The FAA has granted Honeywell approval to act as a consultant to business jet operators seeking approvals for required navigation performance special aircraft and aircrew authorization required (RNP SAAAR) instrument approach procedures. The endorsement closely followed an approval last month permitting PlaneView-equipped Gulfstreams to fly RNP SAAAR procedures, which take advantage of GPS and ine more

Garmin last month notified distributors that it has decided to discontinue production of the GNS 480 GPS/navcom receiver after a significant decline in sales of the WAAS-capable product as more customers migrate toward the Garmin GNS 430W/530W line of WAAS units. Garmin acquired the GNS 480 product when it purchased the assets of UPS Aviation Technologies in 2003. At the time, the unit was sold as more

Avidyne and S-Tec announced the receipt of an STC to retrofit Cessna Conquest II twin-engine turboprops with the Alliant flat-panel cockpit. The required modifications, approval flights and FAA paperwork were completed at S-Tec’s headquarters in Mineral Wells, Texas. The Conquest II became the third aircraft model approved to fly with an integrated package based on Avidyne’s Envision avionics more

Sandel last month said it has started shipping an upgraded version of its SN3500 EHSI (electronic horizontal situation indicator) that features LED (light-emitting diode) backlighting similar to the technology introduced last year in its larger displays. Providing a brighter and sharper display image, the technology replaces Sandel’s previous backlighting technique with a long-life glass panel r more

Iridium took a big step toward its goal of providing en route aeronautical safety services to airliners operating on transoceanic and polar routes after an ICAO panel accepted a draft standards and practices document the company submitted last year. The endorsement makes Iridium a viable alternative to Inmarsat for aeronautical mobile  satellite route services (AMSRS) and Acars messaging.
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Air France has started a six-month trial aboard an Airbus A318 with communications provider OnAir to provide cellphone services to passengers flying in Europe. For now, passengers can use their mobile phones to send and receive text messages,
e-mail and photos. After three months Air France intends to expand the service to allow passengers to make and receive phone calls as well.

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North American and European OEMs are proceeding with the development of new models for the booming civil helicopter market across a broad product spectrum, from light singles to medium twins. Almost all OEMs are reporting record or near-record deliveries, robust orders and significant backlogs. For example, a Bell 429 ordered today would not be delivered until 2014. The weakened U.S. dollar is als more

Having found some success with military orders for the Mi-28N and Mi-8/17, Moscow-based Mil is seeking to expand its offerings and attract some interest from the business aviation market. The Moscow design house reinstated itself as the “brain trust” of the national rotorcraft industry after the foundation of state-run Helicopter Holding, a consortium of all national helicopter developers and more

The Helicopter Association International (HAI) celebrates its 60th anniversary this year with what appears likely to go down as one of the biggest Heli-Expo conventions ever. Coming to Houston for the first time, the show is likely to feature the introduction of at least one or two all-new helicopters as well as hundreds of millions of dollars worth of pent-up sales announcements by the major manu more

French-based Hélicoptères Guimbal received EASA certification for its Cabri G2 light piston single. The two-seater will compete with the ubiquitous Robinson R22. Because Eurocopter has supported designer Bruno Guimbal, the Cabri shares some technical similarities with Eurocopter rotorcraft such as the shrouded tail rotor. The EASA singled out for recognition some of the Cabri’s safety innovati more