GKN Aerospace has purchased an industrial standard microwave oven to further research in microwave curing of composite structures. GKN has researched the use of microwaves in composite structure production since 2005 as part of a German-funded project that involved German partners in the aerospace and automotive industries.
NBAA’S SAFETY COMMITTEE recently issued a list of its top safety priorities. Besides unease regarding interpretation and compliance with regulations, pilot proficiency with automation, and the inadequacy of current training programs, the committee is concerned about fatigue management, decision-making in a data-poor environment, ground operations safety, runway excursions, and emergency preparedness and business continuity.
Thomas Buffenbarger, the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, captivated the audience at the National Business Aviation Association 62nd Annual Meeting and Convention in Orlando, Fla., with a stirring speech promising a crusade to help ensure the future vitality of business aviation. Below is the prepared text of the speech:
DUBAI AEROSPACE ENTERPRISE (DAE) has remained extremely supportive of StandardAero despite the continued global economic slowdown and rumors of DAE’s instability, said StandardAero President and CEO Rob Mionis. “DAE is a typical financial sponsor that continues to support its portfolio companies, allowing us to reinvest in our business,” he said. “They’ve invested $30 million in us in the past few years.”
CLAY LACY and the National Business Aviation Association will be recognized next year when the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) celebrates the 2010 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, NAHF Director Ron Kaplan announced last week. The ceremonies will be held in July at the Dayton, Ohio Convention Center. Lacy, a former United Airlines pilot who has operated a charter and management firm in the Los Angeles area since 1968, will be one of four aviation pioneers to be inducted in 2010.
Cessna Aircraft is taking the traditional concept of aircraft-on-ground (AOG) support a step further by bringing a slate of services typically conducted at service centers directly to the customer. Cessna is calling its new initiative ServiceDirect, offering the option of bringing on-site maintenance operations to customers’ hangars worldwide. “We have customers in remote regions that we were having a hard time servicing,” says Mark Paolucci, senior vice president of customer service. “We can’t build a service center on every corner.”
DESPITE the unprecedented number of order cancellations, David Coleal, vice president and general manager of Bombardier Learjet, was optimistic that the orderbook for the Learjet 85 has held relatively firm. “There has been a very small cancellation rate,” Coleal said, adding that typically, developing programs are among the first to suffer cancellations in shaky economic times. He believes a factor in the strength of customer commitment could be their involvement in the development of the aircraft.
BILL GEHMAN was named assistant manager of customer service for Duncan Aviation. Gehman will support the customer service and FBO services departments at Duncan’s facility in Battle Creek, Mich. A 13-year Duncan aviation employee, Gehman also will continue to support various projects, billing, customer resolution and scheduling. While with Duncan, he has served as project manager, NetJets program manager, and team leader of the regional airline maintenance team.
MITSUBISHI MU-2 upgrades are available from Intercontinental Jet Service, the Tulsa-based subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America. The Mitsubishi MU-2 Limited Edition (LTD) includes all current service bulletins, completed major-airframe inspections, Garmin radios, TCAS, TAWS, Honeywell TPE331-10 engines with a 12-month warranty, a six-month airframe warranty, a propeller overhaul by Hartzell, pilot training by SimCom and the first 100-hour inspection free of charge.
Piper Aircraft is launching Garmin’s new G3000 avionics package on the single-engine PiperJet, the companies announced last week during the National Business Aviation Association convention. Garmin unveiled the G3000 as the first touchscreen-controlled integrated flightdeck for light turbine aircraft.
LONDON OXFORD AIRPORT, near London’s West End, signed an agreement with Gulf Aviation for the supply of Jet A1 and aviation gasoline fuel. The agreement is part of a series of changes the airport has undertaken to boost its general aviation business. The airport has also increased its hours, improved fire and rescue capability, increased hangar space and built a new dedicated business aviation terminal.
GIOVANNI LUCIOLLI was appointed sales and marketing manager for Dassault Falcon’s FalconCare program in the Western Hemisphere. Luciolli has served with Dassault for more than six years, initially with Dassault Aviation Falcon Spares in Le Bourget, France, and most recently as a marketing analyst at Dassault Falcon’s Teterboro, N.J., facility.
HOUSE AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) and ranking Republican Tom Petri (R-Wis.) gathered 116 signatures of House colleagues on their letter asking President Obama to avoid aviation user fee proposals as he prepares the fiscal 2011 budget (BA, Oct. 12/161). The letter was sent to Obama Oct. 20.
PIAGGIO is committed to developing the “bigger brother” of the P.180 Avanti II, Galassi said, but added that the program is progressing “without speed.” He confirmed that the new model would be a jet, but believes that this is not the market to roll out the aircraft. Design is proceeding to ensure that company will be ready at the right time, Galassi added.
The Dornier Seaplane Company is planning to make its final assembly site selection within the next 90 days, paving the way to begin production of the Seastar seaplane. Dornier has whittled its choice down to two sites in Canada: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec, and North Bay in Ontario. Company CEO Joe Walker says Dornier is in final negotiations with local authorities there to see which location can offer the winning level of assistance.
TURBOMECA Arrius 1A engines [Docket No. FAA-2009-0348; Directorate Identifier 2008-NE-39-AD; Amendment 39-16050; AD 2009-21-11] – For engines with a certain balancing piston installed, remove the engine from service before the balancing piston accumulates 16,000 cycles since new.
ONE TREND that appears to have emerged during the economic shakeout is the strength of the large aircraft market. Honeywell Aerospace’s annual Business Aviation Outlook indicates that the market will rebound first for large aircraft, and analysts and aircraft manufacturer executives agree with that sentiment. “We see the high-end holding firmer, with leading players such as Gulfstream partially offsetting market shrinkage with share,” said analyst Credit Suisse.
DUNCAN AVIATION secured FAA’s supplemental type certificate and major repair and alterations organization designation authorization (ODA) for its Lincoln, Neb., and Battle Creek, Mich., locations. The ODA designation allows the company to issue STCs for aircraft alterations on behalf of FAA, including the authority to approve design data, tests and analysis, as well as make a finding of compliance to the regulations.
✈ 22,821: Attendance at the National Business Aviation Association’s 62nd Annual Meeting and Convention last week in Orlando, Fla., fell roughly 25 percent from the 2008 event. Attendance on the last day of the show was 22,821, down from last year’s total of 30,811.
CAE will have eight new business aviation full-flight simulators (FFS) available at its pilot and maintenance training centers in four cities. A Cessna Citation CJ3 FFS recently won FAA certification at the company’s North East Training Center in Morristown, N.J. An Embraer Phenom 300 FFS will be located at CAE SimuFlite in Dallas and CAE’s Burgess Hill U.K. center near London. Learjet 45/45 XR and Citation II simulators also will be placed in Burgess Hill.
Despite a severe drop in revenue and profit, Air Partner was able to turn a full-year operating profit and remain cash positive in its fiscal 2009. However, the net bottom line was negative at $60,660. The jet charter broker saw sales fall 23 percent to $310.6 million, and net cash fall to $25.7 million for the fiscal year ended July 31. Management notes that “all areas of the business [were] impacted by very weak trading conditions” in the second half. Sales to corporate clients are down 30 percent.
MEDAIRE won approval from the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to provide first-aid training to aviation crewmembers in Dubai. Under the approval, MedAire will conduct its Management of In-flight Illness and Injury program in Dubai. MedAire’s training curriculum, instructors and facilities will undergo annual GCAA audits.
NOTING THAT EMBRAER’s most recent 10-year forecast is down 25 percent from the forecast released last year, CEO Fred Curado told BA last week during the National Business Aviation Association 62nd Annual Meeting and Convention in Orlando, Fla. “We began feeling the first blows from the economic crisis in mid-2008. Our forecast was driven by variables that became fuzzy, making it difficult to foresee a recovery.” But Curado added, “It’s not the end of the world, and the market will not vaporize. We have a pragmatic view that the market will take a while to recover.
Embraer continued on its path to be a major player in the industry with the surprise launch of the Legacy 650 last week at the National Business Aviation Association’s convention in Orlando, Fla. The Legacy 650 fills one of the few remaining gaps in Embraer’s portfolio and gives it a plane to capture the re-emerging large aircraft business.
