JUNE 2018 $10.00 www.bcadigital.

com

OF EDITORIAL
EXCELLENCE

Business & Commercial Aviation

SPECIAL REPORT

Swan Song for

Citation X
Farewell to the world’s fastest ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
civil aircraft
Alaskan CFIT
Continues To Kill
Hacking the Aircraft
Metering Ground Movements
High-Altitude UV Exposure
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 CONTENTS JUNE 2018
Business & Commercial Aviation

11 Intelligence
Edited by William Garvey, Jessica
Keep up with all A. Salerno and Molly McMillin
the news and blogs Bombardier to Sell Downsview
from BCA editors Assembly Facility
“like” us on facebook
facebook.com/avweekbca Flexjet to Move Operations to
and follow us on twitter Love Field
twitter.com/avweekbca
EPIC Lawsuit Filed Against FAA
Drone Advisory Committee

Pilatus Celebrates Successful

2017

Jet Aviation Finalizes Acquisi-

tion of Hawker Pacific
38 Former Epic Air CEO Pleads
Guilty to Wire Fraud

Textron Aviation Garners 52

Features 32 Aircraft Hacking
David Esler
Skyhawk Orders in China

Fast Five With Steve

Alaskan CFIT —
22 Continues to Kill
Richard N. Aarons
Low-altitude, marginal VFR
and a bragging TAWS
Is it possible to hack into
avionics cyber system from
a remote location and take
McCaughey, Seaplane Pilots
Association
control of an aircraft in
flight? And should you be
concerned about it?

38 High-Altitude
Exposure
UV
Digital Extras Patrick Veillette
A little-recognized
occupational risk for
flight crews

28
42 Cold,
Lonely
Dark and
Ross Detwiler
Tap this icon in articles My flights through cold
in the digital edition
of BCA for exclusive
features. If you have not
32 climes and the lessons
learned
Departments
signed up to receive your 7 Viewpoint
digital subscription, go to
aviationweek.com/bcasubscribers
28 Reading Minds
James Albright 46 Swan Song for
Citation X 24 Accidents in Brief
Keeping cockpit Fred George
communications on track 53 The NextGen Files
Farewell to the world’s
For the latest fastest civil aircraft
developments, go to 55 Point of Law
www.bcadigital.com
56 20/Twenty
Selected articles from BCA
and The Weekly
of Business Aviation,
42 58 On Duty 
as well as breaking news 58 Advertisers’ Index
stories and daily news
updates 63 Products & Services
64 BCA 50 Years Ago
COVER
Courtesy of Textron
Aviation, Cessna Citation
57 BCA Marketplace
www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 1
 Market & Production Forecasts
and Industry Briefngs
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2 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
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 Viewpoint
Persistence, Meet Resistance
The opponents and moves are all too familiar
DURING THE LONG AND ACRIMONIOUS DEBATE OVER THE PRO-
posal to cleave air traffic from the FAA and place it under a
semi-private organization headed by representatives from
government and various user groups, Ed Bolen, president and
CEO of the NBAA, and a staunch, outspoken opponent of the
legislation, observed, “In Washington, you can’t kill a bad idea.”
A part of the plan — since withdrawn, for now — at one point
included financing the new ATC through user fees. Imposing
such fees on general aviation and charter operations, as op-
posed to a federal fuel tax, has long been a move favored by
air carriers.
At this point, I’ll surrender my space to the late, great
Jim Holahan, a predecessor of
mine as BCA editor-in-chief, who
titled the following as “Sifting
Opinion From Facts”:
“. . . it’s obvious that the airlines are
Despite the rantings of Ameri- trying to avoid a direct
can’s outspoken president, George
Spater, I don’t think he or the air- confrontation with general
lines want to come out for exclusion
of general aviation from any major aviation for fear that it will sully
“air carrier” airport. The airlines,
of late, admit openly that airports their public image.”
built with public money should be
available to the public, and that no
airplane should be denied the right
to use them — provided, and there is a kicker here, “it pays
its fair share for use of the facilities, meets FAA criteria for
airplane and pilot qualifications and conforms to FAA traffic
control procedures.”
To me, it’s obvious that the airlines are trying to avoid a
direct confrontation with general aviation for fear that it will
sully their public image. Rather they will make an oblique ef-
fort to gain virtual exclusivity in congested terminals. I see
them exerting powerful influence on airport managements
to set heavy usage fees (perhaps according to a time-on-run-
way formula being concocted by the Air Transport Associa-
tion) to discourage most of general aviation. (However, they
will not want to discourage large air taxis and corporate
aircraft whose prime purpose is delivering or picking up
airline passengers.) I see the airlines exerting their influ-
ence on the DOT/FAA to stiffen requirements and to create
a traffic environment that would take at least a “semi-pro”
pilot to cope with.
In short, I feel that the airlines’ tack is to create a sort of de
facto segregation in high-density airspace and airports, us-
ing airport management and the FAA as their instruments.
Simultaneously, we can expect them to come out publicly for
www.bcadigital.com
William Garvey
Editor-in-Chief
william.garvey@informa.com
reliever airports and for other general aviation essentials, os-
tensibly due to altruism, but in reality, to get general aviation
out of their hair.
Before we start waxing emotional, in truth we can’t blame
the airlines. Their prime goal is an economic one — to make a
profit for their stockholders. Their secondary purpose is serv-
ing the public (although in their congressional lobbying they
would have the legislators believe this is their only one). Thus,
we can’t really expect the airlines to be altruistic about gen-
eral aviation if it inhibits either goal, especially the primary.
On user charges, rest assured the airlines will be adamant.
They want no fuel tax; they want the 5% ticket tax contin-
ued as their airways user charge
share. And, while no one in gen-
eral aviation will agree with this
concept, I’ve yet to see a substan-
tive argument that defeats the
ATA premise: “The passenger is
going to pay ultimately, so why not
tax him directly?”
I think the argument of the air-
plane manufacturers that gen-
eral aviation is part of the overall
transportation complex makes
some excellent points, but it is so
watered down with diplomacy that
it becomes weak and amorphous. A basic flaw is the implica-
tion that the 110,000-odd general aviation aircraft all fly in
pursuit of some utilitarian purpose. Of course, this just isn’t so.
Most fly for fun — not that there is anything wrong with that.
The FAA? I don’t think that they’ve become involved enough
in this growing crisis, and some of their proposals are, to be
kind, unwise. In particular, the “mushroom” for high-density
area traffic appears ill thought out. The average VFR pilot
won’t even be able to define the area from which he is excluded
unless he is DME-equipped and uses it expertly in conjunction
with his VOR — or unless someone draws large white circles
on the ground for him.
The DOT? Any man who thinks of general aviation in terms
of Piper Cubs, as does Alan Boyd, hasn’t an adequate under-
standing of the roles, problems and aspirations of this viable
segment of the nation’s civil air complex. Relative to general
aviation, the DOT secretary appears either poorly advised or
he hasn’t done his homework. In this regard, I found him a
shallow thinker who tends to substitute bombast and charis-
matic poise for logical polemics.
Remember, this is the editorial page, and one editor’s opinions.
Signed, James Holahan, June, 1968, BCA
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 7
 Readers’ Feedback
Booby Trap or Death
Sentence?
I read “Teterboro Crash Facts” (Cause
& Circumstance, April 2018) and after
pondering on it, I feel compelled to
comment. You obviously paint the
picture of two poorly and mismatched
pilots making an accident just waiting to
happen. But as usual, I see it in another
perspective. I would call this approach
either a booby trap or death sentence.
True, the pilots obviously failed to
perform, but the system in place in
today’s world should be able to avoid
such an instance.
Reminds me of a smart friend of mine,
with whom I’ve flown for more than 40
years. I watched him try to kill us when
he got back from ‘Nam flying on the G.I.
Bill. I was a teenager at the time and
didn’t realize until years later how close
he came. Then all the stories he told me
of hitting trees, running out of fuel on
final, dead sticking with his family on
board. I watched him fly an approach
making S turns for miles trying to
capture the localizer. I always said, only
reason he’s not dead is a testament of
how good the system is!
Alan Hyman
Baltimore, Maryland
Still the Very Best
I just received my BCA P urchase
Planning Handbook (May 2018) and the
process of dog-earing pages has begun,
as is my practice every year! These
are the must-have, go-to guides that
I regularly rely upon for Honest Abe
aircraft-to-aircraft comparisons. They
are always so well done. Thanks for
what you do!
Rolland Vincent
President
Rolland Vincent Associates, LLC
JETNET iQ Creator/Director
Plano, Texas
Always Room for Critique
I am writing regarding your comment
on the Citation Bravo (20/Twenty, March
2018). Quoting now: “If recovery is
initiated at stick sha ker, there is
virtually no altitude loss.” I believe that
this suggests that no forward pressure
was initiated at the onset of the stall.
While stick shaker is not the stall it
should be actioned as if it is. To lose
8 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
no altitude requires full power and no
reduction in stick force.
It was this approach to stall recovery
and attempt to stay within the FAA
mandated criteria for altitude loss that
has caused incorrect technique. The
correct procedure and only procedure
is to push forward on the control column
to decrease the alpha and break the stall
at the same time as applying power. This
will cause altitude loss and should be
expected.
As I am certain that you are aware,
this subject has been in the forefront
since the Colgan Air accident outside
Buffalo, New York in February 2009.
As a background, I was trained in the
RCAF in 1967. We were always taught
to push forward, and we always lost
altitude and were expected to. The only
standard was to break the stall and
recover within reason.
I was amazed when I came into the
corporate world some 38 years later
and always lost more altitude than
the other candidate that I was paired
with. This became apparent when I
was demonstrated the approach used
by FAA standard. I would argue that
this technique was incorrect, and while
may be successful with certain types of
aircraft at 10,000 ft., it was fraught with
danger.
My point is your articles are always
excellent and closely read by most
professional pilots. I put great faith in
your analysis and comments on types of
aircraft and performance. This comment
may well lead others to thinking this is a
proper technique. I trust my comments
will be taken in the manner written.
Aviation is an incredible profession and
always has room for critique.
Ian Struthers (Lt. Col. Ret)
CT-114, T-33, C-130, CF-5, CF-104, CF-18,
B-757, A-320, A-330, CL-604, HS-125 and
FA-50EX
Vancouver, British Columbia
Fred George responds: Thank you for your
insightful critique. We very much appreciate
feedback from readers, particularly pilots with
your level of experience. My comment about
virtually no altitude loss at stall recovery if it
is initiated at stick shaker is based upon my
personal experience during 800+ hours of
instructing in CE500/CE550 series aircraft.
The Bravo has a relatively low 45.8 lb./sq.
ft. maximum wing loading, so there is rela-
tively little hysteresis during low altitude stall
recovery. The stick shaker is triggered well
below CLMAX, thus my comment. Please
note that my statement does not imply the
pilot should attempt to maintain altitude
during the stall recovery. (emphasis added.)
When piloting any aircraft, it is critical to
reduce angle-of-attack (AoA) crisply at stick
shaker, or at the full stall, to assure prompt
recovery from the high angle of attack maneuver.
Aboard many other light jets that IÕve
flown, reducing AoA at the first indication
of stall Ñ either triggered by a stall barrier
system or aerodynamic feedback Ñ results
in considerable initial altitude loss. But,
there is less total altitude loss than if the
pilot is reluctant to reduce AoA. This char-
acteristic is most prominent in aircraft with
higher wing loadings, in my opinion. First
generation Learjets, fitted with NACA 64000
series airfoils, can lose plenty of altitude
during the initial phase of stall recovery.
At high cruise altitudes, sharply reducing
AoA at the first sign of stall is more critical
because of hysteresis and Mach effects.
Again, thank you for your feedback. We look
forward to staying in touch.
Leave the Ego at the Door
Hat tip to the author of “Checklist
Discipline: Against the Flow” (April
2018). It was an excellent article that hits
close to home for any aviator willing to
leave ego at the door . . . .
Experience is a ruthless de-briefer to
those paying attention. The U.S. Marine
Corps AH/UH community teaches you
to have thick skin in the debrief or you
won’t survive the first year in an opera-
tional “gun squadron.” Why? Because
the lives of those we were charged with
protecting was deadly serious business.
That being said, eating our own also
prevented “community lea rning”
because we instinctively learned not to
show weakness or admit mistakes for
fear of dead-ending our progression in
qualifications.
www.bcadigital.com
 Contrast that with the training commute from. I can choose from a
squadrons down in the Pensacola area: large number of aircraft to fly. I can
squadron-wide instructor emails tell of choose to fly domestic or international.
“what the student tried to do to kill us With some seniority I can massage my
today.” More than once, learning from schedule to meet my needs and those of
some other instructor’s experience my family. I can fly more hours for more
saved me from a similar or worse fate. pay or fly the minimum as I choose.
A professional must admit: first to I believe that many corporate flight
himself, then to his peers that lesson departments will continue to close their
to save others from costly mistakes, flight department doors. With airline
near misses or worse. There is value with a flight department are not in the flying jobs being so attractive now, that
to both schools of thought in the right business of flying people and therefore is just another reason for companies
environment. corporate pilot jobs are always in not to employ pilots. I know many of my
R ega rd less , the tr ue profes - jeopardy.” This opinion has worked former flying buddies would love to be
sional aviator acknowledges that the well for me throughout my career. I doing the type of flying that I am doing
CHECKLIST IS WRITTEN IN BLOOD. witnessed several corporate f light and they would love the benefits, salary,
Disregard the seriousness of that departments shut down or move out schedule and flexibility
statement at your peril. Much-ado about of state. The company I was flying for Darryl Thomas
nothing: makes you wonder what happens before my return to AA closed it’s flight Via email
in all those single-pilot IFR cockpits. department eight months after I left.
From the Web: AMcA Another company where I used to work If you would like to submit a comment on
and I have friends working is preparing an article in BCA, or voice your opinion on
Retaining Talent Cycle to shut the flight department down. an aviation related topic, send an email to
I enjoyed reading your article in BCA, As an airline pilot I can live anywhere jessica.salerno@informa.com
“Retaining Top Talent,” May, page 54. I in the world that I a m w illing to or william.garvey@informa.com
want to first give you some background
on my career thus far. I am a civilian
trained pilot who flight instructed and
I flew cargo and charter to gain expe- WE HELP AVIATION SALES PROFESSIONALS GENERATE DEALS
rience until I landed my first corporate
flying job. I spent about three years as
a corporate pilot before being hired by
American Airlines.
The events of 9/11 took its toll on
us pilots at the airlines. I endured a
pay reduction and being displaced to
another aircraft before I finally volun-
teered for a furlough after I was hired
back into a corporate flying position. I
spent the next 10 years flying corporate
at two different companies. AMSTAT PROVIDES INDUSTRY LEADING CORPORATE
Airline restructuring through bank- AIRCRAFT MARKET & FLEET DATA
ruptcy and consolidation has trans-
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Turbine Helicopters
I decided that once again I wanted
to return to the airlines as the salary
In a suite of comprehensive services to meet
and benef its were untouchable by
every business need
the company I was f lying for. I am
now making more money than I ever
thought I would as a pilot and I am still
a First Officer. I was fortunate enough
to return to American Airlines at the
seniority position that I was hired into Information that moves you forward
in 2000 because of a negotiated union
benefit. I am currently flying the 787. US 1 877 426 7828 I Int ’l +1 732 530 6400 I www.amst atcorp.com
Even as I went back to corporate
flying I have always said “corporations

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 9

INTELLIGENCE
EDITED BY WILLIAM GARVEY,
JESSICA A. SALERNO AND
MOLLY MCMILLIN
william.garvey@informa.com
jessica.salerno@informa.com
molly.mcmillin@informa.com

NEWS / ANALYSIS / TRENDS / ISSUES

▶ BOMBARDIER IS SELLING ITS DOWNSVIEW AIRCRAFT ASSEMBLY operation Jet-A and Avgas
outside Toronto where it assembles its Q400 turboprop and Global 5000 business jet. The $635
million sale to Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board will net the Montreal-based man- Per-Gallon Fuel Prices
ufacturer more than $550 million, helping the company in its ongoing cost-cutting and debt-re- May 2018
duction efforts. Bombardier will continue to operate at the 370-acre facility for at least three years. Jet-A
It also has two one-year options. The company announced it will lease 38 acres from the Greater Region High Low Average
Toronto Airports Authority to establish a business-jet assembly and completion center at Toronto’s
Eastern $8.99 $4.35 $6.26
Pearson International Airport. Bombardier uses about 10% of its Downsview property and has $9
billion in debt, largely from development costs for the C Series jetliner and Global 7000 business New England $7.67 $3.62 $5.12
jet. The sale and lease “will allow us to monetize an underutilized asset, further streamline Great Lakes $8.54 $3.65 $5.64
and optimize our business aircraft operations, and will support further economic develop-
Central $8.01 $3.10 $4.97
ment and job growth in the Greater Toronto area,”
Bombardier President and CEO Alain Bellemare Southern $8.46 $4.25 $6.05
said recently, adding that the Q400 is not going Southwest $7.05 $3.40 $5.39
away. “This is a product line we will keep push-
NW Mountain $7.48 $3.65 $5.30
ing,” he told analysts, suggesting the company’s
status as producer of commercial aircraft is safe Western Pacific $8.26 $4.05 $5.92
for the foreseeable future. Both the Q400 and Nationwide $8.06 $3.76 $5.58
CRJ backlogs are hovering around 50 aircraft. The
company delivered 31 business jets in the first
quarter of 2018, up from 29 a year ago. Revenu
Avgas
e totaled $1.1 billion, compared to $1.0 billion a Region High Low Average
year ago, with profits up 20%, Bombardier said.
Eastern $8.25 $4.90 $6.56
Stronger order activity in the final weeks of 2017 carried into the first quarter and drove up the
order backlog to $14.3 billion, compared to $14.2 billion a year ago. In the meantime, the busi- New England $7.45 $5.00 $5.85
ness jet market is showing signs of improvement, with used inventory at its lowest level in more Great Lakes $8.59 $4.74 $6.07
than a decade, an increase in residual values and improved market sentiment, Bellemare said.
Central $7.69 $4.10 $5.47
The market has improved across all segments, especially in the midsize and large jet segments,
he noted. The company said certification of the Global 7000 is progressing well and first Southern $8.42 $4.25 $6.20
deliveries are expected later this year. Bombardier plans to ramp up deliveries to about 20 in Southwest $7.10 $4.09 $5.64
2019 with full production achieved in 2020 or 2021. In addition, Bellemare said the company will
NW Mountain $8.46 $4.65 $5.85
continue its Learjet business regarding it as “an aftermarket revenue-generating asset.” He said
Bombardier had lowered Learjet production in Wichita to “protect the value of the franchise during Western Pacific $8.37 $4.70 $6.35
a softer market condition.” However, he added, “We are selling the Lears right now, and actually Nationwide $8.04 $4.55 $6.00
the team is doing a great job.” Bombardier delivered three Learjet 75s during the first quarter of
2018, down from five a year ago. In 2017, it delivered 14 Learjets, down from 24 in 2016. The The tables above show results of a fuel price survey
of U.S. fuel suppliers performed in May 2018.
company is monitoring the health of the Learjet market to see where it will go, Bellemare said. But
This survey was conducted by Aviation Research
as Bombardier increases focus on its aftermarket business, Learjet’s installed base of more than Group/U.S. and reflects prices reported from
2,500 aircraft is a “good base to work from,” he said. The company has kept Learjet production over 200 FBOs located within the 48 contiguous
going, Bellemare added. “We’ll see where it goes, but right now we like it and we’ll keep selling it.” United States. Prices are full retail and include all
taxes and fees.

▶ TEXTRON AVIATION HAS HALTED PRODUCTION OF ITS Cessna Turbo Skyhawk For additional information, contact Aviation
Research/U.S. Inc. at (513) 852-5110
JT-A, which was certified by the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) just last year. or on the internet at
While the airframer is no longer offering the aircraft directly to customers, the 155-hp Continen- www.aviationresearch.com
tal CD-155 turbodiesel will still be offered through the engine maker as an STC installation. Con-
tinental received STCs from both the FAA and EASA for the diesel conversion in April 2017. The
certification includes integration of Garmin’s G1000 avionics system. The European STC allows For the latest news
the direct conversion (retrofit) of avgas-engine-equipped 172s to Continental’s diesel. Textron and information, go to
Aviation earlier put a hold on the Cessna 182 diesel-engine Skylane program. aviationweek.com and bcadigital.com

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 11

 INTELLIGENCE
Flexjet to Move Operations
to Love Field
Fractional aircraft operator Flexjet
plans to move its Richardson, Texas,
operations to the Braniff Center at
Dallas Love Field. Employees are
expected to occupy 32,000 sq. ft. of
offce space by November. A private
terminal and 60,000-sq.-ft. mainte-
nance hangar are scheduled to open
in mid-2019.
Jet Aviation Finalizes
Acquisition of Hawker Pacific
In early May, Jet Aviation completed
its acquisition of Hawker Pacifc, a
leading provider of civil maintenance,
repair and overhaul (MRO); feet
and FBO services; and aircraft sales
across Asia-Pacifc and the Middle
East. As part of this acquisition, Jet
Aviation, a General Dynamics sub-
sidiary, will add 19 locations across
Asia-Pacifc and the Middle East to its
global network, including seven FBOs,
14 MRO facilities and over 400,000
sq. ft. of hangar space. More than
800 employees will also become a
part of Jet Aviation.
12 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
▶ WHEN THE NUMBERS FOR 2017 WERE TALLIED, there were smiles all around in
Stans, Switzerland. That’s because Pilatus Aircraft delivered 115 aircraft, grossed sales worth
986 Swiss francs ($986 million) and closed out the year certifying and delivering the first PC-24
twinjet. Financial 2017 was an extremely busy year for Pilatus, and an exceptionally successful
one, too. With sales of 986 million Swiss francs, 115 aircraft deliveries, a full-time workforce of
over 2,000 and — the absolute highlight —
certification of the PC-24 at the end of the
year, Pilatus achieved the goals. The com-
pany also reported a head count of 2,113
employees, its highest ever, including 123
apprentices, with 94% of the workforce
based in Switzerland. The company deliv-
ered 29 military training aircraft and 85 PC-
12NGs, along with the single PC-24 to PlaneSense, a fractional operator based in Portsmouth,
New Hampshire. According to Pilatus Chairman Oscar J. Schwenk, “The order books are full! The
main goal for 2018 is to ensure a successful and wide-reaching launch for the PC-24.”
▶ FRED SCHRAMECK, THE FORMER CEO OF EPIC AIR of Bend, Oregon, recently
pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for a scheme involving his consumer aviation company,
Aircraft Completion Services. Schrameck, also known as Rick Schrameck, 73, defrauded cus-
tomers by using money paid for aircraft for other projects and to “support his own lavish lifestyle,”
according to the U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
Court documents state that Schrameck solicited customers to buy and help build experimental
aircraft, including the Epic LT, using three companies: Aircraft Investor Resources LLC (AIR), Epic
Air LLC (EPIC) and ACS. Customers paid more than $1.4 million for the aircraft, which were built
in Bend, the attorney’s office said. Schrameck gave customers an airframe purchase agreement
and aircraft completion assistance agreements that misrepresented how customer funds were
being used, it said. His company was purchased in 2010 and renamed Epic Aircraft. Schrameck
faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised
release. He is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 14.
▶ TEXTRON AVIATION RECENTLY CHALKED UP ORDERS FOR 52 Cessna 172
Skyhawks from two Cessna-authorized sales and service representatives in China, with de-
liveries expected to be completed this year.
The company announced the orders at April’s
Asian Business Aviation Conference and Ex-
hibition in Shanghai. “In China, the avia-
tion market and pilot training are growing
quickly and steadily, resulting in greater de-
mand for high-quality training aircraft,” said
Kevin Wu, Textron Aviation vice president of
international sales for Greater China and Mongolia, adding, “The Cessna Skyhawk is known
for its reliability, flexibility and economic efficiency, and it continues to be a leader in
pilot training around the world.” Hairuo General Aviation Co. placed an order for 39 Cessna
Skyhawks, many of which are firm orders, to be used by aviation academies, aviation clubs,
operators and newly established general aviation enterprises and flight schools. A few will
join Hairuo General Aviation’s fleet for aviation training. Hubei Sky Blue International Avia-
tion Academy Co. ordered 13 Skyhawks for its fleet. Hubei Sky Blue has signed purchase
agreements with end users with “solid prospects” for the 13 units to be purchased in 2018.
In the next five years, Hairuo General Aviation plans to purchase an additional 50 Cessna
172s along with some business jets, Textron Aviation said.
www.bcadigital.com
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 INTELLIGENCE
Business Jet Center Returns
to Paragon Network
Business Jet Center at Dallas Love
Field is returning to the Paragon
Network. It is the only award-winning
FBO at Love Field and continues
to place at the top of operators’
surveys. Customers have access to
free ice cream and slushies, a game
room, private crew snooze rooms
with showers, executive conference
rooms and more. Business Jet Center
is the second FBO in the last year
that has returned to the network.
Clay Lacy Aviation Opens
Oxford, Connecticut Facility
Clay Lacy Aviation has opened a
65,000-sq.-ft. aircraft maintenance
facility at Waterbury Oxford Airport
in Oxford, Connecticut. Staffed
by factory trained technicians on
Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault,
Cessna and Hawker airframes, the
facility offers light line maintenance
for engine and airframe, avionics
troubleshooting and repairs, and
minor interior updates and recon-
ditioning. The process for FAR Part
145 repair station certifcation is
underway. Approval is expected
later this year.
14 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
▶ ONEJET, A THREE-YEAR-OLD “AIR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK” that pro-
vides scheduled nonstop service between small and medium-sized cities primarily east of the
Mississippi River using regional operating partners, is acquiring Ultimate JetCharters. Headquar-
tered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, OneJet says the combined operation will have a fleet of two-
dozen aircraft by the end of the year. Ultimate JetCharters, which is based in North Canton, Ohio,
operates 30-seat Dornier and Embraer ERJs for corporate, casino and collegiate charter clients,
as well as for per-seat scheduled services on select routes under the Ultimate Air Shuttle brand.
“The Ultimate team is renowned by both
customers and industry colleagues for its
stellar operational reliability and customer
service, with over 30 years of experience
providing a wonderful product to both
corporate and leisure customers,” OneJet
CEO Matthew Maguire said. “The oppor-
tunity to integrate this demonstrated level
of premium service, expertise and infrastructure within our expanding network of point-to-point
regional routes will further enhance the travel experience and service options for our collective
customers, providing a wonderful platform for both organizations’ continued growth.” The com-
panies’ networks will serve over 17 cities, including Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio;
Pittsburgh; Milwaukee; Albany and Buffalo, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; West Palm Beach,
Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; New York (via Morristown, New Jersey); Chicago; Charlotte and
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Indianapolis; Louisville, Kentucky; and Atlanta. OneJet planned
various schedule and routing adjustments during May, including the announcement of several
new routes, as the Ultimate operations are integrated into its network.
▶ JETBLUE AIRWAYS’ COMMERCIAL TIE-UP WITH BOUTIQUE scheduled charter
operator JetSuiteX is both a long-term play for the mainline carrier and an indicator of how
underserved communities could regain air-service network connectivity without relying
directly on traditional airlines. The latest agreement has JetBlue selling tickets and placing its
code on certain JetSuiteX flights. Initial routes include flights between Las Vegas and the Califor-
nia cities of Burbank, Concord and Oakland, but JetBlue executives see greater potential. “When
we think about the semiprivate market, the ability to fly between two FBOs, we think that is a
market that has a lot of growth potential, and we clearly want to be part of that,” JetBlue Presi-
dent Robin Hayes said on the carrier’s April 24 earnings call. “We are very ambitious about where
we think that can get to.” JetBlue in 2016 invested in JetSuiteX’s parent company and business-
jet charter specialist JetSuite Inc. and has since boosted its equity to 10%; Qatar Airways has
invested as well. While JetSuite’s focus remains business jet charters, it has talked of expanding
its five-aircraft JetSuiteX operation to 100 within a decade, and growing its network to other
secondary airports around the country. It operates 30-seat Embraer ERJ 135s between FBO ter-
minals, meaning its passengers can
skip airport checkpoints. JetSuiteX
is one of several operators leverag-
ing cheap lift — mostly smaller re-
gional aircraft being parked in favor
of larger ones — to meet demand for
service not offered by traditional air-
lines. Like OneJet, JetSuiteX is a an
FAR Part 380 public-charter operation, which — among other things — enables FAR Part 135
operators to have published schedules. By operating within certain parameters, the carriers can
fly small regional aircraft and sell individual tickets, just like traditional airlines, while offering
such perks as FBO-to-FBO service.
www.bcadigital.com
▶ WORKHORSE GROUP, A MAKER OF ELECTRIC PICKUPS AND VANS, has joined Indonesian Air Force Takes
the small, but growing, rank of companies flight-testing full-size electric vertical-takeoff-
Delivery of Grob Trainers
and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with the first flight of its hybrid-electric multirotor SureFly
April 30 near its Cincinnati headquarters. The two-seat SureFly’s initial flight involved
an untethered hover lasting 10 sec. Its second flight, which took place the following
day, was another hover, this one lasting 15 sec. The flights followed more than 100
tethered test flights after a planned first flight of the SureFly at the Consumer Elec-
tronics Show was called off because
of weather. Following that, Workhorse
slowed the pace of the program, says
CEO Steve Burns, citing FAA scrutiny The Indonesian Air Force recently
as one reason. The 1,500-lb. aircraft took delivery of an additional six
has a gas engine driving dual genera- Grob Aerospace G 120TP turboprop
tors that power eight rotors mounted in trainers, increasing its feet of the
upper/lower coaxial pairs at the ends German-made aircraft to 30. The new
of arms arranged in an X configuration aircraft were delivered to the Adisut-
above the cabin. Dual 7.5 kWh lithium jipto airbase in Yogyakarta. The base
battery packs provide 5 min. backup power for an emergency landing; the aircraft will is the headquarters of the service’s
also be equipped with a ballistic recovery parachute. Burns says the first hover flights, fight academy. The other 24 aircraft
although brief, “proved many things,” including the balance software for the multiple were delivered from 2013 to 2016.
rotors, the energy required to fly and noise produced by the aircraft, and the ease with The G 120TP is a side-by-side two-
which it can be flown with the single joystick control. Workhorse plans to fly the SureFly seat trainer powered by a Rolls-Royce
at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 250-B17F turboprop engine.
late July. Burns says his company has started work on an improved version that is to be
lighter, with other improvements including custom propellers to replace the off-the-shelf
ones on the prototype. The company is in talks with the FAA and “is close to being GrandView Aviation Announces
able to file” an application for type certification, Burns says. Expected performance Pilot Retention Program
includes a top speed of 70 mph, a 1-hr. flight time and a ceiling of 4,000 ft.

▶ GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE REPORTED DELIVERING 26 BUSINESS JETS dur-

ing the first quarter, down from 30 a year earlier. The total involved 19 large-cabin and
seven mid-cabin aircraft, compared to 23 large-cabin and seven mid-cabin jets in 2017.
However, Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO of General Dynamics, Gulfstream’s par-
ent company, said the manufacturer would have delivered two additional aircraft, a
special-mission G550 and a G280, which were ready and scheduled, but the custom-
ers delayed the handovers because of timing issues. She also said Gulfstream’s new FAR Part 135 operator GrandView Avi-
G500 business jet should receive certification this month or in July and pilot training at ation recently announced a fve-year
FlightSafety International will begin in August. Meanwhile, she said, G600 certification and retention package of up to $80,000
first deliveries should occur in 2019. The company reported orders in hand for more than to attract and keep qualifed pilots to
50 G500s and close to that number fy its feet of Embraer Phenom 300
for the G600. Demand for Gulfstream jets. Depending on a pilot’s experi-
jets “is quite nice,” Novakovic said. The ence, the company says it will pay a
company has received “strong interest” signing bonus of $5,000 to $10,000
in the U.S., spurred by customer fleet upon completion of Phenom 300
replacement and tax-reform benefits, training and employment. At the end
plus a “growing opportunity set” in Eu- of year one, pilots will receive another
rope. General Dynamics’ aerospace $5,000 and an additional $5,000 at
unit, which includes Gulfstream and the end of year two.
Jet Aviation, recorded $1.825 billion in revenue for the first quarter, down 12%
from a year ago, and earnings of $346 million, a decline of 21.2%. Its backlog totaled
$12.059 billion as of April 1, down from $12.466 billion at the end of 2017.

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 15

 INTELLIGENCE/FBOs
Million Air Opens at HPN
Million Air celebrated it’s grand open-
ing at Westchester County Airport
in May. The 52,000-sq.-ft. hangar is
part of Million Air’s $80 million expan-
sion and upgrade at the airport. The
two-story hangar features 28-ft.-high
doors, radiant heated foors, eight
customizable offces with storage
space and 7.25 acres of ramp space.
J.A. Air Centers Joins
Air Elite Network
J.A. Air Center in Sugar Grove, Illi-
nois has joined the Air Elite Network.
Based at Aurora Municipal Airport
(KARR), it offers direct access to
the tollway as well as frst class
service and convenience for opera-
tors and passengers. The FBO has
a 11,000-sq.-ft. terminal facility,
100,000 sq. ft. of heated hangar
space and a 20,000-sq.-ft. arrival
canopy.
16 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
▶ DEER JET HAS BEEN AWARDED OVERSEAS Repair Station recognition by the FAA,
allowing it to perform maintenance on N-registered aircraft at its facilities in Beijing, Shanghai,
Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It is the 45th maintenance organization in Mainland China to win
FAA Part 145 repair station approval. Deer Jet already has agreements with main manufactur-
ers and jet maintenance solution firms. In other news, China’s Deer Jet has identified Chengdu
for expansion. Deer Jet and the government of Chengu’s Shuangliu District earlier this year
signed a strategic partnership to help develop business aviation at the International Airport
there. Chengdu is China’s fifth-busiest hub in terms of commercial aviation. Deer Jet is seeking
approval to establish an FBO and maintenance facility, a spokesman said, and will also bring
charter services and airplane management to the location.
▶ RANKED THE FIFTH BUSIESt business aviation airport in the United Kingdom, London
Oxford Airport retains its top spot for business aviation movements. According to Eurocontrol’s
data published in March, London Stansted leads in the “most recovered” airports with 35%
growth and London Oxford is second with an overall 32% growth.
▶ THE JETEX GLOBAL FBO NETWORK IS CHARGED UP OVER ELECTRIC aircraft.
So much so that it has joined U.S. startup Wright Electric to develop charging stations for its 30
FBOs. Jetex will also invest in production of the first electric aircraft globally. With an estimated
range of 540 km or 335 mi., a passenger can fly from JetEx FBOs in Dubai to Muscat or Malaga
to Casablanca on a single charge, the company says. For Wright Electric, the goal is to make
every short-haul flight a zero-emissions flight within 20 years. Wright uses battery packs with
advanced cell technology. Jetex has just opened its first FBO in Italy, at Rome’s Ciampino.
▶ BERRY AVIATION IN SAN MARCOS, TEXAS, has begun a $2.7 million expansion of
its headquarters. The company has broken ground on a 31,000-sq.-ft. facility at San Marcos Re-
gional Airport. Berry decided to stay in San Marcos,
home of its headquarters since 1993, after looking
at several other potential airports for the project, it
said. The new facility will include a 20,000-sq.-ft.
maintenance hangar, machine shop, non-destruc-
tive testing lab, parts retrieval system and more
than 10,000 sq. ft. of office space. Berry plans to
add 20 or 30 employees as part of the expansion.
The facility is expected to be completed this fall.
▶ AERO STAR AVIATION HAS RE-
CEIVED FAA Part 145 repair station certifica-
tion for its Dallas Love Field operation. The facility
opened in 2013 and provides maintenance for
Embraer Phenom 100s and 300s and capabili-
ties on Cessna Citation 500s and 600s.
▶ THE TOWN OF EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK, cannot divert airport revenue to pay
for legal fees resulting from its unsuccessful effort to restrict access at East Hampton Airport,
according to an appeal to the FAA filed by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).
The appeal comes in response to a preliminary FAA 14 CFR Part 16 decision in which the agency
declined to address the alleged misappropriation of airport funds, NBAA says. Airport users
essentially were double-charged in their fight to use the airport, NBAA President and CEO Ed
Bolen said. The town increased landing fees to generate revenue to cover legal fees associated
with defending the restrictions
www.bcadigital.com
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 INTELLIGENCE
Bombardier Offers
Online Recurrent Training
Bombardier Business Aircraft has
launched an online recurrent training
course for Challenger 605 and 650
business jet pilots. With it, pilots can
cover 15 hr. of FAA-certifed recur-
rent ground school material, thereby
reducing the length of on-site training
at the company’s simulator centers in
Montreal and Dallas.
Piper Delivers 34 Aircraft
in First Quarter
Piper Aircraft delivered 34 aircraft
during the frst quarter of 2018,
as compared to 25 aircraft a year
earlier. Notably, it said new aircraft
sales revenue, meanwhile, grew
77% to $41.4 million in the quar-
ter, compared to $23.4 million last
year. This growth, the Vero Beach,
Florida, planemaker said, refects
strong demand for its M-class
airplanes, with sales of the M600
doubling. In addition, the company
delivered nearly 16% more trainers
during the quarter than in the same
period in 2017.
18 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
▶ GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE PLANS TO BUILD A NEW $55 MILLION,
202,000-sq.-ft. service center at its Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport campus in
Georgia, and will employ an additional 200 people there. The maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) facility, to be called the Savannah Service Center East, will include hangar space, offices
and back shops and complement the
company’s main Gulfstream Savannah
Service Center. It is expected to open in
the second quarter of 2019. “This expan-
sion of our customer service and support
organization is the result of the strong and
steady fleet growth we’ve had for several
years and the arrival of the Gulfstream
G500 and G600 in the coming months,” said Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream. “As we’ve
announced recently, we’re also growing to meet customer needs in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Van
Nuys, California,” he continued. “These new facilities will keep us well-positioned for support,
maintenance and refurbishment of the Gulfstream fleet, which is now at nearly 2,700 air-
craft and continues to grow.” The expansion is directly connected to Gulfstream’s partnership
with the Savannah Technical College, which offers programs in aircraft structural technology and
aviation maintenance at its Aviation Training Center, Gulfstream said. The company has hired
more than 500 graduates from its programs over the past two decades. The training center will
help Gulfstream meet the employment requirements that the expansion creates, Gulfstream said.
▶ A PRIVACY WATCHDOG ORGANIZATION HAS FILED SUIT AGAINST the FAA’s
Drone Advisory Committee (DAC), charging that the industry-government group has failed to re-
lease records and make subcommittee and task group meetings open to the public in violation
of federal open-meeting requirements. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Washing-
ton, D.C., on April 11, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) names the DAC, FAA,
administering organization RTCA and the DOT as defendants. It said that by keeping some
meetings closed, the defendants “have frustrated plaintiffs’ longstanding mission to edu-
cate the public about the privacy implications of drone deployment and about the federal
government’s efforts [or lack thereof] to protect the public from drone surveillance.” The
FAA declined comment. EPIC had filed two earlier lawsuits against the FAA, each seek-
ing to force the agency to address privacy issues in regulating small commercial drones. The
second suit, challenging the FAA’s FAR Part 107 final regulation governing the commercial
use of drones weighing less than 55 lb., is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit, which heard arguments in January. The FAA established the DAC in 2016 to
make recommendations on introducing small UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.
The committee has held six full public meetings, including one by teleconference, since its
founding. The DAC’s next scheduled public
meeting is July 17. At some point between its
first full meeting in September 2016 and sec-
ond full meeting in January 2017, the com-
mittee formed a DAC subcommittee and two
task groups, according to EPIC. It established
a third task group between the second meet-
ing and a third full meeting in May. According
to EPIC, “FAA officials have repeatedly circumvented the full DAC and worked directly with
the subcommittee” and “FAA officials have personally directed, guided, participated in, and
received the work and recommendations of the task groups.” By failing to open the subcom-
mittee and task group meetings to the public, the defendants violated requirements of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act and Administrative Procedure Act, the suit alleges.
www.bcadigital.com
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 INTELLIGENCE
Weston Aviation Celebrates
Seven Years at Humberside
Weston Aviation, a U.K.- and Ireland-
based business aviation and FBO
specialist, has achieved continuous
growth since its opening in 2011 at
Humberside International Airport.
CEO and founder Nick Weston said
“The signifcant increases in pri-
vate and cargo aircraft movements
. . . demonstrates the results and
growth that can be achieved by a
specialist FBO . . . operating at a
regional airport.” The airport is con-
veniently located for quick access
to North Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and
Nottinghamshire.
Duncan Moves Satellite
Avionics Shop in Atlanta
Duncan Aviation has moved its Satel-
lite Avionics Shop at Fulton County
Airport, Atlanta to a new facility at
the Hill Aircraft FBO. The new hangar
is located on the same ramp as the
previous shop. Customers have taken
advantage of this proximity and sched-
uled their feets for ADS-B upgrades.
According to Duncan at this writing,
58% of the U.S. business aviation
feet is not ADS-B compliant. There
are less than 596 days until the
deadline for compliance.
20 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
▶ THE COLLINGWOOD REGIONAL AIRPORT (CNY3), a single paved runway facility
close by Ontario’s Georgian Bay, is up for sale or lease. The town of Collingwood is solicit-
ing offers for the 392-acre airport, which is 90 mi. north of Toronto. The town “was pouring
in a lot of money into the airport,” said Fareed Amin, Collingwood’s chief administrative
officer. “But they didn’t think they were realizing the benefits that accrue with that kind of
investment.” So, the town council voted last year to divest the facility. However, a buyer
or lessee must commit to continuing its operations as a publicly accessible airport for
general aviation purposes. “We believe the airport . . . should continue to operate as an
airport,” Amin said. The council is not ruling out a public-private partnership or a public-
public partnership, Amin said. “Given its proximity to the Greater Toronto area, opportuni-
ties exist for investors interested in personal,
corporate, recreational or industrial uses for
Collingwood Regional Airport that have not
currently been explored by the town,” ac-
cording to Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate
Finance in Toronto, the town’s advisor for the
transaction. “The region surrounding the
airport is well-positioned for economic ex-
pansion, and a regional aviation facility would contribute to this growth.” The buyer or
lessee would work alongside Genesis Flight Center and the proposed Clearview Aviation
Business Park, which was recently approved by the township of Clearview, Ernst & Young
said. Both are adjacent to the airport. According to its website, the airport includes a
maintenance building and public terminal facility and is home to a maintenance and
repair center, restaurant and flying club. The airport features a 5,000-ft.-long lighted
and paved runway (13/31) as well as a 2,450-ft.-long grass strip (1/19), VOR/DME
and GPS approaches, Jet-A and 110LL avgas. The deadline to submit offers is June 15.
▶ TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY ELAINE CHAO ON MAY 9-10 revealed the lo-
cal, state and tribal governments that her department has selected to participate in the
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) to test small drone
applications within their jurisdictions. The Trump administration initiated the IPP last
October, directing the Transportation Department to establish a demonstration program
for low-altitude drone operations, including night operations, flights over people and
flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight, conditions the FAA currently prohibits except by
waiver. Also tested will be drone package delivery, detect-and-avoid technologies and
the security of data links between pilot and aircraft. Chao said 150 parties applied to
participate. “Instead of a dictate from Washington, this program takes another ap-
proach,” she told a crowd assembled at the Transportation Department headquarters.
“It allows interested communities to test drones in ways that they’re comfortable with.
This will help demonstrate how drones can safely perform a wide range of activities at
different times of the day and across a variety of locations and geographies.” The enti-
ties selected to participate include the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; the city of San Di-
ego; Virginia Tech Center for Innovative Technology; Kansas Transportation Department;
Lee County Mosquito Control District of Fort Myers, Florida; Memphis-Shelby County
Airport Authority of Memphis, Tennessee; North Carolina Transportation Department;
North Dakota Transportation Department; the city of Reno, Nevada; and the University
of Alaska-Fairbanks. Data from demonstrations over the next two and a half years will
inform the development of a regulatory framework for allowing widespread commercial
drone flights beyond what the FAA currently allows. Chao also announced that the Trump
administration is developing two new rulemakings for expanded drone operations and
how best to address security concerns.
www.bcadigital.com
 FAST FIVE INTERVIEW BY WILLIAM GARVEY

Questions for Steve McCaughey

1
Please describe the water-flying community.
McCaughey: Some 26,000 U.S. pilots have seaplane ratings, but of those 8,000 to 10,000
use their rating regularly. And of those, 5,000 plus are members of the Seaplane Pilots As-
sociation. It’s a very small club, representing 3 to 5 percent of the pilot population. It’s dif-
ficult to estimate the number of aircraft involved since FAA doesn’t distinguish waterplanes
from landplanes, but we estimate there are roughly 8,000 floatplanes and amphibians in
the U.S. People think the largest seaplane pilot population is in Alaska, but Florida has the
most with about 3,500 while Alaska has 3,050. However, the Alaskans are far more active.
Rounding out the top-ten states are California, Washington, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan,
New York, Colorado and Arizona. Combined, those comprise 70% of the seaplane pilot
community. Ironically, Colorado was ninth even though until recently it forbad any water
flying within its borders. We worked hard on ending that prohibition and now waterplanes
are welcome at Lake Meredith and Kenny Moore Reservoir. Steve McCaughey

2 What keeps you awake at night? Executive Director, Seaplane

Pilots Association (SPA),
McCaughey: Protecting our waterway access. That’s our association’s primary mission,
Winter Haven, Florida
along with promotion of water flying. We can now fly in all 50 states, but there’s no stan-
dardization on policies regarding what bodies of water are open and which are closed. For
example, you need a time-limited permit to fly to the Dry Tortugas National Park off Key A long-time seaplane pilot and
West, but other parks welcome us with no restrictions whatsoever. A big concern, particu- SPA volunteer with experience
larly in western states, is safeguarding waters from invasive species. There are lots of boat- in a wide variety of aviation
ing regulations and inspections to do that, but it’s impossible to inspect a floatplane once businesses, McCaughey was
it settles on to a lake. We’re working to self-certify our fleet and help protect the waterways. appointed to his current position
That’s our big monkey right now. Also, we’re always working to address the concerns of in 2011. The owner-operator of
local communities that our operations are safe, completely compatible with boating and an amphibious-float-equipped
relatively quiet. Piper Super Cub and a Cessna

3 No safety concerns? 120, he has experience in

over 60 different types of
McCaughey: Our biggest single safety issue is amphibians making water landings with
seaplanes, holds a multi sea
their gear down. Those are explosive events and usually catastrophic. Insurance rates for
amphibians reflect that fact. Nationwide, the fatality rate for water-flying accidents is about rating and a type rating in the
six people a year, and more often than not, a gear-down water landing is the cause. Even Grumman HU-16 Albatross.
though there are gear down indicators on the panel, on the floats, mirrors on the wing struts He conducts over 50 seaplane
and even a new radar advisory system, it remains the single greatest safety threat. safety seminars and workshops
annually.
4
Is the seaplane community growing, static or contracting?
McCaughey: There’s been significant attrition among pilots and we need to think seriously
about dealing with this erosion and to promote seaplane flying among the next generation.
When I was a kid I used to ride my bike to Ft. Lauderdale Executive. I’d look in all the han-
gars and even bring donuts to the tower controllers. But now the general aviation airports
are fenced in, many with barbed wire. That suggests there’s something dangerous on the
other side. It’s all ID badges and locked doors and says, “We don’t want you here.” That’s an
opportunity for the seaplane community because we operate outside those fences. When I
take my wife to Sunday brunch at the Harborside Restaurant in Winter Haven, I water taxi my
Super Cub on to the beach next door. It draws people like a giant magnet. They take pictures
and ask a million questions, I welcome them to climb in. We really engage with the public.

5 Your outreach campaign?

McCaughey: There’s more. We hope the EAA Young Eagles program will expand to include sea-
plane rides. I started a seaplane rating scholarship program for young pilots, which has had a
multiplying effect. Once we get out new headquarters built — we’ve already got a 50-year lease TAP HERE in the digital edition
on five waterfront acres at Winter Haven’s Gilbert Field and we’re soliciting contributions to our of BCA to hear more from
$6.5 million building fund — we’re going to hold events, safety meetings, splash-in’s, and week- this Interview or go to
end gatherings for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to earn Seaplane merit badges. They don’t exist aviationweek.com/fastfive
yet, but we’re working on it. Ours is a vibrant organization with lots of good news on the horizon.

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 21

Cause & Circumstance
Alaskan CFIT —
Continues to Kill
Low-altitude, marginal VFR and a bragging TAWS
BY RICHARD N. AARONS bcasafety@gmail.com
208SD, a Cessna 208B Grand
N Caravan, was destroyed and its
three occupants killed on Oct.
2, 2016, at about 1154 local time,
when it struck steep, mountainous,
rocky terrain some 12 mi. northwest of
Togiak Village, Alaska, its destination.
The airplane was operating under
FAR Part 135 as scheduled Ravn Con-
nect Flight 3153 on a VFR leg from Quin-
hagak. Unfortunately, this controlled
flight into terrain (CFIT) accident is far
from unique, but it did generate several
recommendations for the FAA’s over-
sight of the Part 135 community.
Flight 3153 had originated that day
in Bethel, Alaska, made scheduled
stops in Togiak and Quinhagak, and
was scheduled to return to Togiak be-
fore returning to Bethel, the intended
final destination for the day. (The Ravn
Connect operator was Hageland Avia-
tion Services Inc., of Anchorage.) The
airplane departed Quinhagak at 1133.
Visual meteorological conditions ex-
isted along the accident leg route and at
Togiak Airport. However, rain showers
caused reduced visibility in the moun-
tains just north of Togiak.
The director of operations for Hage-
land Aviation Services told investiga-
tors he received a notification from the
U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination
Center (RCC) about 1214 that it had re-
ceived a signal from a 406 MHz ELT
that had activated about 1208 and was
registered to N208SD. The Hageland
manager checked the company’s GPS-
based flight tracking system and discov-
ered the aircraft had been stationary for
about 20 min. The operations director
then contacted Hageland’s Operational
Control Center (OCC) in Palmer, Alaska,
to verify the information. At that time,
22 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
Richard N. Aarons
Safety Editor
bcasafety@gmail.com
Hageland initiated a company search
for the airplane.
At 1326, RCC personnel notified the
Alaska State Troopers (AST) of the
ELT activation near the village of To-
giak within the confines of the Togiak
National Wildlife Refuge.
An AST helicopter was dispatched
from Dillingham, Alaska, about 67 mi.
east of Togiak, to the coordinates as-
sociated with the ELT signal, but poor
weather conditions kept the searchers
from locating the accident airplane until
about 1630. Alaska State Troopers were
able to access the scene on foot shortly
before 1730 and subsequently confirmed
there were no survivors.
The NTSB investigator-in-charge
(IIC), along with another NTSB inves-
tigator and two Alaska State Troopers,
reached the accident site the next day.
The airplane’s fragmented wreckage
was located on the southeast side of a
steep, loose rock-covered mountainside,
adjacent to the Quigmy River.
An area believed to be the initial im-
pact point was discovered on the north-
west side of a mountain ridgeline at
the 2,300-ft. level, about 200 ft. below
the summit. It contained fragmented
portions of fuselage and two severed
propeller blades. From that point, the
wreckage path extended southeast to
the main wreckage, which was located
downslope on the southeast side of the
ridgeline at the 1,550-ft. level. The out-
board portion of the left wing had sep-
arated and was located about 200 ft.
farther downslope. A post-crash fire in-
cinerated a large portion of the fuselage
and right wing.
The airplane was equipped with a
Spidertracks flight-tracking system,
which provides real-time aircraft
flight-tracking data. The flight-tracking
information is transmitted via Iridium
satellites to an internet-based storage
location at 6-min. intervals. According
to the Spidertracks data, the airplane’s
last known location was reported at
1153, about 19 nm northwest of Togiak
Airport, at an altitude of 1,043 ft., trav-
eling at 144 kt. across the ground, on a
heading of 140 deg.
At 1156, an aviation routine weather
report (METAR) from Togiak Airport
(the closest weather reporting facility)
reported, in part: wind, calm; visibility,
7 sm; light rain; sky condition, scattered
clouds at 3,900 ft., overcast at 4,700 ft.;
temperature, 45F; dew point 43F; altim-
eter, 29.88 in. Hg.
The Flight
Data available for the accident flight,
said the Safety Board, showed that, af-
ter departure in visual meteorological
conditions (VMC), the airplane pro-
ceeded along a generally direct route
toward the destination at an altitude
of about 1,000 ft. MSL, which resulted
in terrain clearances between 500 and
700 ft. AGL.
During the last 4 min. of the flight, the
airplane climbed as it approached the
mountain ridge that it eventually struck
after having likely entered (localized)
instrument meteorological conditions
(IMC).
The airplane was equipped with a
Class B terrain awareness and warning
system (TAWS) that had an en route
required terrain clearance (RTC) of
700 ft. AGL; flight at altitudes below the
RTC (and not within 15 mi. of an airport,
given certain criteria) would result in
TAWS terrain alerts.
www.bcadigital.com
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Cause & Circumstance
“Hageland flights operated under
VFR were allowed to fly as low as 500 ft.
AGL, as was seen with this flight, which
was flown en route below the TAWS
alerting threshold,” said investigators.
“The system was equipped with a ter-
rain inhibit switch that allowed the pi-
lot to manually inhibit all TAWS aural
and visual caution and warning alerts.
A TAWS simulation that used an esti-
mated flight path for the accident air-
plane [assuming a level cruise altitude
between known data points and a climb
after the last data point to the accident
elevation] showed that, if the alerts were
not inhibited, the TAWS would have pro-
vided continuous alerts for most of the
assumed flight.”
Ultimately, the investigation con-
cluded that the TAWS alerts were likely
Accidents in Brief
Compiled by Jessica A. Salerno
Selected accidents and incidents in April
and March 2018. The following
NTSB information is preliminary.
▶ April 12 — About 1500 CDT, a Piper
PA-24 (N7386P) conducted a forced
landing near New Braunfels, Texas.
The flight instructor and pilot receiving
instruction were not injured, however, the
airplane was heavily damaged during the
landing. The airplane was registered to
and operated by a private individual. It
was VFR at the time. The pilot reported
to the FAA inspector, that they had been
airborne about one and one half hours
and were conducting touch-go landings.
On the last approach to the runway, as
the pilot reduced engine rpm, the engine
lost power. They selected a field for the
forced landing. The landing gear collapsed
during the landing, resulting in substantial
damage to the airplane.
▶ April 11 — About 0818 Alaska
daylight time, a single-engine, turbine-
powered Cessna 208B (N814GV) crashed
into snow-covered terrain about 2 mi.
north of the Atqasuk Airport, Atqasuk,
24 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
inhibited for most, if not all, of the flight,
eliminating a margin of safety.
Investigators were able to eliminate
as causal factors flight crew qualifica-
tions, medical conditions or impairment
by alcohol or other drugs. They also
found nothing in the wreckage to indi-
cate mechanical problems.
Based on the available weather infor-
mation, which can be scarce in that part
of the world, it is likely that IMC existed
in the accident area due to precipita-
tion and/or clouds. A company flight
crew reported that clouds obscured the
accident site within an hour after the
accident.
Investigators concluded that “the pi-
lot-in-command’s decision to continue
the VFR flight into reduced visibility
conditions resulted in the flight entering
Alaska. The airline transport pilot, the
only occupant onboard, received minor
injuries, and the airplane was heavily
damaged. The airplane was being
operated by Hageland Aviation Services,
Inc., dba Ravn Connect, Anchorage,
Alaska, as a VFR cross-country cargo/mail
flight under FAR Part 135. VFR existed
at the flight’s point of departure, and
company flight-following procedures were
in effect. The flight originated about 0758,
from the Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)
Airport, Utqiagvik Alaska, destined for
Atqasuk, about 58 mi. south. During a
telephone conversation with the NTSB
on April 12, the director of safety for the
company related that the purpose of the
flight was to transport a load of U.S. Post
Office mail to Atqasuk.
During a brief telephone conversation
with the NTSB IIC on April 13, the
accident pilot said that he departed
from Utqiagvikjust before 0800 with
approximately 1,500 lb. of mail on board
that was destined for Atqasuk. He noted
that weather conditions at the time of
departure consisted of clear skies, 9
miles visibility, and a light wind. After
takeoff, the airplane climbed to 2,500 ft.
MSL, and proceeded southbound towards
Atqasuk.
The pilot said that as the airplane
neared Atqasuk, with the autopilot
instrument meteorological conditions.”
They found no evidence that manage-
ment or scheduling pressures, habitual
noncompliance with company policy,
or history of risk-taking behaviors in-
fluenced the PIC’s decision to continue
the flight.
“Once the flight entered instrument
meteorological conditions,” said the
Safety Board, “the pilot-in-command
should have either executed an escape
maneuver or commanded the second-
in-command to execute one.”
Although damage precluded determi-
nation of the pre-impact position of the
terrain inhibit switch, the TAWS alerts
were likely inhibited for most, if not all,
of the accident flight, because the flight
crew otherwise would have received
continuous TAWS alerts for most of the
engaged, the airplane descended to
about 1,500 ft. MSL, but then he noticed
an area of low fog around Atqasuk. He
said that when the airplane was about
two miles from the airport, he heard
the audible autopilot disengagement
annunciator tone sound, which was
immediately followed by the pilot’s
control column pitching forward. The
pilot said that he was unable to pull the
control column back, and the airplane
subsequently descended into instrument
meteorological conditions. He said that
the airplane continued to descend into
the fog, then it struck the snow-covered
tundra and nosed over. The airplane
sustained substantial damage to the
wings, fuselage and empennage.
The airplane was equipped with
a digital, 406 MHz ELT that instantly
transmits a distress signal to search and
rescue satellites, thereby alerting rescue
personnel within minutes of the location
of the crash. However, no ELT signal was
received by search personnel, but the
pilot was able to use his cell phone to
alert company personnel of the accident.
▶ April 4 — At 0953 EDT, a Piper
PA-28R-201 (N106ER) crashed following
an inflight breakup shortly after takeoff
from Daytona Beach International Airport
(DAB), Daytona Beach, Florida. The airline
www.bcadigital.com
flight (as shown by a general aviation
enhanced ground proximity warning
system simulation) and Hageland pi-
lots routinely inhibited the alerts during
normal operations.
The Safety Board determined that
the probable cause of this accident
“was the flight crew’s decision to con-
tinue the VFR flight into deteriorating
visibility and their failure to perform
an immediate escape maneuver after
entry into instrument meteorological
conditions, which resulted in controlled
flight into terrain [CFIT]. Contribut-
ing to the accident were (1) Hageland’s
allowance of routine use of the terrain
inhibit switch for inhibiting the terrain
awareness and warning system alerts
and inadequate guidance for [activating]
the alerts, which reduced the margin of
transport pilot and private pilot were
killed, and the airplane was destroyed.
The airplane was registered to and
operated by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University and operated under Part 91 as
an instructional flight. Day VFR conditions
prevailed at the time of the accident, and
no flight plan was filed for the local flight,
which departed DAB at 0927. According
to the operator, the private pilot was
conducting his commercial pilot single-
engine land practical test, and the airline
transport pilot was acting as a designated
pilot examiner (DPE). Preliminary radar
and voice communication data provided
by the FAA revealed that the airplane flew
to the southeast after departure; after
maneuvering, it returned to DAB. The
airplane entered the airport traffic pattern
and performed a touch-and-go landing.
While climbing out after the takeoff
from Runway 25L, ATC issued the pilot a
discrete transponder code, and shortly
after, the pilot asked if they could make a
left turn to the crosswind leg of the traffic
pattern. The controller responded by
telling the pilot to continue upwind. Radar
data indicated that the airplane climbed
to 900 ft. MSL at a groundspeed of 80
kt. on a heading of 240 deg. before radar
contact was lost.
According to multiple witnesses, all
located within 2,500 ft. of the accident
www.bcadigital.com
safety, particularly in deteriorating vis-
ibility; (2) Hageland’s inadequate crew
resource management [CRM] train-
ing; (3) the FAA’s failure to ensure that
Hageland’s approved CRM training con-
tained all the required elements of Part
135.330; and (4) Hageland’s CFIT-avoid-
ance ground training, which was not tai-
lored to the company’s operations and
did not address current CFIT-avoidance
technologies.”
Part 135 Changes?
The Safety Board forwarded several
recommendations to the FAA at the
conclusion of its investigation. Here are
some that could affect all Part 135 op-
erators.
▶ Although CFIT-avoidance training
site, they saw the airplane flying normally,
then watched as the left wing separated
from fuselage. The fuselage impacted a
field, while the wing descended separately
and landed in an adjacent field.
According to FAA airworthiness and
operator records, the airplane was
manufactured on Sept. 17, 2007 and
was issued a standard airworthiness
certificate in the normal category. The
airframe had accumulated 7,690.6 hr. of
operation at the time of the accident, and
28.3 hours since its most recent annual
inspection, which was completed on
March 21, 2018.
▶ April 2 — About 1709 EST, a Cessna
Citation 525 (N511AC) registered to
Avis Industrial Corporation, of Upland,
Indiana, sustained heavy damage when
it was struck by a Cessna 150 (N5614E)
while rolling out after landing at the
Marion Municipal Airport (MZZ), Marion,
Indiana. The airline transport pilot and
four passengers of the Cessna 525
were not injured and the private pilot
and passenger of the Cessna 150 were
killed in the accident. It was VFR in the
area. Both flights were being conducted
under FAR Part 91. The Cessna 525 was
landing on Runway 22 after an IFR flight
that originated from Jackson, Michigan,
and the Cessna 150 was departing on
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 25
programs are not required by federal
regulation for Part 135 fixed-wing op-
erations, [the FAA should] work with
Part 135 operators in Alaska to improve
any voluntarily implemented training
programs aimed at reducing the risk of
CFIT accidents involving continuation
of VFR flight into IMC, with special at-
tention paid to the human factors issues
identified in recent Alaska accident in-
vestigations, including but not limited to
(1) the challenges of flying in mountain-
ous terrain in Alaska and low-altitude
VFR flight in an area subject to rapid
changes in weather; and (2) limitations
of the Alaska infrastructure, particu-
larly weather observations, communica-
tions and navigation aids.
▶ The FAA should work with Part 135
certificate holders that operate under
Runway 15 at MZZ a local VFR personal
flight. Examination of the accident site
showed that the Cessna 150 had struck
the empennage of the Cessna 525 at
the intersection of Runways 15 and 22.
Evidence at the intersection showed that
the airplanes came together perpendicular
to each other. The Cessna 150 then
impacted the ground and a post-crash fire
ensued. The Cessna 525 continued to
roll out on Runway 22. There were three
witnesses to the accident, located in the
airport lounge, within hearing distance
of the UNICOM radio. Each witness
reported seeing the Cessna 150 just
airborne when it struck the empennage
of the Cessna 525. Two of the witnesses
stated that they heard the Cessna 150
pilot on Runway 15 UNICOM frequency.
The surviving pilot of the Cessna 525
stated that he did not see the departing
Cessna 150 while he was on a straight-in
approach to Runway 22, nor did he see
the 150 during the landing roll. He stated
that he did not recall making a radio call
on UNICOM, but did utilize his on board
TCAS system while on approach. He
stated that the TCAS did not show any
traffic on the airport. Passengers aboard
the Cessna 525 were interviewed and all
reported that they did not see the Cessna
150 on the approach or during the landing
roll.
Cause & Circumstance
VFR in mountainous terrain at altitudes
below the required terrain clearance of
the aircraft’s required TAWS class to
(1) ensure that management and pilots
are aware of the risks associated with
distraction (from continuous nuisance
alerts) and complacency (brought about
by routine use of the terrain inhibit fea-
ture); (2) develop plans for mitigating
those risks and minimizing nuisance
alerts; and (3) develop procedures that
specifically address when pilots should
test, inhibit and uninhibit the TAWS
alerts, considering the operator’s typi-
cal operations and the TAWS manufac-
turer’s guidance.
▶ The FAA should modify the terrain
awareness and warning system require-
ments in TSO C151 such that, once the
Accidents in Brief
The reported weather at MZZ at the
time of the accident was VFR with 4
mi. of visibility due to haze. Also, at the
departure and arrival ends of Runway
15/33, there was a sign stating, “Traffic
Using Runway 4/22 Cannot Be Seen,
Monitor Unicom 122.7.” At the departure
and arrival ends of Runway 4/22, there
was a sign stating, “Traffic Using 15/33
Cannot Be Seen, Monitor Unicom
122.7.” The MKK airport does not have a
control tower.
The Cessna 525 was equipped with
a cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The
CVR was removed and transported
to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Lab,
Washington, DC.
▶ March 31 — About 0825 CDT, a
Cessna 180 (N2485C) was heavily
damaged during a forced landing near
Grove, Oklahoma. The airline transport
pilot was not injured and the passenger
sustained minor injuries. The flight
was conducted under Part 91. VFR
conditions prevailed and flight plan
had been filed for the flight. The flight
departed Circle S Farms Airport (AR91),
26 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
alerts are manually inhibited, they do
not remain inhibited indefinitely if the
pilot does not uninhibit them.
▶ The agency should install communi-
cations equipment throughout Alaska,
after determining what would be most
effective, to allow increased access to
the IFR system, giving priority to those
areas used by Part 135 operators.
▶ The FAA should ensure that Alaska
airports that are served by Part 135 op-
erators and have instrument approaches
are equipped with weather reporting ca-
pabilities to enable IFR operations in ac-
cordance with 14 CFR 135.225(a).
Specific recommendations for im-
proved CRM and CFIT training also
were directed to Hageland Aviation and
the Medallion Foundation, an air carrier
Lowell, Arkansas, about 0800, and
was en route to Grove Municipal Airport
(KGMJ), Grove, Oklahoma. According to
the pilot, he departed AR91 and was en
route to KGMJ to purchase fuel. While en
route the engine quit producing power.
The pilot elaborated stating there was
no sputter, cough, or hesitation of the
engine. It just quit. During a forced
landing to a rodeo arena, both wings,
the empennage, and the fuselage were
heavily damaged.
▶ March 27, — About 1405 PDT, a
Schweizer Aircraft Corporation G-164
B restricted category agricultural
airplane (N3629E) was heavily damaged
after colliding with high transmission
powerlines and subsequent impact
with terrain about 10 nm southwest of
Stockton, California. The commercial
pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally
injured. That aerial application flight was
being operated in accordance Part 137,
and a flight plan was not filed. It was
VFR for the local flight that departed the
operator’s private airstrip about 30 min.
prior to the time of the accident.
A company ground crewman who
witnessed the accident reported that
the pilot had finished spraying the
95-acre alfalfa field and was in the
process of trimming up around two sets
of transmission towers that ran parallel
organization dedicated, among other
things, to providing training materials
to meet the special needs of Alaskan
pilots.
Unfortunately, the factors in this ac-
cident are not unique. CFIT in the back
country is a common accident type. The
Safety Board used this investigation to
reiterate several past recommendations
to the FAA including these:
▶ Expand the application of FAA Or-
der 8900.1 “Safety Assurance System:
Flight Training Curriculum Segments,”
that address CFIT training programs
for Part 135 helicopter operations, to all
Part 135 operations.
▶ Implement ways to provide effec-
tive TAWS protections while mitigat-
ing nuisance alerts for single-engine
and diagonally through the field in a
southwest to northeast direction. The
accident occurred when the airplane,
flying from north to south, collided with
the second set of wires that the pilot was
attempting to fly under while making a
trim/cleanup pass. The crewman stated
that following impact with the wires the
airplane impacted terrain in a steep nose
down attitude. There was no post-crash
fire.
▶ March 26 — about 1053 Pacific
daylight time, a Mooney M20E (N213EJ)
was destroyed when it impacted
terrain shortly after takeoff from
runway 29 at Marina Municipal Airport
(OAR), Marina, California. The private
pilot/owner received fatal injuries.
The personal flight was conducted
under the provisions of 14 Code of
Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual
meteorological conditions prevailed.
The airplane was based at Watsonville
Municipal Airport (WVI), Watsonville,
California. According to WVI operations
personnel, about 0954 on the morning of
the accident, the pilot parked his car just
outside the Airport Operations Office,
and came into the office to request a
fuel topoff in his airplane, which was
in his hangar there. The Operations
Supervisor noticed that the pilot’s ability
to walk had significantly deteriorated
www.bcadigital.com
airplanes operated under Part 135 that
frequently operate at altitudes below
their respective TAWS class design
alerting threshold.
▶ Require all Part 135 operators to es-
tablish SMS programs.
▶ Require all Part 135 operators to
install flight data recording devices
capable of supporting a flight data moni-
toring program, and to establish a struc-
tured flight data monitoring program
that reviews all available data sources
to identify deviations from established
norms and procedures and other poten-
tial safety issues.
▶ Require the installation of a crash-
resistant f light recorder system on
all newly manufactured turbine-pow-
ered, nonexperimental, nonrestricted
since he last saw the pilot a few months
prior, but that the pilot appeared to be
in good spirits. Shortly thereafter, the
fuel truck pumped 25.4 gallons into
the airplane. WVI surveillance cameras
recorded the airplane taking Runway 20
for departure at 1035:54 PDT. No radio
communications to or from the airplane
were recorded either at WVI or OAR, which
is located about 15 miles south of WVI.
One witness at OAR, who was located
approximately midfield, reported that
he saw the airplane lift off, and that
the landing gear immediately retracted
after breaking ground. He and two other
witnesses all reported that they observed
the airplane begin an unusually steep
climb in an unusually high airplane-
nose-up attitude. The airplane then
pitched over to an approximately level
attitude, and then began to yaw to the
left. As it did so, the nose and left wing
dropped. At this point in the flight, the
airplane entered, via the upper frame
edge, the field of view of a surveillance
camera that was mounted on a building
near the southwest corner of the airport.
The left wing was the first item to appear
in the frame. At that point the airplane
appeared to be on a heading of about
160 deg., with about a 15-deg. nose-
down pitch attitude, and in a descending
flight path. The airplane continued to
yaw left, the pitch attitude continued to
www.bcadigital.com
category aircraft that are not equipped
with an FDR and a CVR and are oper-
ating under Parts 91, 121 or 135. And
require all existing turbine-powered,
nonexperimental, nonrestricted cat-
egory aircraft that are not equipped
with a flight data recorder or cockpit
voice recorder and are operating un-
der Parts 91, 121 or 135 to be retrofitted
with a crash-resistant flight recorder
system.
▶ Encourage industry safety efforts,
such as the Commercial Av iation
Safety Team and the General Aviation
Joint Steering Committee, to identify,
develop and implement incentives for
Part 121, 135 and 91 operators and the
general aviation community to freely
share pilot weather reports (PIREPs),
decrease, and the trajectory became
increasingly steep. By the time the
airplane was about 3 airplane lengths
above the ground, the pitch attitude was
nearly vertical nose down, the top of
the airplane was facing the Runway 11
threshold, and the trajectory was near
vertical. The airplane struck the ground
in a near-vertical nose down attitude,
fell back onto its underside, and a fire
began immediately. The impact site was
located just southwest of the intersection
of Runway 29 and taxiway C, offset about
300 ft. from the runway centerline. The
vertical distance from the top of the image
frame to the impact point was about 10
airplane lengths, or about 230 ft.
▶ March 25 — About 1645 CDT, a MX
Aircraft LLC, MXS airplane (N540JH)
collided with an object during a forced
landing at the Kalt Ranch Airport (9TE5),
Fulton, Texas. The pilot received a minor
injury. The airplane was substantially
damaged. The airplane was registered
to Rob Holland Ultimate Airshows LLC
and was operated by the pilot under Part
91 as a personal flight. VFR prevailed
for the flight, which was not operating
on a flight plan. The flight originated
from NAS Kingsville (NQI) Kingsville,
Texas, about 1620, with an intended
destination of The Red River Airport
(0R7), Coushatta, Louisiana.
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 27
including braking action or runway con-
dition reports filed as PIREPs to the
National Airspace System to enhance
flight safety.
While the FAA may act on some of
these recommendations, pilots and
safety managers can certainly adopt
some on their own. Flying in Alaska and
Canada’s northern provinces is admit-
tedly tough — it takes ingenuity, skill
and constant vigilance. Complacency is
a killer. It’s understandable that crews
will inhibit bragging warning systems.
Indeed, a bragging warning system is
probably worse than having no warning
system at all. Having said that, the ab-
sence of help from the electronics puts
the burden squarely on pilots (where it
belongs). BCA
The pilot reported that while in cruise
flight at 11,500 ft. MSL the engine began
to vibrate. About 30 sec. later the pilot
heard a “bang” and a piece of the engine
penetrated the engine cowling and engine
oil covered the outside of the canopy
restricting the pilot’s vision. The pilot
reported there was an extreme vibration
until he slowed the airplane and the
propeller stopped spinning.
The pilot located 9TE5 on his GPS
and maneuvered the airplane to stay
close to the airport. The pilot first saw
the runway at an altitude of about 700
ft. when he descended below the broken
to scattered cloud layer at which time he
was committed to land downwind with
a 25-kt. tailwind. The airplane touched
down about one-third the way down the
runway. Unable to see forward out of the
canopy due to the oil, the pilot did not
see a large piece of debris on the runway
which the left main gear contacted. The
landing gear separated, and the airplane
slid on its belly before veering off the
runway into the grass. Initial examination
of the engine revealed a hole in the top of
the crankcase just behind the oil filler cap
at the No. 6 cylinder.
It was later determined that the
airport was closed/abandoned, and the
debris was a large piece of roof that
had been blown onto the airport during
a hurricane. BCA
Safety

Reading Minds

NOAA
Keeping cockpit
A 1992 eruption of the
communications on track Galunggung Volcano, Indonesia

BY JAMES ALBRIGHT james@code7700.com

n June 24, 1982, the crew of Brit- Speedbird 9 had not been matched for nearly flawless and his crew’s perfor-

O ish Airways Flight 9, call sign

“Speedbird 9,” lost all four en-
gines of their Boeing 747 on a
night flight from Kuala Lumpur Inter-
national Airport (WMKK), Malaysia, to
a long time. Rather, they were a team
typical of an airline bid schedule. And yet
their coordination was exemplary.
The captain’s conduct during the ex-
treme, unprecedented emergency was
mance under stress helped bring the
crippled aircraft to a safe landing. It was
as if the rest of the crew had learned to
read the captain’s mind before any verbal
orders were needed. On the surface, this
Perth Airport (YPPH), Australia. Mi- JAMES ALBRIGHT/B&CA
raculously, the stricken airliner was able
to limp to Jakarta and land safely.
Within days, the aviation world began
to understand the dangers of volcanic
ash, its effect on turbofan engines, and
how to survive an encounter. In the years
that followed, a sophisticated worldwide
network of volcanic activity detection
was created to help ensure such encoun-
ters don’t recur. But none of that existed
on the day Speedbird 9 flew through
the ash of Indonesia’s recently erupted
Mount Galunggung. The crew was flying
into the unknown. How were they able to
cope so well?
When we are paired with the same
cockpit crew for weeks, months and
years in succession, we learn to antici- The best way to eliminate
pate the “flow” of information between cockpit surprises is to
pilots and how to make things happen follow the checklist.
almost automatically. Yet, the crew of

28 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 www.bcadigital.com


would seem to be an ideal situation. But
if the mind-reading exercise results in a
poor guess or if anyone is lulled into com-
placency, things can go horribly wrong.
While I don’t think it possible for us to
read minds, I do believe we can develop
skills to accurately anticipate what needs
to happen in a cockpit so crew coordina-
tion between pilots becomes more effec-
tive. We can reduce cockpit error even
as we reduce the need for long verbal
exchanges. There are times accidents
can be avoided if one pilot simply asks
the other, “Did you really mean for me to.
. . ?” But eliminating the need for further
explanations can make things safer still.
The best way to reduce confusion in a
cockpit is to ensure everyone works from
the same procedures. We all need to be
on “the same sheet of music.”
Be Predictable
Crews can be lured into complacency
from a kind of mind reading that comes
from repetition. If a small group of pilots
flies exclusively together without an oc-
casional break from outsiders, they can
be tempted into dangerous shortcuts
or even intentional noncompliance. The
cure is to rigidly adhere to all Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs). When ev-
ery crewmember sticks to SOPs, cockpit
procedures become more predictable.
Cockpit SOP usually means a checklist
provided by the manufacturer, but the
checklist may not be tailored to specific
aircraft outfitting or could be out of date
with current requirements. Changes to
the checklist should be coordinated with
other users, any management compa-
nies, and the operator and regulating
authorities when flying commercially.
Crews should be discouraged from “ad
hoc” adjustments that may not have con-
sidered every possible situation. Once
a checklist is agreed upon, it should be
used by every pilot without exception.
A good cockpit SOP begins with a
good checklist; but a good checklist isn’t
enough. Familiar crews may opt to divvy
tasks on a “first come, first served” ba-
sis. “Whoever gets to it first will get it
done,” may be thought of as being more
efficient, but required items can be for-
gotten when both pilots assume the task
was completed by the other. A good cock-
pit SOP should include a clear division of
duties. When about to fly an oceanic trip,
for example, it may be helpful to specify
which pilot programs the flight manage-
ment system (FMS) and which checks
the results against the master document.
Best practices dictate these tasks need to
www.bcadigital.com
The Pilot Monitoring can prompt the Pilot Flying: “It’s time to configure.”
be divided and specified to avoid a last-
minute need for one pilot to do both.
Once every pilot adopts the same
checklist and adheres to the agreed-
upon SOPs, the flow of cockpit tasks be-
comes predictable. The rhythm of crew
coordination takes on a pattern that
makes it easy for one pilot to anticipate
what happens next, and what the other
pilot is doing. The captain, for example,
realizes the first officer (FO) may want
to listen to weather broadcasts prior to
setting up the FMS for the arrival and
approach. He or she can pace the check-
lists to accommodate the FO’s duties.
In turn, the FO can also anticipate the
progression from each flap setting and
the landing gear based on the SOP and
not what any particular captain prefers.
Each pilot’s actions become predictable.
Of course, not every situation is cov-
ered by an SOP or checklist; for those,
clear and concise communications are
mandatory.
Telegraph Intent
Even the best SOP can be derailed by
an aircraft malfunction, an interruption
from the cabin, a last-minute instruc-
tion from air traffic control or any num-
ber of other unforeseen circumstances.
Your best efforts at making cockpit life
predictable can be upset by the unpre-
dictable nature of flying. For such situ-
ations, crewmembers should learn to
make each communication in the cock-
pit clear, concise and unambiguous. We
don’t often parse our communications
with the primary thought of how our
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 29
JAMES ALBRIGHT/B&CA
words or actions will be received. But
that is precisely what we need to do.
A 1986 NASA simulator study put
three Boeing 727 crews into a situation
where cockpit communication was key to
a successful landing following a fuel leak.
The crews were faced with a leak from
their right-wing tank that threatened to
upset the aircraft’s lateral balance. They
had enough fuel to reach the diversion
field, even if all the fuel in the right-wing
tank was lost. But losing all of the fuel
could leave the airplane uncontrollable.
In every case, the captain directed
all three engines be fed from fuel in the
left-wing tank. This would provide for
the smallest fuel imbalance for landing.
But in each instance, the flight engineer
decided it was better to take fuel from
the right wing, hoping to use as much
of the fuel as possible. Each captain was
alarmed when the fuel imbalance accel-
erated and had to explicitly order the
flight engineer to reconfigure the fuel
panel. The maximum permissible fuel
imbalance of 1,000 lb. was exceeded in
two of the three trials, the worst being a
5,000-lb. imbalance.
Of course, it seems obvious that each
captain should have preceded their
original orders with a short explanation.
“Feed each engine from the left wing”
may have seemed obvious to the pilots in
the front seats with control yokes tilting
right because of a heavy left wing, but not
so much to the flight engineer. “We are
going to have a heavy left wing for land-
ing,” would have been a clear, concise and
unambiguous way to eliminate the confu-
sion before it endangered the aircraft.
Safety
Speedbird 9, G-BDXH, two years before
its volcanic ash encounter.
Not every scenario is so dire; we can
use these techniques for more mundane
situations. For example, letting the cap-
tain know it is time to configure may sim-
ply be a matter of resting a hand on the
flap handle. Sometimes a manufacturer’s
recommendation doesn’t stand the test
of time and a captain’s “local knowledge”
can be the preferred technique.
Many years ago, an aircraft I flew
was prone to flap failures when the first
notch of flaps was extended right at the
limiting speed. The manufacturer was
aware of the problem but hadn’t come up
with a solution. Some of our captains is-
sued terse commands: “Don’t extend the
flaps until 240 kt.” That created confu-
sion amongst our younger pilots, since
the limiting speed was 250 kt. A simple,
“We’ve noticed extending the flaps at 250
sometimes causes them to stall, so we try
to wait until 240,” just takes a few extra
seconds to say but puts both pilots on the
same page.
A senior captain may not feel the need
to explain actions or preferences to the
new kid in the right seat, but doing so
improves crew coordination, provides
mentoring and can prevent confusion
that can turn a small incident into an
accident. Conversely, an inexperienced
FO may feel too intimidated to speak up.
Both issues can be solved with a little
humility.
Critique Humbly,
Encourage Empathy
Humility may seem an odd concept in
an article about safe and efficient cock-
pit operations, but it is a necessary ele-
ment of honest and productive critique.
30 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
Furthermore, encouraging humble
critique is a good way to prevent
complacency.
Many captains favor an easy-going
persona that is designed to put the crew
at ease, but their actions can undo any
intended good will. “I have an open-door
policy” or “I am just a crew dog, just like
you” may be a part of the captain’s intro-
duction, but the left seater’s first actions
can convert the message to just mean-
ingless words. The best way for a captain
to ensure the crew is willing to speak up
when needed is to demonstrate an open-
ness to critique.
Accordingly, the captain should make
note of any mistakes during the flight,
especially his or her own. “I forgot to se-
lect an autopilot vertical mode for the
descent,” the critique can begin. “I’ll try
to do better next time, but please remind
me if I forget again.” If the captain is so
open to self-critique, critique from the
rest of the crew should be easily received.
Another benefit of open self-critique
and a frank discussion of each flight’s
mistakes is that everyone is reminded
of the value of good SOPs. We can fool
ourselves into thinking we have the job
mastered. An honest critique can serve
to shake this thought and stem the tide
of complacency.
A crew that follows SOPs and com-
municates well during routine situations
should be well on its way for when things
don’t go routinely. But the need to com-
municate effectively can be forgotten
when the stress level ratchets up. Finding
case studies of how everything worked as
it should have can be a challenge, since
accident reports are rarely written about
happy endings. But they do exist, and
few have had more of an impact on mak-
ing the skies safer for future generations
than that of British Airways Flight 9.
STEVE FITZGERALD
Case Study: Speedbird 9
It was a routine trip for Capt. Eric
Moody and his crew of 16. They had
flown from London to Jakarta, Indo-
nesia, and then repositioned as passen-
gers to Kuala Lumpur. After five days
together, they had melded into what
one passenger called a “happy band.”
The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Perth
promised to be a dull one, with no sig-
nificant weather reported for the 5-hr.
night transit.
After level off, with the autopilot en-
gaged, the three-pilot cockpit crew com-
puted the aircraft’s buffet speed for their
37,000-ft. cruise altitude and their three-
engine drift down speed in the event of
an engine failure. With a light passenger
load and smooth air, meals were served
immediately. About an hour after take-
off, the cabin lights were dimmed and
many on the aircraft attempted to sleep.
In other words, it was all very routine.
After 90 min. in flight, Moody double-
checked his radar to confirm no threats
lay ahead and got up to stretch his legs
and check on the cabin. A few minutes
after his departure, Senior First Officer
(SFO) Roger Greaves noticed wisps of
clouds at their altitude, even though the
radar was clear. A quick flick of the land-
ing light confirmed either thin cirrus or
the tops of isolated weak cumulus. He ac-
tivated the engine ignition and anti-icing
systems as a precaution. He and Senior
Engineer Officer (SEO) Barry Townley-
Freeman then noticed streaks of small
electrical “forks” streaking across the
windscreen. Both recognized the phe-
nomenon as St. Elmo’s fire, something
more commonly associated with thun-
derstorms. But their radar showed no
activity and the air was smooth.
They both had their lap belts secured
but decided to fasten their shoulder
www.bcadigital.com
harnesses as well. Greaves switched on
the fasten seat belt sign. After a few min-
utes they smelled a strange ionized odor
from the air-conditioning system and a
blue mist seemed to surround the cock-
pit. Greaves asked the cabin crew to sum-
mon the captain back to the flight deck.
Moody returned immediately, having
noticed the electrical odor. A quick scan
of the engine instruments reassured him
that his four powerplants were OK. But
the odor was now carried forward by
smoke from the air-conditioning system.
Townley-Freeman noticed a flicker of
a bleed valve on the No. 4 engine begin
to close, only seconds before calling out,
“Engine failure No. 4.”
With that, Moody called for the en-
gine fire checklist, but upon its comple-
tion, the other engines started to fail, too.
“Engine failure No. 2. . . . Three’s gone.
They’ve all gone!” He had practiced the
all-engine failure scenario before, but
this was different. His instrumentation
was still working, and the autopilot re-
mained engaged. Townley-Freeman sug-
gested they run the shutdown checklist
for the remaining engines. Moody di-
rected the crew to do just that and to put
out a Mayday. He took advantage of the
autopilot to initiate a descent to maintain
speed while he considered his options.
The engine instruments indicated some
of the engines had exceeded turbine gas
temperature limits; in fact, the crew had
pulled the fire handle on the No. 4 engine.
During their descent the crew at-
tempted to relight engines 1, 2 and 3. But
Moody decided, with the agreement of
the other cockpit crewmembers, to at-
tempt to relight engine No. 4 as well. As
they descended through 26,000 ft., the
cabin altitude climbed above 10,000 ft.
and the cabin pressure warning horn
sounded. The crew started to don their
oxygen masks but Greaves’ mask fell
apart in his hand. Moody elected to start
an emergency descent to keep the cabin
pressure under control but to leave the
landing gear retracted in case a ditching
would be required. To compound prob-
lems even more, the two primary air-
speed indicators differed by 50 kt.
Once the cabin altitude reached 14,000
ft. and the passenger oxygen masks de-
ployed, Moody decided it was time to
have a word with his passengers: “Good
evening ladies and gentlemen. This is
your captain speaking. We have a small
problem. All four engines have stopped.
We are all doing our damnedest to get
them going again. I trust you are not in
too much distress.”
While the crew repeatedly ran through
www.bcadigital.com
the engine start checklists, Moody began
to formulate a plan. He steered toward
Jakarta but decided that with a safety
height of 10,500 ft., he would have to turn
back to sea prior to reaching 12,000 ft.
Ditching a Boeing 747 at night would be
their only option, albeit not a good one.
With a few thousand feet to spare,
the No. 4 engine came back to life. The
other three started about 90 sec. later,
just as they reached 12,000 ft. They then
climbed to 15,000 ft., where the St. El-
mo’s fire resumed and the No. 2 engine
surged. The crew agreed to shut that en-
gine down, descend from the strange at-
mosphere and leave the throttles in their
present positions. Moody then controlled
airspeed with drag.
The localizer portion of the Instrument
Landing System (ILS) at Jakarta was
good, but the glideslope was inoperative.
As they lined up on the runway every-
thing disappeared straight ahead. The
crew realized their front windows were
almost opaque. Moody used the local-
izer and leaned left to peer out of a nar-
row 3-in. band of window where he could
make out some of the runway ahead.
Greaves called out distance measuring
equipment range with a recommended
profile of 300 ft. per nautical mile, as well
as their radio altimeter height. Townley-
Freeman called the speed and engine
thrust settings. Pilots prefer to look far
down the runway to judge height on land-
ing, but Moody could only see the hazy
outline of the left-hand runway lights. He
eased back gently on the control column
and the wheels kissed the ground.
The next day they learned that Mount
Galunggung on the south Java coast
had erupted, spewing giant plumes of
ash 8 mi. into the air. The plume had
blown across Speedbird 9’s path and
sandblasted its leading edges and wind-
screens. The engine compressors were
caked in volcanic ash, causing the four-
engine flameout.
We now know, thanks to this episode,
that volcanic ash melts at tempera-
tures lower than found in modern tur-
bine engines. The ash melts in the hot
section of the engine and fuses on the
high-pressure nozzle guide vanes and
turbine blades. This drastically reduces
the engine’s “throat area” and causes
the engine to surge and eventually flame
out. Once the engine cools down, some
of the solidified ash becomes brittle and
breaks off, allowing the engine to be re-
started. But none of this knowledge ex-
isted on June 24, 1982. And yet the crew
of Speedbird 9 was able to meld into a
single mind, working together closely
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 31
to diagnose the problem and execute a
flawless solution.
The Secrets to
‘Mind Reading’
In the case of Speedbird 9, the time from
the initial power loss to landing was only
25 min. Thirteen of those minutes were
without any engine thrust. But those
minutes included several distinct chal-
lenges that could have become crises
had the crew allowed that to happen:
the loss of all four engines, the prospect
of having to ditch at night on choppy
seas, having to land quite literally “in
the blind.” They dealt with the engine
losses, planned appropriately for the
possibility of ditching and successfully
landed. With all three challenges, the
crew displayed superb crew coordina-
tion. The foundation of their success was
set into motion by the training they re-
ceived with British Airways.
The crew’s strong adherence to SOPs
left no doubt in the captain’s mind that
the senior first officer and senior engi-
neer officer had taken the correct steps
during the first moments of the volcanic
ash encounter. The crew was able to have
a similar confidence in their captain’s
decisions.
The captain had to operate outside
known procedures during their power-
less descent and made decisions that
could have been contrary to his crew’s
expectations. By discussing the options,
the captain gained the crew’s support to
attempt a relight of an engine previously
shut down for a suspect fire. The deci-
sion didn’t cause any misunderstanding
or misgivings. He telegraphed his intent
for this and several decisions, eliminating
any time-consuming debates that could
have delayed the decisions until too late.
Moody credited an element of luck in
his performance that day. “If the base of
the ash cloud had dropped to the sea,” he
said, “so would we.” But his skill, coolness
and persistence saved the aircraft and
everyone on board. For his actions that
night, he was awarded the Queen’s Com-
mendation for Valuable Service in the Air.
We should take a page from Moody’s
playbook and realize that we can set the
groundwork for better cockpit commu-
nication by insisting on a strong reliance
on SOPs, by telegraphing our intent as
well as our orders, and by maintaining a
humble attitude when inviting critique.
These steps will improve crew efficiency
and cockpit safety, and serve as if we are
reading each other’s minds. BCA
Operations
Aircraft Hacking
Is it possible to hack into avionics cyber
systems from a remote location and
take control of an aircraft in flight?
And should you be concerned about it?
BY DAVID ESLER david.esler@comcast.net
hen two security researchers
W hacked into the wireless en-
tertainment and navigation
systems of a Jeep Cherokee
in 2015 and managed to take control of
the vehicle’s steering, braking, engine
and other functions while the car was
moving, it made headlines around the
world.
The Jeep SUV reflected the tech-
nology implicit in today’s automobiles:
drive-by-wire and digital engine con-
trol, where there is no mechanical con-
nection between the steering wheel,
brake and accelerator pedals, and the
wheels, brakes, and injector system,
and the engine is managed by an elec-
tronic control similar to an aero en-
gine’s FADEC.
32 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
Other researchers at the Univer-
sities of Washington and California-
San Diego had previously published
papers elucidating vulnerabilities in
contemporary automotive wireless
technology that could be exploited by
hackers, including key fobs that can be
penetrated to unlock doors and start
cars’ engines. According to writer
Andy Greenberg, who was a willing
victim of the Jeep Cherokee attack for
his article, “Hackers Remotely Kill a
Jeep on the Highway — With Me in It,”
in the July 2015 issue of Wired maga-
zine, all this was possible because car
manufacturers were “doing [their] best
to turn the modern automobile into a
smartphone,” a move reminiscent of
the unmanned aerial vehicles detailed
ISTOCK PHOTO
in “Drone Revolution” (BCA, October
2015, page 50).
The electronic systems in the aver-
age contemporary car are intercon-
nected, allowing a hacker with expert
knowledge to enter the array, often
through the vehicle’s internet connec-
tion and entertainment module, then
once inside, jump from one system to
another, operating the various func-
tions of the car. Using this technique,
the researchers mentioned above —
Wired’s Greenberg terms them “wire-
less carjackers” — were able to present
their images on the Jeep’s video screen
when the beleaguered author was
onboard for the hacking test just to
taunt him.
A n d s i nc e t h e Je ep a nd ot h er
www.bcadigital.com
 SERIALIZATION BY MODEL YEAR

MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

NEXT GEN AVIONICS

CONVERSIONS & MODIFICATIONS

Know the Value

Accurate data means
an accurate assessment
Visit aircraftbluebook.com for more info.
Operations
Chrysler-made cars connect to the in-
ternet via a cellular network, they’ve
been able to select and track individual
cars traveling on highways anywhere in
the U.S. Presumably, if they wanted to,
they could hack the operating functions
of these cars through a cellular net and
remotely drive them — again anywhere
in the country, maybe the world. This is
not to single out Chrysler, as just about
all auto manufacturers connect their
vehicles to the Internet today in a simi-
lar manner. After all, we now live in a
wireless connected world, where even
our kitchen appliances access wire-
lessly to our mobile phones.
OK, Can You Do It
to a Plane?
The ability to wirelessly shanghai a car
begs the question of whether it’s pos-
sible to hack into an aircraft in flight,
worm into the higher avionics func-
tions, and take over control of the plane,
a dream come true for terrorists or
clever sociopaths.
Grady Dees, technical sales direc-
tor at Universal Avionics in Tucson,
Arizona, doesn’t think so, as the avion-
ics systems of contemporary aircraft
represent a much bigger problem for
hackers to solve. “The basic difference
between accessing the automobile sys-
tem and a flight control or a nav system
in an aircraft is how the systems in the
car are integrated,” he explained. “The
processors are integrated and of open-
architecture, often with Linux-based or
other off-the-shelf operating systems.
In aircraft, we don’t use those types of
systems, as they don’t meet the design
assurance levels required for aircraft.”
That assurance level is determined by
the “safety assessment,” a component of
the certification process, to determine
what hazards could be introduced and
how dangerous they might be.
“So the things that are more critical
require the highest design assurance
levels,” Dees continued. “It’s similar
to the process the medical equipment
industry has to go through designing
products that are life-critical.”
And that determines what kind of
software engineers can deploy and the
integrity of both it and the avionics plat-
forms it will run on.
“Commercial off-the-shelf applica-
tions typically don’t have a high design
assurance level and can’t achieve it,”
Dees said. “So that prevents you from
having the kind of software an average
34 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
hacker can access, even if he had direct
connection to the system.”
So now we introduce Chris Roberts,
bad boy hacker, security researcher and
one of the founders of One World Labs
(now OWL Cybersecurity) in Denver.
Brilliant and idiosyncratic, Roberts had
been warning of cyber vulnerabilities
on commercial aircraft for years, but
few in the industry took him seriously.
To make his point, in April 2015 aboard
a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 en
route from Chicago to Syracuse, New
York, Roberts logged onto Twitter and
sent a tweet from the cabin speculating
whether he should hack into the IFE (in-
flight entertainment system) through
the SEB (seat electronic box, one of
which is generally mounted under the
seats in each row on either side of the
aisle of narrow-body jetliners) and then
into the cockpit systems.
“Shall we start playing with EI-
CAS messages?” he tweeted. “‘PASS
OXYGEN ON’ Anyone? :)” The smi-
ley face was a nice touch, but the two
FBI agents waiting for Roberts in the
boarding lounge when the flight landed
at Syracuse were not amused. (United
cybersecurity personnel had seen the
tweet and alerted the Bureau.) They
took him into custody and confiscated
his two laptop computers and several
flash drives, which he admitted con-
tained malware.
Under interrogation, Roberts said
that despite his joking tweet, on the
Chicago-Syracuse flight and a previ-
ous segment from Denver to Chicago,
he had not hacked into either aircraft’s
IFE. Nevertheless, in an inspection
of the SEB under the row where Rob-
erts had been sitting on the Denver-
Ch icago seg ment, one of the FBI
agents wrote in his affidavit request
that the cover of the box appeared to
have been tampered with. Roberts de-
nied this, as well, claiming that the unit
could have been damaged by previous
passengers shoving carry-on baggage
under the seats.
Come Fly (and
Hack) With Me
This was not the first time that Rob-
erts had been in the sights of the G-men.
Earlier in 2015, other agents had visited
him twice at One World Labs to discuss
his research on aircraft hacking, which
he and a colleague had been pursuing
for years, even conducting simulated
penetrations of avionics systems under
laboratory conditions. In one of those
meetings, Roberts admitted that he had
hacked into aircraft systems on actual
flights on multiple occasions, as well,
just “to look around” but had not ma-
nipulated anything.
Then, amazingly, he went further,
claiming that on one f light he had
reached under the seat in front of him,
jimmied the cover of an SEB, jacked in
a modified Ethernet cable, and using
his laptop, hacked into the IFE. From
there, he again claimed, he had made
his way to the higher-level aircraft con-
trol systems, where he had overwritten
the code of the plane’s “thrust manage-
ment computer.” That done, Roberts
alleged, he had proceeded to increase
the thrust of one of the plane’s engines,
causing the aircraft to climb and “fly
sideways,” presumably a yawing mo-
tion from asymmetric thrust. But the
claimed IFE hacks and the alleged en-
gine computer takeover remain unsub-
stantiated, which questions Roberts’
veracity.
Boeing and other airframe manu-
facturers are highly doubtful that Rob-
erts could have pulled off these stunts,
pointing out that IFEs are isolated
from flight-critical control systems.
(More on that later.) Consider, too, the
constricting seat pitch on contempo-
rary narrowbody jetliners, even in first
class, and how difficult it would be to
lean forward, find by hand the IFE box
under the forward seat row, remove
the screws securing the box lid, locate
the proper port, etc. without being no-
ticed by other passengers or a flight
attendant.
Regardless, a demonstrated provo-
cateur, his claims swing between ir-
responsibility and a cry for attention,
both modes characteristic of that breed
of hackers who are compelled to com-
mit cyber mischief — sometimes dan-
gerously — just to test their abilities
and garner notoriety. On the other
hand, Roberts and his research col-
leagues have pointed out the potential
vulnerability of aviation cyber systems
— not just on aircraft but the ground-
based infrastructure, as well.
Meanwhile, the FBI is apparently
building a case against Roberts based
on his stated ability that he could hack
into critical systems on board sophis-
ticated aircraft and had developed the
software to do it — plus the wiring dia-
grams of several contemporary airlin-
ers found on one of his laptops. One
thing is for sure: When news of his sa-
lacious inflight tweet reached board
www.bcadigital.com
members of One World Labs who had
investments in the company, they with-
drew their financial support causing
its collapse, and Roberts subsequently
abandoned the enterprise he helped
found. In December 2015, former ex-
ecutives of the firm formed a holding
company and purchased One World’s
assets, subsequently repackaging the
venture as a “dark net threat intelli-
gence platform” under the name Owl
Cybersecurity.
‘Crazy Different’
and Speaking ‘Off
Script’ (Maybe)
Perhaps Robert Hickey also wanted to
alert the aviation and security indus-
tries that commercial aircraft were
vulnerable to hacking when he re-
vealed in a keynote address during the
CyberSat Summit in November 2017
at Tysons, Virginia, that a team of ex-
perts had remotely hacked
into a Boeing 757 sitting on
the ground at Atlantic City.
Moreover, the attempt had
occurred under the aus-
pices of none other than the
Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
At the time, Hickey, a re-
tired airline pilot who holds
a doctorate in information
technology, was aviation
program manager in the
Cyber Security Division of
the DHS Science and Tech-
nology Directorate. He had
been “detailed” there from
the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence.
The exercise was car-
Interconnections Among Domains
ried out in September 2016,
Hickey said, as a “remote,
non-cooperative, penetra-
tion” (i.e., not under labora-
tory conditions) with no one
physically touching the air-
craft. His team “stood off”
from the legacy Boeing that
the DHS had acquired, he
claimed, and “using typical
stuff that could get through
security” was able to estab-
lish “a presence on the sys-
tems of the aircraft.”
While the details of the
hacking test and the re-
search that the S&T Di-
rectorate is conducting
are classified, Hickey did
www.bcadigital.com
say that the penetration was accom-
plished using “radio frequency com-
munications,” adding that based on the
RF configuration of most aircraft, “you
can come to grips pretty quickly where
we went” (again, presumably, into the
cabin services equipment).
Up to this point, the S&T Director-
ate’s research had primarily been fo-
cused on ground-based transportation
infrastructure, e.g., air traffic control,
but Hickey maintains that there’s an-
other type of critical infrastructure,
“and that’s critical infrastructure that’s
in motion,” of which aviation represents
one-third, the other two-thirds being
surface (highway, railroad) and marine.
But aviation exists in an environment
of its own — far removed from the ter-
restrial one. Hence the need for the fo-
cused research apparently under way
at the DHS.
While Hickey’s revelation made the
rounds among the intelligence and se-
curity community (i.e., it was all over
Networked Aircraft Information
Systems and Domain
Aircraft Network Domains and
SOURCE: ARINC REPORT 811
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 35
the web), nothing has been heard about
the Boeing 757 test since his address
at CyberSat. Furthermore, Hickey is
no longer working in the S&T Direc-
torate. One aviation industry observer
BCA consulted speculated that “Hickey
was off-script” when he spoke at the
conference. BCA located Hickey at a
Washington, D.C., consultancy and at-
tempted to connect with him but had
been unsuccessful at press time.
After contacting the DHS, however,
we did receive the following statement
from spokesman John Verrico in the
S&T Directorate: “The Department
of Homeland Security established
and led a multi-agency team to assess
the feasibility of a cyber-intrusion of
a commercial aircraft. The Aircraft
Cyber Initiative (ACI) project’s objec-
tive is to determine whether a cyberat-
tack of commercial aircraft systems
is possible and to offer mitigation rec-
ommendations for identified cyber
vulnerabilities. Our focus was on older
legacy aircraft where cyber-
security protections may
not have been incorporated
in their design.”
Verrico went on to ex-
plain that “While certain
details of the [Boeing 757
test] remain classified, the
com ments made du r ing
the 2017 CyberSat Summit
lack important context, in-
cluding an artificial testing
environment and risk-re-
duction measures already
in place. Along with our
federal and industry part-
ners, DHS takes aviation
cybersecurity seriously and
works with both research-
ers and vendors to identify
and mitigate vulnerabilities
in the aviation sector. . . .
“The interagency collab-
orative project is working
to fully understand, detect
and mitigate potential air-
craft cyber vulnerabilities
before a significant attack
occurs,” he continued. The
other agencies DHS is col-
laborating with on the ACI
project are the FAA, TSA,
FBI, U.S. Air Force and Of-
fice of the Director of Na-
tional Intelligence (ODNI),
as well as airlines and air-
frame manufacturers.
While the 757 hacking ex-
ercise was not classified,
Operations
Verrico said — i.e., it really happened
— exactly how Hickey and his team
pulled it off is under wraps. And since
Hickey was detailed to the S&T Direc-
torate, he was never considered a DHS
employee. “He has since returned to
the ODNI,” Verrico confirmed — so he
wasn’t fired per se.
The Threat Is Real
Meanwhile, the Government Account-
ability Office (GAO) has identified the
potential for cyberattacks on aviation
infrastructure and air-
craft as a tangible threat,
recognizing challenges to
the FAA of protecting air
traffic control information
systems and the avionics
tasked for aircraft opera-
tion and navigation. This
acceptance is based on
evidence of actual cyber-
attacks, including one at
Warsaw’s Chopin Interna-
tional Airport in 2015 that
disabled f light planning
comput ers , g rou nd i n g
LOT Polish Airlines flights
for several hours. In the
U.S., FAA infrastructure
was probed by unidentified
hackers in 2013 at up to 75
airports “in a prolonged op-
eration to spy,” according
to the Center for Internet ISTOCK PHOTO
Security.
As part of its cyber defense effort, the
FAA has contracted Astronautics Corp.
of Milwaukee, a tactical avionics vendor
to the military since the 1950s, to con-
duct research on its behalf. When asked
for further information on the project,
the company responded: “Astronautics
is part of an industry task force working
with the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion to identify cybersecurity threats to
aircraft while in flight or on the ground.
As a member of that working group, As-
tronautics cannot discuss any specific
details or the work scope of this project.
Astronautics is required to refer you to
the FAA [which] will address your spe-
cific questions.” We tried that, too, and
our request to the Public Affairs Office
at FAA headquarters went unfilled.
However, both Universal’s Dees and
Patrick Morrissey, senior security en-
gineering manager at Rockwell Collins,
rejected any comparison between the
36 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
systems interconnectivity seen in con-
temporary cars and that in modern avi-
onics. Thus, they maintained, there’s
little chance a hacker could take over
an aircraft as Chris Roberts claimed
he did through the cabin entertainment
module on the Boeing 737 in which he
was flying.
And Dees doesn’t believe it could be
done remotely from the ground. “Air-
craft are not really connected to the
ground in a way that a hacker could get
into them,” he said. “While the aircraft
entertainment system can connect with
ground-based sources, it is not physi-
cally connected to the systems that are
controlling and operating the airplane.
So that is a stumbling block to anyone
trying to access the control systems of
the aircraft. As the systems do get more
integrated, there are rules in our indus-
try that prevent us from doing that.”
A Hierarchy of Criticality
Pointing out that avionics are “high-
safety design systems” that must
adhere to ARINC 429 protocols, Mor-
rissey described connections between
systems as a “one-direction transmit.”
Consequently, “you can only send data
from the high-criticality system to the
low-criticality system — you cannot go
the other way.” As an example, he cited
the now-ubiquitous moving-map dis-
play, which is fed by the aircraft’s GPS
system, but thanks to the criticality
hierarchy, the display system can only
receive data, and not send any back.
“The aviation world and the aircraft
have a lot of unidirectional data buses
that help ensure that data never goes
from a lower critical system — a De-
sign Assurance Level-E — to a higher
one — a DAL-A,” Morrissey explained.
So if a hacker could penetrate an IFE,
he/she would be effectively blocked from
cyber-hopping up the hierarchy chain.
“That principle applies very well in older
aircraft,” Morrissey continued. “Legacy
aircraft contain effectively closed net-
works; only in the more
recent aircraft has there
been connectivity.”
Evolving from closed net-
works to connectivity, what
has changed is the establish-
ment of several “domains”
of information management
defined in ARINC Report
811. The highest criticality
systems, i.e., those involv-
ing aircraft control, “or the
things in the cockpit,” are
ACDs (aircraft control do-
mains). Next is the AISD
(airline information services
domain) used for cabin con-
trol, passenger processing,
etc., that is not critical to
flight operations. Further
down is the PIESD (passen-
ger information and enter-
tainment services domain).
Finally, the last domain
defined in the spec is PODS (passen-
ger owned devices, like cellphones and
tablets), which would be considered the
network of least trust or integrity in the
categories. How they are used is in the al-
location of the aircraft systems.
Can information be sent from one do-
main to the other? “OK,” Morrissey an-
swered, “you don’t want information to
go from lower to higher domains. We
allow the opposite — we don’t have to
worry about the aircraft control sys-
tems attacking the cabin entertainment
systems. So, what we do is ensure that
any data — the information we don’t
trust — can’t be sent from the lower do-
main to the higher criticality systems.
Even though the technology changes
over time, the base principles are still
applied. So, as we build more connec-
tivity, we still design them so that data
that is sent from lower to higher levels is
carefully controlled.”
www.bcadigital.com
 OK, so the data flows one way from
higher to lower criticality, but how do
you guard against “bad data” compro-
mising the system, say data entered by
a malicious hacker? “While connectiv-
ity to the internet is new, aircraft have
always had to account for system fail-
ures,” Morrissey said, “so engineers al-
ways had to account for bad data being
transferred by components of the sys-
tem.” Accordingly, even if the wrong
data is sent, the system responds appro-
priately, i.e., it is still robust. A network
adapter can fail, but this eventuality has
been accounted for in the design so it
won’t have an effect on other systems.
Appropriate redundancy is a factor in
this, as well, e.g., two autopilots inde-
pendently wired, independent power
systems, hydraulics, etc., all built with
diversity to ensure the whole aircraft
is robust against any component that
might fail.
Heading Off the Hackers
Today’s design security process ac-
commodates the potential for an at-
tack from the beginning of a product’s
development. “So you are defining the
potential threats to the system as part
of the system concept,” Morrissey said.
“And as you build the system, you in-
clude those requirements and all the
testing that is necessary to ensure that
the system is cyber-resilient.”
A method employed toward this end
as part of unit- and system-level testing
is a technique Morrissey called “fuzz-
ing” — exhaustively testing the input to
a system or function with invalid data.
“If a system is supposed to receive air-
speed data, when we test it, we send it
very long strings of data, very high vol-
umes of incorrect data, and then evalu-
ate whether the system can handle that
condition. You might send a half million
samples of invalid data into a system to
ensure the system responds correctly,
that it doesn’t crash or get into an unex-
pected state, to ensure there is no unin-
tended function.”
Thus, they maintained, there’s lit-
tle chance a hacker could take over an
aircraft as C hris Roberts claimed he
did through the cabin entertainment
module on the Boeing 737 in which he
was flying.
Another consideration in the safety-
assurance process is confirming the in-
tegrity of the product supply chain. The
www.bcadigital.com
standards for security in avionics are
one thing, but there is ongoing discus-
sion about best practices across avionics
manufacturing. “Part of that is supply
chain management and where you are
getting integrated circuits and chips, as
well as how you vet them to assure there
is nothing already on the chips that
could be dangerous,” explained Kyle
Price, senior engineer, technical sales,
at Universal Avionics. “We are still
discussing that today at RTCA [Radio
Technical Commission for Aeronautics]
and working toward a gold standard.
There is testing for the systems you
build, but are there processes you can
put into the supply chain to ensure there
is not any malware preinstalled?”
Okay, all these precautions and fire-
walls are being applied for avionics de-
sign and development today, which is to
say, for jetliners and business jets repre-
senting the state of the art with lots of
interconnectivity and Internet access.
But what about the legacy fleet – which
accounts for 90 percent of commercial
and business aircraft? (Note here that
the aircraft that Robert Hickey and his
scientific cohort hacked into was a Boe-
ing 757, the last of which rolled off the
manufacturer’s production line in 2004.)
So, do the firewalls and other anti-pen-
etration measures apply to legacy prod-
ucts and the aircraft they equip or only
to the newer models and airframes de-
veloped in, say, the last 10-15 years?
First, Dees at Universal Avionics:
“Yes, the firewalls and other anti-pene-
tration measures have been in place for
a very long time. We continue to refine
these as new development is done.”
Furthermore, Dees continued, “The
design assurance level requirements
and software development safety objec-
tives have been in place since the early
1970s — before Universal started de-
veloping avionics. So these standards
and guidelines have been used since the
company was founded.”
A New ‘Possible’ for
a Failure Event
Another way to think about the legacy
fleet, Morrissey observed, is that criti-
cal avionic systems have always been
designed to be resilient in the face of
missing, incorrect or misleading data.
“In this manner, the system is analyzed
for possible failure modes when these
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 37
types of events occur due to more tra-
ditional mechanical, component or en-
vironmental failures. The cyberattack
is really just a new possible cause for a
failure event.”
Connectivity between the networks
onboard the aircraft isn’t really new,
Morrissey maintains. “As long as
there’s been a moving map display,
there has been some kind of connectiv-
ity between the airborne systems to
support the display of position informa-
tion.” But what’s new in aircraft net-
works over the last decade has really
been “off-board,” or external, connec-
tivity. “These new aircraft, such as the
A380, A350, 777 and 787,” Morrissey
said, “support more connectivity be-
tween the AISD, PIESD and PODS and
ground networks via cellular and satel-
lite connections.” But as with previous
generations, he insists, the aircraft con-
trol domain network has “very limited
connectivity” to anything external.
“The upside in analyzing a system
that could be subject to cyberattacks is
that you can easily understand where
those attacks will originate because
we know where the un-trusted sources
of digital data are,” he concluded. “In
my experience I have yet to see an air-
craft system design that would allow
the FMS to be reachable from the IFE.”
So the avionics manufacturers ap-
pear to be on it, fully aware of the cyber
threat and dedicated to hardening crit-
ical aircraft control systems against
intrusion by would-be malefactors. But
only the latest generation of business
aviation and airline platforms – e.g.,
Gulfstream 500/600, Boeing 787, et
al. – are equipped and enabled by these
interconnected, hierarchical firewalled
systems. And while they may embody
the epitome of high technology and, as
such, are probably the safest airplanes
ever built in terms of cyber protection,
these cutting-edge aircraft account for
only ten percent of the overall fleet.
So consider, too, that the aircraft
that Robert Hickey and his staff at
DHS chose to hack was a legacy B757, a
workhorse of the commercial fleet but
reflecting technology nearly four de-
cades old. In the cyber war in which we
are currently engaged, the challenge
to the industry is how we will protect
these aircraft and their business jet
counterparts from another 9/11-scale
attack. As Sherlock would have said,
the game is on. BCA
Piloting

High-Altitude
UV Exposure
A little-recognized occupational risk for flight crews
BY PATRICK VEILLETTE jumprsaway@aol.com
he National Council on Radiation

T Protection and Measurements re-

ports that among those U.S. work-
ers exposed to radiation while on
the job, flight crews get the largest annual
effective dose. That’s not a good thing.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is invisible
to the human eye but can burn the skin
and cause skin cancer including mela-
noma as well as damage to one’s eyes.
The chronic effects of UV exposure can
be serious, even life threatening, and in-
clude premature aging of the skin, sup-
pression of the immune system, along
with eye damage and skin cancer.
These invisible rays are part of solar
energy. UV radiation comprises three
types, commonly referred to as UVA,
UVB and UVC. (The difference is due
to different wavelengths. UVC wave-
lengths are in the range of 100 to 280
nanometers, UVB wavelengths range
from 280-315 nanometers and UVA
wavelengths are in the range of 315 to
400 nanometers.)
Fortunately, the ozone layer that re-
sides in a region of the stratosphere
(50,000 to 165,000 ft. above sea level)
is UV-absorbing and protects ground-
dwellers from UVC and some of the
UVB. UVA and some UVB do penetrate
the ozone layer. UVA is weaker than
UVB but penetrates deeper into the skin.
It should be noted that, in general, there
is a great deal of variability in UV radia-
tion due to the sun’s angle of incidence,
clouds, aerosols and other atmospheric
constituents, as well as geographic loca-
tion and altitude.
Accordingly, flight crews of high-per-
formance aircraft are exposed to ele-
vated levels of UV radiation as a result of
their operations in the upper reaches of
the troposphere and lower stratosphere.
The air density in that portion of the

38 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 www.bcadigital.com

earth’s atmosphere is thinner than at
sea level and therefore filters less of the
dangerous solar radiation. UV radiation
increases at about 6-10% with every 1,000
ft. of altitude. Between 31,000 and 41,000
ft., where most jet aircraft cruise, UV
radiation exposure doubles. Additionally,
according to “The Scientific Assessment
Panel of the Montreal Protocol on Sub-
stances that Deplete the Ozone Layer”
(UNEP/WMO Scientific Assessment
of Ozone Depletion, July 2002) the de-
struction of stratospheric ozone (by chlo-
rofluorocarbons and other pollutants)
may increase UV radiation exposure.
This is especially true close to the equa-
tor and both poles due to the thinning of
the ozone layer in these regions.
www.bcadigital.com
Dr. Ralf Meerkötter, director of the
German Aerospace Center’s Institute of
Atmospheric Physics, found that occupa-
tional UV radiation exposure for pilots de-
pends on numerous factors, including the
entire time a pilot spent in a cockpit, the
number of flights along specific routes,
the specific windscreen properties of the
aircraft, the individual skin type of a pilot,
sun position during flight from takeoff to
landing, and the day of the year.
According to Meerkötter, the most im-
pactful of such factors is the most obvious:
the incidence angle of the sun with the
aircraft’s windscreen. The intensity of
UV radiation inside the cockpit strongly
depends on whether direct sun is enter-
ing or not. Without direct sun, the diffuse
ISTOCK PHOTO/MATUSDUDA
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 39
UV radiation inside the cockpit amounts
to about 5% of the ambient UV irradiance
outside the aircraft. In cases of low sun
when direct radiation can reach the pilot,
percentages grow from 50 to 100%.
The amount of UV radiation absorbed
by aircraft windscreens depends on the
constructional material used and the
general design. In a study released in
2007, the transmittance properties of
aircraft windscreens were measured at
the FAA´s Civil Aerospace Medical Insti-
tute (CAMI) for both visible and invisible
optical radiation. Transmission measure-
ments were performed on eight aircraft
windscreens. Three windscreens were
from large commercial jets (MD 88, Air-
bus A320 and Boeing 727/737); two from
commercial, propeller-driven passenger
planes (Fokker 27 and ATR 42); one from
a small private jet (Raytheon Hawker
Horizon); and two from small general
aviation, single-engine, propeller-driven
planes (Beech Bonanza and Cessna 182).
The general aviation aircraft wind-
screens were plastic (polycarbonate);
the others were multilayer (laminated)
composite glass. UV transmittance for
both glass and plastic windscreens was
less than 1% for UVB (280-320 nanome-
ter) radiation. In the UVA portion of the
spectrum, transmittance differences in-
creased from 0.41% to 53.5%, with plastic
attenuating (i.e., lessening) more UV ra-
diation than glass.
“These results suggest that plastic
windscreens outperform glass by pro-
tecting the pilot’s eyes from UV radia-
tion,” according to the study, “Optical
Radiation Transmittance of Aircraft
Windscreens and Pilot Vision.” And it
noted that, “Professional pilots who rou-
tinely fly at higher altitude for longer pe-
riods of time than private pilots should
take special precautions to protect their
eyes from UV exposure.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Adrian Chorley of Brit-
ain’s Civil Aviation Authority and London
South Bank University’s Department of
Primary Care and Public Health, who
conducts research in optometry and oph-
thalmology, studied ocular UV exposure
of pilots in airline and offshore helicopter
operations on different aircraft types. In-
flight data were captured on five return
sector European airline flights and one
transatlantic flight from London Gatwick
in addition to four helicopter flights from
Aberdeen Dyce Airport.
The study found a wide variation in
ocular UVA doses during flights. The
main factor influencing exposure was
the UV transmission of the windshield,
which fell into two distinct profile types.
Piloting
In an aircraft with good UVA-blocking
properties, ocular exposure was found
to be equivalent to that of office expo-
sure and did not exceed international
guideline limits regardless of external
conditions or flight time. Most aircraft
assessed had poor UVA-blocking wind-
shields, which resulted in an ocular expo-
sure to the unprotected eye in excess of
international guideline limits. No signifi-
cant UVB dose was found. A 2016 study,
“Occupational Ocular UV Exposure in
Civilian Aircrew,” recommended that
pilots should be warned of the potential
high UVA exposure during flight and
advised on the use of sunglasses.
A research team led by Dr. Martina
Sanlorenzo of the Department of Der-
matology at the University of California
San Francisco, measured UV radiation
through the acrylic plastic windshield
(1.6 cm thick) in front of the pilot seat of a
TBM 850 at ground level, 2,500 ft., 6,000
ft., 10,000 ft., 15,000 ft., 20,000 ft., 25,000
ft. and 30,000 ft. around midday during
April at San Jose, California, and Las
Vegas. Published in 2015, the study, “The
Risk of Melanoma in Pilots and Cabin
Crew: UV Measurements in Flying Air-
planes,” determined that aircraft occu-
pants flying for 57 min. at 30,000 ft. got
the same amount of UVA radiation as
from a 20-min. tanning bed session.
Sanlorenzo concluded, “Airplane wind-
shields do not completely block UVA radi-
ation and therefore not enough to protect
pilots. UVA transmission inside airplanes
can play a role in pilots’ increased risk of
melanoma. . . . We believe that better UV
protection on aircraft windshields is nec-
essary to offer cabin crew a hazard-free
work environment. We strongly recom-
mend the use of sunscreens and periodi-
cal skin checks for pilots and cabin crew.”
In addition, Sanlorenzo led another
team of medical researchers who re-
viewed more than 3,527 citations from 19
previous studies on melanoma published
between 1990 and 2013, reported data
from 1943 to 2008 from 11 countries, and
included over 266,431 participants. The
results of this study, “The Risk of Mela-
noma in Airline Pilots and Cabin Crew:
A Meta-Analysis,” published in 2015, in-
dicated that participants in flight-based
occupations are twice as likely to contract
melanoma than the general public. Fur-
thermore, pilots specifically have a 42%
higher mortality rate from melanoma
compared with the general population.
Researchers believe that the culprit is
likely UV radiation, which can penetrate
glass, even the specialty glass used in air-
craft windshields.
40 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
Solar radiation is
an invisible enemy that
can cause long-lasting and
potentially deadly
consequences for pilots
and crewmembers.
Another significant hazard to pilots is
the damage done to retinal photorecep-
tors caused by long-term exposure to
solar UV radiation. Research was con-
ducted by Chorley between 2008 and
2015 to study the matter. While he found
no ill effects to the eyes caused by UVB
and UVC since these types of UV ra-
diation are filtered out by the upper at-
mosphere and the windshields of most
aircraft, the study showed that UVA, the
least energetic form of UV radiation, is
the most harmful to a pilot’s eyes and
eyesight because a higher percentage of
it penetrates the cockpit and cabin of an
aircraft.
Chorley reported that although rare,
short, intense exposure to UVA may
lead to conditions such as snow blind-
ness and damage to the cornea. He notes
in “Civilian Pilot Exposure to Ultravio-
let and Blue Light and Pilot Use of Sun-
glasses,” that “there is good evidence that
long-term exposure to solar radiation,
especially the ultraviolet and blue light
components, is a risk factor for cataracts
and, to a lesser extent, age-related degen-
eration of the retina.”
There is a tool that a pilot can use
to prevent this eyesight damage: sun-
glasses with sufficient UV protection. In
an evaluation of 38 sunglasses used by
commercial pilots, Chorley found that all
conformed to international standards for
UV radiation transmittance, offered suffi-
cient UV radiation protection and against
the increase in blue light exposure that
pilots experience at altitude. However,
used sunglasses with scratched lenses
were less effective.
The study concluded that lenses manu-
factured to minimally comply with stan-
dards for UV radiation transmittance
could result in excess UV radiation to a
pilot based on inflight irradiance data.
The study recommended an additional
requirement of less than 10% transmit-
tance in the 380-nanometer wavelength.
An online survey conducted by Chor-
ley of nearly 3,000 pilots in the U.K. re-
garding the use of sunglasses and other
onboard protective devices to block sun-
light revealed that pilots were critical
of standard aircraft protection systems
such as visors (and other commonly em-
ployed devices) to manage bright light.
Sunglass use was found to be surpris-
ingly variable. A quarter of those ques-
tioned wore sunglasses less than 10% of
the time or not at all. The most common
reasons for sunglasses not being used
was the sunglass tint interfering with in-
strument legibility and discomfort from
frames, particularly when used in con-
junction with required headsets.
According to an FAA study, “Optical
Radiation Transmittance of Aircraft
Windscreens and Pilot Vision,” flying
over a thick cloud layer or a snowfield
with the Sun at its zenith increases the ex-
posure to naturally occurring UV. Snow
reflects 85% of visible and UV radiation,
while clouds can reflect up to 80%. In
such conditions, sunglasses with a closely
fitting wraparound frame design are best
since UV-blocking lenses are useless if
radiation is allowed to enter the eye from
the sides of the frame. A gray, neutral
density filter to block 70-85% of all visible
light is recommended to preserve color
discrimination and enhance the ability to
quickly adapt to lower light levels.
People often equate sunglasses with
UV radiation protection. The FAA’s
study pointed out that lens tints or color
are not indicative of the UV blocking abil-
ity of a lens. While there are no UV ra-
diation standards for clear prescription
lens materials, the American Optometric
Association recommends that sunglasses
block at least 99% of solar UV radiation
below 400 nanometers. Without UV
treatments, clear glass and CR-39 lenses
fall short of this mark. Therefore, it is im-
portant when purchasing non-prescrip-
tion, over-the-counter sunglasses to be
sure they are accompanied by proper la-
beling and/or documentation describing
their UV protection properties.
Solar radiation is an invisible enemy
that can cause long-lasting and poten-
tially deadly consequences for pilots
and crewmembers who are repeatedly
exposed to higher levels of both UVA
and UVB and for longer periods than
those working on the ground. Pilots,
especially those operating high-perfor-
mance aircraft at high altitudes, need
to protect themselves. The aviation in-
dustry as a whole needs to do a better
job of protecting its most valuable as-
sets, its people. BCA
www.bcadigital.com
Know Your Options

So many destinations.
So many aircraft.
One source: aircharterguide.com.
 Operations
Cold, Dark and Lonely
My flights through cold climes and the lessons learned
BY ROSS DETWILER rossdetwiler.com
here are airline pilots who make
T far northern or even transpolar
flights on a regular basis. Busi-
ness aviators become familiar
with the requirements for these flights,
but we seldom do it often enough for it to
be considered routine. To me, the title of
this piece fits my impressions of that type
of flying. What follows are flights to and
across cold, dark and lonely regions from
my career.
The Early Days
“Holy cow. It’s snowing like heck in An-
chorage.”
“Not supposed to snow there until to-
morrow night.”
“Well, they didn’t get the memo. It’s
down to half a mile in moderate snow.”
It was late February 1979, and we were
at the 4-hr. point out of Tokyo’s Narita
International Airport on our first Asian
ISTOCK PHOTO/SARKOPHOTO
42 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
trip in the Gulfstream II. On the way to
Japan, we’d taken our time, going out of
San Francisco and through Hawaii and
Wake Island. But on the way home we
planned to return through Anchorage
with a two-day stopover. The GII was not
the plane for Far East and North Pacific
operations. It just didn’t have the range.
Even on the later leg down to Westches-
ter County Airport, White Plains, New
York, we would have to divert to Green
Bay, Wisconsin, due to insufficient fuel.
We had considered this possibility of
bad weather and had planned on using
Cold Bay Airport in the Aleutians as a
divert, but hoped we wouldn’t have to
go there.
But we did.
The Customs man came out in the
middle of the night, after short notice,
his face nearly invisible in a giant parka.
He gave us permission to proceed and
we put a full load of fuel on, just in case,
and then went on to Anchorage with
Fairbanks, as often was to be the case, a
stand-up alternate.
Finally, the GIVs
We moved through GIIIs and GIVs and
the Alaskan operations became more
and more commonplace. The GIV was,
in my opinion, the first business jet
that could operate reasonably through
Alaska en route to/from Asia. We tried
to leave out of Anchorage in the after-
noon, whenever possible. That way
Japan was still awake and the long An-
chorage-Osaka leg was not necessary en
route to Hong Kong and points farther
south. We did more and more Asian op-
erations, eventually even flying a Tai-
pei-to-Anchorage leg in eight and a half
hours. We spent the night reminiscing
for about 2 hr. with a GII out of Narita,
also heading for Alaska. We planned on
www.bcadigital.com
landing with more fuel than him and it
felt good.
In a Heavy
Another long, high-latitude flight oc-
curred when I took off from corporate
operations, having been called for a year
of active duty flying C-5 Galaxies for the
U.S. Air Force. In October 1990, still
in the ÒShieldÓ phase of Desert Shield/
Storm, my crew and I were at the opera-
tions window in Rhein-Main (Frankfurt)
for a return to the U.S. WeÕd been out for
nearly two weeks and, in that time, com-
pleted three or four ÒdownrangeÓ trips
from Rhein-Main and Ramstein in Ger-
many and Torrejon Air Base in Madrid.
All had gone to the big cargo terminal
at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. This was our
return leg to stateside.
ÒHereÕs a flight plan. Looks like you
men are headed to Travis.Ó
ÒTravis, as in Sacramento, California,
Travis?Ó
ÒYupÓ
We took the flight plan and start-
ing pulling out charts that weÕd always
known were in the bags but never
thought weÕd use. In about half an hour
we converted the computer flight plan to
visual legs on the charts and were ready.
In the airlift command, the pilots
went into base operations and did the
flight plan while the flight engineers and
www.bcadigital.com
loadmasters saw to cargo and preflight
requirements at the plane. We were a
tight crew, having been through a lot of
flying in the previous month, and were
still getting along just fine. In fact, weÕd
picked up a photographer and writer for
Airman Magazine. Everybody liked both
of them and they seemed to enjoy our
company. They had stayed with us on a
promise of being able to return with the
crew to Dover AFB in Delaware.
The photographer was talking to one
of the engineers when our 308,000-lb.
fuel load came to the airplane from the
command post.
ÒI donÕt know where weÕre going, Mi-
kee, but it sure isnÕt Dover.Ó
Our new best friends abandoned us
and we set about our task. With 20,000
lb. of empty cargo pallets and nearly a
full fuel load, we rolled weighing Òjust a
Cadillac over 700,000 lb.Ó After a cou-
ple of turns and vectors to get up and
on the way, we were cleared direct to
Stornoway in northern Scotland. From
there, the routing took us up over Ice-
land, Sondrestrom Air Base in Green-
land, over Iqaluit, think Frobisher Bay,
over the middle of Hudson Bay, the town
of Churchill, into the plains of Canada,
and down over Montana toward Sacra-
mento. During most of the long night just
the lead engineer and I were up front.
I took the last 4 hr. off to be alert for
the landing. There were plenty of good
Denali Mountain, Alaska
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 43
alternates around the Sacramento area,
but the fuel gauge was a concern as fog
was scheduled to develop at Travis in the
early morning time frame. We landed at 1
a.m. to just enough crew support to park
the airplane and wound up, unfed, at the
bachelor officersÕ quarters at oh dark
thirty. That turned out to be a flight of
just short of 13 hr. At Mach 0.77.
Almost Routine
In the early 1990s, our corporation flew
executives to Europe routinely and
Asia about four times a year. That pro-
gressed to where, at the turn of the new
century, we were doing Asia at least four
times a month. The GIV flights through
Anchorage normally had plenty of fuel
Ñ although our first Beijing-to-Anchor-
age flight again seemed cold, dark and
lonely as we overheaded Harbin, China,
and flew on to Khabarovsk in Russia.
Northwest of that city was a huge rect-
angular area of very bright lights in the
middle of the frozen wasteland. Inviting,
it was not.
From Khabarovsk we headed over the
Sea of Okhotsk to Magadan, Russia, on
past the then-closed Russian intercep-
tor bases in the Anadyr area and in over
Nome, Alaska. I remember thinking how
far north you are when crossing the Ber-
ing Strait, the Nome rotating beacon
in your windshield seems so inviting. I
had read a story about a sailing ship that
had been frozen into the ice just north
of Barrow, Alaska, and drifted in the
ice pack all winter until the shipÕs crew
walked over the ice to Wrangel Island,
up north of our course line. What an ad-
venture that must have been as the brave
captain left his crew and walked across
the ice to the mainland for help.
There were good times for the crews
that got to layover in Anchorage (prob-
ably still are), and there were also lessons
to be learned.
We used to enjoy going to a Cajun
restaurant called The Double Musky
in the town of Girdwood, about 40 min.
south of Anchorage. When dining there,
the irrefutable climate feature is the
copious amount of rain that falls in the
areaÕs woods. The moisture makes for a
rainforest-like condition along the east-
ern shoreline of the Turnagain Arm of
Cook Inlet.
That high moisture content when com-
bined with very low temperatures can
produce some interesting-looking air-
planes as a moist fog rolls in and freezes
to objects around which it flows. IÕve seen
street signposts double their normal
Operations
circumference due to adhering frost. For-
tunately, in our company, we were usually
on the ground just long enough to change
crews, refuel and depart.
Back North in the Big Plane
Around 1997, on a weekend Air Guard
trip to Alaska, we were ordered to carry
cargo for the C-130 outfit based at Ted
Stevens Anchorage International Air-
port. Being typical Guard troops, there
was good-natured kidding about the size
of the Galaxy as compared to the more
Flying over Anchorage, Alaska, in winter
at sunrise
agile, smaller “combat capable” Herc.
This continued right up until the brief-
ing began and we were almost loaded.
Although they helped our guys, the
host unit’s members wanted to make sure
that its ships got off first and therefore
reached the destination before the “renta
truck” (but much faster) C-5. We were fi-
nally taxiing onto Runway 36. The two C-
130s had long disappeared and the pilots
were beating their steeds mercilessly try-
ing to get to Fallon Naval Air Base outside
of Reno, Nevada, ahead of us.
That morning, I noticed that an old
DC-6 had rolled ahead of us and actu-
ally left a wispy contrail down the entire
length of the runway. The Douglas’ hot
exhaust had hit that cold clear air and the
water in the exhaust had frozen forming
an instant cloud — a ground contrail, if
you will. I knew that we put a lot more air
out the back of the four TF-39s than that
old recip and asked tower if they were
sure they weren’t going to need the run-
way for a few minutes after our takeoff.
The response: “We’re familiar with the
problem, Polo. You’re cleared for takeoff.”
We t o o k o f f t o t h e n o r t h a n d
44 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
commenced a left turn to the south, sometimes as high as ISA+30C and the
heading for Reno. Looking back at the wind would stop. We hit those warm
airport from a high downwind position, temperatures when the plane was very
the entire runway and taxi area east of heavy. I did that trip a number of times
the runway were under a huge station- with flight times ranging from 11+20
ary ground contrail. A beautiful sight to
see as it’s happening but horrifying to
when we were able to fly at Mach 0.82
to 12+35 at the slower Mach 0.80 cruise.
see if you’re next to try to land on that That was 12+ hr. of considering options.
runway. Fortunately, in Anchorage land-
ings are generally made on the parallel
northeast/southwest runways, not the
Over the Top
single north/south. Oh, and we passed The biggest far north challenge I can
the first Herc about an hour out and the remember was when the chairman was
second near Seattle. scheduled to be in Tokyo for a confer-
ence and wanted to be in London im-
ISTOCK PHOTO/ONDREJ KUBICEK
mediately after that gathering. We had
used just about the whole department,
getting two Globals and two Falcon
900EXs to Tokyo. Our flight to Lon-
don was planned out of Japan and over
Russia (12+15) and the weather in Eng-
land looked like a holdover from the
heavy fog days of the 1970s. We would
land short in Scandinavia, if we had
to, and then proceed to England. As
always seemed the case, this would all
start with a 0100 takeoff out of Tokyo’s
Haneda International.
We’d just started using that airport
and for the previous launch it seemed we
taxied for half an hour before getting to
the departure runway. I didn’t like the
looks of our plan at all.
Option 2, which I did like, was to leave
Tokyo, fly at Mach 0.85 to Fairbanks,
pick up the extra captain and flight at-
Nonstop tendant who had flown the Falcon 900
to Fairbanks two days earlier, then fly to
Shortly after the turn of the century, London, a 7+20 flight that would get us
our company merged with another huge into the area with a lot of fuel.
corporation and then our expanded We landed in Fairbanks and were
flight department was routinely flying ready to start the refuel, feeling good
all over the world. The company then about our plan. They signaled that
purchased two Bombardier Global Ex- chocks were in, the fuel truck was round-
press aircraft, whose Mach 0.85 speed ing off his turn in front of the right wing
made the run from Narita to Anchorage and I released the brakes and reached
much quicker than previously possible down to shut off the engines.
in the GIVs. With that change of equip- Then the call: “You’re rolling.”
ment, our crews figured they’d fly fast to “What. . . . ?!” Stomp on the brakes and
Anchorage, refuel, and head quickly to startle the folks; luckily all had “remained
New York. But there was one problem. seated.”
Our boss reminded us that the company No harm done. Turned out that the
invested in the Globals to fly home non- chocks, which were huge chucks of knot-
stop from Tokyo, nonstop from home to ted rope specifically used to prevent slip-
the Middle East or one stop eastbound page on the ice, had slipped. Fortunately,
to Singapore, all regular business calls brakes and the rope were enough to hold
for the corporation. the plane.
Getting a max weight early Global We left Fairbanks about 3 p.m., the
from Narita to White Plains was a bit early December sun already falling out of
nerve-wracking. A lesson learned was sight. I remember thinking as we crossed
that immediately out of Japan, the tem- Prudhoe Bay pointed north in the dark
peratures were normal and there was that this was the real thing when it comes
usually a good push. But about an hour to transpolar flight.
out, the temperatures would start up, We would be as far as 79 north at one
www.bcadigital.com

Frozen
On the first trip through Anchorage, we
learned the value of proper equipment
when operating in extreme temperature
conditions. We arrived in the middle of
the night, in the middle of a snowstorm,
and basically just drained the water,
closed the plane up and went to the ho-
tel. At 10 a.m., two days later, it was time
to leave and the plane looked like a white
Popsicle under about 3 in. of snow.
Usually the temperatures in Anchorage
are relatively mild compared to other loca-
tions in Alaska. That day the temperature
was about -9F.
While we deiced the GII we went
through all the preflight checks and made
the cabin ready for departure. All was set
and when the passengers showed, we
loaded, closed, started and taxied in a
crystal clear, but frigid, day.
After takeoff and at an altitude of
about 100 ft., when we went to trim,
the switch failed to move the trim at all.
ISTOCK PHOTO/MIXMOTIVE
Reaching for the manual wheel revealed
that it was indeed completely frozen.
We circled the field to get the land-
ing weight down and kept the speed
at that which was comfortable for the
takeoff trim that was set. Landing was
uneventful.
Back at the ramp, we offloaded the
passengers and a huge Herman Nelson
heat generator was brought over, started,
and the exhaust hose placed upward in
the rear compartment. It actually took
about half an hour for the trim to break
free.
It’s a relatively easy fix, when the right
equipment is available. In other locations
where we needed warmth in frigid condi-
tions, the only solution was to put the
plane in a hangar and wait . . . for a long
time. Hate it when things happen just
when you’re beginning a long day, when
eastbound, that is already scheduled to
go well into the night. . . . BCA

point in the flight and I’d read up on
how to change the Honeywells to track
true courses at those latitudes as all the
charts in that area were referenced to
true north. We expected them to go to
“heading fail” and cause us to switch
them to true course. We need not have
worried. The Honeywell FMSes did go
to “heading fail” but then changed them-
selves to true at precisely the required
latitude, about 72 north as I recall. They
would change themselves back to mag-
netic as we came south over Greenland.
Make my night, Honeywell.
We continued for about 2 hr. and
again, cold, dark and lonely were the only
words to describe our environs. At the
very north edge of Canada, seeing an air-
port beacon at the tiny outpost of Eureka
brought us into the FMS to check out the
facilities. There were actually people this
far north. I remember later seeing a tele-
vision show in which a Canadian bush-
flight operation overnighted at Eureka
and spent much of the next day heating
the engines.
We proceeded to cross from Canada
into Greenland and again, having once
thought I was at the top of the world
at Thule Air Base, I marveled to see it
nearly 200 mi. south of our course.
Greenland was interesting in that,
making position reports every 10 deg.
of longitude kept one busy as the me-
ridians at the high north latitudes are
only about 15 min. apart. I retired to
the rear and the extra captain sat in
for a couple of hours as we came down
over Greenland, then Iceland and
headed for northern Scotland. When
I came back to the flight deck, both the
g uys were smiling and pointed to
the latest Stansted sequence, which
showed 7,000 meters visibility with
conditions improving.
“Who loves ya, baby?” Sure made it
easier having two other highly qualified
captains helping.
To say that flying in and out of air-
ports as well equipped as Anchorage and
Fairbanks makes one an Alaskan pilot
would be a stretch. There are too many
bush pilots who would laugh themselves
silly over such a comment. Nevertheless,
there are certain characteristics and
conditions with which you become famil-
iar when flying different routes.
Extreme cold must be planned for and
accommodated. As I said, we were fortu-
nate to never have our equipment on the
ground for more than about an hour. But
even that can result in a need to deice,
especially under the conditions I’ve previ-
ously mentioned.
You will almost always, especially in
a business aviation operation, wind up
spending time in the dark of night. That’s
because the folks in the back want to fin-
ish a business day before they go to/from
Asia. That can wind up being a very short
night eastbound and a very long night
westbound. I remember one December
waking up to breakfast in Anchorage,
having the sun come up about 11 a.m. It
went down around mid-afternoon and 12
hr. later, we got on the plane out of New
York to fly to Shanghai. That was an addi-
tional 9 hr. in the dark, landing in the dark,
getting to the hotel in the dark and sleep-
ing in the dark for the next 4 or 5 hr. You
need headlights for eyes to operate north.
With all the cold often around you on
the ground, the temperatures at altitude
over the north Pacific were always very
warm, just when the eastbound plane
was at its en route heaviest. This re-
quired close attention for the first 4 to 5
hours of a 12-hr. flight if you were to make
the trip nonstop to New York.
Those were the days. These days I con-
sider Oxford, Connecticut, to Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, in a Baron about the lon-
gest I want to fly. BCA

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 45

Special Report
Swan Song for Citation X
Farewell to the world’s fastest civil aircraft
BY FRED GEORGE fred.george@informa.com
roduction of the Citation X ,
P Cessna Aircraft’s 520-kt. mus-
cle rocket, is coming to an end
after a 22-year run. It was Cess-
na’s signature technical masterpiece
during that era, an unmistakably red,
white and blue American powerhouse
that blew past foreign and domestic
competitors with a 50- to 100-kt. speed
advantage. Even sitting on the ramp,
it had superstar allure, endowed with
shapely curves, long graceful wings and
two whopping big engines.
The Wichita manufacturer, owing to
its Midwest roots, positioned the Cita-
tion X as an air transportation business
tool, albeit one that could fly coast-to-
coast with the highest cruise speed and
lowest fuel burn of any jet at the time.
46 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
The 3,300-nm-range Falcon 50 was its
only direct competition in the midsize
class and it flew 40 kt. slower.
The Citation X’s price tag was about
half that of transcontinental large-cabin
business aircraft, such as the 4,100-nm-
range Gulfstream IV. Never mind that
the X had the smallest cabin of any 6-hr.
corporate jet ever built.
Russ Meyer Jr., then Cessna’s chair-
man and CEO, introduced the Citation
X concept at the 1990 Farnborough Air
Show, instantly stirring up denial and
disbelief among doubters that the firm
could build such a performer. Up un-
til then Cessna was famous for build-
ing some of the world’s slowest and
lowest flying business jets in the 1970s
and 1980s. Most narrowbody “Simple
Citation” models were famed for hav-
ing all of the sophistication of a Cessna
piston twin and all of the speed of a fast
turboprop.
Mind you, they were comfortable.
They were docile. They were reliable.
They were well supported. But they
were boring. Citation 500 pilots rou-
tinely planned 320-kt. block speeds,
while Learjet crews boasted 440 KTAS.
“Slow-tation” jokes popped up as fre-
quently as August thunderstorms in
Kansas.
Successive Citations developed dur-
ing the 1980s, including the Citation III,
would offer incremental improvements
in range, speed and cabin comfort. Still,
Meyer grew weary of the endless jabs at
lackluster Citation performance.
www.bcadigital.com
 This helped set the stage for the Ci-
tation X. Meyer’s goal was to create a
new midsize jet with “preemptive range
and speed.” It would leap ahead of exist-
ing 400- to 450-kt., 1,500- to 2,000-nm-
range competitors, boasting Mach 0.90
cruise speeds and up to 3,000 nm of
range. “Back in 1990, the Gulfstream
IV and Challenger 601 cruised at Mach
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CESSNA CITATION

0.80,” Meyer recalled recently. “Cruis-

ing at Mach 0.90, we could save 1 hr.,
15 min. when flying coast-to-coast east
to west against winter headwinds com-
pared to a Challenger 601.” The Citation X+ was roomier, farther flying and more efficient
Such performance would put a stop than previous versions. But, it wasn’t enough to stave off the
to the snorting and sneering about onslaught of new generation super-midsize jets.
Cessna’s “near-jets” and chortling
about them suffering “bird strikes from
the rear.”

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 47

Special Report
Typical cruise speeds are Mach 0.86 to Mach 0.88 in the mid- to high-forties. Early
versions only could fly 3,000+ nm by slowing to Mach 0.82.
But Meyer wasn’t about to launch
the new aircraft until he talked to doz-
ens of potential customers. Cessna con-
vened an operator advisory council in
early 1990s, comprised mainly of Cita-
tion VII owners. They said they needed
transcontinental U.S. range but with
higher cruise speeds and lower operat-
ing costs than offered by large-cabin
business aircraft of the time. They said
they were willing to sacrifice cabin size
for speed and fuel efficiency. That feed-
back in large part drove the design of
the aircraft. Those queried reveled in
the prospect of flying from Van Nuys,
California, to White Plains, New York,
in less than 4 hr. They also mused about
flying nonstop from the East Coast to
West Coast in 6 hr. against 100-kt.
headwinds.
The new model loosely would be
based on the Citation VII, using its nose
contours and fuselage cross-section,
along with updated versions of some
systems. The well-proven Cessna itera-
tive engineering model would save time
and development expense.
But the Citation X also would have its
own breakthrough features, including a
37-deg. sweep, 527-sq.-ft. supercritical
wing, plus prominent underbody fair-
ings and an area-ruled aft fuselage to re-
duce drag. All these refinements would
be designed in concert with NASA’s
famed aero guru Richard Whitcomb
to make the aircraft as slippery as pos-
sible. Defying competitors, Meyer also
was adamant about not using winglets,
saying that the aircraft would have a
broader range of efficient cruise speeds
without them.
48 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
“there was no faster airplane on the
market or on the horizon.”
The Citation X would have a six-pas-
senger, tanks-full payload. It would need
only 11,000 lb. of fuel to fly 3,100 nm at
long-range cruise and land with 200-nm
NBAA IFR reserves. It would be able to
use 5,000-ft. runways at ISA+20C.
Sills projected max cruise speed as
Mach 0.90, normal cruise speed at Mach
0.86 to 0.88 and long-range cruise at
Mach 0.82 to 0.83.
Cessna rolled out the Citation X in
September 1993, predicting it would
fly by year’s end and be certified by
mid-1995.
Difficult Gestation and
Entry Into Service
The Citation X was the most complex
and challenging aircraft that Cessna
The aircraft would be fitted with had ever built. Some of Sills’ design
Cessna’s first fully powered flight con- goals proved too ambitious. Not unex-
trol system with three-axis artificial pected, the aircraft gained weight dur-
feel. It also would be the first jet to fea- ing development. Max takeoff weight
ture Honeywell’s new Primus 2000 increased from 34,500 lb. to 35,200 lb.
avionics system and, notably, the first Engine thrust had to be dialed up to
t o b e p ower e d by
6,000-lb.-thrust-
class General Motors
Allison 3007C turbo-
fans. Furthermore, it
would introduce dual
independent hydrau-
Chairman and CEO
Russ Meyer created
the Citation X in the
early 1990s to give
customers coast-
to-coast range at the
highest cruise speeds
with the best fuel
efficiency.
lic systems on a Cita-
tion. All fuel would be
carried in the wings
and a center section
fuel tank.
Most of the electri-
cal system layout was
carried over from the Citation VII, in- 6,442 lb. in an effort to meet the 5,000-
cluding its parallel bus architecture. ft. takeoff field length goal and fuel
The parallel bus layout later would run capacity was increased to 12,931 lb. to
afoul of European airworthiness au- preserve transcontinental U.S. range.
thorities. A split bus modification was But takeoff performance out of hot-and-
cut into production at serial number 101 high airports was lackluster, requiring
and made available as a retrofit kit for substantial reductions in allowable take-
earlier aircraft. off weight to meet runway length and
The late Milt Sills, then head of engine-out climb requirements.
Cessna engineering, told BCA that This was compounded when MTOW
www.bcadigital.com
again had to be increased to 35,700 lb.
to preserve five- to six-passenger tanks-
full payload.
Yaw damping was especially chal-
lenging. The aircraft was virtually
uncontrollable during high-speed,
high-altitude cruise without an oper-
able yaw damper. Honeywell’s autopilot
and flight control expertise proved es-
sential. Cessna was compelled to install
separate upper and lower rudders, each
with its own yaw damper. To reduce
the probability of total yaw damper fail-
ure, the upper rudder was fitted with its
own backup hydraulic system to provide
triple redundancy. If one yaw damper
broke, the airplane was grounded. This
was not an uncommon problem in early
production aircraft. Even with yaw
dampers fully operational, the aircraft
had noticeable tail wagging tendencies
during high-speed descents, no doubt
exacerbated by the higher operating
weights.
Shock-induced drag on the fuselage
proved to be higher than predicted by
wind tunnel tests. The underbody fair-
ing had to be recontoured and consider-
ably lengthened to make range, speed
and fuel efficiency goals.
These snags and other problems de-
layed FAA certification until May 31,
1996. First deliveries began in July, more
than a year behind schedule.
Early aircraft also were plagued by
small problems. Customers said al-
though the airplane arrived a year late,
it was two years early to reach maturity.
Several problems were related to the
aircraft’s EICAS. The system was prone
to “delta bounce,” meaning that it was
hypersensitive. Very small, very short
duration limit exceedances could trig-
ger caution or warning messages. Some
alerts could not be reset by flight crews,
requiring the aircraft to be grounded
and reset or repaired.
The aircraft had more hydraulic
plumbing than any previous Citation.
Hydraulic leaks were not uncommon.
Mechanics spent plenty of time chasing
down and repairing leaks, especially in
power control actuators.
Oil-lubricated turbine bearings in
the Hamilton-Sundstrand air-cycle
machine wore out prematurely. This
prompted replacement with an im-
proved version.
The nose strut was at risk of moisture
intrusion, requiring repairs that could
take 24 to 72 hr.
As a result, the Citation X acquired
the reputation for being the fastest jet
between service centers. While dispatch
www.bcadigital.com
reliability improved considerably during
the last two decades, operators still say
the aircraft requires twice the mainte-
nance of a Challenger 300.
Mach 0.90 Members Only
From the outset, the Citation X devel-
oped almost a cult following. In 1996, it
won the National Aeronautic Associa-
tion’s Robert J. Collier Trophy for “ the
greatest achievement in aeronautics or
astronautics in America, with respect to
improving the performance, efficiency
and safety of air or space vehicles, the
value of which has been thoroughly dem-
onstrated by actual use during the pre-
The Citation X+ shed 200 lb. of empty weight and gained new capabilities by upgrading to
Garmin G5000 avionics.
ceding year.” That certainly quashed
Citation critics. It was a revolutionary
change from anything Cessna had built
previously. Clay Lacy was impressed
with its power, saying, “Even a garbage
can lid will do [Mach] 0.92 with those en-
gines.” Its low drag contours enabled it
to fly 2,885 nm at Mach 0.87 and 3,044
nm at Mach 0.82, according to BCA’s
December 1995 report.
The order book grew, with Target (nee
Dayton-Hudson), Townsend Engineering,
GM and Schweitzer Engineering Labo-
ratories, along with dozens of other com-
panies, signing on. Film director Sydney
Pollack, attorney Fred Furth and Oracle’s
Larry Ellison, plus entrepreneur Steve
Fossett, Waitt Media, Honeywell and For-
mula One driver Nelson Piquet joined the
Mach 0.90 Club, adding all-star allure to
Cessna’s marketing efforts. Even Donald
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 49
Trump bought one.
Arnold Palmer recalled the first time
he saw the aircraft: “I was standing
on the sixth fairway waiting to hit an
approach shot in our annual gala that
benefits the Latrobe County Hospital.
I heard a familiar jet roar and looked
up to see just about the most beautiful
thing I’d ever seen — the new Citation
X gliding right over us as it approached
the Latrobe Airport.” Not long after, the
famed and close friend of Meyer took
delivery of the first production aircraft.
Later, he traded up for a new aircraft.
He flew left seat in the aircraft until he
retired from flying in 2011. And he re-
mained a loyal Citation X operator for
the rest of his life.
Meyer and Palmer made several pro-
motional flights, most of which were
based on their mutual love of golf, as well
as aviation. Meyer recalls teeing off with
Palmer at Pine Valley Golf Club in New
Jersey at dawn one morning and playing
all 18 holes. They then flew Palmer’s Ci-
tation X to Wichita and played another
18 holes at Flint Hills. Finally, they flew
to Monterey, California, and played 18
holes at Cypress Point, finishing at sun-
set. Dennis the Menace creator Hank
Ketcham met Meyer and Palmer at the
18th hole with a bottle of champagne.
“If we’d tried that in a Gulfstream, we
would have played the last nine holes in
the dark,” Meyer quipped.
Later, Meyer flew a Citation X from
Maui, Hawaii, to Wichita in 6 hr., 40 min.
with good tailwinds.
Special Report
While the aircraft suffered its share
of teething problems in the mid-1990s,
Meyer contends the Citation X suf-
fered far fewer AOGs than the Citation
III when it made its debut in 1982. “Our
wake-up call was the Citation III. In the
early days, that was a nightmare,” said
Meyer. And he wasn’t about to repeat
that experience with the Citation X.
To ensure that, he created Team X, a
special support group given near carte
blanche authority to take care of the air-
craft and offer supplemental lift to Cita-
tion X customers in case of breakdowns.
Team X proved its worth. When
aircraft broke, customers knew they
wouldn’t be stranded. Operators quickly
Third-generation Citation X cabin creatively
uses LED interior lighting to make
the cabin appear larger.
became confident that Cessna would
sort out issues and return their aircraft
to service. When Team X offered to
charter large-cabin aircraft for custom-
ers with AOG aircraft, many passed up
the opportunity, saying they were will-
ing to wait until they again could fly on
their own aircraft.
Bill Wagner, former chief pilot for Des
Moines, Iowa-based Townsend Engi-
neering, told BCA, “We’ve found a home
at Cessna. There have been more than
50 Service Bulletins covering lots and
lots of issues. Cessna engineers really
are trying to make a better airplane out
of the Citation X.”
The program received a major boost
when NetJets ordered 60 of them and
followed that up with another 21 buys.
Meyer said this was no fire sale at
50 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
bargain prices. NetJets got the standard
10.5% discount available to most other
buyers. Its speed and panache were se-
ductive, making it one of the fractional
operator’s most popular aircraft and
most reliable performers.
“NetJets flies it 1,100 to 1,200 hr. per
year,” Meyer noted. “You don’t do that if
the aircraft stays in the hangar.”
Yet, there was plenty of room for im-
provement. Cessna originally estimated
BOW at 20,600 lb. and maximum ramp
weight was 34,800 lb. Payload with full
fuel was 1,296 lb. Typically equipped
early aircraft had 22,000-lb. BOWs, so
max ramp weight had to be bumped up
to 36,000 lb. This limited tanks-full pay-
load to five passengers.
This wasn’t a frequent problem for
The 15-in. fuselage stretch in Citation X+
provides considerably more legroom for
passengers. It’s still tight for 6-hr. flights.
NetJets, as its average load was 3.4 peo-
ple. But others wanted to carry at least
six passengers with full fuel.
Runway performance was disappoint-
ing. Standard day takeoff field length
ballooned to 5,710 ft. due to weight in-
creases. Departing BCA’s 5,000-ft./
ISA+20C airport, allowable takeoff
weight was limited to 34,100 lb., cutting
range by more than 300 mi.
The aircraft lacked roll response,
making it tough to fly on approach and
landing in gusting wind conditions. It
also had a tendency to pitch up after
touchdown when the thrust reversers
were deployed. Primus 2000 autopilot
and yaw damper functionality were less
than optimum.
Cessna remedied these shortcomings
at s.n. 173 in 2002. Just as importantly
to operators, 5% more powerful Allison
3007C1 engines were fitted to the air-
craft and takeoff weight was increased
by 400 lb. The weight boost enabled op-
erators to carry six to seven passengers
with full fuel. The thrust increase more
than compensated for the higher oper-
ating weights, and the new aircraft of-
fered better runway performance at all
weights, including at its higher MTOW.
Second-generation aircraft came
bundled with a complete interior, plus
TCAS II, enhanced GPWS, ELT, an-
gle-of-attack system and tail logo lights,
plus several other items wanted by
customers. The new aircraft also was
more pleasant to fly, offering crisper roll
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response and less nose-up pitching ten-
dency when the thrust reversers were
deployed due to change in the geometry
of the buckets. Clearly, it was a better
aircraft than the original.
But the improved version couldn’t
fend off the competition from a new gen-
eration of super-midsize aircraft that
had 3,000- to 3,400-nm range and Mach
0.80 to 0.82 cruise speeds. The Citation
X had to slow to Mach 0.82 to make its
3,070-nm max range, so it lost most of
its speed advantage on the longest trips.
Cessna made a final attempt to spur
sales by introducing a third-generation
Citation X. At the NBAA’s annual con-
vention in October 2010, then Cessna
Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton an-
nounced the Citation Ten, later renamed
the Citation X+, boasting a 15-in. fuse-
lage stretch to increase legroom in the
double-club cabin, more powerful Rolls-
Royce Allison AE3007C engines with
more efficient fans, and Winglet Tech-
nologies curved winglets. It is able to
cruise at least 2,000 ft. higher than first-
and second-generation aircraft and fly
200+ nm farther at high-speed cruise.
A 500-lb. boost in MTOW provided
full-tanks, full-seats loading flexibility.
Max range at Mach 0.82 increased to
3,240 nm. It could fly 3,100 nm
at Mach 0.87. Mmo was bumped
up to 0.935, mainly for bragging
rights over Gulfstream whose
G650 had a 0.925 Mmo redline.
It was the first business air-
craft to be fitted with Garmin
G5000 avionics with standard
autothrottles. The change from
the Primus 2000 saved 200 lb.
in empty aircraft weight. Other
upgrades included a quad-re-
dundant emergency bus system,
a new cabin management sys-
tem and all LED lighting.
However, all those improve-
ments failed to rejuvenate sales.
Only two dozen or so Citation
X+ aircraft have been delivered
since production began in 2014.
Three of those were for sale as
of mid-May 2018.
With such low delivery vol-
ume and relatively high manu-
facturing cost, Textron could
not justify keeping the aircraft
in production much longer.
“It was the right airplane at
The Citation X+’s redesigned
galley offers more usable food,
beverage and serving ware
storage for longer trips.
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the time for the first 10 years,” Meyer
said. “There were clear distinctions be-
tween light, midsize and large-cabin air-
craft. But the lines have become blurred
now with more manufacturers. More of
the big guys are building more [competi-
tive] aircraft.” The Citation X’s hour-plus
speed advantage on East to West Coast
trips has shrunk to 30 min. or less over
the Challenger 300/350, Gulfstream
G280 and Embraer Legacy 450/500.
Couple its lack of a clear speed advan-
tage with its relatively small cabin size
and the Citation X’s production cessa-
tion became inevitable. It soon will join
the ranks of the Falcon 10 and Howard
500 as technological leaders that never
sold in large numbers.
Legacy Lives On
The Citation X has earned some of the
strongest supporters of any business
aircraft yet built. For instance, XOJet,
started in 2006, operates 20 Citation X
jets, including ones it bought on the used
aircraft market and others purchased
new from Cessna. It also operates Chal-
lenger 300s.
“We use the two aircraft interchange-
ably. The Challenger obviously has a
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 51
flat floor, plus a wider and taller cabin.
But the trans-con is the sweet spot for
the Citation X. We always plan 500 kt.
or better on flights 3 hr. or longer,” said
Susanne Kelly, XOJet’s assistant chief
pilot. “It’s very stable at high altitude
in high-speed cruise. We routinely use
Mach 0.88 to 0.90, cruising at FL 450 to
470. This plane just rocks.” She also said
XOJet’s “stronger pilots” gravitate to-
ward the Citation. “We have little chips
on our shoulders, because we’re flying
the fastest non-military jet.”
She admits that the cabin and cockpit
are small compared to the Challenger
300, joking, “We shoehorn ourselves
into the cockpit and get rug burn rub-
bing shoulders. But, hey, it gets lonely up
there. Why not get acquainted?”
Mark Wray, Schweitzer’s chief pilot,
said his firm has operated the aircraft
since 2002. It was the fastest way to
reach Mexico, the U.S. East Coast and
Europe from the company’s headquar-
ters in Pullman, Washington, south of
Spokane. “It’s strictly used as a busi-
ness tool,” he said. “We have 4,000 em-
ployees. Anybody can use the aircraft,
depending upon the mission.”
The firm currently flies four Cita-
tion X+ aircraft. “It’s an incredible air-
plane. The stretched fuselage makes
the cabin much nicer. Nothing does
it better. We can fly from Pullman to
Washington, D.C., in 3 hr., 20 min. We
can fly to Europe with one fuel stop in
9 hr. It also has great ramp presence.”
Wray, t hou gh , ack nowle d ge s
the need for an in-house mechanic
since, “It’s a complex airplane.” In
2002, there were plenty of entry-into-
service issues. “Team X was our sav-
ing grace.
Wagner, Townsend Engineering’s
former chief pilot, is another long-time
Citation X fan. He said he routinely
flew it from Des Moines to Rotter-
dam in 8 hr., including a quick turn
fuel stop in Gander. “It’s a fabulous
airplane. Sure, the cabin was small.
But everybody loved it.” Though, he
added, “If Ted Townsend had been
able to buy a Mach 2 airplane, he
would have wanted it.”
“We used to cater our f lights,”
he laughed. “After we bought the
Citation X, we didn’t have time to eat.”
“The Citation X brought us up to
another level,” Meyer concluded. “The
technology did a lot for Cessna.”
But as with America’s current taste
in automobiles, size sells in business
jets. And the Citation X’s cabin just
didn’t measure up. BCA
Special Report

Citation X Pioneers Pay Homage

Roger Whyte, Mark Paolucci, and Will Dirks were Cessna “SAY TYPE OF AIRCRAFT AND SPEED!” He was obviously
executives as the Citation X was being developed. Whyte concerned we were some type of military aircraft entering
was senior vice president of Sales, a position assumed by their airspace.
Paolucci when Whyte retired in 2010. Meanwhile, Dirks was We explained that we were a brand-new Cessna Citation
vice president of Operations. With the Citation X about to join 750, our current cruise speed was Mach 0.89, and that
all three in retirement, each recalls special moments in that we were on our first around the world trip with the aircraft
iconic aircraft’s early history: and that we were honored to be allowed to fly in their air-
Roger Whyte: I remember the day Milt Sills and Ellis Brady space. Tensions quickly eased. Mark and I just looked at
(Ellis was one of the masterminds behind the Citation X) each other and smiled. Oh, we how loved demo flying . . .We
came into my office to update me on the 750 program. not only had a chance to refine our piloting and marketing
Af ter talking for a while, skills, but we also had the
both shuffled around until opportunity to practice our
Milt said to Ellis, “Shall we diplomatic skills every now
tell him?” I braced myself and then!
for possible bad news and “To this day, I have a
asked, “What is it you want picture of the Citation X
to tell me?” in my office with the cap-
Milt then said, “We are tion, “Life doesn’t get any
going to be able to increase better.” That was true in
the M mo from 0.9 to 0.92 back in 1996 and is still
Mach.” true today!!!
Will Dirks: The Citation X is Mark Paolucci: I had the
and will always be an amaz- pleasure of making the
ing aircraft. I was very privi- around the world trip with
leged to be involved in its Will on the Citation X’s
development, testing, and first worldwide tour. As
sales efforts. a passenger, it was an
One of the first records was immensely satisfying feel-
set returning from the Paris ing traveling faster than
Air Show in 1995. The aircraft any other passenger in
was still in its testing and the world.
development stages and I While the Citation X was
had the opportunity to fly with a remarkable aircraft, it was
Rick Trissell, our senior Cita- tough slugging during the
tion X test pilot. Our record early days of selling the air-
521-mph block speed (note craft. I remember the year
certificate) was darn impres- we announced the aircraft at
sive considering we were battling headwinds all the way across NBAA, we would hear many negative comments from our competi-
the Atlantic. tors. It was a comment from one of the Hawker sales team that
I was also privileged to fly with Mark Schlegel, another may have had the largest impact on us when he said, “Yeah, but
senior engineering test pilot, on an around the world tour who wants to fly at 0.92 Mach in a Cessna?”
prior to aircraft certification. The aircraft performed flawlessly I think it was that singular comment that pushed us to
and we never missed a flight. Key memories include the many focus on building a truly high-quality product, that once under-
comments from controllers, airliners, and other aircraft. Can’t stood, would be an aircraft that was as dependable and safe
begin to count the number of times we heard, “Say type of air- as any other flying.
craft,” or “What type of Cessna is that?” Probably the most The Citation X was legendary in that it paved the way for
vivid was crossing the FIR boundary into the northern part of the industry to increase the speed of doing business. It
Vietnam. The controller immediately responded to our initial raised the standards by which all other aircraft were mea-
call with a demanding, “Say type of aircraft!”. We responded sured and will always be the aircraft which I remember most
politely and there was a long pause . . . . Then another voice fondly from my days of selling and servicing the best fleet in
came over the frequency with an even more demanding tone: the industry. BCA

52 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 www.bcadigital.com

 The NextGen Files John Croft
FAA NextGen, Writer-Editor
john.croft@faa.gov

Metering Ground Movements

A smartphone trial to get jammed airplanes into the air
Editor’s Note: The FAA is investing $17 billion to move the na- The action is part of NASA’s ongoing Airspace Technology
tional airspace system from ground-based radar to satellite-based Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) project, which, in cooperation with
navigation, from voice to digital communication, and from point- the FAA, aims to make surface movements nationwide more
to-point data to fully integrated information management. This predictable — in part through data sharing. ATD-2 will also
massive modernization effort is known as NextGen and ultimately provide an early tryout of sorts, to help the FAA optimize its
will impact almost all aircraft movement — on the ground as well new Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) system. TFDM,
as in the air. a NextGen air traffic control tower automation suite, includes
Since few better understand these changes than those designing and electronic flight strips and a variety of surface-management
implementing them, we thought it would be illuminating to have the decision support tools to more efficiently manage delays and
FAA detail them from time to time. better utilize runway capacity.
The author of this, the second The FAA has scheduled initial
in the series, is an award-winning TFDM deployments in 2020,
former Aviation Week colleague starting in Phoenix.
who specialized in avionics tech- At Charlotte, four airlines
nologies and safety matters, and is have begun sharing certain data
now a member of the FAA’s Office elements for every flight with
of NextGen. NASA through the FAA’s Sys-
tem Wide Information Manage-
BUSINESS AVIATION FLIGHT DE- ment (SWIM) system. Included
partments based at Charlotte is the earliest time the aircraft
Douglas International Airport can push back from the gate —
(KCLT) have a common chal- also called earliest off-block time
lenge w ith the airlines: not (EOBT) — wheels off, wheels on
knowing how much time they’ll and gate-in. The data elements
spend on the tarmac before de- will feed the NASA-built meter-
parture. “We sometimes end up ing automation system, which
getting in a line of 20 airplanes, is designed to increase predict-
and can sometimes wait 30 min. ability of the air traffic system
to depart,” says the pilot of one and to enhance operational ef-
company that bases two small ficiency on the ramp and on the
business jets at the North Car- airport surface, and to ensure
olina hub, typically flying 3-5 departing aircraft have waiting
trips per week. Airlines are hav- slots in the overhead stream.
ing the same problem. Currently, f lights leav ing
Wasted fuel and time aside, the gate at KCLT can wait as
there is also the issue of having long as 45 min. in a line of 15 or
passengers unable to optimize more aircraft before receiving
their time, efficiency and pro- a takeoff clearance. Charlotte
ductivity. NASA, the FAA and a has surface traff ic issues in
handful of flight departments at part because it has nine banks
Charlotte, including the opera- of arrivals and departures each
tor mentioned above (whom we day, all navigating a small ramp
shall call “Operator X”), are try- and some narrow alleyways be-
ing to help. It’s not just to relieve tween rows of gates and one-
the jam at KCLT but for dozens way taxiways.
of locations nationwide where While airlines typically speak
airports serve large urban re- for nearly all the traffic at major,
gions, or destination hotspots carrier-served airports, it is not
like Las Vegas. unheard of for business aviation
FAA

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 53

 The NextGen Files
to have a larger-than-usual footprint in places like Las Vegas,
especially during major events. That means effective meter-
ing requires input from a broader set of users. This broader
user input will become even more important when TFDM’s
surface-metering capabilities will be deployed to 27 major air-
ports in the National Airspace System, including Las Vegas
and Charlotte, by 2028.
“We did an assessment to find out if there were gaps that
might prevent the FAA from realizing its surface-metering
vision,” says Craig Johnson, a project leader for departure
management concepts at MITRE Corp. “We found that at
some airports, business aviation traffic was not being con-
sidered, which could reduce predictability and efficiency for
all flight operators.”
The lack of consideration was not an oversight because of
a lack of information available from the busi ness aviation
community.
For smaller operators, participating in surface metering is
cost- and time-prohibitive: Connecting to SWIM in order to
send the FAA data elements like EOBT requires an information
technology infrastructure that most do not have. Most such
operators, however, do possess smartphones. “We set up a col-
laboration with NASA to bring mobile capability into ATD-2 in
an incremental fashion,” Johnson says. “Right now, we’re in a
beta-test phase.” The idea is to get business aviation pilots to
provide key departure information with their smartphones; in
return, the FAA will send back information that, among other
things, will prevent unnecessary wait times in idling aircraft.
Working with the NBAA, MITRE enlisted five companies
of varying sizes to participate in the beta test. Pilots use their
iPhones (for now, the application is only supported on iOS
platforms) to submit only one data element — their EOBT
(which, in more generic terms, is the earliest time they would
54 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
be able to taxi) — using a phone application MITRE devel-
oped. Through its connection to SWIM, MITRE monitors
when participating operators at Charlotte file flight plans.
When an EOBT comes in from one of the operators via a mo-
bile device, MITRE attaches the flight plan information from
SWIM and sends all the data to NASA for the ATD-2 sched-
uler. “We hand it off to NASA just like we would send it back
into SWIM,” Johnson says.
Participating pilots use their iPhones to log into the mobile
app by providing their departure and destination airports and
their aircraft’s “N” number. They
are then able to submit expected
taxi times (their version of EOBT).
If the participating pilots don’t know
what time they’ll be taxiing, they
can tell the app to send reminders.
When logging into the system at air-
ports other than Charlotte, pilots re-
ceive the route the FAA expects to
Working with the NBAA, MITRE
enlisted five companies of varying
sizes to participate in the beta test.
issue them. “It’s not a clearance, but
it’s the route we expect to be issued,
so we can be ready to load that into
the flight management system,” the
Operator X pilot says.
The biggest hurdle for opera-
tors is remembering to log in and
send their expected taxi time when
weather causes a hectic preflight
FAA environment. Ideally, the taxi-time
input would be included in flight-planning software that flight
departments already are using. “Ultimately, we’re hoping to
mature the research to the point where we can transfer the
technology to application providers,” says Doug Swol, project
lead for MITRE’s work on TFDM.
It is too soon to tell how much of an impact the input from
the business aviation segment is having on surface metering
at Charlotte, where business and general aviation make up
about 25% of the traffic. NASA and MITRE are evaluating
the EOBTs offline. They plan to evaluate adding the informa-
tion to the scheduler later this year, “once we assess the input
and determine that the accuracy of the submitted times looks
reasonable,” Johnson says.
The next step for the mobile technology demonstration will
be to provide more two-way data to operators. One highly
desirable piece of information operators would like to receive
is an early notification of a ground delay. “Today they load
up, they taxi out, they call the tower and the tower tells them
they’re delayed 20 min.,” Johnson says. “If they would have
known earlier, they could have better managed boarding and
their decision to taxi.”
“That would prevent us from sitting there just burning
fuel,” the Operator X pilot says. BCA
www.bcadigital.com
 Point of Law
Sharing Aircraft
Where is the line between FAR Part 91 and Part 135?
CONGRESS RECENTLY CLARIFIED THAT AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT
fees should not be subject to Federal Excise Tax (FET), nor
should flights operated by the aircraft owner. However, there
are still many gray areas for business flight operations that
want to collect reimbursement for flights without taking on
FAR Part 135 certifications.
The straightforward options for sharing aircraft under Part
91 are time sharing, joint ownership and interchange, which
are defined in Part 91.501. The less-than-straightforward op-
tions are dry leasing your aircraft or “sharing the expenses”
under Part 61.113.
The easiest way to share a business aircraft with another
company or individual is a “time-sharing agreement” under
Part 91.501. This comprises a lease of the aircraft with crew,
but the reimbursement is limited to
double the fuel costs plus the flight-
specific expenses. The latter term If the new flying partner
means crew expenses but not crew
salary. Maintenance programs can-
not be charged as a flight-specific
is going to be a regular user
expense. If the two-times-fuel plus
flight-specific expenses is covering
of the aircraft, and you want to
the entire cost of the flight, you are
probably doing the math wrong. Be- avoid losing money and paying
cause a time-sharing agreement is a
lease, you must also comply with the the FET, you may want
“Truth in Leasing” notification re-
quirements of Part 91.23 as explained
in Advisory Circular 91-37B.
to consider a joint
Although time-sharing flights are
conducted under Part 91, they are ownership agreement.
“commercial” for FET purposes, so
you must collect and remit the 7.5%
FET plus segment fees on all time-
sharing flights.
If the new flying partner is going to be a regular user of the
aircraft, and you want to avoid losing money and paying FET,
you may want to consider a joint ownership agreement. Under
Part 91.501 (c)(3), such an agreement involves “an arrangement
whereby one of the registered joint owners of an airplane em-
ploys and furnishes the flight crew for that airplane and each of
the registered joint owners pays a share of the charge specified
in the agreement.”
“Registered” is the key to joint ownership. Sharing owner-
ship of an LLC that in turn owns an aircraft is not registered
joint ownership. Because of the simplicity of registered joint
ownership from an FAA enforcement perspective (just look at
the registration certificate), joint owners have great latitude in
www.bcadigital.com
Kent S. Jackson
Contributing Editor
kjackson@jetlaw.com
shaping the arrangement to meet their needs.
Part 91.501 also contains an interchange concept that is use-
ful for some, but it comes with strings, and FET. Interchange
is an hour-for-hour swap of airplane and crew that is primarily
useful for smoothing out the occasional maintenance problem
by swapping time with another flight department. The swap is
subject to the commercial FET and Part 91.23 Truth in Leas-
ing requirements.
Dry leasing is governed by Part 91 but not defined in Part
91. Part 110.2 defines “Wet Lease” as “any leasing arrange-
ment whereby a person agrees to provide an entire aircraft and
at least one crewmember.” The phrases “dry lease” and “wet
lease” have nothing to do with fuel. If you lease your aircraft
to another company and their pilots (not your pilots) fly the
plane, then you have a dry lease and
you can charge whatever the market
will bear. However, to the extent that
any pilots employed by the lessor end
up flying for the lessee, there may be
FAA scrutiny to determine if the les-
see truly has operational control, and
also IRS scrutiny to assess FET.
Sharing expenses is more of a
myth than an option. Part 61.113(c)
states that “A private pilot may not
pay less than the pro rata share of
the operating expenses of a flight
with passengers, provided the ex-
penses involve only fuel, oil, airport
expenditures or rental fees.” Case
law doctrine limits this even further,
requiring that the pilot and passen-
gers share a “common purpose” for
the flight. Under this doctrine, if a
pilot offers to fly passengers wher-
ever they want to go, then the pilot cannot share the expenses
of the flight.
If you don’t like your Part 91 options, then explore those
provided in Part 135. Starting your own certificate may not
be a timely solution, but there are always Part 135 operators
who welcome corporate aircraft to their certificates. This
is still the best option if the company wants the company
aircraft to earn income whenever the company isn’t using it.
Part 135 comes with FAA paperwork and oversight and pos-
sible IRS FET scrutiny. But there is no unlimited option for
charging for flights under Part 91. The upside to Part 135 is
that the aircraft can earn the going rate, flying for anyone,
anytime. BCA
Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 55
 20/Twenty
Cessna Citation VII
Strong midsize performer, but short range
CITATION VII, THE SECOND-GENERATION CITATION CE650 THAT
was built from 1992 to 2000, fixed dozens of shortcomings
found in the original model. Honeywell TFE731-4R turbofans
provided a 12% thrust increase, shortening takeoff field length,
particularly at hot and high airports.
A 1,000-lb. boost in MTOW enabled the aircraft to carry 8
passengers with full fuel. The aircraft also could depart BCA’s
5,000-ft. ISA+20C airport with no weight penalty. It climbed
directly to FL 410, or higher, at MTOW, passing through FL
370 in 18 min. using 250 KIAS/0.67 IMN climb schedule. Once
level, it could cruise at Mach 0.82. Pilots say they have to pull
back the throttle to keep below the 0.85 MMO redline at lighter
weights. Economy cruise
is Mach 0.78.
Honeywell SPZ-8000
digital avionics replaced
the analog kit in the older
model. The new system
featured five CRT dis-
plays, a full-function NZ-
2000 FMS or Universal
U NS -1 a nd c u s t omer
choice of Honeywell Pri-
mus II or Rockwell Collins Pro Line II radios, plus Honeywell’s
airborne flight information system (AFIS), CAS 67 TCAS II,
Enhanced GPWS and HF transceiver.
The Citation VII incorporated several refinements, includ-
ing considerably better acoustical insulation, relocation of the
optional GTCP36-150W APU to the tailcone to provide un-
impaired access to the 52-cu. ft., aft heated, but unpressur-
ized baggage compartment and better space utilization in the
438-cu.-ft. cabin. Electrically heated, glass windshields, an
externally serviced lavatory and a simplified electrical system
were other upgrades.
All CE650 aircraft have mildly swept, supercritical wings
that slash drag at transonic cruise speeds. Trailing link land-
ing gear provide soft touchdowns. The wheel brakes are pow-
erful. Hydraulically powered, boosted ailerons and spoilerons
provide pleasant control harmony.
Most aircraft are configured with a main, four-chair club
section, plus to additional forward facing chairs aft. Some also
have a two-place, side-facing divan in the forward cabin. A
compact galley occupies the space between the cockpit/cabin
divider and entry door. GoGoBiz WiFi is a popular upgrade.
The cabin has a deep, dropped aisle that provides 5.7 ft. of
headroom in the center. But the wing spar intrudes in the aft
cabin, raising floor height by 5 in. A small dropped aisle pro-
vides more headroom in the lavatory.
Most pilots say they can comfortably fly the aircraft 4 hr. or
1,700 nm. They also say the aircraft needs another 1,000 lb. of
56 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
Fred George
Senior Editor
fred.george@informa.com
fuel to stretch range by 300 mi. so that it could consistently fly
from the midwestestern U.S. states to the West Coast against
100-kt. winter headwinds.
First hour fuel burn is 1,900 lb. Second, third and fourth
hour fuel burns are 1,400 lb., 1,300 lb. and 1,200 lb. NBAA fuel
reserves are 1,700 lb., but some crews are comfortable land-
ing with less fuel in daylight VFR conditions at airports with
multiple runways and plenty of alternates near the destination.
There are four dozen scheduled inspection events. The major
inspections come at 36- and 72-month intervals. Watch for bot-
tom wing surface corrosion and fuel leaks around inspection
panels. Budget $370 per engine per hour for Honeywell MSP
Gold, with MPIs at 2,500
hr. and CZIs at 5,000 hr.,
and $550 per hour for
maintenance, including
APU restoration
ADS-B solutions are
available. Honeywell and
Textron offer a $200,000
package that includes
WA AS GPS receivers,
TEXTRON CESSNA CITATION NZ-2000 FMS 6.1 soft-
ware and Mode S extended squitter (ES) XD-852 transpon-
ders. Elliott Aviation offers an $85,000 dual Garmin GTX-3000
Mode S ES transponder upgrade, using stand-alone GDL-88
WAAS GPS receivers, that is Honeywell TCAS II compatible.
Textron Aviation offers top notch product support for the
aircraft, but specialty airframe parts are starting to get scarce.
For example, it’s tough to find baggage door hinges. Systems,
engine and APU parts, though, are plentiful.
Cessna only built 115 units during the eight-year produc-
tion run. Customers gravitated toward the Citation Excel/
XLS/XLS+ which have virtually the same cabin dimensions,
the same range and better runway performance, but 40-kt.
slower block speeds. They also were attracted to Citation Sov-
ereign that offered double club seating for eight passengers,
transcontinental range and scintillating runway performance.
Cessna also lost sales to Learjet 60 having 2,300-nm range and
Hawker 800XP offering 2,400-nm range.
Typically equipped aircraft originally sold for $9 million to
$11.5 million. In mid-2018, early 1992 models sell for about $1.1
million, according to Informa’s Aircraft Bluebook price digest.
Late model 2000 aircraft fetch up to $2 million.
Virtually all traditional midsize business jets, including the
Citation VII, can fly coast-to-coast with one fuel stop. Only the
Sovereign and Citation X can fly that profile nonstop. For a
midsize aircraft that can fly such missions faster than almost
any other midsize jet of the early 1990s, the Citation VII offers
plenty of value. BCA
www.bcadigital.com
 Things change.
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when you arrive?

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 Advertisers’ Index On Duty
Aircraft Lighting Edited by Jessica A. Salerno jessica.salerno@informa.com
www.aircraftlighting.com
3rd Cover News of promotions, appointments and honors
AMSTAT
involving professionals within the business
www.amstatcorp.com aviation community
9
▶ Aerospace Industries Association, Washington, D.C., announced Caitlin Hayden
Clay Lacy Seattle has joined the organization as vice president of communications. She was executive
claylacy.com/BFI vice president and director of the media group at Edelman’s office
17 in Washington.
▶ Air Partner, London, England, appointed Chris Mann interim
FlightSafety International CFO. Most recently, Mann worked at KONE Corp. and London Gat-
flightsafety.com
wick Airport.
23
▶ ARGUS International, Cincinnati, Ohio, named Bill Yantiss chief
operating officer, and John Illson has been promoted to executive
Garmin
garmin.com vice president of professional resources in system management. GARY HOYLE
4th Cover ▶ Aviation Technician Education Council , Jenks, Oklahoma,
appointed Gary Hoyle president. Hoyle currently serves as the direc-
Hillaero tor of campus operations for Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics.
www.hillaero.com ▶ Baker Aviation, Addison, Texas, named Scott Goodley director of
62 quality assurance and chief inspector. He was director of mainte-
nance at the Baron & Budd flight department in Dallas.
HondaJet Elite ▶ Cirrus Aircraft, Duluth, Minnesota, promoted Ben Kowalski to
hondajetelite.com
senior vice president of sales and marketing responsible for lead- SCOTT GOODLEY
4-5
ing all sales and marketing efforts for the company. Kowalski joined
Jetbed
Cirrus in 2014 as vice president of marketing and communications.
www.Jet-Bed.com ▶ Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Nebraska, announced that Jamie
59 Harder has become vice president and chief financial officer of.
Kasey Harwick has been named vice president of maintenance
Lektro at Duncan’s Battle Creek, Michigan, facility, and Enrique Marquez
www.lektro.com has been appointed Gulfstream/Embraer airframe team leader
62 at the facility in Provo, Utah. Harder was Duncan’s controller. Har-
BEN KOWALSKI
wick joined the senior management team in 2017. Marquez has
Rolls Royce 36 years of aviation experience.
Rolls-Royce.com
▶ Embraer, Sao Paulo, Brazil, named Nelson Krahenbuhl Salgado
IFC
executive vice president of finance and investor relations on an
Sky Bright interim basis. Salgado replaces Jose Antonio de Almeida Filippo,
www.skybright.com who resigned to pursue new professional projects. Salgado joined
62 Embraer 30 years ago and has held several executive positions in
the financial area during that time.
SmartSky Networks ▶ Guardian Flight, Salt Lake City, Utah, named Randy Lyman vice JAMIE HARDER
smartskynetworks.com president of base operations for. Lyman previously served as direc-
19 tor of service for Reach Air Medical Service Delivery and vice presi-
dent of Calstar Air Medical Services.
Survival Products
▶ Jet Aviation, Zurich, Switzerland, announced that Elouisa Dalli
survivalproductsinc.com
has joined the company as head of global communications. Before
3
joining the company, Dalli served as head of communications,
Tanmaero Asia-Pacific for Syngenta, based in Singapore.
60 ▶ Jet Support Services (JSSI), Chicago, Illinois, announced that KASEY HARWICK
Ikhsan Alfahmi is director of business development for Southeast
The Drake Group Asia. Most recently, Alfahmi served as commercial manager of
drake-group.com TAG Aviation Asia.
62 ▶ Jet Linx, Omaha, Nebraska, announced that Stephen Polk is
the new base partner of Jet Linx Detroit. He is an investor in
Universal Avionics
the Detroit base and president and CEO of Highgate, a private
uasc.com
investment company.
6
▶ FlightSafety International, New York, New York, promoted Joe RANDY LYMAN

58 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 www.bcadigital.com

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 On Duty
Warakomski to chief infor-
mation officer. Warakom-
ski joined the company in
2005 and had been deputy
CIO since 2016.
▶ Hawthorne Global Avia-
tion Services, Charleston,
South Carolina, appointed
Glenn Leonard to the board
of directors. Most recently,
Leonard co-founded CAVOK,
a global aviation services
and consulting firm.
▶ Lufthansa Technik, Ham-
burg, Germany, appointed
Constanze Hufenbecher as chief financial offi-
cer of Lufthansa Technik AG until 2024. She
has been CFO and a member of the executive
board since February 2016.
▶ Ontic, Chatsworth, California, appointed
Mar k G o b in gener al mana ger of t he
Chatsworth facility overseeing all products JOE WARAKOMSKI
lines and service. Ontic’s current Site Director, Chad Robson,
transitions into a newly created position of vice president of
Strategy and Operational Optimization.
▶ Priority Jet , Atlanta, Georgia, named Judson Brandt CEO.
Brandt succeeds Scot Foith, Priority Jet’s founder, who will
become chairman. Brandt has been captain of Priority Jet’s Cita-
tion XL fleet and will continue to fly. He previously was a pilot for
Delta Private Jets, pilot at Express Jet and CEO of Cybis.
▶ StandardAero, Scottsdale, Arizona, appointed Marc Drobny presi-
dent the Business Aviation Div., succeeding Marc McGowan, who
is retiring. Drobny was president of Executive Jet Management.
▶ Skyward Aviation, Washington county Airport, Pennsylvania,
announced that Robert Levino and Eric Tabor have joined the
company and Brianna Casciola has been promoted to vice presi-
dent. Levino is charter manager and Tabor assumes the role of
IMAGINE YOU
communication to the aerospace marketplace.
60 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018
Passing
▶ Richard Collins, a longtime aviation journalist and safety advocate,
died April 29. He was 84. Collins earned his pilot’s license in 1952
and began a writing career in 1958. He was editor-in-chief of Flying
magazine from 1977 to 1988, before joining AOPA Pilot magazine as
publisher and editor-in-chief. He returned to Flying in 1993 as editor-at-
large. And in 2012, he started Air Facts Journal, an online magazine.
Collins wrote 12 aviation-related books and was an expert witness in
several legal cases involving aviation accidents. He had logged more
than 20,000 flight hours. In 2000, Collins received the NBAA Platinum
Wing Award for lifetime achievement in aviation journalism.
Credit: The Arkansas Aviation Historical Society Hall of Fame
vice president of sales. Casciola joined Skyward 10 years ago.
Levino has more than 17 years of experience in charter schedul-
ing. Tabor has experience in business aviation sales and busi-
ness development.
▶ Universal Avionics, Tucson, Arizona, appointed Curtis Thelen
has been appointed chief financial officer, assuming the role
upon the retirement of Michael Delgado. Thelen joined the com-
pany in 2007 as controller.
▶ Wipaire, South St. Paul, Minnesota, announced that Andrew
San Giacomo has joined the company as director of aircraft ser-
vices. He previously worked for Chart Industries, Cirrus Aircraft
and the QC Group.
▶ West Star Aviation, East Alton, Illinois, announced the appoint-
ment of Pete McKernan as senior vice president of Parts and
Component Repair. He will be responsible for overseeing the
landing gear and accessory departments along with their affili-
ates, Avant and DAS. Jim Rankin is the new CEO. Bob Rasberry
has been named chairman of the board and Rodger Renaud will
remain president and COO. BCA
If you would like to submit news of hires, promotions, appointments
or awards for possible publication in On Duty, send email to
jessica.salerno@informa.com or call (520) 638-8721.
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 Products & Services Previews
By Jessica A. Salerno jessica.salerno@informa.com

1. FSI Offers Unmanned

Systems Training
FlightSafety International will offer a vari-
ety of Unmanned Systems Training pro-
grams for commercial operators. The com-
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2. Flightdocs Expands
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Flightdocs is establishing a new 6,200-
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ogy experts. The team is focused on
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existing Flightdocs products and devel-
oping customized, flexible, secure solu- 4. Surf Air Grows Customer Base
tion for customers and organizations. Surf Air announced a global expansion with the creation of a national and global
subscription platform partnering with select premium operators of private air-
Flightdocs craft. This platform expansion opens up approximately 20 new destinations for
Bonita springs, Florida Surf Air members in Europe and across the Eastern U.S. New European routes
1-800-747-4560 (toll-free) include Milan, Zurich, Luxembourg, Munich, brussels, Vienna, Geneva, Basel and
239-390-3199 (phone) Nice. Flights will be operated in association with Surf Air’s European partner Jet
www.flightdocs.com Class and members are able to book seats on the app.

3. Duncan Website Surf Air

Pages Translated
Duncan Aviation has made its par ts
search/capabilities and myDuncan web-
site pages available in several languages.
The new feature allows users to choose
their language with a drop-down menu
accessed through the translate menu.
There, users can choose Chinese, French,
German, Portuguese or Spanish.
Duncan Aviation
Lincoln, Nebraska
+1(402) 475-2611
www.duncanaviation.aero
www.surfair.com
www.facebook.com/surfair
5. ‘Me and My TBM’ App
Daher new smartphone application significantly enhances operating efficiency,
optimizes maintenance management and ensures they are operating their very
fast turboprop aircraft to the highest safety standards. It is a cloud-based app
for Android and iOS that leverages data that is automatically collected during
every phase of flight. It is available for the TBM 910 and 930, model year 2018
aircraft and can be downloaded from Google Play for Android phones and from
the Apple Store if iOS phones.
Daher
www.daher.com

www.bcadigital.com Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 63

 BCA 50 Years Ago

June 1968 News

“The airlines are seeking the removal and
restriction of general aviation as a solution to their
problems.” – J. L. “Doc” Hartranft, president, AOPA
Edited by Jessica A. Salerno jessica.salerno@informa.com

National Distillers’ Gulfstream II became the frst corporate jet to fy the Atlantic
Ocean non-stop from Teterboro, New Jersey to Gatwick, England. Three crew and
13 passengers; time en route for the 3,045-nm fght — 6 hr. and 55 min.

Glimpse at tomorrow or an aero-

dynamicist’s folly? Whatever it may
be, this fberglass “Marvel” powered by
Allison’s 317-hp turboshaft engines rear-

Marvel
mounted, with shrouded prop, really does
fy. Built by aerophysicists at Mississippi
State University where it is now being fight
tested. Project is funded by the U.S. Army.
GII
Gulfstream II Pilot Report: BCA’s
Ralph Piper checks access to pressure fuel-
ing adapter prior to fight in N831GA. Skeg
amidship is fberglass enclosure around the
number two (ventral) ADF sensor antenna.
This month’s lead article — the con-
frontation between the airlines and gen-
eral aviation over airport and airspace
priorities is depicted by artist Bob
Deschamps. Though extending far be-
yond the takeof queue into the sky and
into the meeting rooms of governments,
industry and pilot groups, we think the
nose-to-nose face-of admirably por-
trays a situation variously described
as a confrontation, a disagreement and
healthy competition.

In BCA’s June issue, ten pages were

devoted to a report titled “Confrontation.”
The issue: Priority vs. Parity in the use of
certain key airports and airspace, and in
the apportionment of user charges.

e
Beech Duk Noble Mobility: Beech’s new pressur-
ized 275-mph Duke is rolling off Wichita
production lines. Carried by two turbo-
charged Lycoming TIO-541 engines at
380 hp each, this sleek six-placer is the
fastest pressurized piston twin. Price is
BCA’s Bill Donovan about $166,500.

Continuing its house ad series on

BCA staffers, Eastern Sales Manager Bill Dono-
van was next up. His aviation background takes
in 25 years. He’s logged more than 17,000
hours in corporate aircraft for General Motors,
in STOL-type aircraft for Air America, and as an
FAA-designated check pilot for Beech Aircraft’s
King Air. He few for the Marines and put in some
time with Pan American. BCA
Deicers for single-engine aircraft, a
good idea. BFG and Cessna have taken
another step forward with the 210
Centurion being the first single engine
aircraft to be equipped with BFG’s
pneumatic deicers and electrical propel-
ler deicers.

64 Business & Commercial Aviation | June 2018 www.bcadigital.com

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