Edited by David RimmerMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
A U.K. helicopter pilot was recently sentenced to three years in jail for what was, in effect, a classic example of pilot rage. Shaun Lees, age 42, pleaded guilty to ``unlawfully and intentionally disrupting services at the airport in a way likely to endanger safety.'' To make matters worse, the incident at Coventry Airport occurred just one month after 9/11. Air traffic controllers at Coventry said, ``It was a sick parody.''
Jeppesen has released a new user interface with lots of high-resolution graphics for its JetPlan flight-planning engine. JetPlanner takes JetPlan's capabilities, such as real-time weather, routing and airspace information; ETOPS, drift-down and optimal scenario analysis functionality; and special features such as variable cost indexing and fuel-tankering/inflight refueling calculations and combines them with a new graphical user interface that supports both dial-up and TCP/IP communications protocols.
Honeywell's synchronized triplex FMS flew for the first time on a Gulfstream V-SP, the company announced. Triplex FMS uses three multifunction control display units (MCDU) and three navigation/performance computers. Each is completely separate, but all are fully synchronized with data entered on any MCDU shared among all three computers. The objective, according to Honeywell, is a high degree of system redundancy without increased crew workload.
Turbomeca announced that its new Arrius 2B2 engine has passed its 150-hour endurance test, validating its limitations and placing it squarely on schedule for delivery and certification on the EC 135 in July. Turbomeca officials call the 2B2 the most efficient of the Arrius engine family, of which more than 11,000 have been delivered. Improved ``mechanical and thermal power'' should allow a 2,835-kg takeoff weight for the EC 135 in Category A at higher temperatures, officials said.
According to a new General Accounting Office (GAO) report, small airports have received significantly more Airport Improvement Program funding from the FAA than is congressionally mandated and have acquired amounts greater than their large cousins have. This is primarily because federal regulations divert AIP from large facilities that can generate large sums from passenger facility charges (PFCs).
Sun Air Jets has opened a new Executive Flight Center at Camarillo Airport (CMA) in Camarillo, Calif. The new FBO is located in Ventura County, approximately 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Constructed specifically to serve corporate jet operators, the 50,000-square-foot facility includes 26,400 square feet of heated hangar, attached automobile garages, offices, shops and storage rooms, 24-hour security and an adjoining terminal. The terminal's amenities include passenger and crew lounges, sleep rooms with showers, and a catering kitchen.
John Carr, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), said his membership was ``insulted and offended'' by a request received on April 28 that only male air traffic controllers be allowed to handle Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's flight into and out of TSTC Airport (CNW) in Waco, Texas. ``We received a call, on a recorded line, from the tower manager at TSTC that basically said they just had a request that no females control the aircraft,'' said Mark Pallone, NATCA's southwest regional vice president.
The Aviation Professional Education Center (APEC), a new nonprofit aircraft maintenance school, has broken ground on the south ramp of Du Page Airport (DUP), located 27 miles west of Chicago. ``American Airlines has generously given us its former FAR Part 147 training academy curriculum to start with,'' said Don Ladick, APEC president. ``In addition, they are providing a Boeing 727-200 and a Saab 340B, so that students receive realistic, hands-on training.''
Jet-A and Avgas Per Gallon Fuel Prices ARG/US Jet-A Region High Low Average Eastern $3.46 $2.39 $2.92 New England $3.48 $2.16 $2.57 Great Lakes $3.80 $2.20 $2.76 Central $3.07 $1.85 $2.46 Southern $3.45 $2.44 $2.93 Southwest $2.99 $1.69 $2.51 NW Mountain $3.24 $2.06 $2.63
Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT) has entered the regional jet age. J-AIR, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines (JAL), commenced service linking Narita and Nagoya on April 18 with a 50-passenger Bombardier CRJ200 -- the first ever to serve the airport. The 178-nm Nagoya-Narita flights became possible after Narita's second runway was opened just a few days before the inaugural service started, increasing availability of domestic landing and takeoff slots.
Bombardier now has a Canadian customer for its Q400 turboprop. Canada's Hydro-Quebec began flying the turboprop as an employee shuttle on April 23 and has another on order. Based at Montreal, the aircraft will shuttle employees to five hydro-electric-generating sites in northern Quebec. This provincial utility company is the Canadian launch customer for the 72-seat Q400 and together with two Dash 8 series 300 aircraft replaces the company's fleet of four Convair 580 turboprops, which have provided the service for the last 20 years.
Edited by David RimmerMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft has signed a contract with England's AIM Aviation for the joint development of reinforced flight deck doors and other security innovations for its regional airliner fleet. The new doors will meet the FAA's April 9, 2003, compliance deadline for aircraft operating within U.S. airspace. A BAE spokesman said, ``While the basic requirement was to meet FAA/JAA mandatory requirements, we decided to go beyond this to offer a package of optional modifications that further enhance the security of our aircraft.''
United Airlines' (UAL) brief ownership of Air Wisconsin in the early 1990s will cost the carrier an additional $8.89 million. An arbitrator in late April ruled that United violated the terms of its collective bargaining agreement with flight attendants. The agreement required the carrier to use a single seniority list for work assignments; instead, United continued to use two separate seniority lists -- one for Air Wisconsin flights and another for mainline flights.
Bombardier Aerospace's Challenger 604 has been one of the best-selling large-cabin business aircraft since production deliveries began in early 1996. As of late April 2002, there had been 234 deliveries of Challenger 604 aircraft. B/CA contacted operators of more than 50 aircraft to determine the reasons for this success and whether the trend is likely to continue.
Bombardier quotes the Challenger 604's basic operating weight as a trim 27,100 pounds, giving it a 1,350-pound tanks-full payload. Not so, say operators. The average BOW they reported was 27,600 pounds, slashing the tanks-full payload to four passengers and extra baggage. Cabin, galley and lavatory amenities, entertainment systems, office equipment, satcom and super-soundproofing account for most of the extra 500 pounds of heft.
Few developments have had the impact on business aviation -- or generated as much controversy and misunderstanding within the industry -- as fractional aircraft ownership.
The developers of four emerging satellite-based aircraft broadband services are competing to bring television, e-mail, the Internet and other fast-throughput to the cabins of business, charter and VIP aircraft. AirTV
More on guns in the cockpit. The Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing American Airlines pilots, has called for public support for arming pilots as the last line of defense against suicidal hijackers. American Capt. Denny Breslin, a member of the APA's Committee for Armed Defense of the Cockpit, says that pilots and pilot groups are becoming increasingly frustrated with what they perceive as the Transportation Security Administration's non-responsiveness in the face of a real and current threat.
Meggitt Avionics/S-TEC is the new official name for the consolidated avionics operation of Meggitt Aerospace, now headed by Dain Miller, president. At press time, Miller and his marketing director, Ken Paul, stopped by the B/CA offices to preview the first wave of what they said will be a series of new products targeted at both piston and turboprop aircraft. The new Meggitt MAGIC 2100 DFCS is a fully digital, three-axis, attitude-based flight control system designed specifically for twin turboprop aircraft.
Although 2001 was a tough year for most airlines, regional carriers in the United States weathered the storm reasonably well, a recent study reveals. According to an annual survey of the regional airline industry conducted by AvStat Associates, revenue passenger miles (RPM) increased more than 9 percent to 25.74 billion, while passenger enplanements decreased 2.1 percent to 82 million passengers.
International Avionics, Inc. (IAI) of Addison, Texas, has announced a new, no-wires-in-the-tank, fuel-quantity transducer. The new transducer comes on four configurations to directly, mechanically replace resistance float transducers. Sensors outside the tank sense the position of a float arm inside the tank using ``anisotropic magnetoresistive'' technology. Analog and digital variations are available and the company will address custom installation requirements.
Fairchild Dornier is operating with a skeleton crew in the United States, as its insolvency administrator continues efforts to sell the company. Court-appointed Eberhard Braun says he still wants to sell the company as a whole, but said the schedule to achieve his ``strategic goal'' is very tight. Braun has about two months left to find a buyer for the company.
Photograph: Bombardier/Canadair CRJ700 Canadair Even though the regional jet had firmly established itself as a significant factor in commercial operations, the economic downturn of the past year coupled with the post-9/11 challenges facing the airline industry have increased its importance and prevalence. And while there's a robust market for jets of Canadian and Brazilian heritage, there's relatively little competition. BAE Systems canceled its RJX program late last year, and Germany's Fairchild Dornier is bankrupt.
Salt Lake Jet Center has acquired the former Hudson General assets, leasehold and facilities at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). The transaction reduces the number of FBOs on the airport from three to two, with the other being Million Air-SLC.
