KEITH WRIGHT , a veteran of 20 years with AIG, has joined the staff of Allianz Aviation Managers in Atlanta, Ga. During his career, Wright has handled hull, liability, litigation, airline and product liability claims. He also has an extensive background with commercial helicopter accounts and has supervised offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and New York. Wright began his career as a multi-line field investigator for Crawford and Co. As a member of AIG’s major accident “Go Team,” Wright has been on-scene following numerous airline accidents.
David Collogan, who has steered The Weekly of Business Aviation for most of the past four decades with a straightforward style that earned the respect of his peers as well as the industry, is retiring as editor, effective this month. He also has served as the Washington Bureau Chief for Business & Commercial Aviation magazine, penning the monthly “Washington” column. Collogan plans to continue writing on a freelance basis.
AVANTAIR, INC., Clearwater, Fla., took delivery of the company’s 50th Piaggio Avanti P.180 aircraft last week, a “milestone delivery for the Avantair fractional program” that “highlights the ongoing demand for our services and the confidence our customer base has in the Piaggio Avanti P.180 aircraft,” said Steven Santo, CEO of the fractional aircraft operator. Avantair began business in July 2003 and the company claims it operates “the youngest fleet in the fractional aircraft industry” with an average aircraft age of 3.7 years.
CMC Electronics, Inc. of Montreal, Quebec won a contract to supply its Integrated Avionics System (IAS) for installation in the T-6B military trainer built by Hawker Beechcraft Corp. The IAS, known as the CMC Cockpit 4000, includes an integrated avionics computer, a heads-up display, up-front control panel and multifunction displays. HBC has been evaluating CMC’s IAS since April when flight tests of the avionics package on a T-6B began. The contract award covers a production lot of 35 aircraft.
Because of the holiday schedule, The Weekly of Business Aviation will not publish a Dec. 29 edition. The next issue will be dated Jan. 5. Please accept our best wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
CAV AEROSPACE is partnering with Kilfrost to jointly market and collaborate on an engineering certification program for TKS ice protection fluids used in general aviation. CAV Aerospace produces and retrofits TKS ice protection systems on aircraft that range from single-engine pistons to midsize business jets. Kilfrost supplies fluid ice protection products to commercial and general aviation as well as other modes of transportation.
PETER GUY joined Allianz Aviation Managers and will be based in Atlanta. Guy entered the aviation insurance business in 1996 when he joined AIG as an adjuster. He was promoted several times and headed a staff of 14 in AIG’s Scottsdale, Ariz. office before moving to Atlanta to manage Airline Claims for that company in 2006. Guy is a multi-engine, commercial, instrument-rated pilot and has an Associate in Claims (AIC) designation. He is a graduate of Colorado State University.
NASA is attempting to determine how best to monitor brain activity to help pilots realize when they are operating under dangerous levels of stress, fatigue and distraction. Researchers at the agency’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are employing functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and other imaging technology to measure blood flow in the brain’s cortex and the level of oxygen in the blood. NASA said the emerging technology “offers a non-invasive, safe, portable and inexpensive method for monitoring indicators of neural activity.”
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS GROUP (ICG) received authorization from ARINC to offer its NxtLink ICS-120A and ICS-220A flight deck voice and datalink systems for use on the ARINC GLOBALink network. ARINC requires satcom systems to undergo Avionics Qualification Program testing before it will allow the units to send Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) and other datalink messages over the ARINC GLOBALink network. The ICG systems were developed and certified to serve both commercial and executive jet markets.
The National Business Aviation Association scaled back its first Light Business Airplane Conference (LBA2009) to a two-day event “to address unprecedented changes in the economy,” the association announced last week. Originally planned as a three-day conference, the event will now take place March 13-14 in San Diego, Calif. NBAA also is limiting indoor exhibits to a maximum of 20 feet by 20 feet and reducing attendance and exhibition fees by 50 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
TOM APPLETON, the former president of Piaggio Americas, will return to lead the West Palm Beach, Fla. company next month on an interim basis. Appleton retired from Piaggio nearly two years ago and was succeeded by Eric Hinson. However, Hinson just accepted the post of executive vice president of Flight Safety International (BA, Dec. 15/271), and Appleton will return to Piaggio while the search for a permanent successor is under way.
UBS INVESTMENT RESEARCH offered another indicator that credit concerns are eroding the backlog of business jet orders. “While our survey has indicated slowing end market demand for some time, financing looked to be there to deliver the backlog,” the Dec. 18 report stated. “However, over the past two months since [the NBAA convention in early October], business jet financing looks to have dried up considerably as roughly one-third of survey respondents now cite limited financing as compared to virtually none prior.
Brent Wouters, the president and chief operating officer of Cirrus Design Corp. of Duluth, Minn., will take on the additional title of chief executive officer effective Feb. 1, the company announced Friday. Wouters joined Cirrus in early 2002 as executive vice president and chief financial officer and held those positions until he was named president and COO in March 2008. Alan Klapmeier, who founded the aircraft manufacturing firm in 1984 with his brother Dale, will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors. Dale will remain vice chairman.
DASSAULT AVIATION is pushing certain Falcon deliveries originally scheduled for the fourth quarter into next year, citing delays in meeting expanded FAA certification requirements. As a result of the delayed deliveries, Dassault said fourth quarter consolidated sales would be down about 10 percent from fourth quarter 2007. FAA in recent months has been stricter in applying certification standards, a Dassault spokesman said, which slows down the aircraft approval process. He cited as an example burn testing of seat covers, fabric and plastics in the cabin.
J.A. Donoghue, a former combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam who has spent the past three decades as a reporter and editor of several aviation publications, was recognized this month with the 2008 Lauren D. Lyman Award for outstanding achievement in aviation journalism.
DASSAULT Falcon 50 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0732; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-053-AD; Amendment 39-15762; AD 2008-25-04] – Requires the use of a new, repetitive ultrasonic inspection procedure to detect cracking of the stiffeners of the right-hand and left-hand wing lower panels between Ribs 13 and 17. If any cracks are found, operators would need to repair them in accordance with the instructions contained in Dassault Falcon 50/50EX Maintenance Manual, Maintenance Procedure 57-401 (dated July 2008).
PILATUS AIRCRAFT named Pro-Star Aviation of Londonderry, N.H. as its dealer for the Northeast U.S. Pro-Star will be responsible for PC-12 NG sales, marketing and service in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan. Pro-Star operates facilities throughout the Northeast, including Caldwell, N.J. and Portland, Maine.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the longtime member and chairman of the Senate aviation subcommittee, will become chairman of the full Commerce Committee during a year when the committee is expected to finally complete work on FAA reauthorization legislation as well as tackle other major issues, including a massive highway reauthorization bill.
CLEVELAND JET CENTER, a new fixed-base operation at Cuyahoga County Airport, has joined the Avfuel network of branded FBOs. The FBO, which will begin fueling operations in the new year, will participate in Avfuels AVTRIP rewards program and other promotions. Located 20 minutes from downtown Cleveland, the new facility includes an outdoor waterfall, a terminal with executive conference rooms, Wi-Fi, a custom four-hole putting green, a café and a pilots’ lounge. The facility also has two quiet rooms and a pilot lounge with bathroom and shower.
INGEN TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Yucaipa, Calif., introduced the Oxyview Model 203A for the general aviation market. The new low-flow meter model is designed to provide accurate and sensitive readings from 0-3 liters/minute. The 203A is designed for use in two-to-six-place aircraft. Ingen said the new Oxyview unit is unique in that it “is not gravity-dependent like other conventional flow meters, and can operate accurately under severe vibration, altitude, humidity and temperature variances while in flight.
DAVID OBLINGER was appointed general manager for Flight Display Systems. Oblinger will oversee manufacturing for the Alpharetta, Ga.-based manufacturer of cabin entertainment products. He joins Flight Display Systems with more than 30 years of business process experience, most recently as director of operations and resources for Silgan Plastics Corporation. He also held posts with Monsanto Company.
WASSIM SAHEB is rejoining Bombardier Business Aircraft as sales director for all Learjet, Challenger, and Global aircraft sales in the Middle East. Saheb, who is based at Bombardier’s Dubai sales office, joined Bombardier in 1999, holding various product support and sales engineering posts. He joined Execujet Middle East in 2005 as sales director.
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL T5313 and T5317 engines [Docket No. FAA-2008-1311; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-48-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to perform repetitive visual and ultrasonic inspections of the combustion chamber housings (CCHs) for cracks, following the instructions of Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin T53-A0142, Rev. 1 (dated Sept. 14, 2006) and T53-0144, Rev. 4 (dated March 31, 2008). If any cracks are found, operators would need to repair or replace the CCH before further flight.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT Model 208 and 208B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1319; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-071-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to modify the aileron carry-through cable attachment to the aileron upper quadrant with parts of improved design, following the instructions of Cessna Caravan Service Bulletin CAB08-6 (dated Oct. 27, 2008).
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT donated $50,000 to the Wichita Children’s Home. The aircraft manufacturer and its employees have donated nearly $500,000 in cash and in-kind donations to the Wichita Children’s Home, the city’s oldest charitable institution, over the last five years. It was founded in August 1888 as the city’s first orphanage. In addition to the $50,000, Rockwell Collins, which supplies avionics for HBC-built aircraft, contributed another $10,000 to the home.
