JOHN (JAY) GIBSON II has joined Hawker Beechcraft as vice president, U.S. and international government business and administration. Gibson is responsible for the finance organization of the government business unit and is a member of the business development team. He formerly was assistant secretary for financial management and comptroller for the U.S. Air Force. He also has served as a deputy undersecretary of defense.
VIKING AIR LIMITED (BOMBARDIER) DHC-7 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0699; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-236-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new limitations for fuel tank systems.
The business aviation manufacturing segment continues to limp along toward a tepid recovery in the latest round of earnings releases and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s most recent shipment report. GAMA reported last week that deliveries were down by about 6% in the second quarter and almost 10% in the first half. Billings actually increased by $20 million to $9.4 billion in the first half, but general aviation deliveries fell under the 1,000 mark in the first half of the year with 937 shipments.
Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research has developed an Aging General Aviation Education & Training website designed to provide a single access point for type-specific aging GA aircraft maintenance information. The site is intended to provide the general aviation community with information needed to maintain older aircraft. Users can access articles and resources on most makes and models of aging aircraft to determine whether a problem is common with a particular airplane.
The Westchester Aviation Association (WAA) is planning a General Aviation Expo Sept. 25 with two fixed-base operations, part of a continuing effort to reach out to the community and combat efforts to curtail operations at Westchester County Airport (HPN) in New York.
EMBRAER EMB-135, -145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0716; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-212-AD; Amendment 39-16378; AD 2010-16-02] – Conduct an external detailed inspection for corrosion of the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) auxiliary and center mounting rods and rod ends. If corrosion is found, remove it and apply an anti-corrosive treatment to the mounting rods, or replace them, as necessary, per the instructions of Embraer Service Bulletin 145-49-0034, Rev. 01 or 145LEG-49-0008, Rev. 02 (both dated Sept.
EMBRAER EMB-500 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0754; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-039-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to rework the elevator, elevator trim tab and aileron surfaces by drilling additional drain holes in them, per the instructions of Embraer Service Bulletin 500-57-0001 (dated April 28, 2010).
Fractional ownership pioneer Richard Santulli and former NetJets Europe CEO William Kelly have resurfaced in the aviation industry with a newly established helicopter and business jet leasing firm, Milestone Aviation Group. The company last week announced it has secured $500 million in equity capital commitments to formally launch the business. The Jordan Company, a middle-market private equity firm, is the leading investor with equity firm Nautic Partners.
Neff Capital Management, a Miami-based private equity firm that focuses on aviation, has acquired Complete Turbine Services (CTS), a provider of low-cost engine performance restoration services for commercial aircraft. CTS, which holds FAA and EASA repair station certificates, operates out of a 37,000-sq.-ft. facility at Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. CTS founder Konrad Walter will remain president of the company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
SHANNON TAYLOR IWANSKI was promoted to director, international phase procurement, for Gulfstream Aerospace. Iwanski previously was senior manager of advanced procurement for the Gulfstream G650. Before that, she was senior manager, G450/G550 powerplant, avionics and major structures. Before joining Gulfstream in 1997, she was a sales and marketing representative at New Sulzer Diesel in Savannah, Ga.
Chris O’Callaghan, vice president of eMedia for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, died Aug. 4 in a midair collision in Uvalde, Texas, the association reports. O’Callaghan’s Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2bx sailplane collided with another sailplane as he was returning from an aerial contest circuit. The other plane, while damaged, landed safely.
RUSS BARTLETT was appointed director, U.S. and international business development, for Hawker Beechcraft. Bartlett will direct the government business domestic and international development teams. Previously, he was the government business development regional executive for Europe and India.
Cessna Aircraft is working with Fargo, N.D.-based Spectrum Aeromed to develop a medical transport version of the Citation Mustang. Spectrum Aeromed is seeking a supplemental type certificate for a medical interior and patient loading system that the company designed for the Mustang. Spectrum based the medical configuration on its 2200 series advanced life support system and includes storage provisions and a customized manual loading system.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet 100, 440, 700, 701, 702, 705 and 900 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0703; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-040-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to modify the Air-Driven Generator (ADG) by replacing the existing power feeder wires with tin-plated electrical wires, replacing the backshell and reorienting the ADG cannon plug to reduce bending stress on the harness assembly.
Pinehurst, N.C.-based EmptyLegMarket LLC, an online clearinghouse for empty-leg flights, has expanded its service outside of the U.S. Customers can now search for empty-leg charter flights throughout Canada, Europe, the Middle East, South America and the Caribbean.
Falcon 7X airplanes equipped with an Enhanced Flight Visibility System (EFVS) are subject to special certification conditions recently issued by the FAA. The agency said the EFVS’s head-up display, which has been modified to show forward-looking infrared imagery, is a “novel or unusual design feature” for which the applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards.
In 1989, Jack DeCrane, who managed merger and acquisition activities for the Aerospace and Defense Group of BF Goodrich, set up his own venture to acquire aircraft suppliers. That company, DeCrane Aerospace, evolved into a leading supplier of business aircraft cabin products with projected 2010 sales of $170 million. And on Aug. 3, DeCrane Holdings agreed to sell off its core business. The buyer: Goodrich.
Famed aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker and aircraft collector Kermit Weeks have joined the board of The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, which was founded in 1977 to further the Lindberghs’ interest in applying technology to solve environmental problems.
Frasca International has received an order from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., for an Embraer Phenom flight-training device (FTD). The FTD will meet FAA Level 6 flight training device requirements and will be equipped with the Garmin Prodigy flight deck. The FTD will be installed in the Holleman-Niswonger Simulator Laboratory at Purdue for the professional pilot training program. Frasca also is building two Phenom synthetic training devices for the Finnish Aviation Academy.
Argus International has launched a new online registry for charter operators that have obtained the Argus Charter Evaluation and Qualification (CHEQ) rating. Argus has used the CHEQ data analysis system to rate operators, but the ratings have never been available to the public through a free, searchable, online registry. Currently, 418 charter operators worldwide have received a Gold, Gold Plus, or Platinum rating. The registry of Argus-rated charter operators can be found at http://www.aviationresearch.com/CHEQOnline/search/op_search.asp.
ROBERT (BOB) CONYERS has joined Baldwin Aviation as director of safety management. Conyers previously spent more than two decades with Global Aerospace, most recently as manager of general aviation safety. He also has served as director of operations at American Flyers, in Islip, N.Y., and also as an air traffic controller at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The National Business Aviation Association and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association have outlined plans for their first joint Light Business Airplane Conferences that will be held in conjunction with NBAA’s Annual Meeting & Convention Oct. 19-21 in Atlanta and AOPA’s Aviation Summit Nov. 11-13 in Long Beach, Calif. The conference was originally scheduled as an NBAA event, but the association subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding with AOPA to team on the effort (BA, Oct. 26/190).
Mexican aviation authorities are stressing that FAA’s decision to downgrade the nation’s safety rating is due to a lack of inspectors rather than quality problems.
