The European Business Aviation Association will be holding its International Aircraft Transactions Conference May 3 in Geneva right before this year’s European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (EBACE). The education program will introduce important concepts to be considered during the purchase or lease of a business aircraft. Attendees of this seminar receive free admission to EBACE, and it is designed for prospective aircraft owners and their legal, tax and financial advisors.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR FIXED BASE OPERATOR (FBO) AT JOHN F. KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is seeking Requests For Proposals(RFP) from qualified firms to provide a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at John F.Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
ARGUS International Inc. has created a new subsidiary – Professional Resources In System Management (PRISM) Solutions LLC – to manage demand for safety, quality and security management systems. The company tapped William Yantiss, former vice president of safety for United Airlines, to head PRISM.
A Gulfstream G1159A (Gulfstream III) successfully landed March 10 at Republic Airport (FRG) in Farmingdale, N.Y., after a windowpane blew out, the No. 2 engine lost power and the crew declared an emergency. Operated by Northeastern Aviation Corp. under Part 135, the aircraft, N155MN, departed FRG at 12:55 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on a flight to Stuart, Fla. While the aircraft climbed to 35,000 feet, the pilot-in-command (PIC) and co-pilot heard a sound similar to a compressor stall, followed by a loss of power in the right engine.
Bombardier Aerospace last week officially opened its third commercial aircraft service center in the U.S., this one in Macon, Ga. The new center adds to Bombardier’s growing customer support network worldwide. The facility, operated by Bombardier Customer Services, complements the two Bombardier-owned commercial aircraft service centers in Bridgeport, W.Va. and Tucson, Ariz. The facility, which began operations on Jan. 18, 2010, will perform heavy maintenance on Bombardier CRJ100/200/700/900 aircraft.
March 29-April 1, 2010 – National Business Aviation Association 37th Annual International Operators Conference, New Orleans, (202) 783-9000 or visit nbaa.org March 29-April 1, 2010 – Aviation Maintenance Conference and Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee Joint Meeting, Hyatt Regency, Phoenix, (410) 266-2008 April 6–8, 2010 – National Business Aviation Association 25th Annual Maintenance Management Conference, San Diego, Calif., (202) 783-9000
Business Jet Center (BJC) has added more than 15,000 square feet of hangar space to its facility at Oakland International Airport (OAK) in California, increasing its total hangar space to more than 100,000 square feet. BJC executives noted that demand for the company’s hangar space has increased steadily over the past 18 months. The OAK fixed-base operation opened in fall of 2003 and renovated the airport’s original executive terminal that was built in the 1920s. BJC also operates a facility at Dallas Love Field.
EMBRAER EMB-135ER, -135KE, -135KL, -135LR -145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1079; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-116-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.
Triumph Group has struck a deal to buy Vought Aircraft Industries from private equity giant Carlyle Group in a $1.44 billion deal that analysts say could mark the start of a revival of aerospace mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
JDA Aviation Technology Solutions was retained to provide its 135Pro certification support to Paradigm Helicopters, a Houston-based operator. JDA’s web-based 135Pro program is designed to simplify the process of obtaining a Part 135 certificate, and includes manuals to help charter applicants satisfy FAA requirements, as well as coaching and training assistance.
JAMES MITCHELL has joined Elliott Aviation as aircraft sales manager based at Flying Cloud Regional Airport in Eden Prairie, Minn. Mitchell, a 25-year aircraft sales veteran, previously was responsible for new and used Citation sales in a five-state area as an area sales manager with Cessna. He also has experience selling Mooney, Piper and Cessna Caravan aircraft as a sales representative for Eden Prairie-based ASI Jet Center.
StandardAero is closing its Little Rock, Ark. engine shop and transferring the work back to its facility in Springfield, Ill., a move the company says will return the center to its Garrett roots and create a “one-stop shop.” The Springfield facility will begin providing services for Honeywell TFE731 engines in the third quarter. Initial capabilities will include major periodic inspections for the TFE731, but other services and engine types may be added later, based on customer needs.
National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Christopher Hart says investigators are “very optimistic” that sophisticated avionics onboard the emergency medical services (EMS) helicopter that crashed March 25 near Brownsville, Tenn., will yield important clues into the cause of the accident that killed the pilot and two nurses onboard.
Eclipse Aerospace CEO Mason Holland maintains that production of the Eclipse EA-500 jet will resume, but he declined to say exactly when that will occur or at what rate. Rather, he says, formal announcements about the very light jet program will be coming soon and should clarify things further. Holland told BA that the recent decision by the Albuquerque, N.M., company to join the General Aviation Manufacturers Association is just another confirmation that his future agenda includes the restart of production.
AOPA Air Safety Foundation President Bruce Landsberg last week helped pay tribute to air traffic controllers and the lifesaving role they can play for general aviation pilots in distress. At the National Air Traffic Controllers Association’s (NATCA) annual “Communicating For Safety” conference, Landsberg presented 10 Flight Assist commendations to controllers from around the country. “As the recipients of these commendations and NATCA’s own Archie League Awards demonstrate, controllers can be the difference between life and death,” says Landsberg.
W. W. (BILL) BOISTURE was elected to the board of directors of Corporate Angel Network, the nonprofit organization that arranges free transportation for cancer patients aboard corporate aircraft. Boisture, chairman and chief executive of Hawker Beechcraft, has more than 30 years of aviation experience. He formerly served as president of Intrepid Aviation, NetJets, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation and British Aerospace Corporate Jets. He also served as chairman and chief executive of Butler Aviation.
MAJ. GEN. (RET.) ROBERT HARDING, nominated earlier this month to head Transportation Security Administration, last week vowed to work with general aviation as it develops new security measures, echoing the sentiments of TSA’s Brian Delauter. “It would be appropriate to look at GA from the point of view not just of the threat, but from the point of view as a stakeholder and as an industry that is just as concerned with security as the rest of us are,” he told the Senate Commerce Committee during a hearing on his nomination last week.
Online marketing platform PrivateFly.com has signed a new partnership with business travel network Advantage Travel Centres, which represents more than 200 independent corporate travel agents. Under the deal, Advantage Travel members will receive benefits including commission-share opportunities and agency incentives. PrivateFly has embedded its “quick quote” search tool within the Advantage Travel members’ intranet, giving agents access to instant private jet estimates for any global trip.
The Defense Department is hoping a strategic alliance with U.S. airlines will accelerate the availability of alternative fuels. Under the alliance, signed March 19 in Washington, the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) and Air Transport Association are forming three joint teams to tackle key challenges to developing a domestic supply base for alternative fuels.
European air taxi operator JetBird has canceled its agreement with Embraer to buy 50 Phenom 100 very light jets. JetBird has been struggling to raise additional financing to get the business off the ground. The relationship is not dead, though, says Claudio Camelier, Embraer’s vice president for market intelligence-executive aviation. The two companies are negotiating a new contract with a new delivery schedule, he says, with a smaller production ramp up.
JIM NOONAN was appointed vice president, business operations for Hawker Beechcraft. Noonan is leading commercial contract and sales support for the company. He previously was vice president of sales operations for StandardAero, and has served with McLeodUSA Inc., ONI Systems Corp., Oracle Corporation and Citigroup.
Dassault Falcon on March 5 delivered the first Falcon 7X to mainland China, with two more to be delivered by the end of the month. In February, Dassault delivered the first Falcon 7X to India. “This is a significant milestone for the Falcon 7X program and Dassault. The time has arrived for China to emerge as a strong market for business aviation,” says John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon.
AirplaneManager.com is rolling out a series of updates as it continues to build the foundation for its web-based flight scheduling and management system designed specifically for smaller flight departments and fixed-base operations.
