Multiflight of Leeds Bradford Airport has opened a new FBO to meet corporate demand in northeastern England. Leeds has fast become England's second-largest financial center, and is seeing strong growth in business aviation. The FBO is the latest in Multiflight's capital investment of around $17 million over the last five years and includes the construction of two 3,000-square-meter (32,292-square-foot) hangars and a huge increase in ramp space. Visiting aircraft movements topped 6,000 in 2006 and nearly 50 business aircraft are currently based under Multiflight's care.
Elliott Aviation has begun a $2.5 million renovation of its FBO and maintenance facility at Eppley Airfield (OMA), Omaha. Headquartered in Moline, Ill., Elliott has offered aircraft sales and service, general aviation line services, airline fuel, charter services and aircraft management, maintenance, avionics, parts and hangar facilities at OMA since 1982. The renovation involved overhauling 7,000 square feet with 2,000 additional square feet being added to the lobby area.
William K. Dane, 61, senior aircraft analyst for Forecast International, died on Feb. 16 after a long battle with cancer. Dane spent nearly three decades at Forecast where he was co-author of Aircraft Forecast, Civil Aircraft Forecast, Military Aircraft Forecast and Rotocraft Forecast, among others. He developed the World Aerospace and Defense Intelligence newsletter. He was also a major contributor to Aviation Week & Space Technology's Aerospace Source Books.
Eclipse Aviation is building a new facility on its 150-acre tract at Double Eagle II Airport in Albuquerque to house training, flight support and administrative support functions. The 41,585-square-foot, two-story building will be the first Eclipse aviation facility at the airport, where the emerging airplane manufacturer hopes to eventually consolidate all of its operations. The new building will house about 100 employees, more than half of whom will be new hires. Eclipse currently employs 1,000 people in Albuquerque.
HAI Chairman Ed Newton and HAI President Matt Zuccaro announced the newly elected board members for the association. Patrick Corr was elected to fill the Regular Member-Commercial seat and Tony Burson and Bill Force were elected to fill two Regular Member-Corporate-Private seats. In addition, Chairman Newton passed the gavel to newly elected Chairman Michael Suldo, who will officially begin his term in July.
In a recently released document, the FAA said it plans to hire and train more than 15,000 controllers over the next decade, as more controllers retire. The updated plan calls for hiring nearly 1,400 new controllers this year, a net increase of 189 controllers over 2006 hiring levels. "Air traffic levels are very dynamic," said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. "It is critical that we staff facilities based on actual and forecasted traffic demands.
(Stratford, Conn.) - Scott Ashton has been hired as vice president of aircraft sales and acquisitions for the U.S. arm of this aviation services company. Ashton is responsible for development of new aircraft sales and acquisition opportunities throughout the United States. He previous held positions with General Electric Capital, Goodrich and Pogo.
THE RECORDING BEGINS at 05:36:07 on Aug. 27, 2006, with the first sound a rustling, apparently that of someone entering the cockpit. Flight Attendant: "[Unintelligible] Well, I reported at five thirty [unintelligible]." Captain: "[Unintelligible] differed." Then, 24 seconds later, "Everything else is good." There follow the sounds similar to a crewmember testing an oxygen mask and conducting a hot microphone test.
The TBM 850 may have only one engine, but it's a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A 60-series turboprop, and thus a member of a family of powerplants renowned for their exceptional reliability. The -64 has proven to be one of the most reliable of the 60-series engines, perhaps because it's very under-stressed. It only uses 44 percent of its thermodynamic horsepower for takeoff. Similarly, the -66D only uses 47 percent of its capacity to produce 850 horsepower.
*April 2-4: NBAA Maintenance Manage-ment Conference, Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, San Diego. www.nbaa.org/seminars *April 17-23: Experimental Aircraft Association Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, Fla. EAA, 3000 Poberezny Rd., Oshkosh, WI 54902. (920) 426-4800. www.eaa.org *April 18-19: 5th ERA Regional Airline Conference, Sheraton Lisbon Hotel and Spa, Lisbon, Spain. ERA, The Baker Suite, Fairoaks Airport, Chobham Woking, Surry, GU24 8HX England. www.eraa.org
Fractional aircraft operator NetJets posted pre-tax earnings of $143 million in 2006 after the company was able to turn around its European operations, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett said in his annual letter to shareholders. " We made this profit even though we suffered a loss of $19 million in the first quarter." he said. "This company has never had a problem growing: Revenues from flight operations have increased 596 percent since our purchase in 1998.
The Canadian Business Aviation Association has scheduled a Safety and Security Professional Development Day for July 9, the first day of the association's 46th annual convention, trade show and static display, to be held July 9-12 during the Calgary Stampede. The development program is designed to provide operators with a better understanding of how to manage risk on a daily basis, with presentations aimed at improving interaction between flight operations, maintenance, scheduling and dispatching, and aircraft ground support.
Former Helicopter Association International President Roy Resavage died Feb. 20 after a long illness; he was 61. Resavage served as HAI president from March 1998 to October 2005. Before that, he spent 27 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a captain. While with the Navy, he commanded two helicopter squadrons, was executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy and commanding officer of the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville.
Petters Group Worldwide signed a contract for an Airbus A318 Elite, making it the first U.S. customer for that corporate jet version of the aircraft, according to the manufacturer. Petters, which is based in Minneapolis, plans to use the executive-configured airliner for flights to Asia, Europe and within the United States. The order from Petters is the latest in a series announced recently by Airbus for VIP/executive models of its airliner family.
Embraer, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, has announced new appointments in its Airline Market management organization. James Bruce Peddle is vice president, marketing and sales for the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Mark Paul Hale has been named managing director and chief operating officer of Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services (EAMS) in Nashville. Orlando Jose Ferreira Neto was appointed managing director for Embraer in Asia and the Pacific.
The British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) has launched a voluntary carbon trading scheme for its business aircraft operators to offer to customers. The Carbon Balancing Scheme means customers will pay the operator an extra 1.5p (2.94 cents) per liter of Jet-A1 consumed to help balance CO 2 emissions. The money generated is to be passed on to the World Land Trust (WLT), a charity that invests in environmentally worthy programs in developing countries.
A Beech 95, registered to Northwest Jersey Airways, Inc., experienced an inflight loss of control and collided with the ground during takeoff from Spruce Creek Airport in Port Orange, Fla. The pilot called the UNICOM to announce that he was departing from Runway 23. A witness reported that the airplane became airborne and "yawed" to the left." It climbed out slowly with the landing gear extended, then the "left wing dropped and it went straight down." He did not hear any loud engine noises or power changes.
Von Essen Hotels has bought the freehold of the London Heliport and terminal building, together with an adjacent development site for a seven-story 70-room boutique hotel, for around $97 million. PremiAir, part of the Sir Robert McAlpine Group and England's leading business helicopter operator, will manage the Battersea Thames-side heliport in partnership with von Essen.
Fletcher Aldredge, publisher of the Vref Aircraft Value Reference and its companion Market Leader newsletter, said in the most recent edition of the latter publication that the final three months of 2006 "was another strong quarter for turboprops. Eclipses have started to deliver, and we do not detect any negative impact in the turboprop market at this time."
Raytheon Aircraft Co. is moving its international sales headquarters from Geneva, Switzerland, to its production and service facility in Chester, England -- the birthplace of the Hawker series. The Chester facility serves as the center for Hawker service and support in Europe, and is a major heavy-maintenance service facility for NetJets Europe. Meanwhile, the sale of Raytheon Aircraft to Goldman Sachs and Canada's Inex Corp. moved a step closer in March as European Union regulators gave it their blessing.
In the event of an emergency evacuation, the assistance of a preselected "able-bodied passenger" could be vital. ICAO guidance to airline crews suggests the best people to choose as able-bodied passengers typically are off-duty crewmembers from any carrier, military personnel, police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel, physicians and nurses. In Australia, "the operators usually see the wisdom in training their cabin crew to identify the most likely passengers to be able-bodied passengers. . . .
A Bombardier Challenger 605 demonstrator has been test flying steep approaches at London City Airport (LCY).To qualify to operate at LCY, an aircraft must demonstrate its ability to be flown safely at a 5.5-degree (or greater) approach angle, take off and land on LCY's 1,319-meter (4,327-foot) runway, and meet the local noise requirements. If the CL605 achieves this, it will be the first of the Challenger series to do so.
The belly of a Eurocopter SA330J hit the runway surface at Lake County Airport in Lakeview, Ore. The pilot, student and a third passenger were not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned by Sky Cats Puma Corp. and operated by Evergreen Helicopters International, received serious damage. According to the pilot, during a simulated single-engine minimum ground run landing, the flight crew forgot to extend the landing gear and the helicopter touched down on its belly, driving the external load hook up into the airframe.
