TrueNorth , Ottawa, Canada, has hired Chris de Hoog as Avionics Product Program manager to assist with customer and product sales support for its Simphone airborne telecommunications systems.
DeCrane Aerospace , Columbus, Ohio, named Stewart Toye as director of Business Development for the Eastern Hemisphere, including Europe, the Middle East and Asian markets.
Jet Republic, a new European operator offering charter, fractional ownership and jet card programs, opened for business Sept. 24 with 25-hour jet card offerings. In June, the start-up quietly placed a firm order for 25 Learjet 60 XRs worth some $340 million, and a conditional order for another 85. The buyer was unidentified until JetBird’s recent announcement. If all aircraft are confirmed, the total value would be approximately $1.5 billion, and would make it the largest such transaction in European history.
Dallas Airmotive , Dallas, appointed Max Allen to the post of director, Continuous Improvement and Component Repair. He will coordinate all ERO component repair businesses located at Lafayette, La.; Dallas; and Portsmouth, England.
A consortium of Wichita-area business, government and educational organizations have formed the Wichita Aero Club. Patterned after the Aero Clubs of Washington and Atlanta and The Wings Club in New York, the new club plans to host monthly luncheons and invite high profile speakers to address major aviation industry issues. It will also have a Web site, publish an online newsletter, and host an annual awards gala. Bob Stangarone, vice president of corporate communications for Cessna Aircraft Co.
CRS Jet Spares , Fort Lauderdale, Fla., announced that Pete Trabucco has joined the company as an outside sales representative in the Northeast United States from Virginia to Maine. Forrest Bullard is the new North Central U.S. outside sales representative.
Attending to the 1,000 light aircraft operators who are NBAA members, the business aviation advocacy group will inaugurate its first Light Business Airplane Exhibition and Conference in March 2009 at San Diego. “This is the NBAA’s commitment to the small aircraft owner/operator with educational sessions and exhibitors,” Doug Carr, NBAA’s vice president for safety, security and regulation, said.
AWIN partner Forecast International (FI) expects this year’s business jet production to reach nearly 1,400 units, and exceed 1,600 units in 2009. However, the company projects that annual production will then suffer a three-year decline, dropping to 1,515 units by 2012. FI’s “The Market for Business Jet Aircraft,” issued Sept. 29, said growth is expected to resume in 2013, with yearly production exceeding 1,700 units by 2017, the final year of the study’s time period.
FlightSafety International , La Guardia Airport, N.Y., announced that Scott Galdi has joined the company as regional marketing manager. He will serve and support customers who operate aircraft under FAR Part 135. Diana Clasen has been promoted to manager, Corporate Communications.
One deadly dose and HUM-Bugs are a thing of the past, according to Hammonds, the manufacturer of Biobor JF, a concentrated liquid fuel additive used to eliminate Hydrocarbon Utilizing Microorganisms (HUM) in aviation fuels. HUM-Bugs are diesel-fuel-feeding microorganisms responsible for fuel tank contamination and filter plugging in everything from airplanes to underground fuel tanks. Specifically they feed on fuels such as Jet-A, kerosene, No. 1 and 2 diesel and bunker “C” fuels.
Ross Detwiler’s “Think Before Speaking, Please” (July, page 102) covered the field well, and left me only a few personal favorites to add to his list: (1) Pilot responding to traffic calls with, “We have him on the fish finder” or to a call to ident with, “HHHHere’s the flash” . . . totally superfluous comments.
Proposed Rules Honeywell International LTS101 and LTP101 engines — Reduce the life limits for certain gas generator turbine discs. Final Rules Bell 222, 222B, 222U, 230 and 430 helicopters — Inspect the main-rotor hydraulic actuator support to verify the presence of all dowel pins and sealant between the support and transmission. Also, verify the proper torque of each attaching nut.
Jeppesen is the first and so-far the only commercial provider to receive operational approval from the FAA to provide a GPS Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) prediction report. RAIM assesses the integrity of GPS signals and, thus, the accuracy of airborne GPS navigation. As of Oct. 1, the FAA began requesting aircraft operators and pilots who use GPS as a primary navigation method to obtain a RAIM prediction report prior to flight. If any section of a route has a predicted outage lasting longer than five minutes, the route would need to be re-planned.
Nov. 2-5: Air Traffic Control Association 53rd Annual Conference and Exposition, Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C. (703) 299-2430. www.atca.org Nov. 4-5: Chevron “Seven Elements of Successful Service” workshop, Sacramento, Calif. Contact: Chevron Customer Service at (866) 557-3456 or e-mail to [email protected] Nov. 6-8: Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo 2008, San Jose, Calif. Contact: Lon Wolking at AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, MD 21701. www.aopa.org
“Let there be no doubt: the used market is rapidly falling apart,” declared JPMorgan analysts in the September edition of the financial company’s Business Jet Monthly research report. The equity researchers noted that the number of used aircraft on the market had increased to 9.4 percent of the total fleet in August, bringing inventories to their highest level since September 2003. The monthly increase in inventories was the seventh in a row and represented a more than 50-percent increase from the level of 6.2 percent of the fleet for sale recorded in January.
Pilots can now meet their annual icing operations training requirements with the new Icing Operations Pilot Certification course from King Schools. This course provides the information pilots need to know for safe operations in adverse conditions, and includes a downloadable cockpit card. Pilots will receive a completions certificate and logbook endorsement as soon as they finish the course. According to King, “Icing is an obvious and critical concern for pilots. This is why the FAA requires annual training for certain pilot categories.
Stevens Aviation , Greenville, S.C., named Jim Williams as vice president of Avionics Sales and Defense Avionics Group responsible for all aspects of national avionics sales and defense avionics modification activities.
ARINC Direct has expanded its SKYLink broadband satellite communications network to include coverage of most of the Caribbean and Central America as well as northern South America. SKYLink provides Ku-band communications to business jets equipped with the Rockwell Collins eXchange product line.
FirstFlight , Elmira/Corning, N.Y., has named Gary Hart to the newly created position of chief operating officer. Terry Moser has been named vice president of the company’s West Coast division based in Van Nuys, Calif.
The OtterBox for the BlackBerry Bold Defender Series will offer your device the ultimate safeguard, with a slim and sophisticated look. Three layers wrap your phone in guaranteed protection, according to the company. A thin, thermal-formed sheet covers the screen and keys, and a strong polycarbonate shell encases the smartphone and gives added protection against drops and bumps. A silicone skin wraps around it all to absorb shock. Slim, sleek and stylish, this case is of superior quality.
In late September, Eclipse Aviation CEO Roel Pieper announced that European Technology and Investment Research Center (ETIRC) Aviation will assemble Eclipse 500s in a factory to be built at the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny International Airport in Ulyanovsk, Russia. Ultimately, the Russian facility is expected to assemble up to 800 EA500s per year. Pieper is also the chairman of ETIRC Aviation. The company said that Eclipse 500 manufacturing will continue “in full” at Eclipse’s Albuquerque facility, before and after the new factory opens in 2010.
