CONTRAILS - Fall 2015

WHAT IS YOUR AIRLPANE WORTH?

The art and science of aircraft value

THE PRIVATE JET MAGAZINE FALL 2 015

CESSNA’S RUNAWAY HIT Why the Mustang is here to stay

REVELATIONS FROM NASA’S ICING TESTS

WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT RVSM SMART LEGAL OWNERSHIP

Legal issues, tax issues — both definitely have an impact on your ownership.

UBER JET?

Use your smartphone to make travel easier and cheaper.

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contents 08.15

FEATURES 12 20 24 30 36 42 WHY THE WHAT IS YOUR WHAT’S AN MUSTANG WAS A AIRPLANE RVSM? you fly a RUNAWAY HIT REALLY WORTH? Ifturboprop or The Citation Mustang 510 was the first truly light jet, and nine years later, it continues to win friends and influence pilots.

What do you do when the bank, the buyer and the seller all come up with different values?

BY JEFF BUSH

BY BILL COX

jet on a regular basis, you need a full understanding of RVSM airspace and how it applies to you and your aircraft.

BY BILL COX

A VISIT TO THE MISSION NASA ICE HOUSE CONTROL When it comes to icing research, there’s no better place to be than the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio..

BY SCOTT C. DENNSTAEDT

An extraordinary mission by Tempus Jets to locates the remains of missing World War II veterans and aircraft in the dense jungles of Papua New Guinea.

BY STEVEN TINGLE

YOU CAN FLY A P-51

Long before Cessna offered the Mustang, there was another one built by North American Aviation.

Here’s how to strap one on.

BY KT BUDDE-JONES

Read the First Look review on Cessna’s Citation Mustang 510 starting on Page 12

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contents 08.15 10

DEPARTMENTS 8 PUBLISHER’S LETTER Sitting out the weather in Hanoi.

10 LIFESTYLES The best new gadgets available to pilots on display.

44 WHO OWNS YOUR PLANE? Legal issues, tax issues — both definitely have an impact on your ownership. Think over who owns your plane very carefully.

BY HARRY DANIELS

48 DON’T LET YOUR IPAD GROUND YOUR FLIGHT A minor and fairly obscure glitch in iPad data kept several American Airlines flights on the ground in April, but a little planning can keep that from happening to you.

BY WAYNE RASH JR.

52 WILL UBER-LIKE APPS REDESIGN JET TRAVEL?

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48

You can use your smartphone to make exclusive travel easier and cheaper.

BY PAMELA BROWN

54 FLYING BLIND

BY NEIL SINGER

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FALL 2015 VOLUME 2/ NUMBER 3

AJ PUBLICATIONS STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Lyn Freeman MANAGING EDITOR

Michelle Carter SENIOR EDITOR

Bill Cox ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Hans Lubke EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

William Henrys CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Nina Harris, Paul Simington, Katrina Bradelaw, Paul Sanchez, Wayne Rash Jr. ART DIRECTOR

Robbie Destocki PHOTOGRAPHY

Paul Bowen, Mary Schwinn, James Lawrence, Lyn Freeman, Jodi Butler, Gregory L. Harris PUBLISHER

Thierry Pouille PRODUCTION MANAGER

Guillaume Fabry ADVERTISING MANAGER

Meredith Howard Telephone: +1 (561) 841-1551 ext. 7 meredith@ajpublications.com CORPORATE OFFICES

1931 Commerce Lane, Suite 5 Jupiter, FL 33458 Telephone: +1 (561) 841-1551 Fax: +1 (954) 252-3935 RATES AND MEDIA KIT INFORMATION ONLINE AT

www.ContrailsMag.com or call +1 (561) 841-1551 FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, REPRINTS, BACK ISSUES

please log onto www.ContrailsMag.com or call +1 (561) 841-1551

CONTACT THE EDITOR:

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Thierry@AJPublications.com ©2014 CONTRAILS Magazine is published quarterly.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.

Please send comments to the attention of the publisher.

PRINTED IN THE USA.

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Publisher’s Letter

SITTING OUT THE WEATHER IN HANOI

By Thierry Pouille

I

’m writing to you from Hanoi, a city with roots that stretch back to 3000 BC. And here I am in 2015, with a group of pilots who are trying to circumnavigate the planet in personal airplanes. My how things have changed.

This is the fifth time my company, Air Journey, has led a group of pilots in an Around the World Journey. But sitting here, looking out over a modern cityscape, I just have to scratch my head. In the scheme of things, it’s been no time at all since man has been doing this flying thing. And now, here I am, having flown a jet aircraft halfway around the world. How lucky could anybody be?

The group of us took off from Canada, crossed the Atlantic, toured Europe, moved on down to the Middle East, and then the Far East… we’ll head to Japan and on to Petropavlovsk, Russia before crossing back over the western shores of the United States two and a half months after our first wheels-up.

Who could have imagined these high-tech airplanes that would allow us to do something like this — fly ourselves around the world?

Yet despite all that technology, we sit idle in Vietnam. Our shiny jet aircraft aren’t going anywhere. We are humbled, humbled by the laws of nature. Three typhoons are headed our way, one toward Hong Kong, the second toward the northern part of Taiwan and the third tracking toward Japan. It’s time to sit and wait for Mother Nature to play out her hand.

We’d already flirted with a cyclone — what in the States we call a hurricane — off the coast of Oman. A hurricane in the Middle East? Hard to imagine while we were sitting there in 105 degree heat. Still, there it was. Despite all our sophisticated equipment, this system was impressive enough that we had to reorganize our route before continuing on to India.

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And now, here we sit in Hanoi. The technology Waiting out the weather in that has brought Vietnam has allowed me to look back over all the wonderful us here is things that our talented staff of remarkable writers and photographers has put together for this issue of Con- when compared trails. For example, did you know to that of only there’s an effort to shift the very a few years basics of jet travel in much the same way as Uber has changed ago, and it will ground transportation? You can no doubt pale, read about it in this issue. compared to the Or how about the fact that Cessna’s entry in the light-jet advancements category, the Mustang, may that lie just a few well turn out to be its most years ahead. successful design yet? And speaking of Mustangs, did you know it’s pretty easy to buy yourself some honest-to-goodness stick time in the original one, the one from North American Aviation?

Thinking about buying or selling an airplane? What if the buyer, the seller and the bank all come up with a different value for the perspective purchase? There’s a way to avoid that kind of a mess.

What about Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums? There’s a lot more to know than maybe you know. I learned about all these things in this new issue of Contrails magazine.

Here in Hanoi, thankfully, there is no shortage of weather information. And we’re not going anywhere today. But the wonderful thing is that none of us, not a person, has any ill feelings. The weather is the weather. We know we’re lucky, lucky as hell. We’re flying ourselves around the world.

No one is going to complain about a few rainy days.

Happy Contrails!

Thierry Pouille, Publisher

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LifeStyles Wearable technology Apple isn’t the only company putting its weight behind a watch that’s smarter than the average bear. Sony just announced SmartWear 3, a sleek, stainless-steel wristwatch designed to make your life just a little bit better. Sony’s new wearable technology gives you useful information at a glance. It could be flight information, tips based on your interests, alerts about your current location, or even text messages. You can also load music onto the SmartWear3. The device is happy to sync with your smartphone for extra capabilities, and new apps are becoming available all the time. Sony says user input is seldom necessary, but if you do need to interact with the device, you just talk to it. Like “open the pod bay door, Hal.” Get all the information at SonyMobile.com.

iPad kneeboard

LS EOS 5DS It’s really just amazing what’s happening to the quality of digital photos. The new Canon EOS 5DS delivers your images in an astonishing 50.6 MP. The wizards at Canon have developed a new ultra-high resolution full-frame chip that now bests the rest in capturing the most visual data. Sharpness and picture quality surpass everything else out there. This professional-grade digital single-lens rere flex camera comes with a laundry list of features and takes advantage of Canon’s full compliment of lenses. But 50.6 MP? Holy cow, that impressive! See the EOS 5DS at your local pro photo dealer or learn more at USA.Canon.com.

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Tired of chasing your iPad around the cockpit? Sporty’s comes to the rescue with a collection of kneeboards that are custom-made for Apple’s electronic wunderkind. With an ear tuned to pilot feedback, the Batavia, Ohio, company has fashioned a collection of kneeboards to fit all iPad models. The popular Bi-fold (folds over to protect your iPad when not in use) also has an organizer section with mesh pockets and a zippered compartment to store cables and screen cleaners. It can be adjusted for either portrait or landscape views. The Slimline is an even smaller solution for iPad use in the cockpit and also features horizontal and vertical viewing. Find out more about these products at Sportys.com.

Bordercrossing app The Breitling Emergency Now this is a watch. The Breitling Emergency is equipped with a mimi cro-transmitter alternately operating on two separate frequencies. It transtransmits a first digital signal on the 406 MHz frequency intended for satellites and lasting 0.44 seconds every 50 seconds, plus a second analog signal on 121.5 MHz for homing and rescue. The Emergency features a user-friendly antenna system housed in the lower part of the watch and is manually deployed on each side of the case. The whole concept of this watch required Breitling’s collaboration with the aerospace industry to create a new circuit board talented enough to broadcast on two frequencies, with the challenge of being able to fit it all into a wristwatch. The watch is happy in any temperature rfrom -20 degrees Celsius to +55 degrees Celsius and weighs a remarkable 140g. If you travel the extremes, learn more about the Emergency at Breitling.com.

LS

Unless you cross the border regularly in your aircraft, the rules, regs and propro cedures wrapped around our country’s eAPIS system can cause consternation.

The law says that all pilots must use the Electronic Advance Passenger InformaInforma tion System to submit your manifest to U.S. Customs, both coming and going.

FlashPass is a free app that makes the process about as easy as it can be. Enter the required information — pilot, crew, passengers, emergency contact, aircraft, departure and destination info — and hit Send. The whole process takes about 30 seconds. And because your data lives on the cloud, it’s accessible from anywhere in the world.

You can try the app free for 30 days, then pay a yearly subscription of $60 for unlimited use. If your border crossings are infrequent, you can buy one trip at a time for just $3.99 or a five pack of manifests for $15.99. Learn more at FlashPass.net.

Kids Fire Tired of getting things for the kids, only to have them break in no time? Try the new Kids Fire from Amazon. If your kids or grandkids can break this in the first two years, you get a brand new one for free. Not a toy, this full-featured HD tablet with Dolby audio and Gorilla Glass display will play curated, kid-friendly content for your back-seaters. The Kids Fire plays movies, video games and runs a variety of apps. It also features a 2 MP high-resolution still and 1080p video camera, perfect for great snapshots, or live video calls. Buy it in blue, green, black or pink with 8 GB or 16 GB of storage, and either a 6- or 7-inch display. The Kids Fire has become a proven winner. See it on Amazon.com

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Cessna Citation 510 Mustang

WHY THE MUSTANG WAS A RUNAWAY HIT THE CITATION MUSTANG 510 WAS THE FIRST TRULY LIGHT JET, AND NINE YEARS LATER, IT CONTINUES TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PILOTS.

By Bill Cox

FIRST LOOK

It probably shouldn’t have come as any great surprise that Cessna earned its Mustang type and production certificates in mid 2006, the first truly light jet to achieve that milestone.

After all, Cessna had been building a variety of Citation models since 1972, and it already was the world’s most successful manufacturer of business jets.

Cessna was far from the first to offer a turbine-powered business airplane. That honor belongs to the Morane Salnier MS760 of the late 1950s. But the Mustang was in many respects the embodiment of the very light jet (VLJ), even if then-Cessna CEO Jack Pelton disdained that description.

Physically, the new model wasn’t that dissimilar to the early Citations. In fact, the Cessna 510 could have passed for a downsized Citation 500 with metal-bonded fuselage and wings and a swept, Sovereign-style, semi-NLF airfoil.

In contrast to the Eclipse 500, Vern Raeburn’s poster child for VLJs, the Mustang was half-again the Eclipse’s weight, sported 6 feet more wing and a 7-foot longer fuselage. As a point of reference, the Mustang also offered 7 feet more span than the original Lear 23. No one ever referred to the Lear as a “very light jet”.

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Once you’ve flown the airplane, it’s not hard to understand why the 510 has become so popular. Since it is a jet, some folks automatically confer the type with incomprehensible complexity.

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Citation 510 Mustang Still, the Mustang was the smallest to offer seven seats, even if range FIRST civilian business jet Cessna had with a full load of people would be LOOK built. Apparently on the premise extremely limited. Cessna thought that less is more, gross weight on long and hard about the number of the Mustang was only 8,645 pounds, seats, as no one had produced a sixand max seating was for six rather than seat business jet before the Citation 510. eight. Yet, the Model 510 Mustang came Even the first Lear 23s offered eight seats. certified, right out of the box, for 41,000 feet The Mustang was specifically configured and was designed to fit into 3,500-foot runfor one-plus-five. Cessna hoped its new jet ways. This was obviously a different kind of would appeal to the owner/pilot market Citation. where six is more than enough.

Cessna had enjoyed excellent sales on its The Mustang uses a conventional forward first commercial pure jet, the Citation 500, air-stair entry door, and those who turn and the Mustang turned out to be another left at the top will find climbing into either instant hit. The Wichita company delivered front bucket easier than on other turbine 350 Mustangs during the first six years of equipment. On most jets, the center console production. At an average price of about that houses engine controls extends to the $2.8 million, that represented just under a floor, so flight crew members must step billion dollars in sales. (By the end of 2014, over the seat to get into position. The Mustotal Mustang deliveries stood at 465, and tang provides a large gap between the floor total fleet hours exceeded 500,000.) and console at the center, so crew can step Once you’ve flown the airplane, it’s not forward without gymnastics to climb into hard to understand why the 510 has become the pilot/co-pilot positions. so popular. Since it is a jet, some folks autoSimilarly, Cessna installs the control matically confer the type with incomprehenyokes on columns that extend horizontally sible complexity. In fact, it’s hard to imagine from the panel rather than growing up from how Cessna could have made the Mustang the floor. This opens up additional foot of easier to fly. For pilots with time in piston leg room for the flight crew. twins, especially cabin-class models such as The Mustang offers a “blue room” directthe Duke, 421 and 680 Commander, Cessly opposite the entry door and four seats in na’s Citation 510 is far simpler to understand back. The aft cabin is predictably luxurious, and operate in virtually every respect. providing excellent creature comforts, deSystems are super-simple. Flaps and pending, of course, on the size of your creaspeed brakes are electric, and only tures. It’s a roomy cabin, as well, perhaps the gear and power brakes are more so than the competition, since there’s hydraulic. Either generator no attempt to sandwich in a seventh seat. can operate practically From engine start to shutdown, the everything on the Mustang was specifically designed to be airplane, once idiot-proof. The Pratt & Whitney 615F-A the air conturbofan engines are fitted with Full Auditioning thority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), a and computer monitoring system that manwindages every phase of engine operation and shield automatically protects every system before a de-ice developing failure becomes critical. are shed.

Avionics are centered around the popular It also doesn’t hurt that the Mustang Garmin G1000 PFD/MFD, flat-screen disis produced by the world’s pre-eminent play, a version of which has come to domlegacy jet aircraft manufacturer, with more inate the VHF/GPS world. The Mustang experience building light, turbine-powered mounts a PFD in front of each pilot and a business aircraft than anyone else. As a rehuge MFD at center panel. The autopilot is sult, Cessna has service centers all over the the Garmin Attitude and Heading Referworld, and that means owners of Citations ence System-based G-700 that provides can usually find parts and maintenance sensors in roll, pitch and yaw. expertise wherever they choose to fly.

Engine start with help from FADEC is Accommodations are for two pilots up simpler than with any other jet I’ve flown. front and four folks in back. That’s someThe power quadrant looks a little bare, with thing of a departure for a jet, even a light only two thrust levers and no condition one. Most other aircraft at least pretend levers to worry about. You push “start,” wait

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Citation 510 Mustang for eight percent N2, bring the appropriate thrust lever over the gate to “run” and watch everything come alive automatically.

FADEC won’t allow you to introduce fuel too early or make any other mistakes. Just as with Mother Nature, you can’t fool FADEC. Taxi is easy with the low-idling Pratts. It takes a major handful of breakaway thrust to initiate taxi, exactly the opposite of some jets

that idle at 45-50 percent power. a jet, so most pilots like to high-jump FIRST Pre-takeoff checks consist primarstraight to FL350 or even FL410, LOOK ily of assuring that both engines are ATC permitting. Trouble is, ATC running, flaps are set, and the door usually won’t allow such luxuries is closed. FADEC takes care of most unless you live somewhere off the of the other takeoff checklist items. Run airways where you can’t interfere with the thrust levers to the stop marked “takeoverflying airliners. off,” release the brakes and feel the burn.

If you’re granted a dispensation to leap There’s not much reason to linger low in directly to FL410, Cessna claims you can

ONE-ON-ONE MUSTANG TYPE RATING

T

his past year, Tom, a TBM owner/pilot arrived at our facility here in Miami to receive type-rating training for his Citation Mustang. He admitted to a concern about leaving his comfort zone in the turbo-prop by having to obtain multi-engine and type ratings. The annual recurrent for the TBM was more checking the boxes than a training event, and he feared the FAA check-ride required to move up to the Mustang. Tom wondered if piloting a single pilot jet was biting off more than he could chew.

These concerns are not unusual for the average upgrade to a single-pilot jet aircraft.

Light turboprops only require completion of a factory-training program in most cases.

These programs don’t always provide the rigorous systems knowledge and aircraft handling skills required to pass an FAA Practical Test because they are not required to.

Day One of Tom’s training consisted of a morning review of the Mustang’s limitations and abnormal/emergency memory-action items. Clients are expected to arrive with this information put to memory to allow us to dive in to flight training immediately.

We also discussed the flight profiles such as power settings and gear/flap configurations expected in the check ride. After two hours of this, we did a complete preflight and strapped ourselves in the Mustang to begin the first of 10 flights over the next five days. Each flight covered the requirements of the Practical Test Standards for the type rating and was basically a mock check ride.

Here are the tasks flown on each flight: • Engine failure before V1 • Engine failure after V1 • Steep turns • Recovery from unusual attitudes • Stalls in the clean, takeoff and landing configuration • Engine fire in cruise, shutdown and air restart • Vmc demonstration • Emergency decent

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• Two non-precision approaches – one with procedure turn and one circle to land, both single engine • One precision approach, single engine • No flap landing, two engine A busy flight repeated twice each day until the procedures became second nature.

Tom remarked that adding all the common distractions found in the real world such as IMC, crosswinds and ATC chatter was a benefit of flying his own aircraft.

The afternoon session began with a review of the morning flight. Tom recognized that he was, at this point, way behind the Mustang but felt confident that he would improve. We discussed the typical turbojet transition hang-ups that presented themselves during the morning flight.

Here are some of the typical transition hang-ups: • Failure to program the cleared route and altitude in the FMS and brief the departure procedure before taxiing. The aspiring turbojet pilot often carries over bad habits of rushing away from the ramp and deferring these critical tasks, leaving them unprepared for takeoff.

• Not activating the TOGA mode on the flight director before the takeoff roll. The high deck angle and speed associated with turbojet aircraft can overwhelm the pilot if he/she arbitrarily pitches for what they think is appropriate. The flight director presents an angle-of-attack reference and is paramount for situational awareness.

• Overdependence on brakes during taxi because of excessive thrust. Idle thrust is usually sufficient to maintain safe taxi speed on level terrain.

• Not anticipating turbine engine spool lag and undershooting or overshooting desired airspeeds.

By Jack Boyd

• Failure to use the autopilot during single-pilot operation. The higher speeds and complex ATC instructions lend themselves to higher pilot workload and loss of situational awareness. They need to let the autopilot be their virtual crewmember.

• Excessive flare during landing or improperly using the elevator for aerodynamic braking during landing rollout. This propeller-pilot technique can cause dangerously high round outs during the landing phase or excessive float and runway overrun during the rollout.

After this, aircraft systems ground school emphasized abnormal and emergency scenarios, and then it was back in the Mustang for another flight repeating the same procedures practiced during the morning session.

Over the course of the next two days, we flew, studied systems, ate and slept until it all sunk in and made sense. On the third day Tom started to catch up and eventually was thinking ahead of the plane. I noticed the beginning of casual conversation between maneuvers, a sure sign of progress. The big errors were history at this point; we were now trying to polish his skills.

Days Four and Five were more of the same. We ended Day Five with a mock oral exam and flight expected during the check ride. I sent a confident Tom off to the examiner with a handshake.

The rigorous type-rating training received in his aircraft over the five days prepared Tom to pass the combined multi-engine and type rating check ride on the sixth day. At the time of this writing, Tom has flown more than 150 single-pilot hours, and he credits the higher standard of performance required for making him a better single-pilot operator.

Jack Boyd is a piston and turbine instructor pilot and president of Gold Standard Aviation in the Miami area

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Citation 510 Mustang

CESSNA CITATION 510 MUSTANG Engine(s)- make/model:

P&W 615F-A

Thrust (lbs):

1460

TBO (hrs):

3500

Fuel type:

Jet A

Landing gear type:

FIRST

LOOK about 1100 nm in three-and-a-half start leveling in 27 minutes from sea hours, nearly always cruising in level in ISA conditions. Initial climb smooth air and sunshine on top of rate will easily top 3,000 fpm using the weather.

170 KIAS to 10,000 feet, then Mach .44 Descents can be pretty much whatever you for the remainder of climb. and ATC agree upon. Reduce thrust to idle, Power adjustment at the top of climb consists extend the boards and you can come downhill of merely pulling the thrust levers back to the at 3,000 fpm while the 8.3 psi pressurization “cruise” detent. Forty one thousand feet is a system keeps everyone’s ears in good shape. lonely place most of the time, though a majority The gear can go out practically to redline. of airliners and other corporate jets are certified The jet syndrome rears its head once more for it. If they’re flying light, they may ascend to when it comes time to land, though again, the FL410 on the initial climb, but the airlines prefer Mustang is far easier to manage around the to wait until they’ve burned down to a more pattern than most twin-engine piston models. civilized weight before reaching for the high sky.

Typical ref speeds are less than 100 knots, Pilots don’t buy jets to fly slow, but the depending upon weight. On my first landing relevant question has always been, how much in Independence, Kan., six months before the speed is enough? The usual answer is, there’s airplane was introduced, the magic number never enough. In the light-jet class, currentwas 94 knots, and the trailing beam gear sysly consisting of the Embraer Phenom 100, tem forgave my slightly high flare and allowed Eclipse 500/550 and the Cessna Mustang, a me to return to Earth with no loss of dignity. reasonable maximum is about 370 knots, typMustangs don’t come with thrust reically at FL340/350. Book cruise speeds for all three models are in the 340- to 360-knot range, versers for braking, but the large anti-lock brakes do a good job of slowing the airplane and the Cessna entry technically scores 340 to a stop without help from twin buckets in knots. I’ve flown the Mustang twice, and both back. The Citation 510 consistently scores times, I’ve seen cruise numbers closer to 350 some of the lowest takeoff and landing knots. On my last Mustang flight, the check distances in the class. As always, takeoffs pilot commented that Cessna was considering demand more space than landing. Flying upping the published spec to 350 knots. from sea level on an ISA standard day, the Even if you accept the book figures of 340 Mustang can lift off and start up in about for the Mustang, 360 for the Eclipse and 350 3,100 feet and grind to a stop in 2,400 feet. for the Phenom 100, the difference in time Nearly a decade in production, the Musen route is hardly noticeable on a typical 600 tang has proven a strong contender for the nm trip — less than 10 minutes. light-jet dollar. It flies as far and nearly as If efficiency is more important than fast as its competition, sports a wide, comspeed, you can step up to FL410 in the fortable, oval-shaped cabin, and its price is Mustang and still see 325 knots burning 502 only undercut by that of the Eclipse 550. pph. This compares to 670 pph at FL350 That’s a formula that’s liable to keep the to fly only 25 knots faster. Higher is always Mustang competitive with any other light, cheaper and less congested and, again, the twin jet for years to come. difference in time en route is usually minusJust don’t call it a VLJ. cule. Maximum range at the lower setting is

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Tri/Retr

Max Ramp Wt (lbs):

8730

Max TO weight (lbs):

8645

Max Landing Wt (lbs):

8000

Zero Fuel Wt (lbs):

6750

Basic Operating Wt (lbs):

5600

Useful load–std (lbs):

3130

Usable fuel–std (gal/lbs):

385/2580

Max Payload–full std fuel (lbs):

1150

Full Fuel Payload (lbs):

550

Wingspan:

43’2”

Overall length:

40’7”

Height:

13’5”

Wing area (sq ft):

210

Wing Sweep (degrees):

11

Wing loading (lbs/sq ft):

41.2

Power loading (lbs/lb st thst):

2.96

Press Differential (psi): Cabin Alt:

8.3 8000‘@41,000’

Seating capacity:

6

Cabin doors:

1

Cabin width (in):

55

Cabin height (in):

54

Performance Max Cruise speed (kts):

340 @FL350

Mach Limit Speed : Max Cruise Fuel Burn (gph/lbs):

.63 100/670

Max Range (nm):

1200

Best rate of climb, SL (fpm):

3110

Time to Climb (min to FL410): Max Operating Alt (ft):

27 41,000

Stall (Vso – kts): Takeoff Field Length (ft): Landing Distance (ft):

73 3110 2380

For more information, contact The Cessna Aircraft Company 1 Cessna Boulevard Wichita, KS 67215 Phone: (316) 517-6000 Web: www.cessna.com

All specifications are based on manufacturer’s calcAll specifications are based on manufacturer’s calculations. All specs and performance numbers are drawn from official sources, often the aircraft flight manual or the manufacturer’s website

WHAT IS YOUR AIRPLANE REALLY WORTH? WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE BANK, THE BUYER AND THE SELLER ALL COME UP WITH DIFFERENT VALUES ?

By Jeff Bush

I recently decided to buy a jet. After nearly 30 years in the financial industry, I tend to be data-driven. I did lots of homework before I selected an airplane, balancing all the usual considerations of speed, efficiency and operating costs with my own personal mission profiles. I ultimately selected the JetProp, but the process I went through can be applied to any aircraft purchase. I assumed that the rigorous research I’d done to determine the proper aircraft would be the hard part. Boy, was I wrong.

Once I’d picked the aircraft model I wanted to buy, I then needed to determine what to pay.

I consulted every reference we’ve all used in valuing aircraft, VRef, market comparisons, two direct banks and two financing brokers. All were very nice, helpful and confident in their unique methodology. Between you and me, at least two of the approaches weren’t even logical. To my great surprise,

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the valuation of one particular aircraft varied slightly more than 30 percent among these sources — the exact same airplane.

In another instance, two sides of the same organization, working off the exact same data sheets, gave two different evaluations for the same plane. The seller had been given a $922,000 value, but I was told (again, by the same organization) it was worth no

more than $675,000. Not surprisingly that deal fell apart. Though this organization assured me both sides of their house were now on the same page, this issue kept coming up and ultimately cost me three planes over an eight-month period.

Finally, I found a fourth aircraft, and the valuations were close enough that I was confident in negotiating a deal. Less than a week

aircraft appraisals

before closing, the bank came back and randomly lowered the value of the aircraft by $50,000! I was incensed. The valuation came from their broker, I had an acceptance letter from them, and now they wanted me to pull $50,000 more out of my pocket Enter a solution: The bank and I both agreed to get an appraisal and live by its results. We contacted a mutually agreed upon aircraft appraiser and engaged him to determine the value of this aircraft.

Here are some thoughts from Cliff Magee, the senior aircraft appraiser that we agreed upon: “Jeff and the financing bank hired me to perform a basic appraisal in an effort to determine the true fair market value (FMV) of the plane under consideration. FMV is defined as the value a knowledgeable buyer and a knowledgeable seller agree on as a purchase price for an item. It is as much an art as it is a science. “The PA-46 JetProp conversion is an interesting aircraft because of its major modifications. Evaluating the FMV of a standard PA-46 or the PA-46T Meridian each have their unique aspects, but a modification costing more than the FMV of the remaining airframe is a wholly different matter.

I accepted this challenge because I have

aircraft appraisals

always been intrigued by this modification.

“A little background in aircraft appraisals seems to be in order. The goal of any appraisal, be it basic (less formal) or certified (full blown, on-site, detailed), is to determine the actual FMV of the aircraft.

FMV is a very specific term and needs to be differentiated from asking price.

“Side note: Aircraft appraisals are generally unregulated by the federal or state governments. Herein lies the value of working with a certified, credentialed appraiser. In transactions where banks are requiring a certified appraisal (generally for larger jet aircraft), a certified appraiser must be engaged to provide this service. Only one aircraft-specific certifying appraiser association exists, the National Aircraft Appraiser Association (Plane-Values.com).

“The NAAA is a professional organization that has proprietary databases of industry information. It has high standards and qualification for its members. The NAAA requires its members to attend recurrent training in its own policies and procedures as well as the only appraisal standard for

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Buying my airplane has absolutely reinvigorated my business. Knowing that I will not be fighting TSA and commercial airline hassles more than 200 times next year is a life -changer for my career.—Jeff Bush chattels such as aircraft. That standard is the Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice, (USPAP.org). Members that pass testing on NAAA policies, procedures and USPAP standards are certified by NAAA as aircraft appraisers. Recurrent testing is required for continued certification. The majority of aircraft lenders require the NAAA certification before they will approve an appraiser.

A lender must approve an appraiser before they will accept that appraiser’s work.

“Most buyers assume, incorrectly, that the

dawn of transparency brought about by the mass publications and the internet (VRef, Trade-A-Plane, ASO, Global Plane Search, etc.) has brought market efficiency to the aviation marketplace. After all, the best sanitizer is sunlight, right?

“Contrast that premise with an actual situation I litigated. An individual calling himself an expert had just signed an affidavit testifying to the value of a specific turbine engine.

Coincidently, his testified value matched the price the vendor was advertising online.

“In search of evidence to dispute this valuation, I tapped resources available to me within the appraiser’s world. Some of these resources are proprietary resources; others are personal relationships built over time.

In this case, I connected with one of my personal relationships. It so happened that he had just purchased the very engine in question for 50 percent of the asking price.

The ‘expert’ had provided testimony that the engine was worth twice the sales price. Now, what was the appraised value? What was the FMV? It is a myth that there is market efficiency in aviation. It is still the wild, wild

west as Jeff found. Asking prices are not necessarily, and most often not, FMV. “In the context of property such as aircraft, FMV is of interest to many parties — sellers, buyers, financiers and insurance companies. The only person interested in an inflated FMV is the seller, for obvious reasons. The other parties mentioned are on the same side of the equation. They all want to know what the market is actually paying for the aircraft in question. Buyers don’t want to overpay. Banks don’t want to lend above FMV in case the aircraft needs to be sold at some point, and insurance companies don’t want to over-insure in case of loss.

“The appraisal process takes many steps that ultimately creates a written report of current FMV. The process of determining FMV does vary depending on particular aircraft.

The PA-46 JetProp conversion is unique.

While the valuation process for most aircraft begins by looking at the make and model, this is not true for the JetProp converted PA-46.

“The JetProp requires a ground-up approach. As this is only an article about appraisals and not the multi-day courses for certification, I will give an abbreviated overview of the unique valuation of converted aircraft such as the PA46 JetProp. This is also not to say that a straight P-46 or P-46T Meridian can be accurately assessed using simple online tools. Each airframe is unique and, in a negotiating situation, the more knowledgeable person usually prevails. This is the power of an actual appraisal.

“We start by appraising the aircraft as if it were a straight PA-46 that has not undergone the conversion. Factors such as year of manufacturer, total time in service, avionics, paint, interior, maintenance history, logbooks and avionics are all factors. Evaluating these factors then allows for a basic value.

The engine and propeller on the PA-46 must be deducted from the basic value. That difference is a new basic value.

“The current cost of conversion must then be added to the new basic value. This provides a new converted value. Finally, the turbine hourly engine and prop reserves must be deducted from the new converted value, and values added for any specialized avionics or equipment. The calculated value that results is now the FMV of the aircraft.

“This provides a basic overview of how the appraised value of the converted aircraft is generated; however, there are other factors that an experienced aircraft appraiser must apply that will be reflected in the ultimate current appraised value reported. This is

the art of the appraiser’s work. But that ‘art’ aspect of the appraisal is honed by the cumulative experience of the entire NAAA organization.”

Thanks, Cliff!

While initially angry with the financing bank, I quickly realized there was a “win/ win” opportunity presented by this situation.

At the end of the day, and after splitting the very reasonably priced appraisal fee, the bank and I both penned a deal more confidently because now we had an aircraft value determined by an expert.

What often holds us back from enjoying the freedoms provided by private aviation is simply lacking confidence in the transaction. If you do your homework on operational costs and engage the right kind of help up front, you can confidently take that leap of faith in stepping up to an aircraft purchase. Had I followed this simple advice,

I would have been flying 10 months earlier.

Buying my airplane has absolutely reinvigorated my business. Knowing that I will not be fighting TSA and commercial airline hassles more than 200 times next year is a life-changer for my career. If buying an airplane can make that kind of difference in your life or business, then I recommend doing it. Just do it right the first time.

Jeff Bush is an integral part of The Washington Update, the non-partisan thought leader that guides domestic clients through the complex and ever-changing political and tax environment while helping international audiences understand U.S. politics. The Washington Update is known as Wall Street’s Washington D.C. insider and can be contacted at Jeff@jeffbush.net.

Cliff Magee is an attorney and Senior Certified Aircraft Appraiser/USPAP endorsed by the National Aircraft Appraisers Association. He is currently studying at Pepperdine University for an LL.M. in dispute resolution and continues to provide expert witness services in aviation-related litigation and aircraft appraisal services A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Spartan College of Aeronautics, he holds numerous FAA certificates and jet warbird experimental type certificates. Contact him at cliff@magee.lawyer.

What o en holds us back from enjoying the freedoms provided by private aviation is simply lacking confidence in the transaction.

If you do your homework on operational costs and engage the right kind of help up front, you can confidently take that leap of faith in stepping up to an aircra purchase.

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RVSM airspace

WHAT’S AN RVSM? IF YOU FLY A TURBOPROP OR JET ON A REGULAR BASIS, YOU NEED A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF RVSM AIRSPACE AND HOW IT APPLIES TO YOU AND YOUR AIRCRAFT.

By Bill Cox As all turbine pilots should know, RVSM stands for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums. I was introduced to RVSM regulations about as early as anyone could be, primarily because I was already operating in the affected airspace long before it was affected.

Back in the late 1980s, when I was helping to deliver new and used turboprop and jet aircraft across the Atlantic, standard vertical separation between aircraft at or below 28,000 feet in Positive Control Airspace was 1,000 feet. Above 28,000 feet, vertical tolerances rose to 2,000 feet.

Contrary to what you might imagine, those big altitudes aren’t exclusively reserved for airline and corporate jets. Many turboprops — King Airs and Cheyennes, Conquests and Twin Commanders — are approved for operation in the tall sky. All three of the single-engine jet-props — the Pilatus PC-12NG, TBM-900 and Piper Meridian — are legal for flight at or above 30,000 feet where RVSM certification could result in better weather-topping capability and improved efficiency.

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Flying to RVSM standards isn’t that tough, but the consequences of not knowing exactly what you’re doing can be more than a little terrifying .

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RVSM airspace

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) launched a study to determine the feasibility of reducing vertical separation for turbine aircraft then operatoperat ing at odd altitudes including and between FL290 and FL410.

At the time, the industry used standard pressure altimeters for determining height above mean sea level. Logically, these lost accuracy with increasing height. The thinner atmosphere dictated diminishing accuracy at higher altitude.

The advent of air data computers, combined with extremely accurate altimeters and more sophisticated autopilots, suggested that the old 2,000-foot vertical standard might be too conservative. There was certainly a need for more high-altitude airspace, especially on the busy North Atlantic Track between the U.S/Canada and Europe.

Those far north flight levels were already overcrowded with airline and corporate jets, plus various turboprops, and the expectation was that things would only get worse.

So the ICAO recommended a reduction in vertical separation from 2,000 to 1,000 feet on aircraft appropriately equipped for such operation. The expansion of airspace would more than double available routes across the North Atlantic, and it would improve controllers’ options to reroute or temporarily divert faster or slower traffic and avoid enroute conflicts.

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RVSM airspace was initiated between FL280 and FL410 on the North Atlantic Tracks beginning in 1997 and progressively expanded over the next decade to encomencom pass most of the remainder of the world’s high sky.

In addition to improving available airspace for high-altitude travel, the new rules allowed operators to optimize routes, improve aircraft efficiency and add flight levels to accommodate traffic seeking smoother air or hoping to top weather.

If that sounds a little too simplistic to explain the world’s high-altitude sky, it is.

In order for pilots and aircraft to operate in RVSM atmosphere, a number of new, more demanding requirements exist. Since all operations above FL280 must be conducted on autopilot, any change in regulations would rely on both more diligent pilot monitoring and more accurate and reliable avionics.

Pilots must now be approved to operate above FL280 and, while the necessary training isn’t exactly rigorous, the process entails more than you might imagine.

I went through the RVSM course offered

by King Schools in San Diego, Calif.

John and Martha King have considerable first-hand knowledge of the high-altitude environment. Both are typed in the Citation 501 and Falcon 10, and they’ve operated those aircraft successfully for nearly 20 years all over the world. As John King put it, “We

went from one of the slowest turbojets in the sky to one of the fastest turbofans. In the original Citation, we were often the roadblock that everyone needed to get over or around.”

“With the Falcon, we’re now the faster traffic that needs to fly over, under or around the old Citations.”

Like practically everyone these days, I opted for the online training version (KingSchools.com) that allows you to complete the knowledge portion at your own pace.

My pace was about two hours, not an unreasonable demand for safer, more efficient, high-altitude operation.

As mandated by the FAA, King Schools concentrates on a number of areas of additional pilot training for RVSM certification.

In characteristically governmental diagrammatic description, they are: a. Importance of crew members cross checking each other to ensure ATC clearances are promptly and correctly complied with. No matter how accurate the altimeter and autopilots, things can happen fast at closing speeds of 16 miles a minute. b. Use and limitations in terms of accuracy of standby altimeters in contingencies.

Again, with separation of 1,000 vertical feet, tolerances are necessarily tighter

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RVSM airspace

than ever before. The ramifications of one aircraft flying only 300-400 feet below its assigned altitude and opposing aircraft operating 300-400 feet high are obvious. c. Problems of visual perception of other aircraft at night when experiencing sometimes confusing phenomena such as northern lights, especially when encountering opposite or same-direction traffic or during turns for sidestep or turbulence avoidance. d. Understanding characteristics of aircraft altitude capture systems, which may lead to overshoots. e. Operational procedures and characteristics related to TCAS (ACAS) in an RVSM environment. f. Relationship between altimetry, automatic altitude control and transponder systems in normal and abnormal situations. g. Aircraft operating restrictions, if any, related to RVSM airworthiness approval. h. Use of track offset procedures in oceanic airspace to mitigate the effects of wake turbulence, weather and operational errors.

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Equipment requirements to certify an aircraft for RVSM operation are considerably more expensive and exotic. Remember that all operations above FL280 must be conducted on autopilot, so standards of accuracy for RVSM aircraft are notably more rigorous.

Depending on whom you ask, a typical RVSM retrofit to an older aircraft can cost somewhere between $90,000 and $150,000, depending on the aircraft’s age and existing equipment.

Specifically, aircraft must be equipped as follows: a. Two independent altitude-measuring systems capable of displaying altitude within 80 feet of one another. b. One operational SSR altitude-reporting transponder. c. One altitude-reporting system capable of alerting flight crew members when the altitude deviates +/- 300 feet from assigned altitude. For aircraft type certificated after Jan. 1, 1997, the allowable deviation is +/- 200 feet. d. One automatic altitude-control system capable of controlling the aircraft to a ref reference pressure altitude within +/- 65 feet under non-turbulent, non-gust conditions.

e. TCAS II, Modification 7, is required in European RVSM airspace.

Many turboprop and pure jet aircraft currently in production, that regularly operate above FL280, come equipped to meet RVSM standards. Mod centers such as Garrett Aviation or the manufacturer will follow the appropriate RVSM Service Bulletins to bring older models into compliance.

Non-compliant aircraft with sufficient performance can climb through RVSM airspace to altitudes above FL410 with 2,000 foot separation. To avoid conflicts with RVSM aircraft, the climb will be continuous, and the non-compliant aircraft will be allowed to level at FL430 or higher. Ferry flights, operations by national defense aircraft and special flights such as air ambulance may be excused from some provisions of RVSM requirements.

Several years ago, I was part of the flight crew that ferried the flight test Swearingen SJ-30 across the North Atlantic to the Paris Air Show, and we flew most of the trip at FL450, well above RVSM airspace.

Flying to RVSM standards isn’t that tough, but the consequences of not knowing exactly what you’re doing can be more than a little terrifying.

airframe icing

A VISIT TO THE NASA ICE HOUSE

By Scott C. Dennstaedt

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When it comes to icing research, there’s no better place to be than the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Recently I visited the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) for a personalized tour and the chance to talk to several experts in the field of airframe icing.

My tour was conducted by Andy Reehorst, who has worked at this location since becoming a college intern for NASA in the early 1980s. My goal was to learn more about the science associated with airframe icing, but Andy also gave me a historical perspective of the tunnel that was just as fascinating.

The IRT was built just before the United States entered World War II. The United States Army Air Forces flew C-53 military transport aircraft (the military version of the DC-3) from India to China over the eastern end of the Himalayas, appropriately nicknamed The Hump. They were losing planes to airframe icing, so as you might expect, this became a national priority.

In 1939, Charles Lindbergh had returned from Europe and chaired a committee on aeronautical research facilities. With the Europeans making significant improvement in their engine design, he recommended building an engine-research laboratory in the United States. So on Jan. 23, 1941, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA’s predecessor, began to build the new Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory in Cleveland.

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airframe icing The laboratory had an altitude wind tunnel that could run an engine at simulated altitudes, including low pressure and cold temperatures, courtesy of a large refrigeration plant next door. So it was very convenient to build an icing wind tunnel here as well.

As you walk through the facility, you can tell it’s been around for quite a while. It’s as if you stumbled into a time machine and found yourself back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. The facility has been upgraded several times, as Andy pointed out, but it still gives you the feeling of a project that came out of World War II. The laboratory had an altitude wind tunnel that could run an engine at simulated altitudes, including low pressure and cold temperatures, courtesy of a large refrigeration plant next door. So it was very convenient to build an icing wind tunnel here as well.

As you walk through the facility, you can tell it’s been around for quite a while. It’s as if you stumbled into a time machine and found yourself back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. The facility has been upgraded several times, as Andy pointed out, but it still gives you the feeling of a project that came out of World War II.

(TOP) Here the author is standing in front of the 5,000-hp fan, which can produce 390 mph winds within the Icing Research Tunnel. The same key that is used to gain access to this part of the tunnel behind the fan is also the key used to start the fan from inside the control room. (ABOVE) This view is looking down on the test section (6 feet by 9 feet by 20 feet) of the Icing Research Tunnel. A built-in crane within the facility allows researchers to lower the model into the tunnel where it is installed. (RIGHT) Given that the test section of the Icing Research Tunnel is relatively small compared to the size of the actual airframe, the model is often a scale version of the surface being tested.

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What’s an icing research tunnel?

The IRT is a closed loop with a 5,000-hp fan using wooden blades made of spruce that can generate winds approaching 400 mph.

Air in the tunnel can also be chilled to a frigid -40 degrees Celsius, which is plenty cold enough to test all ranges of potential icing temperatures. This is a benefit of that refrigeration plant next door and huge evaporator coils in the tunnel laid out in the shape of a “W” to maximize surface area.

The “model” is the airfoil, or other aircraft component, being tested in the IRT. A wing, for example, is actually tilted on its side (up and down) primarily for convenience to work within the tight space of a portion of the tunnel called the test section. The model is brought in from the outside through a huge bay door and lowered into the tunnel with a crane built into the facility. Aircraft manufacturers have used the tunnel extensively for a portion of their icing research and certification-testing process.

Water, sent through spray bars positioned ahead of the model, is de-ionized first so that it is as pure as possible to keep it supercooled.

Otherwise, the water would freeze into a solid before it hit the surface that was being tested.

I was surprised to learn that the IRT cannot test freezing-drizzle or freezing-rain conditions. Even with high wind speeds in the tunnel, many of the larger drops would

airframe icing The de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter research aircraft after an encounter with freezing rain over West Virginia.

Photo courtesy of NASA.

succumb to gravity and fall out before reaching the model in the test section. The largest median volumetric drop (MVD) sizes that can be used in the IRT are 50 microns, which is the lower end of supercooled largedrop (SLD) icing spectrum. So essentially the IRT is only designed for icing certification standards contained in FAR Part 25, Appendix C, also known as small-drop icing.

The NASA Twin Otter You can’t visit the NASA Glenn Research Center without admiring the Twin Otter.

The Twin Otter is one of several NASA aircraft instrumented to be flown in known-icing conditions for research purposes. The flight pictured here was piloted

by Tom Ratvasky, a NASA research pilot, who encountered freezing rain (on purpose) over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 1998.

This picture was taken shortly after landing in Parkersburg, W.V. This freezing-rain encounter produced a coating of ice about three-eighths of an inch thick on the surface from the tip of the nose all the way back to the windscreen. The wing itself had accreted ice behind the boot to about the 50 percent chord, with a ridge about an inch high

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behind the protected surface. Normally, you never worry about the weight of ice.

However, Tom estimated that he carried about 1,000 pounds of ice on the airframe that day!

Ice-contaminated tailplane stall A few months after the tragic accident of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y., in 2009, the NASA Glenn Research Center coincidently posted a video to YouTube (https://youtu.be/_ifKduc1hE8) discussing ice-contaminated tailplane stalls (ICTS).

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand or just recently became a pilot, you’ve probably viewed this video once or twice. That video went viral in the pilot community and seemed to become the de facto standard for recovery when any type of fixed-wing aircraft departed controlled flight in icing conditions.

The video emphasized that the recovery from an ICTS is the exact opposite of a normal wing stall —which is true. A normal wing stall requires you to push forward on the yoke or stick whereas an ICTS requires the opposite response; you must pull back hard on the controls. Very few aircraft are susceptible to tailplane stalls, but few pilots really understood this from the video.

Most tailplane stalls are usually induced when the aircraft has accreted ice on the horizontal stabilizer and the pilot changes speed and/or configuration of the airplane, such as raising or extending flaps. It’s usually on the high end of the flap speed range when the stall occurs. So something as simple as adding power can trigger the event, which is exactly what you see in the NASA video. The test pilot was experiencing some control difficulty but, when full power was added, the aircraft reached the top end of the flap speed, and the tail stall occurred abruptly.

In talking with Kurt Blankenship who is a research pilot and deputy of aircraft operations at the Glenn Research Center, the Colgan Air accident had little to do with icing. In fact, on March 25, 2009, NTSB investigators indicated that icing probably did not contribute greatly to the accident.

“The plane basically trimmed itself to a stall,” Kurt said. “It had a stick pusher on it which he (the captain) fought against and pulled back and held it until the plane finally went over, and it was too late.”

Could it be that the captain thought he was experiencing an ICTS even though he said nothing on the tape? Kurt thinks, “The pilot simply panicked. He was low to the ground and it (pulling back on the controls) was a natural reaction.”

Other mistakes were made as well, such as the co-pilot retracting flaps without it being called and not having a sterile cockpit during the approach to land.

From Kurt’s view, this accident “was a lowspeed awareness issue and that should be the focus of the training — recognizing where you are at in the (power curve) regime. They were slow; it was a wing stall, clearly.”

In response to some of the confusion that was generated by the original 2009 video, NASA is producing another video that is essentially an “icing wing stall video that emphasizes wing stall over tail stall.” In the new video they will discuss the characteristics of both flavors of a stall in icing conditions, but Kurt emphasized that pilots should be prepared to recover from a normal wing stall.

The new video is being sponsored by the FAA. At the moment there’s no definitive date when this will be finished and released to the public.

Scott Dennstaedt is an FAA-certificated instrument flight instructor and former NWS meteorologist. He also founded AvWxWorkshops.com, a subscription-based website designed to teach pilots how to minimize their exposure to adverse weather. He now also works for ForeFlight as its Weather Scientist.

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papua new guinea

MISSION CONTROL AN EXTRAORDINARY MISSION BY TEMPUS JETS TO LOCATE THE REMAINS OF MISSING WORLD WAR II VETERANS AND AIRCRAFT IN THE DENSE JUNGLES OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA IS A TESTAMENT TO THE WILL OF THE MILITARY TO ACCOUNT FOR THOSE WHO SERVED

By Steven Tingle

Pilot Brad Blevins could not see what he was looking for, but he was certain it was there. Flying a Pilatus PC-12 over the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea, Blevins was 12,000 miles from home and several thousand feet above some of the most remote and least explored territory in the world.

In the adjacent seat Creig Rice, a retired Air Force pilot with more than 20 years of F-16 flying experience, turned the aircraft around to make another pass over the target area, a maneuver he would repeat many times during the day. In the rear of the aircraft a scientist from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory collected data streaming from a Multi-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar MB-SAR. The radar can penetrate through dense foliage, in this case essentially pulling back the blanket of merbau trees, climbing palms and more than 2,000 species of ferns that cover the valleys and mountains of the island of New Guinea. The data would later be downloaded to computers running algorithms programmed to differentiate man-made objects from those occurring naturally: a fuselage versus a fallen tree, a section of wing versus an outcropping of rocks.

The goal of this mission, sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) and Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), was clear: Gather information to aid in the search for — and recovery of — unaccounted-for World War

II aircraft in Papua New Guinea (PNG). And ultimately, locate and recover the remains of military personnel missing for more than 70 years.

The Pilatus PC-12 offered the best combination of size, power and cost.

“When an aircraft is originally designed, it’s not contemplated that someone might cut a big hole in the door and install an antenna that’s blasting energy microbursts!” said Scott Terry, founder and CEO of Tempus Jets, the company contracted to select the aircraft and perform the systems integration.

On Nov. 2, 2013, just two days after a successful test of the aircraft’s sensor systems, Tempus pilot Blevins and Rice, a pilot for EH Group, another contractor involved with the mission, took off from Newport News, Va., and began their journey of flying a single-engine prop halfway around the world. Their destination: Papua New Guinea, one of the most isolated and dangerous places on the planet.

Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean just below the equator, the island of New Guinea

For Rice and Blevins the project was an opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of the armed forces who served in what was, and in many ways still is, a forgotten corner of the world. For Terry, the mission was an opportunity to combine creative engineering and experimental technology with the hopes of helping to bring closure to the families of those soldiers lost so many years ago.

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Traditional village in highlands of Papua New Guinea

Mountain road near Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea

Road in mountains, Papua New Guinea

mission control is the second largest in the world after Greenland. Despite its proximity to mostly flat, arid Australia, New Guinea has many parts that are covered with dense rain forests and nearly impenetrable jungles. A spine of mountains known as the New Guinea Highlands runs east to west across the island with the summit of Mount Carstensz, named Puncak Jaya, rising above 16,000 feet.

A month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces began landing on the north coast of New Guinea. The island was important to the Japanese, as it provided a consolidated area to launch attacks on Australia.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur began building up Allied forces on New Guinea with the goal of dislodging the Japanese. In April 1944,

the Americans made their first landing in the Dutch-occupied territory of western New Guinea during a mission named Operation Reckless. The strike disorganized the Japanese and secured the territory’s capital Hollandia for the Allies.

Over the course of the war, more than 2,000 American pilots and crew were lost in New Guinea, and today more 250 planes still remain unaccounted for. The U.S. military has always tried to recover its dead, but the logistics of the island have impeded recovery efforts there. The dense jungles make land-based expeditions difficult as well as obstruct traditional air-search efforts.

Plus the island is dangerous.

In 1969 New Guinea was divided into two

Diver and airplane wreck, Walindi, Papua New Guinea

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provinces: Papua and West Papua. Nearly 80 percent of the 7 million residents of Papua New Guinea live an almost prehistoric existence and speak more than 700 native tongues. The Economist ranked Port Moresby, the capital and largest city, 139th out of 140 cities for livability. The average life expectancy in the country is 60 for men, 65 for women. With poor health care, poverty and crime a daily way of life, gang culture runs rampant through the urban areas of PNG, while in the rural tribal areas of the country’s interior, rumors of head-hunting and cannibalism are not that far-fetched.

According to the Australian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, prospective visitors to PNG should

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mission control

“exercise a high degree of caution” and even “reconsider your need to travel.” As Terry explained, “Both environmentally and culturally, it is not a very forgiving environment.”

Planning a flight from the East Coast of the United States to Papua New Guinea is fairly simple — a stop in Los Angeles, then on to Hawaii, followed by Guam and finally PNG. But with a range of only 1,700 miles, the single-engine PC-12 required a flight plan with multiple refueling stops and considerations for emergency landings.

After departing from Newport News, Rice and Blevins landed in Salina, Kan. Their next stop was Seattle’s Boeing Field, followed by Ketchikan International Airport in Alaska, which due to its short runway tucked between the mountains and the freezing cold ocean, is regularly listed as one of the world’s most “thrilling” airports. Then it was on to Homer, followed by Adak.

“It isn’t the end of the world,” Rice wrote

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about Adak in his blog, “but you can see it from there.”

From Adak, the next stop was Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city located near Russia’s largest submarine base. As the PC-12 approached the Russian city, Blevins said he and Rice looked at each other, then turned around and looked at the racks of radar equipment crammed into the back of the aircraft. “I just thought, ‘Let’s get in and out of here quick’.”

A few cold stares were the worst Rice and Blevins experienced while refueling in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, but they were both grateful to soon be back up in the air and on their way to Chitose, Japan. From Chitose, they flew to Kagoshima, Japan, then on to the Philippines, where they landed in Manila just one day after Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated portions of the country.

On Nov. 10, 2013, Rice and Blevins left Manila and flew to Davao in the Philippines, then on to Biak, Indonesia, and finally to Port Moresby, PNG. During their five-day journey, the two men had flown 51.7 hours, traveled 11,987 miles, crossed eight time zones, and visited five countries, all in a PC-12.

Once in Port Moresby, Rice and Blevins met up with a team of researchers and scientists led by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The PC-12’s standard cargo door was replaced with the antenna-mounted door, and for the next month, Rice and Blevins flew nearly every day, sometimes for up to 12 hours, over the Northern, Central and Morobe provinces of PNG. “We’d take off just before sunrise and fly until about one in the afternoon,” Blevins said. “The humidity is so high that you’d get pop-up thunderstorms and a lot of convective weather, but in the early morning the winds are calm and the skies are clear.”

If the weather was good, the team would fly a second mapping route in the afternoon.

To ensure the MB-SAR collected accurate information, each target area was mapped twice, the second route flown perpendicular to the first. Blevins likened it to the crosshatched mowing pattern of a golf course green. After 29 days, the team had mapped almost 30,000 square kilometers, nearly 7 percent of the entire country.

The data are now being analyzed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The results will be processed into maps showing the possible locations of downed aircraft. It is an ongoing process, but those involved are encouraged by some of the early results.

The next step will involve site verification by teams on the ground with the ultimate goal

of recovering the remains of Americans lost during WWII. For Rice and Blevins the project was an opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of the armed forces who served in what was, and in many ways still is, a forgotten corner of the world. For Terry, the mission was an opportunity to combine creative engineer-

ing and experimental technology with the hopes of helping to bring closure to the families of those soldiers lost so many years ago.

“This mission has a higher purpose,” he said. “This is a noble cause.”

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2014 issue of TEMPUS Magazine. Reprinted with permission. © Tempus Jets, Inc.

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flying the P-51 mustang

YOU CAN FLY A P-51 LONG BEFORE CESSNA OFFERED THE MUSTANG, THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE BUILT

BY NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION. HERE’S HOW TO STRAP ONE ON.

By KT Budde-Jones

It’s an experience that’s really hard to describe. You climb into a cockpit that’s 8 feet off the ground, and you put your hand on a throttle that can unleash a Merlin engine able to develop approximately 1700 horsepower, climb at 3,200 feet/minute and cruise as fast as 437 mph. And all of this is from a plane that will have its 75th birthday this year — a 75 year-old single-engine propeller-driven Mustang P-51.

Stallion-51 is mecca for the Mustang. The Kissimmee, Fla.-based training center operates three special North American P-51 Mustangs with two cockpits and two sets of controls. You don’t go there to take rides

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in the P-51; you go there to fly the P-51.

“We’ve been teaching people to fly the Mustang for nearly 30 years,” said Stallion’s Lee Lauderback, who’s logged more than 9,000 hours in the P-51, more than

any other pilot in the world. “What can you say, it’s a pretty amazing airplane.”

Lots of folks — pilots and non-pilots alike — have walked onto the field for an uber-overdose of adrenaline, a perhaps once-in-a-lifetime ride in a Mustang. It’s a big deal. An extensive pre-flight briefing is designed to tailor the flight to your aviation experience, expertise and expectations.

There’s also a preflight walk around and a cockpit orientation before you climb aboard.

Then you get to fly the Mustang. And you really do fly the Mustang. You are at the controls for 95 percent of the flight!

Afterwards you can wind down during the post-flight briefing and watch a three-camera video of your flight, a copy of which will be in your pocket on the way home. This is the time you get out your logbook.

Another delightful way to log some Mustang time is with Stallion’s unusual attitude training. The FAA defines un-

usual attitudes as in excess of 25 degrees nose-up, 10 degrees nose-down and 45 degrees angle-of-bank. Most unusual attitude training is done in a Pitts or a T-34 or sometimes an Extra. It’s great training to have. Imagine doing it in a Mustang?

You can take a step further and train to fly from the fully operational rear cockpit, a prelude to transitioning to the front seat.

For every hour of flying, you get about three hours of ground school to give you a depth of understanding of what the Mustang is capable of. Extensive ground school prepares you for the air work — aerobatics, touch-and-go landings and basic fight maneuvers. On the second day, you switch seats with your instructor.

Now you’re in the front seat to add layers onto what you learned the day before.

If you’re one of the lucky few who can purchase your own Mustang, the training at Stallion 51 is considered the gold

No matter what you fly, where you’ve been or what’s coming next, if you haven’t flown a Mustang, you should.

Of the thousands that were manufactured, there are fewer than 300 of them le­. standard of training by aviation insurance companies and is endorsed by the FAA. It’s a complete 10- to 12-hour comprehensive Mustang check-out program, typically over five days with two flights a day.

The course is extensive, covering aircraft systems, normal and emergency procedures, basic flight maneuvers, slow flight, high-performance maneuvering,

loss of controlled flight, stalls and an emphasis on takeoff and landing proficiency.

It is highly recommended that the pilot has a minimum of 200 hours T-6 and/or tail wheel time before starting the checkout training course. Stallion 51 can help with the acquiring of needed tail experience in their T-6 Texan.

No matter what you fly, where you’ve been or what’s coming next, if you haven’t flown a Mustang, you should. Of the thousands that were manufactured, there are fewer than 300 of them left. It’s a time machine back into another world whose original keepers are quietly receding with their first hand stories. You’ve likely missed your chance of fighting the Luftwaffe, but it’s not too late to redefine what you’ve always thought flying was about.

And that’s what the North American P-51 Mustang can do.

Learn more at Stallion51.com.

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TaxTalk u FINANCE

WHO OWNS YOUR PLANE?

By Harry Daniels

Ownership of your plane is indicated by the titling or registration of the plane. Ownership can be in your personal, individual name or it can be in a business name such as a partnership, corporation, a limited-liability company (LLC) or limited-liability partnership (LLP).

Does it really matter? Absolutely! Legal issues and federal and state income taxes come into play. They vary depending on how you use your plane and the type of ownership you select.

Individual ownership For some, a plane is just a pure joy and a great way to relax. These people have little to no intent to use the plane for business.

If they do, they are probably going to get reimbursed for the cost of the fuel burned to make the occasional business flight. So 99 percent of their flying is done for pure

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personal and pleasure purposes.

The classic example involves employees who use their personal plane occasionally to fly to their business location instead of driving. As such, the employee will generally treat the expense for fuel (less any reimbursement) on Form 2106 and take it as an employee business expense on a

personal income tax return.

The plane is probably insured against loss from damage, and the owner carries liability insurance to cover accidents. In reality, hardly any business purpose is associated with the plane. Therefore, there are few income tax issues even though there could be some limited cases and some limited amounts, which are negligible.

So, is there any need for owning the plane in one of the business entities? For income tax purposes, probably not. But always remember this advice: Never let income tax override a better decision.

If your attorney says your exposure is too great to own the plane in your name, then get it out of your name. Better yet, ask before you buy. Your attorney may advise you to take title in another entity from the first day of ownership. That would be good to know since many states will nail you with a second sales tax, even on a transfer from yourself to a business

If your attorney says your exposure is too great to own the plane in your name, then get it out of your name.

Better yet, ask before you buy. Your attorney may advise you to take title in another entity from the first day of ownership. That would be good to know since many states will nail you with a second sales tax, even on a transfer from yourself to a business entity that is wholly owned by you. entity that is wholly owned by you. Think about the sales tax on a $100,000 plane at say 5 percent. That could cost an extra $5,000 in sales tax to make the second transfer. That’s a good reason to ask before you buy.

Corporate ownership When it comes to filing a corporate tax return, what does General Motors, Apple, Proctor & Gamble and Bob’s Local Retail Outlet, Inc., have in common? They all file the same tax return – Form 1120.

Admittedly, Bob’s corporate tax return may have substantially less volume and fewer attachments but Bob’s Form 1120 will have the exact same five basic pages as General Motors’ Form 1120. A corporation is a corporation.

Any business activity, conducted by the corporation, belongs to the corporation.

None of the income, expenses, profits or losses goes to the individual stockholders of the corporation. Airplanes generally have a tax life for depreciation of five years. It doesn’t matter if the plane is coming right off of the assembly line or is 47 years old. Depreciation is taken over five years. As such, it is highly probable that for the first five years you own the plane, the tax calculations will show a tax loss for these years. Once you get through these initial years, generally starting in Year 6

five years can possibly be claimed by of ownership, there will start to be TAX the shareholders on their personal profits.

TALK returns immediately. Then in Year 6 For a corporation, the tax losses and later, when the depreciation has that are incurred during the first run out and the corporation shows five years of ownership are held a profit, the shareholders need to duck inside the corporation. Initially, because they now have the obligation to they do nobody any good. But when the operations turn positive in Year 6, the cor- report profits on their personal return. It can be upsetting to shareholders to report poration can begin to use the “suspended” profits which come from the corporation, losses to offset the income of the current especially if the corporation is unable to year. So in Years 1 through 5, the losses make distributions to the shareholders. just accumulate. In Years 6 through 10, From the legal side, there is probably little the profits in these years are wiped out to no difference. Both the C Corp and the with the carryover of the losses. In Year S Corp are corporations. The only differ11 and later, it’s time to pay the IRS. With ence is the manner in which they are being a corporation, all the income tax attritaxed by the government. butes or benefits of plane ownership stay inside the corporation.

Let’s take a short break The attorneys love corporations.

S Corps have a major tax problem.

Liability is limited to just the corporate Financing the purchase of a plane is very entity. The attorneys have many years of common, and that presents a problem to corporate case law on the books and pretS Corps when it comes to allowing their ty much know how they need to protect shareholders to take personal deductions and defend you against claims. I am a for the annual tax losses for operations strong advocate of isolating liability, and and depreciation. The problem comes airplanes are high on my list for liability with the debt. isolation. Planes don’t always return to For example, you buy a $500,000 plane land on a runway. As such, a high degree by making a down payment of $25,000 of exposure exists, and being able to limit and financing $475,000. You have invested that exposure to just the corporate assets $25,000. Next, you pay down the debt and not expose your other business or by $5,000 generated from either airplane personal assets to potential claims gives a income or additional personal investlot of weight to having a corporation own ment. So now you have $30,000 of skin your airplane. in the game. If your tax loss for the year, S Corporation including depreciation, is $80,000, you Before I set the corporate world aside, are allowed to deduct only the amount of there is a way you can possibly sweeten your investment (skin in the game) which the deal, income-tax wise, for corporate is $30,000. The remaining $50,000 of loss ownership. Owners don’t like being told is held back until you have more investthat airplane losses have to sit in limbo ment or skin in the game. until sometime in the future. They want If debt is going to be a factor in your their losses now, not years later. It just may plane ownership, an S Corp, while solving be possible to get these losses immediately the income and expense issue, still may if the corporation can meet the requirenot solve your ability to take a personal ments of an “S Corporation” and make an income tax deduction for excess operating election to be taxed in a special way. and depreciation deductions. These are In essence, assuming you meet the known as the basis limitation rules, and rules, you make a deal with the IRS that they are not a lot of fun. the IRS must accept. By making this Partnerships agreement, the tax attributes that would If you and a few of your buddies want to normally remain within the corporation go in together and buy a plane, then odds are handed over to the shareholders of are that the plane will be in the name of the corporation, and the shareholders the partnership and not in the name of deal with the tax attributes on their the individuals who came together to buy personal returns. This is reported on a the plane. For tax purposes, a partnership modified corporate tax return known as exists when two or more individuals and/ Form 1120-S. or tax entities come together to form a This means that the losses in the first

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TaxTalk u FINANCE

single business entity.

The partnership will file Form 1065 and will report its income, expenses, profits and losses to the government and provide each partner with information for reporting the partnership business operations on his/ her personal income tax return. In essence, partnerships are treated and taxed almost identically to that of an S Corp.

The partnership has one big advantage over an S Corp in that it avoids the basis limitation rules when it comes to taking a deduction when the losses exceed the amount of your personal investment. Debt or financing is not held against you.

From the liability side, a general partnership absolutely scares me to death. Unless you modify a general partnership to become a limited partnership or an LLC or LLP, generally all assets are exposed for claims including the personal assets of the partners. Claims against a general partnership can extend to the personal

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assets of the partners. Even though I love partnerships for tax reporting and operating purposes, because they are so flexible, I absolutely avoid general partnerships like the plague. I suggest that you do the same.

So where do I turn? What is left for me to do?

LLCs and LLPs Our prayers are answered. The love of the businessman’s life is a business entity known as a limited-liability company or a limited-liability partnership. I love them.

These are hybrids that combine the asset protection of a corporation with the passthrough tax attributes of a S Corp and a partnership while avoiding the debt or financing restrictions of the S Corp.

The personal assets of the owner are not exposed unless the business owner is totally at fault and has acted crazily.

Attorneys frequently don’t like these

entities. LLCs have been around since the early 1980s but many states were slow in allowing this type of business entity. As such, there’s not a lot of case law on the books for LLCs when you compare them to good old corporate law. Even though they are my general overall business entity choice, it will be your attorney who will be with you in the courtroom. You better know where he or she stands on this before you go to court.

Legal issues, tax issues — both definitely have an impact on your ownership.

Think over who owns your plane very carefully.

O. H. “Harry” Daniels Jr. is a CPA, a CFP certificant, and a certified valuation analyst. He is a partner with the firm of Duggan, Joiner & Co., Certified Public Accountants, and can be reached at 334 N.W. 3rd Ave., Ocala FL 34479, telephone 352.732.0171, fax 352.816.1370, email OHD@DJCoCPA.com. He has held his license as a private pilot since 1991. This article is available for reprint upon request.

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MiPad u ELECTRONICS The problem was obscure, to say the least.

Turns out the chart database contained a duplicate file with a duplicate name for Washington, D.C.,’s National Airport (DCA), and the existence of those duplicate names caused the so ware to crash. Some pilots had listed this chart as a favorite, and it was those pilots who had the problem.

DON’T LET YOUR IPAD GROUND YOUR FLIGHT

By Wayne Rash Jr.

A minor and fairly obscure glitch in iPad data kept several American Airlines flights on the ground in April, but a little planning can keep that from happening to you.

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April 28 wasn’t a very good day for some American Airlines pilots. After they pushed back and begin taxiing for their takeoff position, many of the iPads that they used suddenly stopped working.

Making things even more confusing, only some of the iPads crashed, and they didn’t necessarily crash at the same time.

Then came reports that some of the pilots were able to get things going after taxiing close enough to the terminal to use the airport’s wi-fi signals, while others weren’t so lucky. A number of flights were delayed and some were canceled because the electronic flight bag (EFB) being used by the airline, Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro, had crashed. The only way to restore the app was to remove and reinstall it, which explains the need for the wi-fi signal.

Fortunately, the folks at Jeppesen figured out what was going on and provided a quick fix immediately, followed by a per permanent fix in a few days. “We knew what had happened within an hour or an hour and a half,” said Jeppesen Senior Communications Manager Mike Pound. “It was actually a problem with the database.”

The problem was obscure, to say the least. Turns out the chart database contained a duplicate file with a duplicate name for Washington, D.C.,’s National Airport (DCA), and the existence of those duplicate names caused the software to crash. Some pilots had listed this chart as a favorite, and it was those pilots who had the problem.

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Get A Tax Receipt Donate Any Airplane

AA solved the problem by sending Finding which of your apps has download if the update is pending. Once iPAD out digital images of the correct airbeen updated recently is as simple you’ve done that, give the app a test to Contact: APPS port data for pilots flying into DCA. as looking at the Notifications confirm that it works properly, and also to Pound said the same thing can be screen on your iPad. Those notifi- www.BuildAPlane.org determine what changes may have come cations show up on the lock screen accomplished by having paper charts along with the update. Trying to figure before you enter your pass code or handy in the cockpit. The lesson here: out what happened to a commonly used have your fingerprint read on newer iP“The No. 1 suggestion is to always preflight menu item that was changed in the most Help kids learn science, technology, engineering ads. But if you didn’t see those items, your charts,” Pound said, and always have update, while you’re flying the andyou math byrecent building or restoring real airplanes. are taxtodeductible. can check Notifications from any of theYour contributions a backup plan in case something bad hapairplane, is likely be problematic. pens. main screens on the iPad. If there’s also been an update to iOS, But let’s say that you’re not American AirTo see those Notifications, just flick the then it’s time to test all of the apps you lines, and you’re responsible for your own top of the screen down and you’ll see a depend on. Incompatibilities due to iOS navigation software and your own EFB, or black screen with white writing. It may updates are common, and they can make that you work for a smaller operation that give current meetings and conditions, an app you depend on impossible to use doesn’t have thousands of people using your and in that case, touch the Notifications until it’s fixed.

And finally, give mission critical apps custom software. If you’re using an EFB or button at the top of the screen. There Contact: www.BuildAPlane.org a test before every flight. Jeppesen’s EFB some other type of electronic navigation you’ll see all of your notifications, includcrash didn’t appear until 24 hours before ing the apps that were updated. software on your iPad, a problem like this its effective date, and while you won’t There’s also a more thorough listing can still happen. The difference is that you see that problem from that specific app available from the AppStore, however. might notHelp hearkids about it soscience, quickly.technology, engineering learn So do aand digital preflight beforeor you ever realJust again, something like that could hapgo into the AppStore and look for the math by building restoring airplanes.

Your contributions are check tax deductible. leave your office.

As Pound suggested, pen just as easily and unpredictably to Updates icon in the lower right corner the charts and other airport and en route software critical to your next of the screen (it looks like a square with data for your next flight while you’re still in a flight. a downward-pointing arrow). Press that, position to fix something if it’s not working and you’ll see a list of pending and comWayne Rash is based near Washington, pleted updates to the apps on your iPad. right. In addition, check every app that you D.C., where he works as bureau chief and senior columnist for eWEEK. He If any of the apps you think you’ll use use in the cockpit after every update to that has been a pilot since 1968. He can be on your flight are listed, then accept the app and after every Apple update to iOS. reached at wayne@waynerash.com

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Travel u TECHNOLOGY

WILL UBER-LIKE APPS REDESIGN JET TRAVEL? YOU CAN USE YOUR SMARTPHONE TO MAKE EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL EASIER AND CHEAPER.

By Pamela Brown

A business crisis is about to explode, and you have to be in San Francisco this afternoon, but a commercial flight doesn’t leave until tomorrow morning.

Your best friend jetted you an SOS requesting you be his best man at his impromptu Vegas wedding in three hours.

You just scored two tickets to see Paul McCartney in concert, provided you can get from L. A. to Denver by 6 p.m. today. You know a commercial airline is not the answer, but you think time is too short and the expense too great to charter a private jet. Well, think again.

In the same way that Uber shifted the paradigm in taxi service, a number of new and established private-jet companies are “Uberizing” the skies by offering apps that make booking your own private jet as simple as a tap or two on your smartphone. And with the elimination of the middleman, private charter apps are making private-jet travel more affordable too.

Companies like JetSmarter, Victor, Blue Star Jets and Jet Suite offer their own mobile app using complex predictive algorithms to aggregate in real-time available aircraft from

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hundreds of private-jet operators all over the world. Within seconds of entering your desired flight time and destination, you are shown real-time pricing, available aircraft, specifics on the aircraft and crew, and a sideby-side comparison of jets and safety records.

Depending on your departing location, you can be in the air within a few hours (or less) of paying for the flight from your mobile device.

While each of these private-jet companies utilizes similar apps, each company has a different approach to its services. For example, JetSmarter is a technology company with a private booking app that showcases private-jet options with 3,000 independent carriers around the world.

The company offers three levels of service: Jet deals, jet shuttle and jet charter. Jet deals are one-way, empty-leg flights – jets being repositioned that would otherwise fly empty.

Offered at a highly reduced rate, Jet deals are automatically streamed to the JetSmarter app

(available at the Apple app store). You can enter desired destinations, and the app will notify you when a deal is available.

JetSmarter CEO and founder Sergey Petrossov believes the technology will eventually change the way the majority of us travel. With JetSmarter, his goal is to make private-air travel more available to “absolutely everybody.”

Since its launch in 2012, the JetSmarter app has been downloaded more than 200,000 times.

Recently entering the US market is Victor (FlyVictor.com), a UK-based higher-end private-jet charter company founded in 2012

by Clive Jackson, CEO. Victor operates its own fleet of 7,000 aircraft in more than 40,000 airports worldwide. The Victor fleet boasts six levels of aircraft from the two-seater Ubair Taxi (Sirrus SR-20/22, Beech Baron, Cessna 414 or Piper Seneca) at $1,500 per hour to the 14-seater Ubair Heavy (Gulfstream III, Falcon 900/200, Challenger 601 or Gulfstream IV) for $11,000-$13,000 per hour.

According to Jackson, Victor is the first service of its kind to offer true transparency on prices and information on the actual jet you’re booking. “When you get a quote from Victor,” Jackson said, “you get all that transparency — the aggregated supply, around the world, under one consumer brand, with a flat booking fee.”

Already an established private-jet charter company since 2001, Blue Star Jets’ motto, “Any jet. Any time. Any place,” reflects its ability to customize and source the best aircraft for clients. Travelers may select from helicopters and turbo props to air ambulances and jumbo jets from any airport in the world. Blue Star Jets (BlueStarJets.com) expects its newly released mobile app to double its charter business.

Private-jet companies like JetSuite are making it easier for the mainstream population to fly like rock stars by offering deals through social-media sites and its online daily “suite deal” (JetSuite.com/suitedeal or on Facebook, Facebook.com/JetSuiteAir). A recent suite deal featured a four-seater Citation CJ3 jet from Santa Fe, N.M., to Dallas for $536.43 each way. That comes to $268.22 per person round trip. CEO David Wilcox says Jet Suite offers six to 20 suite deals a day “to show that the high life isn’t out of reach.”

It’s too early to tell if the transparency in the private-jet charter market, combined with the real-time technology of available private jet,s will result in lower prices that will attract a more mainstream population.

But the next time you get a craving for your favorite gourmet chocolate from Paris, you might just want to stop a second — and then click on a private-jet charter app.

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FLYING BLIND

By Neil Singer

The vast majority of owner/pilots with whom I have worked and flown are fastidious about complying with takeoff limits that relate to runway requirements and certification climb limits. They diligently calculate takeoff performance and accept load and fuel limitations when operating out of short runways or in hot/ high conditions.

Yet most do not use third-party runway analysis services or software to ensure that the equally important requirement of obstacle clearance is respected. Indeed, even pilots who have been operating their jet for many years often may have no sense of what critical information they’re missing by flying “blind” when it comes to engine-out obstacle clearance.

Let’s first look at what complying with aircraft flight manual (AFM) provided takeoff performance information does provide. First, it ensures the pilot will operate at a weight so that, given the available runway, the pilot can either initiate an aborted takeoff at precisely V1 and stop on the remaining runway, or continue takeoff on one engine to VR then climb to 35 feet above the pavement. Once the aircraft reaches 35 feet (or about half the height of an average maple tree), the plane is then guaranteed to at least meet the certification climb requirements for its category.

Every in-production light jet authorized for single-pilot operation, with the exception of the Eclipse 550, has a maximum takeoff weight of more than 6,000 pounds and is certified under the normal category. The engine-out climb performance required of these jets is spelled out in FAR 23.67: “The steady gradient of climb at an altitude of 400 feet above the takeoff surface must be not less than 2.0 percent.”

If pilots are aware of this requirement, few make the correlation between this specified gradient and what they would actually experience should an engine fail with the aircraft bumping against the climb-limited take-off weight.

Taking the example of a Citation Mustang or Phenom 100 with a calculated V2 of 100 knots, converting a 2-percent gradient (122 feet of altitude gain per forward nautical mile traveled) into a more understandable rate of climb figure, we see that the pilot may experience as little as 200 feet/minute of climb should the engine fail. A 2-percent slope is really quite shallow, and often the area around what are thought of as flat-land airports requires a steeper climb to maintain terrain separation.

Take the case of McCollum Field, Ga., (KRYY). A class delta satellite of Atlanta with an elevation of 1041 feet, its single Runway 9-27 is 6,311 feet long — long enough that most light jet pilots wouldn’t imagine weight could possibly pose issues, even on a hot summer day. Yet just off the departure end of Runway 27 sits a highway embankment cut into a small hill, stretching 350 feet above the runway elevation. It’s too wide for a pilot suffering an engine failure to be able to avoid it by turning and too close to the runway end to make a 180-degree turn an option. The gradient needed to clear the embankment is approximately 3.2 percent, or 50 percent greater than

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a pilot is guaranteed by the climb certification limits.

If a Phenom 100 pilot departing Runway 27 considered only AFM performance data, he/she would calculate that a takeoff at 40 degrees C could be performed at maximum takeoff weight (MTOW). Yet running the problem through runway-analysis software, we see that, in order to clear the terrain, the plane would need to be loaded more than 1,000 pounds below MTOW. The implication of this is frightening: A pilot departing at MTOW who experiences an engine failure at or just after V1 would not be able to avoid hitting the terrain.

Runway analysis neatly takes care of another subtle performance issue often not understood well by pilots — the fact that the physical pavement length of a runway isn’t always the amount of runway that is legal to use for performance calculations.

Runways are required to have a 1,000-foot runway safety area (RSA) at the end of the useable surface, which is suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of undershoot, overshoot or excursion from the runway. Unfortunately, a drop-off and road immediately at the departure end of Runway 27 means this RSA doesn’t exist. When this is the case, the FAA reduces the runway available for calculating accelerate-stop distance, called the ASDA, by the amount of RSA not present.

In the case of Runway 27, with essentially no safety area at the departure end, the published ASDA is 5,374 feet, nearly a full 1,000 feet less than the runway length. A pilot not checking the airport facility directory for KRYY would have no way of seeing this ASDA limit and would be led to believe that a loading requiring the full 6,311 feet of pavement for takeoff would be legal. Runway-analysis software “knows” when ASDA is reduced for RSA purposes and will adjust the takeoff weight accordingly.

A final note: Using runway analysis is not always immediately intuitive and in some cases requires careful thought and understanding of how the numbers provided are generated. The main provider of runway analysis to General Aviation operators, Aircraft Performance Group (APG.aero), features some good reference material on its website that should be carefully digested by any pilot before integrating runway analysis into preflight calculations.