It was January 2003 when the crew of a Hawker HS-125-700A had a close call. About 30 minutes prior to engine start in preparation for a flight with four passengers from Telluride, Colo., to Oxford, Conn., the crew fired up the APU. Everything seemed normal at first, but as the pilots started the number two engine, it quickly became evident that the situation was anything but routine. Trouble was in the air. The crew smelled smoke, and turning around they saw it filling the cabin.
A restored Vietnam-era UH-1H Huey helicopter took off on Feb. 10 from Bell Helicopter's main plant in Hurst, Texas, on a cross-country journey to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The helicopter will become part of the museum's ``The Price of Freedom'' exhibition, which opens on Nov. 11. The exhibit will survey the history of America's military from the colonial times to the present.
Harrods Aviation's Luton (U.K.) engine shop has won approval as a Honeywell AS907 authorized Flight Line Service Center as well as a Bombardier Challenger 300 Approved Service Center. The new FBO at Luton has increased market share by 10 percent in the past year and fuel sales have broken all records, according to Steve Grimes, Harrods Aviation chief executive.
The keys to Keystone's success are three individuals, none of whom could be more different: Peter Wright Sr., Keystone founder. Currently holds title of director emeritus. Present at the creation of the American civil helicopter industry, he is also one of 12 living ``Flying Tigers,'' the famed group of American mercenary fighter pilots who fought for the Chinese Air Force before the United States entered World War II. Peter Wright Jr., vice chairman of Keystone and a key player in its steady growth and recent transformation.
What brought Safe Flight Instrument Corp. into the obstacle-avoidance device business was a Colorado medevac flight that went horribly wrong. On Dec. 14, 1997, an EMS Bell 407 operated by Air Methods Corp. responded in a snowstorm to a multiple-car accident on U.S. Highway 85 near Littleton. After stabilizing the critical patient, the pilot prepared to return to the hospital. The helicopter rose slowly, hovered briefly over the twisted wreckage, then, inexplicably, flew directly into nearby power lines.
En route from Seattle to San Diego sailing along in a Hawker 800 at FL 370 just north of Medford, Ore., we were reminded why folks who operate more modern business jets prefer to climb into the 40s, where the air is usually smoother and winds may be less severe. At FL 370, we crabbed southbound with 143 knots of westerly crosswind, according to the FMS. We were barely atop a particularly nasty winter storm that was sweeping through the Pacific Northwest.
The AOPA hopes that an official FAA investigation of the circumstances surrounding the closing of Chicago's Meigs Field will show that the city of Chicago and Richard Daley violated federal law when the mayor ordered bulldozers to destroy the runway without notice in the middle of the night. The association filed a complaint in April 2003, but the FAA has had it ``under review'' until now. The AOPA and several Chicago business associations fought to keep the field open and seemed to be prevailing until Daley's midnight raid.
The two most important elements in successfully coping with a cabin fire are proper training and prompt reactions to a situation. A real emergency is no time to find out that you or your equipment aren't up to the task. Test oxygen masks and related equipment on a regular basis to ensure that masks can be donned quickly, that communications can be maintained, and extinguishers, crash axe, etc. are available and function properly. Remember, the equipment found in your aircraft might not be the same as that used in training.
The Switzerland-based Super Constellation Flyer Association (SCFA) has signed a four-year lease arrangement to operate the U.S.-based Constellation Historical Society's Lockheed Super Constellation in Europe. The SCFA has an option to buy the aircraft after the four-year lease ends. The L1049F is due fly out of Camarillo, Calif., to its new base, Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport, Switzerland, on April 26, crewed by members of both organizations.
Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S), released highlights of a survey of the North American RVSM market by Frost & Sullivan. IS&S, whose equipment is utilized in a large number of RVSM compliance packages, had earlier promised that once the survey was completed it would share the data with the financial community, and did so in January. The survey showed that while 4,000 to 6,000 business jets do not yet comply with the requirements of RVSM, only 2,400 are expected to upgrade by the Jan. 20, 2005 regulatory deadline.
The Company Jet, a fractional jet ownership company headquartered at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., has hired James Lara as its first chief operating officer. He will also serve as executive vice president. Lara was previously vice president and general manager, aviation and travel, for Sea Ray Boats.
Marquis Jet said it sold more than 1,000 of its Marquis Jet Cards in 2003. The card entitles owners to 25 hours of occupied time on the NetJets fleet and ranges in price from $109,900 for a Citation V Ultra up to $299,900 for a Gulfstream IV-SP. The company also reported that for the quarter ending December 31, revenues for its North American and European operations were 162 percent higher than same quarter revenues in the year prior. For the full year, Marquis' revenues, flight activity and cards sold each increased by approximately 300 percent from 2002 results.
Russia's Mil flew its new heavy lift Mi-38 helicopter for the first time on Dec. 22, 2003, from its base in Kazan, Russia. The Mi-38 program is a venture of Moscow Mil Helicopter Plant, Kazan Helicopters, Eurocopter and Pratt & Whitney. The project has been dogged by Russian funding shortages but is now seen by the partners as a viable helicopter in the same category as the Sikorsky S-92 and the Agusta/Westland EH-101.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said the proposed 2005 FAA budget cuts come in programs that are not yet in deployment, and that efforts already under way won't be affected (See Washington, page 92.) The local area augmentation system (LAAS) program was slated for a 2006 rollout, but has been deferred until more research is completed. The closely related wide-area augmentation system (WAAS) is only slightly delayed.
GE Corporate Aircraft Finance, formerly GE Corporate Aircraft Group, announced that the newly renamed business now includes an inventory finance group that provides floor-plan financing for aircraft dealers.
Swiss plans to drop its order for 15 Embraer 195s, company sources told our sister publication, Aviation Daily, and is now in talks with Embraer to restructure the order. According to the sources, Swiss wants to replace the 195s with smaller Embraer 190s. The first Model 190 was rolled out Feb. 10 at the manufacturer's Sao Jose dos Campos plant in Brazil. The move would leave Embraer without an order for the largest member of its new 70- to 110-seat jet family. Embraer holds firm orders for 120 170s, 110 190s and the 15 195s from Swiss.
Accidents and incidents in January 2003. The following NTSB information is preliminary, subject to change and may contain errors. Jan. 3 - The Aero Commander 690A's pilot, who held a commercial license, launched alone from Mesa, Ariz., on an IFR flight plan to fetch one of the aircraft's owners in Telluride, Colo. The destination airport had been closed for several days due to weather, so he had arranged to meet his passengers in Cortez.
In a signal endorsement of the new ``microjet'' and the mass air taxi concept, General Electric and Honda are teaming to produce a powerplant for such aircraft. The agreement, signed Feb. 15 at Honda's Tokyo headquarters, establishes the framework under which the two companies will further develop and certify Honda's new HF118 turbofan jet engine. Honda has been developing the lightweight engine, in the 1,000- to 3,500-pound-thrust class, since 1999.
Adams Rite has a new line of certificated modular potable water systems for new aircraft or retrofit installations in galleys and lavs. The customized ``plug and play'' systems come complete with faucets, drains and tanks, and are ready to deliver hot or cold water on demand at consistent pressures and flow rates. Adams Rite recently delivered a system for the Embraer Legacy to replace a heavier, more costly system pressurized by bleed air.
ARINC Inc., Annapolis, Md., has appointed John M. Belcher to the position of chairman. Belcher has served as ARINC's president and CEO since 2002. He came to ARINC in 1997 as president and chief operating officer.
Upon learning that Shevers was both an Eagle Scout and a newly minted Purdue engineer, Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. hired him on the spot. What the company did not know was that the young grad, a private pilot, was far more interested in airplanes than tool and die. Booted within six months, he began working as a flight instructor and soon peddling aviation gimcracks on the side. Today, ``Sporty's'' employs 200 shipping 12,000 different products. 1 How did you come up with the name `Sportsman's Market'?
``Luckily, our mayor doesn't drive a bulldozer!'' said Andreas Peter, owner and managing director of Bizair, a Berlin-based charter operator and president of the Save Tempelhof Airport association. Operators at Tempelhof (EDDI/ THF) will learn by the end of this month if Berlin's most convenient corporate aviation airport, a destination for 13 regional airlines, is to be closed or not. The decision will be made by the Transport Minister for the State of Brandenburg. Peters said, ``If the government should decide against Tempelhof, then we will take them to court.
Duane Cole, a legendary aerobat and instructor, has died in Burleson, Texas, at age 89. A 30,000-hour pilot and author, he leaves behind nine books, a series of videotapes, and an army of students that includes today's top airshow stars such as Patty Wagstaff. He built his career on performance, winning the national aerobatic championships in 1962 and 1964. He was named to the International Aerobatic Hall of Fame in 1987, and to the International Council of Air Shows Foundation Hall of Fame in 1996.
Responding to critical comments from operators of Cessna 400-series aircraft, the FAA scheduled a public meeting for Mar. 3 to 4 and reopened the comment period on two proposed wing spar ADs. As originally proposed, the ADs would require repetitive inspection and necessary repair or replacement of wing-spar caps due to fatigue cracks on all 400 series twins and also mandated a wing-spar strap modification on certain airplanes. Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) CE-04-48 announced the meeting and the AD comment extension through Apr.
Members of the National Air Transportation Association's Airline Services Council (NATA-ASC) recently met in Washington, D.C., with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop an alliance to address health and safety needs of personnel working on an airport operating area (AOA). The initial focus of the OSHA NATA-ASC alliance will be to develop training and education programs on inclement/severe weather issues experienced on the AOA.
