Latest from Gordon Gilbert
Maintenance and Modifications
Stage III Gets Final STC for Hush Kit
Stage III Technologies of La Jolla, Calif., last monthreceived final FAA certification of its FAR Part 36 Stage 3 noise kit/thrust reverser for the Gulfstr
Aircraft
First Flight: Three OEMs make four first flights
In the 16-day period between April 27 and May 13, three OEMs started flight testing four of their latest aircraft.
Maintenance and Modifications
Stage III now ready to install Gulfstream II, III hush kits
After some six years of development, Stage III Technologies is ready to start installing its FAR Part 36 Stage 3 combined hush kit/thrust reverser for the
Aircraft
Citation CJ1+ Recieves FAA Type Certification
Cessna’s Model 525 Citation CJ1+ received FAA type certification last month, bringing the aircraft one step closer to customer deliveries, which are expect
Accidents
Learjet cleared of blame in Payne Stewart crash
The six-woman jury in a wrongful-death trial ruled last month that Bombardier’s Learjet subsidiary should not be held accountable for the death of professi
Regulations and Government
New Rules for Air-tour Ops Move Closer
FAA regulations that would impose numerous new requirements on air-tour operators are one step closer to publication.
Maintenance and Modifications
Learjet Mod Gets EASA Approval
Raisbeck Engineering’s ZR Lite modification system for the Learjet 35/36 last month received European Aviation Safety Agency certification.
Maintenance and Modifications
Don’t Just Kick the Tires and Go
Reports of tread separations and bulges on Goodyear nosewheel tires on Gulfstreams and Global Expresses have resulted in an AD.
Regulations and Government
FAA Evaluates Airport Advisory Service
The FAA is requesting public comments on the usefulness of airport advisory services now available at 20 airports in the continental U.S.
Citation Operators Online Forum Posted
The Aviation Maintenance Training Institute of Winter Park, Fla., last month went online with its Cessna Citation Forum (
Aircraft
Falcon Orders Picking Up this Year
Dassault said it received orders for 52 Falcons in the first six months of this year, compared with 62 for the whole of last year.
Regulations and Government
Mineta Is Wright Brothers Award Winner
Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta is the recipient of the 2006 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.
Avionics
Honeywell Mods Fix Mode-S Transponders
A fix has been ordered to resolve the five-second trap of certain Honeywell mode-S transponders.
Now NetJets’ Mechanics Start Picketing
First it was NetJets’ pilots who picketed and finally got a new labor contract; now it’s the fractional’s mechanics and other support personnel who last mo
Maintenance and Modifications
Bombardier Enlarging Dallas Facility
Bombardier plans to break ground this month for a 100,000-sq-foot addition to its service center at Love Field in Dallas to accommodate the OEM’s Challenge
Regulations and Government
N.Y. Moves To Make Drunk Piloting a Crime
New York’s state Senate passed a bill making it a crime to fly an aircraft with a blood alcohol content of .04 or above, similar to laws covering drunk dri
Engines
Merlin Had Engine Problems Before Crash
The crash landing of the Merlin twin turboprop at Teterboro Airport, N.J., on May 31 followed a flight in which the pilot had aborted his first takeoff at
Maintenance and Modifications
Hourly Mx Program Spools Up for Citations
Pratt & Whitney Canada and Cessna announced at the Paris Air Show PowerAdvantage Plus (PA+), an expanded pay-by-the-hour maintenance program for P&
Aircraft
…Reveals Two New Business Jets
Embraer’s numbering system for its existing models suggests current gaps in the line, and company chairman Mauricio Botelho, speaking in Manhattan last mon
Training and Workforce
Feeling Lightheaded? Here’s One Cure
FlightSafety International is introducing a hypoxia awareness course at its learning centers.
Embraer’s Crystal Ball on Bizav Market…
Embraer, a recent but aggressive entrant in business aviation, predicts that manufacturers will sell 9,680 new business jets during the next 10 years, repr
ATC
UK Pegs Majority of Bizav ATC Errors
New data by UK ATC provider NATS shows that business jets are more likely than others to be involved in certain types of safety incident.
Security International Fires President
The five-member board of directors of Air Security International (ASI) has fired Issy Boim after 15 years as president of the Dallas-based firm he founded.
Airports
Bizav Plan Proposed for Berlin Tempelhof
Hartmut Mehdorn, chairman of German railway group Deutsche Bahn, has proposed that Berlin’s downtown Tempelhof Airport be redeveloped as a dedicated busine
Aircraft
Original BBJ3 Platform Was 757-200/300
The original BBJ3, which was proposed in early 2000, was going to be a 7,000-nm aircraft based on the 757-200 fuselage and 757-300 wing.
ATC
DOT readies for more congestion and delays
With Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead predicting the busiest summer travel season in six years, the Senate aviation subcommittee ha
Aircraft
Boeing Flies 737-900ER, Platform for BBJ3
On September 1 Boeing’s new 737-900ER, the platform for the new BBJ3, made its maiden flight.
Helium Report Is Not Hot Air
“Decision Guide to Private Jet Travel” is a new 50-page study on how to select a business aircraft provider.
