TWG Aviation Ltd., which operates as Business Jet Center and Business Jet Access, has completed its purchase of various assets of Vitesse Aviation at Dallas Love Field (DAL). Announced in June (BA, June 21/3), the acquisition includes Vitesse’s lease-hold, comprising 7.5 acres with two existing hangars. Vitesse had operated a fixed-base operation, aircraft maintenance and charter business at DAL for the past four years. TWG will fold those operations into its own operations at the airport.
Oct. 19–21—National Business Aviation Association 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention, Atlanta, (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org Oct. 22—The Wings Club’s 68th Annual Dinner-Dance Honoring Allan McArtor, Chairman Airbus Americas, with its Distinguished Achievement Award, The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, (212) 867-1770, [email protected] Oct. 22—European Aviation Club seminar on passenger rights, Hotel Bristol Stephanie, Brussels, e-mail: [email protected]
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) fears a proposed European package of pilot certification requirements would harm the U.S. flight training and manufacturing sectors, as well as raise trade barriers, by not accepting third-country pilot credentials. The European Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on the flight crew licensing rules on Oct. 13-14 and subsequently vote on the packages.
Emphasizing that technology is not the whole answer to helicopter safety, FAA Flight Standards Director John Allen last week introduced the agency’s latest proposed rules for helicopter operators, with particular focus on air ambulance operations, where the accident rate has been persistent and unremitting. Allen specifically emphasized the establishment of operations control centers with authority to dispatch a mission, as well as preflight risk analysis for every mission.
TONY SWIFT was named field service representative for Gulfstream Aerospace. Swift will work with Gulfstream customers in northern New Jersey, with primary responsibility for Teterboro, Morristown and Newark airports. Since 2004, Swift has been a member of the Gulfstream contractor logistics support team at Chievres AB in Belgium, where he managed the day-to-day maintenance of a C37-A (Gulfstream GV) aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. He joined Gulfstream in 1999, initially as a technician with the Savannah, Ga., service center drop-in crew.
Flexjet has developed a new “Napa Valley Edition” of its Flexjet 25 Jet Card. Available through Dec. 31, the Napa Valley edition will include a private dinner, cooking lesson with celebrity Chef Morimoto and all-inclusive passes to Auction Napa Valley, a fund-raiser that has raised nearly $100 million for health care, affordable housing and youth development charities. Pricing for the “Napa Valley Edition” Jet Card starts at $124,900.
The severe downturn of the fractional jet market in Europe has created an opportunity for a company to buy and resell secondhand shares, says Chris Moody, CEO of London-based Fractional Jet Europe.
European Maintenance Service AB has opened the first Cessna-authorized Citation Service Center in Scandinavia. Located at Gothenburg Säve Airport in Sweden, the 3,000-sq.-meter Nordic Citation Service Center will serve customers throughout Scandinavia. The center will provide maintenance for 500, 525, 550, 560, 560XL and 680 series Citation business jets and can house up to eight aircraft at a time.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) last week inaugurated its new global flight test operations center as part of Phase 1 of the engine manufacturer’s Mirabel Aerospace Center at Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. The center will support flight testing for the complete range of Pratt & Whitney engines, including turboprops and turbofans up to 90,000 lb.-thrust. The center houses two Boeing 747SP aircraft that have been transformed into flying test beds to simulate a complete range of flight conditions and collect record amounts of engine data.
AGUSTA A109E helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2010-0449; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-38-AD; Amendment 39-16456; AD 2010-20-21] – Replace the 35-amp BATT BUS circuit breaker with a 50-amp circuit breaker, per the instructions of Agusta Mandatory Technical Bulletin No. 109EP-98 (dated June 22, 2009). Also, replace certain wires with oversized ones to prevent an electrical failure, loss of electrical power and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.
Bombardier Aerospace’s 14th Safety Standdown, held in Wichita last week, was fully booked, with 494 people in attendance. The seminar launched a new format, featuring two days of optional workshops and two days of general sessions on aviation meteorology, human performance, advanced aerodynamics and aviation leaders/managers. Scheduled speakers included National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen, FAA Director of Flight Standards John Allen and National Transportation Safety Board Member Earl Weener.
Contraction in Wichita’s aviation manufacturing sector began to slow in the first half of 2010, according to a new report from Wichita State University. “From January through July 2010, 700 aerospace products and parts jobs were lost in Wichita,” says the report, titled Wichita’s Economic Outlook 2010 Review and 2011 Forecast Center. “Additional job losses are likely to occur in the fourth quarter.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp.’s (HBC) future in Wichita, Kan. remains uncertain as company executives enter a final week of negotiations with union leaders. HBC and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) were set to return to the bargaining table on Oct. 8, with a potential vote on a new contract Oct. 16. The outcome is expected to determine whether HBC, a fixture in Wichita since Walter and Olive Ann Beech founded the firm in 1932, stays or moves to Louisiana.
An Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) helped buffer a Gulfstream G-IV that overran the runway Oct. 1 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The aircraft carried seven passengers and two pilots, but none were injured.
Signature Flight Support has signed a deal with McDonald Aviation, LLC to manage its facility at Fresno Yosemite International Airport (KFAT). McDonald Aviation, LLC acquired the nearly new facility earlier in the year and completed an extensive refurbishment of the facility. The 6,100-sq.-ft. executive terminal will be branded and operated as Signature and features a passenger lounge, crew lounge, two sleep rooms, executive conference room and Signature’s standard refreshment area. The facility also has a 40,800-sq.-ft.
Gulfstream’s large-cabin G450 business jet recently established a city-pair speed record between Savannah, Ga., and São Paulo. The aircraft, flying to the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, completed the 3,922-nm. flight in less than 9 hr. The G450 departed Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport at 8:07 a.m. local time with six passengers, one flight attendant and international captains Eric Parker and Jaime Bahamon on board. The aircraft landed at the Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo 8 hr. and 50 min.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) was honored by the House of Representatives last week in celebration of its 70th anniversary. The chamber passed House Resolution 1669, which highlights the association’s history and contributions to improving the safety of general aviation.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT Model 400A and 400T airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0954; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-078-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct a detailed inspection for proper sealant on the left and right pylon firewall structures and take corrective actions if necessary, per the instructions of Hawker Beechcraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 54-3946, Rev. 2 (dated February 2010).
Former Eclipse Aviation executive Michael McConnell has joined Raisbeck Engineering as president. McConnell formerly held a number of executive positions with Eclipse, including vice president of customer experience, vice president of marketing and sales, and president and general manager of the Customer Division. He also has served as senior vice president of strategic planning for Mooney Aircraft and formerly served with Dell Computers.
ELIAS HASHEM has joined BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul (ERO) as regional engine manager for North Africa. He will be responsible for sales of all engine repair and overhaul product lines for the ERO group of companies in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. He will be based in Beirut, Lebanon. He has a background in banking and government contracts work.
ECLIPSE AEROSPACE EA500 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0691; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-027-AD; Amendment 39-16459; AD 2010-20-24] – Modify the electronic flight information system and the airplane flight manuals. This AD was issued to correct faulty integration of hardware and software, which could result in unannunciated, uncommanded changes in communications radio frequency, transponder codes and altitude preselect settings.
Istanbul, Turkey-based MNG Jet Havacilik A.S. has placed a firm order for a Global 5000 aircraft valued at about $45 million. The aircraft joins a Challenger 601 aircraft already in the MNG Jet fleet. The addition comes as the company expands its business aviation services to include aircraft management, operations and spare parts distribution. Founded in 2008, MNG Jet has provided maintenance, along with aircraft operations.
Corporate Jets, LLC has been recognized as an approved operator under the International Standards for Business Aviation Operations (IS-BAO). The International Business Aviation Council grants IS-BAO Approval to business aviation operations that successfully complete an exhaustive audit of their Safety Management Systems, standards and procedures and risk management systems. Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., with offices in Van Nuys, Calif., Corporate Jets operates a range of aircraft, from the Cessna Citation II to Gulfstream V.
BILL FITZGERALD was named general manager of the GEnx product line for GE Aviation. Fitzgerald joined GE in 1983 and has held technical and management roles at GE’s facilities in Lynn, Mass.; Cincinnati; and Cardiff, Wales, U.K. Most recently he was vice president and general manager of assembly, test and overhaul.
Used business jet sales were up 30.1% through the first eight months of the year, according to the latest information released by JetNet. Even so, business jet aircraft are taking longer to sell, ranging from 40 to 124 more days, and the average asking price is down 2.7%. Business jet inventory stood at 14.9% in August.
