Signature Flight Support has signed a deal with McDonald Aviation to manage its facility at Fresno Yosemite International Airport (KFAT). McDonald Aviation LLC acquired the nearly new facility earlier in the year and completed an extensive refurbishment. The 6,100-sq.-ft. executive terminal will be branded and operated as Signature and features a passenger lounge, crew lounge, two sleep rooms, executive conference room and Signature’s standard refreshment area. The facility also has a 40,800-sq.-ft.
The McGraw-Hill Companies tapped Gregory Hamilton, a 28-year company veteran to take the helm of Aviation Week as president. Hamilton succeeds Tom Henricks who led the group since April 2006. Hamilton will be in charge of a variety of Internet sites and services, conferences and publications, including Aviation Week & Space Technology, BCA and The Weekly of Business Aviation. Hamilton has held a number of positions during his tenure with Aviation Week.
European Union interior ministers came away from a meeting in Luxembourg stressing a need for the European Union to speak with one voice on security matters such as terrorism threats, Homeland Security Today reported Oct. 8. The interior ministers heard from U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute, who was invited to join the meeting to explain a recent travel alert from Washington warning U.S. citizens to be vigilant of terrorist attacks when visiting Europe. In the wake of the U.S.
Pratt & Whitney filed a complaint against Rolls-Royce in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut in the wake of Rolls-Royce’s filing of an amended complaint against P&W on Aug. 26 claiming Pratt & Whitney infringes a Rolls-Royce patent relating to swept fan blades. “Pratt & Whitney’s position is that Rolls-Royce has engaged in unfair behavior to mislead the United States Patent & Trademark Office to obtain a patent that it now alleges Pratt & Whitney infringes,” said Pratt & Whitney’s Chief Intellectual Property Counsel George Romanik.
Bell Helicopter sold 32 units at the 2010 Air Medical Transport Conference including one new EMS-configured 429 to Mercy Flight of New York. In a teleconference Oct. 12 from AMTC, Bell Helicopter Textron’s Larry D. Roberts, senior vice president for commercial business, said, “[Mercy Flight is] looking to replace its current fleet, so we expect two more orders will be coming soon.” Delivery of the first unit is expected before the end of 2011. In addition, the company announced contracts for 15 Bell 407s to Air Methods and 16 of its 206L4s, signed Oct. 11, to Air Evac.
The FAA is proposing a $455,175 civil penalty against Corporate Air of Billings, Mont., for allegedly operating a Beech 1900C airliner in Part 135 operations when it was not in compliance with FAA regulations. The FAA alleges Corporate Air failed to maintain the aircraft under the company’s general maintenance manual, which includes the Pratt & Whitney Canada maintenance manual for the aircraft’s turboprop engines.
Ever wish you had a single, handy bound atlas you could use for quick navigation reference? Add TRI-NAV charts to your operations desk library and you can reach out to grab one of three atlases that cover the north, south and western United States in a format that adds to IFR charts the information normally found only on Sectionals, such as tower and local radio frequencies. You can update the information every 28 days via the Internet.
SmartView, Honeywell’s trade name for its synthetic vision system, is getting a significant enhancement. Honeywell and Gulfstream won a $1.2 million contract from NASA in early October for an 11-month flight test program to evaluate head-down SmartView with an enhanced vision overlay. Officials from the two firms believe that the enhanced display has the potential to allow pilots to fly instrument approaches down to lower weather minimums than they can with unaided vision.
The FAA proposed broad new rules for helicopter operators Oct. 7, which, if finalized, would require stricter flight rules and procedures, improved communications and training, and additional onboard safety equipment. Under the proposed rules, air ambulance operators would use the latest onboard technology and equipment to avoid terrain and obstacles. The proposal also contains provisions that, if finalized, would require commercial and FAR Part 91 operators to develop procedures for flying in challenging weather, at night and when landing in remote locations.
Congratulations on your article “Operating in Mexico” (August 2010, page 30). In my opinion it is an excellent summary of the present situation and clarifies many concepts about flying to our country.In particular, as director of planning of Cabo San Lucas Airport (MMSL) and on behalf of Mr. Romo, our CEO and owner, I thank you for the inclusion of our facility and the concepts of it in your report. By the way, the altitude at MMSL is 690 ft. not 459. Thank you very much.
Duncan Aviation’s Authorized Service Center agreement with Bombardier Aerospace was officially extended in September to include Duncan Aviation’s newest maintenance facility in Provo, Utah. Duncan Aviation-Provo joins Duncan’s full-service facilities in Lincoln, Neb., and Battle Creek, Mich., as a Bombardier Authorized Service Center. The Provo facility opened Aug. 1 and also is in the process of obtaining authorizations for the Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 and the Legacy executive jets.
Intermountain Healthcare has signed for three AgustaWestland GrandNew helicopters with options for two additional aircraft. Operated by Intermountain Life Flight, Intermountain Healthcare’s aviation division, these aircraft will join two A109K2’s already in service performing critical medevac missions in Utah and Northern Nevada.
Flying magazine promoted Executive Editor Robert Goyer to editor-in-chief, replacing Michael Maya Charles. Goyer joined the magazine in 1994 as associate editor and has helped transition the magazine to evolving digital platforms, magazine executives said. He is a commercial, multiengine and instrument-rated pilot. In June, Charles replaced longtime former editor J. Mac McClellan. Charles is expected to pursue his interests as an aviation writer and photographer.
It would be an understatement to say 2010 has been a bad year for business aviation. A grim economic outlook in January got worse as the year progressed. In recent weeks, Cessna Aircraft — which had aircraft order backlogs stretching four years into the future in 2008 — has trimmed production schedules again and announced yet another round of layoffs that will cost 700 more workers their jobs. When the latest cuts are implemented, Cessna’s employment will have fallen from 16,500 in late 2008 to approximately 7,400.
Tailwind Technologies, the parent company of Hartzell Propeller Inc., has purchased assets from Kelly Aerospace Energy Systems LLC, of Montgomery, Ala. Price of the transaction was not disclosed. The new Tailwind-owned company is named Hartzell Engine Technologies LLC, and will be led by Mike Disbrow, who currently serves as senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer support at Hartzell Propeller in Piqua, Ohio.
Having persistent problems getting timely log-ins of crew duty and rest time? You’re not alone, and Avianis Systems has now added some new tools to its Clarity Control Center to help solve the problem. Its Flight Crew Portal provides a pilot-pleasing format for use anywhere and anytime there’s online access so crews are encouraged to keep their time logs current. A companion Crew Dashboard provides schedulers, dispatchers and managers with an easy-to-read graphic overview of flight time, block time, duty time and rest.
Business jet marketers in the United States might envy their counterparts in Australia in the recessionary era of low sales. “Business aviation has gained momentum in the last three years, with development in all facets of it, especially the big iron,” Mike Keenan told BCA. Kennan is sales manager at Cessna dealer Aeromil Pacific at Bankstown Airport in a suburb of Sidney. A veteran aircraft salesman, he also serves as chairman of the Australian Business Aircraft Association.
Eclipse Aerospace Inc. (EAI) has developed a new windshield application and is completing engineering requirements for an existing Airworthiness Directive (AD) that would enable the Eclipse 500 very light jet to return to operations at 41,000 ft. The wind¬shield application and AD requirements were among the last of the original upgrades the company had promised when it acquired the assets of the now-defunct Eclipse Aviation. Those upgrades had been left undone by the former company.
Honeywell’s annual Business Aviation Outlook issued Oct. 17 forecasts delivery of approximately 11,000 new business jets 2010 through 2020, generating estimated industry sales in excess of $225 billion. This represents approximately a 10% increase in total expected industry sales value versus the prior ten-year horizon forecasted in Honeywell’s Business Aviation Outlook in 2009.
Gulfstream’s large-cabin G450 business jet recently established a city-pair speed record between Savannah, Ga., and São Paulo, Brazil. The aircraft, flying to LBACE, completed the 3,922-nm flight in less than 9 hr. The G450 departed Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport at 8:07 a.m. local time with six passengers, one flight attendant and international captains Eric Parker and Jaime Bahamon on board. The aircraft landed at the Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo 8 hr. and 50 min.
Hawker Beechcraft and Machinists union negotiators reached a tentative deal, Oct. 13, on a seven-year contract that calls for a 10% reduction in base pay and increased health care contributions from workers, but keeps two-thirds of the union jobs in Wichita, Kan. The union recommended its members accept the agreement, saying, “These have been extraordinary negotiations, during extraordinarily bad times. This community has suffered from layoffs and job losses. With plant closures and threats of relocation, we kept one goal in mind: It’s about having a job.
Aug. 16 — At about 0645 MDT, a Bellanca 7GCBC (N5034K) crashed approximately 10 nm south of Douglas, Wy. The commercial pilot and his passenger received serious injuries, and the airplane, which was owned and operated by Laird Flying Service, was substantially damaged. The local FAR Part 135 aerial wildlife spotting flight departed Douglas about 10 min. prior to the accident. It was VFR and no flight plan was filed. According to the FAA inspector who interviewed the passenger, the pilot was maneuvering about 300 ft.
JetFlite International has been providing private air service for 20 years from its Farmingdale, N.Y., operation at Republic Airport and now adds a West Coast facility with Long Beach Air Center, which will operate as a JetFlite FBO.
Air Ambulance Worldwide announced has started a medevac and air ambulance service operating Piaggio Aero P.180 Avanti aircraft in an air ambulance configuration. The first U.S. medevac flight for a P.180 in the U.S. was from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. to Lancaster, Penn. on August 27. The West Palm Beach, Fla. selected P.180 after an evaluation process that took into consideration aircraft performance and its cost effectiveness in the medevac role.
