THE FIRST KING AIR 200 IN AFRICA to be upgraded with Pratt & Whitney PT6A-61 engines provided by Blackhawk Modifications of Waco, Texas, has been put into service. BSA Aviation in Pretoria, South Africa, took delivery of the airplane, which was built in the 1970s, following installation of the new powerplants at National Airways Corporation’s facility at South Africa’s Lanseria Airport.
BARRY COLLIER was appointed managing director for Jet Aviation’s aircraft management and charter operation in Hong Kong. Collier joined Jet Aviation’s Hong Kong unit in 2006 as director of flight operations. In his new role he will be responsible for flight operations and crew. Collier, who has 20 years of aviation experience, is a former Civil Aviation Authority, United Kingdom, flight operations inspector. Before joining Jet Aviation, he was chief pilot and director of operations with CR Airways.
CODY LANGSTON was named to the board of directors for Flightline Group Inc. Langston has served with Flightline for more than 12 years as a line technician, customer service representative, customer service manager and operations manager. He currently is general manager of the Flightline Tallahassee, Fla. fixed-base operation. In addition to Tallahassee, Flightline provides aviation sales and support facilities in Okaloosa County and Vero Beach, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga., and Albany, N.Y.
HANI FARAG was appointed to the newly created position of managing director of international markets for Jet Professionals, the Jet Aviation subsidiary that specializes in staffing requirements. Farag also will continue as vice president of human resources for EMEA and Asia for Jet Aviation. The creation of the position follows the announced plans to expand Jet Professionals’ staffing services to the Europe, Middle East and Asia regions. Farag has 32 years in human resources management, beginning with a Canadian financial institution.
SIERRA INDUSTRIES has delivered its 50th Williams International FJ44-powered Cessna Citation since it won the original FJ44 Eagle II supplemental type certificate to upgrade the light jet’s engines in 2002. The 50th aircraft delivered by the Uvalde, Texas-based company was a Sierra Stallion SP, which features FJ44-2A engines that can be installed in either a Cessna Citation 500 or 501SP.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR AVIATION RESEARCH’s Beech Wind Tunnel recently completed subsonic tests for a full-scale model of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems’ ScanEagle Compressed Carriage long-endurance autonomous unmanned vehicle. The model underwent aerondyamics tests to determine the impact of thrust and drag. The tests included a power test using an electric motor and propeller that the ScanEagle team provided to replicate the actual heavy fuel propulsion system of the UAV.
IRIS RIESEN was named managing director of Jet Aviation’s aircraft management and charter operation in Hong Kong. Riesen will oversee ground operations, sales, client relations and administration. She is rejoining the company from BAA Jet Management Ltd., an aviation firm also based in Hong Kong. She previously spent 10 years with Jet Aviation, holding managerial positions in the company’s aircraft management and charter division in Europe and Asia.
DASSAULT AIRCRAFT SERVICES (DAS) doubled the service space at its facility in Little Rock, Ark. to 110,000 square feet with the completion of an expansion project. The expansion will enable the DAS-Little Rock facility to service up to 15 Falcons simultaneously. The facility provides a range of maintenance, repair and overhaul services, include heavy “C” checks, on all Falcon models. The facility also has an AOG “Go Team” to provide mobile response to aircraft within the U.S. Dassault broke ground on the $10 million project in the third quarter of 2007.
Brazilian plane maker Embraer became the latest manufacturer to announce significant layoffs, detailing plans last week to cut approximately 20 percent of its 21,362 employees. Embraer also revised its revenue guidance for 2009, estimating it will deliver 242 commercial and executive aircraft and generate revenue of $5.5 billion.
PRECISION AVIATION GROUP has opened a new 15,000-square-foot facility in Vancouver, British Columbia to accommodate the growth of its Canadian units Precision Heliparts-Canada and Precision Accessories & Instruments-Canada. Precision’s business has grown more than 50 percent in the past three years, and its operations had outgrown its facilities at Vancouver International Airport. Precision last year processed more than 30,000 accessories, avionics, instruments, and other rotable items for repair and overhaul.
M7 AEROSPACE SA226-AT, -T and –TC; and SA227-AC, -AT, -BC, -CC and -DC airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0119; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-068-AD] – This proposed rule would supersede an existing directive (AD 2008-12-16) retaining all of its requirements but changing the applicability of the proposal. The new proposed AD would require operators to inspect wires and tube assemblies for chafing, arcing or insufficient clearance between components.
February 19 – Wings Club Luncheon featuring Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association; Yale Club, New York; (212) 867-1770; [email protected] February 26-28 – Women in Aviation, International 20th Anniversary Conference, Atlanta Hyatt Regency. For more information call (937) 839-4647, fax (937) 839-4645; www.wai.org
RAYMOND GOYCO was promoted to chief operating officer for Ship it AOG, an international aviation parts distributor. In his new role, Goyco will be responsible for the administrative and business operations of the organization. He joined Ship it AOG in 2006 as vice president of sales and marketing. Before that, Goyco held sales and marketing positions with Raytheon Corp. and Aviall, Inc., and was a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.
ROLLS-ROYCE DEUTSCHLAND BR700-715A1-30, BR700-715B1-30 and BR700-715C1-30 engines [Docket No. FAA-2009-0045; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-53-AD] – This proposed rule would require removing certain high-pressure compressor front drum assemblies from service before they reach the new, reduced life limit. This proposed AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is designed to prevent the failure of front HP compressor rotors, which could result in an uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.
Although the U.S. Treasury Department has offered few details on recently issued guidelines on “luxury expenditures” – including aviation services – for companies taking federal assistance money, industry observers agree the wording will make it challenging to follow.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORP. completed the first flight of the S-76D prototype, the newest member of the S-76 line. Sikorsky Chief Test Pilot Greg Barnes and Pilot Mike Hardy flew the S-76D on Feb. 7 for 30 minutes, completing taxi, hover, hover turns and forward flight to 40 knots. The tests, which culminated three years of design and development efforts, took place at Sikorsky’s Florida facility.
Key Air -- 80,000 SQ FT OF JET STORAGE AND EXECUTIVE OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE KEY AIR TWIN CITIES ANE Key Air Twin Cities ANE now has immediate hangar space available in its premier location at Anoka County-Blaine Airport, Minneapolis. There are numerous reasons to select Key Air’s newest full service FBO facility to base your jet: -- Short Term / Long Term Storage -- Only 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT S-76A, B and C helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2006-24587; Directorate Identifier 2006-SW-05-AD] – This proposed rule would revise an earlier proposal to require inspecting each installed HR Textron main-rotor servo actuator for a high rate of leakage and for contaminated hydraulic fluid, and reducing the time-in-service interval for overhauling each servo actuator.
DAHER-SOCATA delivered its 500th TBM aircraft, a TBM 850, to Ian Blair Fries and Susan Fries, who are president and vice president, respectively, of Airborne, Inc. in Wilmington, Del. Fries, who chairs the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Medical Advisory Panel and sits on the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Board, previously owned a TBM 700. The TBM program was launched 20 years ago. The 850, the follow-on to the 750, flies at 320 knots true airspeed at 26,000 feet.
THEIR EFFORTS, however, may be an uphill battle. Also on Wednesday, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) told the nation’s banking chiefs that he wanted a report on the planes and perks they have. “We know that it is extremely expensive to operate these planes and that you could sell them and generate capital for your company,” he said during a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION last week issued a “National Pilot Alert” encouraging members to contact Congress in opposition to the Transportation Security Administration’s Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal. The proposal already is getting increasing attention on Capitol Hill as members have written Homeland Security officials expressing concerns about the burdens LASP would impose (BA, Feb. 2/48). Industry groups met with Rep.
FACTS TRAINING, the Olympia, Wash.-based training subsidiary of the AirCare Solutions Group, plans to expand its emergency procedures and safety programs into the Northeast. FACTS will station a corporate aircraft trainer at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., and offer training modules that include Hypoxia Awareness, Live Fire Training, and Inflight Medical/Defibrillator Procedures. In addition, FACTS will hold a new workshop, FACTS Career Essentials, to cover business professionalism.
THE GREENVILLE-BASED South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center (SCTAC) continues to grow its business base with the recent issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for a $150 million expansion that 3M completed. Formerly called the Donaldson Center, SCTAC four months ago rebranded the airport and unveiled a new economic development plan to encourage continued growth.
IN A MOVE designed to avoid layoffs, Lincoln, Neb.-based Duncan Aviation has implemented a plan that includes a reduced work week schedule or a pay reduction for team members at all locations, President Aaron Hilkemann said. “Business has slowed for Duncan Aviation just as it has for other service providers and manufacturers,” he stated. “We are hopeful that this reduction will enable us to reduce our capacity and costs, while enabling us to respond when the industry rebounds. Laying off team members continues to be our last option.”
