DeCrane Aerospace, Georgetown, Del., announced that William "Bill" Weaver has been appointed president of PATS Aircraft LLC. Weaver has been with DeCrane since 1997 and will continue his present duties as president of Hollingsead International, Inc.
Jet Linx Aviation, Omaha, announced that Justin R. Kuykendall joined the company in the newly established position of executive vice president of business development and chief financial officer.
*Eurocopter MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters -- Mark the position of the tail-rotor control lever dynamic weights, remove the split pins and the weights, and visually inspect (and replace, if necessary) the tail-rotor control lever before further flight. *General Electric CT7-5, -7 and -9 engines -- Conduct a one-time eddy-current inspection of bolt holes in certain Stage 2 turbine aft cooling plates.
DESPITE THE WARM FLORIDA temperature, all those filing into the auditorium were gowned, a tradition that traces to the chilly stone halls of learning in medieval Europe. Their faces were bright with anticipation; they were about to launch into the world on their own.
Every airport has a story, which makes selecting a manageable number of business aviation fields to profile for a report on urban relievers a challenge. In the end, B&CA chose seven magnet airports, each representative of a U.S. geographical region and each with an interesting and unique story to tell. This report features the last three of the seven airports. Parts I and II of this special report appeared in the April and May issues. DeKalb Peachtree Airport: Lord of the 'Ring'
Executive Jet Management, Cincinnati, announced that Kirsten Krueger has been promoted to vice president of sales, based at EJM's office in San Jose, Calif.
Regarding the March 2007 Reflections ("For the Record," page 48), I must say that the Brazilian airman Alberto Santos-Dumont is not only the first aviation record holder, but he is considered in many parts of the world as the real inventor of the airplane. And there's a good reason for that: First, Dumont's airplane named 14-Bis, which flew in Paris in 1906, was the first airplane to take off by its own means, using his engine power to takeoff, fly and land. We need to remember that the Wright brothers' airplane, the Flyer, was catapulted.
"The market today, pretty much across the board, is on fire. It is very strong and healthy," declared Rick Engles, a principal in the Washington, D.C.-based aircraft brokerage of Vance & Engles.
A RECENT WEB POSTING about how to "green up" business jets generated a widely varied response, including some acerbic comments from a few who seemed to resent that the issue had been raised at all. In a note to "Dear All," veteran U.K.-based pilot Jamie Shawyer asked the business aviation community: "Have any of you looked into how to reduce the CO2 emissions in the workplace or in the way in which you are operating your aircraft, i.e., speeds, altitudes, etc.?"
Mooney Airplane Co. and AmSafe, Inc. have announced the availability of AmSafe Aviation Inflatable Restraints (AAIR) retrofit kits for Mooney airplanes. The airbag systems are currently standard equipment on new Acclaims, Ovation 2GXs and Ovations 3s. The system is available in three separate configurations: front and back seat (four places); front seat only (two places) and rear seat only (two places). They come in gray or tan and take approximately one week to install. Price: $6,900 (two seats); $10,800 (four seats) Mooney Airplane Co.
U.K.-based BBA Aviation, the parent company of Signature Flight Support, has acquired 100 percent of the capital stock of the United States' Executive Beechcraft, Inc. It includes four full-service FBOs, their associated maintenance services and charter/management businesses, as well as aircraft sales activities and all aircraft inventory. In the year ended December 2006, Executive Beechcraft had sales of $63 million and gross assets of $33 million.
Intelligence | 17 * TSA, NATA, Airports Unveil New Screening Effort * Port Authority of N.Y. and N.J. Acquires SWF as Possible Reliever * OpSpec A008 Oversight to Tighten * Nav Canada Goes to Piggy Bank to Avoid Loss Edited by James E. Swickard Commentary 7 | Viewpoint By William Garvey A Good and Clever Friend 84 | Cause & Circumstance By Richard N. Aarons Silent Too Long 88 | Point of Law By Kent S. Jackson Dueling FBOs
Xuron Corp. has introduced a new line of precision aircraft maintenance hand tools that are ideally suited for a wide range of avionics, harness making and repair applications, according to the company.
I was delighted to receive your note and pleased to learn of your satisfaction with B&CA. Orbis is indeed a fabulous application of technology for the good of humankind.
(Salt Lake City) -- Brian R. Jones has joined the FBO's aircraft sales team and has been given the responsibility for the sale and acquisition of turboprop and jet aircraft. Prior to joining Million Air Salt Lake City, Jones, who has almost 40 years of aircraft sales experience, owned and operated B.R. Jones and Associates, LLC and previously held marketing and sales positions with Learjet, Raytheon and Piper.
International Communications Group (ICG) of Newport News, Va., has earned FAA parts manufacturing approval (PMA) for replacement satellite communication systems on Gulfstream G150s.
AeroMech -- the Everett, Wash.-based company that provides RVSM certification and support services -- has teamed with Mid Canada Mod Center of Mississauga, Ontario, to certify Rockwell Collins IDS-3000 flat-panel displays in an RVSM-capable Cessna Citation 550. The process involved an upgrade to Aeromech's existing Citation 550 RVSM group STC.
I just came across the October 2006 issue of B&CA where you have a brief description of a Hawker that collided with a glider near Reno. You state that, "The female pilot suffered lacerations from flying glass . . ." The inclusion of the pilot's gender is irrelevant to the story. Unless you intend to include this modifier in all future references to pilots ("the male pilot," "the female pilot"), it would seem to be a sexist approach to reporting that should be discontinued.
Sabreliner Corp. -- the Perryville, Mo., company that offers a variety of modifications and retrofit programs designed to extend the service life of the venerable business jet to 30,000 hours or landings -- recently refurbished "Sabre One," the first Sabreliner business jet ever produced.
The NTSB said it believes a Piper PA-46-310P Mirage crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in April shortly after taking off from the Bahamas. The aircraft, N444JH, had departed Nassau International Airport for Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Fla., International Airport on April 10 at about 1650 EDT. The pilot and the controller had several communications about altitude and heading before the pilot was advised to contact Miami Air Route Traffic Control after being cleared to climb to 12,000 feet. The pilot did not acknowledge the last transmission.
