Posted by Diane Heiserman on Thu, Oct 18, 2012 @ 11:00 AM
A lot has changed in the world of air traffic control during the past 70 years. To help diagram some of the more recent changes, Duncan Aviation released a four-part video series on Understanding Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS), the avionics system that provides direct data link communication between the pilot and air traffic controller.
Justin Vena, Avionics Installations Rep for Duncan Aviation, hosted the series which details FANS history, evolution, operations, certification and upcoming mandates. He gives advice regarding FANS operations and answer the most common questions he hears from operators.
Justin’s passion for understanding the world’s NextGen initiatives has led to his extensive research on the subject. The FANS video series explains Controller Pilot Data Link (CPDLC), Automatic Dependent Surveillance Contract (ADS-C) and how they operate. He gives details about what happens with initial set-up and operation, including air traffic controller hand-offs, and explains the components included in a typical FANS system.
The video series provides information in regards to FANS mandates in Europe and the North Atlantic tracks. This resource is provided by Duncan Aviation in addition to the company’s ebook, Straight Talk About FANS 1/A, which was released in 2011 and can be found at http://www.duncanaviation.aero/straighttalk/fans/index.php.
Duncan Aviation FANS 1/A Webinar
Take a deeper look into the subject of FANS 1/A by attending an online interactive webinar hosted by Justin Vena on December 18th, 2012, 2-3 pm EST. He'll go into depth about how FANS work, generic system configurations, certification requirements and mandates, plus much more.
Duncan Aviation's FANS 1/A webinar is a free internet seminar for operators researching FANS compliance for their aircraft, and all aviation enthusiasts with an interest in FAA NextGen initiatives. There are only 100 "seats" available. Register today.
You may also sign up for the webinar by joining Duncan Aviation in booth #5580 at the 2012 NBAA Convention in Orlando, Florida, October 29-31.
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Posted by Diane Heiserman on Thu, Sep 13, 2012 @ 06:00 AM
Contributed by Nate Klenke, Completions Sales Rep.
On June 29th, a Gulfstream GV received a fresh coat of paint as Duncan Aviation celebrated the opening of our new, $11.5 million, 45,000 sq. ft. aircraft paint facility in Lincoln, Neb. (LNK). A small fleet of cameras mounted in the paint bays captured the GV’s transformation, highlighting the size of the aircraft paint facility and the number of technicians involved during the paint process.
We see the fleet of business aviation aircraft getting larger, which is why we built the state of the art paint hangar at our Lincoln, Nebraska, facility. It allows us to work on the largest business jets in operation. The process we use to protect the aircraft during stripping and the detail work that gets done after the paint is applied helps us achieve the high level of quality on all of the airframes we work on, including Gulfstream.
Most people don’t think of Duncan Aviation as having Gulfstream capabilities. In fact, Gulfstreams have been a part of our service capabilities since they became a major part of business aviation over 25 years ago. This GV was the first ultra-long-range business jet painted in our Lincoln, Nebraska, facility, and the timing just happened to work out with the open house for the new paint facility. The owner of the GV is a long-time customer of Duncan Aviation, and has relied on us to provide maintenance and refurbishment on their aircraft for years. They know the quality of our work and dedication to customer services. When they purchased their GV, they knew nothing would change.
In this video, you can see the attention to detail and how many people it takes to navigate a large business jet though the paint process. Beyond the hours of planning and designing of the paint design, there is a lot that happens to ensure a high-quality completion. The attention to detail given from the initial protection of the aircraft prior to stripping off the old paint, to physically detailing every inch of the aircraft, in conjunction with a state of the art facility with the proper lighting, airflow and a climate-controlled paint booth make it clear why Duncan Aviation is the industry choice for business jet paint refurbishment.
Duncan Aviation offers a three-year warranty on paint services, and has complete paint facilities in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Battle Creek, Michigan, both of which offer full design services with 3D rendering capabilities.
For more information on the capabilities of our new paint hangar or our paint process, please contact me.
Nate Klenke serves as a Completions Sales Rep. for Duncan Aviation’s Lincoln, Neb. (LNK) full-service facility, specializing in Gulfstreams, Citations, Hawkers, Astras and Westwinds. He began his career in aviation in 1995.
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Posted by Diane Heiserman on Thu, Feb 09, 2012 @ 06:00 AM
Robert Duncan accepts the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award from past recipient Clay Lacy.
J. Robert Duncan, Duncan Aviation Chairman Emeritus and son of founder Donald Duncan, was honored in January with the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award at the 9th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards banquet in Beverly Hills.
Defined as aviation entrepreneurs, innovators, record breakers, industry leaders, astronauts, and pilots who have become celebrities (and celebrities who have become pilots), the Living Legends of Aviation meet annually to recognize and honor individuals who have made significant contributions in aviation. Members and past recipients include names like Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoover, Tom Cruise, Buzz Aldrin and Clay Lacy.
“I very much appreciate this honor,” Robert says. “It brings a spotlight on all of the almost 2,000 team members at Duncan Aviation. I have always believed in people and delegated easily, resulting in a team of extremely capable individuals. They take care of our customers, our vendors and each other. It is their success that this award recognizes and I thank them all. Together, we have built an innovative aviation company where team members can make a difference. My aviation career has been a great ride and the best is yet to come for Duncan Aviation!”
J. Robert Duncan is an innovator in business aviation who, after his father and company founder Donald Duncan, grew his family business from less than 100 employees to over 1,940 employees around the world.
In 2012, Duncan Aviation celebrates 56 years in business aviation and is the largest family-owned business aviation company offering comprehensive business aircraft services at more than 20 locations. Robert's son Todd, is currently at the helm as Chairman.
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Posted by Sarah Naeher on Tue, Jan 18, 2011 @ 09:00 AM
2010 was a busy year. We fielded countless avionics and paint questions, launched a blog, introduced a series of field guides and beefed up our YouTube channel with some new videos. Here’s a rundown of our most popular resources on DuncanAviation.aero last year.
1. Upgrading to WAAS: Answers From Industry Experts
The WAAS/LPV field guide was our most popular download last year. It addresses common questions from operators, differences between approval processes, discrepancies in upgrade costs and considerations for planning an upgrade.
2. Paint, Maintenance & Turbine Aircraft Value
The runner-up was an aircraft paint field guide, which targets common misperceptions about exterior refurbishments. It addresses the necessity of regular paint maintenance, aircraft market value considerations and criteria for selecting an aircraft paint service provider.
3. Straight Talk About WAAS
This WAAS eBook continued to attract attention last year with its discussion about the importance of WAAS, why it impacts business aviation operators and how it works.
4. Company Video: “Our Work Speaks for Itself”
A four minute video about Duncan Aviation debuted on our YouTube channel last year, highlighting our history, service philosophy, customer observations, capabilities and facility locations.
5. Understanding WAAS/LPV Video Series
Avionics Installation Sales Rep and long-time AEA Advisory Board Member Gary Harpster hosted this five-part WAAS video series based on the presentations he gave across the country last year. The series offers more technical information on legacy interface problems, LPV approaches, GPS signals and operational benefits.
More downloads are planned for release this year, so stay tuned! Additional resources that didn’t make our top five list can be found at www.DuncanAviation.aero/downloads.
For more updates from Duncan Aviation, please follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Posted by Diane Heiserman on Tue, Oct 26, 2010 @ 08:12 AM
Contributed by Christopher Kingley, Founder and CEO, Roundscapes, Inc.
Duncan Aviation's corporate video "Our Work Speaks for Itself" premiered last week for the NBAA 2010 meeting and convention.
The international version of the video is available at www.DuncanAviation.aero/
worldwide.
My team and I spend most of our time in the digital media world designing websites, creating online interactive environments and virtual video tours for a wide range of clients including some of the most beautiful golf courses and architecture in the United States. But for the last two years, Duncan Aviation opened our eyes to the world of business aviation.
With unprecedented access, we’ve been witness to their ideals in action filming every angle and discovering firsthand why they are a world leader in business aviation in terms of quality, customer service and technical expertise. We can say without hesitation that every Duncan Aviation team member is an expert in their field and dedicated to nothing short of perfection. Customer after customer that we’ve interviewed all ended up saying essentially the same thing: I trust Duncan Aviation with everything.
At the end of these two years it is abundantly clear to us that Duncan Aviation is the very best at everything they do and are constantly striving to elevate their overall quality and customer service beyond all expectations.
When Duncan Aviation asked me to be a guest blogger and write a post introducing their new corporate video, I felt honored to be given such an opportunity. It speaks volumes about them as a company to invite an industry outsider to help launch such an important message.
We’re so excited to launch the domestic Duncan Aviation video to show others what we’ve learned and share this experience with the world.
For more updates from Duncan Aviation, please follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Posted by Diane Heiserman on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 @ 02:39 PM
Gary Harpster, Duncan Aviation Avionics Sales Rep, concludes Understanding WAAS & LPV video series by answering some important questions about LPV:
- What is it?
- What equipment is required?
- Where are LPV approaches available?
View the complete WAAS/LPV video series at www.DuncanAviation.aero/videos.
For more updates from Duncan Aviation, please follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Posted by Diane Heiserman on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 @ 01:43 PM
Gary Harpster continues the Understanding WAAS/LPV video series explaining how WAAS has far reaching benefits to operators, airports and the overall general aviation operation at large.
Learn how WAAS changes navigational system accuracy, approaches, flexibility, precision, fuel savings and government and airport costs. Operational benefits and Next-Gen considerations are also discussed.
View the complete WAAS/LPV video series at www.DuncanAviation.aero/videos.
For more updates from Duncan Aviation, please follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Posted by Diane Heiserman on Fri, Jul 16, 2010 @ 01:41 PM
Here I am with Robert Duncan standing next to Dove 1.
It didn't take me long to realize I was a part of something big, bigger than myself, bigger than the company I work for and the community in which I live. This is the opening weekend of the Special Olympics National Games in Lincoln, Nebraska, marking only the second time the National Games have been held in the United States.
The games will officially kick off at the opening ceremony on Sunday, July 18, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. However, the excitement begins with the first contingency of athletes arriving tomorrow morning at 7:28 a.m. at the Lincoln Airport as part of the Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift. For eight hours, 165 Citations will be flying 800+ athletes and coaches in from 28 different states. There will be an aircraft landing every two minutes. Each flight coming in is assigned the "Dove" call sign and given priority handling by air traffic control.
Robert Duncan, Chairman Emeritas of Duncan Aviation, is flying Dove 1 carrying athletes from Ohio in his Citation Mustang (N1RD).
For two years, a small group of dedicated Duncan Aviation team members have worked tirelessly discussing, planning, organizing and implementing plans to make sure the airlift ground support operations go off without a hitch. But Duncan Aviation is not alone. We are only part of a larger team made up of Cessna Aircraft Co., FAA, Lincoln Airport Authority, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitors Bureau, among a long list of other very important volunteers. Hundreds will be on hand to greet each flight, unload the athletes, handle the 5,600 pieces of luggage and refuel the aircraft. Hundreds more will be welcoming the athletes to the games and cheering them on to victory.
If you are in Lincoln tomorrow, make plans to stop by and witness what could be one of the most trafficked events in Nebraska history, according to the FAA. If you miss it, don't worry. There will be a second showing, only in reverse when the Dove flights take to the air again to return athletes to their home states.
My part in this whole process has been quite small, minuscule in fact when compared to the magnitude of the entire event and the sheer number of volunteers that have pledged their time and talents to support the games. But it's not about the airlift or the volunteers. It's not about the community support or corporate sponsorship.
It's about the athletes. And that's all it's about.
For more updates from Duncan Aviation, please follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Posted by Diane Heiserman on Thu, Jul 15, 2010 @ 01:09 PM
Gary Harpster, Duncan Aviation Avionics Sales Rep continues the Understanding WAAS & LPV video series.
WAAS is supported by a sophisticated infrastructure across the United States consisting of Wide Area Reference Stations (WRS), Master Stations (WMS) and a terrestrial satellite network. Learn how the WAAS signal interacts with GPS, eliminating inaccuracies and providing precision approach information.
View the complete WAAS/LPV video series at www.DuncanAviation.aero/videos.
For more updates from Duncan Aviation, please follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Posted by Diane Heiserman on Thu, Jul 08, 2010 @ 01:01 PM
Gary Harpster, Duncan Aviation Avionics Sales Rep explains all you need to know about WAAS & LPV for corporate aircraft and what's going on in our industry, covering operations, safety and efficiency benefits.
Business Aviation has another group of letters to add to its alphabet soup of acronyms. WAAS, Wide Area Augmentation System, is an extremely accurate navigation service which utilizes a combination of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and Geostationary Satellites to improve the GPS navigational service. But what is it? How does it work? And will it be where I need it?
Questions about WAAS/LPV? Ask them on the What is WAAS? video page.
View the complete WAAS/LPV video series at www.DuncanAviation.aero/videos.
For more updates from Duncan Aviation, please follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.