Universal Avionics is opening a satellite office in Singapore this year. The Asia Pacific office will support Universal's customer base throughout the region, including Thailand, Japan and Australia , where the company says numerous flight deck retrofit projects are in the works. The office will include both local sales and support representatives.
More than one airline recommends that captains relinquish flying duties when faced with unexpected circumstances in order to promote optimum crew coordination and to minimize the potential for misunderstandings and errors. Anticipating that unforeseen emergencies can occur for which there are no published procedures, air carrier training departments often recommend guidelines for assignments of responsibilities.
Constant Aviation, which expanded into the Beechjet landing gear overhaul business last summer, has found demand for the service so strong that it is relocating the services from Birmingham Ala., to a larger facility near its Cleveland headquarters. The sister company of Flight Options and Nextant Aerospace, Constant in July announced the opening of a new landing gear repair and overhaul shop at its Birmingham service center.
Waterford, Mich.-based Pentastar Aviation has acquired Aviation Interior Solutions, also of Waterford, to strengthen its interoir refurbishment and completion offerings. At the same time Pentastar's Oxford, Conn. facility has recieved Part 145 Satellite Repair Station certification. The company also said it would exit its Van Nuys, Calif. FBO and service facillity to focus on its Eastern U.S. customers.
Ametek is building up its MRO base in Miami with the acquisition of Aero Components International (ACI) and Avtech Avionics. ACI expands Ametek's reach in the Miami market for repair and overhaul of hydraulic, pneumatic, power generation and heat exchanger components. Avtech provides repair capabilities for new and legacy avionics. Both are located near Ametek's MRO operation in Miami.
Pan Am International Flight Academy has acquired Airline Career Academy (ACA), a pilot training academy specializing in JAA/EASA and FAA Ab Initio training. ACA will be integrated in Pan Am's operations to offer professional pilot training programs that enhance Pan Am's core business. Training will continue to operate under the Pan Am brand with no interruption of service. ACA was established in 1995 and trains an estimated 250 pilots annually. The company provides private, instrument and commercial multiengine training with a fleet of about 50 aircraft.
I was downing my eighth chocolate chip cookie when the marvel of today's global air transportation system struck home. Again. The killer batch of double-dark confections were baked by my niece, recently arrived from New Zealand, and there about to return with her brood. Meanwhile, the stack of classic, morsel-dotted blondes were baked in wonderful abundance by my youngest sister, soon to be launching for Abu Dhabi where her physician-husband is working on contract in a clinic.
CAE announced that its CAE-built Gulfstream G450/G550 full-flight simulator in Shanghai, China, has received Level D certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The training program will be offered at the Shanghai Eastern Flight Training Centre, in Shanghai Pudong Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone starting this year. Shanghai is CAE's tenth business aviation training location worldwide. The G450/G550 pilot training programs will feature standard CAE courseware in Mandarin as well as English.
Cessna is beginning delivery of its more powerful Grand Caravan EX following the receipt of FAA type certification. The Caravan, which sports the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 engine, is the first of as many as six new or follow-on aircraft that Cessna expects to bring to market this year. The Caravan has long been considered a workhorse with close to 2,200 delivered, but has been criticized for being underpowered.
Hawker Beechcraft is furloughing about 240 workers on its T-6/AT-6 production line as it winds down the most recent Joint Primary Aircraft Training Systems (JPATS) contract. The company is in negotiations for Lots 19 and 20, Hawker Beechcraft says. “To allow this negotiation process to be completed and synchronize output to customer demand, the company is initiating a rolling furlough on its T-6/AT-6 production line in Wichita,” the company says in a statement.
Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF), Alexandria, Va., announced that Averitt Air of Nashville, Tenn., is the newest charter operator to join the ACSF. Averitt Air is a subsidiary of Averitt Express, a leading freight transportation and supply chain services provider. They specialize in aircraft maintenance, management, charter services, sales and acquisitions, and consulting.
Garmin has received the FAA's TSO authorization and AML STC approval for the GDL 88 series, its dual-link ADS-B solution for certified aircraft. With these certifications, the GDL 88 is approved for installation on most Part 23 fixed-wing aircraft and is available immediately. The unit provides a simple ADS-B rule-compliant solution for aircraft operating in the U.S. and below 18,000 ft. It also brings the added benefit of access to advanced traffic information and subscription-free weather for aircraft flying at any altitude, the company says.
Business aircraft accidents were down overall worldwide in 2012, but those involving U.S. business jets have been increasing, according to the latest statistics from business aviation safety expert Robert E. Breiling Associates. At the same time, U.S. helicopter accidents jumped notably in 2012, while the non-U.S. registered helicopter fleet improved its safety record. The number of U.S. business jet accidents increased by five in 2012 to 19 accidents. Of those, five were fatal and involved 21 deaths.
Four minutes after taking off from Singapore's Changi Airport on Nov. 4, 2010, the flight crew of Qantas Airways Flight 32, an Airbus A380, heard two loud explosions from the left inboard engine while passing through 7,000 ft. overhead Batam Island in North Indonesia. At that point, a “black swan event” began to develop.
Cessna is releasing a series of service bulletins for the installation of Astronics Corporation's Max-Viz-600 enhanced vision system (EVS) on newer model Cessna 172 Skyhawk, 182 Skylane or 206 Stationair single-piston aircraft. The bulletins provide the factory provisions for retrofit of the systems on the aircraft. The retrofit has received both FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency approval. The Max-Viz systems are also offered as optional equipment on new Skyhawks, Skylanes and Stationairs.
Air medical services specialist Air Methods is expanding its scope with its acquisition of Las Vegas operator Sundance Helicopters for $44 million in cash. Sundance becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Methods, and not only adds air tours to the Air Methods portfolio, but also a range of helicopter services supporting firefighting, natural resource agency operations, vertical lifts, aerial photography/motion pictures, newsgathering and aerial surveying.
What is the accepted generic label for a private aircraft? There are many terms associated with aircraft that are not used for commercial purposes. Your magazine has, I think, used them all: “business jet,” “bizjet,” “executive jet,” “private jet,” “private plane,” etc. Wikipedia says the generic is “bizjet.” However, I have recently discovered that “bizjet” is a registered trademark even though there are many websites that use it in their titles.
The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) has found that repair station executives are bullish on 2013 business prospects, with more than half the respondents to a recent AEA survey expecting revenue improvement in 2013. The survey generated 180 responses, the association says. Big-picture takeaways include a more bullish outlook than last year's survey, and a range of services driving the growth. AEA's survey results show that 56% of respondents expect business to increase in 2013, compared to 49% responding to last year's survey on 2012 prospects.
The FAA, bowing to broad industry opposition, will rescind its interpretation of a rule governing rest for airline mechanics, reverting to a more flexible view that both management and unions have long considered acceptable. The agency delivered the news in a Dec. 26 letter to the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), which spearheaded the challenge to an FAA interpretation made nearly three years ago.
Cessna Aircraft has signed a letter of intent to acquire Jet Aviation's maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in Zurich, Switzerland and Dusseldorf, Germany. The sale, expected to be completed by year-end, would not include the FBOs at those locations. Jet Aviation, which had spent the past couple of years reviving its struggling completions business, has more recently experienced a downturn in its services division as demand from Europe dipped.
The next year looms as a critical period for the effort to implement NextGen. While some of the core programs are on track to achieve major deployment milestones, the FAA will need to show that it has solved policy and technology headaches that still could stymie progress. The target date for full implementation is 2025, and two of the crucial foundation systems are scheduled to be largely completed by the end of this year. Succeeding with these will boost confidence that other NextGen goals can be achieved as planned. NextGen was launched in 2004.
Pilatus is offering a configuration tool featuring the PC-12 NG. Two apps — one for the interior and one for the exterior — may be downloaded and installed on the iPad platform. These new electronic tools allow customers in North and South American to design a personalized aircraft. The interior design app enables prospective owners and enthusiasts to select from one of four BMW DesignWorks USA interior themes specifically designed for those markets. Customers can also make individual adjustments to woods, carpet, leather, plating and other interior materials.
Lou Churchville (Business Development Max-Viz Portland, Ore. )
“The Alabama Bet” (Viewpoint, December 2012, page 9) was a nice piece on Al Ueltschi and your multi-port connections to all the elements. Life really is a web that we often do not recognize in all its interconnectivity . . . let alone what's behind the curtain from where the web springs: the curtain Al just passed through . . . perhaps to spin yet another thread. Business Development Max-Viz Portland, Ore.
