High demand for passenger charters to Johannesburg and other South African destinations are expected to rise ahead of next summer’s World Cup soccer tournament, reports global aircraft charter specialist Chapman Freeborn.
FAA has issued special certification conditions for the Embraer EMB-505 (Phenom 300). The conditions were issued shortly before the expected U.S. approval of the aircraft. The Brazilian ANAC granted type certification for the Phenom 300 earlier this month (BA, Dec. 7/260). FAA said the conditions are needed because the swept wing, T-tail twinjet’s novel or unusual design features and performance characteristics are not covered by the existing Part 23 regulations of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
HELICOPTER REVENUE flights to and from oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska accounted for a disproportionate number of accidents involving Part 135 passenger operations from 2004 and 2008, according to the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s (ACSF) Part 135 Incident/Accident Review. Designed to track safety trends for Part 135 operators, the review revealed that passenger and cargo flights accounted for the majority of the accidents involving Part 135 revenue flights.
CIRRUS AIRCRAFT secured European Aviation Safety Agency approval for its Known Ice Protection system. FAA approval was granted earlier in 2009, and new aircraft equipped with the optional system have been shipping to customers since January.
UNITED is considering Bombardier’s CSeries as a replacement for the Boeing 737s recently dropped from the carrier’s fleet, Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton told BA affiliate Aviation Daily. The carrier intends to issue a narrowbody request for proposals next year as a follow-on from its widebody fleet upgrade, which includes the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 split letter of intent unveiled last week. The narrowbody RFP will include a 110-seat requirement, as well as a requirement for successors for the Airbus A319s and A320s currently operated by the U.S. legacy carrier.
Castle & Cooke Aviation recently secured approval from the Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Board of Airport Commissioners for a 30-year lease at its fixed-base operation on Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in California.
Jet Hangar Space Available For Sale or Lease BUCHANAN AIRFIELDCONCORD, CA New Construction – Completed 200838,430 SF +/-Divisible to 19,430 SF +/-Ideal for Falcons and expansion for corporate flight dept. or FBOContact: Bill Durgin, [email protected] Click here to view the pdf
AIR BP has added seven fixed-base operations to its dealer network. The locations are: Emblem Aviation in Pinedale, Wyo.; Honeycutt Aviation in Olivehurst, Calif.; Delta AirElite Jet Center in Erlanger, Ky.; Jet West in Salinas, Calif.; City of New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas; Elite Aviation Services in Hopkinsville, Ky.; and, Avbase in San Jose, Calif. The newest additions will accept the Air BP Sterling Card. Emblem, Honeycutt, Delta AirElite and Jet West also are participating in the Air BP Bravo Rewards program.
Gulfstream last week began the flight test program for its new super midsize G250, laying the groundwork for the Savannah, Ga., manufacturer to bring two new aircraft to market in 2011. The G250 completed a three-hour, 21-minute first flight Dec. 11, just two months after its rollout in Israel. The flight took off from Ben Gurion International Airport at 8:16 a.m. local time, flew to 32,000 feet and achieved a maximum speed of 253 knots.
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has created a new Airports, Handling and Ground Operations Committee (AHGOC). The committee was created to support the sustainable growth of business aviation, promote access to airports, assure safety and standards of best practices at airports and in handling companies, promote environmentally friendly operations, and fight for fair competition.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 700, 701 and 900 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0436; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-005-AD; Amendment 39-16114; AD 2009-24-20] – Revise the “Operating Limitations” section of the Airplane Flight Manuals to include improved cold-weather operational procedures.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE last week confirmed that the Global Express XRS jet set a new speed record on Oct. 26, flying 4,994 nautical miles nonstop from Toluca Airport in Mexico City to Le Bourget Airport in Paris in just 10 hours. The aircraft carried a crew and payload equivalent to eight passengers – four passengers and a fuel surplus of 780 pounds above reserves. The aircraft cruised at Mach 0.82 for the first six hours of the flight and Mach 0.85 during the last four hours. The flight was officially sanctioned by the National Aeronautics Association on Nov.
Fokker Services has introduced FLYFokker, a new life-cycle support program for the fleet of out-of-production, Dutch-built regional jets. Fokker Services (the organization formerly known as Stork Aerospace) is offering four support packages: Take Off, Take Care, Take Over and Take Next. The company says these support options are designed to provide “cost-effective aircraft and service solutions for start up, mature and phaseout operators.”
GE Aviation’s subsidiary, GE Aviation Czech s.r.o., is planning to begin certification testing within the next couple weeks of the new H80 turboprop engine, which the engine maker launched following the 2008 acquisition of certain assets of Czech-based Walter Engines, a.s. Based off the Walter M601 engine, the H80 is the first new commercial turboprop engine for GE in more than a decade. The 800-shaft-horsepower engine is designed to power agricultural, business and general aviation aircraft.
LEARJET 45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0719; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-078-AD; Amendment 39-16116; AD 2009-24-22] – Visually inspect the baggage bay door’s fire-barrier seal for Inconel mesh in the fire barrier seal material, per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 45-25-21, Rev. 1 (dated Jan. 19, 2009) or 40-25-11, Rev. 1 (dated Jan. 19, 2009), as applicable. In certain airplanes, inspect the fiberglass doublers for presence of red Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) sealant. If any RTV sealant is found, replace it.
Long Island, NY. Two Brand new single occupancy hangars. 1.) 60’X60’ with 55’wX16’h Schweiss Bi-fold door; 2). 65’X75’ with 60’wX18’h Schweiss Bi-fold and 20’ X 65’ mezzanine. Both have radiant heat floors, private lavatories. Secure location, very private. For Info.: call Mr. Coste at (631) 523-5407 or [email protected] Click here to view the pdf
Dassault Falcon last week announced it was laying off 150 employees and another 55 contract workers at its completion center in Little Rock, Ark., in a move to align work force levels with lower sales and production rates. In April the French manufacturer cut 44 positions in its Teterboro, N.J., organization and in Little Rock. The Little Rock center already had cut 140 contract positions since the beginning of 2009. Dassault also laid off 35 employees at the Wilmington, Del., service center last November.
January 21-23, 2010 – Bahrain International Airshow, Sakhir Airbase, www.farnborough.com/site/content/bahrain/ January 25-26, 2010 – National Air Transportation Association FBO Leadership Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (800) 808-6282 or visit www.nata.aero/fbolc January 27-29, 2010 – National Business Aviation Association 21st Annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (202) 783-9000 or visit www.nbaa.org
TIM ULLES was named general manager of Chromalloy’s gas turbine engine repair and maintenance operation near Atlanta. Ulles formerly served as manager of Barnes Aerospace’s Windsor OEM Division, in Windsor, Conn., where he had profit and loss responsibility for aircraft, military tank and power generation engines parts manufacturing. Ulles also has worked for MacDermid Graphic Arts and General Datacomm Industries.
THE AIR CHARTER SAFETY FOUNDATION (ACSF) has added three more operators to the ACSF Industry Audit Standard (IAS) Registry. The new additions are Executive Fliteways, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.; Million Air Dallas, of Addison, Texas; and Sun Air Jets of Camarillo, Calif. To qualify for the Registry, the operators must complete an audit that meets IAS standards. ACSF developed the audit guidelines in concert with industry leaders and audit companies in an attempt to provide a single audit standard for charter companies.
Bob Hope Airport officials expect to lay the groundwork beginning next year for a new Part 150 study to grapple with noise issues. The Part 150 study is one of a couple of steps local officials are planning to take since FAA rejected the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority’s request for a nighttime ban at the Burbank, Calif.-based airport (BA, Nov. 9/216). The airport authority had hoped to become the first organization to successfully impose noise restrictions on Stage III and quieter aircraft under the Part 161 process.
FURTHER EVIDENCE of market stabilization: UBS’s latest “Business Jet Market Index” marked its seventh straight improvement. The index measures market conditions on a scale of zero to 100, with 51-100 representing strengthening conditions, 50 stable conditions, and 0-49 weakening conditions. The November index came in at 45, slightly higher than the previous survey and considerably higher than the November 2008 index of 13.
