WESTERN AIRCRAFT, the Pilatus PC-12 authorized service and sales center for the Northwest U.S., appointed Aero Air of Hillsoboro, Ore. as a satellite service center for the PC-12. Western Aircraft estimates that some 140 PC-12s operate in the Northwest, and Aero Air, which is near Portland, will provide operators with another option for service in Oregon and southern Washington. Aero Air, which was established in 1956, has 120 employees and 75,000 square feet of hangar space.
ECLIPSE AVIATION began trying to find buyers for 28 of the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jets that it had previously delivered to air taxi operator DayJet, which ceased operations last month (BA, Sept. 29/144). Eclipse said the 28 aircraft have between 150 and 450 flight cycles and are available for immediate purchase. “Each will be sold in different states of operational capability,” Eclipse said, in “As Is” condition.
SCOTT SHATZER joined fractional aircraft provider Flight Options as sales director for the Midwest. Shatzer holds an aviation degree from Central Pennsylvania Business College and formerly was employed by a manufacturer-owned fractional aircraft provider. In his new post with Flight Options, Shatzer will be relocating to Chicago, Ill.
GARY HART recently joined FirstFlight, Inc. as chief operating officer. Hart, a veteran of more than 25 years in executive management and operations experience in aviation, reports to John Dow, FirstFlight’s president and CEO, at the company’s corporate headquarters in Elmira/Corning, N.Y. “Gary has the right background to help lead the company as we continue to increase our fleet and develop a stronger market presence.
THE KIDDE AEROSPACE & DEFENSE unit of Hamilton Standard was selected by Gulfstream Aerospace and Israel Aircraft Industries to supply the integrated fire and overheat protection system for the new Gulfstream G250 business jet. The integrated fire and overheat protection system comprises engine and auxiliary power unit fire detection and extinguishing, cargo bay smoke detection, overheat detection system and an integrated control unit.
John Saabas, a man who has risen through the ranks during his 23 years with Pratt & Whitney Canada, will become the new president of the engine manufacturer, replacing Alain Bellemare, parent company United Technologies (UTC) said last week.
General Dynamics’ Gulfstream Aerospace unit posted strong financial results for the third quarter, but officials warned that the ongoing credit crisis could cause production cuts next year for at least one of the company’s midsize business jet models.
– The Model 60 Learjet that crashed while attempting to take off from the Columbia, S.C. Metropolitan Airport last month was traveling on at least two tires that were apparently completely flat during the latter portion of the takeoff roll. National Transportation Safety Board investigators have confirmed finding hundreds of feet of tire debris and other aircraft components on the runway (BA, Sept. 29/148).
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY added a training program for helicopter pilots. The university is using a Schweizer 300CBi helicopter to train university flight students, law enforcement personnel and private pilots. The Schweizer 300CBi joins a training fleet of 50 aircraft that range from Cessna 172s to the Cessna CitationJet.
Transport Canada has unveiled a new aviation document booklet for air traffic controller licenses, and flight crew licenses and permits. The government did a study of 50 federal documents on risk analysis, said a spokeswoman. “It was determined that current crew documents fell into a high-risk category, and recommendations were made to adjust that risk,” she explained.
The Federal Aviation Administration has begun what is expected to be a wide-reaching personnel transition with the announcement last week of the retirement of two career employees, Nick Sabatini and Ruth Leverenz, who will collectively be taking with them nearly 55 years of agency experience. FAA acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell notified employees last week that Sabatini, the associate administrator for aviation safety, and Leverenz, acting deputy administrator, will leave their roles officially on Jan. 3.
CONKLIN & DE DECKER scheduled an Aircraft Acquisition Planning Seminar Dec. 3-4 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The seminar, to be held at the Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort & Spa, will discuss selection of the appropriate aircraft for the mission, understanding costs, ownership alternatives, financial analysis and options and federal and state taxes. The seminar is designed for accountants, consultants and attorneys along with owners and prospective owners. For more information, contact Christine Preston at (602) 404-1854 or [email protected].
– JetDirect Aviation Holdings, LLC said its Sunset Aviation, Inc. unit will continue to focus on light jet and turboprop management and charter flights, primarily in California. Sunset was founded in 1992 in Novato, Calif. as a charter, management, sales and acquisition company. JetDirect acquired Sunset last year. Over the years, Sunset developed a particular focus on turboprop and light jet operation in response to market demand, JetDirect said.
Hangar space for lease at the Van Nuys Airport. Maguire Aviation is in the process of developing 460,000 sq. ft. of hangar and offices for single and multiple tenant occupancy. Please contact Mike McDaniel or Tim Wray for more information at 800-451-7270. Click here to view the pdf
MICHAEL O’KEEFE, SR. was elected chairman of the board of the National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) for the upcoming year. O’Keefe is a vice president at Banyan Air Service, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He also is an active pilot and holds Airline Transport Pilot, instrument, multiengine, land and seaplane ratings along with type ratings in King Air 300/350 turboprops and Citation 500 series business jets. He holds an undergraduate degree in finance and a master’s degree in business administration, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
ARINC Direct is offering a package of Web-enabled flight support services for operators of Very Light Jets and other general aviation aircraft with takeoff weights below 12,500 pounds. The package, priced at $1,500, includes flight planning, weather, aircraft tracking, runway analysis and weight and balance applications, all of which are accessible from standard Internet connections or PDA/Blackberry devices.
THREE MORE AIRLINES will each receive more than $500,000 to participate in an FAA trial of cockpit moving-map technology. Atlas Air ($510,000), CommutAir ($544,000) and Shuttle America ($680,000), are getting the money to install electronic flight bags (EFBs) and aural alerting systems in their aircraft. Those systems will be used on flights to or from 21 airports, and will allow FAA to evaluate how effective they are in improving runway safety. The aircraft are scheduled to have the new equipment installed by September 2009.
Pratt & Whitney Canada will spend C$485 million on research and development in the next three years after finalizing a support package with the Quebec government. The investment will include C$360 million of P&WC’s own funds, as well as a C$125 million commitment from Quebec’s economic development agency, Investissement Quebec. This provincial government support is repayable from royalties on sales, notes the manufacturer.
First rate ground services...second to none flight schools. You’ve heard of flying first class. Why not consider landing first class? Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM) is the most convenient to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center and closest to Orlando/Kissimmee attractions. With full-service FBOs offering a complete range of amenities, Warbird adventure flights, and all-weather approaches – can help get you where you need to go, faster and easier, while the others are still taxiing.
FIRSTFLIGHT, INC. won a concession agreement to operate the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City. Located at Pier 6 on the East River in lower Manhattan, the heliport attracts both corporate and air tour helicopter traffic along with scheduled traffic to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. FirstFlight will assume operational control of the facility this Saturday (Nov. 1).
The warning lights on a radio tower that was struck by an EMS helicopter earlier this month were functioning up until the helicopter struck one of the tower’s guy wires, officials said last week. All four persons aboard an Air Angels Bell 222 were killed late on the night of Oct. 15 when the aircraft struck the wire (BA, Oct. 20/181). After examining the tape from a surveillance camera at a railroad station nearly two miles from the crash site, NTSB investigator John Brannen said the lights on the tower were blinking up until the helicopter hit the guy wire.
GENERAL DYNAMICS Chairman Nicholas Chabraja took exception to a comment by a financial analyst during GD’s third-quarter earnings call last week. The analyst suggested, because of worldwide financial problems and plunging stock markets, that international business jet sales would drop because “BRIC trade is over,” referring to what have been strong business jet markets in emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China.
WILLIAM B. (WOODY) HARFORD was named senior vice president, chief revenue officer, for CitationShares, a subsidiary of Cessna Aircraft Co. and Textron, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, Conn. Harford will be responsible for both the sales and marketing departments. He previously spent 18 years at British Airways, where he most recently was senior vice president commercial, Americas, and led a multifunctional group of sales and marketing professionals charged with building business with corporate customers.
National Business Aviation Association members this month officially affirmed the election of two members to the association’s board of directors, Richard Shine and Charles Reagan.
EMBRAER EMB-135ER, -135KE, -135KL, -135LR, EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1079; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-116-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new maintenance inspections of the aircraft’s fuel tank system. This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the aviation authority of Brazil, is designed to prevent ignition sources inside the fuel tanks.
