AMETEK is continuing to expand its third-party MRO services with the recent $74-million acquisition of the UK-based repair and overhaul unit of Umeco plc.
As for the Hawker Beechcraft sale, Hawker chairman and CEO Jim Schuster said Sentient's "focus on safety, quality and service were key factors in the decision-making process." The sale includes all current aircraft contracts and the FAR Part 135 certificate. All 22 employees in the business unit will automatically transfer to Sentient and current General Manager and Director of Operations Chad Landes will continue to lead the new organization.
Bombardier Aerospace has officially launched the Learjet NXT, its first clean-sheet Learjet since the Model 45 made its debut in the early 1990s. The NXT will, according to Learjet, have an eight-passenger standup cabin with the most volume in the midsize class, a top cruise speed of 0.82 Mach and a 3,000-nm NBAA IFR range at long-range cruise. It's intended to bridge the gap in Bombardier's product line between the 2,300-nm range Learjet 60XR and the 3,200-nm range Challenger 300. The newest Learjet debuted with 65 letters of intent to purchase in its order book.
I enjoyed reading "Emitting Credibility" (Viewpoint, November, page 9) and concur with all but one point. To paraphrase, you state that aviation is fuel efficient. As someone who has been in the industry over 30 years, I get this.
DeCrane Aerospace, Columbus, Ohio, has hired Heidi Pursley as the company's new vice president of sales and marketing. Pursley comes to DeCrane from Honeywell Aerospace.
The Gulfstream IV fleet now has amassed three million flight hours. In service for 20 years, the long-range GIV/GIV-SP has been one of the best-selling large-cabin, long-range business jets, with 535 aircraft sold, according to Gulfstream. The GIV was certified by the FAA and began service in 1987. Five years later Gulfstream introduced the "special performance" GIV-SP, which featured an updated landing package and increased takeoff and landing weight that allowed for heavier payloads and more flexibility in outfitting.
At 2317 MDT, a King Air C90A, owned by Scenic Aviation and operated by Eagle Air Med, was destroyed when it impacted terrain during an en route descent, 22 miles east of Pagosa Springs, Colo. The medical positioning flight was being operated without a flight plan. The pilot, flight nurse and paramedic were fatally injured. The flight departed Chinle Municipal Airport (E91) in Arizona and was en route to San Luis Valley Regional Airport in Alamosa, Colo. The pilot contacted company dispatch at about 2255 with an estimated time of arrival in ALS of 2325.
A Learjet 35A, N31MC, registered to Jagee Ventures, Inc, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during landing at Renner Field (GLD), Goodland, Kan. It was IFR at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that the airplane exited instrument conditions at 250 feet agl on approach to Runway 30 slightly left of the centerline. The pilot lined up and experienced an uncontrolled left and right rolling motion. He also stated that he noted that the aileron augment annunciator light had illuminated.
Even though the White House decision to nominate FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell to a full five-year term as FAA administrator has drawn wide industry praise, the fate of the nomination is unclear with several Washington insiders believing the Senate is not inclined to move on it. Sturgell has been serving as acting administrator of the agency since Marion Blakey ended her five-year term in September. A former military and airline pilot, Sturgell was a top aide to Blakey when she chaired the NTSB and then moved over to the FAA as Blakey's senior counsel.
End plates are frequently used today on go-fast machines, but not airplanes. Rather they are fitted to race cars whose small aft wings create negative lift. Since these aft wings are necessarily short, their aspect ratio is quite high. With the end plates, the induced drag can be reduced without incurring weight penalties. The wing and endplate do a number of things, including create down force, reduce airflow separation behind the race car's cockpit and create negative lift under the car to pin it to the race surface.
Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, announced the appointments of Steve Charles as director, Citation product support and Tom Grace as director, propeller product support. They will be based in Wichita and report to Mark Paolucci, senior vice president, customer service.
Bristow Group, which provides helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, recently signed a definitive agreement to sell its Grasso Production Management (GPM) business to Production Services Network Ltd. for $22.5 million. GPM is a contract operator of oil and gas production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Corporate Angel Network (CAN), was presented with a $50,000 check during a ceremony held at the Wings Club's 65th annual Dinner-Dance at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The award is in recognition of CAN's 25 years of public service to cancer patients by arranging more than 27,000 free flights to treatment in the empty seats of business jets. "While I'm the one accepting this recognition on behalf of CAN, I'd like to recognize CAN's staff and board members," said CAN Chairman Randall Greene, who is also chairman and CEO of Safe Flight Instrument Corp.
The Helicopter Foundation International (HFI), a Helicopter Association International affiliated organization, is now offering more information at the click of a mouse. The newly remodeled Web site - www.helicopterfoundation.org - brings all the resources needed to keep helicopter enthusiasts up-to-date on the foundation's latest endeavors. Founded in 1983, the HFI is dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of the helicopter industry, as well as educating both present and future generations.
The first new Embraer's Lineage 1000 ultra-large executive jet arrived at PATS Aircraft Completions in Georgetown, Del. Nov. 16. The aircraft is being outfitted with a customer-selected interior designed by Priestman Goode. The Lineage 1000, derived from the Embraer 190 airliner, made its first flight Oct. 26 at Embraer's Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, facility. PATS will integrate the total interior using materials and systems from its parent deCrane Aerospace, including seating, furniture, wood veneer, IFE systems, cabin management systems and more.
The Global Positioning System still was in its infancy in the mid-1980s, when Gary Burrell and Min Kao recognized its commercial potential for aviation, land mobile, marine, automotive and recreational uses, among other new markets. AlliedSignal, Burrell's and Kao's employer at the time, didn't share that vision, so the two left the firm to start their own company focused on developing a broad range of GPS navigation products.
Readers have frequently asked us if we had one, overall favorite airplane. That's a tough call, but the Pilatus PC-12 ranks near the top of the list. This versatile single-engine turboprop has a slightly larger cabin than a Beech King Air B200, cruise speeds of a King Air C90GT, cabin sound levels that rival those of some turbofan aircraft and impressive short-field performance.
Jet Aviation Basel recently received letters of intent to complete interiors for two Airbus A340s, four Boeing BBJs and three B787 aircraft. The completions work will continue through 2014. The latest contracts come as Jet Aviation began construction on a new 9,600-square-meter hangar to accommodate widebody aircraft with long wingspans and very tall tails. The new hangar will be completed in the first half of next year. Jet noted that the large aircraft contracts come in addition to the more than 20 Falcon jets that Jet Aviation Basel completes annually for Dassault.
SAS has decided to permanently ground its 27 Bombardier Q400s following a third landing accident in a matter of weeks. "Confidence in the Q400 has diminished considerably, and our customers are becoming increasingly doubtful about flying in this type of aircraft," SAS CEO Mats Jansson said in a statement.
Anchorage-based Aero Twin's owner, Tony Cestnik, needed better performance for his Cessna 208 Caravan, especially when it was fitted with amphib floats, so he decided to swap out its 600-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114 for a new 850-hp Honeywell TPE331-12JR, a well-proven powerplant used on the CASA 212 Series 400. Aero Twin received the STC for the kit last summer for the basic aircraft, but not the 208B stretched . The conversion also is applicable to serial number 277 and later aircraft originally powered by the 675-shp -114A engines.
A mixture of new and proven technology is being exploited in business jet refurbs and completions. Starting from a bare cabin and proceeding with a generic interior installation, here's a sampling of what's de rigueur today and, in some cases, what to look out for in terms of potential problems. Shells and Soundproofing Packages
Raytheon plans to sell Flight Options LLC, its wholly owned fractional aircraft ownership provider, to a Miami-based private equity firm, H.I.G. Capital. The decision to sell Flight Options comes as the Cleveland-based unit posted an operating loss of $96 million in the third quarter of this year, compared with a $10 million loss in third quarter 2006. Raytheon said it "initiated a process to dispose of" the fractional aircraft operation in the third quarter and reached a definitive agreement with H.I.G. on Oct. 15. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
