Blake Hogge, Midcoast's director of avionics sales.
TAG USA opened a new regional office at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey to provide support services to TAG's area clients. The office joins existing TAG offices in White Plains, N.Y.; Chicago; Houston; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; and San Francisco. In other TAG news, the company has added 16 business aircraft to its managed fleet at eight different locations.
NASA's Langley Research Center is working in conjunction with the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to develop standards for composite materials used in manufacturing aircraft similar to those established for aluminum alloys. Specifically, NIAR, based at Wichita State University in Kansas, will develop the process to validate composites and advanced materials through a centralized database.
Although the U.S. economy has been sending mixed signals recently, prices for many types of previously owned business aircraft continued to rise through mid-summer, according to Vref Aircraft Value Reference's Market Leader, a leading industry newsletter.
IN PURSUING NEW business, your executives are out on the road longer, with out-and-backs becoming three- and four-day trips. The change has put additional strain on your already hard-pressed flight crews; you really need more people. But when you broach the subject with your boss, he sets his jaw, looks coolly at you from across the desk and asks, ``Why should we hire another pilot when our total flight time is the same as last year's?'' You try to explain that although flight hours have stabilized, the number of duty days has increased significantly.
After selling some 500 PC-12s, primarily to individuals, Pilatus is targeting the big single turboprop at corporate flight departments. Pilatus Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer in the United States Tom Aniello maintains that with its large cabin, single-engine economy, speed, flexibility and Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 powerplant, the aircraft is a perfect complement to many existing flight operations. Thanks to a standard cargo door and quick-remove interiors, the aircraft can carry bulky equipment and even trade show displays.
The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) has lowered its individual membership dues to $49 annually. The reduction from the previous fee of $70 per year is intended to boost membership. The new rates apply to new memberships and renewals after Sept. 1.
Much of flight training through the years used to be based mainly on airline practices, which evolved from the military model: a ``sit down and shut up'' groundschool heavy on systems memorization, followed by an interrogation-style oral, finished off -- if you made it that far -- with an all-or-nothing checkride. Pass and you were ``in,'' but still subject to the exacting rigors again for recurrent and upgrade training. Fail, however, and you were out the door -- stigmatized, without a job and possibly without a career.
The Small Business Administration says the FAA needs to do more homework before it can certify that its proposed drug and alcohol testing rules will not have substantial adverse impact on small businesses that have only a peripheral involvement in aviation. A supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) the FAA released in May requires that entities performing safety-sensitive functions for certain FAA-certificated repair stations, including contractors or subcontractors, comply with drug- and alcohol-testing requirements.
Mayo Aviation, Inc., Englewood, Colo., an aircraft charter and management, maintenance, parts and emergency medical transport company, has hired Gregory Wilcox as director of operations.
Thunder Aviation has received a group STC for an RVSM retrofit for Falcon 20 jets equipped with the Collins AP-105 autopilot. The company says other STC amendments, covering similarly equipped Falcon 10s, should be forthcoming shortly -- as well as amendments for Falcon 10 and 20 aircraft equipped with the SPZ 500 autopilot. For more information go to www.thunderaviation.com.
Mercury Air Centers has moved its Los Angeles FBO to the south side of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Accessible from both the I-105 Freeway and Sepulveda Boulevard, the new site is more convenient for customers driving to the airport. Mercury is currently operating out of a refurbished building at the new location, but plans to build a new terminal over the next 18 months that will include a wide range of amenities and more than 10 acres of ramp space for parking and servicing aircraft. Fred Allega is executive general manager of Mercury's LAX facility.
Cirrus Design announced that as of September, year-to-date orders had exceeded the total number of aircraft delivered in 2003. Last year, Cirrus reported 469 aircraft deliveries to customers. By early September, the company sold its 475th aircraft for 2004. John M. Bingham, executive vice president of sales at Cirrus said that in one recent ``incredible'' week the company sold 43 aircraft. ``At this pace, we're on track to sell 630 airplanes in 2004, well in excess of the original sales projection of 542,'' he said.
During the definition phase of IS-BAO development, IBAC's task force identified 15 benefits that could be achieved from adoption of a standard industry code of practice. For Flight Departments: Self-education -- IS-BAO helps flight departments learn from experiences of their peers. Assistance to new operators -- New flight departments can adopt a code of best practice from the beginning of operations.
U.S. News & World Report's ``Best Colleges 2005'' ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach campus first in its ``guide for a specialty school in aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering.'' The university was compared with other institutions that offer the same specialty. The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado ranked second, and the Embry-Riddle Prescott, Ariz., campus and the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland tied for third. California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo rounded out the top five.
Rockwell Collins has received FAA certification of a dual Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS) on a Dassault Falcon 50. The IFIS provides such advanced capabilities as electronic charting, graphical weather and enhanced map overlays, and installation of a dual system to bring level-three electronic flight bag capability to the flight deck, thus allowing operators to transition to ``paperless'' operations.
Beware of halogen bulbs in the cargo hold. They're hot! An Emirates Airlines Boeing 777-300 was in cruise flight when the crew received a fire warning in the aft bulk cargo compartment. The crew discharged extinguishing agent into the compartment, but the warning illuminated two more times. After diverting to Chennai, India, and evacuating the 380 passengers, a small piece of luggage was found smoldering in the cargo compartment, where it had been in direct contact with a ceiling light fixture containing a halogen light bulb.
AvFab, the Clinton, Mo.-based maker of custom aircraft seating, has received an STC for its divans for the Citation 650. The divans, which can add seating or sleeping capacity to existing aircraft, come in either one-, two-, three- or four-place variations, and the STCed kits include detailed installation directions and applicable weight-and-balance data.
UltraJet LLC is offering an UltraJet Card that provides 25 hours of flight time in the UltraJet business jet fleet with a one-time pre-payment. UltraJet cards begin at $87,500 for use of a seven-seat light jet.
Honeywell's Bendix/King KGP 560 EGPWS is now a factory-installed option for Cirrus SR series aircraft. ``The KGP 560 is the first Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) offered by Cirrus. It offers protection from Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), one of the leading causes of general aviation fatalities,'' said Dan Barks, Honeywell's director of marketing for business, regional and general aviation. ``The KGP 560 offers a unique combination of look-ahead algorithms, comprehensive terrain and obstacle databases, and multi-level alerting capabilities.
Gulfstream Aerospace has received an STC from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) enabling the aircraft manufacturer's Luton service center in the United Kingdom to install the Honeywell AirSat1 satellite telephone on GIV and GIV-SP business jets. Using the Iridium network, AirSat1 allows aircraft passengers to talk by phone and connect directly to the Internet while flying almost anywhere in the world. This is the first STC to be issued by EASA to the Luton service center, which is located just north of London at the London-Luton Airport.
