Fractional aircraft provider Flight Options has opened its fifth regional maintenance center, this one at Teterboro Airport (TEB), N.J. The new maintenance shop is housed within Atlantic Aviation's facility and encompasses 18,000 square feet of leased space. The company will employ a staff of 10 avionics specialists and approximately 30 A&P technicians. The hangar will be operational 24 hours a day to service Flight Options aircraft, which perform more than 5,000 flights annually out of TEB.
Eclipse Aviation has revealed order commitments for more than 2,000 Eclipse 500s, of which 1,752 were backed with non-refundable deposits worth a total of $65 million. International orders accounted for about 10 percent of the total, including a single order for 112 aircraft from the Swiss flying club Aviace AG.
The camel's nose may be in the tent. A recent FAA memo authorizes Boeing Business Jet operators to operate the aircraft under FAR Part 135 with certain provisions. However, the memo also said that the FAA plans to ``initiate rulemaking efforts to determine if additional safety and operational requirements should be established for these large airplanes'' whether operated under Part 91 or Part 135.
Universal Weather and Aviation will offer Air Security International's security services to its clients under a newly announced agreement. The deal will allow Universal to focus on trip support services, including weather briefings, international flight planning and air-to-ground communications, while meeting customer security needs. Founded 13 years ago, ASI is a full-service air security company that provides intelligence, aircraft guarding, executive protection and VIP reception.
ElectronicFlight Solutions has added a new EGPWS module to its CompleteLearning line of computer-based aviation training products. The new module is dedicated to the use of Honeywell's enhanced ground proximity warning system, the low-cost Bendix/King KGP650 EGPWS. It also covers Honeywell and Avidyne displays commonly used with the system. GPWS inventor Don Bateman, chief engineer with Honeywell's flight safety systems unit, said he's ``very impressed'' with the training package.
Beauty may prove to be only skin deep once Honeywell's SAM is unleashed on your favorite business jet. SAM -- that's Structural Anomaly Mapping -- can see through the gloss to flaws within, discovering cracks and corrosion in metal and debonding and delamination in composites, flaws that quietly lurk in wait of a structural failure. SAM is, in effect, the first CAT scan for business jets. Its robotic sensors can inspect and diagnose an airplane overnight, without taking it out of regular service.
Thales' air traffic management unit will supply up to 375 low-power DME systems for ILS sites under a new five-year FAA contract. The procurement includes new locations and replacements for existing installations. The FAA in March 2000 contracted with Thales ATM for more than 100 Mark 20A ILS systems. Potential value of the new contract -- which also includes training, spares and support services -- is up to $18 million.
Edited by David RimmerMike Vines, in Birmingham, England
Ford Flight -- Ford Motor Co.'s flight department -- plans to replace its two U.K.-based Boeing Business Jets with a pair of brand-new Boeing 737-700s. The BBJs started operations from London Stansted in January 2001 and mainly serve Ford's automobile plants in Cologne, Valencia and Bordeaux on mainland Europe.
GAMA membership is now open to non-U.S. manufacturers following a vote by the group's board of directors. Association President Ed Bolin said the move comes as GAMA becomes more involved in international regulatory matters through the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), ICAO and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). GAMA has already included foreign-company manufacturing data in its reports, and given the global nature of aviation, the move seems a logical one. Bombardier, Dassault Falcon Jet, Embraer and Piaggio have applied for membership.
Randall Greene President&CEO, Safe Flight Instrument Corp. Founded by Leonard Greene in 1946, Safe Flight produced the first stall-warning system and went on to introduce a series of revolutionary systems including the angle-of-attack indicator, stick shakers, wind-shear alert and autothrottles. Son Randy, a veteran aviation executive and 6,000-hour ATP, was asked to head the company after his brother, Donald, the COO, was killed on 9/11 in the crash of UAL Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
Corporate Angel Network, the volunteer organization through which U.S. companies volunteer their aircraft to transport ill patients between their homes and distant medical facilities, reports that it transported 35 percent more people in fiscal 2002 than in the previous year, setting a record for the generosity of participating firms. Frequent CAN participants include Coca-Cola, ConocoPhillips, Corning, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, Ford Motor, GM, International Paper, The Limited, Meredith, Motorola, Pepsico, Verizon and United Space Alliance.
Mercury Air Centers, Inc. appointed Kimberly Phillips as general manager of the company's Addison, Texas, FBO. Prior to joining Mercury, Phillips was supervisor of quality development for Bombardier Aerospace/Flexjet. In addition, Mercury named two program managers for the company's new Customer Programs Department: Brian Swift, who was previously in Mercury's marketing and sales department, and Steve Bowlin, who came to the company from Signature Flight Support, where he worked in FBO operations.
FlightSafety has opened the doors of a new 18,000-square-foot maintenance technician training building at its Gulfstream Learning Center complex in Savannah. The new building has nine multimedia classrooms and a 4,000-square-foot bay area for hands-on maintenance training.
Mesa Airlines has established a charitable foundation to provide financial assistance for employees in need and for charities in cities served by the regional carrier. The Mesa Angels Foundation will be funded by proceeds from the airline's company store, employee contributions, money raised at employee events and company fundraisers. Initial funding of $300,000 was provided through pledges of top Mesa executives.
``Sorry, sir, but this item is prohibited.'' Airport baggage checker to a National Guardsman upon confiscating the soldier's Swiss army knife, just before returning to him his M-16. (Reader's Digest) ``You could say that our nation's economic engines run on jet fuel. The economic impact of aviation is so big it's almost beyond measure.'' Former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey in a farewell speech to the Aero Club of Washington
ExpressJet Holdings, Houston, has elected independent director Thomas E. Schick non-executive chairman of its board of directors. Schick is former executive vice president of commercial aviation services and deputy to the president for Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group. He has also been president of Midway Airlines and Piedmont Aviation.
Regal Aviation has opened the doors for business at its new FBO and Customer Care Center located at Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL). The facility features 70,000 square feet of hangar storage capacity and approximately 10 acres of ramp space. The facility was originally designed as a support center for the company's charter and aircraft management business. Regal Aviation said the transition to a traditional-style FBO occurred only after the company ``identified the need for a higher level of customer service.''
Dr. Carl Chen has been named president and CEO of Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp., the company announced on Sept 18. He succeeds Jack Braly, who announced his intention to step down from those positions during an earlier meeting of the company's board of directors. From early 1990 until January 2002, Dr. Chen was chairman, president and CEO of Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures, Inc. (AASI), of Long Beach, Calif. An aerospace engineer by training, Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology.
Gulfstream Aerospace and NetJets have signed a $1.5 billion agreement for the firm order of 50 G150 aircraft with options on an additional 50. ``The G150 is the perfect complement for our needs,'' said Richard Santulli, NetJets chairman. ``It's the only coast-to-coast aircraft that meets our anticipated demand at price point.'' Deliveries of the aircraft are scheduled from 2005 through 2010; deliveries include a multi-year product support agreement.
About a dozen U.S. regional cargo carriers have united to form the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA). According to Stan Bernstein, CEO of Heritage Turbines and RACCA's first president, the new non-profit organization ``will focus its efforts on establishing working ties with government agencies, other aviation associations, manufacturers, airport authorities and the many vendors that support our business.'' Future plans include the formation of committees focusing on flight operations, maintenance, security and insurance, among other things.
MedAire will offer its ``Management of Inflight Illness and Injury'' course at Farnborough Airport in the United Kingdom. MedAire will provide two-day initial and one-day recurrent training at Farnborough with courses taught by emergency medical professionals. The curriculum is based on MedAire's experience in managing inflight medical emergencies through its MedLink Global Response Center. The curriculum prepares students to provide emergency medical care in the aviation environment.
Aircraft Technical Publishers (ATP) is offering a new International Regulatory Library that enables easy access to all required aviation maintenance regulations/recommendations from the U.S. FAA, ICAO and Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). The library could be particularly useful to operators of intercontinental aircraft as well as multinational maintenance facilities. Price: $1,895 Aircraft Technical Publishers, 101 S. Hill Dr., Brisbane, CA 94005 Phone: (415) 330-9500; Fax: (415) 468-1596; www.atp.com
SAM isn't Honeywell's sole new technology in providing diagnostic and prognostic services that enhance safety while reducing direct maintenance costs. ``It complements our Nova Wire Integrity Program,'' which can detect and quickly pinpoint wiring faults (including chafing) in an aircraft, according to Honeywell's Bernd Kessler. The first Nova is due to be delivered this year.
SimCom's second PC-12 FTD will be installed at the company's Scottsdale, Ariz., facility instead of the Orlando Learning Center as previously announced. According to company officials, with the first device already on line in Orlando, placing the second device in Scottsdale will give customers a choice of eastern or western locations to attend PC-12 training.
