Brazil’s ANAC has certified the Bell Helicopter Model 429. This follows certification by the U.S. FAA, Transport Canada and EASA. Deliveries in Brazil will begin early this year. The helicopter was first certified as a single-pilot IFR, Category A helicopter under Part 27 airworthiness rules in mid-2009.
BAE Systems is increasingly optimistic about selling its aircraft as corporate shuttles, reports BCA sister publication Aviation Daily. “We had a pretty upbeat year [in 2010], and we are pretty upbeat going into 2011,” said Steve Doughty, senior vice president of sales and marketing asset management at BAE Systems Regional Aircraft.
The Gulfstream G250 super-midsize aircraft is proceeding with icing tests on serial number 2001. The aircraft, which first flew in December 2009, is completing a test series with simulated ice shapes attached to non-heated areas such as the nose, tail, winglets and engine pylon to evaluate handling, stability and control with ice buildup. Serial number 2002 completed anti-ice system dry-air testing and will fly in natural icing conditions for FIKI certification.
Sikorsky Aircraft delivered two S-92 helicopters to AAR Corp. for passenger and cargo missions in Afghanistan. AAR is supporting the U.S. Transportation Command.
China began authorizing some private helicopter flights without prior approval on an experimental basis in January on the southern island of Hainan, state media reported. Four helicopters, flown by eight pilots, will take part in the initial two-month experiment, the official Xinhua news agency said. Private aircraft currently need to have flight plans approved by the authorities, a process that can take from a day to a week, according to Xinhua.
Talk about timing: Robinson Helicopter, the company that leads the world in unit production of helicopters, gets the certificate for its new Rolls-Royce RR300-powered R66 — its first turbine model — just as the global economy is showing signs of a turnaround, a competitor exits and key operators are looking for inexpensive lift. Company President and CEO Kurt L. Robinson says that his father — the company’s founder, Frank Robinson — has always made it a habit to think five years ahead. It looks like he called this one almost perfectly.
Gulfstream Aerospace has purchased a building to house its growing research and development program. The 253,000-sq.-ft. facility is located adjacent to the company’s R&D campus in Crossroads Business Park, near its headquarters at Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport. The acquisition is part of an expansion plan Gulfstream announced last November that includes building new facilities at the northwest quadrant of the airport, renovating several existing facilities on the main headquarters campus and expanding office and lab facilities at the R&D center.
Dassault Falcon has promoted Mark Verdesco to director of pre-owned aircraft sales, replacing Skip Flint, who retired in December. In his new position, Verdesco is responsible for all pre-owned aircraft activity in the Western Hemisphere, including working closely with Dassault’s direct-sales teams on trade-ins and leases.
The Chester, United Kingdom, facility of Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) is taking orders from operators of Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21-equipped Beech King Air 200 and 300s for installation of the Thrane & Thrane Aviator 200 Inmarsat satcom system with Wi-Fi capability.
Air traffic controllers from airports around the Los Angeles Basin will step up use of an advanced tower simulator at the FAA’s regional office in Hawthorne, Calif., in the coming months as the agency closes on the final stages of a nationwide simulator deployment program. The final four MaxSim training systems, developed by simulation specialists Adacel, will be installed at sites around the United States to expedite new controller training. The FAA has 14 systems at its Oklahoma City training academy and 22 others at or near major U.S.
The market for previously owned business aircraft experienced a historically typical spike in fourth-quarter resale transaction activity, with just over 2.6% of the jet fleet and 2.5% of the turboprop fleet changing hands via retail transactions at the end of 2010. These numbers represent increases over the 2.3% and 2.0% of jets and turboprops, respectively, that changed hands during third quarter 2010, according to a report recently released by AMSTAT, the Tinton Falls, N.J., provider of corporate aviation fleet and operator information.
Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group and RMSI a Dubai-based medevac, emergency medical services and clinical services specialist, have partnered to launch a new intensive-care air ambulance service. Empire will manage and operate a Hawker 800XP business jet configured as an air ambulance for RMSI.
Bahrain Airport Co. (BAC) has signed an agreement with MENA Aerospace to build and operate a major private and business aviation hangar complex on Bahrain International Airport. Development is already under way on the northwest corner of the airport. When complete, the first phase’s footprint will be 283,758 sq. ft. (6.5 acres), making it one of the largest general aviation facilities in the region.
Aircell announced that its Gogo Biz Inflight Internet service is now available in much of Alaska at no additional cost to subscribers. Coverage now includes Alaska’s more populous regions and some enroute segments, as well as arrival and departure corridors for some airports. Coverage maps are available at www.aircell.com/products-services/gogo-biz. Gogo Biz monthly service plans starts at $395/month.
The NTSB is creating a Twitter handle (@NTSB) and a YouTube channel. Spokesman Peter Knudsen said NTSB decided to start with Twitter because it seemed the most accessible social media tool. “These tools will allow us to reach out directly to people and allow the chairman to speak directly with the public . . . This is just a start.”
Piper recently delivered 14 new piston aircraft, four Piper Seneca Vs and 10 Piper Archer IIIs, to Qatar Aeronautical College for its airline pilot training programs. The sale has a total retail value of about $6.7 million. All the aircraft are equipped with Garmin avionics: The twin-engine Seneca V trainers have four-screen dual G600 systems, while the single-engine Archers have four-screen dual G500 systems.
Your article on the crash of the Quest Diagnostics Baron 58 (“A Failed Culture of Safety,” February 2011, page 53) appears to have made the same errors as the NTSB “factual” report, as well as the mainstream press. I have worked in aviation as a non-licensed “dispatcher” or flight coordinator for an FAR Part 135/flight school operator, as well as a Part 91 corporate flight department. A phrase that’s missing from your article, the NTSB report and the press coverage is “. . .
Jet Works Air Center of Denton, Texas, has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to convert a Boeing MD-87 airliner into a 24-seat luxury VIP aircraft for a Middle Eastern client. The revamped twinjet will feature a luxurious cabin with a leading-edge entertainment system and Wi-Fi Internet access, said Jet Works President Trey Bryson. The MD-87, the first of this type converted by Jet Works, arrived at the completion center in mid-January.
Another encroachment on FAA authority over air commerce. The National Park Service (NPS) has drafted a plan to restrain aircraft activity over Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP). The plan calls for new limits on the number of air tour operations, hours of their flights and minimum altitudes. The NPS draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), which covers air tour flights and calls for the “substantial restoration of natural quiet” over GCNP, is open for public review. Comments are due June 6.
A King Air C90A (N57WR) crashed into terrain while attempting a missed approach from Mount Airy/Surry County, N.C., Airport (MWK). The pilot-in-command and a pilot-rated passenger who was “helping” the PIC were killed, as were their four passengers. The accident occurred on Feb. 1, 2008, at about 1128 EST.
Dennis Rousseau, president of AircraftPost.com — the Albany, N.Y.-based company that provides real-time valuations for more than 5,000 medium and large business jets — believes that aircraft prices have stabilized at roughly 25% under “a normalized market,” but that it may be up to three years before the excess inventory of used aircraft shrinks enough for airplane prices to reflect their true value. However, he cautions, “We need to be careful and not look at 2007/2008 as the ‘normal market’ to return to because prices weren’t normal; they were exaggerated.”
