Maintenix is a Web-based maintenance and engineering system designed to integrate maintenance, engineering, inventory and operations. The program provides serialized configuration management, engineering change order management, planning and scheduling, and fleet monitoring, as well as integration with ERP and other corporate information systems.
AeroInfo Systems Inc., a subsidiary of the Boeing Co., offers operators its MaintStream software for maintenance tracking. MaintStream uses a set of interconnected maintenance software nodules specifically designed for aircraft compliance and maintenance records. Although primarily designed for the airlines, the software can be adapted for corporate use.
The MxManager program is designed to help operators organize, track and control maintenance activity and expenses. With this program, users can develop custom comparisons against other aircraft, generate reports to satisfy specific management criteria, and calculate and track weight and balance for each aircraft.
It's undeniable that the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) needs more capacity. Just ask any business aircraft operator. Reducing the vertical separation to 1,000 feet between FL 290 and FL 410 would add six new cruise altitudes, thereby increasing NAS high-altitude capacity by as much as 86 percent. RVSM, short for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums, works, and it's slated to be implemented as soon as December 2004.
RVSM Task Description (1) Notify the local FAA FSDO of intent to apply for Letter of Authorization (LoA) to operate in RVSM airspace. (2) Obtain an RVSM Service Bulletin from an OEM airframe manufacturer, or an RVSM Group Approval STC from an independent service center, if available. (3) If RVSM OEM SB or STC is not available, attempt to obtain RVSM engineering data for an aircraft manufacturer. Otherwise, plan on pursuing a one-time RVSM certification.
Manhattan's three heliports serve as rapid access portals to the heart of New York City's business community. And, in an era when public hostility toward rotary-wing aviation is de rigueur, their future -- with some reservations -- appears fairly assured.
1 - The airport is located some 20 miles up the Hudson from Manhattan. What immediate effect did the 9/11 attacks have on activity here? Russell: Right after the first tower was struck, someone from the media called our operations people and said, "How dare you let an airplane leave your airport and crash into the Trade Center." We thought it was one of ours. That call made a difference. The reaction here was one of shock and utter resolve.
There are no actual rotary-wing instrument approaches to the three New York heliports; however, unique point-in-space navigation fixes facilitate VFR transitions to the facilities, visibility minima permitting.
``Yes, New York City is blessed with three public-use heliports, but that's the minimum we need.'' So said Cindy Wilson, chief pilot, rotary wing for Philip Morris Management Corp.
It's now been more than six months since we were transfixed by the horrors of 9/11, but as the pain of that day's events begins to recede, the aggravation of living in a state of heightened security continues to grow. It seems that not a day goes by without the growing federal security bureaucracy proposing or implementing yet another impediment to the efficient transportation of goods and services by air. And the situation is going to get considerably more vexing before we reach a plateau of rationality.
Times are strange. Many charter operators are getting more business than they can handle, while some corporate flight departments are worried about their future. The solution for both is ``piggyback charter,'' whereby an existing FAR Part 135 operator adds the pilots and airplanes from corporate flight departments to its Part 135 operations, so that the aircraft and crew can provide extra income to its corporation during lull periods.
Aviation Information Services, Inc. (AIS), working with Sikorsky Aircraft, has produced Web HeloTrac RL, an Internet browser-based maintenance compliance tracking system for use by operators of Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. Web HeloTrac RL is a major enhancement to the existing HeloTrac RL aircraft maintenance tracking system (also engineered by AIS) that S-76 operators have used since 1997. The application will be hosted by Sikorsky at a remote central server, where customers may securely access their data through a Web browser. Price: Call for pricing
BB Products has introduced its FMC-2000 oil filter media cutter to aid in the inspection of oil contaminants. The patent-pending tool is designed to hold aviation oil filter spools and cut the paper filter media at each end of the spool without having to hold the filter spool by hand. The filter media is rotated in a special holder that is supported by roller bearings. A knife with a hand-lapped, retractable safety cover makes a clean cut of the filter media at each end. The filter media can then be removed for inspection.
Amid questions about the manufacturer's financial strength, the first Fairchild Dornier 728JET rolled out of the company's production plant at Oberpfaffenhofen on March 21. First delivery of the 70- to 85-seat regional jet is set for mid-2003 to launch customer Lufthansa City Line. The first Envoy 7 is due to follow in mid-2004, according to the company. Fairchild Dornier currently holds orders for 119 728JETs/Envoy 7s plus 162 options -- including 25 for the Flight Options fractional ownership program.
DPI Labs is now offering operators a system capable of collecting data and diagnosing whether a cabin management system is operating correctly. The Fly-Away Kit is designed for use with any aircraft that uses DPI's Smart-Link II or III Cabin Management Operating Systems. The kit also enables end users to pinpoint problems by component and eliminates wiring or pinning mistakes, resulting in time savings. Used with a standard laptop PC, the kit can update the systems configuration software, and it can get online troubleshooting help from DPI via the Internet.
PS Engineering, Inc. has added the PAC24 audio control panel to its list of products. The panel was designed initially as an upgrade/replacement for the King Radio KMA24-71, which was used extensively in dual audio panel installations for high-performance and rotary-wing aircraft. The PAC24's enhancements include: a headset audio amplifier, high-performance IntelliVox intercom, dual audio capability in a single box, full duplex mode for wireless operations, and expansion capability with stereo inflight equipment input.
A large insurance company tried videoconferencing in the early 1990s to save money. It was a flop, and soon the long-ball hitters were back on the skeds. But not for long. After the events of 9/11, when travel was the pits, the company CEO attended a demonstration of new videoconferencing equipment and was so impressed that, as of now, the company has a new travel policy. Airline travel and hotels will be authorized only if employees can show that a videoconferencing meeting would be insufficient.
In the more than three decades of writing Greenhouse I have made a few gaffes, but none so monstrous as I wrote in the March issue that Ford Motor Co.'s flight department went down the tube. It ain't so, and I submit my abject apologies along with my delight in being wrong.
The Canadian Business Aviation Associa-tion's 41st Annual Convention, Trade Show and Static Display will take place June 17-19 in Montreal at Le Centre Sheraton Hotel&Skyservice FBO. We listed the incorrect date in our March issue (page 105).
In the February issue we incorrectly quoted the fees for participating in West Coast Jet's fractional ownership program (page 26). The cost to enter the program is $20,000 -- half of which is applied to the first and final monthly management fees, while the remainder is used for aircraft acquisition, crew training and administrative costs. The monthly fee is $5,000 thereafter.
Jeppesen will supply continuously updated weather graphics for real-time broadcast on Satellink Technologies' upcoming Merlin satellite service. Merlin will be a continuous broadcast of weather text and graphic products plus NOTAM information, primarily for reception and display in an aircraft. The service will debut commercially in North America in June and be available internationally later in the year.
Cirrus Design Corp. won type certification from Transport Canada for the Cirrus SR20 single-engine aircraft and is continuing to pursue similar approval for the SR22. The Canadian certification is ``another validation of the concept, design and manufacture of this innovative aircraft,'' said Alan Klapmeier, president and CEO. ``We're committed to the process of certifying our aircraft internationally, and are pleased that this initiative continues with our neighbors to the north.''
The first Falcon 900EX set up with Dassault's EASy cockpit made its first flight at the company's Merignac, France, facility on Feb. 27. EASy is a product of Dassault's effort to take a human factors approach to the total cockpit environment, but with the idea it will be flexible in terms of future expansion, and actually certifiable. Honeywell avionics form the base platform for Dassault's architecture. Officials said they and the pilots were both pleased at taking the system to the air and away from the test bench.
Aviation analysts at the 4th Annual Corporate Aviation Update in White Plains, N.Y., project that the number of fractional owners will increase threefold by 2006. They cautioned, however, that most programs are operating at a loss due to the increasing costs of maintenance, war-risk insurance and management fees.
Edited by David RimmerMike Vines, at Asian Aerospace, Singapore
Could the SB 100C Skylander be the DC-3 replacement we've been waiting for? That's probably what Geci International of France is hoping as it begins work at an undisclosed location on the twin turboprop freighter/transport. Backed by a $30-million letter of intent from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) to produce the wings, pricing of the new aircraft is expected to be in the region of $3.5 million, and the makers say that the aircraft will be DGAC/JAA (JAR 23/FAR Part 23) certificated by the late 2004.
