The pilot and two passengers aboard a Robinson R44 II helicopter escaped serious injury this month when the aircraft made a hard landing after an apparent mechanical failure.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE signed a five-year agreement with LuxairGroup to provide the Component Repair and Exchange program for Luxair Luxembourg Airlines’ fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft. The component pool covers nearly 250 component part numbers and will be based at Bombardier’s parts distribution center located in Frankfurt, Germany. Bombardier also has a parts distribution center in Chicago. Both centers ship components to some 57 facilities in Bombardier’s service network that are located worldwide, including Beijing, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Narita.
THE VH-71 presidential helicopter program “anticipates achieving several more significant milestones this year,” now that all five of the initial aircraft are delivered, program officials said June 25. The program’s future was uncertain early this year after it encountered development, production and so-called concurrency concerns, which led to a dramatic restructuring and much higher cost estimates. Two test helicopters are in flight trials at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
A JPMORGAN report last week predicts the effect of lower U.S. corporate profits on business jet production “will be muted at least in the near term, as the composition of the [business jet] backlog has shifted dramatically toward international customers. We see the business jet market remaining among the strongest in the aerospace industry in 2008 and 2009, although we bear in mind that this industry is cyclical...” the report said.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION this week is expected to sign a comprehensive safety bilateral agreement with the European Aviation Safety Agency during the TransAtlantic Aviation Issues Conference scheduled June 30-July 1 in Brussels, Belgium. The bilateral accord will encompass many of the safety agreements that the U.S. held with individual European states. The long-anticipated agreement had been held up for a number of months in part over concerns the U.S. had with fees and charges for validation of U.S. products (BA, May 21/229).
CASTLE & COOKE AVIATION opened its new fixed-base operation at Honolulu International Airport (HNL) this month. The company acquired the former Circle Rainbow building at HNL and invested more than $5 million for renovations of the aviation lobby, hangar and office space. Castle & Cooke also operates the largest corporate aviation facility at the Van Nuys, Calif. Airport (VNY) and another FBO at Paine Field (PAE) in Everett, Washington.
DASSAULT Falcon 900 and Falcon 900EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0365; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-274-AD; Amendment 39-15563; AD 2008-12-19] – Requires inspection of the feeder cable bundle at the right-side partition wall at Frames 22/23 for damage. If no damage is found, install a protective Teflon tube over the cable bundle in accordance with the instructions of one of the relevant Dassault service bulletins (dated July 19, 2006). If the feeder cable is damaged, repair it and install a protective Teflon tube over the cable bundle.
July 14-20 – Farnborough International Air Show, Farnborough, England. For more information, contact Shirley-Ann Latch at 44 20-7976-3349; www.farnborough.com July 19 – National Aviation Hall of Fame, 47th Annual Enshrinement Ceremony, Dayton, Ohio. Contact Cee John at (937) 256-0944; or fax, (937) 256-8536 July 28-Aug. 3 – Experimental Aircraft Association, 56th AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, Wis. Contact Karen Fenner at (920) 426-4800; fax, (920) 232-7772
CHRIS SHAFFER was promoted to service manager for Elliott Aviation ’s headquarters facility at Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) in Moline, Ill. Shaffer, formerly Hawker team leader for the Moline facility, will oversee maintenance and service programs for all aircraft types. Shaffer, who has 14 years of aviation maintenance and management experience, served as assistant facility manager at Raytheon Aircraft Services in Denver for six years before joining Elliott in 2006. He has also held maintenance and service posts for Air Wisconsin and Gulfstream Aerospace.
Southwest Airlines is making a major commitment to FAA’s Required Navigation Performance program, pledging nearly $200 million over the next six years to develop RNP approaches at all U.S. airports the carrier serves.
The National Transportation Safety Board last week began its investigation into the June 18 fatal crash of a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100 aircraft, N656WA, at Hyannis-Barnstable Airport, Mass. (HYA). The 1967 aircraft, on a cargo mission to Nantucket Memorial Airport, began to roll shortly after takeoff at 1003 and inverted before crashing, said Quincy (Doc) Mosby, manager of HYA.
YINGLING AVIATION completed a 9,000-square-foot expansion of its facilities at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, Kan. The expansion will be used for Yingling’s McCauley propeller overhaul and services as well as line service operations. Yingling also centralized shipping and receiving, the parts inventory and tool crib. The expansion includes a larger paint shop, two battery rooms for testing and charging and a new employee lounge.
AGUSTA S.P.A. A109E, A109S and A119 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0630; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-19-AD; Amendment 39-15554; AD 2008-12-11] – Requires inspection of the pilot and co-pilot doors’ emergency release system. If any interference is found between the lower hinges of the doors and the housing on the helicopter structure, rework the housing slot of the lower hinge in accordance with the instructions of the appropriate Agusta Technical Alert Bulletin for the Model 109E, 109S or 119 helicopter (Alert Bollettino Tecnico No. 109EP-83, No. 109S-18, and No.
Van Nuys, CA VNY CRS #DWHR329D NOW OPEN St. Louis, MO SUS CRS #DELR158D Philadelphia, PA MQS CRS #U7JR551L Dallas, TX DAL COMING SOON Growing in Scope. Keeping our Focus. MAINTENANCE, COMPONENTS, AVIONICS AND INTERIORS AOG 314.602.5366
Mooney Aircraft furloughed 20 percent of its work force and said it is reducing production rates from eight aircraft per month to five per month for the remainder of the year. The Kerrville, Texas manufacturer of single-engine aircraft had approximately 400 employees before the layoffs cut that total to about 320.
THE CITY separately is taking issue with FAA’s view that it must keep the airport running until 2023. FAA contended in an initial “Director’s Determination” that the city accepted a federal grant in 2003, which obligates Santa Monica to keep SMO open until at least 2023. But the city argues that the airport grant it accepted in 2003 was part of a larger grant awarded in 1994. “The city received a payment in 2003 at the conclusion of the projects funded in the 1994 grant,” city officials said.
JETAVIVA, the Van Nuys, Calif.-based company that specializes in sales, acquisitions and other services for Very Light Jet customers, recently performed the acceptance service for the 75th VLJ the company has handled. The service includes a pre-delivery flight-test, an 800-point technical inspection of the aircraft and a cosmetic inspection. The service validates aircraft performance, tests systems and evaluates handling qualities. JetAVIVA has accepted Cessna Citation Mustangs and Eclipse 500s for both individual and fleet owners.
THIELERT AIRCRAFT ENGINES, which entered insolvency in April, says it has now resumed full production following an intense period of negotiations with creditor banks and suppliers (BA, April 28/191). Insolvency administrator Bruno M. Kubler said the German manufacturer is now “able to produce up to 80 engines per month,” nearly as many as before the insolvency filing. In addition, Kubler recently commissioned a report by an international auditing company to detail Thielert’s financial situation and outlook.
LOUIS MARESCA was appointed president and chief operating officer of Argosy International, a supplier of composite materials, specialty chemicals, technology, equipment and services for aerospace manufacturers, airlines and overhaul and maintenance shops. Maresca joins Argosy from GLS Corporation, where he was vice president of operations of the thermoplastic elastomers specialist.
EMBRAER handed over the 400th E-Jet this month during a ceremony at the company’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. Republic Airlines, a subsidiary of Republic Airways, took delivery of the milestone aircraft, an Embraer 175 that was configured with a single-class interior to seat 86 passengers. Embraer reached 400 deliveries a little more than seven months after delivering the 300th E-Jet in October. Republic Airways operates 110 E-Jets – 76 Embraer 170s and 34 Embraer 175s.
TRAVEL ON PRIVATE JETS will come under fire this week in a report scheduled for release by a Washington think tank. The report is expected to call for higher taxes on business jets and increased security requirements.
THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA is still waiting for a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on its appeal to reinstate a ban on large business jets at the Santa Monica, Calif. Airport (BA, June 2/251). FAA earlier this month filed its response to Santa Monica’s appeal, and the city subsequently filed its reply. FAA argued that “the city provides no basis for the extraordinary demand” to alter the preliminary injunction against the business jet ban. The city said FAA’s response “misses the mark” and relies upon “a strained construction of its own regulations.”
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT delivered its first Hawker 4000 Wednesday to Gary and Donna Hall. The couple previously purchased two Beechjet 400s and a Hawker 800XP, and regularly travel between Joplin, Mo. and Las Vegas. HBC said it has orders for 130 Hawker 4000 business jets.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE began offering the PlaneBook electronic document manager (EDM) for its G150 and G200 midsize aircraft models. Introduced for Gulfstream’s large-cabin aircraft during the 2007 National Business Aviation Association annual meeting and convention, the PlaneBook EDM is a computer tablet that provides pilots access to critical flight information during flight.
