Wing February 2000
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THE RAISBECK WING Winter 2000 Volume 7, Number 10 Editor Susan Stahl CEOs Message A very interesting comment from a Chal- “We’ve needed more luggage space on ev- lenger 601 operator recently got me to ery airplane we’ve ever operated. There just thinking. It was during our ongoing 601/ never seems to be enough!” he exclaimed. 604 operator survey concerning their need for increased luggage space. Why is this comment important? Well, in my view there’s only one thing better than opti- mum, and that’s 25% over optimum. James D. Raisbeck That’s why we’re having so much success Yes, it never seems there’s enough. Do you with the wing lockers on the King Air fleet, agree? E-mail me at [email protected] the aft fuselage locker for the Learjet 31/35/ 36 family, and why we are about to launch the aft fuselage locker program for the Chal- lengers. It’s also why Purdue University is under a research grant from us, exploring the feasibility of the aft fuselage locker on the Gulfstream family. Learjet 31 Aft Fuselage Locker Whats New at Raisbeck Business Jet Solutions Standardizes performance and technical support.” on Lear Locker Raisbeck Commercial Air Group now has 100 Boeing 727 Stage 3 kits in the air, with Business Jet Solutions, headquartered in orders, contracts and options for an addi- Dallas-Ft. Worth, has ordered its 25th Lear tional 38 Stage 3 kits in 2000. Aft Fuselage Locker. BJS has made a commitment to the locker as part of its Pro Pilot Names James Raisbeck Entre- overall goal to meet charter customers’ preneur of the Year needs. The locker is used for skis, engine Business Jet Solutions Learjet 31 Aft Fuselage Locker covers, flight manuals, and crew luggage. Heavy Gross Weight kit installations for Pan Professional Pilot Magazine presented American Airways. Each kit retails for James Raisbeck with the award as Entre- Pan American Airways Purchases $1,295,000. Mr. Allen Hines, Vice-President preneur of the Year for 1999. James was Raisbeck Stage 3 for its Boeing 727s of Operations, commented, “ We were look- recognized for his contributions to enhance ing for an economical, long-term Stage 3 the performance and utility of in-service air- In early January, Raisbeck Commercial Air compliance solution.” Raisbeck provided craft. The awards dinner took place on group completed the first of 7 Stage 3 the solution and backed it up with timely March 8 in Alexandria, VA. eatured Operator Glenn Bjorkman, Chief Pilot BB-1367 Glenn Bjorkman has been chief pilot for the Glenn’s first flight with the air- same private operator in Santa Barbara, Cali- craft, he nearly aborted the take- fornia, for 15 years. He has been flying King off because the aircraft was Airs for over 12 years, starting with an E90 slow to accelerate. He later and working his way up to B200s. realized that the aircraft was be- having “sluggishly” because it “Our last King Air was Raisbeck-equipped, was not yet Raisbeck- and the owner insisted upon installing equipped! Raisbeck for the B200 we purchased in Super King Air B200 BB-1367 flying over lettuce 1999,” states Glenn. Glenn notes that they require fields near Monterey, California Raisbeck for safety reasons and to get bet- The aircraft was purchased without ter climb performance in and out of high help to keep the tail from wagging in turbu- Raisbeck Performance Systems. During altitude airports such as Gardiner, Mon- lent conditions, adding to passenger com- tana, on the north side of Yellowstone. The fort.” local airfield has an elevation of 5286’ and a runway length of 3345’. BB-1367 is maintained in Salinas at Advancetech Aircraft Maintenance Inc., one “We wouldn’t land there without Raisbeck. of Raisbeck’s 2 dealers in Northern Califor- We are able to get our passengers closer nia. For more details about Raisbeck Sys- to their destination, saving them hours of tems contact: driving time, thanks to the improved run- Bruce Pittenger, President way performance we get with the En- Advancetech Aircraft Maintenance Inc. hanced Performance Package.” Salinas Municipal Airport Salinas, California Raisbeck dealer Bruce Pittenger (l) with mainte- They are also a big believer in the Raisbeck Tel. 831-422-2142 nance customer, Chief Pilot Glenn Bjorkman (r). Dual Aft Body Strakes. Glenn says, “They [email protected] Challenger Aft uselage Locker Report Raisbeck Engineering, in a cooperative Comments? [email protected] The Challenger locker is being designed marketing program with Bombardier Aero- with computer support from CATIA, to be space, continues to develop its aft fuse- compatible with Bombardier’s engineering lage baggage locker concept for the Chal- and manufacturing specifications. lenger 601/604 series aircraft. The preferred design (see photo) was se- Initial responses from Challenger opera- lected for its excellent predicted perfor- tors interviewed at the 1999 NBAA in At- mance characteristics. The next step is to lanta have been mostly positive, and the flight test its aerodynamic shape to confirm next step in the program has been imple- flight characteristics, including drag reduc- Challenger 601/604 Locker design concept mented - a comprehensive market survey tion. to learn more about the operator needs. • All external to the aft fuselage Should all design parameters be met, and Current expected features of the Raisbeck • Built in 3 sections with access to all with sufficient owner/operator interest, cer- Aft Fuselage Locker for the Challenger: inspection panels tification and production will proceed. The • 50 cu. ft. usable interior volume • 264 lb. empty weight increase locker then would be offered as a factory • 650 lb. cargo capacity • Compensating airplane drag completion center option on new 604s, and • Heated with light pressurization reduction of 3% to 6% as a retrofit to 601s and 604s already in op- eration. Technical Corner Lear Aft uselage Locker Update The Aft Fuselage Locker, first introduced acteristics and improves climb and cruise in 1995, has become an accepted stan- performance. dard for the Learjet 30-series. Over 90% of all new production 31As are outfitted with Overnight package service operator Airnet the locker. Raisbeck Engineering is filling is pleased with the block fuelsavings they orders for 4-6 lockers per month. get on the LAX- Columbus route with their Raisbeck-equipped Lear 35. Loading skis into the Lear Locker As of January, 2000, 115 lockers have been installed. The 100th installation took place Daniel LaFrance of Bombardier Aviation Contact Mo Lizarr, Lear Program Man- at Bombardier Aerospace’s Tucson Services advises, “The added space pro- ager, for service and technical assistance Completion Center last autumn. vided by the locker improves the operational (206-723-2000) [email protected] fexibility of all Lear 31s and 35/36s.” The locker is easily accessible from out- The locker can be purchased at Bombar- side the aircraft, and holds up to 300 lb. of Raisbeck design improvements, covered by dier Aviation Services, West Star Aviation, such items as baggage, skis, golf clubs, Service Bulletins, include: Galvin Flying Services, Bizjet, Jetcorp, and and engine covers. The aerodynamic de- • New seal to prevent leaking Lider Taxi Aereo in Brazil. The locker re- sign improves the aircraft handling char- • Light switch mechanism in tailcone tails for $73,500 plus paint and installation. Meet the Raisbeck Team Tom Halvorson - Vice President Sales Tom Halvorson, Vice-President Sales, nesota, Tom worked with his father in the lis. He has an ATP license, is a jet-rated joined Raisbeck Engineering in 1996, and Christmas tree business, which required pilot and has logged over 8,000 career is now responsible for Learjet and King Air they fly the company airplane to remote ar- hours. product sales. He works closely with over eas of Northern Minnesota to oversee the 100 Raisbeck dealers worldwide to help harvest of 1,000,000 trees per year. Tom and his wife, Rosemary, have 5 grown them promote Raisbeck products. children and 5 grandchildren. They enjoy It was during this time that Tom’s associa- family ski vacations, hiking, and tennis. Tom officially joined Raisbeck after a 15- tion with Bombardier began. Bombardier year career at Western Aircraft as Vice Presi- manufactured a lightweight tractor that was dent Business Development and Company ideal for harvesting trees in the marshy ter- President. He has been instrumental in rain. Tom became a dealer for the crawler marketing Raisbeck’s systems since 1981. tractors, and, when, in 1960, Bombardier developed the Ski-Doo, Tom’s company Tom has been involved in aviation since grew to become Bombardier’s largest world- his childhood in Duluth, Minnesota. Tom’s wide distributor. father, a World War II pilot, purchased the family’s first airplane shortly after he returned Tom’s company operated business aircraft, from the war. Tom, his sister, and his mother which led to the establishment of Halvair, a all learned how to fly and obtained pilot’s Fixed Base Operator headquartered in licenses. Duluth. In 1974 Tom founded Mesaba Air- lines, a regional airline with scheduled ser- Tom Halvorson After graduating from the University of Min- vice between Grand Rapids and Minneapo- eatured Raisbeck Learjet Dealer West Star Aviation Founded in 1987, West Star Aviation of 24 mechanics with over 200 years of cu- We are pleased to be a Raisbeck dealer Grand Junction, Colorado, has established mulative experience working on Learjets. because the aft fuselage locker helped to itself as a first class multi-service aircraft extend the life of the ‘baggage-challenged’ maintenance organization. West Star, with Greg Laabs comments “we are also posi- Learjet. We have already installed six lock- 240 employees, specializes in airframe re- tioned for total restoration of aging aircraft, ers, with a seventh to be installed shortly.