It seems difficult to imagine that so much could happen in a
single 12-month span. Not surprisingly, this review only scratches
the surface, touching on highlights that have punctuated the last
year's ups and downs in Business Aviation.
Players like Eclipse Aviation and Adam Aircraft, looking strong
as contenders in the industry, failed to reach their full
potential. But there were successes, despite the economy's fickle
roller-coaster ride, particularly Embraer and Socata, who proved
their mettle in going the distance...
A Piper PA-31 Navajo went down shortly after takeoff from Alaska's Kodiak
Airport, impacting in a harbor just off the end of the
runway; six of the ten persons aboard perished. Reports indicate
the aircraft may have been attempting to turn back to the airport
when it went down...
Adam Aircraft completed a successful series of environmental tests of the
A700 very light jet at the McKinley Climatic
Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. During the five day
testing exercise, the A700's Williams FJ-33 turbofans were exposed
to freezing fog, freezing rain and blowing snow...
Bombardier announced the Learjet 85, formerly known as the Learjet
NXT, will be built by Grob Aerospace in Germany --
starting with three prototypes. It will be the first Bombardier jet
to feature an all-composite structure, and will also be the first
all-composite business jet designed for type certification under
FAR Part 25...
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation announced the FAA certification of the new Beechcraft King Air
C90GTi, the latest evolution of the popular
twin-turbine Beechcraft King Air 90 series aircraft. It features an
advanced, fully-integrated, Collins Pro Line 21 avionics
suite...
Adam Aircraft Industries suspended operations at its facilities in
Colorado, due to the inability of the company to come
to terms with their lender for funding necessary to maintain
business operations...
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on the February 1
crash of a Cessna Citation near Augusta, ME. The
accident claimed the lives of businesswoman Jeanette Symons, and
her 10-year-old son, Balan. NTSB investigators said Symons appeared
to be confused about her surroundings from the time she started
taxiing for takeoff until her final radio call to controllers just
before the crash...
Former Cessna exec Russ Meyer III joins Hawker Beechcraft
Corporation as director of new product development. In
his new role, he will be responsible for a number of new product
development programs, including the management of risk sharing
partners...
Dassault announced its sales and financial results for 2007. For the
third consecutive year, Dassault set a record for Falcon business
jet sales with 212 firm orders worldwide...
Enstrom Helicopter Corporation announced the latest addition to its North American dealer
network, Travland Helicopters of Austin, TX. Enstrom
noted Travland already sold and delivered its first aircraft, a
fully loaded 280FX Shark, to a private customer in Dallas...
TrueNorth Avionics, Inc.
completed its first MagnaStar upgrade on a Gulfstream
aircraft, working with Duncan Aviation to install the
Simphone (pronounced 'symphony') airborne telecommunications system
at Duncan's Battle Creek, MI, facility. The Simphone Duo system
included three easy-to-use, menu-driven handsets, along with PBX
functionality and two all-digital channels of integrated Iridium
service for worldwide voice and data...
Gulfstream Aerospace announced the introduction of its all-new Gulfstream
G650 ultra-large cabin business jet, which offers the
longest range (7,000 nautical miles), fastest speed (0.925 Mach),
largest cabin and the most-advanced cockpit in the Gulfstream
fleet...
Western Aircraft began work to launch a full-service "Interior Re-Completion Center" this
spring at its Boise, ID facility by spring 2008. The
shop will provide interior upgrades on large business jets and
turboprop aircraft...
Dassault announced the delivery of the first new Falcon
2000DX to a customer in the Western United
States. The standard-equipped Falcon 2000DX has exceptional airport
performance, with a low approach speed of 112 kts and the ability
to land with the fuel tanks nearly full -- allowing short hops from
city to city to pick up passengers and then continue on long
missions without refueling...
A Bombardier Challenger made haste back to Colorado's Grand Junction Regional
Airport after the cabin door fell off the aircraft
shortly after takeoff. According to the FAA Preliminary Report, the
aircraft entered downwind for Runway 29 at the airport, squawking
7700. Tower controllers were apparently caught a bit off guard at
first, but things became clearer when "as [the plane] rolled past,
the tower noticed the main cabin door was missing..."
Reports of the downing of a Cessna Citation 501 business jet in
Farnborough, England said two former automobile racers
were among the five victims onboard the stricken aircraft. The
Citation I had departed Biggin Hill Airport in Kent, bound for Pau,
France. The jet was less than five miles away when the pilot issued
a mayday call, and attempted to steer the plane back to Biggin
Hill...
Pilatus Aircraft announced the receipt of EASA and FAA certification for its
PC-12 NG. The NG features a fully integrated Honeywell
Primus Apex avionics system, a completely new cockpit designed by
BMW Group DesignworksUSA, and a more powerful Pratt & Whitney
Canada PT6A-67P engine...
Business Jet Technologies announced its 60th Quiet Technology Aerospace Stage 3 Hush
Kit installation was completed on a Gulfstream IIB
business jet. Now free to access airports with Stage 2 noise
abatement restrictions, the aircraft equipped with the QTA kit will
also provide passengers with a quieter cabin than ever
before...
The FAA took legal action to overturn a ban on Category C and D
jets at California's Santa Monica Municipal Airport.
The ban was passed unanimously by Santa Monica City Council in
November, and would include many popular business aircraft --
including the Gulfstream IV, Challenger and Citation X -- with
approach speeds of 121 knots or more...
Embraer's Phenom 300 successfully took to the air on its maiden
flight from the company's Gavião Peixoto test
runway. In the coming months, the first Phenom 300 will participate
in the flight test campaign along with three additional Phenom 300
jets and is expected to enter service in the second semester of
2009...
The NTSB issued its preliminary report on a Citation Mustang runway
accident at McClellan-Palomar Airport, Carlsbad,
California. After landing long, the plane sustained substantial
damage following the pilot's intentional ground loop maneuver. The
pilot said the PFD and the autopilot failed en route, and he was
'fatigued' on landing...
The 2008 NATA Air Charter Summit on June 10 will provide
exclusive insight into emerging threats to charter
operators from the illegal drug trade. William C. Brown, Special
Agent in Charge of the US DEA Aviation Division, will discuss the
increased focus on air charter, and how operators can best ensure
they are not targets of drug runners...
FlyRight Inc. received FAA certification as the country's newest 142 Flight
Training Center. FlyRight's 142 Training Center
certification enables the company to offer initial, ATP, and
recurrent training programs entirely in-house, using its King Air
B200 and Raytheon 1900D Level-C full motion simulators...
At the company's 10th Anniversary "E-rrival" owners gathering,
Eclipse Aviation announced the single-engine Eclipse Concept Jet,
rebranded the Eclipse 400, will be brought to market in late 2011,
and current customers will have the first shot at reserving their
own jets...
June
As part of the Optimal and Friendcopter program, primarily
concerned with the reduction of noise pollution, Eurocopter
conducted research into the reduction of aerodynamic noise through
the development of active noise control systems for main rotors,
and reduction of engine noise through studies on engine
integration, the shape, position and design of tail pipes and the
air intake...
The FAA granted
type certification to Cessna's Citation XLS+. The
plane features a fully integrated Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21
avionics suite and electronically controlled (FADEC) engines from
Pratt & Whitney Canada...
North American Jet Charter Group, LLC announced the delivery of its first Florida-based Eclipse
500 very light jet, available for on-demand air-taxi
and charter. Based at Boca Raton Airport, the two pilot / four
passenger VLJ offers service to the Bahamas and other regional
destinations...
The NTSB formally issued two urgent recommendations to the
FAA to address a safety issue, concerning a failure
that resulted in uncontrollable engine thrust in an Eclipse 500 and
the lack of emergency procedures developed for that failure...
Hawker Beechcraft announced the first delivery of its flagship Hawker 4000 super-midsized
business jet to customers Gary and Donna Hall, one
week after the composite-bodied bizjet received final certification
from the FAA...
The IAM, up in arms over alleged plans by Hawker Beechcraft to establish a full
aircraft assembly plant in Chihuahua, Mexico,
criticized the company's five-year plan, dubbed "Project Pelican,"
decrying plans to conceal the scope of the plan from the public,
the press and employees at Hawker Beechcraft's Wichita, KS assembly
plant...
Linear Air announced the launch of its Eclipse EA500 flight service in the greater
New York City area, touting the economy of the Eclipse
500 as a major selling point to potential customers. In addition to
cost-savings, Linear Air said it serves 10 times more airports than
traditional commercial airlines...
Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine has completed Phase II
ground tests, and has been cleared for flight testing
on Pratt & Whitney's 747SP flying testbed. Reductions in
fuel burn, engine noise, environmental emissions and operating
costs make the Geared Turbofan engine a viable solution for the
next generation of commercial aircraft...
The NTSB released its preliminary report on the June 29 midair
collision of two emergency medical service helicopters
near a hospital in Flagstaff, AZ. Four persons onboard one Bell 407
and three aboard the second 407 were killed when the aircraft
collided on approach to land at Flagstaff Medical Center...
For planemakers, the bad news is that demand for private jets in the United
States has measureably softened as the US dollar's
value has fallen, and credit tightened. The good news is that other
markets have grown at a rate that is lessening the impact of
declining sales in the US...
Boeing completed work on the first BBJ 3, a larger
business jet based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737-900ER. Next
stop is at DeCrane Aircraft in Georgetown, DE, where it will
receive its long-range auxiliary fuel system and a heads-up
display...
German planemaker Grob Aerospace filed for insolvency, citing
delays in the development of its all-composite Grob spn very light
jet. "Under the circumstances, our current loan provider has
elected to discontinue their support..."
A Bell 212 helicopter carrying foreign contractors crashed on takeoff from an
offshore oil platform off the coast of Dubai, claiming
all seven people onboard and sparking a fire on the platform that
halted production indefinitely on the Rashid oil field, one of four
located off the coast of the United Arab Emirates...
The FAA agreed to act on the recommendations of a team that reviewed the
agency's certification of the Eclipse 500 very light
jet. The team found the airplane was certificated in accordance
with safety regulations, but said policies and communication
procedures used during the VLJ certification process could be
improved...
There's little argument that Cessna Aircraft Company has been good to Wichita,
KS, and on the Wichita City Council has returned the
favor, by authorizing a $5 million loan to assist with the
planemaker's Citation Columbus business jet...
Bombardier announced it has opted to build the upcoming composite jet on its
own, "given the uncertainty surrounding Grob's
insolvency" Grob Aerospace has "accepted" that Bombardier has
cancelled the agreement with the company to continue the
development of the Learjet 85 primary and secondary structure...
The Queen of England is reportedly in the market for a private
jet, for exclusive use by the Royal Family... and its
pets. For a price tag of seven million Pounds (nearly $13,000,000
US), designs from four major aircraft manufacturers -- Learjet,
Hawker Beechcraft, Cessna and Gulfstream -- have reportedly been
requested...
A Maryland State Police medevac helicopter crashed outside
Washington, DC, claiming the lives of four people
onboard, including the pilot... but a fifth passenger survived. The
helicopter was attempting to return to Andrews Air Force Base to
avoid inclement weather, instead of continuing on to a
hospital...
Pilot John Downhower and photographer Dave Garrett were
killed when their Bell 206L-4 Long-Ranger helicopter
crashed as it flew to the scene of a police-involved shootout near
Magnolia, TX. Both were employed by Houston ABC affiliate
KTRK...
The Airship Ventures Zeppelin NT, on its way from Texas to
California, will be the largest airship flying in the
US. Once in the San Francisco Bay Area, the airship will offer the
only passenger airship flight service in America, offering
"Flightseeing" tours...
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