Mercy Missions

By: Nigel Moll

Without hesitation, business aviation did the right thing last month when it donated its people, its expertise and its airplanes to help ease the misery in Haiti. Also without hesitation, NBAA grabbed the baton of coordination this time around with surer hands than it did after Hurricane Katrina.And also with minimal hesitation, AIN dispatched Stephen Pope to ground zero when the invitation came in from Honeywell PR veteran Bill Reavis to ride along in one of that company’s G450s. Pope’s story on page one of this issue captures not only the logistics of delivering people and supplies to a...

Loran’s Lament

By: Nigel Moll

Nobody needs reminding how much debt the U.S. has amassed recently, but shutting down the loran system and hanging the future of ATC solely on satnav goes against the basic aeronautical tenets of backup, alternative load paths, redundancy and failsafe structure. Killing loran, we are told, will save our government about $35 million, no more than a decent bonus for one Wall Streeter. If, as loran proponents suggest, GPS is vulnerable to jamming, satnav should not be the sole structure for aerial navigation and the safe return of airplanes to runways in filthy weather. Europe continues to see...

FAA Should Use Its ‘Nuclear Option’ To Save America’s Airports

By: Chad Trautvetter

Right now, two towns on opposite sides of the U.S. are fighting to restrict business jet access at their local airports. On Florida’s Gulf Coast, Venice Airport is under siege; on the West Coast, it’s Santa Monica (Calif.) Airport that’s on the defensive. Although the two towns are going about their efforts differently, each has its airport in its sights and has already started shooting.The town of Venice has steadfastly refused to allow the FBO on the field–Venice Jet Center–to build more hangars, fearing these would attract more jet traffic. And despite the FAA repeatedly decreeing that...

A modest proposal to boost general aviation

By: Matt Thurber

Aviation has always been a tightly knit and closed society. We have our own language, ethical standards and barriers to entry so formidable it’s a wonder that people make the effort to become pilots, mechanics, controllers, flight attendants, airplane builders and so on.

The recent recession highlighted the fact that aviation of all stripes is extraordinarily vulnerable and that this niche industry shrunk considerably during the downturn. And recent efforts by governments all over the world are not going to help aviation climb out of its current hole anytime soon, but will lead to more...

Gulfstream's Growing Family

By: R. Randall Padfield

Gulfstream and Israel Aerospace Industries on October 6 rolled out the new Gulfstream G250 at IAI’s facility on Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, an event I was fortunate to attend. The G250 has its roots in the G200, which was formerly the Galaxy. Gulfstream acquired the Galaxy and Astra SPx type certificates from IAI/Galaxy Aerospace in 2001, with the objective of expanding Gulfstream’s product line by adding these midsize jets. The Savannah, Ga.-based OEM then took over completions, painting, marketing and eventually product support of the Galaxy and Astra airplanes,...