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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2442.PDF
IN BR1 SUPERSONIC PLEA The US Federal Aviation Admini stration is being urged to change rules prohibiting supersonic flight over land. The General Aviation Manufacturers Assoc iation says the rules hinder dev elopment of supersonic aircraft and that technology has advan ced since the ban was imposed. HAWKER SELECTION Raytheon is offering AirCell's Iridium-based satellite communications system as a factory option on the Hawker 400XP and 800XP and has selected the equipment for its Flight Options fractional-owner ship fleet. GIV DELIVERY Gulfstream has delivered a GIV to Air China Business, a new sub sidiary of CNAC offering VIP charters in China. BUSINESS AVIATION PERSONAL JETS GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Eclipse retires test aircraft and readies assembly line Company prepares to build first production version with PW610F engine for certification Eclipse Aviation has "retired" its first test aircraft after accumulating 54 flight hours on 55 sorties powered by interim Teledyne Continental turbojets. Albuquerque, New Mex ico-based Eclipse is preparing for the start of assembly of the first con forming production versions of its personal jet with the chosen Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan. Eclipse says tests using the origi nal Eclipse 500 prototype confirmed the basic aircraft "requires no signif icant redesigns and remains on track for certification in 2006". The first conforming test aircraft is due to fly in late 2004, pending the suc cessful test and development of the PW610F - a scaled-down version of the PW615 under test for Cessna's Citation Mustang. Seven aircraft will be involved in certification. Although outwardly virtually identical to the later aircraft, the late engine change from the origi nal Williams FJ22 to the heavier PW610F limited the first prototype to testing basic aerodynamics and handling. "The outer mould line hasn't changed, but practically everything else has been touched," says Eclipse president Vern Raburn. "We are starting the early fabrica tion of some of the aircraft parts, and we will be loading tools in March to build the first aircraft. We are firming up the redesigns and changes that are required to move from the Williams to the P&WC engine." These are mainly associ ated with the structural changes to accommodate the extra 410kg (9001b) airframe, engine and fuel weight and includes thicker wing spars and ribs. AVIONICS Grob selects Apex for G160 Grab has picked Honeywell's Apex integrated cockpit for its G160 Ranger single-turboprop business aircraft. The German manufacturer is the first announ ced customer for Apex, but Hon eywell says the system has been picked for two other aircraft pro grammes yet to be revealed. First flight of the carbonfibre-compos- ite seven-seater is imminent. The standard Apex system in the G160 features three 265mm (10.4in)-diagonal liquid-crystal displays, engine indicating and crew alerting system, communi cation/navigation radios, digital autopilot and enhanced ground- proximity warning system. Options include weather radar, traffic collision avoidance system, radio altimeter and Honeywell's flight information system datalink. Initial deliveries of the G160, beginning in 2005, will be with Honeywell's EFS^IO electronic flight-instrument system, with Apex being installed as standard from 2006. The pressurised G160 is powered by an 850shp (635kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A, giving a 270kt (500km/h) cruise speed. CERTIFICATION Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 on course for approval F*"'^ "^BSHSHBSft&ll 6^? • 1 N3°^m 3^M Sino Swearingen Aircraft's second conforming SJ30-2 prototype, num ber 0004, has joined the US Federal Aviation Administration certification programme in San Antonio, Texas. The company says a third conform ing aircraft will join the effort in "a few months", adding: "With these three aircraft, certification of the SJ30-2 will be completed on a sche dule to be announced soon." The seven-seat, light-jet certification effort has been accelerated to make up for the delay caused by the 26 April crash of the first prototype. COMMUNICATIONS JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON Tenzing to modify Inmarsat service Airborne internet service provider Tenzing Communications is to modify its Inmarsat Swift64-based satellite communications service in an effort to break into the business aviation market. Airbus-backed Tenzing, which successfully completed full-scale tests of its email offerings using the Swift64 high-speed satellite con nection in February, says only minor changes to the system's graphical user interface were required before launch. Tenzing is marketing the system as a cheaper, lightweight option to recently launched competing broadband services. John Wade, executive vice-presi dent for strategic planning at Tenzing, says the company received enquiries from several corporate air craft owners now using expensive, low-speed links. The company is targeting smaller business aircraft, as antennas needed for other high speed services cannot be accommo dated on smaller jets, he adds. Tenzing has teamed with AirCell to provide a wireless local area network on board private business jets. The system uses a commer cially available portable server and standard laptop computers, since under Part 91 rules, the use of wire less devices is at the pilot's discre tion. If successful, supplemental type certificates for business jet types will be sought to allow for use in fractional and charter jets. Tenzing is flying demonstrations with a Cessna Citation CJ1. 22 28 OCTOBER - 3 NOVEMBER 2 003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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