Embraer has begun final assembly of its Phenom 100 prototype in preparation for a midyear first flight. The Brazilian manufacturer recently assembled several fuselage sections at the Embraer factory in Botucatu. Embraer said the assembly confirmed that the components conform to the CATIA V5 virtual design. Final assembly will begin at the Embraer production plant in Sao Jose dos Campos. Embraer also began integration tests of the avionics rig for the Phenom 100 Prodigy flight deck.
SEACOR's Aviation Division has signed an agreement under which Sikorsky subsidiary Keystone Helicopter Corp. will provide it with aviation maintenance and completion services. SEACOR's Aviation Division includes Era helicopters, Era Leasing, EraMed and an FBO at Anchorage International Airport. The division operates more than 160 helicopters in the northeastern United States, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska supporting a wide range of oil and gas exploration and production, firefighting, and aeromedical and sightseeing operations.
CGTM (a Turbomeca subsidiary), Bordes, France, has named Pierre Fabre as its new president. He replaces Henri Sala, who is retiring. Helene Sendrane has been named executive vice president.
Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. - the Exton, Pa.-based maker of flat-panel displays, flight information computers and advanced monitoring systems - has signed an agreement with Cessna Aircraft to provide flat-panel displays for legacy Citations. The new systems will be distributed and installed through 34 Citation service centers worldwide.
At a House oversight hearing March 14, several members of the House Aviation Subcommittee told FAA Administrator Marion Blakey they were concerned that the agency's proposed new funding system will increase general aviation costs too much. The administration's plan would scrap ticket taxes and instead impose user fees for airlines. Most general aviation operators would continue to pay through fuel taxes -- as they do now -- but those taxes would be increased significantly; moreover, those operators entering high volume airspace would be charged fees as well.
Gulfstream Aerospace recently completed the previously announced acquisition of WECO Aerospace Systems, Inc., a privately held aviation component overhaul company specializing in electrical, electronic accessories and flight instrument services. WECO has about 75 employees and operates facilities in Lincoln and Burbank, Calif.
As our cities become clogged with traffic, just getting the CEO from downtown to the airport or an exurban plant site becomes a major headache. Though major corporations have used helicopters to move busy executives for decades, the last few years have witnessed steady growth in business helicopter use.
The HAI has honored two of its senior executives -- former President Roy Resavage and Elizabeth (Libby) Meade, current executive vice president/corporate secretary -- with a Lifetime Honorary Membership award. The award recognizes individuals for their efforts for the advancement and improvement of the international helicopter industry. Resavage served as HAI president from March 1998 through October 2005. Before that, he spent 27 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a captain. Meade joined HAI in 1987 as executive assistant to the president.
Sierra Industries, the Uvalde, Texas-based company that reengines early model Citations, delivered the first Sierra Stallion recently. The reengined aircraft, which received its STC in summer 2006, is powered by two Williams FJ44 engines, but the airplane retains the thinner, classic wing of the Citation I.
Landmark Aviation, Tempe, Ariz., announced that Dean Harton, vice chairman of the company's board of directors, has returned to his investment and management company, Hawthorne Corp.. He will, however, remain vice chairman of the Landmark board. Kerry Trosper was named as the new general manager for the company's Wichita Falls, Texas, FBO. Michael Moore has been named vice president of Operations and Program Management at Associated Air Center at Dallas Love Field. James Wilson was named as general manager for the company's Dulles, Va., FBO.
In "Blinded by See and Avoid" (B&CA, January, page 26) Patrick Veillette points out that "knowing where to look greatly increases the chance of sighting the traffic;" however, the hook that caught my eye was "Those of us who fly the line don't need a bunch of statistics to tell us that flying into Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket on a VFR summer weekend is akin to running a gauntlet."
This large flight department for a major retailer headquartered on the East Coast operates two Bombardier Global 5000s and will soon take delivery of a pair of Challenger 300s. It fully expects the 300s to join their larger siblings in routinely operating abroad. Technically midsize aircraft but with wider, standup cabins, the 3,000-nm range Challengers are equipped with the latest nav equipment and software to handle all the new special-use airspace requirements coming to the fore in both North Atlantic and European operations.
Airbus has seen a recent surge of orders by Asian companies, as well as for Middle East operators, for VIP aircraft ranging from A318s to A340s. An order for a VIP A340-500 from undisclosed Asian customer was the first for that continent, the third overall for this year. Airbus said the market for VIP widebodies has been "increasingly active in recent years" and revealed that China Sonangol was the customer for three previously attributed to an unidentified customer.
As David Huntzinger has pointed out in "Oxygen: Friend or Foe?" (B&CA, February, page 34), carriage of passengers requiring medical oxygen is most complicated. It is also ever changing. In July 2005, the FAA issued SFAR 106 (amended September 2006). Although intended for Part 121 operations, this SFAR authorizes the use of specified oxygen concentrators, avoiding the compressed or liquid gas issues. It is an easier alternative.
EADS Socata, Tarbes, France, appointed Dominique Malleville as vice president of Industry and Aerostructures. He replaces Christian Cornille, who will be moving to Airbus France as head of Improvement and Performance, Centre of Excellence Nose and Central Fuselage.
If you fly an Aerostar with 350-hp engines, there isn't a general aviation piston-twin that can catch you and you'll even pull past some twin-turboprops. That's because when Ted Smith designed the sleek twin in the mid-1960s he intended it to be powered by either piston or jet engines and fly as fast as 430 KTAS.
Thrane & Thrane, Virginia Beach, Va., hired Andy Beers as the new channel sales manager for developing and maintaining the dealer network. He will work with sales account executive Megan Robertson, who joined the company in 2006.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and sad experience. An aviation accident can be a terrible thing, but it is made all the more terrible if the lessons that it might produce are not passed on to those who follow. That was the point of "Aftermath." As for Lt. de Barbeyrac's accident, I, too, believe his loss helped others avoid the same fate.
PlaneSmart Aviation, Dallas, announced the appointment of Jim Owens as director of Safety, Training and Standardization for the SR22-G2 and SR20-G2 aircraft programs.
