ALL FOUR PEOPLE aboard a Bell 407 helicopter were killed June 8 when the aircraft crashed into the Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Ala. The helicopter, N416PH, was owned by PHI, Inc. and was conducting a medevac flight from a hospital in Huntsville to another medical facility in Houston, Texas. National Transportation Safety Board investigators believe the helicopter crashed within about one minute of lifting off from the Huntsville hospital at 0246 CDT. Visibility at the time was 10 miles with scattered clouds at 1,200 feet.
DASSAULT Falcon 900EX and 2000EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0301; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-284-AD; Amendment 39-15559; AD 2008-12-15] – Requires replacement of the passenger oxygen mask boxes with newly designed boxes adapted to the oxygen controller. This was prompted by the discovery that passenger oxygen mask boxes do not fit the system’s controller properly. Consequently, the minimum flow of supplemental oxygen for each passenger is not being met when the oxygen system is in the “normal” mode.
DASSAULT Falcon 900EX and Falcon 2000EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0364; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-281-AD; Amendment 39-15562; AD 2008-12-18] – Requires operators to check the integrity of the general-purpose bus and inertial reference system No. 2 and repair them by modifying the wiring and conducting an initial and periodic tests of the general-purpose bus/IRS input/output. This AD was prompted by an incident that occurred during the test flight of an aircraft with an EASy cockpit.
Gippsland Aeronautics last week formally took possession of the type certificate for the Nomad, setting the stage for the Australian manufacturer to relaunch production of the twin-turboprop aircraft. Boeing Australia Limited sold the certificate, technical and sales support and all intellectual property for the Nomad to Gippsland. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
PIPER AIRCRAFT has completed static load tests on the PiperJet proof-of-concept aircraft, installed the landing gear and is expected to begin taxi tests in the near future.
JETTECH in Littleton, Colo. developed a kit to enable Cheyenne IIIA operators to seek reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) approval. The kit, which supports the Chelton FlightLogic Synthetic Vision electronic flight instrument system, includes the installation of two Thommen AD-32 digital altimeters to replace existing barometric altimeters. The Chelton EFIS displays will provide Global Positioning System, WAAS, moving map, terrain display, weather display, traffic display, fuel totalizer, master voice warning, timers, and more.
M7 AEROSPACE LP SA226 and SA227 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0313; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-095-AD; Amendment 39-15560; AD 2008-12-16] – Requires inspection of electrical wires and components and hydraulic and bleed-air tube assemblies at the left-hand and right-hand inboard wing leading edge/battery box areas, left-hand and right-hand wing stations 51.167 to 81.174, and at all feed-through locations into the left-hand and right-hand inboard keelson.
DAVID ROKOS was named vice president and treasurer for Rockwell Collins. Rokos will be responsible for Rockwell Collins treasury operations, including capital structure, cash, foreign exchange, risk and pension asset management. He joined the Cedar Rapids electronics and avionics manufacturer in 2000 and most recently was controller of Surface Solutions for the Government Systems unit. Before joining Rockwell Collins, Rokos was director of financial reporting at Rockwell International.
Cessna Aircraft told employees this week it is establishing an Environmental Strategy Council “to assess the company’s impact on the environment and to formalize initiatives to minimize the impact.” Formation of the new council and implementation of changes recommended by that group are important parts of the company’s long-term strategy, said Jack Pelton, chairman, president and CEO of the Wichita, Kan. aircraft manufacturer.
PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD. PC-6 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0626; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-035-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace self-locking stop nuts in the tail landing gear, parachute cable, water tank, cable tensioner, fuel filter, hydraulic pump and engine mount assemblies in accordance with Pilatus PC-6 Service Bulletin No. 53-002, Rev. 2 (dated Sept. 24, 2007).
SANDEL AVIONICS INCORPORATED Model ST3400 Terrain Awareness Warning System/Radio Magnetic Indicator (TAWS/RMI) units [Docket No. FAA-2007-0290; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-250-AD; Amendment 39-15557; AD 2006-16-18 R1] – Requires loading of updated versions of software into ST3400 units installed on a variety of general aviation aircraft. This AD resulted from a report that an inflight bearing error occurred in a ST3400 configured to receive bearing information from a VOR receiver interface via a composite video signal.
BRIAN POPE was promoted to chief operating officer for Virgin Charter, the recently launched online marketplace for private travel. Pope will report to CEO Scott Duffy. Pope helped launch Virgin Charter and was serving as chief marketing officer. He formerly managed marketing programs for IMG Consulting and Universal Studios Hollywood.
June 26 – National Business Aviation Association Regional Forum, Dayton, Ohio International Airport (DAY). For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 783-9000 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
DESPITE RECENT LAYOFFS and the fact that DayJet is flying fewer than half of its 28 Eclipse 500 Very Light Jets (BA, June 9/259), company founder Ed Iacobucci told the Aero Club of Washington Wednesday he expects the per-seat charter operator to be breaking even on operations by the first quarter of 2009.
The epoxy tape application process developed by Airwolf Aerospace LLC to help prevent debonding of the stainless steel rotor blades on Robinson Helicopter R22 and R44 models has been purchased by some 300 Robinson operators, officials say, and that number is likely to increase in the wake of an FAA AD early this year and a series of safety recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board this month (BA, June 16/272).
WESTWIND TECHNOLOGIES received a contract valued at more than $37 million to build CH-47 transportable flight proficiency simulators for the U.S. Army CH-47 fleet. Redstone Arsenal’s Cargo Helicopter Project Management Office, which manages the CH-47 fleet, awarded the contract. WestWind is building five simulators and spares.
MAUREEN RILEY , executive director of the Salt Lake City, Utah Department of Airports, was appointed to the board of Airports Council International-North America, which represents air carrier airports worldwide. Riley has managed the Salt Lake airports department since February 2007. She previously spent 13 years with Orlando, Fla. International Airport, most recently as deputy executive director of finance and administration. Riley also has served as an aviation industry consultant with Leigh Fisher Associates and Roy W. Block Consulting.
FAA’S CURRENT REAUTHORIZATION is due to expire June 30, along with the excise taxes on airline tickets and fuel that support the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, but Washington insiders expect Congress will act this week to extend the agency’s authorization. Pete Bunce, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, told BA there had been talk in the House about a 90-day extension, but that idea has apparently been rejected because then taxes would be scheduled to expire just six weeks before the election.
Bombardier Aerospace received a contract from an undisclosed European customer for up to 110 Learjet XR aircraft valued at $1.5 billion. The contract includes firm orders for 25 60 XRs valued at $340 million and 85 conditional orders. Deliveries will begin next year. The successor to the Learjet 60, the 60 XR entered service last July with a new Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite and a redesigned cabin.
Fractional aircraft ownership provider NetJets plans to add 40 more Gulfstream aircraft to its fleet under a deal valued at $1.9 billion that the Savannah, Ga. manufacturer announced Friday. The contract calls for four Gulfstream 450s and four G500s to be delivered to NetJets each year from 2012 to 2016. NetJets, which currently operates 110 Gulfstreams, has some 758 aircraft in its fleet and operates 15 different types.
VIKING AIR LIMITED DHC-2 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0393 Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-011-AD; Amendment 39-15533; AD 2008-11-11] – This AD, which supersedes an existing directive, requires operators to conduct a fluorescent-penetrant inspection of the tailplane front-spar web behind the pick-up brackets instead of simply performing a visual inspection of that area, as was mandated by the earlier AD. Operators are required to conduct the inspections in accordance with the instructions of Bombardier de Havilland DHC-2 (Beaver) Service Bulletin 2/47 Rev.
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES elected a new slate of officers, naming Jim Elwood, director of Aspen/Pitkin County, Colo. Airport, as chairman for 2008-2009. Also elected were John Duval, of Beverly, Mass., as first vice chair; Jim Bennett, of Washington, D.C., as second vice chair; and Kelly Johnson, of Bentonville, Ark., as secretary-treasurer. The association added new members to the board of directors, including Tom Rafter, Hammonton, N.J.; Lew Bleiweis, Fletcher, N.C.; and Michael Gobb, Lexington, Ky.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE recently reached two milestones, rolling out the 200th G550/G500 large-cabin business jet and 200th G200 midsize jet. The 200th aircraft in the G550/500 family came off the production line less than five years after Gulfstream unveiled the program at the 2002 National Business Aviation Association annual convention. The Savannah, Ga. plane-maker won type and production certification for the G550 on Aug. 14, 2003 and for the G500 on Dec. 8, 2003. Currently 172 of the aircraft are in service and the fleet has passed 200,000 flight hours.
Corporate Hangar Development for 2 parcels at Deer Valley Airport (DVT) Request for Proposals (RFP) The City is seeking proposals for the lease of two parcels on which limited aeronautical commercial activity will be permitted. The RFP documents are expected to be released by July 1, 2008.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT cut its work force by 20 percent last week and is reducing production rates of its line of single-engine, aircraft – and other manufacturers are keeping a close eye on the low end of the GA market. While not contemplating layoffs, Cessna Chairman Jack Pelton told BA last week “We’re seeing definite softening in the [single-engine] market” and a reduction in flying by current single-engine aircraft operators. See article on Page 282.
