All General aviation articles – Page 553
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Bond EC135s
Bond Air Services has ordered five Eurocopter EC135 helicopters from UK distributor and completion centre McAlpine Helicopters. The instrument flight rules-equipped aircraft will be delivered over the next 12 months. Source: Flight International
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1990s safety milestones
The 1990s milestones in the new industry safety standards system include: 1992: the US Federal Aviation Administration set up its International Aviation Safety Assessment programme, checking states with which the USA has bilateral aviation treaties for their civil aviation authority safety oversight programmes. The International Civil Aviation Organisation ...
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USA takes Stage 3 argument to ICAO
The USA has lodged a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) concerning planned European Union restrictions on the operation of Stage 3-hushkitted aircraft. Adjudication on the row will have to wait until the ICAO General Assembly which will not take place until September 2001, although it will in ...
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Avgas pollution may leave aircraft to costly to repair
The fuel systems of thousands of general aviation aircraft in Australia could be permanently damaged by corrosion and require replacement because of the ongoing aviation gas crisis there. There is also the possibility of further aircraft groundings following the discovery of contaminated aircraft outside the original exposed area. More ...
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Forced landing
A New Piper Aircraft Meridian prototype landed on a public highway near the manufacturer's base in Vero Beach, Florida, on 7 January after suffering fuel starvation. The two crewmembers were unharmed. An auxiliary fuel tank, fitted to the second of four prototypes to measure usable fuel, is believed to have ...
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Motorglider maker partners Platforms
Brazilian motorglider manufacturer Aeromot has signed an agreement with US company Platforms International to establish an airborne wireless communications system. Under its strategic partnership with Platforms' Brazilian subsidiary, Belo Horizonte-based Aeromot Group will become prime contractor for the company's aviation operations in Brazil. Platforms' Airborne Relay Communications (ARC) ...
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Fuel contamination grounds 5,000 Australian aircraft
Paul Phelan/CAIRNSUp to 5,000 Australian piston-powered general aviation aircraft - over half the national fleet - were grounded indefinitely in early January, pending resolution of a major fuel contamination crisis. The problem originated from Mobil Oil's refinery at Altona, Melbourne. The safety measure affects all aircraft refuelled by Mobil or ...
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Europe aims to ban leaded fuel by 2002
The European Commission is pressing for a ban on the use of leaded avgas throughout the European Union after the year 2002. The general aviation community fears that thousands of light piston-engined aircraft, not approved to use unleaded fuel, may be grounded, with the knock-on effect felt across the ...
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AASI starts operator selection for Jetcruzer share scheme
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures (AASI) plans to boost sales of its Jetcruzer 500 turboprop by establishing a network of aircraft operators offering fractional ownership of its six-seat pusher. "We are selecting suitable companies and we should have them in place before June when the aircraft is scheduled for ...
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Patent application reveals SSBJ design
One of several supersonic business jet configurations being studied jointly by Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream Aerospace has been revealed in a US patent application. Although the application, filed by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, provides no details of the design, accompanying diagrams show a twin-engined aircraft with highly swept "arrow" ...
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Piper appoints
General aviation manufacturer New Piper Aircraft has appointed three dealers in California, USA: Palo Alto's Northern California Piper, San Diego, California-based Southern California Piper and Cutter Aviation based in Santa Monica, California. Source: Flight International
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GV is latest to gain reduced separation minima approval
Gulfstream Aerospace has gained approval for reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) operations with its Gulfstream V long-range business jet. The GIII and GIV have already been approved. Gulfstream says RVSM flight-testing of the earlier GII has been completed and approval is pending. RVSM increases airspace capacity by reducing the ...
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USA approves vintage upgrade
Micco Aircraft (MAC) has received US certification for the SP20, an upgrade of the 1940s-vintage Meyers 145 all-metal two-seat light aircraft. Fort Pierce, Florida-based MAC, which is owned by the Seminole native American tribe, planned to deliver the first production SP20 on 15 January. MAC president DeWitt Beckett ...
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FRA's NJS move will power plans for Asia expansion
Government flying services specialist FR Aviation of the UK hopes to expand into South-East Asia and Australasia through its A$62 million ($40.6 million) purchase of National Jet Systems (NJS). But it says it has no plans to divest itself of Adelaide-based NJS' civil operations. National Jets Italia, British Airways' planned ...
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R-R and AVIC sign collaboration deal
Rolls-Royce and Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) have signed a five-year agreement to collaborate in aero-engine research and development work. Joint projects will focus on high-pressure (HP), core engine and system integration technologies. The new contract extends the co-operation with AVIC begun by the former BMW R-R, now wholly ...
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UK-designed diesel engine begins flight tests
Diesel Air flew its new lightweight all-aluminium 75kW (100hp) engine for the first time last month. The DAIR 100, the first in a series of general aviation diesel engines in the 75-450kW range to be offered by the UK company, flew for 1h 30min on a Luscombe 8A light ...
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Bigger and better
Eurocopter says its new EC155B medium helicopter is more than just a larger version of its long-established Dauphin A casual observer might think that the EC155B is just a stretched development of the AS365 Dauphin. Not so, says Eurocopter, although the manufacturer did incorporate some features from its experimental AS365X ...
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Transatlantic Cabair
UK pilot training group Cabair has contracted a training base in Orlando, Florida, to educate pilots to the newly adopted European Joint Aviation Requirements for flight crew licensing syllabus. Orlando Flight Training, which uses Piper Warriors, will be available to any trainee pilot from the UK. Source: Flight International
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Explorer order
The state police force of Baden-Wurttemberg, based in Stuttgart, Germany, has ordered three twin-engined MD Explorers, with an option on two. The first three aircraft will be handed over next year, while the optional machines could be delivered in 2002. Hanover police in Lower Saxony received three aircraft last year. ...
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100th Citation X
Cessna delivered its 100th Citation X business jet on 23 December, three years after the aircraft entered service. The twin-engined ultra-long range business jet was handed over to US food processing equipment manufacturer Townsend Engineering. It will be used to transport executives between its sites in the USA, Europe and ...