Rockwell Collins has introduced its latest satcom -- the SAT-6100. The system is designed to provide multiple voice and data communications for both the cockpit and cabin. It comprises a Collins SRT-2100 and two Collins HST-2100 transceivers and provides three Aero-I/H/H+ channels and two Swift64 channels. The SAT-6100 can be installed outside of the pressure vessel in order to preserve space. A new 50-watt high-power amplifier allows simultaneous usage of two voice, two high-speed data and one low-speed data channels.
AvQuotes.com, an online aviation maintenance and refurbishment quote system, has added Palwaukee Service Center of Wheeling, Ill., to its list of service providers. Founded in January 2000, the Greer, S.C.-based service provides aircraft operators a method for obtaining quotes from over 60 maintenance and refurbishment centers throughout the United States.
London City Airport's general aviation certification manager Anthony Grant said that he expects imminent steep approach certification of the Embraer Legacy business jet. He also said that the airport is working with Cessna on gaining Citation Encore certification and is looking into the possibility of Citation Sovereign operations as well. The Raytheon Hawker 800XP is also being viewed as a potential candidate for possible LCY certification.
Bombardier Aerospace's 7th Annual Safety Standdown, held in Wichita, Oct. 28-30, drew more than 330 attendees. Begun to expose Learjet demonstration pilots to more than what they were learning during simulator-based training, the program was opened to general operators four years ago and attendance has been growing steadily. Explaining the program's appeal, Robert Agostino, Bombardier's chief pilot in Wichita, told B/CA, ``Pilot error has been constant over the last 25 years as a cause of accidents,'' and to change that ``takes attitude, knowledge and discipline.
Raytheon Co. is working with Israel Aircraft Industries' Elta Systems to equip commercial aircraft with missile protection systems. The Raytheon/Elta system, dubbed SafeFlight, is intended to be a low-cost solution combining Elta's Doppler radar missile approach warning system and Raytheon's countermeasure dispensing system. In operation, SafeFlight is intended to detect an incoming missile and divert it from the targeted aircraft.
NavAero has introduced its latest electronic flight bag system called tBag C2. The system is currently going through the FAA approval process, with planned availability scheduled for early 2004. Rather than a full subscription, operators can order specific services designed for the tBag C2 unit.
Flight Deck Resources is now offering its latest flight deck management system (FDMS), the SkyTab 770. The FDMS is a Class 2 portable electronic flight bag (EFB) as defined by FAA AC 120-76A and is capable of displaying Chartrax or JeppView digital charts, company policies and preflight planning applications, performance calculations and real-time weather information. The SkyTab 770 has an 8.4-inch LCD and weighs 2.3 pounds.
Charles Taylor's 1903 engine was an example of high mechanical art for its era, a time when some would-be aviation designers were experimenting with steam engines. The technical information that follows comes courtesy of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Taylor's gasoline-powered mill featured a water-cooling system composed of a radiator mounted on the airframe, hoses and a water jacket around the cylinders. A large flywheel is used to dampen engine vibrations, and near the flywheel is the magneto that generates the electricity for the ignition system.
Pilots brought their chartered Learjet 24D down in an Illinois field after apparently striking a flock of birds moments after takeoff on Nov. 12. The Learjet, operated by Multi Aero, Inc. of Festus, Mo., departed St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) in Cahokia, Ill., at about 6:45 a.m. carrying two passengers on a business flight bound for North Platte, Neb. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the pilot, Ivan Storz, heard a loud thump just after takeoff and the copilot, Michael Walden, told officials the aircraft flew through a flock of birds.
Jeppesen has released its latest computer-based training program designed specifically for corporate flight department pilots. Called FliteCrew DLS v2.0, the interactive CD-ROM features 28 hours of interactive courseware that allows the pilot to study from their own computer, anywhere. The courses are FAR Part 135 compliant and include topics such as weather, performance, charts/navigation, airport operations, regulations, AIM procedures, human factors and MedAire inflight medical training.
Global Jet Shares, launched at the NBAA convention as the only fractional aircraft program offering pre-owned Gulfstream IIIs, will make its fleet Stage 3 compliant with hush kits from Quiet Technology Aerospace (QTA) of Opa Locka, Fla. The first will be installed in January 2004, and Global Jet Shares has committed to equip its next four GIIIs with the $1.35 million QTA Stage 3 Hush Kit. Quiet Technology has installed 10 hush kit sets since receiving its STC in January, and plans to install another three by year-end.
The NBAA's Dean Saucier (on left) congratulated Bruce McNeely of Jet Aviation as he collected one of Westchester County Airport's Spirit of Noise Abatement awards for 2002. Jet Aviation manages Ernst & Young's aircraft, which last year achieved the lowest average sound level for a corporate aircraft based at White Plains, N.Y. In addition, Westchester County Executive Andrew J. Spano (on left) presented a Spirit of Noise Abatement award for 2002 to Chris Cain of US Smokeless Tobacco Brands.
Oakland, Calif., has named Andrew F. Fitzgerald to the position of vice president of acquisition and sales. Previously vice president of maintenance, Fitzgerald will now lead the company's newly formed division to aid clients in the sales or acquisition of business aircraft. Fitzgerald joined KaiserAir in 1974.
One of the important roles for any editor-in-chief to assume is serving as a facilitator for the editorial team, providing writers with the tools and encouragement they need to go after the tough or unusual story, and to grow within their careers. When Washington Editor Kerry Lynch suggested doing a feature on, well, nothing, I was intrigued since that would indeed be a challenge for even a top-flight reporter, and she is that. Specifically what she had in mind was walking the ramps, rooms and hangars of Signature's Ronald Reagan Washington National facility.
Wulfsberg Electronics and Chelton Avionics are now offering a new space-saving, panel-mounted navigation, communications and identification controller interchangeable with Bendix, AlliedSignal and Chelton Series III control displays. The FliteLine combined nav/comm control and display unit occupies half the space of earlier units, ideal for RVSM compliance. The controller features bright, full-color displays. Since the installation does not require new wiring, installation time is minimal.
Honeywell is offering its ``Astreon'' series of high-performance LED wing-tip position lights specifically designed for business jets. The modular design of the lights allows form-fit retrofit in a number of business aircraft including the Gulfstream IV and GV, Citation X, Learjet 31 and Learjet 60. The lights will be FAA approved under a new TSO that Honeywell has applied for and the G550 will be the first aircraft that will flight test and evaluate the lights.
The major components for the prototype Warrior (Aero Marine) Centaur six-seat amphibian have arrived at the company's Sanford, Maine, assembly and flight test center. Although the aircraft is designed in Salisbury, United Kingdom, parts are manufactured by a subcontractor in Richmond, Maine. The Centaur's first flight is scheduled for second quarter 2004 and production aircraft are currently priced at around $535,000, VFR equipped. The powerplant is a single 350-hp Textron Lycoming TIO-540, but a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6-powered version may be offered.
Usually Cause & Circumstance looks for lessons in the aftermath of tragedy -- cases in which lives are lost and aircraft destroyed. This month, under somewhat happier circumstances, we'll see what lessons the investigators drew from a scary mishap involving an Airtours International Boeing 757 crew that pushed the limits on a non-precision approach to an airport in the Dominican Republic. The accident occurred on New Year's Day 1998 as the charter flight from Bangor, Maine, arrived at Puerto Plata Airfield.
For many of the technicians who have done so, taking on the top maintenance position in a flight department was analogous to being thrown to the wolves -- with a pork chop hanging around their necks. They discovered that if one is not prepared to take command, the result can be departmental frustration, resentment and even chaos. Take for example the following case study. Bill was a senior technician in a four-aircraft flight department located in central New York. One summer morning, he was asked by the director of flight operations to come in a little early.
A BAE Systems real-time operating system (RTOS) has been selected for use on the fly-by-wire flight control system on the Sikorsky S-92 medium-lift helicopter and its military derivative, the H-92 Superhawk. The fly-by-wire flight system, which governs the operation of the main- and tail-rotor control surfaces, will consist of flight control computers, pilot control sticks, and sensors for processing aircraft pitch, roll and yaw data.
Jet Aviation West Palm Beach recently completed the first installation of a Max-Viz EVS-1000 enhanced vision system into a Dassault Falcon 50EX. Max-Viz systems use infrared technology to view runways, taxiways and terrain as well as potential obstacles on the ground or in flight. Jet Aviation mounted the IR sensor on the Falcon's vertical fin. The images are displayed on a small LCD monitor in the cockpit.
Flight data recorders (FDR) may be coming to super-light jets, if some safety advocates have their way. While no one cared to comment on the record, several sources told B/CA that the only way to ensure that certain single pilots will toe the line with respect to rules compliance is to mandate FDRs in their aircraft. The FDR not only would record several performance and environmental parameters, it also would automatically uplink the data to a central monitoring station -- in essence serving as a tattletale to Big Brother.
Burt Rutan + Steve Fossett + Sir Richard Branson = around the world in 80 hours. Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways announced Oct. 23 that it has commissioned Rutan to build a single-pilot, single-engine turbofan aircraft designed for nonstop global circumnavigation. The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer will be powered by a Williams engine (naturally) and flown by Fossett as lead pilot with Branson, a record-setting balloon pilot, as ``first reserve'' pilot. Both Fossett and Branson are multiple world record holders.
Boeing Air Traffic Management and the FAA recently completed a test series over the Gulf of Mexico to demonstrate precision surveillance and control of an airplane by satellite. The Boeing/FAA team demonstrated two-way controller-pilot digital voice communications and data transmissions; automatic dependent surveillance; and an uninterrupted transition between radar and offshore/oceanic air traffic domains, all via satellite link.
