New Piper Aircraft has signed Senate Aviation Limited in Dorset, England, to sell and service the manufacturer's aircraft in the United Kingdom and Spain. Senate Aviation is replacing Meridian Aviation Ltd. as the authorized New Piper dealership in these territories. Senate Aviation is led by brothers Christian and Matthew Lawrence, who serve as the dealership's managing director and chairman, respectively. Bob Berry is Senate Aviation's director of aircraft sales, and Stuart Metcalf is an aircraft salesman for the company.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA), Alexandria, Va., has named Stephen A. Beaulieu IV manager of legislative affairs. Beaulieu comes to NATA from the U.S. House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Aviation, where he was a legislative staff assistant.
Business aircraft operators won't be landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) anytime soon, but the NBAA and certain of its member companies are making inroads with the TSA toward earning the same DCA and special use airspace access privileges as certificated air carriers have.
Like most career fields, the business aviation job market works in cycles. In tough times there are layoffs, pay cuts, whole flight departments close down. The last few years have been tough, but the economy seems to be getting its legs and things are starting to look up. If you are in the process of expanding your maintenance operation, you may be surprised to find it hard to find qualified technicians.
Deborah Hersman has been sworn in at the NTSB to fill the slot vacated by John Goglia, who had served on the board since 1995 but was not reappointed to a third term. This brings the board to its full complement of members. Hersman's term runs through the end of December 2008. She joined the NTSB from the Senate Commerce Committee, where she was a professional staff member for five years with responsibility for its legislative agenda, as well as oversight and policy initiatives on rail, truck, bus, pipeline and hazardous materials transportation safety.
Flight department pilot staffing levels are on the increase and compensation is moving up as well, both indicators of an improved economic outlook. It seems operators have more reasons to fly. According to the Aviation Research Group/U.S. (ARG/US) Salary and Benefit Report database, the average number of crewmembers per aircraft increased from 1.87 in the 2002 to 2003 period to 2.03 for 2003 to 2004 -- an increase of 9 percent. Notably, one measure of flight department productivity -- flight hours vs.
GE Commercial Finance, the business-to-business financial services unit of General Electric, has purchased approximately $2 billion in assets from Boeing Capital Corp. The acquisition of the former Boeing assets by GE involves secured loans as well as financing and operating leases on various kinds of equipment, including corporate aircraft.
AvQuotes.com, announced the addition of Atlantic Aero, Inc. to its list of service providers. Located at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., Atlantic Aero offers a full range of services including aircraft sales, management, line service, maintenance, avionics and charter. The company holds numerous STCs and PMAs, is certified as an FAA Designated Alteration Station, and is certified with the Joint Aviation Authority (JAA).
Trajen FBO Network has opened its new terminal and hangar complex at Tucson International Airport (TUS) located at the north intersection of the Delta and Alpha taxiways. Trajen reports that the new facility is the benchmark for future facility upgrades at its other operations. Trajen is headquartered in Bryan, Texas, and operates 15 FBOs in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, California, Alaska and Virginia. For more information go to www.trajen.com.
Dallas Airmotive will provide overhaul service for the worldwide fleet of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 and PW500-powered business jets from its Dallas facility. In addition, the company will provide hot section inspection and line maintenance services from multiple regional turbine centers located near high concentrations of PW300 and PW500 operators across the United States and Europe. The PW300 is currently used on the Learjet 60, Hawker 1000, Gulfstream 200 (Galaxy), Falcon 2000EX, Citation Sovereign and the Hawker Horizon.
June 4 -- Approximately 15 miles southeast of Liberal, Kan., a flight attendant aboard a Southwest Boeing 737 was seriously injured when the aircraft encountered turbulence. The flight originated in Phoenix, and was en route to Columbus, Ohio, but diverted to Kansas City, Mo., where it landed without further incident. Convective activity was present at the time of the accident.
Stevens Aviation doubled the size of the line service center at its Dayton, Ohio (DAY) FBO to 3,000 square feet. The expansion and remodeling added a number of customer amenities, including an updated flight planning center with high-speed computer access, two wall-mounted flat-screen televisions, new furniture, an additional lavatory and a display of aviation memorabilia.
At press time, Sabreliner Corp. expected to receive in July FAA approval of its RVSM package for the Sabreliner 80. The solution -- developed in conjunction with Kohlman Systems Research of Lawrence, Kan., and Aviation Material and Technical Support (AVMATS) of St. Louis -- covers aircraft equipped with the Collins AP-105 autopilot.
Tri-Guard De-Ice Boot treatment is the newest addition to The Proper Aircraft's line of cleaning products. The two-step process is silicon free and specifically formulated to rejuvenate surfaces and provide a high-gloss shine in less time than that required for traditional three-step products. Tri-Guard Prep Cleaner is used before each application of Tri-Guard to clean and remove build-up of old treatments. The Tri-Guard treatment provides UV and ozone protection. Prices: 16-oz. Tri-Guard, $39.95 16-oz. Prep Cleaner, $17.95
TO THE WEST OF GOROKA, in the Papua New Guinea (PNG) eastern highlands, lies the great limestone massif of Mount Elimbari. A mysterious mist enshrouds the place, which is riddled with miles of limestone caves, infested by bats and infrequented by humans. There are no roads.
Rockwell Collins The Collins Avionics Service Program (CASP) provides a total cost of ownership program to maximize aircraft availability with predictable cost. All aspects of maintaining the Collins avionics onboard your aircraft are included: avionics exchanges and rentals, avionics removal and refit, component maintenance repairs and No Fault Found (NFF), comprehensive reliability upgrades, one consolidated annual invoice, and discount for early enrollment and renewal.
At Farnborough, Forecast International released a new study, ``The World Market for Business Jet Aircraft,'' projecting that 10,809 business jets, worth an estimated $135 billion, will be produced between 2004 and 2013. Although there were double-digit declines in business jet production in 2002 and 2003, Forecast said the mood at many business jet manufacturers currently appears to be one of cautious optimism. The study analyzes the reasons why various companies use business jets.
The 17 70-seat Embraer 170s in service with LOT Polish Airlines, Alitalia Express and US Airways Express have now passed the 5,000 hours in service landmark and, according to Embraer, are achieving 99.06-percent dispatch reliability. A total of 60 EMB 170s are due to be delivered by year-end. The production rate of seven aircraft per month is expected to increase to 8 to 10 per month in 2005.
Montreal Jet Center, Montreal, a new company specializing in business jet interior refurbishing, avionics upgrades, modification and maintenance at Dorval's P.E. Trudeau International Airport, has named Chris Curley sales manager of aircraft services, and Louis Deveault vice president of aircraft maintenance.
Honeywell's Primus Epic integrated avionics system on the Gulfstream G550 has received FAA certification as a primary display system for navigation charts and maps. ``Certification of the G550's electronic charts and maps system accessible on the primary flight display is a significant milestone for the integrated cockpit,'' said John Uczekaj, executive vice president and general manager, Honeywell Business, Regional and General Aviation.
A Bombardier Global 5000 set a class record by flying nonstop from San Francisco to London. The flight-test aircraft, which was outfitted with a complete interior for cabin-related function and reliability tests, departed SFO at 21:15 PDT and arrived at the Farnborough Aerodrome at 14:44 GMT. In addition to a three-person crew, the aircraft featured the equivalent of an eight-passenger, 1,600-pound payload, with a maximum takeoff weight of 87,700 pounds. It climbed directly to 41,000 feet and flew a total of 4,816 nm while cruising mostly at 0.85 Mach (562 mph).
The communication breakdown between the NCRCC and ATC and the issuance of the NOTAM drew considerable attention and criticism -- especially from the AOPA and the NBAA. ``We spend $20 million on a command center, yet we can't get the FAA and security agencies to share the same radar data,'' said AOPA President Phil Boyer.
The state of Rhode Island will repeal the 7-percent tax on the sale or use of aircraft beginning Jan. 1, 2005. The legislation passed the Rhode Island House and Senate on June 25 and was sent to Gov. Donald L. Carcieri (R) for his signature. Business and general aviation advocates had strongly pushed for the change, arguing that the sales and use tax was driving aviation activity to Connecticut and Massachusetts, which do not impose such levies.
Goodrich Corp. and JET Engineering Ltd. have improved the MD-80 engine-exhaust nozzles they introduced in 2003 so that the system now allows the aircraft to meet Stage 4/Chapter 4 airport noise standards. By improving fuel burn and reducing engine temperatures, the nozzle also will lower operating and maintenance costs for the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200-powered aircraft.
While the AOPA, National Air Transportation Association and NBAA all oppose a permanent Washington, D.C., ADIZ, AOPA's Boyer says that his organization ``would not vigorously oppose'' an ADIZ with a 15-mile radius, congruent with the existing no-fly zone over the District of Columbia so long as the no-fly zone is in effect. The NBAA and the NATA both say the zone should remain a temporary measure to be removed as soon as possible.
