Sierra Industries Recieves EASA Approval

EASA Approval Granted for Sierra Industries’ FJ44 Stallion and Eagle II Modifications

UVALDE, Texas – After receiving a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the FJ44 Stallion in August 2006, Sierra has received EASA Approval for both the Eagle II and Stallion modifications, allowing operations in Europe and the Middle East. EASA approval allows owners of aircraft registered within the European Union the ability to upgrade to the Eagle II or Stallion. The European Aviation Safety Agency STC Number is EASA.IM.A.S.01937.

The first aircraft delivered under the new EASA approval was G-VUEM, a Citation 501SP Eagle II owned by Frandley Aviation Partnership LLP of the UK. This aircraft is the most recent of a total of 28 Eagle II and 8 Stallion modifications performed to date.

Mark Huffstutler, CEO of Sierra Industries remarks, “EASA Approval of the Eagle II and Stallion modifications is an important milestone for Sierra. This approval not only demonstrates the sound design which has now been proven to meet the stringent requirements of the European Aviation authority, but it creates a viable product for the European and Middle East market. With our outstanding performance and “right now” availability, we see the Eagle II and Stallion as a very attractive product for our customers across the ocean.”

Preceded by Sierra innovations such as the Eagle 400 and Eagle SP, the Eagle II enjoys the added power of the Williams FJ44 engine, and adds Sierra’s renowned Eagle wing modification to improve aerodynamics and add fuel capacity. Like Sierra’s Stallion, the Eagle II climbs directly to 43,000 ft and accelerates to a high Mach number. With its enhanced fuel specifics and 1,650 NM range, the Eagle II is the perfect aircraft for intermediate-length trips carrying a crew and six passengers to and from airports that demand high performance.

Sierra’s next FJ44 re-engining program involves adding 3000 lb. thrust Williams FJ44-3 engines to the Cessna 550 Citation II model. With an increase of 1000 lbs. of thrust and over 400 miles range, the Super II promises a stunning improvement in across-the-board performance. The Super II program is well underway with first flight mid-summer and approval in the 3^rd quarter of 2007.

To find out more about the Eagle II, Stallion and Super II programs, please contact Sierra Industries toll-free at 1-888-8FLYERS, or email them at sierra@sijet.com. Information on this program may also be attained through their Internet site at www.sijet.com.

Business Jet Blog

Had some great comments on the blog the past few days. Basically kicking me in the tail for not making posts more often, and also chastising us for “Typos, formatting errors, and ancient data galore”. But, that is occasionally what we need to motivate us to do better things. I actually wish more people would send in comments like that more often. Sometimes what we need in life to motivate us is a friendly, warm, encouraging voice. Other times we need a fired-up Drill Instructor from Quantico yelling in our face. This was obviously the Drill Instructor voice.

While working on some other projects with consulting clients and doing a few other things I had gotten away from some keys to my success.

1. Break it down – I knew that the blog wasn’t being updated on a regular basis, because we had recently changed servers and the new settings had never been imported to blogger.com.
2. Write it down – I actually had written this task down in my moleskine.
3. Do it now – This is where the breakdown occurred – I continued to overlook or ignore this task as I was working on some other projects and this didn’t feel as vital. The DI reminded me that it was.

As for the typo’s – I guess we should run spell check and grammar check more often, however, this is a blog, not the Wall Street Journal. Regarding our “ancient data galore,” there is not a whole lot going on in business aviation right now, and at least we have some data that can be ancient. Two years ago we didn’t even have a blog, so we are making progress!

Now I know that this is generally an aviation blog, and specifically related to business jets so I hate to bring others topics into this space. But to read about the value of URLs or domains, check out Frank Schilling’s 7mile blog, take a look at the DNJournal for a list of the most recent domain name sales, or visit the Internet Commerce Association's website (Howdy Jude!). BusinessJet.com is not for sale, so while we are interested in the value of our assets, we take Charlie Munger’s approach and view this is as a long-term favorable trend, which we won’t interrupt unnecessarily.

With all that being said, I will take a much more disciplined approach to updating the blog on a regular and timely basis. Comments are always appreciated, and we are always happy to feature interesting people and their products on the blog and at BusinessJet.com.

Eclipse Aviation Receives Production Certificate

Pace of Eclipse 500 deliveries to increase as inspection and approval process matures

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — April 26, 2007 — Eclipse Aviation, manufacturer of the world’s first very light jet (VLJ), today announced that it has received its production certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Representatives from the FAA presented the production certificate to Peg Billson, chief operating officer (COO) of Eclipse Aviation earlier today at a ceremony held at Eclipse’s Albuquerque headquarters.

A production certificate allows a company to manufacture aircraft with an FAA-approved type design, and is only granted when the FAA has determined that the organization’s manufacturing processes and inspection systems comply with all federal regulations. Eclipse Aviation is now authorized to issue standard airworthiness certificates for its production aircraft. As is common in the production start-up phase of a new aircraft manufacturer, Eclipse was previously required to submit every aircraft to the FAA for approval before delivery.

“Earning our FAA production certificate means we have successfully built a reliable, high-quality manufacturing process, and are well positioned to expedite aircraft deliveries,” said Peg Billson. “Our employees, customers and investors can have confidence that we are gaining momentum in production as more and more Eclipse 500s go out the door and into the hands of our customers. This is a critical milestone in our journey to become a high-production aircraft manufacturer.”

The FAA production certificate approval process is very rigorous, and includes the exhaustive evaluation of an organization’s manufacturing processes, quality control and production inspection system. A team of FAA inspectors fully audits the organization and production facilities, and examines approved design data for compliance. If the FAA finds inconsistencies, there are follow-up audits to ensure corrective actions were taken and integrated into ongoing systems and processes.

“We appreciate the professionalism and dedication the FAA has demonstrated throughout this initiative, and look forward to advancing Eclipse 500 aircraft production under our now FAA-approved system,” commented Billson.

Bill Gates To Finally Graduate

Thirty-four years after dropping out of Harvard, Bill Gates is finally going to get his degree. Harvard has announced that it will give Gates an honorary degree when he comes to the school in June to deliver the keynote commencement address. Gates' parents hope that earning his degree will finally allow him to make something of his life.