Circling Approach: Is It Your Best Option?

Circling approaches are the most dangerous of all approaches, especially when flown at night or in marginal weather conditions. As an extension of an instrument approach, a circling approach is the “visual segment of an approach” often flown at low altitude, low airspeed, and with no lateral or vertical guidance to a runway. Accepting a clearance to fly a circling approach is risky business and there is no room for error.

Since 2008, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been 10 major accidents involving Part 91 and Part 135 aircraft flying a circling approach. On average, that is one fatal accident every 18 months, where an aircraft either loses control or impacts terrain while attempting a circling approach.

BJT: Fundamentals of Fractional Ownership

Fractional ownership became popular in the 1990s and now is a staple on the private air travel menu of options. With fractional, you purchase a partial interest in an aircraft that an aviation company operates. Along with other owners, you have the right to use any comparable aircraft in the company's fleet, on demand, for a predetermined number of hours each year.

Your operator manages the aircraft and the rest of the fleet, providing pilots, maintenance, hangaring, insurance, catering, and other services. You merely call a few hours ahead to schedule a flight and the company will deliver an airplane where you want it, when you want it, to take you where you want to go.

From the Archives: R-R Pearl 15 Marks New Engine Family

Rolls-Royce unveiled a new engine family for the large and very-long-range class of business aircraft with its first applications—the Bombardier Globals 5500 and 6500—in hand. Quietly in development for years, the Pearl builds on the venerable BR700 family that has powered the Global 5000 and 6000 as well as the Gulfstream G550 and G650.

The engine incorporates numerous changes, adopting research involving key technologies derived from Rolls-Royce’s Advance2 engine technology demonstrator program. The result is a new core with new high-pressure compressor, along with advanced engine health monitoring, low-emissions combustor, and a two-stage shroudless high-pressure turbine.

The Not-so-new Vision of Air Taxis

Last May, the FAA released an airspace blueprint as guidance to potential changes to airspace and procedures in the accommodation of future eVTOL air taxis. A short accompanying video noted that air taxis would operate initially in the existing helicopter and heli-path structure, require onboard pilots actively flying the aircraft, and follow all applicable aviation regulations.

If this all sounds familiar, it is; it is similar to how air taxis, regulated by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations and including fixed-wing aircraft, have operated for decades.

Sponsor Content: C&L Aviation

ERJ 135, 140 & 145 Semi-Private Interior Upgrade Options

Semi-private conversions remain a niche market with only a few MROs providing conversion and upgrade services. As one of those MROs, we often get asked about the available semi-private options – from basic interior refurbishment to the complete luxury VIP experience.

BJT: What If the Pilot Becomes Incapacitated?

Darren Harrison of Lakeland, Florida, was relaxing in the cabin of a single-engine Cessna 208 Grand Caravan with his bare feet up on a table, heading home in May 2022 after a fishing trip in the Bahamas.

Suddenly, the 64-year-old pilot, Ken Allen, announced, "Guys, I gotta tell you, I don't feel right. I've got a headache, and everything is fuzzy." A moment later, he passed out and the airplane was in a descent, heading toward the water.

FutureFlight: Joby Envisions 2025 Commercial Ops

At the Revolution.Aero conference on Wednesday in San Francisco, Joby Aviation head of product Eric Allison assured attendees that Joby expects its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft to begin commercial urban air mobility (UAM) operations in 2025. The company, which aims to launch its aerial ridesharing service in Los Angeles and New York City, is also working to add the eVTOL aircraft to its Part 135 operating certificate.

A majority of team members are working on the certification program, including type certification and production certification, Allison said. In July, Joby announced it had finished submitting its certification plans to the FAA, shortly after it rolled out the first production prototype at its pilot manufacturing facility in Marina, California.

In-flight Smoke Enhanced Vision Display Gets FAA Nod

Pilots at cargo airline FedEx now have another tool to combat in-flight smoke and fire events: a recently certified smoke assured vision enhanced display (Saved) system. Saved is integrated within pilots' oxygen masks and goggles to help them navigate smoke-filled flight decks.

FedEx and Klatt Works teamed up to jointly develop the Saved system over two years. During a smoke-in-the-cockpit event, the system employs augmented-reality technology to display critical flight information directly on the goggles, using head-up display symbology and exterior views of the aircraft from a camera mounted on its nose.