The worst year for business aviation (non-professionally flown) safety was 1990, with 95 fatalities in 167 accidents, or 3.71 accidents per 100,000 hours flown (Robert E. Breiling&Associates).
In 2000, general aviation aircraft revenues grew by 9.1 percent to $8.6 billion compared to 1999, setting a new record for billings, according to GAMA. More than 900 turbine aircraft were delivered as production capacity soared to keep up with record backlogs in manufacturers' order books. Cessna, for example, doubled the number of Excels it delivered and increased Bravo production by 50 percent. Dassault Falcon Jet deliveries reached 73, five more than in 1999, while its backlog of orders increased. Learjet 45 deliveries were up from 43 in 1999 to 71 in 2000.
April 11 marked the dedication of Bombardier's new flight training center in Dallas, to be run in conjunction with SimuFlite Training International. The center will first offer classroom and simulator instruction for Learjet 31A, 45 and 60 pilots and technicians; training for the Continental and Challenger 604 will be available by late 2002, the company said.
Yingling Aviation, located at Mid-Continent Airport (ICT) in Wichita, has begun a $1.5 million renovation of its facilities. ``We will be adding offices for the corporate pilots that are based at Yingling, as well as many other special amenities,'' said Lynn Nichols, Yingling president.
Productivity is the essential quality for making a profit in the regional airline industry, and as one leading airline executive put it, ``You build from profitability, not to profitability.'' Productivity is derived from speed, field performance, capacity and the versatility to operate profitably over varying sector distances. B/CA's 2000 Regional Airliner charts measure productivity over three different stage lengths to see where each aircraft best fits in the marketplace. All the aircraft are operated within the confines of a 14-hour duty day.
Andersen, the big tax, audit and consulting firm formerly known as Arthur Andersen, has issued a white paper on the apparent value of business aircraft to the companies that operate them. While most of the numbers relating to the survey are quite welcome, a couple should give pause. First off, the word ``apparent'' is a frustrating but necessary qualifier because it's virtually impossible to quantify the contribution of a business tool -- be it a letterpress or a Learjet -- that does not generate income directly, regardless of the tool's obvious utility.
PrivatAir Group won FAA approval for 180-minute Extended Range Twin-Engine Operations (ETOPS) with its Boeing Business Jets and authorization under FAR Part 129 as a designated foreign air carrier under the U.S.-Switzerland bilateral ``Open Skies'' agreement. The approvals permit PrivatAir ``to offer the most direct routes across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and unlimited operations to the U.S.'' Previously, PrivatAir said its operating authority was limited to private, diplomatic and a handful of commercial flights to the United States each year.
Embraer's Legacy business jet flew for the first time on March 31, in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, and the company says FAA/JAA certification is on track for the third quarter. The initial flight included tests of all flap and gear configurations, as well as full stalls clean and with full flaps. Embraer said altitudes of FL 390 and speeds of up to 0.80 Mach were reached during the 90-minute flight. The aircraft also was flown at its maximum takeoff weight of 48,479 pounds.
Garrett Aviation is hosting a series of workshops to help business jet owners and pilots understand the latest avionics upgrades available for their aircraft and prepare for current and upcoming equipment requirements. The sessions, ``Avionics Upgrades for the 21st Century,'' cover such topics as ADS-B, ACAS-II, VDL Mode 2/3 (VHF Data Link), Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM), terrain avoidance warning systems (TAWS) such as EGPWS, and satcom/IFE (inflight entertainment).
Barring a reprieve from the courts or the Bush administration, the FAA was scheduled to implement changes to Grand Canyon air tour routes on April 19. The hotly contested rules were first proposed during the Clinton administration, and air tour operators had been hopeful that the Bush victory also would lead to victory for their cause.
Khalifa Airways of Algeria has ordered 10 additional ATR 72-500 turboprops to add to its existing fleet of three ATR 72-500s and four ATR 42s. Based in Algiers, the company plans to expand its domestic network and add new routes to neighboring countries. Europe's largest ATR operator, Eurowings of Dortmund, Germany, has taken delivery of the first of six ordered ATR 72-500s, to be operated on partner Lufthansa's domestic network. Eurowings cited the -500's short runway performance as the main factor driving its selection of the aircraft.
Raytheon Aircraft Co., which is ramping up production of its just-certificated Premier I business jet, plans to eliminate at least 450 jobs in its Kansas facilities to reduce costs. The company plans to eliminate 10 percent of its administrative and managerial positions.RAC has about 10,200 employees in the state, including 9,600 in Wichita and 600 in Salina.
Gulfstream Aerospace will begin the final flight test phase of its Enhanced Vision System within the next 60 days, and said it expects U.S. FAA certification late this year. Though the FAA has imposed some additional requirements for the new system, Gulfstream does not expect these to delay the program. ``Even though we don't agree with the FAA on the need for a special condition, we do not anticipate any problems,'' said Mike Mena, G-VSP program manager.
Reliance Aviation, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has appointed Leslie Space as its president. Space is responsible for the daily operation of the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and Miami (Tamiami) FBOs.
To ensure that Europe's catastrophic outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) does not spread to the United States, the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture has issued guidelines for passengers and crews using corporate aircraft on international flights. The USDA advises all travelers to: -- Avoid farms, stockyards, animal laboratories, packing houses, zoos, county fairs or other animal facilities for five days prior to travel.
SimuFlite, Dallas, has named Mike Luckey as senior manager of instructor development. An ATP with more than 9,000 flight hours, Luckey is responsible for the development and quality assurance of the training services department.
EBACE 2001, the first European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition, was held in Geneva, Switzerland from April 18-20 at the Palexpo Convention Center adjacent to Geneva International Airport. The event, the first European event to focus totally on business aviation, featured more than 175 exhibitors. Two Danish citizens, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and Frederick Sorensen, were the first recipients of the European Business Aviation Awards, presented at the show. The CEO of LEGO Corp., Kristiansen was recognized for his support of business aviation.
A funding shortfall has led Sino Swearingen to lay off 100 of 375 workers employed at its San Antonio facility. Work on the company's SJ30-2 business jet is expected to continue, albeit at a reduced level until the manufacturer's ability to secure an additional $100 million is assured. Financial trouble has plagued the SJ30-2 program since its inception more than a decade ago, but the picture improved substantially in 1994 when Taiwan Aerospace and other investors acquired a controlling interest in the program.
The FAA's inspection designee program is ``spiraling out of control with more than 20,000 designees for FAA inspectors to oversee,'' charged Robert Kerner, an FAA principal maintenance inspector in the Cleveland Flight Standards District Office. Kerner, who testified before the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, said the FAA increasingly relies on designated mechanic examiners and airworthiness representatives as it grapples with tight budgets for the inspector work force.
The Safety Board has completed its review of the March 17, 2000 Falcon 900 overrun accident at Hyannis, Mass. The probable cause, said the Board, ``was the flight crew's inadequate coordination and improper weather evaluation. Also causal was the captain's improper decision to continue the approach to a runway with insufficient length and his failure to obtain the proper touchdown point on the runway.
With the explosive growth of air traffic worldwide becoming an issue, specialists met in London, England, to identify the dangers of human-induced errors due to the introduction of new European ATC systems. The new European airspace management systems have changed their focus on replacing the human-centered de-cision process with a computer-controlled system.
