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A study conducted by Forbes magazine and Google has shown how business aircraft passengers would use the Internet if broadband were available in the main cabin. Aircell, Inmarsat and ViaSat are the three main broadband connectivity service providers for business aircraft. Details of the technology, connection speeds, price plans and coverage areas being offered by each provider are also discussed.

Development of the Primus Epic avionics system from Honeywell continued with its deployment in the Dassault Falcon and Gulfstream aircraft. The avionics system improves situational awareness through synthetic vision and enables aircraft to fly more flexible and fuel-efficient routes.

The fresh flat-panel LCD upgrades for old business aircrafts along with their added functions and capabilities with increased reliability and reduced weight are analyzed.

The upgrading and refurbishing of engines on business jets through a good performance enhancer is investigated in terms of business viability and profits.

FADECs (full-authority digital engine (or electronic) controls) that have revolutionized aircraft engine operation and maintenance saving time and money through invaluable data delivery systems are entering their second generation aboard state of the art engines. These engines from Rolls Royce, Honeywell, General Electric and P&WC service business aviation aircraft and regional airline turbofans.

The author examine the use of deicing boots on the wings of business aircraft. Topics include proper use of the boots, how to avoid damage to wings when using boots, and the importance of knowing when to expect icing to be a problem.

The changes in the business environment and the increasing needs of corporate travellers have resulted in changes in the way aircraft are designed. Travellers are requiring more office features in order to do business while in transit such as onboard servers, fax and data transmission, and digital phones. High end installations, which available from firms such as K-C Aviation of Dallas Love Field, may include Local Area Networks, satcoms, work stations, and inverters.

Collins Commercial Avionics is set to introduce its Pro Line 21 on the Raytheon Premier I corporate jet. Pro Line 21 retains the Integrated Avionics Processor System (IAPS) at its hub but the box will be smaller, lighter and more powerful. Specific internal IAPS components will meet flight critical0evel 10(super -9) reliability standards. Pro Line will also feature eight-by-10-in, LCD flat-panel displays in two-, three- or four-screen configurations. It will be designed around Global Positioning System navigation.

The outfitting of newly-acquired company aircraft is one of the most difficult tasks of corporate flight departments. A new airplane may have only its basic avionics systems installed by its manufacturer. Planning for the specifications of an aircraft's interior includes the consideration of aesthetics, quality of materials, function, efficiency, cost and performance. The main consideration in specification is how the aircraft will be used. Once a specification is completed, a completion center should be selected.

Auxiliary power units (APU) used to be ignored and were not considered as important equipment by flightcrews mainly due to unavailability of components, difficult maintenance and poor reliability. However, there has been a marked improvement in the utility and function of APUs, prompting regional and corporate aircraft to make them integral design and system elements. Modern APUs can provide enough electrical power to meet all aircraft requirements and environmental system demands. In addition, their use can result in substantial operating and maintenance cost savings.

The convergence of information, communications and entertainment media has benefited the business aircraft passengers to a great extent. The latest developments in passenger cabin electronics, which offer greater portability, interactivity and resources, are discussed.

propulsion john croft washington dc Passport 20 heads for design freeze GE Aviation was planning to freeze the design of its Passport 20 turbofan engine for the Bombardier Global 7000 [...]

SALES SHIFT Raytheon is shifting its international sales headquarters from Geneva, Switzerland to Chester, UK. Birthplace of the Hawker 800-series, the Chester facility is the centre of Hawker service and [...]

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 [...]

Grob has picked Honeywell's Apex integrated cockpit for its G160 Ranger single-turboprop business aircraft. The German manufacturer is the first announced customer for Apex, but Hon- eywell says the system [...]

Honeywell is developing IntuVue, a family of three-dimensional business aviation weather radars which can detect turbulence, wind shears, and storms. The first of the radars is installed in the Gulfstream 650 business jet, and the radar will be retrofitted into aircraft using Honeywell's Primus radars.

Innovative developments in business aviation in terms of enhanced and synthetic vision and also a variety of display options are enabling smaller aircraft and bizjets to be equipped with synthetic vision systems that provide forward-looking infrared (Flir) images of runways and terrain in head-up displays and also computer-generated 3D views of runways and terrain from a database. A cost-effective infrared imaging camera (IRIS) and sensors also add to the products developed for corporate aircraft flight decks.

Business aircraft designers are revolutionizing civil avionics if the products displayed at the 1995 National Business Aircraft Assn (NBAA) convention are any indication. Developments in liquid-crystal displays may prove to be more dramatic than those of cathode-ray tube research in the early eighties. Large, active-matrix, color LCDs and powerful computer chips allow users to integrate multiple functions on a single screen. A sample of products exhibited at NBAA is provided.

Avionics manufacturers are expected to focus their marketing efforts on the business- and regional-aircraft segments during the 1995 Paris Air Show, in view of the better opportunities they offer. Competition for technological superiority and market share will be particularly intense among avionics companies, especially in the areas of low-maintenance liquid crystal displays, civil head-up displays, global-positioning-system avionics and flight management systems

Flight Visions's FV-2000 is the first heads-up display (HUD) that is practical for business aircraft. It is useful in all phases of flight. Because the characters it displays are focused at infinity, it actually improves visual traffic scans. It costs $49,850.

New avionics technology will enable corporate aircraft to navigate and land anywhere in the world. While many firms are not retrofitting fleets, most new planes are equipped with some level of Global Positioning Systems. Head-up display technology is also gaining interest.

Aviation Partners Inc. earned Brazilian and Canadian certification for its high-Mach blended winglets for Dassault Falcon 2000 series aircraft. Third-party shops are starting to retrofit older Falcon 2000 models with the winglets.

* Cessna Aircraft has selected the new generation P&WC PW615F engine to power the Citation Mustang, its new introductory-level business jet. The PW615F is flat rated at 1,350 pounds of […]

Studies conducted by Falcon Jet Corp chief pilot Dave De Angelis affirm that thrust reversers are suitable for business aircraft, despite fears of inflight thrust reverser deployments. De Angelis revealed that he obtained ony three documented and four undocumented occurences of thrust reverser deployment. He also argued that present thrust reverser designs significantly reduce the possibility of deployment. However, he recommended pilots to be aware of the dangers of deployment and memorize countermeasures.