Business jet deliveries are expected to peak this year or next, before falling into a four-year decline, according to Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis for the Teal Group Corp., who addressed the initial meeting of The Wichita Aero Club last week.
MAULE AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY, INC . M-4, M-5, M-6, M-7 and M-8-235 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0892; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-049-AD; Amendment 39-15742; AD 2008-24-02] – Paint the top of the rear elevator-control horn, the elevator-control cable end attached to the top of the rear control horn, the bottom of the forward elevator-control horn, and the elevator-control cable end attached to the bottom of the forward control horn, per the instructions of Maule’s Mandatory Service Bulletin No. 30 (dated March 4, 2008).
EVEN MORE STRIKING was a 19.3 percent (year-over-year) decline in October business jet flight operations, the 12th straight month of negative growth. J.P. Morgan said the flight operations decline in October was larger than in September 2001 when U.S. airspace was shut down. “Flight operations are down 9.6 percent year to date, and the drop has been double digit each of the last five months,” the report said.
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is contributing $6 million to the National Air and Space Museum over the next two years, money that will be used to help pay for construction of Phase II of the Udvar-Hazy Center facility adjacent to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.
A NEW HELIPORT in Los Angeles, Calif. designed to serve both trauma patients and corporate clients was dedicated Thursday. The Robert F. Maguire Heliport is situated at 240 West Venice atop the 15-story Grand Avenue Garage, which is owned by Maguire Investments. The new heliport will accommodate emergency medical services helicopters and corporate operators, including rotorcraft flown by Maguire Aviation.
EADS SOCATA broke ground late last month on a new industrial center for its Moroccan subsidiary Socaero at Casablanca-Mohammed V International Airport. The 54,000-square-foot facility will house subassembly work for Socata along with the company’s aerostructures customers, including elements for the Airbus A320 and A340, Eurocopter AS 350/355, Dassault Falcon 7X and Socata TBM 850 business aircraft. Socaero, which currently employs 90 workers, launched operations last year in the Aeropôle zone near Casablanca airport.
FOUR OF THE SIX PEOPLE aboard a Beech Baron were killed late last month when the aircraft crashed in Brazil Nov. 28 near the Anapolis JK Airport (SWNS) in Anapolis, Goias, Brazil. The aircraft, N400SA, was carrying a pilot and five passengers. The pilot and three of the passengers were killed and the other two were seriously injured. The National Transportation Safety Board said Brazilian officials reported that the airplane “made a low pass over the airport and was observed to enter an aileron roll. The airplane then collided with the ground and exploded.”
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA Model 206L, L-1 and L-3 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-1242; Directorate Identifier 96-SW-13-AD] – This proposed AD would revise an existing directive (AD 96-18-05) by changing the tailboom inspection schedule from 50 to 100 hours time in service for certain aircraft with tailbooms modified in accordance with Bell Helicopter Textron Alert Service Bulletin No. 206L-87-47, Revision C (dated Oct. 23, 1989).
Airports will need between $13 billion and $16 billion in the next five years to fund capital projects, but the credit crisis and a looming gap in Airport Improvement Program grant funding could leave airports scrambling.
Bombardier management reported an almost threefold increase in its fiscal third-quarter net profit, but warned of pending cancellations of both business jet and commercial orders and a reduction in aircraft sales.
Cirrus Design expects to formally begin the process of applying for FAA type certification of its Cirrus Vision single-engine personal jet program in two weeks, CEO Alan Klapmeier told reporters last week.
VULCANAIR S.P.A . Model P68 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1020 Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-053-AD; Amendment 39-15751; AD 2008-24-11] – Establish safe fatigue limits for the wing structure, the wing-to-fuselage attachments and the stabilator, depending on whether or not the wing structure has been reinforced and how many flight hours had been accumulated by the aircraft before the reinforcement was done.
EXECUJET CHARTER SERVICE, INC., headquartered at the Tampa, Fla. International Airport, added a Hawker 700A to its charter certificate, boosting the company’s fleet to seven aircraft including several other Hawkers, a Falcon 50, a Westwind 1124 and a King Air 200.
FIRSTFLIGHT was named an authorized Garmin dealer. The Elmira/Corning, N.Y.-based aviation services company said the recognition is “a major step in providing a complete line of aviation equipment and services to its clients.” FirstFlight will offer the Garmin 400/5000 series GPS/NAV/COM, GMX multifunctional displays, G600/1000 glass cockpit retrofits, GWX-68 radar and the full line of Garmin portable aviation GPS systems.
Bombardier management reported an almost threefold increase in its fiscal third-quarter net profit, but warned of pending cancellations of both business jet and commercial orders and a reduction in aircraft sales.
WINGS AVIATION SERVICES in St. Paul, Minn. formed a new alliance with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Minneapolis campus, one of approximately 130 nonresidential sites the school operates. Under the alliance, flight school students at Wings will have the opportunity to pursue undergraduate and advanced degrees through Embry-Riddle’s aeronautical sciences program, and students enrolled in Embry-Riddle programs will be able to obtain flight training through Wings Aviation’s fleet of aircraft.
FAA has commissioned the South Florida outpost of its nationwide Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system. An ADS-B test bed was created at Daytona Beach Airport under a joint program with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Lockheed Martin and other partners. The system offers free, real-time graphical weather displays from the National Weather Service, along with critical flight information, like TFRs and special-use airspace, said acting Administrator Robert Sturgell in a speech before the Aero Club.
BOBBY STURGELL, in what was likely his final appearance before the Aero Club of Washington as acting FAA Administrator, acknowledged that the contract with the controllers union “has really been a bone of contention,” but warned against reopening the contract, a move favored by a number of key Democrats on Capitol Hill. Sturgell defended the negotiations with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, saying the agency bargained in good faith.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT delivered the first of two Citation Mustangs to Lebanese charter start-up Open Sky Aviation. Open Sky will operate from Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, becoming the first charter in the Middle East to offer entry-level business jet services, Cessna said. Open Sky is slated to take delivery of a second Mustang in June.
FORMER FAA ADMINISTRATOR JANE GARVEY and former Air Line Pilots Association President Duane Woerth met with about 20 industry representatives Monday to discuss the most pressing short-term aviation priorities for the upcoming Obama Administration. Garvey and Woerth are members of the Obama transportation transition team and also are rumored to be candidates for the roles of Transportation Secretary and FAA Administrator, respectively.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701 and 702), CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705) and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0911; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-115-AD; Amendment 39-15739; AD 2008-23-18] – Conduct a leak test of the windshield and cockpit side windows, per the instructions of Bombardier Alert Service Bulletin A670BA-56-002, Rev. A (dated Feb. 26, 2008). Apply sealant between the windshield and side windows if necessary, then perform another leak test and repair the windows, if needed.
HELICOPTER TRANSPORT of trauma patients by Maryland State Police has dropped significantly since the late September crash that killed four of the five persons onboard one of the state’s Aerospatiale 365/Eurocopter Dauphin II helicopters. Some critics have charged that before the Sept. 27 accident helicopters were dispatched too often to transport accident victims who were not critically injured. Procedural changes instituted since the accident require paramedics to consult by radio with trauma physicians before transporting persons whose injuries do not appear severe.
