September 2008

Sleep apnea

By David A. Lombardo

Losing sleep is more than simply an inconvenience. Good slumber is essential for good health and clear mental and emotional functioning, and for this reason sleep disorders should concern pilots and maintenance technicians. The issue of sleep extends beyond duty and rest time for pilots, a different topic that is moving at snail pace through the regulatory review process, because even extended per more

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S-61 crash in California claims nine lives

By Mark Huber

Investigators are continuing to study why a Carson Helicopters Sikorsky S-61N “Fire King” crashed August 5, killing nine of 13 aboard. This was the first major crash of an S-61 in 25 years.
The 35,000-hour, 1965 S-61N had refueled shortly before it crashed while lifting off from 6,000-foot-elevation Helispot #44 on the Buckhorn Fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, 15 miles northwest more

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JetSuite uses low-cost airlines as a model for charter service

By Matt Thurber

A new jet ownership and charter business called JetSuite is preparing to take delivery of its first Phenom 100 next April and has unveiled details about its business model.
JetSuite is actually the latest incarnation of what used to be MagnumJet, a business that in 2006 announced an order for 101 Adam Aircraft A700 very light jets. At the time, MagnumJet also ordered 100 Embraer Phenom 100s ( more

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Eurocopter Enhances 2008 Forecast

Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling in July predicted that the company would sell between 650 and 700 helicopters this year, up from previous expectations of 600. The civil and parapublic market is expected to account for more than 50 percent of sales. Bertling said only the U.S. corporate segment is suffering.

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Pumas Upgraded in South Africa

South African-based maintenance specialist Thunder City is offering for Eurocopter Pumas a modernization program that the company claims  extends the life of the medium twin. The program consists mainly of a P4 structural check and the installation of a five-display glass cockpit made by Chelton Flight Systems. The company claims the program ensures the mechanical soundness of the helicopter more

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AgustaWestland Sets Up in Portugal

AgustaWestland has announced that orders in the first half of this year have risen by 10 percent over the same period last year, to U1.62 billion ($2.5 billion). Meanwhile, the Anglo-Italian helicopter maker is creating a subsidiary company in Portugal, called AgustaWestland Portugal, to provide complete helicopter support services. Its first contract is to maintain the Portuguese Air Force’s 12 A more

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Eurocopter Gears Up in Mississippi

American Eurocopter is adding 150 employees at its Golden Triangle plant in Mississippi over the next 18 to 24 months to support an increased production rate of the UH-72A Lakota, its EC 145 variant for the U.S. Army. Currently 176 employees work at the plant, which also assembles AS 350 AStars and provides support for U.S. Coast Guard AS 365 Dolphins. American Eurocopter plans to deliver 35 Lakot more

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Hummingbird To Fly Higher

Boeing plans to expand the flight envelope of its unmanned vertical aerial vehicle A160T Hummingbird from the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville. The A160T set a world endurance record earlier this year, flying for 18.7 hours before landing with two hours of fuel remaining. Test plans call for the Hummingbird eventually to reach an altitude of 30,000 feet. It has already hovered more

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Sling Big or Go Home

Ice road truckers could be out of business soon. Boeing and SkyHook are developing a hybrid heavy-lift helicopter/blimp capable of hoisting a 40-ton sling load and moving it 200 miles without refueling. The JHL-40 will be capable of transporting equipment and materials to remote drilling and mining locations in the Canadian Arctic and Alaska. The helium “envelope” will support the vehicle while th more

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Italian airframer plans helo upgrades

By Thierry Dubois

AgustaWestland has announced a weight upgrade and Russian assembly plans for the AW139 medium twin, while new helicopter models are in development and a series of efforts is launched in customer support.
The Anglo-Italian manufacturer has signed a “heads of agreement” with Russian-based Oboronprom for the joint final assembly of the AW139 medium twin in a still-to-be-built factory near Mosc more

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