March 2010

Haiti relief efforts prove GA’s benefits

By Curt Epstein and Matt Thurber

Not long after the massive earthquake laid waste to Haiti on January 12, the general aviation infrastructure in the U.S. mounted some of the earliest relief efforts. Accounts of flights carrying doctors, aid workers, medical supplies and food to Haiti are legion, as donors from all over the world funneled more

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FAA embraces industry feedback on NextGen

By John Sheridan

The FAA last month responded to the RTCA Industry NextGen Implementation Task Force’s recommendations for the transition to NextGen. The agency had earlier invited the group–300 people recruited from all segments of the aviation industry–to propose optimum solutions to the mid-term, 2010 to 2018, transition to the full implementation of NextGen. The task force published its consensus recomme more

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Care ramps up quickly for disaster-relief efforts in Haiti

By Curt Epstein

Soon after the magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, killing more than 200,000 people and displacing more than a million more, relief began arriving by air. Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport–the main gateway to
the island nation’s ruined capital, Port-au-Prince–re-opened two days later as
humanitarian flights began streaming in.

While it is more

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FAA seeks comment on pilot certification rules

By Paul Lowe

Following the NTSB’s February 2 report on the Colgan Air accident, the FAA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) asking for public comment and recommendations by April 9 on possible changes to regulations relating to the certification of pilots conducting domestic, flag and supplemental o more

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Evergreen supports UAV team mapping Haitian Relief

By Mark Huber

Evergreen Helicopters is flying in unmanned systems teams using an Elbit Systems Skylark I mini man-pack UAV to map Haitian relief. The small UAV was used to search for signs of life at orphanages in the remote mountains outside Port-au-Prince following the January earthquake. Boulder slides cut off ground access to many of these facilities. The Skylark flew at altitudes up to 5,200 feet. The Skyl more

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Eclectic fleet powers Samaritan’s Purse in Haiti

By Mark Huber

International relief organization Samaritan’s Purse is using an eclectic fleet of its own, borrowed and chartered aircraft to respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti. The day after the January 12 earthquake there, the organization landed emergency assessment and medical teams in Port-au-Prince aboard a turbine DC-3 operated by Missionary Flights International out of Palm Beach. It us more

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Evektor – EV-55 Outback

By Matt Thurber

In mid-December Evektor ran the EV-55 Outback’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-21 engines for the first time. During the test run at Kunovice Airport in the Czech Republic, “engines and propellers performed properly,” the company reported. “This is a first but important step on the way to first flight, which is scheduled for the first half of this year.” The EV-55 is a high-wing twin tu more

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Gippsland Aeronautics – Airvan GA10

By Matt Thurber

Australia’s Gippsland, which is in the process of bringing the twin turboprop Nomad back into production as the Airvan GA24, has cut metal on the Airvan GA10, a 10-seat high-wing turboprop single. The purchase of a majority share in the company by Indian automotive conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra has ignited increased activity at Gippsland.  more

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Hawker Beechcraft – Premier II

By Matt Thurber

The updated version of the Premier was expected to fly in December but that has been moved to this month, according to Hawker Beechcraft. The Premier II will offer improved efficiency thanks to its 3,050-pound-thrust Williams International FJ44-3AP engines. Speed climbs to 465 knots, range increases by 20 percent and the Premier II will be able to climb unrestricted to 45,000 feet and fly a 1,500- more

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Honda Aircraft – HondaJet

By Matt Thurber

The first production conforming HondaJet is now scheduled to fly in the middle of this year, at a date yet to be determined, according to a Honda Aircraft spokesman. The prototype HondaJet has been flying since Dec. 3, 2003, and has met projected performance targets during more than 500 hours of testing by flying at a top speed of 420 knots and altitude of 43,000 feet. Production of the first Hond more

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