The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas set a Feb. 19 deadline for bids in the auction of Coppell, Texas-based aftermarket supplier Superior Air Parts, a Thielert subsidiary. Superior sells parts for Teledyne and Avco engines as well as other aircraft companies. Superior Air Parts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late December 2008 as part of an agreement for Textron unit Avco Corp. to buy Superior’s assets from Thielert for $11.5 million in cash.
— The pilot of a Schweizer 269C helicopter conducting a non-revenue sightseeing flight, looking for alligators, entered an out-of-ground-effect hover at 50 to 70 feet agl. He hovered the helicopter into the wind, which he based on the water conditions. After hovering for about five seconds, the pilot pitched forward on the cyclic and raised collective. The helicopter then entered an uncommanded right yaw. The pilot immediately lowered the collective, applied forward cyclic and left anti-torque pedal; however, the yaw continued.
NetJets Europe in February agreed to buy Egelsbach Airport just south of Frankfurt International Airport to improve its access to the German banking capital and the economically important Rhein/Main region. NetJets says slot scarcity at Frankfurt International drove the decision. Roughly two-thirds of requests for slots are turned down if submitted one day before, making the region “underrepresented” in the NetJets network,
— At 1030 Hawaii Standard Time, a Eurocopter AS 350 BA helicopter (N141MK) was substantially damaged when it rolled over during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during approach to landing on a ridge top about 10 miles east of Honolulu. The commercial pilot and the passenger were not injured. The helicopter was being operated by Makani Kai Helicopters as an FAR Part 135 on-demand charter flight. It was VFR and a company flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed from Honolulu International Airport about 1020.
Sylvain Sequin of Canadian Helicopters was another keynote witnesses who opened the NTSB HEMS safety hearing. The Canadian testimony was a striking contrast to that of Dr. Blumen (see item), noting that Canada has not experienced a single fatal HEMS accident since the country established its program in 1972.
Southern Cross Aviation has been providing aircraft brokerage, acquisition, sales, management, leasing and flight operation services since 1989. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-headquartered company’s North Carolina-based sales division has purchased, brokered and sold a variety of aircraft, from Boeings to single-engine piston airplanes. Today, the company deals with turbine-powered helicopters, as well as all types of business jets and turboprops, and has an affiliated aircraft parts business that does between $25 million and $30 million annually.
Sikorsky Aircraft completed a 30-minute first flight of its new S-76D helicopter, the latest iteration of the executive/utility twin, maneuvering the prototype aircraft through taxi, hover, hover turns and forward flight to 40 knots. Sikorsky Chief Test Pilot Greg Barnes and pilot Mike Hardy made the Feb. 7 flight at Sikorsky’s Florida facility. Sikorsky said three years of design, development and testing preceded the first flight.
Turbomeca Arriel 2B and 2B1 engines Replace the Hydra-Electric low-fuel-pressure switch in the hydromechanical unit with either of two different low-fuel-pressure switches.
Although Bombardier delivered more business jets in 2008 than in the previous 12 months — 239 compared to 232 — orders have fallen dramatically from 452 in fiscal 2008 to 262, not counting cancellations. Accordingly, the OEM announced Feb. 5 that it would cut 1,360 jobs in its business aviation division. The company also said it is reducing Learjet and Challenger production rates about 10 percent, to some 215 units. Because of this, Bombardier Aerospace’s total deliveries for this year are expected to be slightly lower than the 353 recorded in the 12 months prior to Jan.
The Universal Avionics EFI-890R flat-panel display is now an option for operators of the Astra/Gulfstream G100 looking to upgrade to a glass cockpit. An FAA STC for the installation was awarded in December 2008 to Columbia Avionics of Columbia, Mo. Columbia previously obtained approval of the same systems in the Cessna Citation 500 and 650 series, and the company is exploring the possibility of obtaining a similar STC for the Falcon 50.
Operations at FlightSafety International’s Citation Learning Center in Toledo, Ohio, are continuing as before, the company says, regardless of the shutdown of the adjacent Citation Service Center due to reduced maintenance activity related to reduced flight activity. FlightSafety spokesman Steve Phillips noted that there is no direct connection between Cessna’s maintenance business and his company’s training activities.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. , Stratford, Conn., has announced three senior level appointments: Stephen B. Estill was named to the newly created position of vice president, strategic partnerships. Carey Bond was appointed vice president and chief marketing officer, and Robert Kokorda was named vice president corporate strategy and synergy.
C rane Aerospace & Electronics, Lynnwood, Wash., appointed Rick Jones to senior vice president, solutions. Nigel Duncan joins the company as vice president, sales and marketing for the Aerospace Group. Dallas Airmotive, Dallas, announced that Andrew Woodworth has joined BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul as regional sales manager for Australasia.
The McDonnell 119 made its maiden flight in February from the company’s St. Louis plant. The four-engine, swept-wing aircraft will cruise at 550 mph, seat 10 passengers and has a range of 3,000 miles.
Henry “Hank” G. Beaird, Jr. , well-known test pilot and World War II pilot, died on Feb. 2 in Dallas. He was 84. Beaird received his U.S. Army Air Forces commission and wings in 1944 when he was 19. He was stationed in New Guinea with the 3rd Air Commando Group and flew P-51s and C-47s. After the war Beaird finished his aeronautical engineering degree and went to work for Chance Vought and flew for the Texas Air National Guard. He and his wife, Rosalind, moved to Long Island, N.Y., and later Lancaster, Calif., where he flew the first production model of the Republic F105.
Aviation technology provider AircraftLogs and Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Co. have partnered to market aircraft management packages and online pilot logbooks. The Aircraft Management Package provides private pilots and aircraft owners with a complete and secure management system via the Internet. It includes online logbooks, currency alerts, user-defined maintenance tracking, reporting tools and more. AircraftLogs has added Automatic Flight Posting to its product to allow any IFR flight to be automatically recorded. 4389 International Gateway
- launching a new initiative “to address misinformation on the business use of general aviation aircraft and to provide a more accurate picture of the value of business aircraft. We think it’s time the other side of the story be told, and that support be given to those businesses with the good judgment and courage to use business aviation to not only help their businesses survive the current financial crisis, but more quickly forge a path toward an economic upturn,” said Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack J. Pelton. Cessna is a Textron company.
iper Aircraft PA-46-350P and PA-46R-350T airplanes — Conduct an inspection to verify that the 35-amp and 250-amp current limiters are installed in the proper locations. If the limiters are not installed in the appropriate spots, then reinstall them in the proper locations. In addition, limit operation of the aircraft to daytime VFR conditions until the limiter installations are inspected and corrected.
Dassault Falcon , Saint-Cloud, France, recently named Jean Kayanakis vice president, Falcon Worldwide Spares. He replaces Frank Youngkin, who was promoted to vice president, Western Hemisphere Customer Service.
Since the earliest days of aviation, pilots have been staring at gauges to help ascertain the condition of their machines and the world around them. Orville and Wilbur had three instruments on their first Flyer: a stopwatch, an anemometer for measuring wind speed and a tachometer. Subsequently and especially since the introduction of instrument flight and the development of the standard T cluster, engineers managed to cover every available inch of cockpit real estate with some type of instrument, button or switch.
— At about 1215 PST, a Beech 95-A55 (N9694Y) departed the runway during takeoff and collided with two parked airplanes and a hangar at Corona Municipal Airport (AJO), Corona, Calif. The certificated private pilot was not injured but the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight was departing Corona with a planned destination of Phoenix. It was VFR and no flight plan was filed.
Piaggio Aero Industries is finalizing the sale of its industrial plant in Liguria, Northern Italy, to raise cash to invest in a new plant in nearby Villanova d’Albenga. Company officials maintain that Piaggio plans to launch the development of a new business jet, a $1 billion venture, but say they will not rush into a launch decision. According to preliminary data, Piaggio closed 2008 with revenues up 27 percent to €218 million, with an aircraft order backlog of about €460 million.
Pilatus Aircraft has designated Pro-Star Aviation of Londonderry, N.H., as its dealer for the Northeast U.S. Pro-Star will be responsible for PC-12 NG sales, marketing and service in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan. Pro-Star operates several facilities throughout the Northeast, including ones in Caldwell, N.J., and Portland, Maine.
A drop in business jet orders will force some 1,000 layoffs at Pratt & Whitney Canada, the company announced Feb. 11. Spokesman Pierre Boisseau said the layoffs, which will start in a few months, represent about 10 percent of the company’s global workforce. Pratt & Whitney Canada, based in Longueuil, Quebec, outside Montreal, is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
