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Aviation History
2000
2000 - 0338.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION NEWS IN BRIEF M GALAXY DELIVERY Galaxy Aerospace has deliv ered a Galaxy business jet to Fort Worth, Texas-based electronics distributor TTI. This is the first super inid-size Galaxy to be delivered to a customer after the demon strator aircraft was completed last year. The Galaxy was cer tificated in December 1998. The first Astra SPX complet ed at Galaxy in Fort Worth has also been delivered. • DAIMLER CORPORATE JET DaimlerChrysler Aviation has begun operating an Airbus A319 Corporate Jet (ACJ), which replaces a leased Airbus A320. The longer range of the 48-seat ACJ eliminates the need for a refuelling stop in Iceland on the four to five weekly flights between Stuttgart and Detroit, reducing flight time by more than 2h, to 9h. • ENGINE UPGRADE The US Coast Guard is to spend $40 million upgrading Honeywell (formerly Allied- Signal) LTS101 engines pow ering its 93 Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphins. Phased improvements to the full- authority digital engine con trol and other components will increase power by 23%. • S0L0Y RECLAIMS STC Soloy has re-acquired from Rocky Mountain Helicopters the supplemental type cer tificate (STC) to re-engine LTSlOl-powered Eurocop ter AS350s with Rolls-Royce Allison 250-C30Ms. The Olympia, Washington-based company developed the con version in the mid-1980s. • SPRAY CERTIFICATED Apollo Helicopter Systems has received US certification for an agricultural spray kit for the Robinson R44 light helicopter. Apollo says that the 70kg (1551b) system can be installed or removed in under 15min. Strong US economy bolsters corporate charter business GRAHAM WARWICK/WASHINGTON DC US CORPORATE charter operators report an increase in demand during 1999, boosted by the country's economic growth and airline service issues. The National Air Transport ation Association says charter operations increased 20% lastyear. Executive Jet Management (EJM), the charter arm of fractional-own ership leader Executive Jet, ended 1999 with 50 aircraft in its charter management fleet, having added 20 during the year. EJM plans to add 2 5 more aircraft to its managed fleet this year. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company says corporate clients and wealthy individuals alike are increasingly chartering business jets to avoid the delays and incon venience of airline travel. A significant part of EJM's busi ness comes from providing charter back-up to Executive Jet's Netjets fractional-ownership programme. Already this year, the company has added two Cessna Citation Excels to its fleet to support Netjets. Dallas, Texas-based Alliance Executive, meanwhile, expects to increase its managed fleet by three aircraft a month this year. The company has 34 aircraft for charter. Alliance was formerly part of Bombardier BusinessJetSolutions, but was acquired by investors last year. Bombardier's Flexjct frac tional-ownership venture is a minority partner in the company, and Alliance provides a small amount of charter back-up for the programme, says vice-president of operations Walter Ernst. Competition in the US charter market is fierce, and third-placed Alliance "should be doing better, with the way the economy is", admits Ernst. "We have seen an increase in demand for charter," he says, "and we are seeing a different group of travellers. "There are 150,000 people in die US with a personal wealth of more than $50 million," he adds. "They arc learning they do not have to go to the airlines to meet their person al and business needs." • Sikorsky picks new avionics suite SIKORSKY HAS selected Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 equipment as the baseline avionics suite for its new S-92 medium helicopter. Sikorsky selected the avionics after drop ping plans to develop a Honeywell-based cockpit. Late last month Canada's Cougar Helicopters signed a letter of intent to be the first launch cus tomer for the 19-seat machine. Sikorsky's new S-92 will have a Rockwell Collins avionics suite Islander noise tests beat expectations FLIGHT TESTS of Hartzell three-bladed propellers on a Britten-Norman BN2B piston- engined Islander have exceeded original projections, revealing a noise reduction of up to 7dB(A), according to the UK general avia tion aircraft manufacturer. "The experimental props, through the lower tip speed and scimitar shape, reveal significant performance and efficiency bene fits to the aircraft," says Britten- Norman, which expects demand for its piston-powered Islander to increase after certification of the new propeller, due later this year. Trials of the all-metal three- bladed experimental propellers, built by Hartzell as part of NASA- sponsored research, are being per formed at Britten-Norman's Bembridge, Isle of Wight facility, forming part of a UK Govern ment-backed programme to address the growing environmen tal concerns over noise from gener al aviation aircraft in Europe. Britten-Norman says: "As well as its use as a short-haul passenger transport aircraft, the Islander is well established as an aerial surveil lance platform with law enforce ment agencies around the world." It adds: "Operations typically re quire flying low-level orbits over urban areas often at night. It is our goal to minimise noise emission to the local populace in these areas." Britten-Norman plans to kick start the final phase of the nine- month programme in March, test ing US and European designed silencers, which it anticipates will reduce further the noise level. 3 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 15 - 21 February 2000
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