(Winston-Salem, N.C.) - Tom Mekis has been named vice president of aircraft sales, service and charter for this diversified aviation services company. Before being elevated to his current post, Mekis held a number of senior positions within the company. He began his aviation career with Beech Aircraft.
In late August, Honeywell and Sensis demonstrated to the FAA and the aviation press the fruits of a joint effort to exploit the capabilities of their products to take runway safety to a new level. Operating a Gulfstream and a King Air fitted with Honeywell TCAS and Mode S avionics at Hancock Field in Syracuse, N.Y., a facility equipped with Sensis' advanced ASDE-X ground surveillance system, the companies showed their systems' ability to detect conflicts and transmit warnings directly to the aircraft pilots - as well as controllers.
A second pre-production Bell Helicopter Model 429 has joined the company's flight test program in Mirabel, Quebec. Bill Stromberg, executive director of the program, says the second twin-engine aircraft will help Bell increase the test pace, and that expansion of the 429's flight envelope was about one month ahead of schedule. The two helicopters were to travel to Colorado and Arizona for high-altitude/hot-temperature testing. Plans call for achieving concurrent Canadian and FAA certification in 2008. Bell reports having more than 200 orders for the 429.
The National Air Transportation Association, the charter industry's principal advocacy group, has adopted some aids that operators can use to determine whether they are in compliance with the Part 135 OpSpec as well as prepare for the FAA's Special Emphasis Inspections.
Handling waste material is unpleasant enough, but mishandling it can be even worse. You can receive heavy fines from OSHA and the EPA, as well as from state and local agencies, for improper discharge and mishaps involving exposure of your technicians. A mess on every level imaginable. To learn more about waste handling safety, visit www.epa.gov and www.osha.gov.
Scaled Composites is now wholly owned by Northrop Grumman Corp. The transaction, which occurred Aug. 24, raised Northrop Grumman's ownership stake in Scaled Composites from approximately 40 percent to 100 percent. Located in Mojave, Calif., Scaled Composites is an aerospace and specialty composites development company with broad experience and a whiff of genius in vehicle design, tooling and manufacturing; specialty composite structure design, analysis and fabrication; and developmental flight test.
AirCell, a leading wireless data and voice communications provider in business and commercial aviation, announced in September that it is partnering with Virgin America, a new carrier, to offer broadband Internet services for passengers traveling in the continental United States beginning in 2008.The new broadband service will also be available to business aircraft operators and offer a similar set of features.
Rockwell Collins has taken its GPS expertise to new territory with the introduction of ParaNav, a helmet mounted navigation system with an integrated head-up display for parachutists. It provides users with accurate navigation capabilities and enhanced situational awareness, allowing them to fly to their designated landing zones. The system also allows the parachutist to divert to alternate sites with the same level of accuracy. Rockwell Collins announced the launch of ParaNav on Sept. 12.
Eclipse Aviation, Albuquerque, announced that John Ricciardelli has joined the executive team as vice president, customer experience and support services.
TRACTORS MOVE AT A PACE that promotes reflection. I learned that soon after my parents decided I was old enough and strong enough to work summers on my grandparents' farm in northwest Ohio. The long, hot days on those 200 acres of wheat, hay, pigs and sweat taught me a lot about hard work and self-reliance. I joke that I was slave labor, since I had little say in the matter. And while my grandparents gave me plenty of love, shelter, food and soft drinks, the pay was meager . . . cents per hour. This became a matter of some importance the summer I turned 13.
While Embraer's new jets won't break new ground with airframe or engine technologies, they will be equipped with the latest flat-panel avionics. Artist's renderings depict edge-to-edge 3-D synthetic vision system background imagery on the PFDs, full EICAS on the upper MFD and a range of electronic flight bag functions available through the lower MFD.
Now pumping Chevron products supplied by distributor Air Petro, Championship Aviation says it can offer "perhaps the most competitive prices" in its market. The Chino, Calif., FBO also says it plans to build a 43,000-square-foot facility to serve aircraft and passengers bound for California's "Inland Empire." Chino's 7,000-foot runways and lack of noise restrictions or curfews, landing fees or parking fees make it a prime destination airport for the region, according to the FBO.
Epps Aviation, Atlanta, announced that Daniel M. Lane has been granted a Certificate of Designation from the FAA as a designed airworthiness representative (DAR).
Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, appointed Raymond (Ray) Bennett as regional sales director for the Upper Midwest. He will be responsible for new Beechcraft King Air B200GT, 350 and Premier IA sales. Nigel Whiteman has been appointed to the newly created field service position in Delhi, India. Jeffrey Blose has joined HBC as the director of material and supplier management within the Supply Chain Management organization.
YEARS OF PLANNING, debate, testing and uncertainty finally resulted in a definitive step toward the air traffic control system of the future in late August as the FAA awarded a nearly $2 billion contract for development and installation of a nationwide Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system to a team headed by ITT Corp. of White Plains, N.Y. ADS-B will provide the basic infrastructure on the ground that will permit the FAA to transition from a radar-based ATC system to one that uses GPS technology to track the movement of aircraft.
* Dassault Falcon 10, 20, 50, 200, 900, 900EX, 2000 and 2000EX airplanes - Conduct repetitive tests and inspections to detect (and, if necessary, correct) problems with the overwing emergency exit. * EADS Socata TBM 700 airplanes - Check for proper operation of the locking handle for the upper access door and modify the adjacent window trim panel.
Universal Weather and Aviation is now an FAA-approved dispatcher training provider and will start offering dispatching classes to the public this year. The intensive course, which was developed in-house by staff, is claimed to take six weeks to complete, less time than those taken in a traditional college classroom. Universal says it has successfully completed a trial course and is now ready to roll out the approved course to all students. The first class convened in early September, and the next one is scheduled for Nov. 5.
Neal Douglas is a 49-year-old investment manager based in California who has been flying for business and pleasure for only two years. He undertook Mustang training in the very first session, held in April 2007 in Wichita. His PI score recommended an SIC type rating based on his low experience level, but he had a multiengine and instrument rating along with 250 hours total time in a Garmin G1000-equipped Baron. His comments:
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC), maker of Hawker midsize business jets and King Air turboprops, has opened its new international sales headquarters at Hawarden Airport in Broughton England, which is near Chester. "Locating at Hawarden Airport close to our service center is the ideal headquarters for our international sales efforts," said Sean McGeough, HBC's vice president of international sales. "This enables us to centralize all customer interfaces - from initial sales inquiries to demonstration flights to maintenance - in one location."
