The Environmental Protection Agency formally extended until Nov. 10, 2010 the compliance deadlines for meeting certain Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) requirements.
MARK LONG was appointed chief financial officer for XOJET. Long has more than 20 years of aviation experience, most recently as managing director of Skyworks Capital, LLC, an investment banking firm focused on the airline transport sector. He also has held a number of senior roles with Northwest Airlines, including as an officer and vice president of finance. He also has served with Continental Airlines.
EXECUTIVE AIRSHARE, a fractional aircraft ownership provider based in Kansas City, took delivery of its second Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft. The aircraft, which has entered service, is the first share-owned Phenom 100 in the Executive AirShare program. Executive AirShare took delivery of the initial Phenom in April and is using the very light jet as a demonstrator. The new Phenom will be based at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT), serving shareowners in Wichita and Kansas City.
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION last week began meeting with individual association representatives to discuss potential concepts for a new Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal. “What we’ve seen from the TSA in the last month is extremely encouraging,” said Pete Bunce, president and chief executive of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, adding, “They’re working closely with us.” He believes the industry has made progress with the TSA because general aviation is willing to collaborate on potential new security requirements.
AMSAFE AVIATION’S seatbelt airbags have surpassed the milestone of installation on 9,000 commercial and general aviation aircraft. Installed in 43,000 seats, the airbags are standard equipment on 80 percent of new single-engine general aviation aircraft. In service since 2001, the airbag inflates in less than 90 milliseconds and deploys up and away from the occupant, making it a safe restraint for all ages. The airbag also meets FAA regulations requiring airline aircraft seats to withstand a crash impact of up to 16 times the force of gravity.
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES elected John Duval as chairman for 2009-2010. Duval is director of operations, planning and development for Beverly, Mass., Municipal Airport. Other executive committee members elected during AAAE’s 81st annual Conference and Exposition this month in Philadelphia included: Jim Bennett of Washington, D.C., as first vice chair; Kelly Johnson of Bentonville, Ark., as second vice chair; and Bruce Carter, of Moline, Ill., as secretary/treasurer.
SIKORSKY last week celebrated the silver anniversary of the first delivery of the S-300C helicopter. The first 300C, which was manufactured by Schweizer Aircraft Corp., was delivered to the Baltimore Police Department on June 24, 1984. Schweizer, now part of Sikorsky Global Helicopters, acquired the licensing rights to the 300C from Hughes Aircraft Co. in 1983 and began building the piston-powered rotorcraft the following year. More than 3,700 of the aircraft have flown in a variety of roles for the U.S. Army, international militaries and commercial operators.
ESTERLINE CMC ELECTRONICS has secured Transport Canada approval for its Cockpit 4000 integrated avionics installed on the Hawker Beechcraft T-6B Texan trainer. The Cockpit 4000 includes two integrated avionics computers, a heads-up display, two up-front control panels and six multi-function displays. CMC expects to begin delivery of the avionics suite in the fourth quarter. CMC received an initial order in November for avionics to be installed on 35 Texan aircraft.
Manama, Bahrain-based MAE Jet Charters has entered the private jet charter business, offering aircraft for VIP guests and high net worth individuals. MAE Jets, part of MENA Aerospace Enterprises, has alliances with major travel agents, charter brokerages and aircraft operators worldwide. Its aircraft are operated by sister company MAE Aircraft Management.
PHENOM production is weathering the economic downturn, particularly since the backlog for 800 aircraft is large enough to buffer losses in orders, Curado said. “It’s easier to move up deliveries,” he said. “We already cut back the production ramp-up on the Phenom 100 this year, so that, combined with [delivery] move-ups, should sustain the core.” He acknowledged that financing remains a challenge, but added the Brazilian export development bank “is clearly ramping up.
DAHER has won contracts to produce aircraft components for Eurocopter and ATR. Daher, the European company that acquired Socata earlier this year, has been designated by Eurocopter to develop and produce a new generation of airframes for light helicopters. Production is to begin in early 2012 at the Socata plant located in Tarbes, France. Separately, Daher has been asked to manufacture composite wing tip panels for the ATR 72. Production of these components is to begin by the end of 2010 in the company’s plant in Nantes, France.
FOKKER F28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0563; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-180-AD] – This proposed AD, which would supersede an existing directive (AD 99-20-01), would require operators to revise the Airplane Flight Manual to change certain indications and warnings, upgrade the flight warning computer, install new software in the computer’s multifunction display unit, and install a new resistor in the thrust-reverser indicator and control system or an improved thrust-reverser unlock indication relay.
The White House is nominating Christopher A. Hart for a second stint on the NTSB. He first served on the safety board from 1990-1995. Since then, Hart has been a senior safety oversight official at FAA.
Private aircraft broker Lucky Jets is hoping to draw on the Las Vegas market to build its customer base for charter and shared flight services despite the current economic slump. The company was founded in August 2008, just before the business aviation market plummeted. But Lucky Jets executives believe the timing will work to its advantage. “What better time to introduce a…cost-saving concept than during a time when the industry needs a forward and innovative solution,” said Reza Karamooz, founder and CEO of Lucky Jets.
SIKORSKY S-92A helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2009-0559; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-66-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise the “Limitations” section of the Rotorcraft Flight Manual by clarifying that the Model S-92A helicopter was certificated as a transport category rotorcraft in both Categories A and B, with different operating limitations for each category and must be operated accordingly.
DESPITE MAY’s 26.7 percent drop in domestic business jet movements – slightly better than April’s 27.8 percent decline – Credit Suisse analysts believe domestic bizjet activity may have stabilized. But the rates could bounce along at low levels for some time, and lag behind what could be a nearer-term recovery in commercial airline traffic, Credit Suisse said in a new report.
PIPER PA-23, PA-31 and PA-42 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0218; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-006-AD; Amendment 39-15944; AD 2009-13-06] – Establish life limits for safety-critical nose baggage-door components, replace those components, and repetitively inspect and lubricate the nose baggage-door latching mechanism and lock assembly. This AD, which resulted from several incidents and fatal accidents in which the nose baggage door opened in flight, is designed to detect and correct damaged, worn, corroded, or nonconforming nose baggage-door components.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s announced plan last week to aggressively move forward on flight time and rest regulations has alarmed Part 135 officials who fear that charter and Part 91K fractional operations will be swept up into regulations designed for scheduled airlines.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT appointed Aeronautics Limited as a sales representative for England, Scotland and Wales. Aeronautics Limited will market and sell new and used current-production Hawker and Beechcraft aircraft. Based at Kemble Airport in the United Kingdom, Aeronautics Limited specializes in corporate aircraft sales, acquisition, brokerage, management and operation.
House lawmakers last week praised the Transportation Security Administration’s effort to draft a new Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal in the report to the fiscal 2010 Department of Homeland Security bill, H.R.2892, that passed the House Wednesday. The report language, however, also took TSA to task for failing to spend funds set aside for training general aviation pilots.
Experts from flight support services such as Air Routing, ARINC Direct, Honeywell Global and Universal Weather & Aviation are alerting customers to an Aug. 31 deadline for required submission of European aircraft emissions monitoring plans, and most customers are glad to have the services manage that chore for them.
EMBRAER President and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado said the current economic turmoil may result in a structural change in the business aviation market. “Fewer manufacturers is a possibility,” he said during a recent interview with Aviation Week editors. “I also think you may see less segmentation. For example, I call our Phenom 100 a ‘category killer’ because it’s really blurring the lines. It’s not a very light jet at all, it’s an entry level jet at very light jet prices. I think we’ll see more of that.”
UNEMPLOYED pilots and maintenance technicians who have lost their jobs this year may be eligible to receive a free training course from FlightSafety International between now and the end of the year. Under the company’s Proficiency Protection Program, FlightSafety will offer a no-cost recurrent training course to pilots of business aircraft who were training under a full-service contract at the time they lost their jobs. The training will be provided in the aircraft type that the aviator trained on under that agreement.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT is planning this year to deliver the first two Citation Sovereigns certified for medical evacuation use to Smart Aviation of Cairo, Egypt. The Sovereigns, part of a six-aircraft order from Smart Aviation, will be equipped with a dual-patient system from LifePort. In addition to the medevac operation, Smart Aviation provides charter services throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
BOMBARDIER CL-601, CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R and CL-604 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0565; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-217-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new repetitive functional tests of the Engine Throttle Control Gearbox (ETCG).
