AN EMBRAER 175 JET was delivered last week to Trip Linhas Aéreas, Brazil’s largest regional airline, which has ordered five of the 86-seat, single-class E-Jets. The carrier, which currently operates two other Embraer 175s, also holds options for another 10. The latest acquisitions are being financed jointly by the National Social Development Bank and the Bank of Brazil.
The Government Accountability Office recommended that FAA gather comprehensive data on Part 135 cargo operations to better understand air cargo accident rates and safety issues. At the request of Congress, GAO studied safety issues surrounding air cargo carriers, but said it was “unable to determine accident rates for small feeder or ad hoc cargo carriers because FAA does not track Part 135 operations.”
DORNIER 228-100, -101, -200, -201, -202 and -212 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0261 Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-017-AD; Amendment 39-15943; AD 2009-13-04] – Conduct repetitive detailed inspections of the guide pins of the power and condition levers. Replace any pins that exceed the allowable wear-limits, per the instructions of Dornier 228 Alert Service Bulletin ASB-228-279 (dated Dec. 19, 2008).
DUNCAN AVIATION recently completed its first installation of the Aircell Axxess system with ATG4000 High Speed Internet on a Falcon 900. The company is slated to deliver a Falcon 50 with the same system shortly. The system provides worldwide Iridium voice telephone service and broadband data in the continental U.S. Duncan Aviation also has completed certification of Honeywell’s Advanced File Graphics Server (AFGS) upgrade on the Hawker 800 and 1000 aircraft.
The Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) 2009 Capital Needs study found commercial and general aviation airports have $94.4 billion in essential projects, a Pennsylvania airport official said in testimony before the House Transportation Committee last week.
July 27-August 2 – Experimental Aircraft Association 57th AirVenture Oshkosh 09, Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 426-4800 or go to www.airventure.org August 10-13 – Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International & Flight International: Unmanned Systems North America 2009, Washington, D,C., (703) 845-9671 or visit www.auvsi.org/events Sept. 10 – National Business Aviation Association: Business Aviation Regional Forum, Las Vegas, Nev., (202) 783-9000 or visit www.nbaa.org
A NEW ENGINE for the Cessna Cardinal RG has received a supplemental type certificate from the FAA. The more powerful Lycoming IO-390-A1A6 engine replaces the original Lycoming IO-360 powerplant, which was installed in the single-engine airplane during its production run from 1971 through 1978. The four-cylinder, fuel-injected IO-390-A1A6, which weighs about 315 pounds and is rated at 210 hp at 2700 rpm, includes a robust rotating system, new cylinders, tuned induction system, Lycoming’s roller tappets, Slick Start ignition and front-facing fuel servo.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION and Experimental Aircraft Association, which earlier this month agreed to explore potential areas of collaboration (BA, Aug. 8/272), already have teamed in an attempt to persuade FAA to delay a comment period on proposed aircraft restrictions in Burbank, Calif. See article on Page 305.
CAE and the government of Quebec plan to invest up to $274 million (Canadian) over the next seven years on research and development under a recently announced agreement. Quebec’s share of the expenditure will be through a repayable investment that could total C$100 million. The aim is to leverage the aerospace and defense simulation company’s modeling, simulation and training services expertise into the health care, heavy equipment, mining and energy sectors.
TOURISM MINISTERS in the Caribbean are working with the U.S. State Department to add airport preclearance facilities to provide quicker immigration clearance for American visitors. Border preclearance is currently in place at four Caribbean airports – Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba, the Bahama’s Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport and its Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, and at Bermuda International Airport. The issue was discussed this month in Washington during the two-day Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT S-92A helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2009-0518; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-22-AD; Amendment 39-15940; AD 2009-13-01] – This AD, which supersedes an existing directive (AD 2009-07-53), requires removing, before further flight, all main gearbox (MGB) filter bowl assembly mounting titanium studs, per the instructions of Sikorsky Alert Service Bulletin No. 92-63-014, Rev. A (dated March 20, 2009). The titanium studs are to be replaced with steel studs, as was specified by the earlier emergency directive, which was issued following a fatal accident.
Click here to view the pdf Used Business Jets, Turboprop Sales Inside And Outside North America For April Used Business Jets Sales – North America ------------------------------------------------------- Apr. 2006 Apr.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE secured FAA approval to expand its Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) to cover final-phase manufacturing and service-center work at its headquarters in Savannah, Ga., as well as at its facilities in Appleton, Wis.; Brunswick, Ga.; Dallas; and Long Beach, Calif. Gulfstream initially was granted ODA approval in March 2008 for initial-phase design, manufacturing and airworthiness work in Savannah.
DUCOMMUN AEROSTRUCTURES, INC. has been awarded a $100 million contract to build the tailcone and fuselage doors for Embraer’s Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 business jets. These assemblies will be manufactured at Ducommun’s facilities in Southern California, Kansas and Mexico.
JAMES ROSS was promoted to vice president, preowned aircraft sales for Gulfstream Aerospace. Ross, who will report to Larry Flynn, senior vice president, marketing and sales, will be based at Gulfstream’s headquarters in Savannah, Ga. Ross has enjoyed a 29-year business aviation career. He joined Gulfstream in 2006 and has been responsible for Gulfstream’s used inventory and brokerage aircraft in the Western U.S., Central and South America and the Far East.
Bell Helicopter says it has sufficient parts in stock to meet its military and civil delivery commitments through the end of this year, after manufacturing employees at its Fort Worth, Texas plant went on strike June 6. Almost 2,500 members of the United Auto Workers Local 218 went on strike after rejecting a proposed three-year contract endorsed by union leadership.
Spectrum Aeronautical, the San Diego, Calif. startup manufacturer, completed the first fuselage of the nine-place, composite S.40 Freedom jet, the company said last week. The company will use the first “fuselage manufacturing demonstrator” to validate the production process for the jet. “Our approach at Spectrum is to work diligently on technical development of our aircraft and maintaining our focus on getting them into production,” said Spectrum President Austin Blue.
GROB-WERKE G120A airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0531; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-030-AD; Amendment 39-15938; AD 2009-12-15] – Inspect all cable looms in the front of the instrument panel cover, repair as necessary and install a protective cover on the edge of the instrument panel combing, per the instructions of Grob Service Bulletins MSB1121-108 (dated March 18, 2009) and MSB1121-108/1 (dated April 27, 2009). This AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was prompted by an electrical fire caused by a chafed/scorched cable loom.
THE AIR CHARTER SAFETY FOUNDATION (ACSF) recently registered Jet Solutions, LLC of Richardson, Texas as the first operator to complete the Industry Audit Standard (IAS). ACSF developed the IAS to provide a standardized audit program for industry use. IAS evaluates both an operator’s Safety Management System and its compliance with Part 135 regulations. ACSF said use of the standard is growing rapidly. Some 30 IAS audits are scheduled over the next 12 months, and Jet Solutions said it will look for IAS clearance of its charter vendors in the future.
FAA ADMINISTRATOR Randy Babbitt last week expressed optimism over the renewed labor negotiations with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. In testimony before the House transportation appropriations subcommittee last week, Babbitt said, “The talks are proceeding well, both sides are at the table, and I think we’ll reach an agreement.” He added the agency is focused on “labor stability” not only with the air traffic controllers, but also with workers who are nonunionized or who belong to one of the seven other unions at the agency.
THE EMBRAER LEGACY 450 and 500 business jets will be equipped with Honeywell air-conditioning and temperature control systems. The AC-5510 system uses bleed air from either the Legacy 450/500’s Honeywell 36-150 auxiliary power unit or Honeywell HTF7000 engines to cool the cabin. Honeywell says the bleed air serves as a natural refrigerant and produces no harmful greenhouse gases. The AC-5510 package includes an environmental control unit, valves, sensors and digital controls.
DASSAULT AVIATION has completed the ramp-up of its technical center in Saint-Cloud, France to optimize technical communication with Falcon customers, its network of service stations and Falcon partners, said Chairman and CEO Charles Edelstenne. “This center supplements those in Teterboro, N.J., and Boise, Idaho,” he said during the Paris Air Show.
EMBRAER President and CEO Frederico Curado said the sudden and severe collapse of demand for business jets stunned manufacturers and their suppliers. “We just didn’t see it coming,” he told Aviation Week Group editors during an interview at the Paris Air Show last week. The company should have watched broader economic trends more carefully, he said. “It’s shocking to see what happened to Cessna,” Curado added, referring to that company’s 50 percent cut in production rates.
GE AND NASA are to begin wind tunnel testing of open-rotor jet engine systems this summer. The component rig tests are to continue through early 2010 at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. In the 1980s, GE successfully ground-tested and flew an open-rotor jet engine that demonstrated fuel savings of more than 30 percent compared with similar-sized jet engines with conventional, ducted front fan systems.
