Aviation International News
March 2015
PUBLICATIONS Vol. 47 No. 3 $9.00
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Sidesticks shine in G500 sim flight AIN’s Matt Thurber, one of the few non-Gulfstream pilots to fly the G500 Case III simulator and the first journalist to do so, reports from Savannah.
With a slight movement of my wrist, I eased back on the sidestick of Gulfstream’s new G500 to rotate at about 130 knots and we lifted off Runway 36 at Chambery Airport in France. Of course, I wasn’t flying the real airplane last month, but the G500 replicated in Gulfstream’s
Conceptual Advanced Simulation Environment (Case III) sure felt and looked real, thanks to a stunning visual display and the unique configuration of the sidesticks. The G500/G600 are Gulfstream’s second-generation jets with fly-by-wire flight controls, designed to fill a gap
between the traditional G450/ G550 and the fly-by-wire G650. The G500/G600 cabin is wider than the G450/550’s but not quite as large as the G650’s, although it shares many of the G650’s characteristics (larger windows, performance and so on). The major difference between the G650 and the new models is found in Gulfstream’s Symmetry flight deck, where touchscreen controls replace a swath of switches, knobs and buttons and the pilots have an unobstructed view of the four 13- by 10-inch Honeywell
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Bombardier’s cash crunch by Kerry Lynch A management shakeup, cancellation of certain dividends and a stated intention to raise $2.1 billion in capital are the latest steps for Bombardier to calm an increasingly worried market as it attempts to improve liquidity. Last month Bombardier brought in former United Technologies executive Alain Bellemare to steer the company as Pierre Beaudoin shifts to the chairman’s role, replacing his
REMANUFACTURED
AIRCRAFT Gulfstream engineers designed the cockpit of the fly-by-wire G500 to give pilots a nicer place to work, and they clearly accomplished that. Replacing bulky yokes with active control sidesticks opens up the whole flight deck.
Regulations
Industry
TransAsia crash
FAA acts on small UAS rule
GAMA deliveries
The right engine of the ATR 72-600 flamed out soon after takeoff but the crew shut down the left engine, according to the preliminary report. page 48
The agency’s roll out–nearly four years later than expected–of its proposed rule governing commercial operations of small drones met with generally positive response. page 10
There is finally cause for optimism as the industry showed its strongest signs of growth since 2008, but analysts remain cautious as some sectors fared better than others. page 4
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Welcome budget surprise: GA user fees off the table In a surprise move welcomed by industry leaders, the White House reversed course in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget, dropping the proposed $100 ATC user fee that had been the mainstay over the past several budgets. But at the same time, the Obama Administration continues to push its proposal to change business aircraft depreciation schedules. “After years of fighting to
Safety
father, Laurent Beaudoin, who had been at the helm for 50 years and is now chairman emeritus. Bellemare, most recently president and CEO of UTC Propulsion & Aerospace Systems, brings knowledge of large-scale development programs, and he is already familiar with Bombardier’s own CSeries, which uses PurePower geared turbofans made by UTC’s Pratt & Whitney. He also steered
For half the price of a brand-new aircraft operators can fly off in an older model outfitted with new engines and the latest avionics. Page 20
protect pilots from arbitrary SPECIAL REPORTfees and charges, we’re pleased to see that the White House has finally taken our message to heart and acknowledged that user fees on general aviation are a non-starter,” said Mark Baker, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. “This is a big victory for the future of general aviation but we’ll continue to keep a close watch to
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