July 2019 Vol

TEPPING OPERATIONAL COMPLACENCY JULY 2019 VOL. 115 NO. 7 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION OPERATORS SURVEY: ROBINSON R66 A FATAL FOG SIDES TEPPING OPERATIONAL COMPLACENCY JULY 2019 VOL. 115 NO. 7 JULY 2019 $10.00 www.bcadigital.com

Business & Commercial Aviation

OPERATORS SURVEY Robinson R66 Passion, performance and price

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE A Personal Medical Marathon Sidestepping Operational Complacency Keeping Your Medical Is Seeing Believing? A Fatal Fog Digital Edition Copyright Notice

The content contained in this digital edition (“Digital Material”), as well as its selection and arrangement, is owned by Informa. and its affiliated companies, licensors, and suppliers, and is protected by their respective copyright, trademark and other proprietary rights.

Upon payment of the subscription price, if applicable, you are hereby authorized to view, download, copy, and print Digital Material solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided that by doing any of the foregoing, you acknowledge that (i) you do not and will not acquire any ownership rights of any kind in the Digital Material or any portion thereof, (ii) you must preserve all copyright and other proprietary notices included in any downloaded Digital Material, and (iii) you must comply in all respects with the use restrictions set forth below and in the Informa Privacy Policy and the Informa Terms of Use (the “Use Restrictions”), each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Any use not in accordance with, and any failure to comply fully with, the Use Restrictions is expressly prohibited by law, and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum possible extent.

You may not modify, publish, license, transmit (including by way of email, facsimile or other electronic means), transfer, sell, reproduce (including by copying or posting on any network computer), create derivative works from, display, store, or in any way exploit, broadcast, disseminate or distribute, in any format or media of any kind, any of the Digital Material, in whole or in part, without the express prior written consent of Informa. To request content for commercial use or Informa’s approval of any other restricted activity described above, please contact the Reprints Department at (877) 652-5295. Without in any way limiting the foregoing, you may not use spiders, robots, data mining techniques or other automated techniques to catalog, download or otherwise reproduce, store or distribute any Digital Material.

NEITHER Informa NOR ANY THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDER OR THEIR AGENTS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY ACT, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR ACCESS TO ANY DIGITAL MATERIAL, AND/OR ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN. Your Global Resource for Vital Business Aviation Information

2019-2020 Managers’ World Edition NOW AVAILABLE to order! Plan. Schedule. Dispatch. Order yours at Acukwik.com/products

Conveniently access business aviation’s most accurate and reliable data in one source CONTENTS JULY 2019 Business & Commercial Aviation Intelligence 11 Edited by William Garvey, Keep up with all 46 Jessica A. Salerno and Molly the news and blogs McMillin from BCA editors Honda Aircraft Ups Elite “like” us on facebook Production facebook.com/avweekbca and follow us on twitter Uber Partners With Heliflite, twitter.com/avweekbca Launches Uber Copter

Pre-Owned Jet Market Worth $61 Billion Over Next Ten Years

De Havilland Name Returns to the Marketplace

Wheels Up Acquires Travel Management Co.

Tamarack Chapter 11 “Temporary State”

Robinson R66 Fast Five With Bob Hobbi, Features 34 Lou Churchville President& CEO, ServiceEle- Passion, performance ments, Phoenix, Arizona A Fatal Fog and price 20 Richard N. Aarons Instantaneous disorientation on a pre-Christmas family Is Seeing Believing? 71 jaunt 40 Patrick Veillette When visibility and ceiling reports differ from a pilot’s perception DIGITAL EXTRAS Drones 101, Part I 46 Mal Gormley How these diminutive aircraft are revolutionizing the workaday world — including yours A Personal Medical Departments Tap this icon in articles 52 Marathon Viewpoint in the digital edition Fred George 7 of B&CA for exclusive 28 Confronted by the “Children 8 Readers’ Feedback features. If you have not of the Magenta Line” in signed up to receive your medicine Accidents in Brief digital subscription, go to Sidestepping 22 AviationWeek.com/bcacustomers 28 Operational Sunset for Circling? 63 Point of Law Complacency 56 Fred George 64 Twenty/20 For the latest James Albright RNP procedures potentially developments, go to From one Challenger eliminate need for high-risk 66 On Duty www.bcadigital.com to another approaches Selected articles from BCA 67 Advertisers’ Index and The Weekly of Business Aviation, 68 Products & Services as well as breaking news stories and daily news 40 71 BCA 50 Years Ago updates

COVER Photo of the R66 is courtesy of Robinson Helicopter 65 Marketplace www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 1 Business & Commercial Aviation

Editor-in-Chief William Garvey — [email protected] Executive Editor Jessica A. Salerno — [email protected] Senior Editor/Chief Pilot Fred George — [email protected] Safety Editor Richard N. Aarons — [email protected] International Operations/ Features Editor David Esler — [email protected] News Editor Molly McMillin — [email protected] Art Direction Lisa Caputo — [email protected] Art Department Scott Marshall — [email protected] Colin Throm — [email protected] Associate Producer Theresa Petruso — [email protected] Copy Editor Scot Greenan — [email protected] Contributors James Albright— [email protected] Mal Gormley — [email protected] Kent S. Jackson — [email protected] Ross Detwiler — rossdetwiler.com Patrick Veillette, Ph.D. — [email protected] Ringston Media — [email protected] Get Key Developments Editorial Offices 520 Folly Rd., Ste. 238, Charleston, S.C. and Analysis of the (520) 638-8721 • (843) 718-2458 Publisher Beth Wagner Ñ [email protected] Business Aviation Phone: (202) 517-1061 Market Managing Director, Directories Frank Craven Ñ [email protected] Phone: (913) 967-1729 Managing Director, Anne McMahon Ñ [email protected] Business Aviation Intelligence/ Phone: (646) 291-6353 Delivered right into your inbox, Data Services The Weekly of Business Avaition Director of Sales, Elizabeth Zlitni Ñ [email protected] will provide you the data and Business Aviation Phone: (913) 967-1348 intelligence you need to stay Advertising Production Kara Walby Ñ [email protected] informed of this complex market. Coordinator Informa, 9800 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS 66212 Phone: (913) 967-7476 • Fax: (913) 514-7303 SeniorAudience Tyler Motsinger Ñ [email protected] Development Manager Phone: (913) 967-1623 Head of Business Aviation Nigel Prevett Ñ [email protected] Visit Fleet Data Phone: 407-314 7403 aviationweek.com/wba to download a complimentary edition Head of Valuations, Chris Reynolds Ñ [email protected] Business Aviation Phone: (913) 967-1956 Subscription Information BCA Customer Service: (800) 525-5003; +1 (847) 9147 Email: [email protected] Manage Your Subscription: aviationweek.com/bcasubscribers Reprints Wright's Media Nick Iademarco Ñ [email protected] Phone: (877) 652-5295 • Fax: (281) 419-5712

President, Aviation Week Network Gregory Hamilton—[email protected] Managing Director—Civil Aviation Iain Blackhall — [email protected] Administrative Offices 605 3rd Ave., New York, N.Y. 10158 By Informa Markets BCA - Business & Commercial Aviation (ISSN 0191-4642) is published monthly by Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC, 9800 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS 66212-2216. Also the publisher of Aviation Daily, Aviation Week & Space Technology, The Weekly of Business Aviation and World Aerospace Database. EMPOWER YOUR Single copy: Current and back issues, $10.00 Domestic/Canada/Mexico. $15.00 International. Subscriptions (1 year, 12 issues): United States and Canada, $59.00; all other countries, $79.00. For single copies/back copies call Customer Service at (800) 525-5003 in the United States and (847) 763-9147 for all WORKFORCE WITH A other countries. Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, MO and additional mailing offices. Registered for GST as GST #R126431964. Canada Post Publication Mail Agreement Number 40026880. Editorial contributions should be addressed to BCA, 520 Folly Rd., Ste. 238, Charleston, S.C. 29412, editorial address and GROUP OR SITE LICENSE must be accompanied by return postage. Publisher assumes no responsibility for safety of artwork, photographs or manuscripts. USPS 503-450. Printed in the U.S.A. For more information visit: Permissions: Material in this publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means aviationweek.com/BAgroups (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Postmaster: Send address corrections to BCA - Business & Commercial Aviation, P.O. Box 1174 Skokie, IL 60076-8174. (Present subscribers include label) © Copyright 2019 by Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC. All rights reserved.

2 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com CORPOR ATE ANGEL AWARD

THANK YOU, WILLIAMS, FOR GIVING CANCER Providing The Energy To Bring PATIENTS Patients Closer To Their Cure. Congratulations to Williams and its ﬂ ight department, the latest recipient of the Corporate Angel Award presented by Corporate A LIFT. Angel Network (CAN), Phillips 66® Aviation, Safe Flight Instrument Corporation and Business & Commercial Aviation Magazine. Williams, like more than 500 other major corporations, is a participant in CAN, a national public charity that arranges free passage for cancer patients using empty seats on corporate jets. Since joining CAN in 1995, Williams has transported hundreds of men, women and children to recognized cancer treatment centers across the country. Corporate Angel Network, Phillips 66 Aviation, Safe Flight Instrument Corporation and Business & Commercial Aviation are proud to honor Williams for giving cancer patients a lift in both body and spirit. BECOME A CORPORATE ANGEL: CALL US AT 866-328-1313 OR GO TO CORPANGELNETWORK.ORG.

Publisher Beth Wagner — [email protected] (202) 517-1061 Director of Sales Elizabeth Zlitni — [email protected] (913) 967-1348 North America Advertising Sales

Pacific Region

Miguel Ornelas — [email protected] (661) 480-7000

Midwest Region

Rob Howlett — [email protected] (949) 481-4519 Eastern Region Cheryl Mahon — [email protected] (949) 481-4519

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina Beth Eddy — [email protected] (561) 279-4646

Canada David Seaberg — [email protected] (416) 787-0914 Strategic Account Managers Tom Davis — [email protected] (469) 854-6717 Matt Holdreith — [email protected] (646) 719-0767

FBO Advertising Sales

Jodi Espinoza — [email protected] KnowKnow YYourour OOptionsptions (913) 967-1651 Sara Hellon — [email protected] (913) 967-1833 Jennifer Shafer-Doyle — [email protected] (913) 967-1833

Worldwide Advertising Sales So many destinations. Francine Brasseur — [email protected] So many aircraft. +(617) 649-0411 Bettina Gentile — [email protected] One source: aircharterguide.com. (617) 649-0414 Michele Markarian — [email protected] (617) 649-0420 Europe David McMullen — [email protected] +44 (0) 1925 596176 Andrea Prudente — [email protected] +44 207 152 4524

Israel Tamir Eshel — [email protected] +972 (9) 891-1792

4 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com

Wednesday, October 23 | 6-8 P.M. | Wynn Las Vegas The 10th Annual Fund an Angel Cocktail Reception, held on the second day of the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), is an invaluable networking event for business aviation leaders and influencers. The reception will feature an auction to benefit Corporate Angel Network (CAN) who organizes critical flights for cancer patients to treatment centers throughout the country.

“Corpora el Network has helped to op i atm t for Ava that we otherwise c ot afford. They help t re sh ets the medical care that sh ds.” – Ava’s Pa ts

Learn More and Reserve Tickets: fundanangel.org

A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CURRENT SPONSORS Presenting Sponsor

PLATINUM GOLD SILVER BRONZE Viewpoint William Garvey Editor-in-Chief [email protected] No Alternative Both the message and means are clear

SPRINGTIME IS MARKED BY BUDDING FLOWERS, RED CARDI- You see, aviation has a problem. Despite all the current fo- nals, marsh frog choruses, showers and gatherings of the cus on aviation’s electric, hybrid electric, fuel cell and drone air minded. This year I attended the European Business developments, to go the distance now and in the foresee- Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, able future, turbine-powered airplanes will remain the main Dassault Falcon Jet’s annual hosting of suppliers, operators transports, and they need Jet A to get them there. And while and maintainers in Wilmington, Delaware, and the JetNet iQ turbine-engine makers continually and admirably improve Summit in advance of the National Business Aviation Asso- the fuel burn rates of their products, the undeniable facts are ciation regional meeting in White Plains, New York. All those that combustion produces CO2 emissions, and that air trans- convened within five weeks of each other. And yes, thank you, port globally is increasing. As a result, some people — quite a that’s quite enough time logged in Seat 23A; I’m staying put lot of people, actually — object to aviation’s increasing carbon for the summer. fallout. And they’re gaining voice and power. While the subjects covered at these gatherings were manifold, SAJF availability is but a trickle in today’s fuel stream. So, the with news from EBACE alone resulting in hundreds of stories in stuff is expensive — three or more times the price of regular Jet ShowNews and other convention publications, among others. I A, if you can find it at all. As a result, I was somewhat dismissive expected that. One thing that surprised me, however, was the about the emphasis business aircraft manufacturers, associa- notable focus on sustainable tions and suppliers were plac- alternative jet fuel (SAJF) NBAA ing on the fuel’s adoption. Our at nearly every one of those segment’s consumption lev- assemblies. els are so extremely modest Indeed, EBACE launched when compared to that of the with the arrival of a score airlines, business aviation’s of display aircraft — from use of the stuff won’t move Gulfstreams, Globals, and the needle at all, really. Falcons to a Diamond and But then in discussions TBM — powered by a blend with many other event pre- of Jet A and SAJF. Many senters and attendees, an- of those first assembled at other perspective dawned. TAG Aviation Farnborough for a “Fueling the Future” con- I’m a total business and general aviation believer. Unlike ference at which SAJF’s composition and benefits were ex- the commercial carriers, our segment fulfills aviation’s true plained and then promoted. promise of flexibility and availability, allowing us to go wher- This was the third major push for SAJF in business aviation. ever we want, whenever we choose. But despite the industry’s It was highlighted at the previous EBACE, then in early Janu- introduction of jet cards, fractionals, clubs, empty leggers and ary at a day-long media event at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) all the other recent use innovations, the convenience comes at in California, and most recently at the Farnborough/EBACE a cost that not many can afford. And it is those others who are promotion. The Van Nuys affair — I arrived on a cross-country in the majority, and they vote. flight in an SAJF-burning G280 — was an eye-opener for me. So, if that group perceives business aviation users as uncar- Simply put — and there’s nothing simple about this — Jet ing polluters, bad things could happen. Such as? How about A can be refined from sources other than petroleum, includ- onerous fines, forced carbon offsets, even denied access, and, ing municipal waste, non-food plants and used cooking oils, perhaps, fees based upon the amount of CO2 generated per among other things. The process and chemistry varies by passenger? The list of ugly possibilities goes on and on. the source, but in the end, the SAJF biofuel must meet ASTM Irrespective of your assessment of global environmental standards. The intent is for SAJF to be a drop-in fuel requir- conditions and causes, supporting the adoption of SAJF ing no or little action on the part of the aircraft operator to ac- and reducing our carbon footprint will be of ever-growing commodate its use, and is mixed with petroleum-derived Jet significance to business aviation’s viability. Notably, just as A at ratios ranging from 30:70 to as high as 50:50, depending. the faithful were making their way to the NBAA regional, The goals of the effort are several: that the process of col- the French government was calling upon all European lecting, shipping, refining, delivering and burning SAJF transport ministers to consider imposing significant taxes would eventually be carbon neutral; that its use reduces de- on aircraft operators to help reduce their CO2 emissions. pendence on extraction of a limited natural resource; and as An unwelcome springtime meeting of minds, but just a significantly, that it puts users in the Caring column. beginning. BCA www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 7 Readers’ Feedback

Balancing Act “mandates” continuing the takeoff when “Finding a Balance Between Work and above V1 as if it were cast in stone, and a Personal Life” (April 2019) is a great stone tablets are too heavy to carry article that rings true on many levels. around. There are circumstances that It is interesting how the discussion on do require abstract thinking on split- Quality of Life swerved into a look at the second notice and current training current pilot shortage. In reviewing the largely fails to address this. There many approaches flight departments are a myriad of bad things that can are taking to bring in and retain pilots, happen when stopping a heavy aircraft one big element was overlooked. airline employment? Throughout their at speeds above V1, as shown in your Insurance companies rule the world budding careers it’s been hammered article. and create a huge barrier to good, into them that their entire value rests On the plus side it is worth noting that capable, talented professionals from solely in their flight hours, and their modern carbon brakes are extremely entering business aviation. Even more career growth only comes from jumping powerful and exceeding max brake of a stumbling block than low second ship for a bigger paycheck. energy is not necessarily fatal. The in command salaries are the high I’ve been an employer. I’m a business important thing is to stay on the runway. arbitrary standards set by ARGUS, owner. First and foremost, I’m a teacher. It may also be useful in aircraft like the Wyvern, and the like. I refer to 500 hr. I believe in the potential of people, if MD-83 to do a second control sweep at multiengine/1,000 hr. jet and other such minimums. “The current system promotes a gypsy existence, with I admit, I am biased. I’ve run into this stonewall. With 40 years of flying, 30 pilots chasing hours, jumping from employer to employer, years as a professional, 7,300 hr. TT, rather than focusing on the quality of the individual. 5,000+ hr. as a CFI, ATP, CFI single and multiengine, I am still deemed an unem- LThomas J. Nagorsku, Belgrade, Monana ployable risk because of my low 200+ hr. of multiengine time and very little given a chance and properly mentored. low airspeed to check for jams that are turbine exposure. I can train individuals It saddens me to read about the pilot not obvious when at rest. from zero time and groom them into shortage while at the same time, seeing David H. Gollings capable multiengine professionals, but minimums that exclude many excellent MrG Associates I am considered untrainable myself. It’s individuals. Personally, if I have to hard not to take it personally. choose between flight hours and the What Would You Do? More to the point — I know general quality of an individual, I’ll vote to hire I just finished your lengthy and detailed aviation. I’ve lived general aviation. the strong personality every time. I can account of Ameristar Charter Flight There are excellent professionals groom a pilot for the task at hand. I can’t 9363 (“Cause & Circumstance” May working in small communities, turn someone into a well-rounded, disci- 2019). It was both riveting and infor- struggling to grow aviation in their plined, thoughtful team member. markets. As it stands, their careers Thanks for letting me voice my suffer if their clients do not have multi- opinion. engine turbines. Also true, the industry Thomas J. Nagorski, ATP, CFI-AS&ME/IA/G and opportunities are different today. Paragon Air Adventures, LLC Pilots are extracting acceptable Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport performance and economies from Belgrade, Montana single-engine platforms such as from Cirrus, Mooney and Piper. Companies Design Flaw? are comfortable staying out of turbines. Thank you for the insightful article on When owner-flown, these aircraft don’t the Ameristar Charters MD83 accident offer the same employment opportu- (“Cause & Circumstance,” May 2019). I nities that the big twins used to in the am rather fond of flying the MD-83 but past. And, insurance-mandated factory have no love for the elevator design. training often cuts out local CFIs from The tab-driven concept was copied servicing owners when needed. from a less than stellar British design: mative, aside from being very well The current system promotes a gypsy the BAC1-11. It was once described by written. existence, with pilots chasing hours, a senior FAA engineer as “the tail that Our Hawker 900XP is no comparison jumping from employer to employer, wags the dog” and probably would not to the MD-83 but I immediately called rather than focusing on the quality of be certified by today’s standards. our pilots to determine what they do the individual. Is there any surprise that Your assessment of the accident for prolonged stays on runways where so many look towards the brass ring of is spot on — conventional training wind conditions could adversely affect

8 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com the elevators. 2018 analysis on drroyspencer.com). Thanks for a great article. While the nominal monetary cost of Paul Nietzel damage has increased in recent years, Omaha, Nebraska that has to do with where and how many people live in hurricane-prone areas Pilots Used to Do That compared to decades past. It is not due While reading “Improving Charter to stronger storms. Safety” (“Point of Law” May 2019) I had We’ve had extended periods without to chuckle when I read Kent Jackson’s major hurricanes. Allen, which passed definition of TAWS: “A TAWS works by training to the controller. directly over my house in 1980, remains using digital elevation data and airplane End of story? Not quite. There’s an the strongest Atlantic hurricane by instrumental values to predict if a likely important point to be made. Another wind speed ever recorded, but we future position of the aircraft intersects pilot might have believed as gospel would be foolish to think a storm of that with the ground.” the controller’s reasoning for denying intensity was unprecedented. Storms While I really do understand the safety value of TAWS in today’s “Please spare us the global warming/climate change demanding environment, I still couldn’t help but think; yeah, that’s what pilots propaganda. Weather and climate are cyclical. . . . . used to do! For those who insist on short-term Richard Robson, ATP Julian, California snapshots, the numbers don’t support the climate change hysteria. . . .” Remaining in Command Jason Smith, McAllen, Texas This is about push back, but not backing out from a gate. It’s about ensuring that the approach requested, but so, too, come. Storms go. a pilot in command remains pilot in would the controller! Both individuals Climate changes. It’s called nature. command. would have had their mutual miscon- If you doubt me, ask yourself where the A few weeks back I was on an IFR ceptions maintained and reinforced, one glaciers that covered much of Europe flight plan in “marginal IFR” conditions fostered by the other. But it probably and North America 11,500 years ago flying into a small uncontrolled field would not have stopped there, with each went, and if you think they won’t come with an ASOS. As I approached the of them subsequently passing on their back some day. They will. airfield the approach controller asked, “knowledge” to others Capt. Jason Smith “What approach would you like?”. So, like they say in New York City, “If McAllen, Texas Given the conditions, and to avoid you see something, say something.” a circuitous and time-consuming Ted Stanley Thanks for Sharing instrument approach I advised, “I’d like Direct Flight, Inc. “Thinking Back Globally” (May 2019) was a contact approach”. Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts such a good read — I felt like I went The controller came back fairly along on some of those trips. My inter- promptly advising that a contact It’s Called Nature national flying has been modest, but approach could not be approved Please spare us the global warming/ even one Atlantic crossing gives you because the airfield lacked an operating climate change propaganda. Weather a good idea of how complicated things control tower. I keyed my mic and and climate are cyclical. While I can be. politely responded, “Well actually, don’t have the time to fully refute the Thanks for being willing to share that’s not true.” I confess to having incorrect assertions in “Hurricanes some of those great experiences with silently chuckled while imagining the and Aviation” (June 2019) let’s take a readers, and for being transparent too. controller’s stunned reaction, and after breath and remember our existence I enjoy learning from guys like you. a moment he responded, “I’ll have to get on this planet is the tiniest of fractions Kirk Hays back to you on that.” compared to its total existence. These North American Jet Having no response to my request cycles cannot be seen or measured in a Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as I approached the airfield, and with human lifetime. Austin, Texas VFR conditions breaking out, I simply For those who insist upon short-term cancelled IFR. snapshots, the numbers don’t support Later I contact the approach facility the climate change hysteria there, either. If you would like to submit a comment on and described the event. The supervisor According to federal data, the 36 most an article in BCA, or voice your opinion on immediately noted that it shouldn’t have destructive hurricanes in U.S. history an aviation related topic, send an email to happened, and he would take corrective show no increase in intensity over time [email protected] or action by providing additional (hat tip to Dr. Roy Spencer’s September [email protected] www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 9 OPEN UP THE BOARDROOM

Work efﬁciently without limits.

Connect in real time with the secure, high-performance, low-latency network.

Te Most Compelling User Experience • smartskynetworks.com/ATG • 800.660.9982

© SmartSky Networks, LLC 2019. All Rights reserved. EDITED BY William Garvey, Jessica A. Salerno and Molly McMillin [email protected] [email protected] INTELLIGENCE [email protected] NEWS / ANALYSIS / TRENDS / ISSUES ▶ HONDA AIRCRAFT IS PREPARING to ramp up production of HondaJet Elites by 25%, Jet-A and Avgas to five aircraft per month from the current four, by next year. It is hoped the transition will be- Per Gallon Fuel Prices gin “late this year or next year,” depending on the level of automation to be incorporated in the wing assembly process, Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino said in late June 2019 May. An 82,000-sq.-ft. extension of the Greensboro, North Carolina, factory is due to Jet-A open in July 2020 for the Region High Low Average automated wing assem- Eastern $8.90 $4.45 $6.28 bly, along with some parts storage. The space freed New England $7.76 $3.90 $5.24 in the current building will Great Lakes $8.40 $3.43 $5.57 be “needed in [the] future.” Central $7.61 $3.37 $4.99 Fujino would not say whether this would be for a second Southern $8.37 $4.35 $6.04 aircraft in the airframer’s Southwest $6.90 $3.30 $5.29 product line. Honda plans to NW Mountain $7.83 $3.55 $5.37 deliver 50 aircraft this year. Last year’s deliveries, at 37, were slower than those in 2017. Fujino said the decrease was due Western Pacific $8.53 $4.08 $6.11 to the transition to the Elite model, the impact of the governmental shutdown and some fleet Nationwide $8.04 $3.80 $5.61 deliveries that slid to 2019. The order backlog is equivalent to one year of production, he says. The HondaJet Elite sells for $5.2 million. ▶ Avgas DAHER RECENTLY INTRODUCED THE LATEST VERSION of its upgraded six-pas- Region High Low Average senger TBM 940 single-engine turboprop, which succeeds the TBM 930. Upgrades include Eastern $8.71 $4.90 $6.59 an auto-throttle, automatic deicing system, additional thermal insulation for the sidewalls, redesigned seats, a 150-volt electric power sockets, USB ports, and a new central shelf with New England $7.45 $5.00 $5.95 side storage. The aircraft was on display at the European Business Aviation Convention & Great Lakes $8.59 $4.59 $6.09 Exhibition, held in Geneva in late May. “TBM 940 redefines the ultimate private aircraft: user- Central $7.59 $4.51 $5.52 friendly, safe and efficient for both pilots and passengers,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of the Daher Airplane Business Unit. The aircraft has a maximum cruise speed Southern $8.50 $4.30 $6.31 of 330 kt. and a range of 1,730 nm, the same as the TBM 930. The TBM 940 has Garmin Southwest $7.19 $4.00 $5.65 3000 integrated avionics. An automated throttle is the first to be installed on a standard NW Mountain $8.46 $4.70 $5.84 production turboprop weighing less than Western Pacific $8.52 $5.05 $6.43 12,500 lb., the com- Nationwide $8.13 $4.63 $6.05 pany said. It is fully integrated with the The tables above show results of a fuel price survey autopilot and au- of U.S. fuel suppliers performed in June 2019. This survey was conducted by Aviation Research tomatically adjusts Group/U.S. and reflects prices reported from the aircraft’s speeds over 200 FBOs located within the 48 contiguous based on a preset United States. Prices are full retail and include all flight profile. If the taxes and fees. pilot fails to take action and icing or ice accretion is detected, an amber alerting message For additional information, contact Aviation Research/U.S. Inc. at (513) 852-1010 comes on and the system automatically activates to deice the airframe, windshield, propeller or on the Internet at and the engine’s particle separator. Revalidation of the TBM 700 Type Certificate to include www.aviationresearch.com the 940 has been slower than hoped, but was finally achieved in Europe in May, clearing the way for deliveries to begin in June 3. U.S. approval expected later, but Chabbert said, “I For the latest news don’t see a problem.” Orders specifically for the TBM 940 total 25 from customers in Brazil, and information, go to Germany, Japan, the U.K., the U.S. and elsewhere. Deliveries of the TBM 900 family have www.bcadigital.com reached 274, from 304 on order, while the overall TBM (700/800/900) tally is 936 delivered and 1.6 million hours flown.

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 11 INTELLIGENCE/FBOs

Sheltair Completes ▶ AMONG BUSINESS AVIATION’S LEADERS in environmental responsibility is the Plati- Orlando FBO num Flight Center FBO and campus at Appleton International Airport — LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Association and classified as a Class D Net Zero Emissions Building (NZEB). Appleton International in Greenville, Wisconsin, was one of 10 airports selected nationally by the FAA to participate in an initial Sustainable Master Plan pilot program in 2011. Using goals set by the program, the airport set to work creating a general aviation campus to the south of the commercial passenger terminal that was completed in 2013. Today, the finished campus is managed by Platinum Flight Center. It includes the FBO terminal, a heated corporate hangar, a storage hangar for housing multiple corporate jets, and a ramp with tie-down parking for as many as 100 aircraft. With an eye to environmental Sheltair has completed a four-story concerns, a geothermal heat pump and in-floor radiant flooring optimizes energy performance; fxed base operator terminal at Or- refrigerants used in the building’s HCAC systems are none-chlorofluorocarbon compound- lando Executive Airport in Florida. The based; a 25 kW system mounted on the south facing expansion is in addition to two new hangars with available offce space. portion of the roof provides approximately 29,000 Sheltair Aviation has also opened kW of power a year; high-efficiency lighting is used a 144,000-sq.-ft., $55 million FBO throughout the building and well-placed skylights and hangar complex at Republic Airport in windows reduce the need for artificial lighting during Farmingdale, New York. daylight hours. There are also occupancy sensors for lighting and mechanical systems, a rainwater catch- ment system for water conversation and high-efficiency electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. In fact, using efficient plumbing fixtures resulted in a 40.23% reduction in water demand Desert Jet Center Waives Ramp compared with a building of traditional construction. Fees For Angel Flight Landscaping and site work have restored the natural habitat and preserve storm water quality near the building. A light-colored roof and extensive overhangs prevent heat buildup in and around the building, and native and adapted plant species that do not require portable water are used on the building site. An annual highlight at Platinum Flight Center is participation in EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the largest aviation air show in the world, annually drawing a half- million visitors from 80 countries and more than 10,000 aircraft to nearby Wittman Regional Airport every summer. Platinum accommodates as many as 1,000 aircraft during the show week, Desert Jet Center will waive ramp fees a camp site includes shower facilities and charging stations for electronic devices, and there for all Angel Flight West volunteer are no addition fees applicable at Platinum for the duration of AirVenture. Platinum is described pilots conducting missions from the as a full-service FBO, including: concierge and baggage handling; plane-side access for ground Palm Springs, California, area and transportation; potable water; laundry service; maintenance; deicing types 1 and 2; preheat Coachella Valley. Angel Flight West and plug-in service; flight planning; passenger lounge; pilot lounge; conference room; and free provides free air travel for children WiFi access. Kirby Harrision and adults with serious medical conditions or other needs. Desert Jet ▶ declined 12.3% Center will waive ramp fees for mis- APRIL BUSINESS JET AND TURBOPROP ACTIVITY IN EUROPE sions arriving at the executive fxed- compared to a year ago, according to Argus International. Large jet activity declined 16.8%, fol- base operator in KTRM. lowed by turboprops with a 14.0% drop. Light jet activity declined 8.7%, while midsize activity decreased 4.3%. Compared to March, European flight activity rose 1.6%. According to Colibri Aircraft, part of the drop could be from a decline in the number of business aircraft registered in the U.K., which fell 4.6% from January 2018 to January 2019, it said. Increased demand for pre-owned jets from the U.S. market has meant a rise in aircraft going from Europe to the U.S., Colibri said. The reduced European fleet has led to a reduction in flights.

12 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com PRAETOR 600: CERTIFIED OUTPERFORMANCE.

Announcing the certifed Praetor 600, the world’s most disruptive and technologically advanced super-midsize aircraft that leads the way in performance, comfort and technology.

Unveiled at NBAA in October 2018 and now certifed by ANAC, FAA and EASA, the Praetor 600 did not just meet initial expectations, it exceeded them. Named for the Latin root that means “lead the way,” the Praetor 600 is a jet of frsts. It is the frst super-midsize jet certifed since 2014. The frst to fy beyond 3,700 nm at M0.80. The frst with over 4,000 nm range at LRC. The frst with full fy-by-wire. The frst with Active Turbulence Reduction. The frst with a cabin altitude as low as 5,800 feet. The frst with high-capacity, ultra-high-speed connectivity from Viasat’s Ka-band. And all of this, backed by a frst-placed Customer Support network.

Learn more at executive.embraer.com/praetor600.

LEADING THE WAY INTELLIGENCE

▶ JSSI Signs Parts Agreement ZEAN NIELSEN, AN EXECUTIVE WITH experience in industrial building material, electric cars and luxury electronics, has been named CEO of Cirrus Aircraft. Meanwhile, Dale With Contour Aviation Klapmeier has transferred as an advisor to the company JSSI Parts & Leasing, a division of Jet he co-founded with his brother, Alan, in 1984. ÒWe are Support Services (JSSI), has signed fortunate to have someone of ZeanÕs caliber and experi- a new supply chain services agree- ence to lead us into the next era of growth,Ó Klapmeier ment with Contour Aviation. Under the said. ÒI am looking forward to moving into a senior advisory agreement, JSSI Parts will provide role and continuing to work with our exceptional team on parts procurement from initial re- reinventing the future of personal transportation.Ó Rolland quest to delivery, logistics and billing Vincent, with consulting firm Rolland Vincent Associates, said he was surprised at the change support to Contour’s feet of business of CEOs. But Nielsen assumes the CEO position at a good time. The company has been Òlaid jets for private charter. Contour sup- out pretty nicely,Ó Vincent said. ÒI like what I see at Cirrus.Ó In 2018, Cirrus delivered 443 Cirrus ports more than 8,000 maintenance SR20, SR22, SR22T and SF50 aircraft, up from 377 in 2017. events for clients every year. ▶ UBER HAS PARTNERED WITH CHARTER HELICOPTER operator Heliflite to launch Uber Copter, Òthe first consumer manifestation of Uber Elevate,Ó the ride-hailing giantÕs planned urban aerial ridesharing service. Launched in New York, Uber Copter is to connect lower Manhattan with John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport. ÒWeÕve built Uber Copter to provide us with insight and real-world experience as we continue to lay the foundation for Uber Air,Ó says PrivateFly Adds Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate. Uber Air is the companyÕs planned urban air-taxi service. ÒThis Summer Routes is UberÕs first multi-modal option, integrating an 8-min. helicopter flight with an Uber trip on both ends with a single tap of a button. Uber Rewards Platinum and Diamond members will get the first opportunity to try this new fast and seamless way to get between Manhattan and JFK,” he says. The service was set to begin July 9, with flights available Monday through Friday during afternoon rush hours. ÒWe will continue to expand availability over the following weeks and months,Ó Uber says, adding the service could save an hour or more over ground transportation in rush hours. Using the companyÕs existing network and technology, Uber Copter may be booked from five days in advance up to 1 hr. before the flight. Uber says that Heliflite will provide To keep up with customer demand, the service using a fleet of dual-engine, dual-pilot helicopters. The New York Times quotes Uber PrivateFly, a division of Directional as saying flights will cost $200-$225. Aviation, has added new summer routes to its schedule with fxed ▶ A RECENT FAA AND EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY (EASA) grounding prices on a 13-seat Embraer Legacy of all Cessna Citation Model 525, 525A and 525B business jets fitted with Atlas active winglets 600. The new city pairs include fights forced Tamarack Aerospace into bankruptcy in June. ÒTamarack believes that Chapter 11 will between London and Mykonos, Paris be a temporary state, and it is meant to ensure the long-term viability of the company,” and Marrakech, and Moscow and the Idaho company said in a prepared statement. U.S. aviation regulators on May 24 issued an Nice. Flights follow the existing price airworthiness directive (AD) against the Tamarack system, which has effectively grounded the menu for the six-seat Nextant 400XTi, fleet of 76 Cessna CitationJets with the winglets installed. Tamarack said it has offered Atlas which launched in April. Its fxed-price upgrades free of charge in the form of two Service Bulletins issued prior to the ADs. The com- city pairs have proven popular with pany said, ÒThese solutions have been proposed as the resolution of the ADsÓ and is working on-demand charter clients since their with all CJ owners to arrange for upgrades. It said the aircraft that precipitated the AD had not launch and now account for more been upgraded. Tamarack said its goal was to complete retrofit of the Atlas systems Òas soon as than 25% of fights possible.Ó Meanwhile, Tamarack has appointed new leadership following its Chapter 11 reorganization. Company founder Nicholas Guida, who invented the Active Winglet, has been named CEO, while Jacob Klinginsmith, former Tamarack chief engineer, has been appointed president. The Sandpoint, Idaho company said the appointments are part of a strategic reorganization to ensure its strength and viability and to offer continued operational safety of the existing fleet, as well as to develop new product lines. ÒWe have some significant short-term challenges to overcome as a result of the ADs, but I am confident that the technical solutions we have proposed to EASA and the FAA ADs will be accepted,Ó Klinginsmith said. Ò Added Guida, ÒI am confident that we will emerge from Chapter 11 stronger and more invigorated.

14 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com ▶ THE AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION (AOPA) has launched its an- Windows for Extreme nual survey of those who have taken flight training, including recurrent training within the past 12 months. The survey is available online until noon EDT on July 31. The survey helps AOPA identify Environments and recognize flight schools and instructors who excel in their field. The survey also identifies and monitors trends within the flight training industry.

▶ THE PRE-OWNED BUSINESS JET MARKET will be worth $61 billion over the next five years, nearly two-thirds the value of new aircraft delivered. And used transactions will outstrip new deliveries by four to one. That is the conclusion of the 5-Year New and Pre-Owned Business Aviation Market Forecast by global broker and sales company Jetcraft. It is the first of its kind to predict both new and pre-owned aircraft transactions and analyze aircraft retirements. The forecast anticipates 11,765 pre-owned transactions over the next five years, compared to 3,444 new deliveries. By 2023 it is expected that the combined industry value will reach nearly $30 billion per annum. New aircraft unit deliveries are predicted to stay flat throughout the forecast period while generating higher revenues, due to the increase in large aircraft transactions. Meanwhile, the pre-owned market is forecast to grow at a proportionally faster rate than new. Jetcraft’s forecast also maintains the clear shift toward large aircraft, both in pre- owned and new unit deliveries and highlights. And it finds that the average retirement age of a business aircraft is 32 years. Jetcraft’s full forecast is available at https://www.jetcraft.com/ knowledge/market-forecast Custom fabricated large sapphire windows for use protecting electron- ▶ WHEELS UP HAS ACQUIRED WHOLESALE LIGHT JET CHARTER OPERATOR ics in aircraft and drones that fy Travel Management Co. (TMC), which operates a fleet of 26 Hawker 400XPs. The acquisi- in harsh weather and demanding tion complements Wheels Up’s fleet of 93 aircraft, which includes 72 King Air 350i turbo- environments have been introduced props, Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter said. “It firmly puts us in the light jet by Providence, Rhode Island-based space,” Dichter said. The Weekly of Business Aviation caught up with Dichter following a Meller Optics, Inc. Meller Large Sap- town hall meeting with Travel Management staff in Elkhart, Indiana. Travel Management phire windows can be fabricated in different confgurations and sizes up also has a “wonderful pilot force” of more than 90 pilots, Dichter said. Travel Manage- to 10-in. diameter, depending on the ment, based in Elkhart, Indiana will operate as an independent subsidiary of Wheels diameter to thickness aspect ratio. Up and continue its business model serving its existing clients, the company said. Featuring transmission from the UV to Meanwhile, Gama Aviation will continue to operate the Wheels Up fleet of aircraft. Wheels IR (270 nm to 4.7 microns), they are Up has the largest as clear as glass and provide a pro- all-Textron Aviation tective surface for sensors and cam- fleet in the world, eras that would be exposed to sand Dichter said, op- and other high-speed particulates. erating King Air, Meller Large Sapphire Windows are Citation Excel and priced according to confguration and XLS, Citation X and quantity. Price quotations are avail- now Hawker 400XP able on request. Visit aircraft. “This ac- www.melleroptics.com quisition is a foun- dational piece in our continued brand evolution and mission to provide our members with a total private aviation solution, and we are thrilled to be welcoming TMC into the Wheels Up family,” Dichter said. “TMC and their light jet fleet are a perfect complement to our anchor partner, Gama Aviation, and their pilots, who will continue to operate the aircraft in our Wheels Up fleet and provide our members with the same high level of safety and service that they do today.” Founded more than five years ago, Wheels Up now has more than 5,000 members, Dich- ter said, and is “looking forward to partnering with industry leaders. We’ve got the brand. We’re looking to make our membership more valuable by adding and partnering.” www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 15 INTELLIGENCE

European Flight Activity ▶ DAHER, THE PRODUCER OF TBM single-engine, pressurized turboprop, is expand- Declined in April ing its product line with the acquisition of Quest Aircraft Company, manufacturer of the Kodiak 100, a bushplane also powered by a single PT6 engine. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2019. Based in France, the Daher Group ultimately plans April business jet and turboprop to introduce technologies and function into the Kodiak aircraft that “have contributed to activity in Europe declined 12.3% the successes achieved by TBM,” it said. It also plans to enhance and expand Kodiak’s compared to a year ago, according to services and sales network. More than 270 Kodiak aircraft are in operation. The 6/9-pas- ARGUS International. Large jet activ- senger aircraft has been certified in 67 countries and is used by air taxi, recreational ity declined 16.8%, followed by turboprops with a 14.0% drop. Light jet and leisure operators, businesses, activity declined 8.7%, while midsize pilot-owners and humanitarian or- activity decreased 4.3%. Compared ganizations. Quest was started in to March, European fight activity 2001 in Sandpoint, Idaho. In 2015, rose 1.6%. According to Colibri Air- the company was sold to Setouchi craft, part of the drop could be from Holdings of Japan, a former Quest a decline in the number of business dealer. It employs 240 people. “The aircraft registered in the U.K., which Quest Aircraft Co.’s acquisition rep- fell 4.6% from January 2018 to Janu- resents an additional step in our de- ary 2019, it said. Increased demand velopment in the United States and an overall strengthening of our aircraft manufacturing for pre-owned jets from the U.S. mar- business,” Daher CEO Didier Kayat said. “This key acquisition for Daher is perfectly aligned ket has meant a rise in aircraft going with the strategy of intensifying our company’s links with the North America market’s lead- from Europe to the U.S., Colibri said. ing aerospace players.” The Kodiak 100 complements Daher’s line of TBM products, added The reduced European feet has led Daher Chairman Patrick Daher. “As a powerful and maneuverable aircraft, used particularly to a reduction in fights. for humanitarian missions to provide aid to isolated communities, the Kodiak 100 perfectly complements our TBM product range and is fully in line with Daher’s long-term vision as a company committed to the future of aviation.” Meanwhile, Daher is also acquiring KVE Composites, a Dutch company skilled in induction welding of thermoplastic composite components. The process paves the way for a reduction of around 75% in the number De Havilland Name Returns of rivets traditionally used in the assembly of fuselage structures, according to Daher. In to the Marketplace addition to a 15% weight saving, the removal of some fasteners makes production faster. According to Kayat, the technology is already part of some of the EASA-certified aircraft but did not name which ones.

▶ SWISS HELICOPTER DEVELOPER KOPTER GROUP is conducting flight tests of its SH09 single-engine light helicopter in Sicily and hopes to earn certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency next year. Since transferring flight testing this March from The de Havilland name has returned Switzerland to the more weather-condu- to aircraft manufacturing with the cive Pozzallo Heliport, the company’s third completion of the $300 million sale prototype, P3, has completed 100 flight of the Dash 8 program by Bombardier hours across 34 flights in two months. The to Canada’s Longview Aircraft Capital. company says it has opened the flight en- Production of the Q400 regional velope, taking the aircraft up to 10,000 ft. turboprop and support for the Dash 8-100/200/300 has been trans- and speeds of 135 kt. Michele Riccobono, the company’s executive vice president for ferred to De Havilland Aircraft of Can- Technology and Flight Operations, said despite the good weather, the conditions challenged ada, a new subsidiary of Longview. the aircraft with hot temperatures, high humidity and strong winds, all of which “are quite common in those operational environments [in] which the SH09’s customers operate.” The Honeywell HTS900-powered helicopter is the first clean-sheet, new single-engine flight helicopter in the 2.5 metric ton-class in about two decades. It is intended to compete with the Airbus H125 Ecureuil/AStar and H130 and Bell Model 407 and could also chip away at some of the market share of the light-t win engine types due to the economics of single-engine operation.

16 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com ▶ IN A RECENT INTERVIEW with Molly McMillin, editor in chief of the Weekly of Busi- HK Bellawings ness Aviation, David Coleal, president of Bombardier Aviation, said his company is going to Signs for New Globals continue to support Learjet and the light business jet segment. Specifically, Coleal said, “We are committed to Learjet and the light jet market. It’s here to stay. It’s very important to note that we’re investing in Learjet. We added a pocket door, and we have a new Garmin offering later this year. We’re very pleased with the product. It has best-in-class performance, and it’s an iconic brand. We’re very excited about this market space, and we’re not going to relinquish this space to any competitor.” And asked if any new Learjet models will be forthcoming, he responded, “The current Lear- HK Bellawings, a Hong Kong-based jet offers everything the market needs — space, speed, comfort, technology. And the Learjet aircraft management company, re- 75 is a new aircraft compared to others in the same segment. It was introduced in 2014 cently signed a letter of intent for fve and it’s been upgraded every year. Every one of our platforms has the latest technology and new Bombardier Global 7500 business jets and also exercised options we continue to refine them. We won’t divulge our product strategy, but there is something for two additional Global 7500s as new for every one of our programs.” part of the initial agreement signed in May 2018. ▶ A FULL-SCALE PASSENGER AIR VEHICLE (PAV), an electric vertical-takeoff-and- landing (eVTOL) prototype developed by Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing subsidiary, crashed during unmanned flight testing in June in Manassas, Virginia. No one was hurt in the crash, and no damage resulted other than to the aircraft itself, BoeingNeXt vice president and general manager Steve Nordlund said. Boeing, through Aurora, is an Uber Elevate vehicle development partner and the two-seat PAV is being developed to support experimental urban air mobility flights in 2020. The PAV first flew in January and the accident occurred during its fifth test flight at Aurora’s Manassas headquarters, Nordlund said. Flights of the battery-powered vehicle so far had been AviationManuals Offers Free relatively short, consisting of hovers and low- Guide for LOA Applications speed maneuvers. After completing several hovers and recoveries and beginning maneuvers up and down the taxiway at Manassas, the eVTOL had started to descend when, at about 20 ft. above the surface, one of its six electric lift motors cut out and the aircraft “came straight down,” Nordlund said. There is damage to the rear of the aircraft, but it is “a lot more limited than what we thought it would AviationManuals has released a guide be,” he added. The NTSB is investigating the accident as the PAV is an experimental- for operators to understand various category aircraft. A preliminary report is expected “in the coming weeks,” he said. The PAV requirements for Letter of Authoriza- has six lift rotors mounted on two rails below the fuselage, plus a pusher propeller on the tion (LOA) applications. The guide rear of the fuselage for propulsion in forward flight. Testing has not reached the stage of outlines which LOAs are required engaging the rear propeller. Aurora has several PAV test articles, but testing “slowed down based on fight parameters and geo- a bit” because of the accident, he said, in part because one of the available test aircraft has graphic areas of fight. It highlights been shipped to France to appear on static display at the Paris Air Show. “Our approach to this approximate application turnaround early-stage prototyping is you have to prepare for failure. The way we get safe is to prepare for time lines and elements to keep in failure so that we can fix and implement the right solutions for safety of flight,” Nordlund said. mind when submitting the application. The guide is free to download at ▶ BOEING HAS LAUNCHED A NEW BOEING BUSINESS JET services bundle and www.aviationmanuals.com signed the first multi-year agreement for the service with Hong Kong-based business jet services provider Metrojet. The new package provides essential digital aviation tools for BBJ flight and maintenance crews which includes 24/7 technical support, onboard performance tools and maintenance planning data. Metrojet’s five-year agreement for the bundle will streamline procurement of the products and services needed to operate its BBJ fleet, Metrojet says. www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 17 FAST FIVE INTERVIEW BY WILLIAM GARVEY

Questions for Bob Hobbi How did you get involved in coaching and organization development? 1 Hobbi: At one point during my years at FlightSafety I was put in charge of the company’s several hundred people involved in scheduling, accounting and other customer handling functions at its various centers and at headquarters. These were the people who, in addition to the instructor corps, actually interacted with the customers. I got that assignment because I had a knack and passion for identifying and resolving issues. My unofficial title was “The Fixer” and that part of the organization needed those talents. I started to reshape the way our customers were handled and began by rebranding those colleagues under “Customer Support” at each center. It dawned on me then that while we and the business aviation industry as a whole was technically proficient — we knew what Bob Hobbi we were doing — but there existed serious deficiencies on the people side. That’s when I President and CEO started training people and ultimately put together a team of eight. ServiceElements How’d that work out? Phoenix, Arizona 2 Hobbi: Pretty well, I’d say. In fact, NetJets, a sister Berkshire Hathaway company, asked us to train their pilots, technicians, accounting and client services personnel, which we After studying in Switzerland did, for a fee. Then I got approached by Honeywell to lead its Aerospace Academy, a big and Scotland, Hobbi won job. The company trains some 15,000 people annually from all segments of aviation in all a soccer scholarship to the of its products. The experience further validated to me that our people were technically University of Evansville, from competent, but had a difficult time communicating properly and getting their points which he graduated. Not across. I saw an opportunity. long thereafter, he and his And that was . . .? young wife moved to New York 3 Hobbi: Helping business with what I call “core skills.” These include leadership, service where she worked for a law value and culture, organizational and resource management and communication. The firm and he won a position pace of change in our industry right now is astronomical. The airlines are sucking up at FlightSafety International’s pilots, technicians and other personnel while baby boomers are retiring at an accelerated headquarters at LaGuardia rate. It’s critical to maintain the people you’ve got and doing so means providing training Airport helping in its business and development so they become further engaged. It’s a key to loyalty. Some company office. He remained with leaders are reluctant to sponsor training out of fear of turnover. Sure, they could leave, the company for 15 years, but what if they stay? They’re the ones dealing with your customers and if they stay for rising steadily in its executive another six months, that’s another half year of positive interaction. One mistake by an ranks before taking charge of unskilled employee can chase away a customer representing tens of thousands of dollars. Honeywell’s training program in This applies just to customer service personnel? Phoenix. 4 Hobbi: Oh no. I’ve asked pilots and mechanics what they do for a living. And they He next served briefly as a invariably reply they fly or fix the airplane. I explain that, no, you provide a service that senior executive at MedAire involves flying or fixing. It’s an entirely different perspective. I once interviewed an before finally launching his executive who said that his company’s flight department didn’t understand the chal- professional and organizational lenges confronting him. In charge of new product development, he said in years past it development and coaching took nine months from product inception to market delivery. Today, it’s three weeks. So, firm. he said, “I don’t want whining because I fly to China, am on the ground for six hours, and Hobbi holds a private pilot’s then fly back.” The business focus is shifting fast and we all need to understand that. The license and speaks four question is how does the airplane produce value for the organization? languages (but admits his So, core skills training should go how high up in an organization? mastery of French is fading). 5 Hobbi: To the top. We need to train and coach the leadership in the value of these skills and in culture enhancement. Organizations continue to evolve and become more complex at people issues. And therefore, the future requires us to invest heavily in our people on TAP HERE in the digital edition and ongoing basis. One-off training in core skills is not going to do the trick. If an orga- of BCA to hear more from nization engages in just one training event, it simply annoys the employees and causes this Interview or go to the leadership to lose credibility. If the leadership is not prepared to elevate the level or aviationweek.com/fastfive investment, it’s better not to do it at all. BCA

18 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com FLIGHTSAFETY Online Tools That IS HERE FOR Support Your Training YOU Needs Anytime

Your Preparation Your Convenience Your Flexibility Get ahead of your training. Learn on your schedule. FlightSafety Interact online. LiveLearning gives FlightBag is the interactive app that eLearning offers self-paced online you a front-row seat to instructor-led, allows 60 days’ advance access to courses that allow instruction from web-based courses without leaving training materials. any online portal. your home or ofﬁce.

fightsafety.com • 314.785.7815 • A Berkshire Hathaway company Cause & Circumstance Richard N. Aarons Safety Editor [email protected] A Fatal Fog Instantaneous disorientation on a pre-Christmas family jaunt

BY RICHARD N. AARONS [email protected]

isibility in central Florida on the towed the twin Cessna to the ramp. alpha tango that’ll be traffic permitting morning of Dec. 24, 2017, was nil. The pilot had filed an IFR flight plan, uh, your discretion when able heading. The National Weather Service but no record could be found that he had 0712:14 (N247AT): OK. (NWS) area forecast for the re- checked weather reports through any of 0712:16 (TPA FDR): Two zero zero. Vgion identified widespread shallow fog the usual services. 0712:20 (N247AT): Roger that and and included a “dense fog” advisory for The FBO employees watched as the I’m cleared to release. Thank you. Polk County. Ceilings would be below pilot started the engines and then taxied 0712:24 (TPA FDR): Seven alpha 500 ft. AGL and visibilities below 1 mi. very slowly to Runway 9L. Later, those tango we’ll talk to you on the way out. in fog and mist. An AIRMET for IFR witnesses would tell investigators that Good day. conditions was in effect. the fog limited their visibility to about The FBO employees heard an in- The NWS discussion stated: “Wide- 400 ft. They repositioned themselves on crease in engine noise consistent with spread IFR or lower visibility in shal- the ramp closer to the runway in a failed an engine run-up, and at about 0715, low fog is now in place from Sarasota/ attempt to keep the airplane in sight in Bradenton to Tampa/St. Pete/Lakeland the dense fog. airports. Passing cirrus may cause vis- The pilot contacted Tampa Flight ibility to bounce up and down at times, Data Radar (FDR) at 0710 for his IFR but the potential for periods of very low clearance. Here’s the transcript: visibility will continue at these termi- 0710:26 (TPA FDR): Tampa approach. nals through the middle morning hours. 0710:28 (N247AT): Yes sir, this is two NWS will be watching for the possible four seven alpha tango; I’m at uh, I’m sea-fog later today. . . .” Civil twilight number one runway nine Bartow; would began about 0650 EST and sunrise oc- like to pick up my departure clearance curred about 0716 EST. to Key West. Bartow Executive Airport (KBOW) 0710:38 (TPA FDR): November two sits pretty much in the middle of Polk four seven alpha tango hold for release; County and is host to a large general avi- you’re cleared to the Key West airport ation fleet. Its tower operates from 0730 via radar vectors to crowd . . . to rogan . . to 1800 daily. KBOW has an Automated . direct charo . . . then as filed; enter con- Weather Observing System (AWOS). On trolled airspace heading two zero zero; that morning the AWOS reports from climb and maintain two thousand; ex- 0635 to 0715 included visibility less than pect one six thousand one zero minutes one-quarter mile, fog, an overcast cloud after departure; departure frequency layer at 300 ft., temperature of 56F, and one one niner point niner; squawk four an altimeter setting of 30.18. six four zero hold for release. Go ahead Among the 95 based aircraft was a with your read back. 1973 Cessna 340 (N247AT) cabin-class 0711:17 [Pilot reads back clearance.] twin owned by an area attorney. He had 0711:46 (TPA FDR): November seven planned to take four family members to alpha tango read back is correct; you Key West for breakfast and then return said you’re number one ready to go right to Bartow for Christmas Eve dinner. now. The family gathered at the T-hangar 0711:49 (N247AT): I am number one, sometime about 0615 and commented ready to go. on the fog. Indeed, it was so thick that 0711:53 (TPA FDR): November seven the pilot decided to board his passen- alpha tango roger you are released for gers while the aircraft was inside the departure; clearance void if not off in hangar. He then called the FBO for a five minutes; advise no later than ten tow to the ramp because he worried minutes of intentions; time now is one that the visibility was too poor for him two one two. to taxi from the hangar without wan- 0712:04 (N247AT): Uh, roger and uh, dering off the relatively narrow pav- after departure I turn right to a heading ing. By 0645, all five members were on of two zero zero correct. board the airplane and FBO employees 1212:11 (TPA FDR): November seven

20 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com they heard the airplane begin its takeoff perpendicular to the debris path and the the airplane and found about 200 ft. roll, but they could not see the 340 be- main wreckage. northeast of the main wreckage. cause of the dense fog. The middle impact crater contained “The engines sounded strong and pieces of the airplane’s nose cowling and The Investigation were operating at full power during the baggage door. Immediately to the right takeoff,” they would tell NTSB investi- was the left engine’s propeller. To the The investigation initially focused on gators later. The employees heard two left of the middle crater was the right aircraft integrity. Trim tabs, flight con- tire “chirps” on the runway, then the engine’s propeller. A portion of the left trols, engines, vacuum systems, autopi- sound of the airplane that was consis- wingtip fuel tank was found on the far- lot, avionics — all had to be eliminated tent with a climb. right side of the initial impact area, and as the accident cause before turning at- Seconds later they heard an explo- a portion of the right wingtip fuel tank tention to the pilot and his decision to sion on the east side of the airport and was found on the far-left side of the ini- depart using instrument takeoff tech- drove toward the explosion to find the tial impact area. niques. airplane on fire. They circled the air- The main wreckage was upright and The flight controls exhibited impact craft in search of survivors, but there oriented southeast about 30 ft. from and thermal damage but revealed no were none. the initial impact craters. The fuse- preimpact anomalies. The wing flap po- The accident site was located on air- lage was mostly consumed by fire and sition could not be determined due to the port property about 190 yd. east-north- the empennage remained mostly intact extensive damage. The elevator trim tab east of the departure end of Runway 9L with significant thermal damage. Both was found beyond its full-up limit. The and 10 ft. south of Taxiway Delta. engines separated from the airplane trim cable and chain on the top side of The debris path was about 230 ft. and were near the main wreckage. Air- the actuator sprocket was pulled during long and oriented northeast. The begin- plane debris was found on the taxiway the examination to test its functionality ning of the debris path was defined by northeast of the main wreckage. The and the actuator retracted and the trim several ground impact craters in a line nose landing gear was separated from tab lowered from its full-up position.

Accident airplane taxing . There is dense fog behind and surrounding the airplane.

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 21 Cause & Circumstance

A screenshot from a cell phone video that depicts the accident airplane taxing on the ramp at BOW.

vacuum manifold, which consisted of one of the end caps but no flapper valves, was found in the wreckage. The left engine was separated from the airframe and was identified based on the data plate and maintenance records. The crankshaft was completely fractured at the nose oil seal and the propeller flange remained attached to the propeller hub. The crankshaft fracture surface displayed tearing, shear lips and discoloration consistent with an overstress separation on impact. No anomalies were noted with the spark plugs. The return line from the fuel pressure The landing gear actuator and the it also exhibited rotational scoring. regulator to the fuel pump remained left and right main landing gear were The two vacuum pumps were sepa- in place and, when removed, residual all retracted. rated from the engines and sustained fuel poured from the pressure regulator. Two attitude indicator gyros and one significant impact damage. The right- The pump was disassembled, and the directional gyro were disassembled and engine vacuum pump drive remained pump vanes were intact with no anoma- examined. All three gyros exhibited ro- attached to the right engine and was lies noted with the internal components. tational scoring inside the housings and melted by the postimpact fire. The left- Fuel nozzles were free of obstruc- along the circumference of the gyros. engine vacuum pump was separated tions. The fuel manifold screen was An electric turn-and-bank indicator from the engine, and the pump body clear of contaminants and residual fuel gyro was disassembled and examined; and drive were intact. A portion of the was observed in the manifold housing.

Stuart, Florida. He was told to enter a and no flight plan was filed for the local right downwind to Runway 12. The pilot flight that originated from 2GA5 about Accidents in Brief started a decent and switched to the right 30 min. earlier. According to the pilot, fuel tank. For several minutes all was he landed uneventfully on Runway 35 “normal.” About a minute later, the engine and applied left brake to initiate a left started popping like a “bad” magneto turn off the turf runway; however, the Compiled by Jessica A. Salerno drop. The pilot checked the magneto brake did not function. He then applied switches and pumped the throttle. He the right brake, which “stuck” and would Selected accidents and incidents in May 2019. indicated that the engine “reeved slightly” not release. He attempted to pump the The following NTSB information is preliminary. then quit. He assessed the situation, right brake to release it with no effect. called the tower, and reported an engine The airplane veered right, departed the ▶ May 27 — About 1548 EDT, a Piper out. The pilot informed the tower that the runway, crossed a gravel road and collided PA18 150 (N70699) hit ground objects airplane could not make the airport and with trees. during a forced landing following an that he was going to land the airplane in inflight loss of engine power near Palm a field. He landed the airplane in an area ▶ May 26 — About 1430 PDT, a City, Florida. The private pilot and under construction and ran out of space Cessna 150F (N8746S) collided with a passenger were uninjured. The airplane before he could get the airplane stopped. tree while on approach to the Garberville sustained substantial wing and fuselage The pilot indicated that he used a chain Airport, Garberville, California. The private damage during the landing. The airplane link fence to stop the airplane. pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously was registered to Blazie Marketing injured; the airplane sustained substantial Services Inc. and was operated by the ▶ May 27 — At 1000 EDT an Aeronca damage. The purpose of the flight was pilot personal flight. The local flight 7AC (N1797E) was heavily damaged for the pilot to perform touch-and-go originated from the Witham Field Airport when it hit trees shortly after landing at practice takeoffs and landings. The pilot (SUA), near Stuart, Florida, about 1500. Windrift Aerodrome (2GA5), Concord, completed one landing and was departing According to initial information from the Georgia. The private pilot was not injured. from Runway 36. After reaching about 200 pilot, he advised SUA tower that the flight The airplane was privately owned and ft. AGL, the engine experienced a loss of was inbound to SUA when the airplane operated as a personal flight under Part power. The pilot banked the airplane to was over Naked Lady Ranch Airport, near 91. It was VFR at the time of the accident the east (right) in an attempt to make an

22 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Aerial image depicts the accident site and the end of Runway 9 at BOW.

The pistons, valves and valve seats were unremarkable. The left propeller hub remained intact and the piston was compressed aft. All three blades remained attached to the hub, but they were free to rotate in the hub, indicative of pitch change link fractures. The right engine was separated from the airframe and was identified based on the data plate and the maintenance records. The crankshaft was fractured at the nose oil seal and the propeller flange remained attached to the propeller hub. The crankshaft fracture surface displayed tearing, shear lips and discoloration consistent with an overstress propellers that had malfunctioned prior ramp toward the runway and another separation on impact. The engine sus- to impact. video of the takeoff. The employee was tained thermal damage. On the other hand, it was determined located near the middle of the ramp Inspections of the right engine and that the airplane’s maximum gross and about one-half mile from the end findings were similar to those uncov- takeoff weight of 6,390 lb. had been ex- of Runway 9L. ered with the left engine. ceeded by 105 lb. Due to the excessive The video was 46 sec. long. The ac- Thus, after examination in the field weight, the airplane was outside of its cident airplane is not visible due to the by experts from Textron, Continental center of gravity moment envelope. dense fog; however, the sound of the en- Motors and the FAA, nothing could One of the FBO employees recorded gines is audible. The video pans from be found in the airframe, engines or a video of the airplane taxiing on the right to left and appears to follow the emergency landing on the river gravel/ That altitude and below is usually were when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. sandbar. The airplane hit a tree and Jacksonville Approach Control loses The airline transport pilot was not found descended through the tree canopy. The radar coverage in that area. A witness and is presumed dead. The airplane was pilot climbed out of the wreckage under subsequently observed a fire in a wooded privately owned and operated, and the his own power and hiked to the road. area of a sparsely populated section of flight was being conducted as a Part 91 residential development and notified positioning flight. VFR conditions existed ▶ May 25, — About 0923 EDT, a law enforcement. The wreckage came near the accident site at the time of the Cessna TR182 (N6123T) was destroyed to rest nose down in an approximate accident, and an IFR flight plan had been when it crashed during a visual approach 3-ft. crater, oriented about a heading of filed. The flight originated from St. Louis to McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport 210 deg. and most of it was consumed Regional Airport (ALN), Alton, Illinois, (SSI), St. Simons Island, Georgia. The by post-crash fire. No debris path was about 1430 and was destined for Fort commercial pilot was fatally injured. The observed, with the exception of two tree Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort personal flight was operated under Part strikes immediately above the wreckage. Lauderdale, Florida. 91. VFR prevailed and an IFR flight was The pilot, age 80, held a commercial According to the owner of the airplane, filed for the flight that originated from pilot certificate, with ratings for airplane he purchased the airplane two days prior Savannah/Hilton Head Island Airport single-engine land, airplane multiengine to the accident. The airplane had recently (SAV), Savannah, Georgia, about 0859. land, and instrument airplane. He also undergone a progressive inspection, According to preliminary information held a flight instructor certificate, with which was completed on May 22, 2019. from the FAA, the flight was cleared by a rating for airplane single-engine and The owner then hired a contract pilot Jacksonville Approach Control at 0919 for instrument airplane. His most recent FAA to fly the airplane to FXE to have some the visual approach to Runway 22 at SSI, second-class medical certificate was avionics work done. On the day of the and instructed to switch radio frequency issued on March 1, 2017. At that time, accident, the owner tracked the progress to the SSI common traffic advisory the pilot reported a total flight experience of the flight using an online commercial frequency, which the pilot acknowledged. of 4,600 hr. The pilot also had a Basic service once it departed ALN about 1430. No further communications were received Medical date of Feb. 27, 2018. Shortly after 1700, he received a call from and radar contact was lost at 0923, when the avionics shop at FXE telling him the the airplane was about 5 mi. northeast ▶ May 24 — About 1755 EDT, a airplane did not arrive. He then reviewed of SSI at an altitude of 1,300 ft. MSL. Cessna 560 (N832R) was destroyed the airplane’s online flight track again

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 23 Cause & Circumstance

sounds of the airplane during the Internal view of the right elevator takeoff roll. At 26 and 28 sec., two dis- control sprocket chain and control tinct chirps are heard. The video ends cable. The chain is still wrapped around while the engines are still audible. the sprocket. A helicopter pilot based at KBOW always flew with his feet flat on the observed the Cessna on the ramp. He floor and not on the rudder pedals. He recorded a video of the airplane taxi- added that the pilot never flew dan- ing in the dense fog, and he heard the gerously or recklessly. airplane take off about 12 min. later. An acquaintance of the pilot, who During the takeoff, he heard a “pop” had been the pilot’s flight instructor similar to an engine backfire and in 2002, recounted flying the accident about 3 sec. later, heard the explo- airplane with him. He said the pilot sion near the end of Runway 9L. He mentioned an inflight engine failure and a colleague drove to the accident he had experienced in the accident site, where they found the airplane airplane. The pilot told him that he engulfed in flames and saw the FBO continued to his destination rather employees nearby. He estimated that than making a precautionary single- the runway visual range at the time engine landing because the logistics was 600 to 800 ft. due to the fog. of diverting were too difficult. The acquaintance also stated that The Pilot he and the pilot were supposed to fly the accident airplane together The instrument-rated private pilot in early 2017. On the morning of was 70 years old and held airplane the planned flight, he checked the multiengine land, single-engine land weather conditions, which were and single-engine sea ratings. He had aircraft — were not located; therefore, about one-quarter-mile visibility and a valid third-class medical certificate his instrument currency of proficiency 100-ft. ceilings with dense fog. He told with waivers and limitations. He had ac- could not be determined. the pilot that they could not complete cumulated an estimated 1,600 hr. total The mechanic who maintained the the flight because of the weather, and time. His logbooks — usually kept in the airplane told investigators the pilot the accident-pilot responded that,

without any radio contact. The U.S. ▶ May 24 — About 1122 MDT, a Cirrus Air Force dispatched two aircraft to SR22 airplane (N809SR) crashed about 6 Accidents in Brief intercept the accident airplane. One of the mi. southeast of Grover, Utah. The private interceptor pilots reported that he could pilot and passenger were killed and the see the pilot unconscious and slumped airplane was destroyed. The airplane was over the controls. The intercept airplanes registered to Tierra Grande Aviation LLC, and saw that it had overflown FXE at FL followed the accident airplane until it and operated by the pilot Part 91 personal 390 and was heading toward the Atlantic descended and impacted the Atlantic flight. VFR prevailed in the vicinity of the Ocean. According to preliminary ATC radar Ocean about 310 mi. east of FXE. The accident site, and the flight was operated and radio communication information U.S. Coast Guard initiated a search after on an IFR flight plan. The flight departed provided by the FAA, the pilot established the accident, which was suspended on Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY), Moab communications with the Atlanta Air May 25, 2019. The pilot and the airplane Utah, about 1042 and was destined for Route Traffic Control Center and reported were not recovered. Henderson Executive Airport (HND), Las he was level at FL 390, and that the air The pilot held an ATP certificate with Vegas, Nevada. Witnesses reported that was smooth. Later, the controller tried to ratings for airplane single-engine land they heard the airplane and when they communicate with the pilot to tell him to and multiengine land. His most recent looked up, they observed it nose down contact the Jacksonville ARTCC, but the FAA first class medical certificate was descending like a corkscrew. The airplane controller was unable to make contact issued on June 26, 2018. He reported descended behind a hillside; shortly with the pilot. 9,016 total hours of flight experience. He thereafter they heard an explosion and The controller made several attempts held numerous type ratings including a saw smoke rise from the area. to contact the pilot on different radio type rating for the Cessna 560 and had a At 1055 the Hanksville Airport (HVE), frequencies, to no avail. The controller certification for single pilot for the Cessna Hanksville, Utah, located about 30 mi. then advised Jacksonville ARTCC that 560. northeast of the accident site reported communications with the flight had The airplane was manufactured in wind from 170 deg. at 6 kt., clear skies, been lost. The Jacksonville controllers 2001. According to the airplane’s owner, 10 sm visibility, temperature 15C, then continued to monitor the flight via all of the airplane’s maintenance logs dewpoint 2C and an altimeter setting of radar. The flight transitioned through were onboard the airplane during the 30.05 in. of mercury. A high-resolution Jacksonville and Miami ARTCC airspace accident flight. rapid refresh numerical model over the

24 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com legally, they were allowed to fly under The airplane records revealed no past (with all souls on board), because he did FAR Part 91. The acquaintance had not maintenance discrepancies or write- not want to hit anything on the ramp talked to the accident pilot since that ups related to the autopilot or elevator while taxiing in the dense fog. canceled flight. trim. The records also revealed that the Witnesses heard the pre-takeoff en- Another local airplane mechanic — a most recent IFR certification for the gine run-up toward the end of the run- business acquaintance of the pilot— told transponder and pitot static system was way but could not see the airplane as investigators that he flew with the pilot completed on June 20, 2014. To fly in it departed; the engines sounded nor- one time and then refused to fly with IFR conditions the system must be in- mal during the run-up and takeoff. A him again. The mechanic stated that he spected and certified every 24 calendar witness video recorded the takeoff, but was not a safe pilot and took unneces- months. the airplane was not visible due to the sary risks. A post-mortem examination attrib- dense fog. The mechanic who maintained the uted the cause of the pilot’s death to During the takeoff roll the airplane’s airplane stated that, two days before blunt impact. The FAA’s Bioaeronau- tires chirped, which is consistent with the accident, at the request of the pilot, tical Sciences Research Laboratory the wheels touching down on the run- he moved the copilot seat aft (to accom- conducted toxicology testing, which re- way with a side load, said the Safety modate the pilot’s tall son-in-law) and vealed 20 mg/dL of ethanol in muscle, Board. The video ended before the ac- adjusted the rear seats forward to keep ibuprofen in the muscle, and no ethanol cident occurred. the cg in range. detected in the kidney. (After absorp- The witnesses stated that the take- This mechanic also stated that the tion, ethanol is uniformly distributed off continued and then they heard the accident airplane had a known autopilot throughout all tissues and body fluids; airplane impact the ground and saw an issue. If the autopilot was engaged (for therefore, the finding in one tissue but explosion. The weather conditions at the preflight test) on the ground, it would not another is most consistent with post- time of the accident included visibility command the elevator trim full nose- mortem production.) less than one-quarter mile in fog and an down. He understood this issue was a overcast ceiling at 300 ft. AGL. result of the autopilot’s gyros not be- Analysis At the time of the accident, the air- ing level on the ground, which caused craft was about 105 lb. over the maxi- the autopilot to sense and attempt to In its analysis, the Safety Board discussed mum takeoff weight, which exceeded compensate for a high pitch attitude. He the witnesses’ videos and statements. the center of gravity moment envelope. stated that the accident pilot was aware The pilot requested that the airplane “The excess weight would have likely of this autopilot issue. be towed from the hangar to the ramp extended the takeoff roll, decreased accident site depicted a freezing level altitude of about 1,400 ft. MSL, the ▶ May 21 — About 1300 Alaska at 9,755 ft., and supported broken to airplane descended until it disappeared daylight time, a float-equipped Cessna overcast clouds with bases near 3,300 ft. from the radar. A witness on the ground A185F (N5457X) nosed over during AGL and tops to 15,000 ft. The airplane at MQJ reported seeing the airplane a water landing in Cascade Bay near was removed to a secure location for in an estimated 90° left bank with the Whittier, Alaska. The private pilot further examination. nose parallel to the horizon shortly after sustained minor injuries, one passenger departure. He observed the airplane’s sustained serious injuries, and another ▶ May 22 — At 1245 EDT, a twin nose lower slightly before rising again to a passenger was killed. The privately engine, turbofan-powered, Cessna level attitude. At no point did he observe owned airplane was operated by the pilot Citation S-550 (N311G) crashed in a the nose of the airplane rise above the under Part 91 as a personal flight. The flooded corn field about one-half mile horizon. The nose of the airplane again cross-country flight departed Wasilla northeast of Indianapolis Regional Airport lowered and the airplane impacted the Airport, Wasilla, Alaska, about 1210 with (MQJ) Greenfield, Indiana. The airplane ground. a planned destination of Cascade Bay. It was owned and operated by the pilot The airplane hit a flooded cornfield and was VFR and no flight plan had been filed. as an IFR flight under Part 91 when the exhibited significant fragmentation. The The pilot reported that he planned to fly accident occurred. The Airline Transport wreckage and debris field covered an area with the two passengers for a sightseeing rated pilot and the sole passenger were of about 270 ft. long and 103 ft. wide. The trip in the Prince William Sound area, and fatally injured and the airplane was initial ground scar was aligned on about then land on the water in Cascade Bay to destroyed. a 327 deg. heading. The nose of the view a waterfall. He was an acquaintance It was VFR and an IFR flight plan airplane came to rest on a 268 deg. and with both passengers, and had flown them had been filed and activated. The flight the tail came to rest on a 182 deg. Both in the same airplane a few years prior. departed MQJ about 1243 destined for engines separated from the airplane and The preflight inspection and takeoff Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), Nevada. were located about 197 ft. from the point were uneventful, and the pilot reported Archived FAA radar data showed the of initial impact, roughly aligned with the that both passengers were talking airplane departing from Runway 7 at ground scar. A post-impact fire incinerated throughout all stages of the flight. They MQJ. Shortly after departure, the airplane about 80% of the airplane. Detailed approached Cascade Bay for a landing began a left turn toward an assigned engine and wreckage examinations are to the west, and the pilot performed his heading of 320 deg. After reaching an pending. before-landing checks. Confirmation of

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 25 Cause & Circumstance

the climb rate and increased the normal operation, said the Board. The supported by other senses, allows a pi- amount of elevator pressure required to investigation was unable to determine lot to maintain orientation while flying. lift off of the runway,” said investigators. the status of the autopilot during the ac- However, when visibility is restricted A majority of the airplane was con- cident takeoff. (i.e., no visual reference to the horizon or sumed by post-crash fire. The ground “Based on the evidence,” said the surface detected) the body’s supporting impact marks and wreckage distribu- Safety Board, “it’s likely that when the senses can conflict with what is seen. tion were consistent with the airplane airplane entered instrument meteoro- When this spatial disorientation occurs, rolling left over the departure end of logical conditions the pilot experienced sensory conflicts and optical illusions the runway and impacting the ground spatial disorientation, which resulted often make it difficult for a pilot to tell inverted in a nearly vertical, nose-low in a loss of control and descent into which way is up. attitude. terrain.” Contributing to these phenomena are Examination of the engines revealed The Safety Board determined the the various types of sensory stimuli: operating signatures consistent with probable cause of this accident was “the visual, vestibular (organs of equilibrium takeoff power at the time of impact. The pilot’s loss of control due to spatial dis- located in the inner ear) and proprio- elevator trim tab and actuator were orientation during takeoff in instrument ceptive (receptors located in the skin, found beyond their full-up travel lim- meteorological conditions.” muscles, tendons and joints). Changes in its and the trim cable exhibited tension linear acceleration, angular acceleration overload separations near the actuator. Spatial Disorientation and gravity are detected by the vestibu- According to the Safety Board, “It is lar system and the proprioceptive re- likely that, when the cable separated in The Safety Board added a note in its receptors, and then compared in the brain overload, the chain turned the sprocket port that pilots flying under both instru- with visual information. and extended the actuator rod beyond ment and visual flight rules are subject “In a flight environment,” it noted, full travel.” to spatial disorientation and optical il- “these stimuli can vary in magnitude, di- No anomalies were observed with lusions that may cause a loss of aircraft rection and frequency, resulting in a sen- the airframe, engines or cockpit instru- control. sory mismatch that can produce illusions mentation that would have precluded FAA literature states that sight, and lead to spatial disorientation.” BCA

water after takeoff from the Juan Manuel of the 19 second video revealed that the Gálvez International Airport (MHRO), helicopter was at 13,600 ft. MSL, just Accidents in Brief Roatán, Honduras. The pilot, a citizen of above a cloud layer. The time and place Canada, and the four passengers, citizens stamp on the video indicated that the of the U.S., all died in the crash. The video was taken at 1026 in the vicinity of airplane sustained heavy damage. The accident site. the landing gear position was included in airplane was equipped with a Lycoming the checklist, and while he could recall O-540 series engine. The accident ▶ Preliminary radar data provided by performing the check, he did not have investigation is under the jurisdiction and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a specific recollection of the landing control of the government of Honduras. showed the first radar target about 0956 gear status. The water was rough, so he about 52 mi. east of the accident location. planned to land the airplane slightly faster ▶ May 17 — About 1034 MDT, a Further review revealed that the helicopter than normal. However, as soon as the Robinson Helicopter Company R44 began a climb from 10,400 ft. MSL, 37 floats touched the water, he felt a jolt, and II helicopter (N744TW) crashed kt. groundspeed, in a west-northwest the airplane then violently nosed over. The mountainous terrain about 4 mi. direction. At 1009, the data showed cabin immediately filled with water, and north of Alpine, Utah. The private pilot the helicopter leveled off at 13,300 he was able to egress by forcing out the and passenger were fatally injured. ft. MSL and varied in altitude between door window. After spending a moment The helicopter sustained substantial 12,700 ft. and 13,300 ft. MSL for about at the surface, he swam back down into damage. The helicopter was registered 30 mi. At 1029, the helicopter began a the airplane and was able to pull the to Tumbleweed Leasing Company and descent from 12,700 ft. to 11,000 ft. Two passenger located in the aft seat free. He operated by the pilot as a Part 91 minutes later, the helicopter began a right attempted to free the passenger in the personal cross-country flight. It was IFR descending turn from an altitude of about front right seat, but he appeared to be in the vicinity of the accident site about 11,500 ft. The data further depicted the already unconscious. the time of the accident and no flight plan helicopter completed two 360 deg. right Review of photographs taken a few was filed. The flight originated from the turns, before radar contact was lost. The hours after the accident revealed that the pilot’s residence near Myton, Utah about last radar target was at 9,200 ft., on a airplane had come to rest inverted, with 0924 and was destined for South Valley heading of 166 deg., and a groundspeed the entire fuselage submerged and only Regional Airport (U42), Salt Lake City, of 99 kt., or about 1,160 ft. east of the the floats remaining above water. Utah. accident site. The wreckage was located A family member of the pilot reported in mountainous terrain, about 7,656 ft. ▶ May 18 — About 1417 local time, a that at 1027 she received a video from MSL, about 4 mi. northeast of Alpine, Piper PA-32-260 airplane (N260TM) hit the one of the helicopter occupants. A review Utah. BCA

26 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Accelerating Innovation: The All New HF120

ADVANCED: The engine TOUGH: Setting new to the turbine side. This unique Two names synonymous with represents decades of standards for durability and design offers outstanding overall invention have joined forces research and development. efficiency, superalloys used in environmental benefits, including to create unprecedented A wide-chord, swept titanium the hot section permit a higher low NOx, CO, and HC emissions. performance—a product igniting blisk fan with composite fan operating temperature with change in the industry—the outer guide vanes and the use extended parts life. All HF120s RELIABLE: All of these all-new 2,000-pound thrust of innovative turbine blade and are monitored closely via proven amazing features combine to class turbofan power plant. combustor materials are just large aircraft engine proactive create an engine that redefines Built to last, the HF120 delivers some of the unique features diagnostic systems to minimize dependability. Extensive testing advanced technology designed the HF120 brings to the light downtime and enable longer in excess of 23,000 cycles and for speed, endurance, and the jet market. uninterrupted service. simulated 5,000 flight cycles run smoothest ride. on a single engine reveal proven SILENT (Inside & Outside): EFFICIENT: Using innovative reliability and readiness for FL450: The fastest engine in Smart placement of the rotor aerodynamic designs, the HF120 longer uninterrupted operation. its class, the HF120 enables dynamic resonant frequencies delivers greater cycle efficiency effortless climb to FL450 outside of the engine taxi while optimizing operability. The HF120 enjoys enviable and beyond. Its high fan and and flight settings minimizes Unique airblast fuel nozzles operational success. It’s an core pressure ratio provides unwanted cabin noise. provide better fuel atomization incredible machine built to increased aircraft speed and Tight tolerance controls and yielding superior fuel-to-air set a new standard for the reduced climb time to higher exceptional build quality deliver combustion to minimize fuel light jet market—ready for cruising altitudes. With a low low fan and core vibration burn. Laser drilled combustor applications beyond its thrust lapse rate, the engine levels. Low levels of vibration liner holes ensure minimum current aircraft installation. allows for initial climb in excess transmission to the fuselage pressure drop across the of 4,000 feet per minute and result in a quiet cabin and the combustor, enabling optimum reduces time to climb by 40%. smoothest flying ride in its class. transfer of compressor energy

gehonda.com For More Information, Contact GE Honda at (513) 552-7820 @ge_honda Safety Sidestepping Operational Complacency From one Challenger to another ike most people my age, I can recall exactly where I was on Jan. 28, BY JAMES ALBRIGHT [email protected] 1986, when I heard the news that Lthe space shuttle Challenger had ex- ploded and broken apart just 73 sec. after liftoff, killing all seven crewmembers. I was driving onto a U.S. Air Force base getting ready for instrument instructor pilot training. The guard at the gate asked if I had heard. I didn’t even realize there was a launch that day. The shuttle launches had become, in a word, routine. Most space aficionados of the time could give you exact details of the O- rings used to seal the three sections of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and the temperature tolerance of the rings (no colder than 53F) and the temperature at the moment of launch (36F). They could tell you that the manufacturer (Mor- ton Thiokol) designed the SRBs without meeting the temperature range of the space shuttle itself (31F to 99F). All that is true and is interesting in and of itself. But I remember there was much more to it than that. NA SA had been steadily reducing the minimum temperature for launch since the first orbital mission in 1981. I also recall that NASA had established as a goal for 1986 that the shuttle was to become “operational.” Gone were the days of test flights. The space shuttle was to become a viable commercial enterprise. Space travel, the agency said, had become routine. After the Challenger explosion, the initial focus was on the SRB’s O-rings. Theoretical physicist Richard Feyn- man demonstrated the fragility of the O-rings at cold temperatures during a televised hearing by simply dropping a sample of the material into a glass of ice water. The O-ring lost all of its resil- iency. I didn’t fully understand the real cause of the Challenger disaster until 10 years later, when I read The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Cul- ture and Deviance at NASA by Diane

Black smoke from an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster of the space shuttle Challenger, Jan. 28, 1986. NASA

28 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com ROBERT FROLA A “high-tech” cockpit in the year 2000, my 604 career in a large Challenger 604. flight department with pilots and mechanics Vaughan, a professor of sociology at Co- who had several years of lumbia University. Managers at NASA experience with the jet. had learned to accept deviations from But even these experts their own Standard Operating Proce- were often stumped. dures (SOP) from the very start of the Why can’t the airplane program and increased those deviations continue fueling under with just about every launch until that some conditions when the fateful day in 1986. If 53F was the stated fuel truck pauses? Don’t limit, going a few degrees lower should know. Why is fuel ejected be OK. Until it wasn’t. The O-rings were from the wingtips when installed in pairs and both were required it is nowhere close to full? by SOP for redundancy. No O-ring dam- Don’t know. I started age was allowed. Until it was. Slowly but combing through the surely, NASA moved the goal posts to the maintenance manual but very SOPs they had designed. to master the airplane. While the most came up empty. After a while I stopped Vaughan coined the term “The Nor- challenging part about flying this Chal- asking and like the rest of our pilots, malization of Deviance” to describe lenger was the avionics, all that was accepted the quirky fuel system as just what happened at NASA. That makes left for when we got to our flight de- “one of those things” we pilots had to her book an excellent case study for all partments. I finished school with my accept in the “magic” category. pilots, even those of us who confine our new CL-604 type rating with a list of Then, on Oct. 10, 2000, the Chal- aviation to the atmosphere. unanswered questions and theories lenger 604 world was given the biggest Since that day in 1986 I have added that ran contrary to what I had learned fuel system mystery of them all. How many more type ratings and with each in school. All of this, I knew, was par can fuel that is properly loaded prior new aircraft I noticed my tendency to for the course. As I finally became op- to takeoff suddenly shift aft so quickly normalize my own deviance after I had erational in the jet, I expected to have that pitch control is lost? Don’t know. become, well, bored with the novelty all of these questions answered and Two Bombardier production test pi- of the new jet. It is a tendency I have to be proven wrong about many of my lots, flying Challenger 604 C-FTBZ, only recently learned to anticipate and preconceived notions. That is what discovered the problem while demon- sidestep. All of this self-discovery hap- happened, except for four of my com- strating aft center of gravity takeoffs pened in the five years I flew my own plaints. from Wichita-Mid-Continent Airport Challenger, the Bombardier Challenger Complaint No. 1. I left initial training (KICT). The pilot lost control of the air- 604. That five-year span seemed to be with a long list of complaints, the first plane during takeoff, stalling it, rolling a moment of discovery for many Chal- of which was the superficial coverage it on a wing, and killing all three people lenger pilots. of the aircraft systems. We were taught on board. The Transport Canada ac- the bare minimum to understand and cident report blamed fuel migration Step One: Accepting with some success to troubleshoot the from the forward auxiliary tank, to the aircraft. You might as well explain that center auxiliary tank, to the aft aux- Unanswered Questions “magic happens” when the subject gets iliary tank, exceeding the test pilot’s too deep to teach. For example, the ability to maintain pitch control. The In the year 2000, the Challenger 604 had CL-604 has more fuel tanks — eight 604 had been operational for five years one of the sexiest cockpits I had ever of them — than any two-engine air- at this point and this had never before seen. There was glass — and lots of it. craft I’ve ever flown. Fuel loading and happened. Bombardier immediately The switches and buttons all turned consumption patterns were not a part placed narrower CG limitations on the black when everything was good; I had of the curriculum. Relax, I was told, airplane while we operational CL604 never seen a flight deck that more fully that’s something you will learn once pilots were left wondering about those embraced the idea of a “dark cockpit.” operational. fuel tanks. Reading the report, we for I felt fortunate that my first civilian job But out in the field the questions the first time learned those tanks were was flying this airplane and I showed only got worse. I was fortunate to start unbaffled and the pipes between each up at FlightSafety Interna- allowed rapid fuel migra- tional Tucson, Arizona, en- tion. None of us operational ergized and motivated to pilots had ever heard about learn. That was on day one. the problem, but none of us As ground school pro- had ever felt such a shift gressed, I realized the in CG, either. A part of the classroom was paced for puzzle was missing. We had the proverbial “lowest no choice but to accept the common denominator” curtailed CG and move on. I and the course objective moved on. was aimed more toward passing a type rating eval- A general idea of how aircraft uation than it was learning systems are taught. www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 29 Safety

Step Two: Accepting manual specified the 3-deg. rate. This, the way I fly,” was hardly sufficient. too, I learned to accept as “one of those I thought that would rekindle our Non-Standard Procedures things.” flight department debate, but the rapid One year later, a Boeing BBJ sliced rotation pilots assured the rest of us that Complaint No. 2. My second complaint into one of our parked 604’s horizontal they were doing it safely, had been doing centered around non-standardized stabilizers, damaging it beyond repair. it safely for years, but thanked us for stick and rudder procedures. However, Bombardier replaced the stab for us our concern. They were our most expe- having grown up in large Boeing 707s and agreed to have one of the compa- rienced pilots, each having flown the air- and 747s, rotation rates were critical ny’s test pilots fly the airplane provided plane since its first year of operational to avoid tail scrapes and wing stalls. I sat in the right seat. On initial takeoff service, nearly five years earlier. I had Of the eight pilots in my new flight de- the pilot snatched back so hard on the yet to attend my first recurrent. Once partment, the three Air Force veterans yoke I felt the wing shudder. I took the again, I decided to move on. all used the same 3-deg.-per-second airplane with the “I’ve got it” honed rate. Two of the other pilots favored a from years as an Air Force instructor Step Three: Ignoring slower rate to keep the nose lower to pilot and the test pilot immediately let scan for traffic. The three remaining go of the yoke, as if he had a lot of prac- Common Sense pilots insisted a much faster rate was tice doing that. After the flight, I asked needed to get away from the ground, the pilot why he was so aggressive with Complaint No. 3 . . . well, perhaps the where the danger awaited. Nobody the pitch, especially given our newly word “complaint” is too strong. I was seemed to care that the operating installed stabilizer. His answer, “That’s uncertain about deice/anti-ice procedures

Twenty-Five Case Studies Worth Your While

(1) Air Canada Flight 797, June 2, 1983, cabin fire, NTSB (16) Gulfstream GV N777TY, Feb. 14, 2002, NTSB MIA- AAR-86/02. 02LA060. (2) Air Cargo Carriers Flight 1260, May 5, 2017, complacen- (17) Learjet N47BA, Oct. 25, 1999, hypoxia, NTSB AAB- cy, NTSB DCA17FA109. 001/01. (3) Air France Flight 296, June 26, 1988, complacency, (18) Pilatus PC-12 N128CM, March 22, 2009, complacency, Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) published April NTSB AAR-11/05. 1990. (19) Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701, Oct. 14, 2004, intentional (4) Air France Flight 447, June 1, 1990, loss of control, BEA noncompliance, NTSB AAR-07/01. published July 2012. (20) Qantas Flight 72, Oct. 7, 2008, crew coordination, Aus- (5) Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Jan. 31, 2000, improper main- tralian Transport Safety Bureau AO-2008-070. tenance practices, NTSB AAR-02/01. (21) Sabreliner N442RM and Cessna N1285U, Aug. 16, (6) American Airlines Flight 965, Dec. 20, 1995, CFIT, Flight 2015, midair collision, NTSB WPR15MA243A/B. Safety Foundation’s Flight Safety Digest, May-June 1998. (22) Southwest Airlines Flight 1248, Dec. 8, 2005, situation- (7) Bombardier BD-700 C-GXPR, Nov. 11, 2007, eye-wheel- al awareness, NTSB AAR-07/06. height, Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC) (23) Southwest Airlines Flight 1455, March 5, 2000, situ- A08A0134. ational awareness, NTSB. (8) Bombardier Challenger 600 N370V, Feb. 2, 2005, weight (24) Swiss Air Flight 111, Sept. 2, 1998, cabin fire, TSBC and balance, NTSB AAR-06/04. A98H0003AAB-02/04. (9) Challenger 604 C-FTBZ, Oct. 10, 2000, complacency, (25) United Airlines Flight 173, Dec. 28, 1978, crew resource NTSB AAB-04/01. management, NTSB AAR 79-7. (10) Challenger 604 N90AG, Jan. 4, 2002, icing, U.K. AAR ▶Australian Transport Safety Bureau reports are available at 5/2004. https://www.atsb.gov.au/ (11) Colgan Air Flight 3407, Feb. 12, 2009, improper stall ▶BEA reports are available at https://www.bea.aero/index. recovery, NTSB AAR-10/01. php?id=17&no_cache=1 (12) Comair Flight 5191, Aug. 27, 2006, situational aware- ▶Flight Safety Digest is available at https://flightsafety.org/ ness, NTSB AAR-07/05. aerosafety-world/publications/flight-safety-digest/ (13) Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, Dec. 29, 1972, crew ▶NTSB accident reports are available at http://www.ntsb.gov resource management, NTSB AAR-73-14. under the “Investigations” tab. (14) Gulfstream GIII N303GA, March 29, 2001, CFIT, NTSB ▶TSBC reports are available at http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/ AAB-02/03. aviation/index.html under the “Investigations” tab. (15) Gulfstream GIV N121JM, May 31, 2014, intentional ▶U.K. accident reports are available at https://www.gov.uk/ noncompliance, NTSB AAR-15/03. aaib-reports

30 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com PRINT & DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS | APPRAISAL SERVICES | DATA LICENSING

CONVERSIONS & MODIFICATIONS

SERIALIZATION BY MODEL YEAR

MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

NEXT GEN AVIONICS TRUST Know the Value

For over 65 years, Aircraft Bluebook has been the industry’s go-to source for reliable and accurate aircraft valuations, providing in-depth data and information to the global business and general aviation community.

Visit aircraftbluebook.com for more info. Safety for the Challenger 604 because I had rotating. I crawled onto our frost-covered operating manual’s 3-deg.-per-second never been taught and I never had the wing and discovered the same problem procedure, the crash would not have oc- experience. By the time I attended my in our airplane. We towed both aircraft curred. This served only to solidify posi- first recurrent I had yet to need a deice into a warm hangar to thaw out our en- tions in our flight department and, in the truck when operating the 604. During gines; my frost on the wings argument end, no positions had changed. my first recurrent at the simulator, the was postponed. syllabus item was considered complete I managed to avoid frost until the next Step Four: Learning if I managed to notice the synthetic snow winter, when another Challenger ended blowing across the synthetic ramp and the debate once and for all. On Jan. 4, the Hard Way called for some synthetic deice. After the 2002, Challenger 604 N90AG took off sim period, I asked, “How does she fly from Birmingham International Airport Complaint No. 4. The last remaining com- with ice on the wing?” The question was (EGBB), U.K. Both pilots commented plaint was really the first I had noticed considered a strange one. “Why would about the frost on their leading edges, during training: None of our pilots had you do that?” even as other aircraft were deicing for a firm grasp on the airplane’s weight I heard from another instructor that amounts of frost reported to be between 1 and balance. During initial training the a brand-new Challenger 604 flunked its and 2 mm. Immediately after takeoff the instructor handed us a workbook with initial airworthiness test flight because 604 rolled sharply to the left, despite the step-by-step instructions that we used it rolled rapidly to one side during full crew’s application of full opposite aileron during an open book exam. I used the flap stall checks. The only thing wrong and rudder. Six seconds after liftoff, the workbook to complete the exam and with the airplane was a 6-in. strip of paint bank angle reached 111 deg. as the aircraft forgot about CG problems until given left on the leading edge of a flap. They impacted 13-deg. nose down; both pilots the task of cleaning out our cockpits of removed the paint and the roll tendency and all three passengers were killed. anything extraneous. I found something went away. I decided that any contamina- The accident surprised everyone in buried underneath the many manuals, tion on the Challenger 604’s wing should our flight department. Half of us won- charts and checklists in the cabinet not be taken lightly. dered why two pilots would blatantly meant for such things. The mystery I finally got my chance in Anchorage, ignore the flight manual limitation re- item was a piece of metal with three Alaska, where, with a full coat of Type quiring a wing clear of any contami- holes cut out meant for a weight and IV anti-ice fluid, the airplane seemed to nation, including frost. The other half balance chart. fly without complaint even in lightly fall- wondered how these pilots lost control A few of the older pilots recognized the ing snow. A month later I was in Seattle of the aircraft when they had seen the piece of tin immediately and we found the where an overnight freeze left my wings airplane fly just fine with a little frost. paper chart meant to go with the tem- with a sandpaper-like coating of frost. The answers to both questions were sur- plate. One of the pilots taught me to use it The other pilot got his vote in early. “It’s prising. Both pilots were suffering from and I realized it did what it claimed. The nothing a little sunrise can’t take care of.” the combined effects of jet lag and a non- template allowed us to trace the impact I was the pilot in command, but he was se- prescription drug. While one of the pilots of loading passengers, bags and fuel onto nior to me. I asked for a truck with Type I. appeared to be concerned about the frost, the chart without any math at all. “Why As we taxied from the ramp I noted, with he didn’t take any steps other than com- don’t we use this?” I asked. “It isn’t nec- no small degree of self-satisfaction, that menting. But why did they lose control essary,” the veterans said. We never had the other aircraft were still frost covered. immediately after takeoff? The accident a CG problem, so using it was a waste of When we got home the chief pilot asked report speculates that the hot APU ex- time. Everyone agreed we needed to keep me about the bill, which was around $400. haust melted the frost on the right wing the template in the cockpit, in case any- I explained the frost situation. “OK,” he only. The aircraft it seemed, had enough one asked, but we shouldn’t use it because said. “But keep in mind we don’t waste lift to fly but not enough roll authority the paper charts cost money. I stuffed one the client’s money just to make ourselves with frost on one wing only. Our chief pilot template and one paper chart into enve- feel good.” issued his first ever “all hands” email. We lopes and ensured each aircraft had a set. I was thinking about this one month were instructed that under no conditions That task done, I returned to the business later, the day of President George W. would we be allowed to take off with any- at hand: flying the Challenger 604 all over Bush’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2001. thing less than a clean wing. the world. We had flown into Washington Dulles With three years of operational ex- As my fifth and last year of flying the International Airport (KIAD), Virginia, perience, nearly all of my complaints 604 opened, I was starting to feel bored the previous night. It had been snowing had been answered. I had learned to ac- with the jet, despite still having a few heavily, but all that had turned to rain the cept that I would never understand the unanswered questions about aircraft next day. When it was time to leave, our fuel system and that stick and rudder systems and procedures. I was no longer wings appeared clean from a distance procedures were more about technique troubled with my less than perfect state but there was clearly a coating of frost than procedures in this airplane. It was of knowledge. In fact, most of my effort on the leading edges. We had two 604s an unhappy result, but I had learned to was steered toward finding another jet parked side-by-side and the other three accept both unhappy answers. to become excited about. But before I pilots agreed the frost wasn’t going to be The next year, the NTSB reopened could do that, I was reminded about one a problem. I was in the process of talking the investigation into the Wichita fuel of my complaints that I had dismissed myself into doing something I knew was migration crash. In 2004, it concluded and forgotten. wrong when the other aircraft’s passen- this second accident investigation and On Feb. 2, 2005, the crew of a Chal- gers showed up. We watched as they at- determined that although fuel migration lenger 600, N370V, failed to rotate tempted and failed to start their engines. was a problem, the crash was caused by from Runway 6 at Teterboro Airport A pool of frozen water in both engines the pilot’s aggressive rotation of 9.6 deg. (KTEB), New Jersey. The aircraft ran kept both spools of their engines from per second. Had the pilot observed the off the departure end of the runway at

32 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com a ground speed of about 110 kt. The weight and balance through an airport perimeter envelope for Challenger 600, fence, across a six-lane high- N370V. way (where it struck a vehicle), and into a parking lot before they were headed my way impacting a building. The two no matter what I did. What I pilots were seriously injured, needed was a way to get out of as were two occupants in the the way, to sidestep the causes vehicle. The cabin aide, eight before they had a chance passengers and one person in to damage my psyche. My the building received minor method has taken shape over injuries. The airplane was de- the 15 years that have elapsed stroyed by impact forces and and seems to work for me. You postimpact fire. might give it a try as a start- Of course, we Challenger pi- ing point. lots were concerned and spec- (1) Approach initial train- ulated about something falling ing with an open, but skepti- between the pilots’ seats and cal mind. Make note of things the yoke, or perhaps a control you learn as an instructor’s jam. Early accident reports opinion until you can get veri- focused on the nature of the fication from a manual or ac- operator’s charter business tual experience. Keep notes and the aircraft’s CG. It took and keep a record of unan- more than a year for the of- swered questions. ficial accident investigation to (2) Treat operational ex- conclude, and in that time, I perience as another learn- left the Challenger world for a ing opportunity. Your fellow return to Gulfstreams. While pilots, mechanics and other NTSB the fate of the Teterboro Chal- technicians are instructors lenger was old news to me, the findings its maximum allowable takeoff weight but of a sort. Make notes of what you learn served as a wakeup call about my path also moved the aircraft’s CG well beyond “out there” while also keeping track of to operational complacency. its forward limit. who said what. You will soon learn who The pilots of N370V did not compute Reading the report, I realized that I is espousing reliable knowledge and who their takeoff weight and balance for their could have been guilty of the same offense is just making it up. flight from Teterboro to Chicago-Mid- many times during my Challenger 604 (3) Develop a network of like-minded way Airport (KMDW). The planned fuel career. Asking for a full load of fuel wasn’t peers who value understanding aircraft and passenger loading would have been uncommon in the limited range jet. As systems and procedures as much as you within limits, but the pilots asked for a many fighter pilots have said over the do. Trade questions and answers. Col- fuel “top off,” as is a common practice in years, “You can never have too much gas, lect source material. the airplane when stopping distance isn’t unless you are on fire.” When I started (4) Study accident case studies with a

NTSB flying the airplane, one look few questions in mind: How would this at the fuel tank layout and the problem manifest itself in my aircraft? weight and balance chart told What would I have done in that situa- me I needed to get smarter on tion? What resources do I have in the the subject. The fun and ex- cockpit to deal with these issues? Go citement of actually flying the beyond a cursory mind game; dig into airplane — being operational your manuals and follow the checklists — allowed me to forget my list to become familiar with them and to of complaints and get on with spot problems where you might need a the business of flying. I had be- little more knowledge. See the sidebar, come complacent and my com- “Twenty-Five Case Studies Worth Your placency grew with each year of While” for a good place to start. operational flying. It was a pat- In the years since my Challenger tern I was guilty of many times weight and balance epiphany I’ve up- over the years. graded airplanes four times. I’ve managed to avoid the boredom that has Challenger 600, N370V crash site Step Five: The ‘Sidestep’ plagued me in the past, though I’ve probably bored some of my peers with a concern. What these Challenger pilots — Anticipate It my incessant questioning about air- didn’t understand was that the Byzantine Before It Happens craft systems and procedures. I am no layout of their fuel tanks meant their CG longer flying a Challenger, but with ev- tended to migrate forward once a certain As with many who have come face-to- ery new airplane I’ve learned to accept amount of fuel was uploaded. Going from face with repeated failure, I vowed to do each challenge and remain motivated to their planned fuel load of 13,900 lb. to better. I thought that the causes of my learn. Even operationally, the learning 14,600 lb. not only put the aircraft above operational complacency were inevitable, never stops. BCA www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 33 Operators Survey RobinsonRobinson RR6666 Passion, performance and price

34 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com BY LOU CHURCHVILLE [email protected]

obinson Helicopter Co. delivered Early revisions to the R44 design Robinson’s 300-shp (derated to 270 shp its first FAA-certified model 40 included hydraulic boost for the con- for takeoff and 224 shp continuous) out- years ago and not only is it still trols, rupture-proof fuel tanks and fuel put target. in production, but early on it be- injection. Otherwise, except for its size The new engine, designated the Rcame the world’s foremost light heli- and an enclosed cooling fan shroud, the RR300, was key to the launch of the copter. The 1,370-lb. MGTOW R22, two R44 exterior and flight deck mirrored R66 in 2007. That third family mem- bladed, semi-rigid design was initially those of the R22, leaving no doubt it was ber arrived in 2010, featuring five seats, powered by a normally aspirated, leg- a Robinson. an autopilot and air conditioning, and endary and ubiquitous Lycoming O-320 With the millennium’s arrival, Robin- was then priced at $814,000 (today it’s engine, which was succeeded by the son eyed a new opportunity. The long- $906,000). O-360, both of which were derated to 124 established helicopter makers were The standard aircraft is VFR and fit- hp (continuous). The Lycomings were becoming fixated on twins, heavy lifters ted with Garmin com, transponder and proven, bulletproof, mature, mechani- and military programs, and the relative audio panel. IFR equipage with Garmin, cally simple, reliable and inexpensive to newcomer from Torrance, California, Avidyne and Aspen units is offered as operate and own. Thus they fit Robin- decided a lightweight, inexpensive, tur- an option. son’s keep-it-simple design philosophy bine-powered Robinson might fill a mar- The company reports the fixed an- perfectly. ket void. So, it approached Rolls-Royce, nual cost for the model, including de- Although it’s the leading civil he- entreating it to develop a turbine engine preciation, liability and hull insurance, licopter trainer globally, the R22 has “to power a larger version of the R44.” works out to $21,075 and per-hour DOCs a reputation for being “touchy,” even After considering the expense and are $110 to $160. Two Airworthiness “squirrely.” But many instructors say market prospects involved, Rolls, which Directives have been issued for the R66. those characteristics provide trainees acquired the Allison Engine Co. in 1995, One called for inspection of the main with seat-of-the pants mastery of the agreed. Guided by Robinson’s funda- rotor blade and the second was for in- machine and finely honed operational mental design principles of simple, light- specting and possibly replacing the oil instincts — particularly wind wisdom weight, reliable and affordable, Rolls tank. — that helps them become truly com- redesigned its legacy, proven RR/Allison petent and confident aviators. In excess M250 with a new centrifugal compres- Installation in the R66 of the Rolls-Royce of 4,800 R22s have been delivered since sor and eliminated the axial compres- RR300 gas turbine enables a direct engine serial number 001, and production con- sor stages. It was designed to perform shaft drive to the main rotor gear box, tinues at around 40 aircraft per year. to a 2,000-hr. TBO while attaining further simplifying the power train. R22s have no life-limited parts less than 2,000 hr. They are good to go for 2,000 hr., with only routine on-condition maintenance. At the 2,000-hr. mark, the airframe, engine and major components must undergo overhauls, and then the diminutive two-seater is good for another 2,000 hr. ad infinitum. In fact, some flight school R22s have exceeded 20,000 hr. total, with many log- ging around 1,000 hr. a year. While the marketplace embraced the R22 right from its launch, some operators also wanted more payload, seats and power, but in a similarly affordable, reliable and simple machine. In 1993, three years after it was announced, Robinson delivered its first R44. The new model offered four seats, a bigger avgas-fueled piston engine and better performance while incorporating all of the design principles of the R22, but with some upgrades. A welcome addition? As of this writing, 7,000 R44s have been delivered.

Pilot flight experience in our survey ranged from 6,000 to 20,000 hr. of rotary-wing time. www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 35 Operators Survey

And about the same amount learned to fly in an R22, moved into an R44, and now concurrently operate an R66. This implies that the R44 and R66, while very similar in form and function, are complementary and stand on their own in specific flight operations and in economic performance. Respondent comments seemed bal- anced and, frankly, quite similar. For example, one pilot — citing the JetRanger in which he has logged several thousand hours — stated about the single-engine Bell, “Look, it’s 1960s technology, but it’s a proven design. All the big bugs worked out long ago. But the most reliable performance metric is [its] high maintenance costs and low dispatch reliability compared to the R66. One thing I noticed right away, compared to the 206, the 66 had no “two- per” shake — it was smooooth.” The Robinson R66 flight deck family resemblance is strong as evidenced by the cyclic A pilot/operator comparing his R66 arrangement. Integrated avionics are tucked into a newly designed instrument panel, to one of the categorically equivalent concise and easy to reach. alternatives said, “A new R66 costs So, after nearly a decade, how does Pilot flight experience ranged from about $1 million and includes a glass the R66’s in-service performance match 6,000 to 20,000 hr. of rotary-wing time. panel, autopilot and air conditioning its intended operational and economic Two pilots we interviewed were rated — all with superior visibility. A new. promise? We asked those who operate in airplanes and helicopters, but their similar competitive helicopter will set the aircraft to find out. fixed-wing time became incidental early you back three times as much for a in their careers as their helicopter ca- helicopter with free trim [i.e. no hy- Owner/Operator Comments pability was more in demand — more draulics], without the autopilot, air varied and fun, according to the respon- conditioning and integrated avionics. As it happens, and perhaps unsurpris- dents. About three-quarters of those And the reliability just isn’t there com- ingly, every R66 operator we surveyed we surveyed had significant experience pared to our R66.” had significant prior experience in the in “competitive” helicopters like the Bell He went on to state, “I get the same R44 and often in the R22 as well. Brand 206 and 505, the MD 500 and Eurocop- performance burning 18 to 22 gal. per loyalty at its best. ter EC120. hour in the R66 that the other machine

Left to right, the Robinson family — R22, R44 Cadet , R44 Raven 1, R44 Raven 11; R66

36 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com gets burning 32. Plus, the 300-lb. capacity baggage/cargo area is large and thoughtfully designed. Yeah, the other machine has a similar baggage compartment, but the door is so small a suit- case won’t fit through it. That may not be considered ‘performance,’ but it is to me on charter flights with passengers.” One operator who has been working R44s and an R66 for several years in airways and approach guidance and heliport design said, “Heck, this thing [R66] flies from scheduled check to check. It never breaks, not in four years of constant use. [It’s] just routine maintenance. Our experience is it is a high reliability, high performance and extremely cost-effective helicopter.” Another contractor, who hops between his fuel-injected R44 and the turbine-powered R66, observed that the flight deck layouts are so similar, he has to hesitate during the start sequence in the latter to avoid a hot start. “I got so used to the R44 starting right up,” he commented, “that in the R66 I have to pause and remember to accommodate N1 spool-up before adding fuel. It flies like the R44 — only stronger and smoother.” He compared the two Robinson models to cars: “The R44 is like a Toyota or a Honda; the R66 is like a Lexus or Acura.” When operators were asked what im- provements they would like made to the R66, virtually everyone paused and had R66 External Load option no suggestions. Two volunteered that includes right seat solo, bubble the interior could be upgraded. For ex- window, side-mounted instrument ample, “Contrast stitching on the seats cluster (EGT, torque and would be nice,” one operator responded, sling-load weight gauge), and “especially since we charter some very- optional load mirrors. high-end passengers. They can see and feel plush. But as for the performance, not so much. That’s mine to enjoy.” homework on applications for the R66 support issue.” That position was echoed The R66’s extra windows and addi- and offers options and features that by the majority of operators questioned. tional rear seat were noted by several broaden its operational performance Engine support did receive some operators as a very positive enhance- for end users. Popular ones operators down marks. For example, one operator ment. “We get much fewer airsick mentioned were the removable “pony” reported difficulty in getting an issue events,” said one. “The visibility inside auxiliary fuel tank providing about an resolved and cited confusion over part and outside from the right seat is the additional 5 hr. aloft — an especially numbers between Rolls-Royce and Rob- best in class,” commented another tur- useful capability in law enforcement and inson that caused delays in his aircraft’s bine veteran with over 20,000 hr. in extended survey flight ops. All opera- return to service. His impression was virtually every major helicopter in the tors surveyed liked the air conditioning. that the problem was at the factory, and category. Product support can be a tough area not the supplier, and opted to go direct. One Texas responder operates 24 he- to spot check since good and bad experi- That overall customer satisfaction is licopters including four R22s, 15 R44s ences can be episodic or systemic. The reflected in Robinson’s delivery sum- and three R66s. He takes the R66s coast assessment seems even more challeng- mation last year: “Overall production to coast fairly regularly on patrol. Of ing with the Robinson as was best illus- in 2018 was 316 helicopters, a slight in- those, he noted, “They are so reliable trated by one R66 operator’s response: crease compared to 2017’s production and with the power available over the “I don’t know about AOG support. We of 305. The R44 topped the list at 209 mountains, I don’t sweat it. They per- are coming up on our second 2,000-hr. and again ranked as the world’s best- form as advertised.” overhaul period and we have never had selling helicopter according to GAMA’s Clearly, Robinson has done its an AOG or unscheduled maintenance General Aviation Aircraft Shipment www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 37 Operators Survey

Performance Comparison R22 Beta II R44 Raven II R66 Turbine Engine Lycoming 0-360 Carbureted Lycoming IO-540 Injected Rolls Royce RR300 Turbine Derated to 131 hp Derated to 245 hp Derated to 270 shp Horsepower TO/124 hp continuous TO/205 hp continuous TO/224 shp continuous Max. Gross Weight 1,370 lb. (622 kg) 2,500 lb. (1134 kg) 2,700 lb. (1225 kg) Approx. Empty Weight 880 lb. (399 kg) 1,505 lb. (683 kg) 1,290 lb. (585 kg) Standard Fuel 101 lb.( 46 kg) (16.9 gal) 177 lb. (80kg) (29.5 gal) 493 lb. (224 kg) (73.6 gal.) Auxiliary Fuel 56 lb. (25 kg) (9.4 gal) 102 lb. (46kg) (17.0 gal) NA Pilot, Pax & Baggage* 389 lb. (189 kg) 818 lb. (371 kg) 917 lb. (416 kg) Max Airspeed (Vne) 102 kt. (189km/h) NA Cruise Speed @ GW Up to 96 kt. (178km/h) Up to 109 kt.(202km/h) Up to 110 kt. (204 km/h) Max Range (no reserve) Approx. 250 nm (460 km) Approx. 300 nm (550 km) Approx. 350 nm (650km) Hover Ceiling IGE (1,370 lb.) 9,400 ft. 8,950 ft. @ 2500 lb. Over 10,000 ft. Hover Ceiling OGE (1,300 lb.) 8,000 ft. 7,500 ft. @2300 lb. Over 10,000 ft. Rate of Climb NA Over 1,000 fpm Over 1,000 fpm Max. Operating Altitude 14,000 ft. 14,000 ft. 14,000 ft. Electrical System 14 V 28 V 28 V *With Standard Fuel

New removable aux. fuel tank for baggage 2018 Year End Report. Production of compartment carries 43 USG, weighs the R66 and R22 were consistent with 37 lb., and provides a total endurance of 2017, finishing at 74 R66s and 33 R22s. about 5 hr. For 2019, Robinson continues to work on technological enhancements and foreign Shown here is the five passenger seating validations for the slew of new options configuration. A thoughtful touch Ñ the introduced last year.” center seat is raised to provide slightly Since its certification in 2010, Robin- more shoulder room. son has sold 945 R66 helicopters, with about 60% of those operating inter- The R66 baggage compartment door nationally. Its record of reliability and opens wide to ease loading and unloading. popularity underscore the fact that a Weight limit is 300 lb. company — in this case a family owned one — with the passion, intelligence and capability for producing an affordable performance product consistently is likely to prevail in the marketplace. Just ask those who operate them. BCA R66 Operations and Upgrades ▶Removable 43-gal. auxiliary fuel tank; with a 23-gal. aux tank in the works. ▶1,200-lb. cargo hook. ▶TB-17 lithium-ion battery. ▶Heated seats. ▶Wire-strike protection provisions. ▶A newly designed, quieter tail rotor; available this summer. ▶Pop-out, six-chamber floats. ▶Air conditioning. ▶Aft-seat USB charge ports. ▶Garmin GDU 1060 TXi display system.

38 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com The Man Behind the Name A native of Carbonado, Washington, Frank Robinson became an extraordinarily modest sum for a helicopter, and so low fascinated with helicopters at age nine when he saw a news that margins, if any, were paper thin. photo of Igor Sikorsky hovering his VS300 prototype. That In 1979, the company produced just eight aircraft, but the image, he recalled, “blew me away,” with the aircraft repre- following year output increased to 78, and the year after that senting “the ultimate freedom” and fixed his life’s course. it doubled. But then a fuel crunch and an industry-wide run-up Working his way through the in general aviation liability litiga- University of Washington, Rob- tion combined with some rotor inson earned a mechanical failures with fatal consequences engineering degree and later to put Robinson’s company in attended graduate school at a bad way. He fixed the rotor the University of Wichita, a city problem, chucked his insurance, where he launched his career pleaded patience with his suppli- working on Cessna’s CH-1 Sky- ers and kept building. hook helicopter. “We came awfully close to Though ill-starred, the proj- going under on several occa- ect was a great experience for sions,” Robinson recalled. “But the eager helo-head, who then we hung on.” moved on to gyroplanes, to a His tenacity, frugality and pas- gyrodyne, to Bell and, finally, sion were to be handsomely Hughes Helicopters. rewarded. Throughout, he advocated Robinson remained as head building a simple, low-cost, of his eponymous company until everyman’s helicopter, but he the R66 neared its certification was out of sync as his employ- in 2010, at which time he turned ers moved to produce ever- over control to his son, Kurt, larger machines powered by then a 23-year veteran in the expensive turbine engines. family business, who continues Frustrated and by then middle- in that role today. aged, in 1973 Robinson took matters into his own hands. For his vision and signal accomplishments, Frank Robinson He quit Hughes and formed his own company with the goal has received a litany of awards and honors from a host of of designing and building the machine he had championed organizations including the American Helicopter Society, the so long. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American In- Working out of his home, he began designing a two-seater stitute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, the Royal Aeronautical with a two-blade rotor, simple systems and powered by a Society, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the So- piston engine. He named it the R22. Two years later, he flew ciety of Experimental Test Pilots, and Aviation Week & Space it for the first time, and three and a half years after that, the Technology, among the many. FAA presented him with a type certificate. And then the hard A generous contributor to a variety of aviation-related or- work began. ganizations, Robinson Helicopter’s founder, inspiration and Production was modest at first, and money was always chairman emeritus will celebrate his 90th birthday in January tight. A major appeal of the R22 was its $40,000 base price, 2020. BCA

Flight Training R66 Airworthiness Pilots looking to check out in the R66 can find training Directives through a Robinson dealer or by contacting the factory directly. The company holds monthly Pilot Safety Courses at ▶AD 2016-26-04 Alter F016-2 Rev A-E MR blades (SB-13) its factory in Torrance, California, for operators of all three Link: https://bit.ly/2WyYFBn models and at select international dealers on a schedule ▶AD 2019-07-02 Remove oil tank, or modify tank outlet, that is posted on the Robinson website: as specified (SB-21A) http://www.robinsonheli.com Link: https://bit.ly/2WztB4R www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 39 Operations Is Seeing Believing? When visibility and ceiling reports differ from a pilot’s perception

BY PATRICK VEILLETTE [email protected] aybe you’ve had the situation the case of precision approaches it is in which the automatic termi- normally not permissible to start an ap- nal information service (ATIS) proach if the applicable RVR value(s) is Mat Colorado’s Aspen-Pitkin below the required minimum. County Airport/Sardy Field (KASE) In earlier decades, the visibility was indicated “clear,” yet when you tried reported by an observer who looked at the approach, you found yourself in visual references of known distances. solid instrument meteorological con- In some countries it is still the only sys- ditions (IMC) at the missed approach tem available, while in others, it is re- point (MAP). Consequently, you went tained as a standby system for use in missed approach and landed at an al- case the instrumented system fails. ternate and when you made contact Due to its inherent weaknesses, the with your frustrated passenger back International Civil Aviation Organiza- at KASE, he roared on the phone, “I’m tion’s Manual of Runway Visual Range looking straight up at blue sky! What’s Observing and Reporting requires that your problem?” the human observer method should be The differences between what a hu- employed at airports with infrequent man would “see” versus an automated weather that reduces RVR below 1,500 reporting station’s report can be sig- meters, for non-precision approach nificant when it comes to measuring runways and as a backup in case the ceiling and visibility. Having an accu- instrumented system fails. rate runway visual range (RVR) is im- The official definition of visibility for portant for many reasons. The main aeronautical purposes is the greater purpose of RVR is to provide pilots, air of: (a) the greatest distance at which traffic control and other aeronautical a black object of suitable dimensions, users with information on runway vis- situated near the ground, can be seen ibility conditions during periods of low and recognized when observed against visibility, whether due to fog, rain, snow a bright background; or (b) the greatest or sandstorms. RVR is required to as- distance at which lights in the vicinity sess whether conditions are above or of 1,000 candelas can be seen and iden- below the specified operating minima tified against an unlit background. for takeoff and landing. Its values su- The human estimate of visibil- persede the reported visibility and in ity is prone to many sources of error.

GETTY IMAGES/SHAUNL

40 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Visibility can often be different in vari- transmissometer or a forward-scatter ous directions from an airport. Sig- meter. nificant differences may occur in the RVR is sometimes used by pilots as an background luminance and extraneous indication of the visual guidance that may lights to which an observer and a pilot are be expected during the final approach, exposed. This can be important where flare, touchdown and roll-out. It is tempt- observations are not made at the runway ing to assume that the RVR will provide center line. A group of observers may an indication of the overall visual range have different distant visual acuity, sig- conditions. However, RVR applies only for nificant variations in the visual threshold the visual range on the runway as the con- of illumination in different background ditions during approach may be signifi- luminance conditions or other degraded cantly different. Until the pilot is actually vision characteristics. Pilots must check on the runway, the view from the cockpit their eyesight periodically and generally down to the ground represents a slant vi- place high demands on their vision, but sual range (SVR) and may be affected by this does not necessarily apply to person- fog densities varying with height. nel making RVR assessments. ICAO’s Since RVR cannot be measured di- manual recommends that observers rectly on the runway, the error caused by should meet a specified vision standard the difference in conditions at the runway and be subject to periodic vision checks. and at the location where the RVR is as- If observers are exposed to high levels sessed can have an operational impact. of illumination just before making visual The ICAO manual on the subject pro- observations using lights, as would be vides a comprehensive and validated the case when they leave a lighted area review of these sources of error. For in- to make night observations, without suf- stance, the RVR systems are usually ficient time for their eyes to the darker installed up to 120 meters from the run- environment, their visual acuity would be way center line on a grass or sand sur- degraded. In such cases the RVR values face, which in winter might be covered would be underestimated, which could with snow. In contrast, the runway is result in the unnecessary deviations of made of concrete or asphalt, which may aircraft to alternative airports. warm more rapidly than the surround- Runway edge lights are intention- ing grass, snow or sand surfaces. The really directed with the beam intensities sulting temperature difference between pointed toward the runway center line the runway and surrounding area will while the light intensity falls off rapidly affect the distribution of fog and may re- toward the edges. This is done purposely sult in a greater RVR along the runway to enhance a pilot’s ability to see the run- than that assessed by the instruments. way edge lights when aligned with the This effect may be enhanced by aircraft runway for takeoff and landing. However, movements on the runway that, in the for safety reasons, human RVR assess- short term, can cause the dissipation ments cannot be made from the runway of fog due to the hot exhaust gases and itself. And so positioned, an observer will turbulence generated. However, the ex- sense lower light intensity and hence re- haust gases also contain condensation port poorer visibility. nuclei and water vapor that may lead to Instrumented RVR systems have been the thickening of fog in a longer term. In developed that are more accurate and cold climates, during surface inversions, consistent, thereby allowing monitor- only one flight operation may be enough ing multiple locations along the runway to cause fog formation because of the simultaneously, and are able to provide turbulence generated. more rapid updates. In order to meet re- If the fog is caused by advection, the quirements for the rapid updating of in- wind direction and obstacles may lead formation on RVR changes, the trend has to patchy fog where the instrument may been toward automatic systems capable be completely covered by it while at the of giving digital readouts. same time the visibility on the runway is RVR is defined in ICAO Annex 3, Chap- relatively good, or vice versa. ter 1, as: “The range over which the pi- It is usual to make the observations lot of an aircraft on the center line of near the touchdown zone and at selected a runway can see the runway surface additional sites, normally the midpoint markings or the lights delineating the and stop-end. This may, of course, some- runway or identifying its center line.” times lead to contradictory results, par- The two commonly used instruments ticularly in the case of patchy fog where, for measuring visibility are either a for example, one instrument near the www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 41 Operations GETTY IMAGES/MEMITINA

A pilot’s ability to see the runway environment is affected by many things. Rain on the windscreen and resulting compromised light will degrade vision of the runway environment. touchdown zone could give an RVR of lights) lessens a pilot’s ability to ade- modulated tungsten halogen lamp and 2,000 meters, while a second instru- quately sense the dim environment of a amplitude modulated light emitting di- ment near the midpoint of the runway fog-enshrouded runway threshold. ode (LED). 1,500 meters from the touchdown-zone Mountain bowl approaches create a The RVR transmissometer is a techno- instrument, could indicate an RVR of 500 situation in which pilots’ eyes are unable logically advanced instrument; however, meters. to fully adapt to rapidly changing light it does have some disadvantages. To pre- A pilot’s ability to see the runway envi- illumination. The sky above the alpine serve alignment in locations with unsta- ronment is affected by many things. Rain landscape during civil twilight can be ble ground (e.g. tundra, frost heaves) can on the windscreen and resulting compro- much brighter than terrain features, and be difficult. And since it is located close to mised light will degrade vision of the run- pilots are exposed to higher ambient light a runway, it must be frangible in case of way environment. When the line of sight levels at altitude before descent. Pilots an aircraft’s runway excursion. Such fac- passes through a single sheet of uncolored then experience rapid decreases in ambi- tors make the design challenging. More- glass at perpendicular incidence (as when ent illumination during the approach to over, transmissometer measurements a pilot looks at the touchdown zone), the a mountain bowl airport where terrain are particularly sensitive to errors caused loss of light transmittance is small, about features rise far above the horizon and re- by window contamination, especially in 9%. Most of this loss is caused by reflec- duce the amount of ambient illumination the upper range of transmissivity. So, cov- tion at the two air-to-glass surfaces. The at lower elevations, especially when com- ering the complete RVR range from 50 to windscreen of a transport aircraft usually bined with inclement weather conditions. 2,000 meters is no simple matter. has two or more such surfaces, and two or The basic equipment of a transmis- The forward-scatter visibility sensor more glass-to-plastic surfaces. someter system consists of a transmitter, utilizes a projector and a detector to mea- Additionally, the line of sight is not receiver and a registration control unit. sure the amount of light received when perpendicular to the windscreen and the The optical axes of the transmitter and light passes through a relatively small air latter may have an electrically conduct- the receivers must be precisely aligned (only three-quarters of a cubic foot) vol- ing film to provide deicing heat. It is es- with each other. The transmitter radi- ume. This type of sensor can be mounted timated that the angle of incidence of the ates short light pulses with a frequency of on a single mast. The measurement is windscreen to the line of sight for typical approximately 180 flashes/minute. The taken every 30 sec. and averaged over a transport category aircraft is likely to be receiver responds to these and measures 10-min. period. Because of its small size in the range of 45 to 70 deg. At 45 deg., the their intensity. The ratio of the transmit- and light weight, a forward-scatter me- transmittance of two sheets of clear glass ted energy and the detected energy is a ter can be mounted on a single frangible is approximately 0.82, and at 70 deg. it is measure of how much light is absorbed in pole. It is not affected by unstable ground 0.54. In these cases, the reduction in light the fog. From this, the RVR is calculated. conditions. A forward-scatter meter can transmittance runs from 18% to 46%. In The transmitter and the two receiv- readily cover the full RVR range with a other words, the intensity of the runway ers are optically aligned to each other single instrument. It is relatively insensi- lights is degraded by this amount by the and located within a precisely measured tive to window contamination and nor- time the light reaches a pilot’s eyes. distance. The use of narrow beam an- mally does not require frequent cleaning. The backscatter of aircraft landing gles and the resulting need for fine op- Moreover, look-down scattering geom- lights, especially when flying in snow, tical alignment makes it necessary for etry reduces the chances of window con- will also decrease a pilot’s viewing abil- the units to be mechanically rigid and tamination or precipitation hitting the ity versus the RVR reading. Stress and mounted on firm foundations since small windows. A forward-scatter meter can fatigue will significantly degrade flight changes in any alignment can cause large be repaired, recalibrated and restored crew physical and psychological condi- changes in receiver output and can be to service under most weather condition. Bright cockpit lights, or flight crew- wrongly interpreted as variations in the tions, including low visibility — with the members exposed to bright lights in the atmospheric conditions. Various light exception of blowing precipitation or previous time period (think apron flood sources are used, including tungsten fila- high winds. lighting or flying over bright approach ment lamp, xenon pulse discharge tube, The accuracy of the visibility reported

42 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Know Before You Go

THE DATA YOU TRUST ININ A CCONVENIENTONVENIENT, EASY-TO-USE APP

DOWNLOAD YOURS AT: acukwik.com/products Operations

by a forward-scatter meter depends on microclimatology — or, in other words, An unforeseen overcast layer may the nature of the phenomenon reducing the visibility over one part of the run- take 2 min. for the ASOS to report as a the visibility, particularly if the weather way may differ from the location of the scattered layer and may take up to 10 phenomenon “absorbs” light. This vari- measuring device because of localized min. for it to report a broken layer. Sec- ation may be corrected if the sensor weather. For instance, one of these ondly, as it takes subsequent readings, can accurately identify the thing reduc- measuring devices located along the the software algorithms “time-aver- ing the visibility. However, such cor- slightly lower ground to the south of age” the readings. “Detection cycles” rections may be inaccurate for mixed the Gunnison, Colorado, runway along can be as brief as 12 sec. (during which phenomena (e.g. rain and fog, rain Tomichi Creek is likely to report a lo- thousands of pulses are sent) and these and snow). Strict manufacturing tol- calized fog band while the opposite run- are averaged over 30 min., with a dou- erances on scattering geometry must way threshold is completely clear. ble-weighted average over the last 10. be maintained to prevent calibration The ceilometer, which measures sky Ceilometers may also report cloud variations. Undetected obstructions of conditions, is also prone to error. It uses layers inaccurately when there is pre- the sensor windows, such as snow, can a laser beam shot upward. If there is a cipitation in the path of the laser beam. result in reporting RVR values higher cloud layer located directly above the A laser beam is a light wave and refracts than actual. Snow clogging represents ceilometer, the beam reflects that back. when it travels into a medium with a dif- the worst case and must be avoided The ceilometer’s narrow laser beam ferent refractive index. When the beam or detected to assure that misleading is directed in only one direction to the hits rain, it refracts and hits the cloud layer at a different angle of incidence, resulting in the ceilometer not being able to capture the signal. This results in an inaccurate sky condition report. On a positive note, ceilometers can

GETTY IMAGES/TOMCH measure the height of clouds more accurately at night than human eyes, which are affected at night and cannot distin- guish layers of clouds accurately. And human observers are not able to detect multiple layers of clouds when the cloud bases appear to merge with other layers of clouds. When high winds exist or dynamic snowstorms are moving through, blowing snow and snow squalls can cause the ceiling and visibility to change on each cycle. The rapid changes coupled with the built-in time delay make it difficult to determine if minimums actually exist to continue an instrument approach. Continuous AWOS monitoring to determine a trend — nearly im- The RVR systems are usually installed up to 120 meters from the runway center line on a possible in variable weather conditions grass or sand surface, which in winter might be covered with snow. In contrast, the runway with the time delay — can interfere is made of concrete or asphalt, which may warm more rapidly than the surrounding grass, with essential cockpit communica- snow or sand surfaces. tions, which can be especially critical RVR values are not reported. “Look- sky, and thus can only detect clouds on an approach in IMC in mountainous down” scattering geometry devices sig- that pass directly over the beam. To terrain. nificantly reduce the chances of snow put it in more simple terms, it’s looking With increased operating costs and clogging. up through a narrow straw. The laser lower operating minima, much higher Field studies in the U.S. have shown beam is so narrow that its detection degrees of precision sophistication and that forward-scatter meters and trans- circle diameter at 12,000 ft. above the timeliness are needed in meteorological missometers have comparable capa- station is only 60 ft. Thus, it is very pos- observations and processed informa- bilities at 150 meters distant from the sible for the ceilometer to report “clear” tion feeding the aviation sector. Every instrument. Computer simulations in when the single blue hole in the sky hap- method used to estimate visibility and the U.S. suggest that, with close pro- pens to be right above it while a human ceiling is susceptible to errors. It’s likely duction tolerances and good scatter- observer looking at the rest of the sky that there will always be inherent limita- ing geometry design, the unit-to-unit would report an overcast. Rapid for- tions with automated weather measure- variations in the median fog calibration mation and dissipation of cloud layers ment equipment, and interpretation of of a forward-scatter meter can be con- directly above a ceilometer may not be the weather based on these sources can trolled to +/-7%. Not all forward-scatter adequately reported because of the al- be fraught with pitfalls. meters achieve such close tolerances. gorithms in the automated surface ob- Wise pilots should understand The RVR reported by either trans- serving system (ASOS), which require the fallibilities and limitations of missometers or forward-scatter me- 60 samples in a 30-min. period to calcu- this critical information and proceed ters is susceptible to error caused by late the percentage of cloud layer. accordingly. BCA

44 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Aviation Week Continues the Urban Air Mobility Series. Seize the Opportunity and Join the Conversation!

September 25, 2019 October 16, 2019 Singapore London, UK uamap.aviationweek.com uameurope.aviationweek.com #UAMAP #UAMEU

Aviation Week’s UAM series brings together manufacturers, regulators, technology innovators, disruptors, municipal leaders, and the infrastructure & investment community; all working together to create on-demand aviation for smart cities and a new future for manned and unmanned air transportation. Attend. Sponsor. Exhibit. events.aviationweek.com Piloting Drones 101, Part 1 How these diminutive aircraft are revolutionizing the workaday world — including yours

The U.K.’s NATS has taken the lead to integrate drones into its airspace. The FAA is participating in trial programs to create a regulatory structure for drone operators in U.S. airspace. NATS

BY MAL GORMLEY [email protected] e’ve entered the age of the Their growth is the result of myriad Now is a great time to become a com- drone — formally called creative drone applications and is lim- mercial drone pilot. According to Preci- unmanned aerial vehicles ited only by the imaginations of develop- sionhawk UAV, demand for drone pilots (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft ers seeking fortunes in industrial and is spiking as more and more companies Wsystems (UASes). Drones can be any governmental needs. realize the benefits of aerial intelligence, aircraft operated without a human pi- If you’re in flight department manage- with savings and safety at the top of the lot aboard and have been around since ment or aspire to be, now is the time to list. Signaling a move upward, the FAA World War II when they were first start paying attention to those devices. predicts the demand for commercial used for military tasks. But here we’re Their larger, more advanced versions UAV pilots will quadruple by 2020, with focused on small, multirotor aircraft are starting to play a role in business more than 300,000 new pilots needed to weighing less than 55 lb. and used for aviation. And while the number of air, meet future demand. commercial purposes. sea and land applications is exploding, Meanwhile, a shakeup is underway in The global drone market is expected and regulators are scrambling to work the drone industry. Drone service compa- to reach $15 billion within three years, out how to safely incorporate drones nies are in trouble. Those providers that up from just $1.3 billion in 2016. This into the world’s airspace, the need for aren’t bought or folded into larger compa- includes revenues from hardware, soft- drone-related skills is attracting those nies face an even more difficult uphill bat- ware/analytics and drone services. It is who see exciting new employment op- tle. The market is moving in-house and no longer hyperbolic to say that drones portunities. The flight training sector the influx of newly minted commercial are as big a tech milestone as digital avi- has responded by quickly developing drone pilots is putting undue downward onics and GPS. sophisticated drone degree programs. pressure on service costs.

46 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Not surprisingly, businesses and to Part 107 rules, but these exemptions Hundreds of thousands of transmis- other organizations are increasingly cannot be combined with commercial sion towers span the U.S., with greater turning to their flight departments delivery operations, so Wing had to se- than 3,200 electric utilities adding and third-party providers to conduct cure an air carrier certificate, previ- more each year to the ever-expanding their drone operations. Keeping up with ously only granted to operators flying American grid. When it comes to elec- drone trends and developments could manned aircraft. trical transmission management, drone- be advantageous to flight department As in Australia, U.S. delivery opera- based technology can provide higher personnel if and when company leader- tions will use Wing’s unmanned aircraft accuracy of inventory and tower health ship calls to see if your team is ready to support its dronish needs. Conversely, being drone savvy could be a persuasive asset if you or your flight department sees an opportunity and recommends drone services the company might not have considered. Applications The commercial drone industry is rapidly maturing from proof-of-concept projects and pilot programs to large scale, production deployments of autonomous drone fleets. Any one of these following types of applications could conceivably become a significant component in your parent organization’s affairs — and your flight department’s responsibilities. Drones are quickly becoming essential for a variety of applications. Among them are as tools for disaster relief and search-and-rescue efforts. Drones’ nimble capabilities are making an impact DUKE ENERGY that will grow as operators learn how Keeping up with drone trends and developments could be advantageous to flight best to coordinate with rescue and re- department personnel if and when the downtown office heads call to see if your team is covery providers on the ground. ready to support its dronish needs. Whether it’s air-dropping cheese- system traffic management (UTM) plat- measurements, reduce inspection costs, burgers and beer to hungry North form to integrate drone flights into the increase tower production and ensure a Dakota golfers (Google it) or making national airspace. higher margin of safety. critical medical deliveries, drone pack- In May, DHL-Sinotrans, China’s in- Other drone applications include real age delivery now exists. ternational express company, and in- estate sales, property management, In May, the first air carrier FAR telligent autonomous aerial vehicle news reporting, entertainment (remem- Part 135 certificate for a commercial maker EHang entered into a strategic ber the stunning Super Bowl halftime drone delivery service in the U.S. was partnership to jointly launch a fully au- drone light show?) and filmmaking. De- awarded by the FAA to Wing, a sub- tomated and intelligent smart drone velopers of artificial intelligence are also sidiary of Google’s parent company, delivery solution to tackle the last-mile looking at ways to expand drone utility. Alphabet. That service is underway in delivery challenges in urban areas of Watch this space. western Virginia. A month earlier, Wing China. Smart drone delivery service will launched its first commercial drone de- enhance DHL’s delivery capabilities and Play by the Rules livery service in a suburb of the Aus- create a new customer experience in the tralian capital of Canberra after more logistics sector and open up even more Before widespread commercial drone than four years of testing with selected economic opportunities. operations become commonplace, some customers Down Under. The company When it comes to delivering organs significant legal and technical hurdles plans to launch its first European trial for transplants and medicines, the Af- remain to be overcome, including the later this year in Helsinki. Award of the rican nations of Rwanda, Ghana and refinement of drone regulations, auton- Part 135 certificate means the entire Tanzania are already way ahead of omous flight and how to safely include Wing organization, and not just the U.S. drone operators. Ghana formally drones in airspace management. Nev- drone itself, has met the FAA’s require- launched the world’s largest nationwide ertheless, progress is advancing rapidly. ments for operating for hire, including medical drone delivery service in April. If you’re considering becoming drone- economic authority, documentation and Also in April, an eight-rotor custom ready, get familiar with the rules and its training. drone transported a donor kidney from culture. Previously, Wing had been flying St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore to the The drone legal landscape is still in its drones in the U.S. beyond visual line University of Maryland Medical Center, Big Bang stage, so watch for changes, of sight and over people under waivers 2.7 mi. away. particularly from the FAA. In the U.S., www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 47 Piloting

drones are sanctioned under FAR Part you obey the other flight rules. But to between $1,000 and $4,000. The com- 107. To see a summary of this regula- do this, you’ll also need a Commercial pany has aggressively cut its prices, tion, search online for the “Small Un- Drone license. and its products can be found in Apple manned Aircraft Regulations (Part You can request a waiver of most re- stores. In May, DJI announced that all 107)” Fact Sheet at http://www.faa.gov/ strictions if you can show your opera- of its drone models released after Jan. 1, news tion will provide a level of safety at least 2020, that weigh more than 250 grams Here are a few aspects of Part 107 you equivalent to the restriction from which will include AirSense technology, which must know before launching your UAS. you want the waiver (i.e, night flight), receives ADS-B signals from nearby

Essentially, to operate DUKE ENERGY the controls of a small UAS (sUAS) under Part 107, you must be at least 16, have a remote pilot certificate with an sUAS rating or be under the direct supervision of a person who holds such a certificate. And yes, there’s a written test to be taken and plenty of online prep courses. For more advanced aspects of droneology (even advanced degrees). You’re required to keep your drone within sight at all times. Alter- natively, if you use first person view (FPV) via a video feed or similar technology, you must have a visual observer always keep your aircraft within unaided sight (for example, no binoculars). Neither you nor a visual observer can be responsible for more than one Electric power provider Duke Energy used airplanes and helicopters and warns unmanned aircraft operation at a time. this drone and others to help powerline drone pilots if they appear to be on a You can fly during daylight or in twi- crews restore power in Puerto Rico collision course. The effort is part of a light with appropriate anti-collision following Hurricane Maria. 10-point plan to help ensure safe opera- lighting. Minimum weather visibility tion as the proliferation of drones con- is 3 mi. from your control station. The but for the time being, such waivers are tinues. The AirSense announcement maximum allowable altitude is 400 ft. difficult to obtain. has received kudos from aviation indus- AGL or higher if your drone remains Again, see the entire Fact Sheet on try organizations. within 400 ft. of a structure. Maximum the FAA website mentioned earlier. In addition to DJI, the list of global speed is 100 mph (87 kt.). Bear in mind that not everyone loves commercial drone manufacturers in- Currently, you can’t fly a drone over drones. Be observant of local drone cludes 3D Robotics, AeroVironment, anyone not directly participating in the limits (they’re sometimes banned from Aeryon Labs, Aurora Integrated Sys- operation (including outdoor stadiums), public parks, for example) and the un- tems, Bae Systems, Boeing Corp., Chal- nor under a covered structure, or inside welcoming population. lis Heliplane, Denel SOC, Draganfly a covered stationary vehicle. No opera- Innovations, DroneDeploy, Elbit Sys- tions from a moving vehicle are allowed Drone Makers tems, General Atomics Aeronauti- unless you are flying over a sparsely cal Systems, Insitu, Israel Aerospace populated area. The drone manufacturing industry is Industries, Kespry, Leonardo S.p.A., Also, you can carry an external load still nascent and its market is growing; Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grum- if it is securely attached and does not consolidation will likely result in a few man, Safran, Textron, Thales Group, adversely affect the flight character- companies fighting for market share. The Turkish Aerospace Industry and istics or controllability of the aircraft. China’s DJI has been rising to the Yuneec. Intel and Qualcomm are build- You also may transport property for top in many industry categories, with ing drone hardware for advanced on- compensation or hire within state few serious competitors. According board processing, machine learning boundaries provided the drone, includ- to internet media company Vox, DJI and 4G data, which may help DJI’s ing its attached systems, payload and commands a major share of the North competitors. cargo, weighs less than 55 lb. total and American market for drones priced Commercial drone sales still

48 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com represent a relatively small share of to allow drones to fly at night and over Among key technologies underpin- market sales, but their higher costs people without waivers under certain. ning the UTM system is a prototype — some can reportedly cost in excess The project, running through Septem- Flight Information Management System of hundreds of thousands of dollars — ber, is intended to develop and demon- that would be operated by the airspace mean OEMs are focused more on selling strate a traffic management system to regulator, a USS interface for multiple, their industrial-strength models. safely integrate drone flights within the independent service providers, and air nation’s airspace system. It also will cre- vehicle detect-and-avoid, vehicle-to-ve- There’s an App for That ate a shared information network and hicle communications, and automated gather data that can be used for future safe landing capabilities, NASA said. Commercial drone management apps rulemakings. Meanwhile, the Unmanned Aircraft (we quickly found a half-dozen provid- The participating providers were se- Systems Traffic Management System ers online) can make operations far sim- lected based on the strength of industry Pilot Project (UAS IPP) is distinct but pler. You can code it yourself, farm it out partnership, the maturity of the tech- complementary to the FAA’s traditional to your corporate IT folks — or buy it. nology offered and overall cost. The ef- air traffic management system. Officials These apps enable drone program man- fort is to evaluate mature technologies involved are hopeful the effort will result agers and operators to maximize air- for unmanned aircraft traffic manage- in a framework of repeatable processes craft utilization, input flight logs, keep ment including flight planning, com- for approving complex drone operations in the national airspace. It’s also hoped that the IPP will leave behind viable drone operating businesses that will continue long after the PATRICK MCKAY PATRICK pilot program has ended. One of the 10 IPPs, led by the North Carolina Depart- ment of Transportation, expects its program to result in Part 135 air carrier certificates for three different drone delivery services. The goal of the IPP was to involve all the stakeholders in projects that would demonstrate the benefits of complex drone operations and generate data to enable the FAA to move from the waiver process to regulations for operations such as beyond visual line of sight (BV- LOS). Each of the four IPP teams took on a different combination of use cases and demonstration tasks. The North Dakota team, for example, led by the Northern Plains UAS Test Site focused on operations with people, demonstrating that drones operated by first responders and news media could safely share airspace over a tailgate A typical video feed of a drone on-screen munications, aircraft separation and event at a sporting venue. display readout showing navigation data. weather services for these drones op- The IPP led by the Kansas DOT, erating under 400 ft. Here’s a summary meanwhile, has focused on the BVLOS of developments since the initiative’s operation of drones for precision agri- announcement: culture and inspection of long linear in- maintenance records, ensure regula- NASA and the Nevada Institute for frastructures such as power lines, solar tory compliance, view personnel quali- Autonomous Systems (NIAS) dem- panel arrays and pipelines. The pilot fications, document incidents and better onstrated drone flights in downtown program, led by the University of Alaska protect the safety of their team. Reno, Nevada, on May 21 as part of the Fairbanks has concentrated on pipeline final phase of development of a UTM inspection and package delivery. Trials capability. The UTM Technical Capa- The North Carolina team has begun bility Level (TCL) 4 test phase caps a delivery of medical samples by drone To advance drone use by hobbyist and four-year series of increasingly com- under its IPP. A second medical deliv- commercial operators alike, the FAA is plex operations, placing drones in high- ery service and a food delivery opera- participating in trial programs to create density urban settings. Testing aims to tion are planned to begin later this year. a reasonable regulatory structure for demonstrate drone operations includ- The team also is demonstrating infra- the drone-esphere. ing flights beyond visual line of sight of structure inspection using the DOT’s The agency’s most recent drone ini- ground operators, with participation by own fleet of 30 drones. In March, drone tiative, announced in January by Trans- multiple organizations and UAS Ser- maker Matternet and UPS launched a portation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, vice Suppliers (USSes) in a federated service flying medical samples by quad- proposed new rules and a pilot project air traffic management architecture. copter between a surgical center and www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 49 Piloting

the main laboratory at WakeMed Hos- FAA released in February containing pital in Raleigh. This involved obtaining amendments to its Part 107 regulation a waiver for operations over people and that would allow drone flights over peo- over moving traffic — a first. The ser- ple and at night. ALPA contends that vice is operating five days a week, mak- Part 107 in certifying drone operators ing seven to 10 flights a day. “falls short of the necessary aeronauti- Currently, however, the drone issue of cal experience, demonstrated flight pro- greatest concern is rogue drone sight- ficiency, and flight proficiency needed ings and incursions near aircraft and to serve as a commercial sUAS pilot,” airports. Two lawmakers from the U.S. experience that is especially significant Senate Commerce Committee are call- for flying drones over people. The pi- ing on the FAA to publish a proposed rule for remotely Drones’ nimble capabilities identifying drones by July will grow as operators 21, saying that recent Drones are a very real concern for ag pilots learn how best to drone sightings at airports coordinate with other and sporting events in the organizational units.

lots’ union recommends the FAA de- prep materials, comprehensive guides, velop comprehensive requirements articles, and an extensive database of for commercial sUAS pilots “that are drone lawsuits and litigation. One arti- more aligned with manned commercial cle, “5 Problem Areas When Integrating certificate requirements,” including Drones Into Large Companies” seems knowledge tests, practical flight evalu- especially pertinent. The article covers ations and recurrent flight-training a number of topics of relevance to busi- requirements. ness flight departments such as internal And drones are a very real concern corporate department relationships, le- for agricultural pilots. The aerial appli- gal department oversight, maintenance, DUKE ENERGY DUKE cation industry has over 3,500 ag pilots flight manual responsibilities, ops man- Beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) who frequently operate just 10 ft. above uals, data management, battery safety capability enhances the utility of drones, the ground at 100 kt. Drones are nearly procedures, and much more. particularly for distant services like impossible to see or avoid. power-line and railroad inspections. Mixing With Heavy Iron Lawyer Up U.S. and Europe “underscored the need The full financial and practical benefits to quickly adopt and implement” the There are drone regulations. And liti- of routine flights by drones in national proposed rule. gation. And lawsuits. People do stupid airspaces with other, larger aircraft will In a parallel development, associa- things with drones. Neighbors object to be realized only when operators have a tions representing airports and the them. Regulators can overreact. Man- file-and-fly capability as easy and quick drone industry have formed a high-level ufacturers sue each other. Operating a to access as that enjoyed now by pilots task force to address the challenge of commercial drone requires an astute of conventional aircraft. Airspace intel- drone incursions at U.S. airports, simi- awareness of the legal environment to ligence and management are seen as a lar to rogue-drone incidents that forced which your commercial drone operation critical enabler for scalable, safe, BV- London’s Gatwick Airport to close re- may be exposed. LOS enterprise drone operations. peatedly last December, and suspended Ensuring that you identify all poten- One encouraging development of air flights at Newark Liberty International tial hazards and sufficiently mitigate traffic management/drone detect-and- Airport in New Jersey in January. your operational risk may require some avoid technology is a U.K. partnership The Airports Council International- outside help. Unsurprisingly, the legal between Altitude Angel, a London- North America (ACI-NA) and the Asso- community already is rife with lawyers based aviation tech startup, and NATS ciation for Unmanned Vehicle Systems knowledgeable on drone legalities, and Holdings Ltd. (formerly the National Air International (AUVSI) announced a a quick online search will uncover many Traffic Services), the U.K.’s air naviga- blue-ribbon task force on drone miti- such firms and their resources. tion service provider. As with the FAA’s gation at airports in April, during the One of the more comprehensive web- air traffic control system, NATS’ pri- AUVSI conference in Chicago. Former sites we found is Rupprecht Law (h t t p :// mary role is to ensure safe operation FAA Administrator Michael Huerta www.jrupprechtlaw.com), owned by Palm within Britain’s airspace. and Deborah Flint, CEO of Los Angeles Beach, Florida-based Jonathan Ruppre- Recognizing that the flight control World Airports, serve as the task force cht. He’s a practicing aviation attorney systems for many small drones reside co-chairs. and commercial pilot, CFII, a former on the aircraft owner’s smartphone, Not all professional pilots are com- professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronau- NATS and Altitude Angel (http://www. fortable sharing the skies with drones. tical University and a contributor at altitudeangel.com) began developing an For one, the Air Line Pilots Associa- Forbes.com for aerospace and defense. app in 2016. Publicly launched online tion commented on a Notice of Pro- The site offers a wealth of material, in April, Altitude Angel now enables posed Rulemaking (NPRM) that the including a blog, Part 107 written test commercial and recreational users of

50 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com small drones to easily access real-time to follow terrain without compromising connectivity. The sky’s the limit, folks. air-navigation information and to pres- effectiveness and precision. To learn how one flight depart- ent data about their own flights. The And Paris-based SBG Systems’ new ment played a major role in disaster app gives pilots a better understand- Quanta UAV Series inertial naviga- relief following the 2017 devastation ing of what is happening in the airspace tion systems are designed for system in Puerto Rico after hurricane Ma- in which they’re operating and makes integrators of drone-based surveying ria, as well as an interview with the other air users aware of the drone’s platforms. individual in charge of the company’s flight taking place. The company opened But wait, there’s more. One company drone operations, be sure to read Part a Vienna, Austria, office in March, and has developed a long-duration fuel 2 of this story, which will describe how has teamed up with DJI to incorporate cell power system for drones, while Duke Energy helped Puerto Rico re- the software interface. another is touting its new solar-panel cover from the storm. You’ll also find power system for high altitude long resources for drone training, drone Breakthroughs endurance (HALE) platforms used manufacturers, organizations and for cellular and “internet of things” more. BCA Some recent avionics and satcom certification developments provide exam- ples of how rapidly the drone industry is evolving. In 2018, satcom service provid- Drone Dialect ers Inmarsat and Cobham released ▶BVLOS: Beyond visual line of sight, which has only rarely been approved a global BVLOS satcom system for by aviation regulators for non-military operations but is seen as critical for drones weighing just 3.197 lb. and of- commercial drone success. The capability would obviously enhance the utility fering streaming capability. A recent of many operatorsÕ drones, particularly for distant services like power-line and BVLOS conference at Inmarsat’s Lon- don headquarters explored the benefits railroad inspections. of satellite-enabled UAVs for commer- ▶Drone: Dynamic remotely operated navigation equipment. cial end-users. Attendees heard how six ▶FPV: First person view lets the operator of the drone view what the drone is drone companies are using the service capturing on camera at that exact moment via a live feed from the drone camera. with a range of customers from sectors ▶Geofencing: GPS programming that creates a virtual boundary and a including oil and gas and disaster relief, as part of Inmarsat’s UAV Pop-up Lab predetermined response when the drone flies into or out of a particular area. If trial program. the drone flies toward a ÒfencedÓ or restricted area, it will stop mid-flight. If you Meanwhile, Bigfork, Montana-based try to take off from a restricted area, the drone will not start up at all. Geofences uAvionix (http://www.uavionix.com) is de- can be placed to keep drones out of certain fields, from flying over a particular veloping a new line of certified avionics building, and prevent them from entering no-fly zones. designed to enable drone type certifica- ▶ tions and BVLOS mission capabilities. LAANC: Low altitude authorization and notification capability, a collaboration The new products include the ping200X between the FAA and industry. Still under development, it provides access to Mode S automatic dependent surveil- controlled airspace near airports through near-real-time processing of airspace lance-broadcast (ADS-B) transponder authorizations below approved altitudes. LAANC will enable drone operators and the truFYX satellite-based augmen- and manned aircraft to share controlled airspace by automating the application tation system (SBAS) GPS navigation source. Weighing only 50 grams, the and authorization process. Requests are checked against multiple FAA and Ping200X is a 250-watt Mode S tran- National Airspace System (NAS) data sources. If approved, pilots receive their sponder being certified to TSO-C112e authorization via LAANC in near-real time. Beginning in September 2019, all (Mode S), TSO-C166b (ADS-B Out), and drone operators, including hobbyists who want to fly in controlled airspace around TSO-C88b for the internal altitude en- airports, will be required to file using LAANC. coder. Certification is expected to be ▶ complete by this month. Miniature UAV: An unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man portable. The FAA recently confirmed new ▶Passenger drone: A type of unmanned aerial vehicle that carries passengers. technology developed in collaboration The first passenger drone was introduced at the 2016 Consumer Electronics between the U.S. Air Force Research Show (CES) by Chinese entrepreneurs and is called the EHang 184. Think George Lab and the state of Ohio — called Sky- Jetson. Vision — to safely, accurately and effec- ▶ tively enable drones to detect and avoid ROV: Remotely operated vehicle. other aircraft while in flight. Such a ca- ▶sUAS: Small UAS. pability could be a game changer. ▶UAS: Unmanned aerial system. Meanwhile, Riga, Latvia-based SPH ▶UAV: Unmanned aerial vehicle. Engineering has developed a new, ac- ▶UGV: Unmanned ground vehicle. curate terrain following solution for ▶ UASes that removes the need to rely on USV: Unmanned (water) surface vehicle. map data. With the help of a proprietary ▶UTM: Unmanned aircraft system traffic management. data logger and a laser altimeter, the ▶UUV: Unmanned underwater vehicle. new solution solves the problem of how www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 51 Are You Lucky or Safe? A Personal Medical Marathon Confronted by the “Children of the Magenta Line” in medicine

BY FRED GEORGE [email protected] h, that painful, arthritic swell- asked my wife to bring me a bottle of wa- minutes later, the Redmond [Oregon] ing in my right hand. I couldn’t ter. As she handed it to me, she sat down Fire and Rescue ambulance truck rolled write. I couldn’t type. I couldn’t next to me and asked me if I felt OK. up and two EMTs were knocking at the use both hands to lift eating uten- “Sure,” I responded. “Just give me a front door. Within a few moments, the Osils or hand washing. And the pain and few minutes and it’ll pass.” pair of pros had taken my vital signs, swelling in my hand and wrist were get- But it didn’t. Thirty minutes later, she belted me onto a gurney cart, hooked me ting worse by the day. asked again how I felt. up to a portable EKG and poked me in the The inflammation had occurred previ- “Worse,” I replied. I felt dizzy. I had arm to insert an IV with saline solution ously on occasion but never so severely. tunnel vision. I thought I was about to drip. I was in for my first ambulance ride. To treat it at flare-ups, I was taking indo- lose consciousness. “I may be having the Shortly after the EMTs shut the back methacin, a prescription-grade nonste- Big One,” I said in jest. That would have doors to the ambulance, I started to feel roidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) been quite unusual, as heart disease, let better. Apparently, the saline solution that inhibits the body’s production of alone myocardial infarction, is virtually quickly rehydrated my body, much faster certain enzymes that trigger swelling unknown in my family. than just drinking plenty of water. Off we and pain. Previously, within a few hours “I’m calling 911 right now!” she went to the local emergency room oper- of taking the medication, the swelling exclaimed. ated by Big Medicine in Central Oregon always subsided, the pain vanished and I “No!” I protested. “That could ground (BMCO), essentially the only full-spec- regained full mobility. me.” Pilots dread any non-routine visit trum medical services provider east of But indomethacin wasn’t working to a medical professional, as the FAA’s the Cascades. That’s not the institution’s during this episode last October, so I Oklahoma City Aero Medical division real name. But folks all throughout the increased the dosage to the maximum has a laundry list of mental and physical high desert east of the Cascades know it. allowable. And when the prescription ailments that will result in revocation of We soon discovered that an ambu- med didn’t work, I also took a couple of a pilot’s medical certificate, and possibly lance ride is more expensive per mile ibuprofen tablets in an effort to ease the the inability to renew it. To many U.S. than chartering a Boeing Business Jet. discomfort. civil aviators, it seems as though Aero Eight minutes, 4.6 mi. and nearly $1,900 Whoa. I was in for wild rides, literally Med believes the safest pilot is one who is later, we arrived at BMCO’s emergency and figuratively, starting on a Thursday prohibited from flying. room in Redmond. The EMTs rolled me evening. About an hour after swallowing “You’re not going to leave me a widow,” into an exam room and transferred me the meds, I started to feel dizzy, so I sat she snapped. to a bed. My wife rolled into the ER park- down on a recliner in our living room. I Guess who won that argument. Ten ing lot moments later and walked into

52 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com and pulse oximeter, squeezed by an automatic blood pressure monitor every few minutes and poked for blood tests. Around 5:00 a.m., a medical technician entered the room to perform an echo cardiogram. Others listened to my heart and lungs, then quietly convened to discuss the indications. At midmorning, the attending cardiologist came into the room with his chief assistant to deliver his findings. Thumb- ing through dozens of pages of dense print and complex charts, he concluded that I was apparently healthy, and had a normal heartbeat and blood pressure. There were negative findings from the echo cardiogram. I had robust blood oxy- gen saturation, normal blood chemistry. He saw no signs of V Tach or arrythmia, let alone risk of a heart attack. As for the findings of V Tach and arrythmia at BMCO’s Redmond facility, he said they were most likely “artifact,” a tactful term for medical misdiagnosis caused by errors in technique and one that does not reflect the actual condition of the patient. He was too professional to allow him- self to smirk at the gaff at Redmond ER. But he allowed that the finding of V Tach most likely was caused by a loose EKG lead improperly attached to my chest. GETTY IMAGES/NOIPORNPAN The resulting electrical anomaly was apparently interpreted incorrectly by the attending ER physician. It is not un- the exam room, ever maintaining her to a 2007 report in Post-Genomic Cardiol- reasonable to suspect that the finding of outward composure. Her eyes, however, ogy by José Marín-García, MD. “malignant cardiac dysrhythmia” also betrayed the anguish she was conceal- As a result of the findings, the BMCO was related to a loose electrical lead. ing inside. After some preliminary tests, ER staff called for a second ambulance So, the EKG screen had produced the including a second EKG run, the ER phy- to rush me to its main hospital in Bend, medical equivalent of computer-gener- sician diagnosed my condition as “pre- where a private room in the Cardiac ICU ated magenta data and lines in a cockpit, syncope” or a feeling of lightheadedness. was being prepared for my admission. lulling the ER medical staff into believing While I thought I would lose conscious- This facility has a team of cardiologists, the cardiac monitor findings as a sin- ness, I never passed out. The ER nurse including ones trained in emergency gle, infallible source of guidance without had me take two children’s aspirin, drink medicine, plus extensive diagnostics crosschecking other possibilities that more water and relax. equipment. It also has cardiopulmonary could lead to a different conclusion. Old- By then, I was feeling well enough to surgeons and surgical suites with mod- school doctors, including my AME, say say to my wife, “Let’s go home and sleep ern equipment. they first check for loose leads anytime this off.” We all exhaled in relief. Perhaps I really was about to have the they see an EKG hiccup, as it’s a common Not so fast. The ER doc reviewed the Big One, a massive fatal heart attack that cause of a chart aberrance. EKG record and pronounced that my would widow my wife and leave her with The debunking of the medical arti- heart showed signs of ventricular tachy- the stress associated with making end of fact was good news for my wife and I, cardia, V Tach for short, a fast, abnormal life decisions on my behalf. Was it time to obviously. But strict documentation pro- heartbeat that can become life threaten- say our final goodbyes? visions incorporated into the 2010 Patient ing if it persisted for more than a few sec- Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka, onds. V Tach also may be accompanied First Signs of Automation Obamacare) meant that the finding of by light headedness, dizziness and faint- V Tach was written into my medical ing, some of the symptoms associated Dependency record in digital indelible ink. The car- with the presyncope I had experienced. diologist said that V Tach was a red Not uncommonly, V Tach can be prelude There wasn’t much opportunity to sleep flag for FAA Aero Med that would pre- to a heart attack. BMCO’s chart notes in Cardiac ICU after arriving near mid- vent me from renewing my First-Class also pointed to a “malignant cardiac night on Friday morning. Doctor’s or- Medical certificate in January 2019 dysrhythmia as captured on the cardiac ders dictated that I could have nothing without extensive clear and convincing monitor.” Irregular heartbeats are “an to eat or drink. I was tethered to an IV evidence to disprove that I had serious important cause of mortality,” according catheter, hooked up to a full-time EKG heart problems. www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 53 Are Your Lucky or Safe? GETTY IMAGES/GOIR

Navigating the complex maze at FAA by the NTSB, then requested an “infor- in processing waiver paperwork are not Aero Med is daunting. There are myriad mal meeting” with the FAA and King in acceptable. A digital lightning bolt from potential “Just Say, ‘No’” delays, deferrals Washington, D.C. King underwent an- 800 Independence Avenue can ignite and dead ends that can prevent a pilot’s other round of extensive medical tests fires that incinerate miles of Aero Med being eligible to get a medical certificate to prove he was fit to fly, including two division red tape 1,000 nm away. for months. In many cases, pilots just give neurological examinations by specialists. King says that Aero Med needs to up because of the cost and complexity of But two and one-half months later, embrace the core values used by FAA’s pursuing medical certification and aban- King received a second letter of denial Flight Standards office. One of those don active flying status. from the Federal Air Surgeon. He said values is looking for ways to get to “yes” “There is no customer focus,” says it was particularly frustrating as, “FAA when encountering hurdles. “Just Say King School cofounder John King, who physicians who had never examined me No” no longer is an option at Flight Stan- struggled to get his medical back for were denying my medical.” dards. And it shouldn’t be an option at more than a year after having a momen- King says FAA Aero Med has a repu- FAA Aero Med either. tary, unexplained loss of consciousness tation for sequentially delaying decisions Eventually, FAA Aero Med cleared in 2014. It took four and one-half months on medical waivers, making applicants King to get his Third Class Medical flight just for the FAA’s Medical Certification jump over one hurdle, then wait weeks physical. He soon he strapped back into Division to respond after King submit- for a response from Oklahoma City, only the cockpit of the King Schools Falcon ted a comprehensive package prepared to discover that Aero Med has placed 10 with Martha and resumed their half by the Mayo Clinic, detailing why the loss another hurdle in the path to obtaining century of flying as a team in high per- of consciousness was related to a minor special issuance authorization. formance aircraft. one-time seizure caused by excessive cof- Most successful medical waiver appli- “This process just isn’t fair,” King fee consumption, prescription meds and cants use experienced third-party con- says. Most pilots don’t have the financial a prostate infection. sultants to intervene with FAA Aero Med resources to hire high-powered consul- He says that Aero Med informed him in order to streamline the waiver applica- tants. And they certainly can’t call in fa- that it was going to deny his medical tion process. They rigorously adhere to vors from friends at FAA headquarters. and that a whole slew of additional tests FAA Aero Med’s requirements for spe- Ironically, King believes that Aero Med would be required for it to re-evaluate his cial issuance waivers and press the divi- has a relatively high rate of approving potential eligibility. After more delays, sion to make timely decisions. medical waivers because so many people King and his cofounder wife, Martha, The fortunate few have access to high- just give up when faced with the maze of recognized they would need legal help, level contacts at FAA headquarters in obstacles created by Oklahoma City. so they retained Kathy Yodice in Fred- Washington who can pick up the phone One high-profile aviation pilot/execu- erick, Maryland, who specializes in such and subtly, yet effectively suggest to the tive, who prefers not to be named, is an cases. Yodice filed a petition for review Aero Med division that protracted delays example of a pilot who threw in the towel.

54 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com “It’s just a disaster in Oklahoma City. I inflammation. When asked about nutri- blood panel results were all that were had a minor heart hiccup and applied tional supplements, I volunteered that my needed for cardiology, even though Mir- for special issuance,” he recalled. “In the wife and I took multivitamins and also an ski specifically laid out all the additional process, I told the FAA that I regularly off-the-shelf, antioxidant black cherry, blood work details required by the FAA. have a glass of wine with dinner. They açai, noni and pomegranate juice blend Finally, Mirski obtained all the docu- concluded that I was an alcoholic. With concentrate. Big mistake. mentation he needed from BMCO and 60+ hr. work weeks, I just didn’t have the he submitted the package to the FAA time to pursue it.” More Magenta Line Errors in mid-March requesting a Third-Class Taking a lesson from King, I called Medical to help move things along. Aero attorney Kent Jackson of Jetlaw LLC, in Medical automation dependency struck Med informed him that it would attempt Shawnee, Kansas. Jackson is a regular again. When the technician entered to evaluate my request for a special issu- BCA contributor who authors our Point “black cherry,” IRS defaulted to black- ance waiver in 60 to 90 days. of Law column and is a long-time active cherry-flavored asenapine maleate. Huh? I would not be eligible to fly be- pilot. He referred me to Dr. Quay Sny- After the tech hit the “enter” button, fore midsummer 2019? I was planning der’s Aviation Medicine Advisory Ser- another digital error entered my medi- on flying to conduct research for pilot vice (AMAS) in Centennial, Colorado. cal record. reports in a half dozen different models in AMAS and its predecessor, the Air Line This later would raise a prominent red the coming weeks. I pleaded with Mirski Pilots Association Aeromedical Office, flag with AMAS’s Mirski. He asked why to intervene with Oke City as I actually have been assisting pilots since 1969 in I was taking Saphris, the trade name for fly for a living even though I don’t work steering through the complex and of- asenapine maleate. “Saffras?” I asked. “I for an FAR Part 121 air carrier or Part ten bewildering aero medical certifica- don’t even know how to spell it.” Mirski 135 air charter operator. I am not just a tion maze. ALPA member pilots in good explained that it was a powerful prescrip- weekend recreational pilot. standing with the union are afforded action grade anti-psychotic drug taken Memo to self. Never tell FAA Aero cess to AMAS at no cost. The firm also orally, with black cherry flavoring. Med that you’re only seeking a Third has long-term contracts with several U.S. “What!?” I was dumbfounded. I’ve Class. That’s Oke City code for moving business flight departments and some never seen a psychiatrist, let alone have your application for special issuance to individual professional pilots. been diagnosed with schizophrenia and the bottom of the pile, as John King can It was the best $1,200 I could have in- acute mania associated with bipolar dis- attest. Mirski changed my request to vested in my future flying. AMAS as- order. And I’ve never taken any anti-psy- First-Class Medical, the same as my pre- signed Dan Mirski, MD to my case. He chotic medication. vious medical certificate and escalated sent me a detailed list of all required tests Seconds later, I was on the phone with the issue through AMAS contacts in and documents, in strict accordance with BMCO, inquiring how such an entry er- Oklahoma City. FAA requirements for special issuance ror could have been made in my medi- Less than a week later in early May, waivers for diagnosed heart conditions, cal records. When no one could explain, the special issuance waiver arrived in the even ones that are misdiagnosed. I drove the 19 mi. to the cardiologist’s U.S. mail. I scheduled an appointment Concurrently, BMCO Bend’s cardiolo- office and requested face time with the with the local AME the following day. gist ordered me to wear a Zio patch heart doctor. As he was not available, I chatted “Say ah. Breathe. Cough.” The retired monitor, which is essentially a miniature with a lead nurse who told me that IRS Navy Flight Surgeon was extra careful battery-powered EKG recorder worn won’t allow any entry error into the ma- to poke, prod and palpitate me all over on the chest, for two weeks to establish chine to be expunged. Typing in “black my body, just as though I were undergo- heart performance during normal day cherry” defaulted to Saphris asenapine ing an annual physical as an active naval and night activities, including work, ex- maleate, even though I was describing aviator. ercise and sleep. an off-the-shelf nutritional supplement At noon on May 9, 2019, I finally re- A month or so later, I underwent a we order online. The magenta line men- ceived my First-Class Medical certifi- stress test EKG on an inclined treadmill tality again threatened to derail my FAA cate. What a relief. But what an ordeal. to verify that I have a healthy heart. Not medical. Had it not been for the initial misdiagno- a problem. If you can hike up the Misery I was forced to engage a local attorney sis of V Tach by BMCO’s Redmond ER Ridge Trail at Smith Rock State Park, to initiate legal action against BMCO, just facility last October, I would have been you can sail through a treadmill test in a to get the institution to correct the error. able to renew my FAA medical certificate doctor’s office. And when BMCO did move on the prob- in January 2019. It would be more than three weeks be- lem, medical techs only entered into IRS The late Capt. Warren “Van” Vander- fore I could get an appointment to dis- that I had stopped using Saphris rather burgh of American Airlines warned us cuss the results with the cardiologist. than correctly noting that I had never about becoming “Children of the Ma- The day of the appointment, a technician used it at all. I’m still fighting BMCO to genta Line” in the cockpit. Unfortunately, sat down with me and recorded more get the entry error removed. there seems to be no such medical oracle medical history into BMCO’s computer. When all the tests, plus the results who can warn us about Children of the Let’s call it the Infallible Records Sys- from an additional blood panel, were Magenta Line in hospitals. tem or IRS. The medical tech asked me complete, we sent them to Mirski for fi- In today’s era of HMOs, factory pro- if I was taking any prescription meds. nal review before submitting them to the ductionized medical care and computer- I assured him that I would never again Federal Air Surgeon. ized records systems, serious pilots have take indomethacin. I had flushed the re- This uncovered a third BMCO ma- to monitor the performance of doctors maining capsules down the commode. On genta line error. Several key elements and computers in exam rooms as care- occasion, I was taking another prescrip- of the blood panel were missing from the fully as they do with other pilots and com- tion med to ward off potential arthritic records. IRS determined that simplified puters in the cockpit. BCA www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 55 Operations Sunset for Circling? RNP procedures potentially eliminate need for high-risk approaches BY FRED GEORGE [email protected]

Teterboro’s SIAP to Runway 06 often involves a tricky circle-to-land maneuver to align the aircraft with Runway 01 for landing into the wind. Runway 01 is a prime candidate for an RNP approach that would keep aircraft safely clear of Newark International’s airspace north-northeast bound and then turn it to align for a straight-in with the runway centerline. approach. For instance, the FAA’s new circling minima assume a maximum turning radius of 2.7 nm for Category C aircraft while the minimum visibility could be as low as 2 mi. VFR traffic pattern altitudes typically are much higher than circling minimum descent altitudes, so there are fatter margins above terrain and obstacles. In IMC, most air carriers require that all approaches be straight-in IFR procedures. Besides the safety aspects, circling approaches also add to the cost of operating the U.S. national airspace system (NAS), according to the FAA. About one-third of all standard instrument approach procedures (SIAPs) using

QUIST/WIKIPEDIA ground-based navaids also have circling minimums. As the FAA makes the tran- ou’re at least 25 times more likely force determined that the most probable sition to the NextGen NAS, primarily to suffer a controlled flight into causes of such CFIT mishaps were pi- using satellite navigation rather than terrain (CFIT) crash during a cir- lots’ not knowing the design criteria for ground-based navaids, the number of Ycling approach than on a straight- the circling procedures, causing them to SIAPs rapidly is increasing while it con- in non-precision approach to a runway, inadvertently stray outside the bounds tinues to support the old NAS during according to Tzvetomir Blajev, chair- of protected airspace and fly into ob- the NextGen phase-in. Now, there are man of the Flight Safety Foundation’s stacles or terrain. more 12,000 SIAPs and the number is (FSF) European Advisory Committee. Even when pilots stay within the climbing rapidly as new satellite-based Add vertical guidance to a straight-in bounds of protected airspace on circling procedures are added. procedure aligned with the runway and approaches, they risk losing control dur- Early in 2015, the FAA asked the the safety factor is boosted another ing tight turns to final, overshooting the RTCA to provide criteria and rec- eight times. landing runway or landing long and fast. ommendations for decommissioning The FSF polled air traffic controllers, For those reasons, among others, vir- SIAPs, particularly circling procedures. airline operators, military organiza- tually all U.S. airlines prohibit their pi- The FAA, in response to the RTCA’s tions, regulators and airport operators lots from flying circling approaches in feedback, now uses eight criteria to de- for their opinions on circling approaches less than 1,000-ft./3-mi. VFR weather termine if cancellation of a circling pro- and go-around maneuvers. Virtually all conditions. Even though they are visual cedure is warranted: of 110 respondents in Europe, the U.S., maneuvers, circling approaches typically (1) Is it the only SIAP for the airport? Canada and Australia said the CFIT are flown close to the ground, at relatively (2) Is the procedure a designated VOR risk is considerably higher for circling low speeds and in poor weather. Notably, minimum operational network (MON) approaches than for other types. turning radii for specific categories of procedure? (VOR MON provides a Moreover, the FSF’s approach and aircraft may considerably exceed the vis- ground-based backup navaid system in landing accident reduction (ALAR) task ibility minimums required for the circling the event of a GPS outage.)

56 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com (3) If the runway is served by multiple curved and straight segments. Alaska aftermath of 9/11. Again, Alaska was SIAPs, is this the lowest circling minima Airlines’ Captains Steve Fulton and the first air carrier to earn authoriza- for that runway? Hal Anderson actually pioneered RNP tion to fly this procedure. (4) Does the runway have an ILS with procedures in Alaska in the mid-1990s RNP approach procedures can pro- circling minima? If so, ILS is the pre- to provide safe access to terrain-chal- vide precision guidance to each runway ferred ground-based navaid if the run- lenged airports, such as Juneau Interna- end, safely and consistently avoiding way is served by multiple SIAPs using tional (PAJN). They went on to develop obstacles, terrain hazards, national se- ground-based navaids. 29 more RNP approaches for the air car- curity zones and noise sensitive neigh- (5) Is this the only landing facility with rier’s Alaska operations. The FAA em- borhoods. The Roadmap’s clear priority one or more circling approaches within braced the concept and put 100 airports is to use PBN to ease congestion at ma- 20 mi.? into its master plan for RNP procedure jor airline hub airports, reducing arrival (6) Will cancellation of the circling upgrades. There now are more than 400 delays, exhaust emissions, environmen- procedure eliminate the lowest landing RNP approach procedures in the U.S. tal noise impact and fuel consumption. minima for a specific runway? Increasingly more precise and robust To further that goal, the FAA is estab- (7) Is the circling-only procedure re- navigation equipment, such as GPS us- lishing six Navigation Service Groups quired because an obstacle or terrain ing satellite-based augmentation sys- (NSGs) to determine the order in which would make a straight-in approach un- tems and hybrid GPS/IRS boxes, plus airports will be upgraded with RNP feasible or result in minima higher than highly accurate digital flight guidance procedures. circling minima? systems, allowed tighter tolerance ▶NSG 1 — The 15 largest hub airports (8) Is the circling-only procedure re- RNP procedures to be created, such that account for 30% of all IFR flight op- quired because not all runways have as the eight waypoint RNP approach erations and 45% of airline passenger straight-in SIAPs and is the final ap- that follows the Potomac River to Rea- traffic. proach course more than 45-deg. offset gan Washington National Airport’s ▶NSG 2 — The 60 remaining airline from the runway centerline? (KDCA) Runway 19. If the aircraft and hub airports accounting for 45% of all flight crew are capable of RNP preci- IFR flight ops and 39% of passenger PBN Provides sion of 0.11 mi., the ceiling minimum is enplanements. 491 ft. The close proximity of prohib- ▶NSG 3 — Three-hundred smaller and Potential Solutions ited areas for the White House and the non-hub airports primarily serving air Capitol make such precision navigation carriers. In 2003, the FAA rolled out its “Roadmap a critical requirement, especially in the ▶NSG 4 — More than 500 national and for Performance-Based Navigation,” providing safer, quicker and more fuel- efficient routing for aircraft with modern avionics, including advanced GPS and FMS navigation systems. This made aircraft increasingly capable of autonomous operations, freeing them of much of their dependence on ground-based navaids, as well as a considerable amount of labor-intensive ATC monitoring and vec- toring. PBN Roadmap procedures typically are constructed using multiple waypoints that overlay well- proven ATC vector patterns plus ground-based navaid routes, including those using radial/DME fixes, radial- to-radial intersections and heading-to-radial legs. Area Navigation (RNAV) departure and arrival procedures were among the first terminal area procedures to be upgraded to PBN. Circling minima now account for true airspeed changes with altitude, as indicated on ap- The 2003 Roadmap also introduced proach charts by the white “C” inside the black diamond. While the maximum indicated Required Navigation Performance airspeeds have remained unchanged for Category A, B, C, D and E aircraft, the circling area (RNP) procedures, essentially virtual radii increase with circling altitude. Note well: Published circling visibility minima may be monorails in the sky constructed of considerably lower than circling area radii. www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 57 Operations

Conventional standard instrument approach procedures are limited to circling minimums if the final approach segment descent angle exceeds 3.77 deg. For the RNAV (GPS)-F approach to Aspen, the descent gradient from ALLIX, the final approach fix, is 6.49 deg. ThatÕs well in excess of the steepest approach gradients, such as for London City Airport and Lugano. As a result, some pilots wonÕt attempt the RNAV (GPS)-F approach to Aspen if the weather is less than 13,000 ft. ceiling and 10 mi. visibility. nearby Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) 11 mi. south-southwest. (See “TEB’s ‘Non-Circling, Circling Ap- proach’” [BCA, September 2017, page 28] and “Teterboro Crash Facts: Safety Board Operations Chairman’s Report” [BCA, April 2018, page 36]). Several factors were involved in the accident, including overshooting the centerline because of a gusting, 15- to 32-kt. crosswind out of the northwest. Teterboro has a history of landing mishaps in which circling approaches may have been factors. If there were an RNP approach procedure to Runway 1 at TEB, one that would parallel Runways 4L and 4R at Newark on a northeasterly course until turning toward the threshold of Runway 1 near the Meadowlands Sport Complex, it could eliminate the need for the circling maneuver and provide pilots with precise guidance to the runway end. Teterboro already has an RNP approach for Run- way 6, but not Runway 1. California’s Truckee Tahoe Airport (KTRK) is another general aviation facility that has a history of accidents linked to circling approaches. The latest high-profile mishap occurred in December 2005, when a Learjet 35A during a charter flight positioning leg, attempted to circle to land on Runway 28 (now Runway 29) in gusting crosswind conditions. The air- regional general aviation airports. the transition to localizer WAAS craft stalled during a sharp turn to align ▶NSG 5 — About 2,400 local and basic precision with vertical guidance (LPV) the aircraft with the runway centerline. general aviation airports where existing GPS approaches as part of its masterplan. While the FAA since has published ILS and localizer ground stations may RNAV GPS approaches for Runways 11 be removed. General Aviation Airports and 20 at Truckee Tahoe, it has yet to cre- ▶NSG 6 — Up to 12,000 general avi- ate an RNAV GPS approach for Runway ation airports not named in FAA’s in Need of RNP 29, let alone RNP procedures for any of national plan of integrated airport the runways at the airport. systems (NPIAS). The Roadmap says In May 2017, a Learjet 35A, operated by Aspen-Pitkin County Airport/Sardy FAA has no intention of adding PBN a charter company, crashed and burned Field (KASE) in Colorado has had its procedures at those landing facilities. while attempting an approach to Run- share of landing accidents, many of which The Roadmap gives top priority for cre- way 1 at Teterboro Airport (TEB), New have been linked to its “drive-and-dive” ating new RNP procedures and for main- Jersey, killing both pilots. As is often the approach to Runway 15 with close-in ter- taining or upgrading ILS equipment at case, the aircraft was cleared to fly the rain that only allows circling minima to NSG 1 and NSG 2 airports. NSG 3 airports ILS Runway 6 approach, then circle to be published. NetJets, in response, com- won’t get new ILSes and general aviation land Runway 1. The circle maneuver is missioned a private-label RNP approach airports may lose ILS as the FAA makes required to avoid traffic conflicts with procedure that essentially follows the

58 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Performed by Accredited Senior Appraisers

Desktop Aircraft Appraisals / On-Site Asset Veriﬁ cation and Logbook Review / Residual Values / Customized Analysis

877.531.1450 / jetappraisals.com Operations

Roaring Fork River up the canyon to the aircrew authorization similar to Cat- letters of authorization (LOAs). GE runway threshold. The approach has con- egory II and III ILS procedures.” The Aviation, Honeywell and Jeppesen, siderably lower weather minima than the rationale is that RNP procedures typi- among other firms, provide assistance publicly available SIAPs and it is more cally have tighter lateral and vertical to operators in obtaining RNP LOAs. comfortable to fly. obstacle clearance tolerances than Garmin, however, believes that such Other general aviation airports that conventional procedures, so individual rigorous requirements are unneces- could benefit from RNP procedures are in vetting of aircraft and pilot capabilities sary barriers that prevent access to Telluride, Colorado (KTEX); Sun Valley- is needed. Thus written, FAA authori- the benefits of RNP approaches. So, Hailey, Idaho (A20) and Laughlin-Bull- zation is required for RNP approach between June and August 2012, the head, Arizona (KIFP); plus Bert Mooney operations. firm conducted a series of evaluation (KBTM) at Butte, Montana; Yellowstone For RNP procedures that have ra- flights with 12 pilots in a “minimally Regional (LCOD) at Cody, Wyoming; and dius-to-fix segments, Advisory Circu- equipped” PA-32 Piper Cherokee 6 Mammoth Lakes, California (KMMH). lar AC 90-101A specifies that aircraft and a Cessna Corvalis equipped with Yet all these facilities fall into NSG cat- must have lateral roll steering, flight a G2000 avionics package. egories with much lower priorities for directors or autopilots, along with The tests proved that IFR-rated RNP upgrades than major airline hub GPS, an inertial reference unit and general aviation pilots, with low, me- airports. Class A TAWS. A GPS or FMS naviga- dium and high time experience, could tor with automatic leg sequencing is a hand-fly straight and radius-to-fix Other Obstacles must. RNP pilot training is required, RNP procedures with 0.5-nm total including training in simulators that flight technical error 95% of the time to RNP Access are approved for RNP. without the aid of a flight director or Operational approval is granted autopilot. Currently, the FAA views all RNP pro- in the form of air carrier operational Based on the results of Garmin cedures as having “unique capabili- specifications or management speci- tests, the RTCA is revising its recom- ties that require special aircraft and fications. FAR Part 91 operators need mendations, for aircraft that fly approaches at 200 kt. or slower, to allow RNP procedures to be flown using only a course deviation indicator for RNP 0.3 and higher straight-path segments and CDI plus moving map display for RNP 1 and higher radius-to-fix legs. Removing the hardware requirement for an autopilot or flight director with roll steering is in keeping with the NextGen design philosophy in which the emphasis is on demonstrated performance capabilities rather than specific avionics. Eliminating this barrier will make it easier for general aviation aircraft operators to realize the benefits of RNP with radius-to-fix legs. In summary, there are few technical barriers to replacing circling approaches with RNP procedures at many general aviation airports where such tight tolerance procedures im- provements are sorely needed to boost safety margins. The main obstacles are FAA NextGen airspace development priorities and budget limits. The pace at which RNP procedures replace circling approaches at smaller airports can be accelerated by general aviation pilots, trade associations, airframe and avionics manufacturers, and local airport au- thorities working together to encour- age the FAA to broaden the scope of RNP approaches typically use Track-to-Fix straight legs and Radius-to-Fix curved legs to cre- its PBN Roadmap. ate virtual monorails in the sky that can guide aircraft precisely around obstacles, terrain and RNP procedures offer break- sensitive areas. We created this illustration to show that an RNP approach into Aspen, that throughs in system efficiency ben- roughly follows the Roaring Fork River, could gently descend the aircraft to intercept a nor- efits at large airports. At smaller mal 3.00 deg. final to Runway 15. Just as importantly, the missed approach uses a precisely airports, Flight Safety Foundation defined Radius-to-Fix leg from GOLPH to HOTTY to keep the aircraft safely clear of terrain statistics show that RNP procedures and obstacles as it turns away from the airport toward LINDZ. may help save lives. BCA

60 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com COMMERCIAL | BUSINESS | HELICOPTERS | MILITARY

Discover New Business for the Next 10 Years

With moderate growth of 1.4% expected on deliveries of civil-operated turbofan and turboprop aircraft over the next decade, rely on the 2019 Business Aviation Fleet & MRO Forecast to help you create plans and strategies to maximize revenue generation. O Determine MRO requirements, broken down by size class, aircraft model and region, as well as expense category and see how these match your capabilities O Acquire granular details of deliveries and retirements going out 10 years O Ascertain the MRO demand through 2028, including how it is segmented by airframe, component, engine and modifi cation maintenance Trust Aviation Week Network’s 2019 Business Aviation Fleet & MRO Forecast to provide the data, intelligence and insight you need to capitalize on the business and fl eet opportunities that lie ahead.

For more information on Aviation Week Network’s Fleet & MRO Forecasts go to pages.aviationweek.com/forecasts or call 866.857.0148 or +1.847.763.9147 Bringing Cancer Patients Closer to Their Cure

Cancer Patients Fly Free in Empty Seats on Business Jets • Corporate Angel Network • Since 1981, Corporate • The process is simple. Call arranges free flights to Angel Network, a not-for- or visit our website for more treatment for cancer patients profit organization, has information. by using empty seats on worked with more than 500 business jets. corporations including half the Fortune 100, to fly close to 60,000 cancer patients to specialized treatment and currently transports 250 patients each month.

Close to 60,000 flights and counting! Corporate Angel Network

(866) 328-1313 www.corpangelnetwork.org Twitter: @corpangelnet Instagram: @corporateangelnetwork Point of Law Kent S. Jackson Contributing Editor [email protected] Keeping Your Medical How to handle FAA when the Doc says, “This could be trouble. . . .”

MANY PILOTS FEAR THAT A MEDICAL MISUNDERSTANDING WILL medical fraud case with criminal charges, any prosecution cost them their career. Because of the draconian laws sur- is “selective prosecution” and therefore amounts to a denial rounding the FAA’s medical process, these fears are justified. of due process. Keep in mind that piloting is a “privilege” and not a constitu- 3) Because the FAA has authority to revoke, the justice tional right, and thus whose who fly don’t have the legal pro- department’s criminal charges amount to double jeopardy. tections that most Americans take for granted. Unfortunately for the defendants, the courts have rejected One of the oldest legal protections is physician-patient priv- all three arguments. Decades ago, there were a few acquittals ilege. In order for a doctor to properly treat you, you need to because the courts found the “medical” questions regarding feel comfortable that you can discuss all issues confidentially. criminal activity to be ambiguous. The FAA subsequently re- However, pilots don’t have this privilege. The FAA can redesigned the form, and in recent years, courts have been un- quest any of your medical records. And if persuaded by arguments that the form you fail to provide that information or fail is confusing. to authorize your doctors to release it to You have a right to So, you can’t lie to the FAA. How do you the agency, the FAA may suspend, modify, challenge a determination that you are no or revoke your medical certificate or, in appeal a FAA medical longer fit to fly? You have the right to ap- the case of an applicant, deny the applica- peal a FAA medical determination to the tion for a medical certificate. determination National Transportation Safety Board What if you make a mistake on your ap- (NTSB). If the FAA pulls your medical plication? A merely incorrect answer can to the National before it expires, then, if you appeal, the cost you your medical certificate, but a burden of proof is on the FAA. But, if the fraudulent answer can mean suspension or FAA waits and simply denies you the next revocation of ALL of your airman, ground Transportation medical, then if you appeal, the burden of instructor, and medical certificates and proof is on you. The burden of proof di- ratings. And a fraudulent answer can Safety Board rectly translates to the expense of in hiring mean worse than just revocation of all of an attorney and a medical expert willing to your certificates. Here is the warning that (NTSB). testify on your behalf. you might have missed as you submitted Fortunately, an alternative path has your last medical on medxpress.faa.gov: developed. A variety of “aero-medical Whoever in any matter within the juris- advocacy services” now provide a far diction of any department or agency of the more efficient and cost-effective solution United States knowingly and willingly falsifies, conceals or cov- to medical disputes. Instead of hiring an attorney, (who prob- ers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or who ably doesn’t know medicine), to argue against a FAA attorney makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or represen- (who probably doesn’t know medicine), in front of a NTSB tations, or entry, may be fined up to $250,000 or imprisoned not judge (who probably doesn’t know medicine), why not hire a more than 5 years, or both. (18 U.S. Code Secs. 1001; 3571). medical advocate to speak directly with the FAA’s medical To sustain a conviction against a defendant for a violation experts? The system is still far from perfect, and still feels of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, the government must prove: (1) that the heavily weighted against the pilot, but cutting the lawyers defendant made a false statement; (2) that the statement was out of the process takes the parties out of a war mentality and material; (3) that the defendant acted with specific intent to improves communications by having the pilot’s doctors talk mislead; and (4) that the matter was within the purview of a directly to the FAA’s doctors. federal government agency. The Air Line Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Associa- Does the U.S. Department of Justice go after pilots for tion and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association all fraudulent medical applications? Wouldn’t revocation of all provide aero-medical advocacy services to their members. If certificates be punishment enough? In fact, the department you run a flight department, consider subscribing to a ser- has a long history of pursuing and winning these cases. De- vice for your pilots. The pilot population is aging, and there fendants typically make three arguments: is a shortage of replacements, so it’s in the interest of you 1) The FAA form is fundamentally ambiguous. continued operation to not lose a good pilot to some medical 2) Since the federal government doesn’t pursue every misunderstanding. BCA www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 63 20/Twenty Fred George Senior Editor [email protected] Citation CJ4 Simple Citation reliability, 1,900 nm with 4 passengers

FOR LESS THAN $6 MILLION, YOU CAN BUY A SINGLE-PILOT CITA- MultiScan weather radar, TCAS II, automatic emergency de- tion that can fly 4 passengers from San Diego, California to scent mode and left and right CDUs for FMS-3200 and radio Savannah, Georgia, and land only 7 minutes behind a Learjet control, plus airport performance computer, XM satellite radio 45XR performing the same mission. The top line CJ differs weather receiver and Class A TAWS. One FMS was standard. A from previous iterations of the CitationJet as it has a new wing, second was optional. Operators say the $6,000 annual subscrip- adapted and scaled down from Citation Sovereign, more robust tion for navigation database updates seems steep, twice or more Williams International FJ44-4 turbofans, more fuel and higher as expensive as Garmin database subscriptions for other CJs. operating weights. With full fuel, it can carry a 987-lb. payload. The aircraft is easy to fly, similar to earlier members of the Each additional passenger costs about 60 nm of range. The 9.0 CJ family. The displays are crisp and they include full EI- psi pressurization provides a 7,800-ft. cabin at FL 450, the air- CAS. But synthetic vision is not available. A Pro Line Fu- craft’s top cruise altitude. sion upgrade, similar to that offered for CJ3, has not been Interiors typically feature a forward, side-facing, one- or announced. FADECs slash the workload associated with man- two-seat divan, four club chairs aging the 3,621-lbf turbofans. in the main cabin and two for- Plan on block speeds of 410 to ward facing chairs in the aft TEXTRON 420 kt. for most trips. Most pi- cabin. The main seating area lots are comfortable flying the is 7-in. longer than that in the aircraft 4 hr. or about 1,700 nm CJ3, affording passengers more in no-wind conditions. legroom. A 5-in. dropped aisle As delivered from the fac- affords 57 in. of headroom in the tory, the CJ4 was provisioned for center of the interior. There is a ADS-B. But avionics were de- 15 cu. ft. crew baggage compart- signed for Do-260A compliance, ment in the nose, 6.5 cu. ft. of in- rather than Do-260B, the cur- ternal storage in a forward cabinet and an aft 55.6 cu. ft. baggage rent standard. Serial number 177, plus s.n. 187 and subsequent are compartment. compliant with the new standard, says Woodman. SB525C-34-12 The standard Collins Venue cabin management system in- is a $23,000 option that upgrades older aircraft to Do-260B. cludes a BluRay/DVD player, 10.6-in. bulkhead monitor, two Be careful with downtime. Collins Aerospace says it takes four 10.6-in. side-ledge monitors, XM satellite radio receiver, moving weeks of advance notice and 23 days of shop time to upgrade the map display and remote control cabin fan speed and tempera- TDR-95D transponders for ADS-B, Woodman advises. ture control. Also included are a two channel Iridium SATCOM Direct operating costs are moderate. Plan on 160 gal./hr. for phone, left and right side 110-volt AC outlets and a data port to fuel, $317 per hour for Williams TapAdvantage engine mainte- accommodate personal media devices. A dual zone climate con- nance plan, $269 per hour for Textron Aviation’s Pro Tech labor trol includes a virtually trouble-free vapor cycle air-conditioner. program and $370 per hour for Pro Parts. Engine TBO is 5,000 In keeping with three decades of CJ design philosophy, short hr. Pro Tech and Pro Labor enrollment fees for aircraft not in field performance is a strong suit. Standard-day takeoff field those Textron maintenance programs is based on aircraft age, length is 3,410 ft. and up at BCA’s 5,000-ft. elevation, ISA+20C flight hours and maintenance history. airport, it’s 5,180 ft. While 3,000 ft. of pavement is sufficient for While the oldest models command about $5.5 million to $5.8 shorter, work-a-day missions, operators say they plan on 4,000 million in the resale market, newer models, incorporating all ft. for safe margins. the service bulletin updates and having fresher paint and inte- The CJ4 has been upgraded with more robust systems. It’s riors sell for $7 million and higher. The CJ4’s arch competitor is the first CE525 to have scratch-resistant glass windshields. It Embraer Phenom 300, having similar cruise speeds and range, has a quad-redundant electrical system, single-point pressure but better fuel efficiency and more tanks-full payload. Textron refueling and a 3,000-psi hydraulic system that powers the land- Aviation’s own CJ3+ is another competitor, offering almost as ing gear, flaps and speed brakes. A separate hydraulic power much range, but it carries fewer passengers with full tanks and pack supplies the wheel brakes. Aircraft s.n. 100 and subsequent it cruises slower. have externally serviced lavatories. SB525C-38-01, priced at Of the 288 CJ4s built, only 7 to 10 are for sale. While the resale $115,000, makes this available on earlier aircraft, according to market has plateaued from 2018 levels, prices haven’t declined Gavin Woodman, co-founder of the brokerage firm AEROCOR. significantly. Textron Aviation’s product support for its top line The CJ4’s Collins Pro Line 21 cockpit in 2010 was the most CJ remains strong, so this light jet gets high marks from opera- advanced of any Model 525, having four 10 in. by 8-in. displays, tors and it will remain in service for decades to come. BCA

64 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com AIRCRAFT LIGHTING INT’L PRESENTS L5800 LED SYSTEM WITH DIMMER FOR G200’s, G450’s, & G550’s APPROVED PMA

PMA’d LED SYSTEMS AVAILABLE FOR THESE AIRCRAFT

Bombardier CL600 DC-9 Bombardier CL604 Hawker 850XP Learjet 31 Boeing 727 Sabreliners G550 Learjet 25 Learjet 36 Cessna 560XL Cessna 525A Cessna Cessna 551 S-76A Astra SPX Pilatus PC-12 Hawker 800 G450 Global Express EMB 120 Falcon 2000 Falcon 900 Hawker 1000 Learjet 45 Hawker 700 Learjet 55 1125 Westwind GV Gulfstream 100 Cessna 550 SAAB 340

Learjet 35 Hawker 900XP Cessna 560 Gulfstream 200 ALI-USA FAA-PMA ISO 9001:2015 AS9100D Falcon 50 Cessna 750 Westwind 1124 Bombardier CL601 G III G IV Hawker 600 Beechcraft 400A TEL: (631) 474-2254 | [email protected] | WWW.AIRCRAFTLIGHTING.COM On Duty

Edited by Jessica A. Salerno [email protected] News of promotions, appointments and honors involving professionals within the business aviation community ▶ Bii.aero, London, U.K., announced the and chief financial officer responsible for appointment of James Burley as the new all financial matters for the company. Prior commercial manager. to joining FSI, she was an audit manager for ▶ IBA Group, London, U.K., announced that Price Waterhouse and then joined Chyron Julian Aldana has joined the company as a Corporation as CFO. technical manager based in North America. ▶ Flexjet, Cleveland, Ohio, announced that Guljar Lehri has joined IBA’s Technical and Clay Wilcox will join the company as vice Asset Management team with responsibility JAMES BURLEY P.ARUNDELL-LAMPE president of sales and lead its new Gulf- for developing a number of areas including stream G650 shared ownership program. airline relationships and aircraft remarketing. Wilcox joined NetJets 11 years ago and has ▶ Cirrus Aircraft, Duluth, Minnesota, served as regional vice president of sales announced that Zean Nielsen has been and senior sales executive with its whole selected to succeed co-founder Dale Klap- aircraft division. meier as its next chief executive officer. ▶ Flying Colours, Peterborough, Ontario, Nielsen has held senior leadership roles at expanded its international team, naming a range of global world-class organization, ZEAN NIELSEN JESSICA NAOR Paul Dunford to the newly created role of including Tesla Motors, James Hardie and managing director of international oper- Bang & Olufsen. ations and Andrew Pearce as European ▶ CTS Engines, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, sales manager. Dunford, who joined Flying promoted Vesa Paukkeri to chief executive Colours in 2014, launched the company’s officer, completing its planned leadership Singapore operation and served as gen- transition. Brian Neff, former CEO, has tran- eral manager of Flying Colours Corp. Asia sitioned to chairman of CTS Engines. PTE Ltd. Pearce has 35 years of interna- ▶ Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Nebraska, LUKE SWAGER D. LEVINE-WILSON tional experience in the MRO, completions announced that Luke Swager is manager and aircraft sales, previously serving with of customer service for the Battle Creek, Canadian, Middle Eastern and European Michigan location. He began his career business aviation entities and having expe- at the Battle Creek facility as an airframe rience with the Bombardier aircraft family. mechanic on the Falcon/IAI team. He ▶ GrandView Aviation, Baltimore, Maryland, became project manager in 2005, moving named long-term head of marketing and to assistant manager of Customer Service sales, Jessica Naor, as chief operating offi- in 2013 in January 2019 he assumed his JOHN PETERSEN DAVID BEST cer. She has been with the company since new role with the company. John Petersen is 2010 when she began as a helicopter char- the new regional manager for the Northwest ter sales coordinator. region of the U.S. As an 11-year resident of ▶ International Aircraft Dealers Association Puyallup, Washington, he brings with him a (IADA), Southlake, Texas, has contracted vast knowledge of the area and Duncan’s with Diane Levine-Wilson to ensure that air- customers. Scott Stoki was named the new craft search data provided exclusively by engine overhaul manager overseeing the the accredited dealers on the organiza- day-to-day operations of the company’s Tur- SCOTT STOKI MICHAEL LORENZINI tion’s AircraftExchange.com aircraft search bine Engine Maintenance facility located in website is accurate and up-to-date for buy- Lincoln, Nebraska. ers of sellers of business aircraft. ▶ Engine Assurance Program (EAP), Dal- ▶ Jet Aviation, Basel, announced that las, Texas, has hired Jim Wilson as regional David Best has been appointed as the new sales manager. He previously worked for senior vice president and general man- Williams International as program director, ager, Regional Operations U.S. Best suc- aftermarket programs. Wilson will be based ceeds David Paddock, who was recently in Michigan and report to Marco Cardenas, JIM WILSON PETE BEILBY announced as the new president of the Jet EAP sales director. Aviation Group. ▶ FlightSafety International, LaGuardia Airport, New York, ▶ Launch Technical Workforce Solutions, Oak Brook, Illinois, promoted Patricia Arundell-Lampe to senior vice president announced that Michael Lorenzini was appointed to the newly

66 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com Advertisers’ Index created position of chief commercial officer. Most recently, Aircraft Lighting Page 65 Lorenzini served as senior vice president at Gogo. aircraftlighting.com ▶ Levaero Aviation, Thunder Bay, Ontario, announced that has joined Levaero team as vice president Ray Kuliavas Corporate Angel Network Page 3 with an emphasis on business development. Kuliavas has corpangelnetwork.org more than 40 years of experience in aviation in new client acquisition, client retention and brand growth, along with aircraft sales, product marketing management and service Centex Page 69 development. centex.aero ▶ Red Cat, Inc., Santurce, Puerto Rico, a provider of distributed data storage, analytics and services for the drone Embraer Page 13 industry, announced the appointment of Nicholas Liuzza Jr. executive.embraer.com and Patrick R. Mitchell to its Board of Directors. ▶ Regional Airline Association, Washington, D.C., announced FlightSafety International Page 19 the appointment of Bill Whyte as vice president of Aviation flightsafety.com Operations and Technical Services. Whyte was most recently the general manager of Flight Operations Training at Compass Airlines with responsibility for the development and imple- Garmin 4th Cover mentation of all pilot training programs for the Embraer 175 garmin.com fleet. ▶ Safran Helicopter Engines, France, appointed Bernard Barus- Honda Aero Page 27 saud executive vice president of operations. Barussaud is gehonda.com a 27-year company veteran, joining the Snecma engineering department in 1992 and later becoming head of services for the cost estimates department, director of Snecma manu- Lektro Page 68 facturing excellence center for compressor blades, and most lektro.com recently, executive vice president of manufacturing at Safran Transmissions Systems. Manassas Regional Airport Page 70 ▶ Shell Aviation, announced that Anna Mascolo has been flyhef.com named vice president. She assumes the position from Anne Anderson, who is moving into a senior leadership role in Shell’s Piper 3rd Cover chemical business. Mascolo has broad experience in chemi- piper.com cals, fuels and gas products. ▶ TAG Aviation, Farnborough, U.K., announced the appointment of Pete Beilby as director of Flight Operations for the Schweiss Page 68 U.K. and Malta. Beilby joins TAG from Cobham Aviation Services schweissdoors.com where he was the director of Flight Operations, U.K. Special Mission, for the last three years. SmartSky Networks Page 10 ▶ TrueNoord, Schiphol, Netherlands, announced that Carst smartskynetworks.com Lindeboom will act as the chief representative of the company’s new office in Centennial Tower in Singapore. Linde- boom is sales director of Asia-Pacific for the company. He previously covered the Asia region from TrueNoord’s office in Amsterdam. ▶ West Star Aviation, East Alton, Illinois, announced that Kenneth Rivers has been named the new satellite manager at the company’s Scottsdale, Arizona (SDL) location. He will be responsible for the managerial oversight of the facility and staff. He has over 25 years of aviation experience having been the lead tech at the company Chicago location. Previously, Rivers held leadership roles at JA Aviation. BCA www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 67 Products & Services Previews By Jessica A. Salerno [email protected]

1. New Weather Course approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation 1 Administration, the European Union Avi- from Sporty’s ation Safety Agency and the National Sporty’s all-new weather course, Avi- Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil. The train- ation Weather — A pilot’s Guide will ing will be offered at the FlightSafety give pilots the confidence to analyze Le Bourget Learning Center in Paris and manage their weather flying. With this summer using a FlightSafety-built more than four and a half hours of Embraer E190-300 E2 full-flight simula- practical tips for all pilots, this course gives both the basics tor and other advance training technology. of weather safety and professional tips on avoiding inflight FlightSafety International hazards. The course includes topics on how to read clouds www.flightsafety.com to decoding METARS and TAFs, from weather tools such as the Graphical Forecast for Aviation to thunderstorm forecast products, and much more. The course also demonstrates 3. CARE’s First International Distributor how to use the forecast tools available in ForeFlight. Avail- CARE, Constant Aviation Rotable Exchange, has advanced able online. it effort to establish an international Prices: $99.95 network of distributors to supports its Sporty’s 2 business. EMTC Aviation Services agree- www.sportys.com/weather ment is CARE’s first distributor to launch the international network. The initial expansion includes PMA Brake Friction 2. FSI E-Jets E2 Training solution for the 737NG. CARE offers Program Approvals Rotor and Stator assemblies for brake FlightSafety International’s new Embraer assembly applications 2612302 and E-Jets E2 training program has been 2612312. The product is on the shelf

LEKTRO Since 1945 The Ultimate Aircraft Tug

Models ranging 15,,,, to 8,,,,, lbs. Electric Towbarless Certified Universal Easy to Use Simple to Maintain Rugged

www. L E K T R O .com

1-8,,-535-8767 1-5,3-861- 88 [email protected]

68 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com INCREASE RANGE FLIGHT PLAN (B350): KLAS - KTPA 1,724 NM 5h-10m FUEL: 3,788 LBS RESERVES: 627 LBS

Flight image courtesy of FlightAware (ﬂightaware.com) Products & Services Previews

CAPITAL CONVENIENCE for immediate delivery and 3 is offered at significant cost saving versus an OEM option, according to Dana LOW COSTS. Seese, vice president CARE. The company antici- LOW TRAFFIC. pates additional distributors in Latin America and Asia Pacific by Q3 2019. HI H EXPECTATIONS Care (800) 440-9004 FULFILLED. www.care.aero 4. Signature Flight Support Teams with Uber Elevate Skyports Signature Flight Support took the stage at the Uber Elevate summit and announced a nationwide partnership with Uber Elevate, facilitating ground based operations and skyport infrastructure for Uber Air. Signature Flight Support is Uber Elevate’s first nationwide operations and on-airport infrastructure partner. Signature will also be the ground-based operator of choice for Uber Copter services, which offers the first real demonstration of the Elevate experience. Uber plans to operate a network of electric air taxis in cities worldwide to enable four-person shared flights in densely populated urban markets. These electric vertical take-off and 4

landing vehicles (eVTOLs) differ from helicopters in that aim to be orders of magnitude quieter, safer, more affordable, and more environmentally-friendly. “Signature Flight Support’s operational prowess and industry leading understanding of the private aviation space makes them an ideal fit for Uber Elevate’s business,” said Eric Allison, Head of Uber Elevate. “Efficient and safe skyports are a critical component of our business model, and our future collaboration with Signature will allow for a seamless rider experience from the moment they arrive at a Skyport, to the moment they depart.” As an FBO operator for Uber Elevate, Signature intends to apply its industry leading expertise to support skyport infrastructure and operations serving eVTOL passenger pickups and dropoffs at their on-airport locations, as well as designated purpose-built eVTOL urban skyports. In the near term, Uber and Signature will co-develop industry leading practices around safety and customer experience for Urban Air Mobility. Signature Flight Support FLYHEF.COM www.signatureflightsupport.com

70 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com BCA 50 Years Ago THE ARCHIVE July 1969 News Probably the most important aspect of the new system (forecast for at least 10 years hence) is that it would place less need for the human controller being in the loop. – BCA

Edited by Jessica A. Salerno [email protected]

Long hot summer in air travel began June 19, when some 240 controllers, many in New York Center, called in sick, thus delaying more than 1,000 f ights and creating takeoff queues up to 60 airliners long at JFK.

Reading Air Show Notes: BCA’s Corporate Pilot of the Year Award went to Har- old Curtis, manager of Air Transportation, National distiller and Chemical Corp. “for his ability to integrate the newest of airplane and techniques into a high usage corporate f ight operation.” The citation noted that Curtis was: f rst to order a Gulfstream II, f rst to use inertial nav equipment, and the f rst to f y the Atlantic with business aircraft and business jets. Flight Safety, Inc. is of ering a free demonstration ﬂ ight for professional pilots ﬂ ying one (or more) of 11 dif erent aircraft types in the hope that you will sign up and come back to their simula- JetStar tors again and again.

Lockheed JetStar on the tarmac at Reading makes do as an umbrella for spectators seeking refuge from the rain.

Named Corporate Aviation Executive of the Year by BCA was Arizona Governor Winthrop Rockefeller for his “pioneering use and unquestioned acceptance of the airplane as a business tool from the days of the Ford Tri-Motor through the entire Beechcraft family of airplanes through to the Sabreliner and the Fan Jet Falcon.”

Model 100 King Air is shoehorned through Twin Beech-size door at the Beech auditorium. The more expensive King Air 100 (around $600,000 delivered) King Air was unveiled at Wichita on May 26.

Reading Air Show Renderings: F. Lee Bailey, noted criminal lawyer and, of late, aviation f gure, sold his Learjet Executive Jet Aviation, In. at Colum- bus, Ohio, reminds readers that “no toto AirAir AmericaAmerica inin Washington,Washington, D.C.,D.C., whichwhich hashas fourfour LearjetsLearjets andand withwith themthem intendsintends toto one in the world is more qualiﬁ ed for out-jet Executive Jet Aviation in the charter f eld. . . . Max Conrad was on hand with his business jet overhaul and maintenance f ying gas tank Piper Aztec “Let’s Fly”. . . . Airplane movements during the four show than EJA . . . no one!” days were about the same as last year, the Reading tower chief reported. His records showed total operations for each of the four days as 2113, 2943, 3059 and 2272 for a grand total of 10,837 (the 1968 total was 10,156).

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 71 BCA 50 Years Ago THE ARCHIVE July 1969 News Increasing user fees at three New York City airports (LGA, JKF and EWR) during peak hours from $5 to $25 has resulted in a 31% decrease in general aviation traffic at these fields during those times. — BCA

President Nixon Proposes a 10-Year, $5 Billion Airports/Airways Plan: An increase of from 5% to 8% in tax on domestic airline tickets, a $3 tax on most international tickets, a 5% tax on air freight waybills, and a tax of nine cents a gallon on all general aviation fuels would be aviation’s contribution to this multi-year multi- billion-dollar airport/airways program submitted to Congress on June 16.

OneOne UsedUsed AircraftAircraft ComingComing Up:Up: After plane splashed into San JAL DC-8 Francisco Bay on an ILS approach Diverging pattern of lights, extending to SFO, work crews labored furi- upward like errant tracer rounds, is actually the ﬁ nal approach path of a ously to raise the 75-ton machine Boeing Jetliner as captured in a time from the 8-ft. deep brine before exposure. Night landing was on New- corrosion set in. After a $4 million ark Airport’s Runway 04. (Photo by Ralph Kellner, BCA’s art director) overhaul, the Shiga, JAL’s stretched DC-8 is in the skies again. Rumor has it, though, of passenger com- DC-3 plaints of salty Sukiyaki. Turboprop DC-3: The installation of two Rolls-Royce Dart Mark 510 engines may bring the DC-3 once again into modern competi- tion. Called the Turboprop DC-3, this mod made its maiden appearance atat thethe ParisParis AirAir Show.Show. Bell 212 Flexible Future: When certif ed in early 1970, the Bell Model 212 will be the f rst twin- engine medium size chopper dedicated for commercial use.

Functional in the extreme the Cessna 207 can accommodate The Ted Smith Aerostar is the ﬁ rst such outsize cargo completely new light twin to be introduced in many years, according to the as oil drums, trunks, advertisement. crates and large cartons with passenger seats Skywagon removed. BCA

72 Business & Commercial Aviation | July 2019 www.bcadigital.com M600. MISSION: POSSIBLE.

1,658 NM RANGE · 2,400 LBS USEFUL LOAD · G3000 AVIONICS

Meet the powerful, pressurized cabin-class turboprop designed for your mission. Everything you need, including the lowest operating and acquisition costs in its category. An evolution of the popular Meridian, the Piper M600 is designed with a robust clean sheet wing and vastly increased fuel capacity for a smoother, more stable flight, 658 nm more range, 700 lbs more useful load and 250 kcas Vmo. Contact your dealer for a demo, or experience the Freedom of Flight™ at piper.com.

piper.com 1.772.299.2403 FREEDOM OF FLIGHT FAA APPROVED

G5000® FLIGHT DECK UPGRADE FOR CITATION EXCEL/XLS ZERO-TIME LOWER SIGNIFICANT ADS-B/DATA COMM AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED SURFACEWATCH™ AVIONICS OPERATING COSTS WEIGHT SAVINGS AND MORE EMERGENCY DESCENT MODE SURFACE MONITORING AND ALERTING TECHNOLOGY