THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION is considering a $9.6 billion aviation user fee proposal for fiscal 2011 as a way to reduce the budget, despite opposition from 118 members of Congress, said Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Craig Fuller. “I still think there’s a better than 50-50 chance we’ll see the proposal even with a lack of political support, because [the Administration] doesn’t have enough ways to cut the budget.
IRIDIUM has signed agreements with distribution partners in Mexico that will help the satellite communications provider to expand its coverage in Mexico. Iridium recently established a new Iridium Mexico subsidiary as a joint venture with Spacenet Communications Services de Mexico S.A. de C.V. Iridium services also will be available through its new partners Astrum Comunicaciones, Intercomunicaciones Móviles Satelitales (INMOSAT) and Tecnologías de Control del Norte (TECNOR).
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT SERVICES (HBS) in Chester, England, has completed a comprehensive upgrade of a Hawker 125-700 aircraft. The aircraft is the first of six Hawker 700s that HBS is upgrading for a government agency. The project entailed 18 months of design, engineering, installation, flight-test and certification, and included upgrading the engines and cockpit.
ERIC ANDERSON was selected to succeed Bruce Langsen as president of Inventory Locator Service (ILS). Langsen is retiring in the first quarter of 2010 after a 16-year career at ILS. Anderson returns to the position he held between 1993-1996. He also has served as chief executive of Aviall and Crescent Machinery.
WINDSOR JET MANAGEMENT recently opened its new 30,000-square-foot headquarters facility at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Florida. The facility includes private offices and lounges, complimentary automobile detailing services and covered parking. The business aviation services firm also recently launched a new charity initiative, the Earn Your Wings program, under which Windsor Jet will donate five cents per charter mile to certain children’s charities, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County.
The Transportation Security Administration’s long-awaited proposal to impose new repair station security requirements appears to provide flexibility and recognize differences between large and small shops, industry leaders believe, but those leaders also cautioned that many of the details of the requirements, and their impacts on small business, are still unclear.
MITSUBISHI MU-2B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-1076; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-019-AD] – This proposal would require operators to adopt the latest Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) revisions to address inconsistencies in critical operating procedures among MU-2B specific training, the FAA-accepted pilot operating checklists and older AFM revisions. FAA issued this new proposal — which would supersede AD 2006-17-01, AD 2006-15-07, AD 2000-02-25 and AD 97-25-02 — to enhance safety by ensuring that pilots follow proper operating procedures.
EMBRAER EMB-500 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-1039; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-059-AD; Amendment 39-16085; AD 2009-23-11] – Before further flight, incorporate new information into the “Abnormal Procedures” section of the Airplane Flight Manual to counteract the possible deactivation of heat to the air data system sensors due to its inadequate automatic logic.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT last week rolled out the first production Citation CJ4. The aircraft will go into paint and interiors in anticipation of certification and delivery in the first half of 2010. Three flight-test aircraft have flown more than 1,000 flights and accumulated more than 1,600 flight hours. The CJ4 will be powered by Williams FJ44-4A electronically-controlled engines, and the cockpit will be equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics.
The new Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) over the Hudson and East Rivers that separates low-altitude, local aircraft flights from transiting through the rivers’ airspace took effect last week. The final rule, published in the Nov. 19 Federal Register, came just two months after FAA released the proposal to establish an SFRA that would raise the floor of the Class B airspace over part of the Hudson to 1,300 feet mean sea level (BA, Sept. 21/125). The SFRA was developed to address concerns that arose following the Aug.
EMBRAER ERJ170 and ERJ190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0687; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-033-AD; Amendment 39-16080; AD 2009-23-08] – Before each flight after closing the cargo doors, verify that they are closed flush with the fuselage skin, and that all four latched-and-locked indicators at the bottom of each door are green. If it cannot be verified that the doors are closed and that all latched-and-locked indicators are green, repair the doors before further flight.
AIRCRAFT PRICING needs to return to a more rational model before the industry sees a turnaround in sales, said Dennis Rousseau, president of business jet consultancy TRC. “We continue to see aircraft on the market at unrealistic prices, with the expectation that ‘the market will come back’ to the inflated pricing era,” he observed.
CHERYL GALLOWAY joined EMS Sky Connect as senior account manager. Galloway will be responsible for expanding the original equipment manufacturer business of EMS Sky Connect’s Forte products, which provide in-flight office capabilities. She has held a number of senior sales positions with West Star Aviation/Premier Air Center, Pentastar Aviation and SimuFlite Training International.
SOLAIRUS AVIATION promoted John King, who had been serving as chief financial officer, to president. Dave Weil, who was vice president of finance, succeeds King in the CFO role. “Both John and Dave played key roles in transforming Solairus from start-up to industry leader in less than a year,” said Solairus CEO and co-founder Dan Drohan. King has more than 25 years of business and financial management experience in aviation, software, systems integration and investment banking.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION met with the Dept. of Transportation Inspector General last week to discuss its concerns that an investigation of pilot experience/compensation has expanded into nonscheduled operations. The Senate Commerce Committee in May requested that the DOT IG look into the role that pilot compensation, training and experience may play in safety. The request came in response to the February crash of a Colgan Air regional airliner.
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PHOENIX-MESA GATEWAY AIRPORT has activated the new US-VISIT system in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The new system now enables private aircraft carrying no more than 20 passengers and crew the ability to clear Customs at Gateway Airport, becoming the only alternative in the region to Phoenix Sky Harbor for foreign visitors to enter the U.S. on private aircraft and be processed on-site.
Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that its NetJets subsidiary suffered a decline in revenues of 42 percent, or $1.5 billion, during the first nine months of 2009, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This mainly was caused by a 79 percent decline in fractional ownership sales and a 24 percent drop in flight operations.
STEVEN SMIDLER was named to the newly created position of senior vice president and chief operating officer for Kaman Industrial Technologies Corporation. Smidler formerly was executive vice president of Lenze Americas Corporation, where he was responsible for marketing, sales, finance, business systems and product technology for the Americas.
A SENIOR Office of Management and Budget (OMB) official last week agreed with business aviation advocates that aviation fuel taxes have been an efficient mechanism for collecting revenues from general aviation operators. Xavier de Souza Briggs, associate director for general government programs at OMB, assured attendees of last week’s National Air Transportation Aviation Business Roundtable that the Obama Administration was not seeking to add a layer of bureaucracy to bring in tax revenues.
EMBRAER began a flying demo tour of the Phenom 100 jet in the Asia-Pacific region. The first stop is India, where the jet will visit seven cities in November: Delhi, Indore, Mumbai, Bangalore, Madurai, Chennai and Hyderabad. The Phenom 100 will then be exhibited in Singapore and Australia.
BRUNO RAMBAUD was appointed vice president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Rockwell Collins. Rambaud, who has more than 20 years of industry experience, spent 11 years in senior management with Thales. He most recently was executive vice president for Thales, responsible for operations in 15 countries. He also had served as senior vice president and managing director of Thales’ Land and Joint Systems group.
