Fractional ownership provider NetJets signed an agreement last week to buy Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation field just south of Frankfurt International. The field is considered key to improving access to the German banking capital, as well as the economically important Rhein/Main region.
Coffee giant Starbucks has decided to shed a brand-new Gulfstream 550 only six weeks after taking delivery of the aircraft. The sale is being handled by Annapolis, Md.-based AvPro. Starbucks originally bought the G550 to replace a G500 it has been trying to sell. The company justified the purchase last month, noting a deposit had been placed on the aircraft back in 2005 and it was replacing a less fuel efficient model. The company also has a Bombardier Challenger in its fleet.
PARKS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING at Saint Louis University added nine new Diamond DA20 airplanes to its flight training department. The two-seat, all-composite airplanes were purchased from Kansas City Aviation Center, Diamond Aircraft’s regional distributor for Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Stephen Belt, flight training director for Parks College, said, “The DA20 has outstanding performance characteristics and is very fuel efficient. It is equipped with an appropriate blend of standard instrumentation and advanced navigation.
BOMBARDIER secured European Aviation Safety Agency approval for Global aircraft equipped with the Bombardier Enhanced Vision System (BEVS) to conduct continuing approaches to 100 feet. Bombardier previously had received similar clearance from Transport Canada and FAA. European regulation, EU-OPS rule 1.430(h), requires pilots using instrument approach procedures to be able to visually see the approach lights and runway environment from a predetermined height in order to proceed with landing. The BEVS approval reduces that distance to 100 feet.
RECORD FLAT-PANEL DISPLAY REVENUES helped Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S) achieve positive financial results for the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which ended Dec. 31. The Exton, Pa.-based company, which specializes in producing equipment used in aircraft retrofits, said net revenues jumped 123 percent, climbing from $4.7 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year to $10.6 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2009.
FAA released new guidance to step up oversight and help improve operational safety of Part 135 Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS), but both the National Transportation Safety Board and Government Accountability Office said more needs to be done.
THE AIR CHARTER SAFETY FOUNDATION has made its Industry Audit Standard (IAS) available to all air charter and shared aircraft operations. Formerly in beta test, the program is designed to provide an independent evaluation of an air charter operator’s and/or shared ownership company’s safety and regulatory compliance. The program includes a Safety Management System evaluation.
The Transportation Security Administration has indicated that the agency is revising a “playbook” for its federal security directors (FSDs) after current guidance in the document led to attempts to conduct surprise passenger and pilot screenings at fixed-base operations.
Citing fears that the current Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) would “do little to improve general aviation security and will have disastrous consequences,” four general aviation groups last week jointly urged the Transportation Security Administration to form a rulemaking committee to develop new security regulations for large private aircraft.
TSA, meanwhile, appears to be stepping up its general aviation security with spot checks at various airports. Plans for two of those checks, however, drew protests from operators. See article on Page 62.
THE LATEST round of financials released last week brought more news of growing layoffs in the business jet manufacturing sector. Bombardier and Rockwell Collins plan to cut nearly 2,000 workers. Separately, Hawker Beechcraft President and CEO Jim Schuster, detailing plans for the most recently announced layoffs, said, “We are undoubtedly facing one of the most severe tests in our company’s history.” This follows the announcement from rival manufacturer Cessna that some 2,700 employees would be furloughed (BA, Feb. 2/45).
JACK GARSON was appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors. The 13-member MWAA board comprises appointments from the governors of Maryland and Virginia, the District of Columbia mayor and the U.S. president. Garson founded Garson Claxton LLC and leads the firm’s business and real estate practice groups. He advises local, regional and national companies on business transactions, commercial real estate, commercial leasing, and construction law.
NOISE EXPOSURE MAPS for Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, which were submitted by Florida’s Okaloosa County, meet the provisions of FAR Part 150, according to the FAA. The agency is reviewing a proposed noise compatibility program for the airfield, which is located east of Pensacola in the Florida panhandle, and plans to either approve or disapprove the plan by July 13.
BOMBARDIER established its first line-maintenance facility in Finland and increased the capabilities at two other existing maintenance facilities. Jetflite is the new line maintenance facility for Bombardier business aircraft in Helsinki, Finland, where it provides support for Learjet and Challenger 300, 604, 605 and 850 aircraft. Separately, Metrojet, located in Hong Kong, has been appointed as an authorized service facility and is now qualified to work on Learjet, Challenger 300 and 600, and Global aircraft.
STANDARDAERO earned Design Organization Approval recognition from FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency for engine and auxiliary power unit design and repair. The EASA DOA recognition enables StandardAero’s Tilburg facility in the Netherlands to design and approve minor repairs to Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 engine components. The FAA awarded Major Repair Organizational Design Authorization for the StandardAero facility in Maryville, Tenn.
JEAN KAYANAKIS was promoted to vice president, Falcon worldwide spares for Dassault Falcon. Kayanakis formerly was director, Eastern Hemisphere spares for Dassault Falcon. He has a 20-year career with Dassault, beginning as an engineer working on the Rafale fighter prototype flight control laws. He also has served as director, service center customer support for Dassault Aircraft Services in Le Bourget, France.
THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION has indicated that it plans to draft a notice of proposed rulemaking to encompass mandates in a controversial security directive that calls for a dramatic increase in the number of people required to undergo background checks and obtain airport badges. Released late last year (BA, Dec.
CORRECTION: JetDirect was expected to complete the sale of its wholly owned unit Sunset Aviation either late last week or shortly thereafter, and the sale of Presidential Jets by mid-February. BA reported that JetDirect had already sold the Sunset and Presidential units back to the original ownership groups. Founded in 1992 by Dan Drohan, Sunset Aviation provides charter service from the San Francisco Bay area using a fleet of Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Pilatus aircraft.
WHILE THE HOUSE is poised to move quickly on FAA reauthorization, the Senate remains a question mark, aviation industry leaders say. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee scheduled a Feb. 11 hearing on FAA reauthorization, and Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said earlier that his committee would be “ready to move…very early on” (BA, Jan 5/1). The Senate reportedly is considering another yearlong extension, and may use the stimulus package to add money for air traffic control modernization.
RIZON, the two-year-old Middle East executive charter company, has ordered four Bombardier Learjet 85 aircraft, with deliveries slated to begin in the second quarter. The new airplanes will operate from the Middle East during winter and Europe in the summer, mirroring the travel trends of Rizon’s regular clients. Eventually, two of the aircraft will be based permanently in the United Kingdom. In September, Rizon plans to open a brand-new, $20 million maintenance and FBO facility at London’s Biggin Hill Airport.
LYCOMING ENGINES IO, (L)IO, TIO, (L)TIO, AEIO, AIO, IGO, IVO and HIO series engines, TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL MOTORS LTSIO-360-RB and TSIO-360-RB engines and SUPERIOR AIR PARTS, INC. IO-360 series engines with certain Precision Airmotive LLC RSA-5 and RSA-10 series and Bendix RSA-5 and RSA-10 series fuel-injection servos [Docket No.
Gulfstream Aerospace is cutting back on production of its midsize business jets, but still plans to increase the number of large-cabin aircraft it delivers this year, saying its order backlog is holding up despite the economic crisis.
AMID THE STREAM OF BAD ECONOMIC NEWS last week, analyst JP Morgan reported, “Gulfstream is hanging in there, and we expect it to continue to do so for a few more quarters.” The economic storm has begun to impact Gulfstream – there were six defaults on large aircraft in the fourth quarter – but the Savannah, Ga., manufacturer found other customers to take delivery. Gulfstream, however, is still planning a drop in production. See article on Page 49.
