Two new technologies are emerging that could hold some interesting challenges for cabin electronics avionics engineers and anyone involved with issues of portable electronic devices on aircraft.
Compiling our annual Purchase Planning Handbook usually provides B/CA editors with an opportunity to note significant milestones and evolutionary possibilities in business aviation. And this year is no exception.
Daniel Webster College, Nashua, N.H., has named Chris Castell director of flight education/chief instructor. Castell is a member of DWC's class of 1988 and was most recently the school's assistant director of flight operations/ flight services.
ARINC Engineering Services successfully flight tested a new precision approach and landing system designed to withstand electronic jamming. The test, conducted at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., is part of the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) program to develop the next-generation precision approach and landing system for the Department of Defense.
Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites received the world's first license for commercial manned suborbital rocket flight. The Mojave, Calif.-based company is flight testing its SpaceShipOne manned, reusable contender for the X Prize, a $10 million award for carrying three people to suborbital altitudes, returning and repeating the flight within 10 days. The FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation issued the license, good for one year, which is a requirement to qualify to compete for the X Prize.
China's AVIC I Commercial Aircraft picked Goodrich Hella Aerospace Lighting Systems as a supplier for its ARJ21 regional jet. Goodrich plans to supply exterior, interior and cockpit lighting using its Light Emitting Diode (LED) and High Intensity Discharge (HID) technologies. The company claims those systems reduce direct maintenance costs and extend the time between unscheduled repairs. AVIC I plans to build two versions of the ARJ21 -- a 78- to 85-seater and one seating 78 to 105 passengers. First deliveries are set for 2007.
The pilots of the brand-new light jet anxiously awaited the appearance of the proud owner and principal passenger whose arrival at the ramp had been delayed because of a business appointment. Finally, he arrived, his bags were stowed and engines started -- all according to the AFM checklist.
Avbase Flight Services added two Gulfstream 200s to its charter and management fleet. One of the aircraft will be based at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport (CLE) and the other will be based at Addison Airport (ADS) in Dallas. Both aircraft are configured to seat 10 passengers. Avbase manages aircraft at 20 locations throughout the United States.
Dean Phillips Inc. is the first ``traditional operator'' to take delivery of a Bombardier Challenger 300. S/n 20010 was delivered April 15 to the company, which has interests in banking and financial services, natural gas processing, propane distribution, agriculture and food processing with operations and offices in the United States, Europe and Australia. A Bombardier customer since 1993, the company also currently operates a Bombardier Learjet 60 and previously operated a Learjet 31A.
The National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA) plans to hold its annual conference at the Silverado Resort in Napa Valley, Calif., from May 12-14. Industry leaders will gather at the meeting to discuss a variety of topics, including risk-mitigation strategies, the fractional aircraft business, aircraft tax issues, the piston airplane market and title insurance.
HeliFlite Shares has placed an eight-passenger S-76B into FAR Part 135 charter service at its Newark, N.J., operating base. The Sikorsky twin will also back up the two Bell 430s operating in HeliFlite's fractional ownership program. In addition to the charter service, HeliFlite will be offering a 25-hour ``card'' program with guaranteed availability. The company has its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, and serves the mid-Atlantic and New England region from a base at Newark. For information, contact HeliFlite Shares President Bill Force at (682) 831-4803.
As Archie Trammell of Radar Systems Training emphasizes, the information provided by a radar display is abstract. Thus, the means by which we interpret the data are critical. More so than other instruments or indicators, a radar's images require interpretation that can involve a great number of factors.
The Part 125/135 Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which began meeting in June 2003, will turn its attention next to flight and duty time requirements, one of the stickiest issues the group will tackle. A working group tasked to delve into the issue will meet in Dallas this month. The issue then will be brought to the full committee, which likely will convene again in late spring.
Bombardier announced an incentive package for Latin American buyers of new Learjet 40s. It features 25 hours of free air travel aboard a Bombardier Learjet 45 provided through the company's Flexjet fractional ownership program, combined with 60 months of free coverage under Bombardier's Smart Parts Plus component coverage program -- over and above the aircraft's standard 60-month warranty. The Bombardier Learjet 40 package is available to operators in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean who order a Learjet 40 prior to Oct.
E-A-R Specialty Composites is offering HT Fiber, a new product from Glass Fiber, Inc. that it claims is the only solution for new fuselage burn-through protection requirements set forth in FAR Part 25.856 and also performs the insulation function, thus saving weight over separate insulation and burn-through protection installations. HT Fiber is a one-to-one replacement for standard aircraft insulation that meets the requirements of ASTM C-800-94 Standard Specification for Glass Fiber Blanket Insulation (Aircraft Type).
Pilatus announced that as of the end of the first quarter of this year, nearly its entire 2004 production run of 70 PC-12s was committed for purchase by retail customers and Pilatus' dealer network. And the company said that PC-12 sales in 2003 increased 35 percent over the 2002 level.
Cessna recently handed over the 200th CJ2 to European charter operator Unijet. Based at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France, Unijet took delivery of its first CJ2 in July 2003. Company officials say they expect each of their aircraft to fly about 500 hours a year.
-- Accidents involving turbine-powered business aircraft were up 26.3 percent in the first quarter, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. Breiling said there were 24 accidents, including seven fatal accidents that claimed the lives of 21 passengers and crewmembers, during the first three months of 2004. That compares with 19 accidents, including eight fatal accidents that involved 18 fatalities, during first quarter 2003.
American Eurocopter also announced orders for 10 EC 135 light twins from Air Methods and three EC 145 medium twins from Vanderbilt Life Flight, both for air medical operations. The new EC 135 is claimed to be the quietest helicopter in its class at 7 decibels below ICAO limits. The cabin of the EC 135 is made largely of composites, reducing manufacturing operations by around one-third and considerably reducing the helicopter's weight, according to Eurocopter.
Aerospace Products International Inc., Memphis, has hired Paul J. Fanelli as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Announced jointly is the appointment of Glen Golden as vice president of materials and vendor relations.
Europe's largest tourism company, TUI AG of Hanover, Germany, has purchased Coventry Airport (EGBE/CVT) in the U.K. West Midlands and started low-cost scheduled airline operations on March 31. The airport was purchased from freight aircraft operator Air Atlantique Group, which will continue to base its large fleet of Lockheed L-188 Electras and DC-6s there. The airport is also home to Midwest Executive Aviation's FBO, which will initially share ramp space with TUI's ThomsonFly.com airline's four Boeing 737-500s.
TAG Aviation USA has established an online resume-posting capability to accept applications from prospective employees. Officials said that once a resume has been posted, the new system allows TAG Aviation to quickly recall a prospect's information to match hiring requirements. ``Due to the volume of resumes we receive, the geographic distribution of our requirements, and the number of positions open at TAG, an online system was needed to handle the process more efficiently,'' said Robin James, director of human resources.
