Sun Air Jets’ charter operation has satisfied the certification standards for flight operations and safety management systems for Wyvern Consulting Ltd., Aviation Research Group/US (Platinum), International Standards for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) and Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF). Headquartered at the Camarillo, Calif., Airport, between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Sun Air Jets offers charter, aircraft management, maintenance, aircraft fueling and ground handling services.
I have two concerns with your Feburary Intelligence item (page 16) concerning the Loran C shutdown. There are factual errors, and your readers aren’t getting the most important and dangerous implications of shutting down Loran.
The dream hadn’t become my hoped-for reality. In fact, it had become something of a nightmare. I knew I had to earn my way in. But what I hadn’t anticipated were the automatic rejections, insults and humiliation. And I was getting upset.
International Communications Group (ICG), Newport News, Va., named Jo Kremsreiter to serve as Western Region sales director for the company’s line of general aviation aeronautical communication systems and solutions. He will represent ICG in the Midwest and Western states and be based in St. Louis.
Reps. Ike Skelton and Jo Ann Emerson, both Missouri Democrats, and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, introduced legislation Feb. 2 to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions solely under the authority of the Clean Air Act. Discussing the bill, Skelton stated: “Simply put, we cannot tolerate turning over the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions to unelected bureaucrats at EPA. America’s energy and environmental policies should be set by Congress.”
CAE Flightscape will provide a flight recorder laboratory for the Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to enable investigators to read out and analyze information from aircraft flight data and cockpit voice recorders. The laboratory will employ CAE Flightscape’s Insight software, which is used by most air safety investigators at aircraft manufacturers and investigation authorities and is based on technology and processes originally developed at the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
The war against FOD is never-ending, and even the toughest veteran can benefit from advice and resources to develop a winning strategy. The following organizations and resources can provide guidance and programs to help you: National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technologies www.ncatt.org National Aerospace FOD Prevention, Inc. Guidelines www.nafpi.com National Aerospace Standards 412, Aerospace Industries Association www.aia-aerospace.org
Brussels-based Avitrade has selected Canada’s Field Aviation to design and install custom VIP interiors for two Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft for an unidentified customer. According to Field, which announced the contract at the Singapore Air Show, these will be the first Q400s outfitted with executive interiors. The first aircraft began modifications in February at Field’s completion center at Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport. The second aircraft will begin interior modification in April.
Lance R. Fera (Herndon, VA ), (former TAG executive) (Herndon, VA )
“Seeking the Sensible” (Viewpoint, December 2009, page 7) was a nice job. Thanks. It’s nice to read and get support from all our friends that know we (at TAG U.S.) were bamboozled. By the way, I can really relate to the story about your son missing the housing deadline.
AMSTAT reports that slowly increasing sales and shrinking inventories may signal a modest turnaround in the market for used business aircraft. Tom Benson, executive vice president of the Tinton Falls, N.J., provider of business aviation fleet information, said although market conditions still are not great, “it would seem that for the pre-owned business aircraft market, the worst is probably behind us.”
Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga., named Florian “Flo” Thiele senior regional sales manager, Product Support Sales, for parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He is based in Zurich and reports to Jeff Hill, director, International Product Support Sales. Jenson Saw has joined Gulfstream’s field service organization assisting customers in Beijing and surrounding areas. Dan Nale was named vice president of Advanced Aircraft Programs, a newly created department.
Cessna, Wichita, announced that Mike Shonka, executive vice president and chief financial officer is retiring. Eric Salader, who is joining Cessna from Textron, will assume his duties. Ron Alberti, senior vice president of Integrated Supply Chain, will assume a new role responsible for the transition of work from Columbus, Ga., and Wichita to Cessna’s facility in Mexico. He will also oversee Skycatcher production in Shenyang, China.
A heavy snow apparently caused a hangar roof collapse at Dulles Jet Center, Feb. 6, inflicting heavy damage on several business jets inside, including a pair of Global Expresses and a G550, say people familiar with the facility. The owner of an aircraft servicing firm at Dulles, who requested that his name be withheld, told BCA that the collapsed facility included four bays, A through D, with apparently only D bay, which housed three Gulfstreams operated by General Dynamics, surviving.
Bombardier Aerospace cites the ongoing global economic crisis as a factor in the net negative orders in its business aircraft deliveries during FY2009/10 ended Jan. 31 and announced Feb. 5. On the business aviation side, the Canadian manufacturer delivered 176 aircraft and posted 85 net negative orders. The commercial side saw 121 deliveries with 88 net orders, while its amphibious unit delivered five aircraft with eight net orders.
Now the FAA wants to extend mandatory Wildlife Hazard Assessments to all FAR Part 139 airline-served airports, even though they have not experienced a “triggering event” as described above. In its Jan. 14 Fact Sheet, the agency said it believed all airports should know the level of local wildlife activity. The agency wants to publish this year an NPRM requiring assessments.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Swiss AviationTraining has added fuel tank safety training for aviation maintenance personnel via its Learning Management System, which is a joint development by Swiss AviationTraining and their software partner infoWERK Multimedia GmbH. Other courses include human factors, winter operations and hazmat transport and handling.
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.
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.
Bombardier Aerospace announced Feb. 3 that the 100th Challenger 605 had entered service. With over 800 aircraft manufactured, the Challenger 600 series had accumulated over four million flight hours with a dispatch reliability of over 99.8 percent as of September 2009.
