As we zip over I-4 at 500 feet agl, Bell Helicopter test pilot Randall Parent discusses the helicopter terrain alerting and warning system (HTaws) and helicopter traffic collision avoidance systems (HTcas), which are part of the new Garmin G1000H panel inside the Bell 407GX. “For a helicopter pilot, these are the kinds of things that are going to keep you alive,” Parent tells me.
The Wall Street Journal has been a vital tool for people who didn’t make their money by winning the lottery, and the publication certainly has its fans here at AIN. Its jingle was once "The daily diary of the American Dream," so one has to wonder why the paper, in its Valentine’s Day edition, skewers a billionaire for making his appointed rounds in a business aircraft?
When it comes to defense coverage, AIN naturally focuses on airborne systems and platforms, including some very high-tech stuff, of course. But my visit to the Defence Geospatial Intelligence Conference and Exhibitionin London last month was a reminder that what happens on the ground is equally, if not more, important.
There is an irony apparent in the events following the February 2005 Challenger accident at Teterboro. Investigators nearly ignored the primary cause of the crash, as the NTSB focused primarily on 14 CFR Part 135 operational control issues and the lack of FAA oversight as the secondary causes.
I have long suspected that the main U.S. purpose in supplying huge arms packages to Gulf countries is to recycle petrodollars. Uncle Sam pays heavily for its reliance on imported oil, but offers in return a shopping list of shiny new weaponry from the U.S. defense industry. Like kids in a candy store, the Arabs take up these offers, although with not enough thought given to how they might absorb and operate the kit.
Happy Design Studio is forging a reputation for innovative and exciting aircraft paint schemes, highlighted by its recent win in a competition to design a new livery for the single-prop TBM 850 six-seater. The contest was launched in July by the TBM 850's manufacturer, Daher-Socata, to create a new paint scheme to be introduced for 2011 production aircraft in celebration of the company's 100th anniversary.
Jeppesen wasn't the first to offer an iPad app to the aviation market, but its Mobile TC app was worth the wait. Released at the end of last July, heavy downloading of the app caused overload of Jeppesen servers, which the company quickly corrected.
This is my first trip to Dubai, so a blog post from me on the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show is appropriate. Because I’ve attended many NBAA shows, people from AIN who’ve been to Dubai before have been preparing me for MEBA, with a note that this is no more than a mini-NBAA.
We’re here in Dubai where we received a press release from Pratt & Whitney Canada announcing the launch of PT6Nation.com, a new microsite for operators and aficionados of the legendary PT6 turbine engine and its many variants, which currently number 68. The company is obviously getting into social networking big time.
The grand opening on September 29 of Signature Flight Support’s new FBO at California’s Fresno Yosemite International Airport was an interesting move. Instead of buying a facility and entering into a lease with an airport, the traditional method of FBO building, Signature signed a management contract with the FBO’s owner, McDonald Aviation.
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