One aerospace analyst asserts that Boeing's Sonic Cruiser, if it flies, will stimulate SBJ development in two ways. First, says Richard Aboulafia, chief aerospace analyst at the Teal Group, top corporate executives will demand the same or better performance in a corporate aircraft. Secondly, the Sonic Cruiser looks strange enough to change the public perception of what a proper aircraft has to look like, presumably freeing SBJ designers to do their thing.
Devices that use lasers for the storage and recovery of electronic information on CD-ROMs and DVDs have become the industry standard. Typically, a CD can hold 700 megabytes (MB) to 1.3 gigabytes (GB) of data and a double-sided, double-layer DVD can hold over 15 GB of data. Although impressive, the technology of tomorrow could dwarf both of these devices.
Honeywell and Iridium are adding their proposal for inflight cockpit monitoring to the bevy of plans responding to the DOT request for such ideas. They propose to develop a satellite link to send continuous live cockpit audio from an aircraft in trouble to authorities on the ground. The system, Cockpit Audio Monitoring, would use the Honeywell/Iridium Airsat I satellite communications system. Once activated by a crewmember, the system could not be turned off for the remainder of a flight.
ICCS, Palmas Polanco, Mexico, has announced that Alberto May has stepped down as CEO and sold his shares to Ricardo Albarran, president of the company. Albarran will also serve as CEO.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has acquired the Aviation Training Institute (ATI), a provider of training programs for line service personnel. According to NATA President James Coyne, ATI's current programs will be integrated into NATA's existing training initiative known as Safety 1st. Under the Safety 1st program, NATA members are trained and tested on their ground safety knowledge and practices. The training program also will be expanded to include airport security.
Bombardier says it will restructure its Flexjet Europe operation early this year and expand to Asia. According to Bombardier Business Jet Solutions President Clifford Dickman, Flexjet Europe will revert to a block charter program using a network of preferred charter suppliers. Dickman said the change results from Bombardier's realization that Europeans ``do not have the same desire for aircraft ownership'' as Americans.
George A. Saling Vice President, Aviation&Travel Services, Philip Morris Management Corp. After flying U.S. Army O-1 Bird Dogs in Vietnam, Saling joined Tenneco as a management trainee and soon was assigned to the flight department as a pilot/manager. He later worked at GTE and FlightSafety, and in 1991 joined Philip Morris, overseeing its eight aircraft operation. An NBAA board member since 1994, he was elected chairman in December 2001. 1 You're the NBAA's big boss now. What do you see as the association's priorities?
The true first year of the third millennium is gone, and good riddance. Welcome, indeed, Double-Oh-Two. The year that just ended will be remembered for the worst of it -- the airplane attacks of September, the wailing bagpipes and endless succession of heart-wrenching memorial services, the savage warring that had to follow. Yes, the world changed, much for the worse, in the latter half of anno Domini 2001. But not entirely. December helped put things in perspective.
Edited by David RimmerDavid Rimmer, in New Orleans
Although it attracted only about 40 percent of the attendees present at the 2000 show and 60 percent of the planned exhibitors for the original convention dates in September 2001, NBAA President Jack Olcott declared the group's 54th Annual Meeting and Convention ``already a success'' before the doors even opened on December 12.
Gulfstream continues to maintain its Supersonic Business Jet effort as ``a respectable preliminary design project'' according to the company's senior vice president for programs, Pres Henne. He stated that company studies consistently show a strong market for a supersonic aircraft weighing about 125,000 pounds, costing about $70 million to $80 million. The latest Gulfstream SBJ concept, now dubbed QSJ for Quiet Supersonic Jet in deference to environmental noise concerns, would seat eight passengers and cruise between 1.6 Mach and 2.0 Mach.
In an effort to attract more corporate business, Aero Sport, an FBO at Florida's St. Augustine Airport (SGJ), recently completed improvements to its facility -- and then saw ``a 15-percent increase in aircraft and fuel sales,'' according to Diane Moser, Aero Sport's CEO and owner. The new construction at the FBO included a 10,000-square-foot general service hangar, four 3,600-square-foot corporate hangars and a total repaving of the ramp.
Aviation Research Group/U.S. has introduced Trip CHEQ, an enhancement to its online Charter Evaluation and Qualification system. Trip CHEQ acts as an instant background check of the charter company, aircraft and pilots scheduled for a trip. A customer enters the aircraft registration numbers, charter operators and pilot certificate numbers and the data is processed immediately. The system tracks pilot certifications, ratings, experience, aircraft SDRs and operational control of specific aircraft. Price: $5,000 annually ARG/US
Safe Flight Instrument Corp.'s Enhanced AutoPower auto-throttle system is now certified for Challenger 604s. Bombardier Business Aviation Services in Tucson did the installation and obtained the STC. The Safe Flight automatic throttle system includes full-regime thrust control in all phases of flight, engine synchronization and integrates with Bombardier's PrecisionPlus avionics upgrade.
Mxi Technologies' Maintenix has been selected as Avolar's maintenance management program according to company officials. Mxi Technologies, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, had been looking for another major business aviation fleet contract in addition to the Executive Jet, Inc. fleet. It has several military and airline contracts.
Edited by David RimmerKerry Lynch, in Washington, D.C.
Canadian simulator maker and training provider CAE is significantly boosting its involvement in business aviation with its $247 million acquisition of SimuFlite Training International from GE Capital Equipment Financing. CAE plans to finance some $60 million of the deal through a sale and leaseback of certain assets General Electric added to the Dallas/Fort Worth-based company. The sale, subject to regulatory review, was expected to be completed by the end of 2001.
The nominee to be the first chief of the new Transportation Security Administration is John Magaw, a former head of the Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), according to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. Magaw was most recently an advisor to the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he has also headed as acting director. His new position will carry the title of under secretary of transportation security.
Ibis Aerospace named three new distributors for its Ae270 propjet, raising the number of Ibis Sales Centers to eight. Field Aviation Sales Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario, will represent Ibis in Canada; Cutter Aviation of Phoenix will oversee the Southwestern region; and Woodland Aviation of Woodland, Calif. will be responsible for the West Coast. Ibis also previously selected as distributors Elliott Aviation, Piedmont-Hawthorne, Stevens Aviation, Ibis Aircraft Sales, Pty. Ltd. in Australia, and CDC Aviation in South Africa. The Ae270 has an order book of 69 aircraft.
Even though a corporate S&D can be an important factor in the overall satisfaction of a trip -- and thus, in a flight department's success -- there are no formal training or testing procedures, nor any formal standards by which one may rise within the position. Many S&Ds express frustration that there is no license or certificate for what they do.
Raytheon Travel Air, Raytheon's $300 million fractional aircraft ownership business, is merging with Flight Options, Inc. to form Flight Options, LLC, in a move that will consolidate 1,600 customers and a fleet of more than 200 aircraft for the new company.
A Learjet 25B departed Runway 28L at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), slid into a gully and burned, killing the crew on November 22, 2001. The aircraft, N5UJ, owned by Universal Jet Aviation of Boca Raton, Fla., broke apart just forward of the engines and caught fire. The pilots, the sole occupants, identified as Christopher Mitchell and Harold Fitts, were found in the cabin dead of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.
The FAA designated the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) as the clearinghouse for criminal record checks of persons with access to the secured areas of airports who have not previously been checked. About 750,000 employees with airport access will have to undergo the checks. Under the public-private partnership, airlines and airports will submit employee fingerprints and a $31 per person fee to the AAAE, which will forward them to the FBI for the criminal record checks.
Spending all your time in Washington can seriously warp your perspective. People here tend to get so engrossed in the political ramifications of what- ever's on the agenda, they lose sight of the issues and why those issues are important to voters.
The coming and going of witches on their broomsticks, warlords, hobgoblins and things that go bump in the night serve as a reminder that it is about that time again. It is time to shove the boss out on his broomstick for his annual check on the ``services'' proffered by the nation's scheduled airlines. In case you mislaid the ground rules, some of them include: -- Bigdome must make his own reservations -- shoots a half-hour easy. He must drive to the airport, arrange his own parking, luggage, handling, etc.
