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Aviation History
2004
2004-02 - 0021.PDF
BUSINESS AVIATION LAUNCH KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON NetJets transatlantic service targets ex-Concorde flyers Fractional operator says huge investment will transform private aviation in Europe Netjets has launched a transat lantic service designed to woo for mer Concorde customers and open the market to a new generation of passengers disillusioned with air line travel. Netjets will drop expensive ferry charges, costing up to $25,000 on flights that originate or terminate in continental USA, and will base large-cabin Gulfstream types for the first time in Europe. The com pany says this huge investment will boost demand for its Lisbon, Portugal-based operation, Netjets Europe, the only fractional-owner ship operator on the continent. Netjets unveiled preliminary plans at the Paris air show last June to begin the service after the retirement of the British Airways and Air France Concordes. Netjets Europe will initially oper ate a Gulfstream IV-SP and V taken from the US fleet and placed on the Portuguese register. The aircraft will then be joined in September by two new Dassault Falcon 2000EXs. "We have already pre-sold the GIV-SP to eight owners," says Netjets Europe chief executive Mark Booth, "and as demand for the programme grows, as antici pated, we will add more aircraft." Booth says "there is a crying need" for an alternative to the bur den of airline travel and he believes private aviation provides the only hassle-free solution. "Airlines have no control over airport scheduling," he adds, "no matter what price you pay for a ticket, all passengers will take off and land at the same time." Although the Gulfstream types take as long as commercial airliners to cross the Atlantic, Booth says, business jet travellers typically fly from business aviation terminals or airports such as RAF Northolt, London and Teterboro, New Jersey, where the pre-boarding process is much shorter. Booth says a number of factors were working in favour of the new service, including the retirement of Concorde, heightened security measures and delays at large air ports and an increased focus on corporation spending. Access to Netjets Europe's long- range aircraft programme starts at $1.7 million for a one-sixteenth share of a GIV-SP. Owners pay a monthly management fee of €14,600 ($18,500) and an occupied hourly rate of €2,755. Netjets Eur ope offers a guaranteed response time of 24h. NOISE Jackson Hole bans Stage 2 Wyoming's Jackson Hole airport plans to ban Stage 2 business jets, possibly as early as June. The airport believes a provision in the 2003 Federal Aviation Admin istration reauthorisation act, Vision 100, allows it to impose the ban without conducting an FAA- mandated noise study. The airport board will meet in April to consider the ban on oper ations by all Stage 2 aircraft under 34,000kg (75,000lb), and plans a public hearing on the pro posal for March. Under the prop osal, operators of Stage 2 aircraft will be able apply for a six-month extension provided they submit proof that they have ordered a Stage 3 hushkit or replacement Stage 3 aircraft. Local noise restrictions are tar geting Stage 2 business jet operations. California's Van Nuys airport has taken legal action against two operators under its Stage 2 non-addition rule, which came into effect last year. REGULATION EVS rule set to benefit operators Operators of aircraft equipped with enhanced vision systems (EVS) will benefit from reduced approach min ima under a new rule published by the US Federal Aviation Adminis tration. The enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) operational rule is expected to boost EVS sales, as their use was previously limited to aiding pilot situational awareness. Business jet operators will be first to benefit. The EFVS rule allows pilots to continue a straight-in approach past decision height or minimum descent altitude down to 100ft (30m), provided the airport envi ronment can be seen using the EVS. This represents a reduction in min ima ranging from 100ft for a Category 1 landing to "several hun dred feet" for a non-precision approach, says John McGraw, man ager of the FAA's flight technologies and procedures division. The rule will allow use of any sen sor providing a real-time image of the outside world on a head-up dis play, says McGraw. Initial systems use infrared cameras, but millime tre-wave radar sensors and systems fusing infrared and low-light televi sion images are under development. The Kollsman EVS on Gulfstream business jets is the first to be certifi cated. Others are under develop ment by Bombardier and Max-Viz. ^^^^ A 9 ^^ s? >-^^^^^ « %^Gr' APPROVAL Embraer sets sights higher Embraer has won Brazilian and US approval to expand the landing and take-off envelope for its Legacy business jet at airports up to 8,500ft (2,600m) above sea level. This gives Legacy operators access to high- altitude airports in 20 cities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. GOODRICH BRAKES Goodrich is to supply the anti skid braking system for the Cessna Citation Mustang entry- level business jet. The electronic brake control system is the first developed internally by Goodrich, and will also be sup plied for the Sukhoi Russian Regional Jet and Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle. SAFIRE APPLIES Satire Aircraft has filed a type certificate application for the six- seat Satire Jet with the US Federal Aviation Administration, with a strategy for European cer tification to be finalised this year. First flight of the $1.4 million entry-level Satire Jet is sched uled for later this year, leading to certification and first deliveries in 2006. The aircraft will be pro duced at the manufacturer's 46,300m2 (500,000ft2) assembly plant at Opa Locka, Florida. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20-26 JANUARY 2004 19
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