Jet Aviation of Switzerland wants to be the first non-Russian-owned FBO at a Moscow airport by year-end. It is currently in negotiations with a potential Russian partner, whose name has yet to be released.
The FAA has been soliciting comments on two separate studies to decommission the Providence (PVD) VOR at Theodore Francis Green State Airport in Rhode Island and the Bradley (BDL) VOR at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. The Providence VOR sustains more than nine Victor airways and 12 approach procedures to local airports. Airways off of the VOR provide access to high-traffic general aviation areas such as Hyannis and Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and Nantucket, R.I. The Bradley VOR provides airways to Boston and New York.
Globalair.com President Jeff Carrithers appointed Jeffrey LoParo as executive vice president of media sales and Patrick De Blanc as the company's director of corporate communications. In this new position, LoParo will lead the continuing expansion of the company's Internet media sales and business development efforts. De Blanc joins Globalair.com after a 28-year career in the business aircraft and general aviation industry. Both men are based at Globalair's new Dallas regional office.
Premier Air Center of East Alton, Ill., received an STC to install a Universal Avionics EFI-890R flat-panel EFIS display package on all models of Dassault Falcon 20 Aircraft. The Falcon 20 STC is certified under FAA Part 25 for approach and landing. ``This is the first flat-panel system built for existing flight decks,'' stated Lamont Durante, Premier's director, avionics sales and programs.
Gama Aviation Ltd. of Farnborough, England, was awarded a seven-year contract by the Scottish Ambulance Service to supply integrated emergency airlift using two new Beech King Air 200Cs and two Eurocopter EC135T2s, beginning in April 2006. The King Airs will be based at Aberdeen and Glasgow airports and will be fitted with a new patient loading system. The EC135T2s will be based at Glasgow and Inverness and contracted from Bond Air Services Ltd.
Olympia, Wash.-based Soloy plans a new turbine conversion for the Cessna 206. The new Soloy Turbine Cessna 206 will be equipped with a 450-shp Rolls-Royce 250-B17F/2 engine, which Soloy said will substantially improve hot weather and high-altitude operations and increase payload. The conversion uses a full-reversing Beta-controlled Hartzell propeller to enhance floatplane operations and short-field capability, the company said.
Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Neb., named Randy Wilson the new program manager of its completions and modifications areas. Wilson, who joined Duncan in 1995, will be initially responsible for the launch of the Glass Box Project, a cockpit upgrade program that includes several airframes.
I am a Forest Service lead airplane -- our mission is low-level and very intense flying. I am concerned not only for our agency pilots, but also for the contract air tanker pilots. If you check our accident record, you'll see why I am concerned. We are required to work either 12 days on and two days off or six days on and one day off -- our duty days average 10 to 12 hours. I started this schedule sometime in February this year and it will last until maybe October or longer! I'm tired!! I attended your fatigue countermeasures workshop. I know what to look for.
As part of a major effort to improve its aftermarket support performance, Bombardier cut prices on some 6,000 Learjet and 8,500 Global and Challenger parts. Desmond Bell, vice president of Parts Logistics, said recently that the manufacturer had reduced parts pricing on average by about 20 percent. Meanwhile, the company has invested $67 million in expanding its parts inventory and this year is opening all-new parts warehouses in Chicago and Frankfurt.
Harold (Hal) E. Botsford, West Milford, N.J., a corporate aviation pilot for 50 years, died while giving a biennal flight check to a fellow instructor. He was 79. During his career, Botsford had been a pilot for Bill Lear and a part-time instructor at FlightSafety International. He was type rated in Learjets, Gulfstreams, Hawkers and Falcons.
MB Design's MB-2K FMS Adapter allows aircraft equipped with Honeywell NZ-920 flight management navigation computers to be upgraded to the Honeywell NZ-2000 in a matter of hours. According to MB Design, many operators ``realize the NZ-920 can no longer support the worldwide nav database and that it's no longer the answer to today's navigation issues.'' The MB-2K FMS Adapter was designed to allow an aircraft with single or dual NZ-920 computers to upgrade to the NZ-2000 overnight for return to service the following morning.
The Boeing 737-400 operated by a charter carrier touched down on the runway at Palma, Spain, and as it began its rollout, the captain depressed the right rudder pedal to keep it tracking straight. Although the pedal moved forward, there was no opposite reaction from the left, nor any apparent movement by the rudder itself. The captain alerted the first officer, who then took command -- since his pedals were effective -- and brought the aircraft under control without further incident.
TWC Aviation, Burbank, Calif., hired Jay Acremont as director of operations; Ross Truesdale was named director of training; and Alex Joya was promoted to manager of business operations.
TSA's Stone speaking at the National Air Transportation Association convention in Las Vegas in March, TSA Chief David Stone said, his agency continues to strive toward reopening Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to general aviation. Stone said his agency has to be ``smart enough to figure out a way to put the right security measures in place'' to accomplish that task. The plan is expected to be a phased-in approach, first allowing large, public charter aircraft back into DCA, and then operators covered by the Twelve-Five security program for FAR Part 135.
A Paterson, N.J., motorist injured in the Feb. 2 Challenger crash at Teterboro Airport filed a lawsuit against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for failing to install proper aircraft barriers at TEB. Rohan Foster was driving on Route 46, a major thoroughfare that abuts the airport, when the Challenger 600 overran Runway 6, sheared off the roof of his car and crashed into a brick warehouse on the other side of the busy road. Foster also filed a second lawsuit against the aircraft's manufacturer, operators and pilots.
Mooney Aerospace Group said it issued nearly 10 million shares of new common stock to its creditors in accordance with the company's plan of reorganization. The company said some 200,000 shares were issued to the existing shareholders of record as of Dec. 15, 2004. An additional 200,000 shares were issued to the preferred shareholders. Some 4.975 million shares went to Allen Holding & Finance Co. Ltd., with about 4.6 million shares issued to the unsecured general creditors.
Galvin Flying Services, Inc., Seattle, hired Michael Cleary as general manager. Most recently, Cleary served as president and chief operating officer of aircraft operations at Western Aircraft, Inc., in Boise, Idaho.
FlightSafety International named Stephen Phillips, a veteran of Bombardier and the Flexjet fractional aircraft program, to succeed Roger Ritchie as director of communications for the New York-based training provider and simulator manufacturer. Ritchie is retiring after 17 years with FSI. He plans to work on special projects for the company and others. Jim Waugh, FlightSafety executive vice president, said Ritchie ``has played a vital role in the growth of our company, through his dedication, creativity and exceptional communications skills.''
Mercury Air Centers officially unveiled its Atlanta corporate headquarters facility while co-hosting a two-day 90th birthday celebration for Gen. Paul Tibbets on Feb. 18. Tibbets flew the B-29 Enola Gay on the mission that dropped the first atomic bomb. Mercury, which operates 20 FBOs nationwide, recently moved its corporate headquarters from Los Angeles to a newly refurbished 7,000-square-foot building overlooking the main ramp at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK).
In the wake of widespread industry dissatisfaction with the 2004 Farnborough International Airshow, changes have been made to the 2006 event and the show will be run by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Society of British Aerospace Companies, Farnborough International Ltd. A number of exhibitor charges will be held at 2004 rates, the rules governing chalet booking packages have been relaxed and there will be increased meeting and conference room facilities plus more on-site exhibitor parking.
Falcon 20 (1) To prevent fatigue cracking of the window frames and possible rapid depressurization, inspect and test the vertical posts of the window frames in the flight compartment for fatigue cracking caused by stress corrosion. Falcon 50 (1) To prevent puncturing of the fuel tank in the event of a belly landing, install a shield plate over the tank structure above the Stormscope antenna and replace the antenna plug connector with a new connector.
U.S. Northern Command is waiting for policy guidance on notifying Canada in the event that an attacking missile is shot down in Canadian airspace, a spokesman for the command said. Canada decided Feb. 24 that it wouldn't participate in a North American missile defense system, although it remains involved in the process of warning of such an attack. Canada's NORAD mission ``still involves integrated tactical warning and attack assessment,'' said Canadian Forces Col.
Lufthansa CityLine recently performed its first low-visibility takeoff using Rockwell Collins' Flight Dynamics Head-Up Guidance System (HGS). The Bombardier CRJ200 took off from Milan's Malpensa Airport in foggy conditions. The reported visibility was below 150 meters runway visual range (RVR), which is normally required for takeoff at Malpensa. With HGS, Lufthansa CityLine can take off in visibility conditions as low as 75 meters RVR.
Owners of older airplanes used for on-demand transportation will be watching as FAR Parts 121, 129 and 135 scheduled operators are now subject to aging aircraft safety rules that went into effect on March 4.
