Last week, four local mayors of US cities which depend, for a variety of reasons, on business aviation, held a news teleconference promoted by the Alliance for Aviation Across America, to publici
The four mayors who spoke to the media May 6th on behalf of general aviation's contributions to the economy answer questions from reporters. (See also Part I, dated 5/12/2009.)
The Flight 3407 cockpit transcript gets released today.
An R44 pilot and three passengers walk away from a powerline encounter.
And SAFE gets a famous new member.
The Flight 3407 cockpit transcript gets released today.
An R44 pilot and three passengers walk away from a powerline encounter.
And SAFE gets a famous new member.
Latest Piston-Engine Personal And Business Aircraft On Display
May 21, 22 And 23
Coming off a reportedly 'very successful' introduction in the
Tampa area, the second series of Florida Aircraft Expos will be
held in Orlando, Daytona Beach and Melbourne.
Rockwell Collins has started the flight testing of its Pro Line
Fusion integrated avionics system. The flights are taking place on
Rockwell Collins' test airplane.
The Beechcraft Premier IA has another record under its belt. The
most recent record was established on May 10 leading into this
year's EBACE event in Geneva, Switzerland. With astronaut Robert
"Hoot" Gibson at the yoke, the Beech completed a 627-statute mile
trip from Hawker Beechcraft's International Headquarters in
Chester, U.K. to Geneva in 1 hour, 13 minutes, 30 seconds.
ANN Daily Touch-And-Go: 05.12.09 (ANN's
Short-Form Daily News Program)
ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 05.12.09 (ANN's
Long-Form Daily News Program)
ANN Special Feature: Mayors vs. Obama on GA,
Part I - 05.12.09 (ANN Special Report,
with Mayors Carl Brewer, of Wichita, Kansas; Steve Van Oort, of
Ankeny, Iowa; Rick Fernau of Show Low, Arizona; and Fred Bott
of Devils Lak
According to a study by Frost & Sullivan, following
unprecedented growth in the last 5 years, Business Aviation is now
facing harsh market conditions with aftermarket suppliers holding
back investment until recovery.
Associated Air Center (AAC) has signed a new
contract for the completion of a green Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ).
The contract, signed back on March 6, represents AAC's 16th ACJ
completion since becoming an Airbus Authorized Completion and
Service Center in 2003.
The Branson Airport, the first privately developed and operated
commercial service airport in the US, officially began operations
Monday by welcoming its first commercial flight. Sun Country
Airlines flight SY509, with passengers from Minneapolis/St. Paul,
touched down at 0900.
CAE has expanded its portfolio of web based pilot and technical
training courses for business aviation customers through its
e-Learning training service.
$40M Parts Inventory To Be Located at Madrid-Based CORJET
Gulfstream has added a European parts distribution center to its
product support network. The CORJET Europe facility in Madrid,
Spain, will serve as a strategic parts distribution facility
housing high-usage items commonly required by international
Gulfstream customers.
Honeywell has delivered its 500th HTF7000. The HTF7000 engine
fleet recently passed the 500,000 fleet-hour milestone. HTF7000
engines are demonstrating an industry leading 99.96% dispatch
reliability.
It's a story we've heard all too often... and we'd hoped to hear
the end of them. Air Canada revealed Monday just how tight its
liquidity crunch has become. The nation's leading airline has asked
Canadian regulators to grant it immediate relief from a requirement
to fund employee pensions.
Oklahoma CareerTech has chosen the SAE Institute/Professional
Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) Professional Certification
Program to provide advanced credentials for its aviation
maintenance students.
We've had a ball showing you various aspects of how and why the Cirrus Aircraft SR20s and SR22s became some of the most popular aircraft in recent GA history. But the build process is nearly as fascinating as the airplanes themselves... especially in light of the changes the G3 version of the SR series has undergone in the last two years.
NBAA informs ANN that in the Administration's fiscal year 2010
budget, it intends to continue the existing taxes next year, but
has previously signaled that they are considering a shift to user
fees for 2011.
We've had a ball showing you various aspects of how and why the
Cirrus Aircraft SR20s and SR22s became some of the most popular
aircraft in recent GA history. But the build process is nearly as
fascinating as the airplanes themselves... especially in light of
the changes the G3 version of the SR series has undergone in the
last two years.
Aerion is telling attendees at EBACE 2009 that they continue
serious and detailed discussions with potential OEM manufacturing
partners, but are not yet naming names.
Approximately 100 people attended the 3rd Annual European Safety
Standdown on May 11 in Geneva, Switzerland, indicating that safety
continues to remain a high priority for the business aviation
community regardless of the economic climate.
747-8 VIP Overhead Space Utilization Kit Offered, BBJ
Performance Improvements Planned for 2011
There's been a lot of activity among those responsible for
Boeing's business aviation programs. To lead off the bigger
developments, Boeing's BBJ Convertible is now being made available
to prospective customers.
The US Air Force reports that when the 147-million-dollar cost
of shutting down the production line for the F-22 is spread over
the cost of the last four aircraft to be delivered, those last four
Raptors will end up costing 196-million dollars each, an increase
of about a third over previous F-22s.
Embraer tells ANN that the 'midlight' Legacy 450 and 'midsize'
Legacy 500 executive jet programs have completed the Joint
Definition Phase (JDP), which began in July 2008 and involved over
100 engineers from key system suppliers, as well as Embraer’s
own staff.
The widely anticipated release of the cockpit voice transcript
for Continental Connection 3407 happens today at a hearing in
Washington, DC. The plane went down on approach to Buffalo Niagara
International the night of February 12th, killing all 49 onboard
and one on the ground.
Beaufort Wind
Scale
A system of estimating and reporting wind speeds. It is based on
the Beaufort Force or Number, which is composed of the wind speed,
a descriptive term, and the visible effects upon land objects
and/or sea surfaces. The scale was devised by Sir Francis Beaufort
(1777-1857), hydrographer to the British Royal Navy.
Aero-Linx: European Business
Aviation Association
EBACE2009, held in Geneva from May 12 to 14, is the flagship
forum for the European business aviation community to find products
and services from the world's top vendors. Also at EBACE, the
European regulators and government officials who make decisions
that directly affect business aviation operations in Europe and
around the world meet face to face with the companies who are using
aviation to facilitate their business.
"It's good to see that there are no user fees for
general aviation in the Administration's budget plan for 2010.
However, we remain concerned that the Administration's long-term
planning could leave the door open to user fee proposals for
general aviation. This would be a very divisive approach at a time
when the industry needs to come together and move forward in making
NextGen a reality. We will continue to work with members of
Congress and the Administration on a funding plan that builds upon
the proven and efficient fuel tax for general
aviation."
Source: NBAA Boss, Ed Bolen, talking
about recent budget and tax moves made by the Obama
Administration.
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