Vero Beach, Fla.-based Piper Aircraft will postpone taking $10.6 million in state and local incentives tied to adding more jobs, blaming the weakened global economy. Piper originally received a $32 million, three-year incentive package from Indian River County (IRC) and the State of Florida in May 2008 after deciding to keep its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Vero Beach (BA, June 2/249). The manufacturer had been scheduled to receive $4 million from IRC and $6.6 million from the state.
A HAWKER BEECHCRAFT Premier I business jet, N20NL, was substantially damaged Dec. 23 after the aircraft landed and veered off the runway of Sharpe Farms Airport in Lewistown, Mo. The two pilots and two passengers aboard the Part 91 flight were not injured. The aircraft, registered to CNS Corporation, was on a flight from Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City, Mo.
The assets of Lake Aircraft – including the type certificate, intellectual property, drawings, marketing rights and the tooling necessary to manufacture the familiar amphibian aircraft – are being put up for sale by owner Armand Rivard’s Revo Corp.
The marshlands near Morgan City, La., were being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board for clues in the Jan. 4 crash of a Sikorsky S-76C helicopter carrying workers to oil platform No. 301 Bravo in the Gulf of Mexico. At about 2:02 p.m., the two-year-old aircraft (N748P), operated by PHI Inc., took off from Amelia, La., under Visual Flight Rules conditions with nine people onboard.
JDA AVIATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, a Washington, D.C. provider of aviation safety and air traffic services, acquired the Obstruction Evaluation (OE) assets of Aviation Management Associates. The acquisition included the rights to the OE technology, contracts and expertise. JDA hired Benjamin Doyle as vice president of airspace analysis and obstruction evaluation, managing the firm’s airspace, Terminal Instrument Procedures and OE business.
DALE BARNARD joined NationAir Aviation Insurance as sales executive for the Pacific Northwest. Barnard will manage NationAir’s general aviation insurance sales operations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. He has 25 years of aviation insurance experience, working with flight departments and individual operators.
The Transportation Security Administration’s controversial Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal came under fire as incomplete and a “waste of time” last week during two hearings that packed rooms and drew some 100 speakers who unanimously testified in opposition. General aviation industry executives were pleased by the attendance at the hearings, but warned that general aviation advocates must continue to express their concerns at three remaining hearings scheduled on the LASP proposal.
FACTS TRAINING in Olympia, Wash., has developed a half-day workshop for corporate aviation flight attendants seeking to advance their careers. The program can be offered in concert with other scheduled crewmember training programs or as a stand-alone workshop.
CESSNA Model 172, 175, 177, 180, 182, 185, 188, 206, 207, 208, 210, 303, 336 and 337 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1328; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-066-AD; Amendment 39-15776; AD 2008-26-10] – Inspect the alternate static-air source selector valve to ensure that the part number identification placard does not obstruct the alternate static-air source selector valve port. If the placard obstructs the port, remove the placard, ensure that the port is unobstructed, and report to FAA if an obstruction is found.
’s Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport has reported a second perfect inspection in its annual FAA Part 139 certification despite an ongoing construction project. The airport is refurbishing its 5,050-foot Runway 3-21. Other projects include changes to allow faster access to Runway 1-19, parallel apron space for new T-hangars and new box hangars.
CESSNA Model 560 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0903; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-123-AD; Amendment 39-15770; AD 2008-26-04] – This directive, which supersedes AD 2007-23-13, requires that operators conduct a functional test of the angle-of-attack (AOA) system, adjusting the calibration of the system as applicable, in accordance with Cessna Alert Service Letter ASL560-34-34 Rev. 1 for airplanes equipped with a single AOA system, or ASL560-34-35 Rev. 1 for airplanes equipped with a dual AOA system (both dated Oct. 2, 2007).
Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft have announced further production and job cuts, blaming the ongoing global economic crisis. Neither company released exact numbers in letters sent to employees. Cessna reported two “distinct” halves in 2008, according to a Jan. 6 letter to employees from CEO Jack Pelton. He noted the first half was “full of promise,” with order intake going according to plan.
Honda Aircraft Co. has begun building the first conforming prototype of the new HondaJet at its research facility in Greensboro, N.C. Several conforming aircraft will be built to complete all necessary certification tests, spokesman Stephen Keeney said. “While we build the conforming aircraft, we continue to regularly fly our proof of concept (POC) HondaJet for development and testing purposes,” he said. “Our POC HondaJet has already accumulated over 400 flight hours.”
January 20 – NATA Environmental Compliance Seminar, Sheraton North Houston Hotel, Houston, Texas. For more information call (703) 845-9000 January 28 – Wichita Aero Club luncheon featuring Craig Fuller, President of Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, Airport Hilton Hotel, Wichita, Kan.; (316) 641-5962; email: [email protected] February 5-6 – 12th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, “Launching the New Era,” Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va., www.aiaa.org/events/ast
won a $35 million contract extension with the U.S. Air Force to provide a C-20 Special Air Mission aircraft for transportation of dignitaries worldwide. Gulfstream was first selected to provide the C-20 – originally a variant of the Gulfstream III – in 1983 as a replacement for the Jetstar. The Savannah plane-maker began supplying the G-IV model for the C-20 program in 1992. The latest contract calls for delivery of the aircraft in 2010. Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. is the contracting authority.
AIR TRACTOR AT-200, -300, -400, -500, -600 and -800 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1120; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-064-AD; Amendment 39-15767; AD 2008-26-01] – This directive, which supersedes AD 2008-11-17, retains the actions of the earlier AD and adds the requirement to modify the overturn skid plate installed on AT-401B airplanes. FAA issued this new AD to prevent the front and rear connections of the airplane’s overturn skid plate from breaking, which could allow foreign debris to enter the cockpit during an airplane overturn.
, a new independent network of FBOs, has signed a deal to take Passur Aerospace’s FBO software suite to handle fuel pricing, fuel sales, and customer service.
CAE FLIGHTSCAPE won a contract to provide flight recorder analysis software for the Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents Investigation Commission in Madrid, Spain. CAE Flightscape’s Insight flight data analysis software was originally developed for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
BOMBARDIER CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 and 440) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0977; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-124-AD; Amendment 39-15775; AD 2008-26-09] – Modify the refuel/defuel system in the center wing fuel tank in accordance with the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 601R-28-053, Rev. D (dated Aug. 20, 2008). This AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada, was prompted by the results of Bombardier’s system safety review of the aircraft fuel system.
MARY ELLEN KEEGAN was appointed vice president, contracts for StandardAero’s Component Services facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. Keegan is responsible for legal support of all StandardAero contract activity. She formerly was counsel, financial transactions for GE Engine Services in Cincinnati.
cargo aircraft was damaged Dec. 31 when the cargo door flew open while the aircraft was in flight near Hoonah, Alaska. The aircraft, N39AK, operated by Wings of Alaska, was on a Part 135 flight from Juneau to Hoonah. While the aircraft was in cruise at 3,000 feet mean sea level at 1040 Alaska Standard Time, the aft cargo door flung open and struck the right side of the fuselage, damaging both the fuselage and the door. The flight, which was 7 miles north-northeast of Hoonah, continued on to Hoonah and landed safely.
A PUBLIC AUCTION of Eclipse Aviation is scheduled for Jan. 14 – if bidders besides European Technology and Investment Research Center (ETIRC) Aviation come forward (BA, Dec. 1/250). The deadline for bidders is Jan 13. ETIRC already has invested an estimated $140 million in the Albuquerque, N.M.-based Very Light Jet maker, and the company’s Chairman Roel Pieper has served as acting CEO since July. If there are no other bidders, there will not be an auction, said spokeswoman Alana McCarraher.
named FAA veteran Lynne Osmus to serve as acting administrator for the agency, succeeding Robert Sturgell, who is leaving the agency as part of the change in administration. Osmus has served with FAA since 1979 and most recently was assistant administrator for security and hazardous materials. But she also was the FAA liaison with the Obama transition team, and had previously served as chief of staff for former Administrator Jane Garvey, one of the lead members of the transportation transition team. (See related blog at AviationWeek.com/biz)
Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) last week formally opened an aircraft maintenance facility in Mesa, Ariz., that will serve as the Southwest regional service center for the HBS network. The Mesa center will replace HBS’s Van Nuys, Calif., facility, which is slated to close March 31.
