Completely hidden from the view of the public and competitors, Gulfstream Aerospace has a secure Web site that's been up and running for more than a year. The Web site provides a dynamic blueprint of how Plane-view -- Gulfstream's implementation of Honeywell's Primus Epic avionics suite with 14-inch displays -- is being developed for the G-VSP. It reveals Planeview system architecture, its new control devices and its large-format display graphics and symbology. The site also provides updates on development and certification progress.
Texas Jet, an FBO at Fort Worth's Meacham International Airport, has been awarded the 2000 Phillips 66 Aviation ``Wings of Excellence'' for contributions and commitment to general aviation. The award was presented to Reed Pigman, Texas Jet's owner.
Photograph: Executive Aircraft's FBO at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport EAC Executive Aircraft Corp. (EAC) has launched a $6.5 million refurbishment and construction project at its facilities in Newton and Wichita, Kan. The Newton (EWK) expansion is focused on doubling the company's paint, completions and hangar capacity by summer 2001, and includes the addition of a 32,000-square-foot production building and a 14,000-square-foot hangar.
Many medical experts, among them, MedAire's Garrett, believe that the risk of infection from dangerous pathogens is increased when loaded aircraft remain sealed up on the ground for extended periods of time, as ventilation systems don't reach full efficiency until engines are spooled up. Under this condition -- which is becoming more common as ATC delays mount -- the aircraft interior can become a breeding ground for infectious diseases -- or as one physician, Dr. Richard Dawood, has termed it, ``a giant bell jar.''
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll have to ask at this time that you turn off all portable electronic devices including laptops, electronic games and cell phones. Once we're airborne and on our way, we'll let you know when you can turn your computers and electronic games back on. All cell phones must be turned off for the duration of the flight.''
There's more to business aviation's continued success in 2000 than a strong economy and new airplanes. Business aviation has become a major industry because of the tens of thousands of men and women who are committed to safety, service and innovation. B/CA's editors and contributors have been covering this industry's best and brightest for more than 42 years. We are fortunate to have close ties to people at all levels of our business, and recognize that each year certain individuals contribute unselfishly to the greater good.
Dawood's allegations about air quality are countered by Russell Rayman, M.D., of the Aerospace Medical Association. Board-certified in aerospace medicine, Rayman spent 25 years as a medical specialist in the U.S. Air Force and also worked for NASA for three years as a researcher. The Aerospace Medical Association was founded in 1929 and currently lists 3,300 members who are physicians, flight nurses and research scientists engaged in military and civil aerospace medicine.
China is becoming a hotbed for business and general aviation aircraft and has now added the first scheduled Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) service. Shandong Airlines has taken delivery of the first of five CRJ200s, with the remaining aircraft to be delivered through 2001. The airline currently operates a mixed fleet of Boeing 737s and Saab 340s. Although Shandong is the first carrier to offer scheduled CRJ service in China, China United Airlines operates five CRJs configured for corporate use.
Two of the largest manufacturers of GPSes have added DME waypoints to their electronic databases. The change will enable pilots to use IFR-certified GPS in lieu of DME on all instrument approach procedures that require DME, including localizer, localizer back course and ILS approaches. The AOPA says it first petitioned for use of GPS in lieu of DME five years ago. Limited approval was granted in 1998, but ``some localizer-type approaches were excluded,'' the group says.
Bombardier President and CEO Robert Brown says the company will launch a new aircraft in 2001, though he declined to say if the new design will be a business jet or regional airliner, or a ``core model'' developed for both roles. Toward this goal, the Montreal-based transportation giant is expected to devote new resources to research and development, though Brown declined to specify how much money would be spent.
Pilots are fuming over the Dutch government's recent decision to perform random alcohol testing on all flight crews operating into or out of the Netherlands. Some U.S. crews report being met at the gate by uniformed police who escorted them off their aircraft for Breathalyzer testing with no prior warning, the Air Line Pilots Association says. Other crews report being tested prior to departure.
The NBAA's Safety Committee -- with help from B/CA, the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) and the major flight training centers -- is launching a coordinated attack on what have been termed the ``killers in aviation.'' At the heart of the program is an agreement among the training centers to coordinate training on techniques to reduce the incidence of two major accident types -- controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and approach and landing.
With the recent addition of several courses, online maintenance training provider aerolearn.com says it now offers more than 300 free courses. Recent additions to the curriculum include Guidelines for Effective Written Maintenance Communication, a series of battery maintenance courses and classes that will earn credit towards the FAA's AMT Award. The new coursework supplements existing courses in topics ranging from aircraft engines and systems to human factors and personal growth.
While the potential of PED interference with aircraft communications and navigation is well recognized, further documentation of incidents can help database development and other efforts designed to stem the tide of PED problems in flight. NASA's ASRS collects and disseminates information on PED interference. Pilots who experience PED interference are encouraged to submit a report. Forms are available online at http//asrs.arc.naa.gov.
The NTSB will relocate the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 from Long Island, N.Y., to the Board's new investigation training academy, which is being built at George Washington University's Loudon County, Va., campus. NTSB Acting Chairman Jim Hall said the new facility will address the ``increasing need for well-trained accident investigators'' both in the United States and abroad. The university already offers an Aviation Safety and Security Management Certificate Program and houses the DOT's Crash Analysis Center, which is adjacent to the site of the new NTSB facility.
The safety of flight is based primarily on an air crew that is healthy and relatively unimpaired by the conditions of flight. Pilots achieve this by meeting medical expectations of the FAA and its flight doctors, along with periodic training in flight physiology.
What could be more basic than the air we breathe? For that matter, how safe is the air we breathe in our work and long-distance travel environment, modern aircraft cabins and cockpits?
BFGoodrich Aerospace has launched a multimedia Web site designed to educate pilots on the FAA's new Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) requirements. The site features an explanation of the regulation, which requires turbine-powered aircraft with six seats or more to have an FAA-approved TAWS, plus an overview of BFG's recently certified Class B TAWS for general aviation aircraft.
The FAA and FCC have approved the sale of a wristwatch equipped with an emergency locator transmitter (ELT). Sales of Breitling's Emergency watch, which has been available outside of the United States since 1995, will be limited to licensed pilots. Breitling says the $3,500 watch has been tested during multinational search-and-rescue exercises and already helped rescuers find an injured Swiss military parachutist who became disoriented during a training mission.
This month, Fairchild Dornier is to begin using the full-scale test rig for the 728JET's fly-by-wire control system, just weeks after Belgian subcontractor SABCA first cut metal for the new regional jet. SABCA will build the cockpit structure and a section of rear fuselage for the 70- to 85-seat regional jet; CASA/EADS in Spain will build the aircraft's wings and tail sections.
Major aviation training facilities such as FlightSafety International, SimuFlite, Pan Am/Simcom and Bombardier pilot training centers will soon display safety posters for their students, courtesy of B/CA. The new posters focus on the conclusions of Flight Safety Foundation Task Force studies of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) avoidance and approach and landing accident reduction (ALAR). The posters are part of an NBAA Safety Committee effort to standardize training for CFIT avoidance and ALAR.
