DUNCAN AVIATION’S new Provo, Utah, service center, scheduled to open in August 2010, will be a Bombardier Authorized Service Facility for Learjet and Challenger aircraft, along with an aircraft-on-ground Line Maintenance Facility for Global aircraft. The company will lease hangar space from Million Air-Provo at the Provo Municipal Airport and will be able to accommodate up to four aircraft and a team of 21 technicians.
PILATUS delivered a PC-12 to philanthropist and general aviation advocate Thomas Haas. Haas, a board member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation, plans to use his new PC-12 NG for his charitable work, as well as personal and business travel. Haas also serves as chair of The Corporation of the William Penn Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia area.
HALON FIRE EXTINGUISHERS installed on a variety of transport aircraft, small airplanes and helicopters may contain gas that is contaminated and may not be effective in fighting fires. A new FAA airworthiness directive (AD 2010-01-03) says that the chemicals in certain Fire Fighting Enterprises Limited Portable Halon 1211 fire extinguishers could have reduced fire-suppression properties. “In addition, extinguisher activation may lead to release of toxic fumes, possibly causing injury to aircraft occupants,” the agency says.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT Baron G58 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-1176; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-062-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to inspect the standoff hardware between the heater fuel line and the heater over-temperature sensor wires for minimum clearance, per the instructions of Hawker Beechcraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 32-3898 (dated November 2008). If standoff hardware is missing or inadequate, proper hardware would need to be installed.
January 21-23 – Bahrain International Airshow, Sakhir Airbase, www.farnborough.com/site/content/bahrain/ January 25-26 – National Air Transportation Association FBO Leadership Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (800) 808-6282 or visit www.nata.aero/fbolc January 27-29 – National Business Aviation Association 21st Annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (202) 783-9000 or visit www.nbaa.org
CONSTANT AVIATION launched a new 24-hour rotable parts service – Constant Aviation Rotable Exchange (Care) – for business aircraft owners. The inventory, currently valued at more than $25 million, initially will include parts for Gulfstream, Embraer Legacy, Hawker, Citation and Beechjet aircraft. The inventory can be accessed through the Constant Web site, www.constantaviation.com, or by calling (800) 440-9004. Constant Aviation operates repair stations at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Alabama’s Birmingham International Airport.
TURBOMECA Arriel 1B, 1D, 1D1, 2B and 2B1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2009-0302; Directorate Identifier 2009-NE-09-AD] – This proposal, which would revise an existing directive (AD 2009-08-08), would require operators of certain engines to remove the Power Turbine (PT) blades from service before accumulating 5,000 total cycles, per the instructions of Turbomeca Alert MSB No. A292 72 0827, Ver. C (dated July 15, 2009) for Arriel 1 engines, or Alert MSB No. A292 72 2833, Ver. C (dated July 15, 2009) for Arriel 2 engines.
BUT THE ANALYST warned that demand for new business aircraft will lag. JP Morgan, which last week upgraded its rating for Bombardier stock, cautioned that new business jet demand is a “prominent risk” and predicted a slow, bumpy recovery. “We see further rate cuts for large jets, which tend to lag the cycle,” JP Morgan said. The analyst, however, had cited optimism for improving sales in the Bombardier’s Transportation sector, as well as with the CSeries of aircraft, when it upgraded the stock rating.
SOUTHEAST AEROSPACE (SEA), a Melbourne Fla.-based avionics distributor, repair and overhaul specialist, acquired Global Aerospace Consulting, which provides system design, integration and certification services, along with aircraft technical publications. SEA acquired all Global Aerospace supplemental type certificates (STC), processes and formats. Global Aerospace President N.J. Curran will serve as SEA’s director of engineering and certification at SEA.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT King Air B300 and B300C airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-1180; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-060-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to inspect the terminal board on the circuit-card rack assembly to determine if the correct bus bar is installed. This proposal also would require operators to replace the bus bar, if necessary, and inspect the left and right pitot heat annunciators for proper operation, per the instructions of Hawker Beechcraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 31-3948 (dated April 2009).
MILLION AIR MOSES LAKE has joined the Avfuel network of branded fixed-base operation dealers. Based at Grant County International Airport (MWH) in Washington, the FBO will offer Avfuel aviation fuel and services. The facility is one of six Freeman Holdings Million Air locations. The others are Rome, N.Y. (RME); Topeka, Kan. (FOE); Lake Charles, La. (CWF); Alexandria, La. (AEX), and Victorville, Calif. (VCV).
FLAIRJET, based at London Oxford Airport, secured its air operator’s certificate from the United Kingdom, clearing the way for the operator to begin public flights with its new Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft. Flairjet has taken delivery of two Phenom 100 aircraft that are configured for four passengers. The operator has spent six months training pilots and operations staff in preparation for the service.
FAA has expanded the options for passengers to carry portable oxygen concentrators aboard aircraft. The agency has approved four additional oxygen concentrators, bringing the total number of approved units to 11. The latest approvals are for DeVilbiss Healthcare’s iGo, International Biophysics Corporation’s LifeChoice, Inogen’s Inogen One G2 and Oxlife’s Independence Oxygen Concentrator. Portable oxygen concentrators separate oxygen from nitrogen and other gases in the air and provide oxygen to users at greater than 90 percent concentration.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration released a proposal Jan. 8 to strengthen safeguards for carriage of lithium batteries or cells aboard aircraft. The proposal is designed to ensure that lithium batteries can withstand “normal transportation conditions” and are properly packaged, Department of Transportation officials said, noting that more than 40 air transport-related incidents involving lithium batteries and devices powered by lithium batteries have been reported since 1991.
CESSNA LC40-550FG, LC41-550FG and LC42-550FG airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-1186; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-065-AD] – This proposed directive, which would supersede AD 2009-09-09, would retain the requirements to inspect the rudder hinges and brackets and replace any damaged components. However, the new proposal would dictate modification of the rudder hinges and brackets as the terminating action for the inspections. FAA proposed this rule to prevent failure of the rudder. The agency estimates that this proposed AD would affect 535 airplanes on the U.S.
Cessna last week restarted the Citation Sovereign line, bringing back to life the last of the production lines that were shuttered early last summer. The company recalled 60 workers last week, with plans to recall 120 more over the next two weeks. The workers initially will undergo training before rejoining the line. “All of our assembly lines are back up and running,” a Cessna spokesman said, but added, “albeit, at greatly reduced rates.”
AVIATION will lose an advocate on Capitol Hill when Senate aviation subcommittee Chair Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) relinquishes his seat at the end of his term this year. Dorgan last week announced his decision against seeking re-election this year, ending nearly 30 years of service on Capitol Hill. National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen noted Dorgan always has had an open door for the aviation community. “Sen.
For Sale or Lease BUCHANAN AIRFIELD CONCORD, CA New Construction - Completed 2008 38,430 SF +/- Divisible to 19,430 SF +/- Ideal for Falcons and expansion for corporate flight dept. or FBO Contact: Bill Durgin, 925.854.1035 [email protected]
THE U.S. COAST GUARD last week released a special notice calling for the termination of all U.S. Loran-C signals beginning Feb. 8, 2010. “At that time, the U.S. Loran-C signal will be unusable and permanently discontinued,” the Coast Guard notice said. The U.S. will temporarily continue its participation in Russian-American and Canadian Loran-C chains in accordance with international agreements.
The failed bombing plot on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 will not make commercial aviation travelers run to business aviation, but it will give them more reasons to consider it, industry officials say.
A Learjet 35A cargo aircraft operated by Royal Air Freight crashed on approach to Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) in Wheeling, Ill., early Jan. 5. Both pilots were killed in the accident, and the aircraft was destroyed.
DARDEN HAMILTON was named director of STC programs for Blackhawk Modifications. Hamilton, an aerospace engineer with 30 years of experience in aviation product development, is a former two-term Arizona state senator. He has experience working in the experimental flight test groups at Cessna, McDonnell Aircraft (now Boeing) and Honeywell (Garrett) Engines. Most recently, he was a principal engineer for ARINC Engineering Services.
THE USED AIRCRAFT MARKET should continue to gradually improve in 2010, with inventory closing out 2009 at 12.8 percent, only 10 basis points (bps) above December 2008 and 170 bps off the peak in July, according to JP Morgan’s Business Jet Monthly for January 2010. “However, inventories remain quite high in historical terms (150 bps above the 2001 peak) and should drift down further this year as prices continue to adjust,” JP Morgan said. “Flight ops flattened in November and upcoming comps are very easy, so we expect a return to growth in 2010, possibly double-digit.”
