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.
To promote its airborne Internet access system, Aircell offered NBAA showgoers a free trial of the Gogo inflight Internet service to try on the way home. Available on many airlines, Gogo offers connection speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps, likely as fast as many DSL services for home use.
Sometimes we like to blow our own horns a bit.
The NBAA National Meeting and Convention will be hosting a Career in Business Aviation Day on Thursday for local youth from 12 years old to college students. The goal of this initiative is to slow the erosion of existing talent in the business aviation industry and attract the next generation of aviation enthusiasts and innovators.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. And neither was the 2010 NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlanta, which runs from October 19 to 21 this year.
From an outsider’s perspective, the convention is a show and tell of the industry’s futuristic designs and lavish lifestyles. Some exhibits could draw comparison to a space-age Ritz Carlton lounge bar.
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