The McGraw-Hill Companies has launched a new service through its Aviation Week Group Web site at www.aviationnow.com. The new service provides data, analysis and forecasts covering several sectors in the homeland security industry. In addition to homeland security, technology and market forecasts, the new offering includes a line of product reports, including technology reviews, and product specifications and comparisons.
The NTSB call to redesign the Airbus A300-600 rudder travel limit (RTL) system is an unexpected byproduct of the American Airlines Flight 587 investigation, although the Safety Board and Airbus agree that the problem is unrelated to the 2001 crash. While investigating Flight 587, the board revisited an incident on May 12, 1997, when an A300-600 (Flight 903) experienced an inflight upset at 16,000 feet.
Six teams of maintenance technicians troubleshot it out at the PAMA Aviation Maintenance Olympics (PAMO) at the association's 33rd annual symposium held recently at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Midcoast's ``Arch Rivals'' team scored highest in the seven-event display of professional skills and cunning. The Delta TechOps ``Torque Its'' placed second, while the General Dynamics Aviation Services team placed third.
Scheduled executive jet feeder services to connect with transatlantic business-class-only flights are in the cards, according to Club Airways CEO Hans Schwab. He has been in talks with potential start-up business-class-only operators such as PrivatAir, Swiss International Air Lines and Premium Air of Switzerland. ``We are waiting for new projects to mature in Europe so that we are not supporting just one long-haul operator,'' said Schwab.
Sprint and AT&T Wireless announced a reciprocal Wi-Fi roaming agreement for Denver International (DIA), Kansas City International (MCI), Philadelphia International (PHL), Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) and Salt Lake City International (SLC) airports.
The FAA gave Level 3 certification to a Frasca-built Bell 412 helicopter flight training device (FTD) owned by Petroleum Helicopters of Lafayette, La. This is the world's first helicopter FTD ever certified to Level 3. This qualification allows the FTD to be used for all training and checking for all items covered under the FAA's Practical Test Standards. The FTD features Frasca's TruVision 220 visual display system with a 220-degree field of view.
Jet Aviation -- in conjunction with Dubai-based Al Mulla Business Group -- recently began construction of a new facility at Dubai International Airport. Jet Aviation is the first private executive aviation company based at the airport that will offer a full range of maintenance and FBO services. The new facility -- the third for Jet Aviation in the region -- is expected to be operational by January 2005. Jet Aviation Dubai will offer aircraft maintenance, repair, defect rectifications and modifications as well as avionics installations and retrofits.
Rotorcraft Enterprises is marketing a compact ground start unit that's suitable for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The units, which provide 24- or 28-volt power and very high amperage, can also serve as an APU during maintenance work. They use a gas recombination battery, which means gas produced during charging is absorbed by the battery's electrolyte, thereby allowing shipment by UPS or regular airfreight. The battery is lead alloy, with starved plate technology, made specifically for these units.
I have always made this presentation by asking for audience participation by raised hands to answer the questions. This is not possible in this format so I have provided typical answers and findings in boldface print. Have you played a contact sport such as basketball, football? Almost all Do you ski? Many do Do you belong to a parachuting club? Some do Have you tried hang-gliding? A few
Schweizer Aircraft Corp. delivered a new 300C to Flycom of the Republic of Slovenia. Jaroslav Najman of L.D. Aviation Prague, Schweizer's distributor located in the Czech Republic, handled the sale. Flycom's 300C is already committed to a five-year aerial photography contract and will also be used for light utility work and flight training.
Not surprisingly, the Corporate Angel Network (CAN) loves corporate shuttles as a reliable transportation medium for getting cancer patients to and from their treatment centers.
Thousands of people were abruptly ordered to evacuate the Capitol and nearby office buildings on June 9, about 30 minutes before the Air Force Boeing 747 carrying former President Reagan's body was due to land at Andrews AFB in suburban Maryland. A King Air 200 operated by the state of Kentucky and carrying Gov. Ernie Fletcher showed up as an unidentified aircraft on a radar display at the National Capital Regional Command Center (NCRCC), which coordinates responses to possible security threats. The system displays raw radar data.
Cessna now has full type certification for the Citation Sovereign, almost six years after introducing the aircraft to the public. The company received a provisional TC for the Sovereign in December 2003, but it did not permit delivery to customers. Delivery of the first Model 680 Sovereign is expected in the second half of the year. Cessna announced the Sovereign in 1998 along with the CJ2 and upgrades to its original CJ and Citation Ultra. The Sovereign is the final aircraft of that group to achieve FAA approval.
Proposed Rules Dassault Falcon 50, 900, 900EX and 2000 airplanes -- Make temporary changes to the airplane flight manual to prohibit the use of certain functions, depending on whether or not the operator chooses to deactivate the GPS. For airplanes on which the GPS is deactivated, operators would be required to install a deactivation-locking collar on certain circuit breakers. For other airplanes, operators also would be required to modify the wiring of the GPS.
Gulfstream Aerospace now is offering its Enhanced Vision System (EVS) to operators of Gulfstream IV business jets outfitted with Honeywell SPZ 8000 avionics as a result of an amendment to an earlier FAA STC.
THE YEAR WAS 1940, A TIME when the world was still enthralled with airplanes and the people who flew them. Legendary airmen like Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh and Roscoe Turner were celebrities, like rock stars today. Although only 23 years old at the time, I was working as chief pilot for Queen City Flying Service, a flight training outfit based in Cincinnati. Life could not have been better. George Wedekind, my boss, was hard-nosed but fair. The pay was modest but steady. The airplanes were well maintained. And best of all, we got to fly almost every day.
Raytheon Aircraft has added a fourth Hawker Horizon to the certification flight-test program. The aircraft will conduct FAA function and reliability testing and will be used for operational evaluation of customer satisfaction before deliveries begin at the end of the year. The aircraft, RC-4, was fitted with interior components, including sidewalls, headliners and lavatory and cabin doors.
The FAA has granted type certification to new models of General Electric's CT7-8 turboshaft engine. According to GE, the newly certified engines, more powerful and more durable than earlier models, are intended to power variants of the Sikorsky S-92, AgustaWestland EH101 and US101, and NH Industries NH90 helicopters, as well as improved versions of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for U.S. Army Special Operations forces.
Boeing has nearly finished restructuring its ATM operation, and although the unit is losing staff, its program capability hasn't changed and has even increased in some areas, unit head Kevin Brown said. Under the restructuring, Boeing ATM is being folded into Boeing's Phantom Works division (see B/CA, April, page 18) to trim overhead costs. Boeing ATM still will be headquartered in McLean, Va., Brown said, because it makes sense to keep the main office close to FAA and DOT headquarters.
The U.S. Air Force will have a big presence at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2004 on July 27-Aug. 2 in Oshkosh, Wis. The Air Force's 20,000-square-foot ``Total Force Pavilion'' will be located along the flight line, just north of the FAA Control Tower. The building will host several heroes from Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war on terrorism who will share their combat experiences and answer questions. Also at the pavilion will be the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs); the Tuskegee Airmen will provide speakers as well.
General Electric is monitoring market demand for a new-generation 50-seat jet, and is developing possible powerplant technologies for the aircraft. Charles Blankenship, GE's general manager of small commercial engines, told our sister publication Aviation Daily at the Regional Airline Association annual conference in St. Louis that GE has a concept engine and some technical developments targeted at next-generation RJs, but added that if demand does materialize, the aircraft would ``be a bit off in the future.''
The Airbus A319CJ corporate jetliner, together with its airliner brethren the A319, A320 and A321, has been awarded 180 minutes of extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) certification. The approval was granted by the new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
At Orlando International Airport recently, a Florida Power & Light crew putting in lines for an addition got a cold-blooded reception from some MCO denizens. The 'gator was 18 feet 2 inches long, while the snake roundup bagged some 87 rattlers. FP&L provided some forget-us-not snapshots of the encounters.
Honeywell's recently released Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook predicts that previously owned rotorcraft will continue to be important in meeting the demand for helicopter services in the coming years. The sixth annual survey was based in part on feedback received from a survey of more than 900 flight departments worldwide.
National air show performer Ian Groom, 58, died on his birthday April 30 in the widely televised crash of his Russian-built Sukhoi 31 aerobatic aircraft during practice for the Air and Sea Show in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He failed to recover from a series of flat spins. ``It was obvious there was a problem with the maneuver,'' said John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows. Groom had represented Britain in world aerobatic competitions. A devoted family man, he also provided free unusual attitude recovery training to government pilots.
