The world's economy is global and corporate pilots now more than ever are finding themselves operating in and out of faraway airports. Since many of the facilities in Central and South America, Europe and Asia are deeply embedded in mountainous terrain, it's in your own self-interest to review procedures for operating in and around such areas, particularly those in unfamiliar locales.
Peggy Chabrian President, Women in Aviation International Founded by Chabrian in 1995, Women in Aviation, International has some 6,000 members of both genders and its annual convention, which took place in late March, was expected to draw 3,000 participants. 1 Can you measure the progress of women as aviation professionals?
GPWS generates warnings based on seven different modes that correspond to known situations that result in CFIT accidents or incidents. The Mark V GPWS and Mark V EGPWS are designed for a digital avionics interface and the Mark VII GPWS and Mark VII EGPWS are designed for an analog avionics interface. The following mode descriptions apply to the Mark V, VII, and Enhanced GPWS systems:
Washington insiders knew the DOT was in for big changes when Norman Mineta took over as secretary (B/CA, March, page 97), but it's still a bit surprising how quickly the agenda there is being transformed. When the Bush administration's budget proposal went to Capitol Hill in early March it marked the first time in eight years that the White House wasn't trying to slap new user fees on the aviation community. The Clinton-Gore budgets had advocated several such schemes -- some calling for billions of dollars in additional charges on aviation users.
Indigo, the Chicago Midway-based public charter operator, is planning a major fleet expansion even as the company responds to calls from a New Jersey congressman to shut down its Teterboro operation. Indigo Chairman, CEO and founder Matthew Andersson says Indigo is weighing bids from a handful of manufacturers for an initial order of 25 to 50 new jets with options for 50 additional aircraft. Indigo presently flies two daily roundtrips on weekdays between Midway and Teterboro with four Falcon 20s.
Flight Options is adding an eighth aircraft type to its fleet -- the Cessna Citation V. Priced at $1.25 million for a quarter share, the Citation Vs are pre-owned as are all other aircraft in the Flight Options program. The Cleveland-based fractional company now operates 85 aircraft, including the Citation II and III, Beechjet 400A, Hawker 800, Falcon 50, Challenger 601 and Gulfstream IV. Flight Options recently won the Best Cabin Interior Award from a group of New York-area design companies judging fractional aircraft interiors for cabin comfort and aesthetic appeal.
When David Bowling began to interview witnesses about the final moments of a King Air 200's takeoff roll, the story they told him sounded familiar. Bowling is an air safety investigator with the NTSB's North Central Regional office. He had been called to Meigs Field in Chicago shortly after 2020 CST on November 11, 1999 when the aircraft ran off the departure end of Runway 18 and sank into Lake Michigan with two pilots and a passenger aboard. The business flight was to have been a VFR leg from Meigs to South Bend, Ind.
Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) Holdings struck a deal initially valued at $200 million with United Airlines parent UAL Corp. to purchase three regional airlines that United would inherit with its acquisition of the US Airways Group.
BAE Systems' Aircraft Services Group has been contracted to modify a BAE 146-300 to flying laboratory status, to monitor global warming, pollution levels, atmospheric radiation and environmental risks and hazards.
Jetcruzer manufacturer Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures, Inc. says certification of the proposed all-composite turboprop is progressing, as it fights attempts by Nasdaq to delist some of its stock. AASI says the Jetcruzer successfully completed a steady roll test of its composite wing -- the last of four FAA-mandated wing tests. However, Nasdaq is seeking to delist the company's common stock and class B warrants. At press time, AASI stock had plunged to less than fifty cents per share, down from a 52-week high of $5.50.
The first certified synthetic vision systems (SVS) -- three-dimensional guidance displays that blend aircraft attitude, position and synthetically derived environmental data on one screen -- could be operating in business aircraft soon, possibly as early as 2002. Several companies say their SVS programs are nearing production status, but, curiously, the biggest names in avionics are on a much slower schedule.
The Midwest Jet Center located at Lunken Field (LUK) in Cincinnati has been named a Phillips 66 Aviation Performance Center. The 30-year-old independent FBO features a 10,000-square-foot facility and two 14,000-square-foot hangars that can house a Gulfstream V-size aircraft. In addition, the FBO offers avionics and maintenance services and has enough ramp space to park and service 30 business jets.
Pratt&Whitney Canada (P&WC) has acquired Turbotech Repairs of San Diego. Formerly part of the Premier Turbines group owned by Sabreliner Corp., Turbotech is a leader in repairing components for small turbine engines and auxiliary power units. ``The acquisition is an important step in our efforts to expand our global aftermarket services,'' said Gilbert Gaudette, P&WC vice president of service centers.
Executive Jet is giving a big boost to the aviation careers of Ohio State University students under the terms of a new ``educational partnership.'' The arrangement calls for creation of Executive Jet scholarships and grants, an accelerated flight training program for graduates and continued use of student interns at Executive Jet operations in Columbus, Ohio. EJA also has agreed to consider using products and services created by OSU students and faculty.
Several training companies conduct programs designed to put pilots -- some beginning with zero time -- into the right seats of regional turboprops and jets largely, and often entirely, at the trainees' expense. While such ventures are not new, the ``pay-for-training'' (PFT) concept is an issue that has divided the pilot community.
Aviation groups celebrated Congress' overturning of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's controversial Ergonomics Protection Standard, which was issued in November 2000 and took effect in mid-January. Critics complained that OSHA rushed through the rule, adopting it less than nine months after the comment period closed on the proposal. The bill was intended to protect against musculoskeletal disorders with a plan for some six million employers to design ergonomics programs that cover training, risk assessment, record-keeping and compensation.
Cornerstone Logic, Inc. has developed PocketFuel, a ``rental car style processing'' unit, designed to simplify and speed aviation fueling transactions. PocketFuel uses a handheld Windows CE device, infrared printer and magnetic card reader, and a wireless ethernet connection. This allows an operator to pay by credit card for fuel and other services and receive a receipt, while never having to step inside the terminal. PocketFuel's technology enables the handheld device to communicate from the fueling ramp to Cornerstone Logic's FBO Manager program inside the terminal.
Executive Jet Management, Cincinnati, has named Phillip Vanderwitt as its new director of shuttle operations and Paul Moening has been promoted to chief pilot of shuttle operations. Based at Mather Field in Sacramento, Calif., Vanderwitt will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company's air shuttle program that operates Embraer regional jets between Sacramento; Hillsboro, Ore.; and Olympia, Wash.
Details of state aviation services and regulations are available in the National Association of State Aviation Officials' new ``State Aviation Funding and Organization Data'' report. The publication includes state and federal aviation funding data, and a state-by-state accounting of registration and licensing requirements, noise programs and other useful information. Further information and an order form for the $60 publication are available online at www.nasao.org/publications.
Air traffic control errors are relatively flat for the beginning of the fiscal year, according to DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead. There were 397 operational errors from October 1, 2000 through February 19 of this year, versus 399 for the same period ending last year.
Online Charter Evaluation and Qualification (CHEQ) reports are now available from the Aviation Research Group/U.S. (ARG/US). The FAR Part 135 studies ``objectively evaluate the historical safety record of charter providers,'' according to ARG/US Executive Vice President Mark Fischer. Fischer adds that the reports monitor national databases ``on a daily basis'' for information that changes an operator's evaluation.
Deliveries of 16 new Beech 1900D airliners to Air New Zealand's Eagle Airways regional subsidiary are expected to begin later this year and continue through late 2002. The South Pacific carrier says the aircraft, which will operate on flights through New Zealand, will offer customers ``a new standard of comfort.'' Air New Zealand is a new customer for the Wichita manufacturer.
Dispatcher Mark Jyono and customer service rep Marla McGatlin (a former dispatcher) at TAG Aviation's San Francisco base offered the following potpourri of advice for keeping your handlers honest -- and you out of trouble -- when planning and flying your trips abroad: -- Be sure you give the handling service the correct destination. ``For example,'' McGatlin said, ``if you just say `Monterey,' that could be either California or Mexico. Be clear in what you're requesting -- it's all about communications.''
