A new Asian customer has placed a firm order for an Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ). The aircraft will feature a VIP interior and will be powered by CFM International CFM56-5B7/P engines. The choice of cabin outfitter has yet to be announced. BAA Jet Management of Hong Kong will manage the aircraft, which will be based in Hong Kong. Airbus' Corporate Jetliner family consists of airliner variants A318 Elite, ACJ and A320 Prestige. Around 150 single-aisle and widebody Airbus aircraft are now in VIP and government service from Asia to Antarctica.
Bombardier Flexjet has announced the expansion of its Secondary Service Area (SSA) to include all of Central America and Canada. This expansion will allow Flexjet fractional aircraft owners to travel to and from these locations without incurring ferry (or repositioning) fees. The company has also removed its remarketing fees. These fees cover the maintenance and administration costs needed to place an aircraft back into inventory after the conclusion of a contract and they typically are about 4 to 7 percent of the fair market value of the aircraft.
A Cessna 425 hit a runway sign while taxiing on an icy taxiway prior to takeoff at the airport in Cahokia, Ill. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions and that the airport issued NOTAMs indicating "poor braking condition" in effect and one-quarter inch of ice covering runways and taxiways. No one was injured.
Iridium Satellite trumpeted in late February the latest report from Frost & Sullivan on "2008 LEO Satellite Quality of Service Comparison - Gulf Coast Analysis," which focused on the southern portions of Florida and Texas in February 2007. The independent research firm found that Iridium calls were three and one-half times more likely to be connected and completed without being dropped than a competing service. The report said Iridium's success rate was 93 percent compared with a competing service at 26.7 percent.
(Atlanta) - Kristi Cherry has been named a Cessna sales representative in the company's territory in Alabama and Georgia. Cherry joined the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport FBO after spending two and a half years representing Columbia Aircraft in the Atlantic/Southeast region. Cessna recently acquired Columbia, adding that company's Model 350 and 400 aircraft to the existing Cessna product line.
In past 50 years, aviation fuel burn has been cut by 70 percent and NOx emissions by 50 percent. So says the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) in the second in its series of 11 briefing papers looking at the technological progress being made by the aviation industry to reduce its impact on the environment. The briefing outlines the emissions produced by aero engines, the impact they have on the environment and the technology being developed to reduce the impact of new aircraft.
The "bottom line" in having a successful outsourcing experience for Don Baldwin is "aligning yourself with a good, trusted maintenance manager to handle the oversight of it," the former flight department manager (Texaco, Coca-Cola) said recently.
*Hawker Beechcraft, Wichita, has appointed Dan Keady to lead the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa sales team as divisional vice president. Jason Liao has been appointed regional vice president for China and Southeast Asia. Jeff Anastas, Allan Stanton and Brett Carlson are regional sales directors for India, Africa, the Middle East and Australia. Russell (Russ) W. Meyer III has been appointed director of new product development.
A Beechcraft B36TC collided with terrain about two miles south of Mammoth Yosemite Airport, Mammoth Lakes, Calif. According to the pilot, shortly after takeoff, the engine started to lose power, but did not completely stop running. He switched fuel tanks, checked the magnetos and activated the fuel boost pump. Nothing seemed to help, so he headed back to the airport but realized he was not going to make it. He executed a forced landing in snow-covered terrain. The impact resulted in crushing damage to the belly of the aircraft.
Although now vice president for business development at Portland, Ore.-based EVS-manufacturer Max-Viz, Lou Churchville chalked up considerable experience in previous postings with maintenance service businesses and aircraft completions and modification centers. This gave him a window into how repair stations operate and the potential pitfalls to look for when evaluating them.
Millennium Concepts, Inc., a Wichita-based aircraft design and completions firm, has launched a new Web site to provide its growing list of customers, potential clients and the media information and comprehensive data about the company's services. The new site also includes photos of Millennium's employees and facilities, details its services and products, and has interactive pages that allow potential clients and prospective employees to fill out informational surveys or job applications. Millennium Concepts Wichita, KS
"For much of the aircraft resale market, a slowdown is apparent," declared publisher Fletcher Aldredge in the first-quarter edition of VREF's Market Leader newsletter. "For more than a year, pundits have been saying that a downturn in the economy and aviation is imminent. It is possible that an economic stimulus package or burgeoning global economies will forestall any U.S. hardship, but we think not."
James Raisbeck has received the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur award in honor of his 50 years of contributions to the field of aviation and aeronautics. The honor was bestowed at the Living Legends of Aviation's annual dinner and awards banquet in Los Angeles on Jan. 24.
*NetJets Aviation, Columbus, Ohio, announced that Mark Bianchi has been named executive vice president of aircraft maintenance. Eric Lampert has been named vice president and director of operations for the Flight Operations Department at NetJets Aviation.
Historically one of the major medical areas of concern regarding older pilots was their higher likelihood of sudden or subtle cardiovascular incapacitation. In fact, the risk of sudden death caused by cardiovascular disease was the reason stated for the initial adoption of the highly debated "Age 60" rule in FAR Part 121 operations. The original justification implied that the characteristics of the general population of white males in the United States also applied to the population of air carrier pilots.
At February's Heli-Expo in Houston, MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton told the aviation press that she is "probably going to buy a very light jet" -- not just an airplane, but a VLJ company. Tilton added that she has been negotiating with a composites production firm in Italy. MD Helicopters is also believed to be eyeing Adam Aircraft, which had been hoping to bring the all-composite Adam A700 VLJ to market, but declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) on Feb. 15.
*JetCorp Technical Services, St. Louis, named Anthony Sanchez to the newly created position of national vice president of customer service and business development. He will be supported by Burton Schriber and Sam Mansolino, who were named regional sales managers.
*Embraer, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, named Herve Tilloy as press officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Fernando Lacerda, Gustavo Teixeira and Rafael Mugnaini have been hired as sales managers to handle the recent growing demand in Latin America.
Virgin Charter (www.VirginCharter.com) has named Travelocity Business as the digital marketplace's exclusive launch business travel agency in the Travel Management Company space. Virgin Charter will provide charter solutions for Travelocity Business clients who want to fly private charter.
Eclipse Aviation and European Technology and Investment Research Center (ETIRC) Aviation have announced progress toward establishing an Eclipse 500 manufacturing facility outside of the United States. Eclipse Aviation President and CEO Vern Raburn and ETIRC Aviation Chairman Roel Pieper traveled to Russia to meet in Ulyanovsk with federal officials and local administrators to discuss the steps necessary to establish a factory in that area.
The second most common cause of pilot incapacitation in the Australian Transport Safety Bureau study was exposure to toxic smoke and fumes on board the aircraft (12 percent). One-quarter of these incidents were due to carbon monoxide exposure, which highlights the obvious importance of detection devices that can warn a pilot of this insidious, colorless and tasteless threat.
The NTSB issued a Safety Recommendation on Jan. 7 advising aircraft operators to "establish a process to ensure wider, highly visible and continuous dissemination of guidance and information to the air-traveling public, including flight crews" about the safe carriage of rechargeable lithium batteries. The compact, lightweight and powerful energy cells can, and have, set fire to themselves and adjacent combustible materials.
