Corporate Angel Network, White Plains, N.Y., has elected Joseph T. Lombardo, executive vice president, Aerospace, General Dynamics and president, Gulfstream Aerospace, to the board of directors of CAN.
EFBs can be divided into Class 1, 2 and 3 with respect to hardware and Types A, B and C for software. It’s oversimplifying but not inaccurate to describe the differences this way: Class 1 is a simple laptop you carry on and off the airplane, Class 2 is like Class 1 except it plugs in once you’re onboard and can get power and data from airplane systems, while Class 3 is basically an MFD that’s part of the airplane and its type certificate.
Cessna Aircraft Co. rolled out the 300th Citation Mustang at its assembly facility in Independence, Kan., the company announced Feb 4. It will be delivered later this year to a retail customer in Australia. The first Mustang was delivered in 2007. The entry-level, $3 million Mustang was announced at the 2002 NBAA Convention and first flew in April 2005.
Elliott Aviation, the Moline, Ill.-based business aviation services company, has received an FAA STC for installation of a Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) in a Beechjet 400/400A and Hawker 400XP aircraft. The certification airplane, a Beechjet 400, also received a new interior and paint job at Elliott Aviation’s aircraft refurbishment center at Illinois’ Quad Cities International Airport (MLI). Elliott is currently pursuing STC approval of the DFDR installation from the European Aviation Safety Agency and hopes to receive certification by May.
In the last decade, prices of previously owned business jets have risen dramatically then fallen precipitously more than once. But Dennis Rousseau, president of AircraftPost.com — the Web-based resource that provides real-time valuations for more than 5,000 medium and large business jets — believes that current and prospective operators need to focus on aircraft value, rather than current prices, both in good times and in bad.
Esterline CMC Electronics (CMC), has appointed Patrick Champagne vice president, Cockpits and Systems Integration, a new business unit. James Palmer has been appointed vice president, Aviation Products, also a new business unit. Jean-Michel Comtois was named vice president of Marketing and Sales, a single, integrated unit focused on growing the company’s commercial and military aviation business.
An FAA Fact Sheet issued Jan. 14 implied the FAA is less than satisfied with airports’ compliance with requirements to submit Wildlife Hazards Assessments. It’s been more than a year since a flock of Canada Geese brought down US Airways 1549. The FAA issued a certification alert June 11, 2009, to airport operators that had experienced “triggering events” including multiple or damaging wildlife strikes with aircraft.
Hawker Beechcraft, Wichita, appointed Justin Firestone president, Asia-Pacific sales, reporting to Shawn Vick, HBC executive vice president. Hugh Waud was named field service representative to support customers in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He will be based in New Delhi, India.
StandardAero has become the first authorized independent service center in North America trained to perform wing tank (dry bay) modifications on Dassault Falcon 50, 900 and 2000 aircraft. The modification, as outlined in Dassault Service Bulletins, is expected to be required for all Falcon 50, 900 and 2000 aircraft because both the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency are planning to publish Airworthiness Directives mandating the work.
Proposed Rules Challenger 300 airplanes — Revise the “Limitations” section of the aircraft flight manual to include new procedures to address proximity-sensor electronic unit failures. Bombardier Challenger 604 airplanes — Conduct repetitive fluorescent-penetrant inspections of the Air Driven Generator (ADG) strut. In addition, perform a fluorescent-penetrant inspection of the strut after each unscheduled inflight deployment of the ADG, and a visual inspection after each unscheduled on-ground deployment of the ADG.
Airbus will tag many rotable parts in the A350 XWB with passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices, becoming the first manufacturer to require high-memory RFID tags on flyable parts. The tags will be used on more than 1,500 parts to be installed in pressurized and non-pressurized areas of the aircraft including seats, entertainment-system screens, life vests and oxygen bottles, as well as components in the aircraft’s wing and engines.
The FAA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in February inviting input on whether current eligibility, training and qualification requirements for commercial airline pilot certification need improvement. The notice asks if all FAR Part 121 pilots should be required to hold an Air Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, which requires a minimum of 1,500 hours of flight time. Currently, airline first officers must hold a Commercial Pilot license, which requires a minimum of 250 hours’ flight time.
Sabreliner Corp., St. Louis, named Walt Sirmans to the newly created post of chief operating officer. John F. White was appointed vice president, Human Resources.
There’s a tiny ray of light illuminating a possible improved relationship between the TSA and general aviation. In an interview with National Public Radio Feb. 5, TSA general aviation manager Brian Delauter said the agency plans to collaborate more with the industry than in the past. Speaking to the LASP issue, which generated a torrent of objection last year, he said the TSA will convene a new general aviation advisory panel with industry representatives in March. “We’re going to be 10 times more successful in partnership than . . .
There’s a trail — a former rail bed — behind my house popular with joggers, strollers and one canine in particular. And when we walk it, taking in the woods and wildflowers, watching for hawks and deer — “Get him, Boomer!” — I often wonder where the agony befell poor William Horan.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., appointed Shane Eddy as vice president of Sikorsky Global Helicopers, responsible for strategic leadership and general management.
An experienced businessman pilot and four passengers boarded a company-operated Malibu An experienced businessman pilot and four passengers boarded a company-operated Malibu Mirage Jetprop DLX (PA-46-350P) shortly before 0730 on March 28, 2008, and departed from Edmonton, Alberta, on an IFR flight plan to Winnipeg, Manitoba, a distance of about 950 nm. Thirty-five minutes after takeoff, the aircraft (C-FKKH) broke up in flight and crashed into a hillside 16 miles northeast of Wainwright, Alberta. There were no survivors.
Pratt & Whitney Canada held a special ceremony at its engine manufacturing facility in Longueuil, Quebec, Jan. 21 to mark delivery of its 500th PT6A turboprop engine to Blackhawk Modifications Inc. of Waco, Texas Founded in 1999, Blackhawk specializes in replacing engines on five aircraft models, including Raytheon King Air 90, Cessna 425 Conquest and Cheyenne turboprop aircraft with factory-new PT6As. The ceremony included Dan Rogers, owner of DuoTech Services of Franklin, N.C., whose Cheyenne II was the 250th aircraft to receive a Blackhawk upgrade.
Wavepilot, LLC, has launched an online markektplace in which aircraft operators and FBOs buy and sell fuel. According to the company, the service operates similar to eBay except it is a reverse auction where sellers compete for the buyer’s business. It works like this: An aircraft operator posts a request for quote (RFQ) that invites FBOs to submit their best prices for fuel and services. FBOs post their quotes online and update them to remain competitive. The aircraft operator then reviews the quotes, awards the RFQ to an FBO and schedules the trip online.
Kaman Aerospace Corp., Bloomfield, Conn., has reorganized around product group and named Tim Bates general manager of the Blade Center of Excellence and Subcontract Product Group; Terry Fogarty has been appointed general manager for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Group; Bob Manaskie has been appointed general manager of the Helicopter Aftermarket Group and John Shelanskas has been named acting director of the Operations support organization.
Second-story jetways let passengers get quickly and comfortably aboard United DC-8s at San Francisco International Airport. Self-powered, telescopic loading corridors are by PI Iron and Steel, Los Angeles. President Lopez Mateos of Mexico is shown a Beech Twin Bonanza and an Aero Design Alti-Cruiser at the 50th Anniversary of Flight in Mexico City, elevation 9,000 feet.
Universal Avionics Systems Corp., Tucson, announced that Donald D. Berlin, senior vice president and board of directors member, is retiring. Berlin has been in senior management positions since the introduction of the company’s first product in 1982 and has been instrumental in guiding the company’s evolution from a small company to the large multinational corporation it is today. He will continue to advise Universal Avionics in business development on a consulting basis.
Wayfarer Aviation, Rye Brook, N.Y., named Wendy Burton director of Industry Charter, focusing on wholesale and internal charter. She will manage relationships with aircraft operators, brokers and vendors in the United States and overseas.
NBAA President Ed Bolen said the threat of aviation user fees seems to be dead “at least for this term of Congress,” and that the FAA’s reauthorization bill could advance within the next “four to eight weeks.” The fact that the Obama administration’s 2011 budget proposal, issued Feb. 1, contained no mention of user fees to help fund the FAA was a “milestone” event, Bolen told BCA.
