Honda Aircraft Co. is expanding its HondaJet sales operation to Europe, with the official kickoff of the move announced at EBACE in Geneva, Switzerland, in May. The sales expansion came as Honda Aircraft finalized its U.S. distribution network with the selection of Albany, N.Y., as the last of its five sales and service facilities across the United States.
THREE DECADES AFTER OPPONENTS of a jet ban at the Santa Monica, Calif., Municipal Airport (SMO) won a key victory in federal court, the City of Santa Monica is again attempting to disrupt interstate commerce -- at least some of that commerce -- by restricting business jet traffic at the popular Southern California airport.
Cessna Aircraft's new Citation CJ4 flew for the first time May 4. The two-hour, 22-minute flight departed McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita just after 11:30 a.m. and included flight maneuvers evaluating stability and control along with initial systems evaluations.
At a time when many in the market for a used aircraft are clamoring for a current-production model, Volo Aviation, LLC has found that at least one venerable transport - the Gulfstream I - still meets the needs of a variety of customers. In late 2007, Volo acquired a GI on behalf of an anonymous private owner, who said he had always wanted to acquire one of the turboprop-powered aircraft ever since his earliest involvement with business aviation.
National Air Transportation Association, Grand Rapids, Mich., announced that Charles R. Cox, president of Northern Air, Inc., and founder and president of The Company Jet and Northern Jet Management, Inc., has been elected to the 10-member board of directors of the NATA for a three-year term. Kurt Sutterer, president of Midcoast Aviation, has been named vice chairman of NATA for the 2008-2009 term.
FOR THOSE CURIOUS -- and harboring either a sense of trepidation or giddy relief -- about the cost of a college education today, let me try to satisfy. Recently indoctrinated to the fiscal firmament of higher education today, I offer this.
Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service was the first airborne health care system and has become the best known in the world after being established shortly after World War I to serve the country's huge Outback areas. It currently operates a mixed fleet of 47 aircraft made up of King Airs and Pilatus PC-12s from 21 bases scattered throughout the country. In 2007, the RFDS served more than 35,000 patients with emergency air transportation.
Some time this month, Cessna's Citation CJ4 is scheduled to make it first flight, marking a significant on-time milestone toward its FAR Part 23 Commuter Category certification and entry into service in the first half of 2010. The fourth and newest member of the Citation CJ family was put on a 45-month, fast-track certification scheduled following its public introduction at the October 2006 NBAA Convention in Orlando, a development cycle virtually unprecedented in the business aircraft industry.
Intelligence | 23 * New Route Over China Will Reduce Emissions, IATA Says * Hawker Beechcraft Hopes to Start Delivers of Hawker 4000 Soon * Next Gen PC-12 Certified * Citation Mustang Reaches 500-Order Milestone * FAA Plans Oversight Changes in Wake of Congressional, IG Investigations * Criminalizing Air Accidents Blocks Safety Progress * Common Sense in Dealing With Climate Change * FAA Wants to Mandate Wiring Mod of EASy Flight Deck
It's not just the EPA. The National Park Service is taking initial steps to restrict aircraft that fly above 18,000 feet msl over Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP). In April, the NPS released a notice clarifying the definition of "substantial restoration of natural quiet" at GCNP. Park officials are working with the FAA to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) covering the Special Flight Rules Area surrounding GCNP. NPS said that the current SFAR 50-2 has not achieved its intended result of a substantial restoration of natural quiet at GCNP.
Dennis Blackburn, president of Corporate Concepts International (CCI) - a leading aviation services company with more than 30 years experience in aircraft acquisitions, sales, evaluations and consulting - believes the worldwide corporate aircraft market "remains healthy, although it has slowed in the first part of 2008."
CIT Group, Inc., New York, N.Y., announced that is has promoted three member of its commercial airline marketing team at CIT Aerospace: Volker Fabian has been promoted to vice president and senior regional director for Asia and the South Pacific; Gwyn Scourfield is vice president and senior regional director for Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East; Mark L. Ebanks is vice president and regional director for The Americas.
Pilatus Aircraft Received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and FAA certification for the Next Generation PC-12 - now officially called the PC-12 NG. The PC-12 NG features Honeywell's a fully integrated Primus Apex avionics system, a completely new cockpit designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA, and a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67P engine.
A former officer in South African Air Force, where he learned to fly, Olver specialized in intelligence, experience that helped him succeed as an IT executive following his move to civilian life. In 1993, he cofounded ExecuJet, a business aviation charter, maintenance and management company, in Johannesburg, which quickly grew into a multinational organization. He moved headquarters to Switzerland and in September 2006 acquired Grob Aerospace. This breakfast interview in New York City was delayed several hours by a missed flight.
Rockwell Collins, working with Bristow Eastern Hemisphere and Shell Aircraft, secured the first operational approval for use of a Traffic Alert Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II) aboard a helicopter. The European Aviation Safety Agency granted a supplemental type certificate for installation of the Rockwell Collins TCAS II aboard a Bristow Super Puma helicopter. Shell Aircraft worked with Rockwell Collins to install, test and certify the unit.
*May 19: Bombardier Safety Standdown Europe 2008, Geneva, Switzerland. Register at www.safetystanddown.com *May 20-22: European Business Aviation Association Convention and Exposition EBACE2008, Geneva, Switzerland. (202) 783-9000. www.nbaa.org or www.ebace.org *May 20-22: Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) Spring Conference, Marriott Westfields Hotel, Cahntilly, Va. www.raccaonline.org
The U.K. government has approved an increase in flights at London-Farnborough Airport. The Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government and Transport upheld an appeal by operator TAG Aviation, which had applied for planning permission in October 2005 to double the number of permitted movements at the business aviation field at weekends and on public holidays. TAG has now been given consent for 5,000 movements at those times, but total number of permitted annual movements will remain at 28,000. The U.K.
Standard Aero, Winnipeg, Canada, appointed Kevin Perris as STC program director for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A business unit. Michael Moore was named senior vice president of Associated Air Center (AAC), the VIP transport completion facility in Dallas, Texas.
Gulfstream Aerospace recently received FAA approval to fly its large-cabin line of jets on Required Navigation Performance instrument approach procedures to an RNP value of 0.30 nm. Other mid- to high-end business jet manufacturers are likely to follow suit for competitive reasons alone. This is good news for the business aviation community. And since such approvals and procedures are going to become more common, a closer look at the authorization process and operating environment is in order.
When they're not teaching nearly half the known student pilot population the required body of knowledge to obtain various FAA ratings, John and Martha King, of the eponymous King Schools, are actively involved in numerous aviation communities and their programs, among them the Lindbergh Foundation -- more formally, The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation. Recently, John King agreed to chair the organization's board (he says "I got drafted" by Foundation President Knox Bridges), and he's become an outspoken champion of the group's cause ever since.
Keith St. Clair, founder and former chairman of TraveLeaders, announced the formation of StrategicAir, an integrated aviation services company that owns and manages 12 aircraft, basing maintenance and charter services functions at the company's headquarters at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. St. Clair is the president and CEO of the new company.
AWAS, Dublin, Ireland, announced the appointment of Prof. Dr. Werner G. Seifert as chairman of the AWAS board of directors. JT Foo has been appointed to the post of vice president, sales for the company's Asia Pacific operations.
Embraer, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, announced the Pedro Ferraz Pereira, director of corporate communications for North American, is assuming a new position as the director of Internal Communications at the company's headquarters in Brazil.
