``I'm so proud to be able to support the work of Burt Rutan and his pioneering team at Scaled Composites. SpaceShipOne is a tangible example of continuing humankind's efforts to travel into space, effectively demonstrating that private, non-government resources can make a big difference in this field of discovery and invention.'' So spoke Paul Allen, owner of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team and the Seattle Seahawks football team, partner in DreamWorks SKG, and, in 1975, cofounder of a promising software outfit called Microsoft Corp.
ARINC subscribers have a new choice when it comes to SELCAL decoders -- Jet Call. The unit uses external thumb-wheel coding, no wire jumpers or remote switches and only takes about 10 seconds to set. Two or five decoder channels are available to handle VHF and/or two HF transceivers. Sixteen available code letter tones for all four code-wheels provide 43,680 code letter combinations and 10,920 tones.
On Jan. 7, a 24-year-old CFI departing DXR in a Piper Warrior experienced sudden power loss. While attempting a turn back to the runway, the aircraft crashed upside down and fuel ignited in a brook in the very wooded area under contention in the item above. Two employees from the FedEx facility on the airport perimeter dragged the pilot, the sole occupant, to dry land. The pilot was hospitalized in critical condition with burns and inhalation damage to his lungs.
The next time aviators gather to tell ``war stories,'' it's unlikely that one of the hair-raising yarns will involve taxiing. Compared with V1 engine failures, systems malfunctions and low visibility approaches, taxiing may well be the Rodney Dangerfield of aviators' tasks; i.e., it gets little or no respect. Yet studies show that what seems to be a simple procedure can be anything but. Getting from the runway to the ramp may be easier than getting from the outer marker to the runway.
The U.K. Government's White Paper on air transport for the next 30 years has officially backed the proposal for one extra runway at London Stansted, and hasn't ruled out a third runway for Heathrow. Stansted's new runway could be in service by 2012 but Heathrow's third runway will depend on local automobile and aircraft pollution levels being reduced to meet EU emissions rules. If, as expected, the rules cannot be met by 2015, the government favors building a second parallel runway at London Gatwick.
The NBAA will launch its 2004 Business Aviation Regional Forum series at Jet Aviation, Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), on March 10. Essentially mini NBAA conventions, the regional forums bring together industry personnel at locations across the United States to address issues and showcase products and services. Forums feature indoor exhibits, a static display of aircraft and a full slate of informational seminars. For more information about the regional events, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nbaa.org/forums.
Heritage Flight, South Burlington, Vt., has added Hobart C. Tomlinson to its flight department as a charter captain. He will continue his role as a local FAA Designated Flight Examiner, which he has held for the last 27 years.
Ocean Air Taxi Ltd. is now Bombardier's exclusive business jet sales representative for Brazil. Based at Congonhas International Airport in So Paulo, Ocean Air represents the Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft families. Currently around 80 Bombardier business jets are based in Brazil.
The FAA is extending the comment period for its new ETOPS rule after sharp criticism from industry that the agency didn't provide adequate time to comment on the 293-page rule. The agency has granted only a 60-day extension -- to March 15 -- from the original Jan. 13 deadline, even though many airlines and industry associations requested a longer extension.
Adventurer Steve Fossett plans to see that the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer makes good on its name. A single-pilot aircraft powered by a single Williams FJ44-3 turbofan, the GlobalFlyer is specifically designed for a nonstop, unrefueled circumnavigation. The aircraft, whose main structure is constructed entirely from advanced composites and which can carry more than four times its own weight in fuel, was unveiled at the Scaled Composites facility in Mojave, Calif., in January. At takeoff the airplane (including fuel and pilot Fossett) will weigh 22,006 pounds.
Embraer's Legacy corporate jet won authorization from both the Brazilian airworthiness authority, Centro Tecnico Aeroespacial (CTA), and the U.S. FAA to land and take off from airports located at field elevations up to 8,500 feet above sea level. As a result, Legacy jets will be able to operate at cities such as Bogota and Mexico City. The certification includes all Legacies and requires no modifications to operate in this expanded envelope, which will allow the Legacy to fly into 20 new cities in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The Jackson Hole, Wyo., Airport Board proposed a rule to ban Stage 2 aircraft weighing less than 75,000 pounds from landing or taking off from that airport. No Stage 2 aircraft are based at Jackson Hole, but the prohibition is expected to affect approximately 950 operations a year of Stage 2 Gulfstream IIs, Learjet 23/24/25s, and assorted Falcons, Sabreliners, JetStars and Hawkers. The board will receive comments on the proposed rule until April 15. It would become effective six months after passage by the board.
The second flight-test Bombardier Global 5000 (s.n. 9130) flew from the company's Downsview, Ontario, facility on Jan. 8. During its four-hour first flight northwest of Toronto, it reached 17,000 feet and an indicated airspeed of 340 knots. The aircraft will be delivered to Bombardier's Completion Center in Montreal for installation of a production interior. ``This second test aircraft will play a critical role in increasing aircraft maturity at entry into service,'' said Robert Duffield, director, Global 5000 program.
Air Transport Association President James May supports the Department of Homeland Security's anti-MANPAD study decision, saying it will help answer a number of questions, especially whether systems originally designed for use on military aircraft can be successfully operated and maintained over time in the civil environment. ``I think you have to go through the process,'' May said, but added, ``We think the costs [of going forward with implementation] are very significant.'' May pegged those expenses at $50 billion to $80 billion over a 10-year period.
Signature Flight Support, Orlando, has named Timothy McCole general manager of the company's Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) facility. McCole has been with Signature since 1992.
Frank Jackman has been named editorial director of three publications published by McGraw-Hill's Aviation Week Group: Overhaul & Maintenance, the World Aviation Directory & Aerospace Database, and the Homeland Security Directory. Jackman was previously editor-in-chief of those publications.
Avidyne Corp. awarded Mark Krebs its first Avidyne Technical Achievement award for his technical accomplishments in developing and certifying the world's first low-cost solid-state Air Data and Attitude Heading Reference System (ADAHRS), the heart of the company's FlightMax Entegra integrated flight deck system. Krebs is a senior engineer with Avidyne and holds a B.S. from MIT and an M.S. in engineering from Stanford University.
Noncorporate/executive jets were involved in eight fatal accidents that resulted in 16 deaths in 2003. That compares with 19 accidents, but just four fatal accidents, which resulted in nine deaths during 2002.
For more than 60 years, turbine aircraft engines relied on some form of mechanical control to vary the amount of fuel being fed to them. The original arrangement of cables, pulleys, horns and control rods is still in use on some aircraft models today. Effective in producing the desired results, this mechanical system relies on constant input and calculations by the pilot, and because of the elastic nature of its elements, the system needs regular inspection and adjustment by maintainers to compensate for tension and wear.
Bob Hoover and Gene Cernan have started a cooperative purchasing company, Jet Fleet International, to procure a broad range of aviation services and products at discount prices for its members. JFI's current partners include CAE SimuFlite, Avcard, Shell Aviation, Teledyne Controls, Pegasus Travel, Mercury Air Centers, Globalstar, Jeppesen, Wyvern Consulting and even Breitling Watches. JFI membership is currently free in order to build its member roster to the 2,000 mark. Members use an Alliance Platinum Card from Avcard for their purchases.
BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and United Airlines are heading teams selected to enter final contract negotiations to provide detailed designs for systems to defend airliners against shoulder-fired missiles, also known as MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems). BAE, which uses a technology based on infrared lasers to defeat MANPADS, will work with Delta Air Lines and Honeywell. Northrop Grumman said it will also team with an airline. United is teaming with Avisys, Inc., an Austin, Texas, defense technologies and system integration company.
The first two of seven leased Raytheon Beech King Air B200s have arrived at the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force station at RAF Cranwell from the Beech facility in Kansas. The civil-registered aircraft will replace the RAF's aging Jetstream T1s. The B200s will be used for military multiengine pilot training and operated by Serco, which is contracted to deliver 5,500 flight hours per year over a period of five to seven years. RAF instructors are converting to the new aircraft type and the first intake of students is scheduled for April.
New Piper Aircraft will offer Avidyne's FlightMax Entegra Integrated Flight Deck as optional equipment on four of its single-engine models -- the Saratoga II HP, the Saratoga II TC, the Piper 6X and the Piper 6XT. Entegra consists of two large, high-resolution sunlight readable displays; an EXP5000 PFD with an integrated solid-state air data and attitude/heading reference system and EX5000 multifunction display. Piper includes Avidyne's Emax Engine Indicating and Fuel Management Systems at no additional charge.
The NAVAirWx moving map system has added some new weather products including echo tops, lightning strikes and winds aloft. NAVAirWx uses satellite broadcast technology to provide complete weather service to the cockpit, providing real-time access to NEXRAD, METARs, TAFs and many other weather products. The moving map provides glass cockpit functionality in a portable format utilizing Portable Digital Assistant (PDA) and electronic flight bag technology. Price: $2,000 AirGator 94 Smith Ave.
Just as the TSA has had to be educated about the nature and inherent security of business aviation, so it appears that ICAO, which sets policy for the aviation authorities of its signatory nations, needs an injection of reality on exactly what business and general aviation do and how they operate.
