Adam Aircraft flew its second A500 aircraft built with production tooling, serial number 002, at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo., on Feb. 13. The A500 is a twin-engine, inline-thrust, pressurized, six-seat aircraft. The flight lasted approximately 35 minutes and reached an altitude of 13,000 feet. The test pilot reported complete satisfaction with the performance and handling of the aircraft.
The Senate Commerce Committee approved broadening background check requirements to include foreign students seeking training in small aircraft, regardless of weight. Foreign students seeking training on aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more currently must undergo up to a 45-day background review before training at a U.S. facility. The measure, sponsored by Sen.
Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, has promoted Michael (Mick) Hoveskeland to vice president, administration. Hoveskeland is responsible for all Citation, Caravan and single-engine customer contracts; Caravan and single-engine aircraft deliveries; and flight crew and maintenance training for customers and Cessna team members via FlightSafety International. He has been employed by Cessna for 28 years.
The FAA awarded a Lockheed Martin team a contract to provide ground station and broadcast services to support satellite navigation signals in the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The two-year Geostationary Communications and Control Segment (GCCS) program, initially valued at $34 million, has options for extensions that give the contract a potential value of almost $600 million. ``GCCS will enable WAAS realization and help make satellite-based navigation for aviation a reality,'' said Don Antonucci, president of Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management.
Garrett Aviation announced that Frank Klaus, former regional general manager, America sales, for GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE), has been named president of the company. Garrett is a General Electric subsidiary. Klaus replaces Jeff Garwood, who was recently named president of GE Fanuc Automation, a GE Industrial Systems business. Klaus joined GEAE in 1968. He was the resident engineering manager at Rolls-Royce during GE's collaboration on the CF6 program. He then progressed to leadership roles in the Military Project and Marketing organizations.
University of North Dakota's Aircraft Maintenance Department was presented with the Diamond Certificate of Excellence Award by the FAA in February. In addition, 20 maintenance technicians receied individual awards fr their participation in initial and recurrent maintenance training.
Aviation Learning has released ``Fundamentals of Avionics,'' the latest in its line of fundamental maintenance training courses. The self-paced course can be delivered on CD-ROM or over the Internet at AviationLearning.com.
When asked how regularly he or his copilot donned an oxygen mask when operating above FL 410, one Global Express pilot casually admitted, ``Never.'' And even though that omission is in direct violation of the FARs, it's probably (there are no statistics on this) not uncommon behavior. The preference for naked faces at altitude appears to stem from three separate issues. First, even the most modern oxygen masks are notoriously uncomfortable, and the idea of wearing one for perhaps hours is utterly off-putting.
Ibis Aerospace flew its production conforming prototype Ae270 propjet for the first time on Feb. 25 near Prague, Czech Republic. Serial number 5 is the third flying prototype and incorporates a number of enhancements over the previously flown prototypes, though it is identical in the design of its flight controls and aerodynamics. The major difference with the third flying prototype was the incorporation of a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-66A engine and the FAA-certified pilot-side EFIS provided by Chelton Systems.
Voyager Group, LP completed the purchase of the aircraft management and charter operations of Atlantic Aviation Flight Services (AAFS) and named a pair of veteran business aviation executives to head the enterprise. Scott Galdi, formerly executive vice president of The Air Group, was named president of AAFS, and Christine Amos, who had been senior vice president at The Air Group, was named executive vice president. AAFS has 50 employees and is based at based at Teterboro, N.J.
The U.S. Navy says eternal vigilance is the price of safety, and they're right. U.S. runway incursion numbers are rising, and were ``double what they were last year'' for January and February, reports NTSB member Carol Carmody. She notes, however, that not all of those incursions fall into the ``serious'' category. The FAA and AOPA have produced a great training package to address this issue. Time for a review. Go to www.faa.gov or www.aopa.org.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered aviation, Breitling has issued the Montbrillant 1903 chronograph. This watch features details such as a beaded bezel, an exact replica of the one used on the first chronographs equipped with the famous circular slide rule. Designed in a classic mid-20th-century style, the two-tone dial clearly distinguishes the timekeeping zone from the logarithmic scales. The back of the watch features the silhouette of Flyer I, the airplane flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright. Price: To be announced in April Breitling USA Inc.
The AOPA announced that its membership roster grew by 12,179 during 2002, totaling 390,749 at year-end. Attributing the membership growth to pilot awareness of the critical nature of security and regulatory issues challenging general aviation, AOPA President Phil Boyer said, ``The continued threat of terrorism or possible war, plus the new Department of Homeland Security embrace of the Transportation Security Administration, creates many new challenges for general aviation.
CAE has won FAA Level 4 flight training device (FTD) certification for its Simfinity Integrated Procedures Trainer (IPT) used in the Atlantic Coast Airlines CRJ200 training program. IPTs feature a graphic virtual cockpit, aircraft systems panels and schematics.
Rolls-Royce North America Holdings Inc., Chantilly, Va., has added Carol B. Hallett to its board of directors. Earlier this year, Hallett retired as president and CEO of the Air Transport Association of America, a position she held since 1995.
Aviation Research Group (ARG/US) is being sued by Aviation Charter Inc. (ACI), the Eden Prairie, Minn., operator of the King Air in which Sen. Paul Wellstone, his wife, daughter and associates died in a crash on Oct. 25, 2002. (See Cause & Circumstance, page 98). Cincinnati-based ARG/US publishes safety ratings of charter operators among others, and had assigned Aviation Charter a DNQ, ``Does Not Qualify'' rating.
Organizers of the 2003 Paris Air Show continue trying to drum up business from potential U.S. exhibitors. Attempting to make U.S. company participation as painless as possible, organizers established a Paris Air Show USA organization last summer and have offered exhibitors not only English-language interface with show organization, but have created an option for exhibitors to be physically grouped by business sector, rather than nationality.
Security officials from the TSA briefed general aviation association leaders on March 7 about possible additional flight restrictions in response to U.S. military or terrorist action. While it was apparent to the attendees that no decision had been made about implementing any specific solution, the TSA is considering a broad range of options to address general aviation security. The NBAA, along with other general aviation organizations, was given a small window of opportunity to respond to the classified briefing.
The 600th Bombardier Challenger widebody business jet, serial number 5557, recently rolled off the assembly line in Montreal and is now at Bombardier's completion center in Tucson, AZ. ``This is a significant achievement for corporate aviation, for the Bombardier Challenger program and for our employees,'' stated Peter Edwards, president, Bombardier Business Aircraft.
WE'VE SEEN OFTEN that crew pairing can become an issue in accident investigation -- typically when an assertive pilot is paired with a timid flyer. In that case the strong personality usually makes all the go/no-go decisions (regardless of the seat occupied) while the weaker personality simply goes along for the ride. But what happens when two non-assertive pilots team up? Can a marginal situation deteriorate with neither crewmember taking decisive action?
Greg Jackson, manager of tax issues for the NBAA from 1999 to 2002, suffered fatal injuries when the Socata TBM-700 that he was crewing crashed on March 1 while attempting to land at Leesburg Airport (JYO) in Virginia. He had been serving in a flying position for High Performance Technologies, Inc. since leaving his job at the NBAA. Jackson is survived by his wife and two children.
Cessna Aircraft Co. recently delivered the 100th Citation Encore -- the third-generation Model 560 that began life as Citation V in 1994 -- less than three years into production. Arguably the fastest straight-wing Citation in current production, the Encore won qualified praise from almost every operator contacted by B/CA in our recent Operator Survey.
Advanced Navigation & Positioning Corp.'s Transponder Landing System (TLS) continues to gather steam as the U.S. Congress appropriates new funds in the 2003 transportation bill. The legislation includes $18 million for the installation of nine new TLS systems. TLS is a precision approach aid that allows aircraft to land in adverse weather by providing them with horizontal and vertical guidance to the runway.
By current standards the business aircraft accident rate in the late 1970s was appalling: 1.78 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, the well-known safety statistic tracking firm based in Boca Raton, Fla. That was before simulator-based training became standard practice in the business aircraft community, Breiling explained. But, by the mid 1980s, business and corporate aircraft operators, following the lead of the airlines, had embraced simulator-based training.
MicroSenzor is a hand-held, battery-powered hazard detector that can be carried in the field to test various unknown substances. The manufacturer claims that it can remotely and non-intrusively decipher chemical formulas of concealed substances through steel and other barriers. The device already has been used to determine the presence of anthrax. In the test, fast neutrons were used to irradiate a sample of anthrax simulant powder supplied by the Department of Defense.
