The new Houston Area Chapter of Women in Aviation held its first organizational meeting at the West Houston Airport (IWS) on Jan. 11. All members of the aviation community are welcome in the organization. For meeting or membership information, contact Laura Jolley at (281) 488-2167 or at [email protected].
Like their larger desktop and laptop counterparts, PDAs include some sort of storage memory; more memory (measured in megabytes) means that there is more room for programs, data, contacts and appointments. Most entry-level models come with eight MB memories, but many PDAs provide expansion slots for added utility. To add external memory as well as hardware (such as a modem) at the same time, you may need a unit with two expansion slots, so be sure to ask.
Million Air in Salt Lake City added 30,000 square feet of new heated, executive-class hangar space at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). Completed on Dec. 24, 2002, the new hangars provide tenants and transient customers with a total heated hangar space of 170,000 square feet -- more than any other FBO in the Rocky Mountains. According to Jeff Packer, business development manager, ``Heated hangar space is important in the Rockies. Our business is growing; and this new construction is a part of our ongoing effort to stay ahead of the demand.''
Partners in Aviation and Communications Technology (PACTEC) is an independent non-government organization (NGO) that provides aviation and communication services to numerous organizations serving the world's poor and needy. PACTEC began serving in Afghanistan in 1998 with air services out of Peshawar, Pakistan. PACTEC's purpose in Afghanistan is to provide safe and reliable air transport for the foreign aid community providing assistance to Afghanistan, thereby allowing those organizations to function more effectively.
Jeppesen announced it will offer Air Security International's security services to customers of Jeppesen's international trip planning services. The addition of ASI security information will allow Jeppesen to provide enhanced pre-trip security intelligence reports and arrange executive protection, transportation and aircraft security. Jeppesen also will offer ASI's mobile phone services, using satellite, GSM and cellular phones, to customers worldwide.
For those who want to develop their own PDA applications, a visit to PalmSource's (the company behind the Palm Operating System) Palm Emulator page at www.hewgill.com/pilot/copilot could be worthwhile. There, you'll find software that emulates the hardware of various models of Palm-powered hand-helds. The site is a valuable resource for writing, testing and debugging applications and ``virtual'' hand-helds by running the Emulator on Windows, Mac OS or Unix computers.
Dear B/CA Staff: Fran and I are about to leave for Kabul, Afghanistan, for a few weeks helping with a King Air program, which provides flight services to the many aid organizations currently working in Afghanistan. While this is all fresh in my mind I thought you might enjoy hearing about business and commercial aviation in a different dimension. More letters will follow. Some History Our first trip to Kabul was in February and March of 2000 during the Taliban regime.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA), Alexandria, Va., has named Bryan Fitch as its new technical services manager. Fitch comes to NATA from Gemini Air Cargo, where he served as a flight engineer.
As if there aren't enough absolutely essential electronic devices in our lives, computer developers have created a whole new subspecies of electronic gadgetry that combines a range of powerful features into a single, compact unit. Known as hand-helds or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), these gizmos are far more versatile -- and lighter -- than the paper or electronic organizers you may already have in your flight case, and ultimately may even replace the need to carry a laptop.
ARINC Direct is offering complete certification support services to enable business jets to operate in RVSM airspace. ARINC Direct will assist with airframe modifications, flight monitoring and preparation of the RVSM approval packages. ARINC expanded its Colorado Springs, Colo., service facility and added staff in five other locations to accommodate increased demand for RVSM services. ``Expanding our RVSM services is part of ARINC's new focus on the business aviation community,'' said David Poltorak, ARINC vice president of business aviation services.
The FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said they have tentatively agreed on a two-year contract extension, although critical aspects of the agreement, such as staffing increases, must still be resolved. NATCA President John Carr told Aviation Daily that while the agreement in principle is a ``very positive first step,'' he is ``not opening the champagne yet.'' NATCA is seeking assurance that controller staffing limits will be increased, labeling this the main issue that must still be addressed before a final agreement is reached.
Garmin has introduced its iQue 3600, the first PDA to include integrated GPS technology. The PDA is powered by Palm OS 5 and uses Garmin's GPS and mapping software. The unit is also equipped with a speaker for voice-guidance commands, an MP3 player and message playback. Optional accessories include an automotive navigation kit, car voltage adapter and other MapSource software. (See related feature ``One the Go Gizmos,'' page 66) Price: $589 Garmin 1200 E. 151st St., Olathe, KS 66062 Phone: (913) 397-8200 Fax: (913) 397-8282 www.garmin.com
A new 2,009-foot-tall antenna tower has been proposed for a site 4.8 nm east- southeast of Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey. The tower exceeds FAR Part 77 obstruction standards, and the FAA is seeking comments from aircraft operators. The deadline for comments was Jan. 2, but the NBAA says this is likely to be extended for several weeks. For further information on this situation and instructions on where to send written comments, visit www.nbaa.org/airports.
In January, Cessna chose the 1,350-lbf Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F for the Citation Mustang, the new light jet slated for certification and customer delivery in 2006. The engine will feature a dual-channel FADEC, and initial maintenance intervals will be 1,750 hours for HSI and 3,500 hours for TBO. ``It meets the customer's requirements and it falls well within our capabilities,'' said Alain Bellemare, P&WC president. The PW615F is a 36-month development program, with certification planned for end of 2005.
So the company has bought a helicopter to supplement the fixed-wing aircraft in the flight department, and the CEO wants permanent helipads established at headquarters and some outlying plants. Where do you start?
ARINC Direct announced that it will offer recurrent international operations training sessions monthly at its Annapolis, Md., facility. ARINC Direct is the ARINC business unit focused on corporate aviation. The training was developed in conjunction with Assessment Compliance Group, also of Annapolis, and will be taught by the group's president, Anita Trotter-Cox. FARs require international flight crews to take recurrent training every 12 or 24 months.
IT HAD BEEN SEVERAL YEARS since I'd been there, and I was delighted to once again immerse myself in the blue smoke, the blattering sounds, and the bratwurst-laced-with-kerosene smell of Oshkosh, Wis. To the left were the warbirds, the sleek P-51s, phalanxes of AT-6s, some Korean-era jets, and my favorite, the bent-wing scourge of the South Pacific, the F4U Corsair. Off to the right were the showboats, the visiting heavy lifters, front line fighters, aerobats and such. Wichita's gems, the near-perfect Stagger Beeches, C-195s and Stearmans, were next.
The OEP holds fast to FAA traffic growth forecasts that some industry organizations have questioned. The FAA expects air traffic operations to return to ``pre-Sept. 11 growth patterns'' between 2005 and 2007.
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is the new chairman of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee, instead of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who was originally slated for the post. Hutchison will likely be moved to the surface transportation subcommittee, which she has chaired previously. A Democratic Senate source told Aviation Daily that Lott's presence on the subcommittee should be good for lawmakers concerned with small community air service.
Frost Navratil Technical Solutions has just released its ApproachView TD-840 remote touchscreen display for electronic flight bags. The 2.7-pound, 8.4-inch display is designed to be mounted on a control yoke. If a GPS is connected to the system, the unit can provide a moving map overlay on both approach and en route charts. The TD-840 can display all Class 2 EFB functions as outlined in Advisory Circular 120-76. If the display is connected to a laptop, operators can synch two units together, allowing pilot and copilot to view the same information.
Garrett Aviation Services, Tempe, Ariz., has named Jeanette McGrath director of marketing. McGrath joined Garrett in 2001 after several years of employment with Garrett's parent company, GE.
It's been a tough couple of decades for U.S. civil helicopter operators. Pet-roleum exploration has been in the doldrums, emergency medical service flights have been curtailed, and corporate use of helicopters has become less popular. Most income sources have dried up, while expenses have risen.
Boise Cascade Corp.'s Mike Pape has won Avfuel Corp.'s 2002 AVTRIP scholarship. Pape, a pilot with more than 20 years of professional aviation experience, plans to continue his education in the Corporate Aviation Management Certificate Program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The National Air Transportation Administration urged its members to send their non-disclosure forms to the TSA, warning that, ``Despite implementation delays, the Twelve-Five rule will be put into effect in the very near future. At that time, commercial operators of aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more may find themselves in non-compliance with this regulation if they have not properly executed the associated non-disclosure form, obtained the TFSSP and implemented the rule's requirements.''
