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THE REACTION to the Eclipse 500 price hike from customers has been “pretty mixed” so far, a spokeswoman told BA last week. “We’ve had a few cancellations, but not many.” Customers have 90 days to seek a refund of their deposits if they decide to cancel their orders because of the price hike.
DAYJET CHIEF Ed Iacobucci noted the “enormous impact” soaring fuel prices have had on the transportation sector, but said the increased prices have not been as much of a factor for his Very Light Jet air taxi operation. “We’ve been able to adjust prices to keep up with fuel costs,” he said. While the increased prices may have slowed growth in customer demand, Iacobucci stressed the carrier is still growing. And he suggested the sharply higher fuel prices may ultimately work in DayJet’s favor.
A PIPER MALIBU MIRAGE was destroyed last month in France after it was struck by lightning while in cruise flight. The PA-46-350P, with U.S. registration of N9245D, “subsequently broke up” and crashed into terrain near Leguillac de Cercles, according to a brief report by NTSB. The pilot and single passenger were killed. Weather in the area at the time of the May 25 accident included mostly cloudy skies, six miles visibility and winds of 16 knots, with a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit and a dew point of 55 degrees.
ANDREW JOHNSTON was appointed vice president-commercial for Project Phoenix, the Dubai-based company that is converting Bombardier CRJ-200 regional airliners into a business jet configuration for customers. Johnston will report to President Mike Cappuccitti. Johnston’s role will be to ensure that converted aircraft are legally compliant with applicable airworthiness regulations, meet international standards and that contracts are in order. Johnston also will be structuring the after-sales support programs for the Phoenix CRJ.
RTI International Metals, Inc. announced a reorganization of the company to create a third operating division. Under the new structure, RTI is separating its fabrication and distribution businesses, an effort to “better position the company to produce and offer customers a full range of value-added mill products.” Effective July 1, RTI will have three operating units: Distribution Group; Fabrication Group; and, Titanium Group, each of which will report to Michael Wellham, president and chief operating officer.
SCOTT TAYLOR was appointed business aviation business development leader for Standard Aero. Based in Tempe, Ariz., Taylor will be responsible for developing a long-term strategy for the business aviation sector and an approach for expanding the market for existing products and services. Taylor previously was general manager, Business & Regional Aviation Marketing, for General Electric Aviation and managed sales and marketing operations for Honeywell Aerospace.
ARINC DIRECT expanded services at its Scottsdale, Ariz. facility to offer complete interior modification work on-site for corporate aircraft. ARINC Direct began an expansion in November with a custom cabinetry shop and most recently added offices for an in-house interior designer and engineering specialist. The facility offers interior design consultation that includes cabin furnishings, colors, materials, textures, and floor plans. The facility allows customers to view designs with electronic renderings.
JAHID FAZAL-KARIM was named managing director of Jetcraft Trading and joined the board of directors of Jetcraft Corp. as a new shareholder. Jetcraft Trading is the aircraft sales and acquisition services joint venture between Jetcraft Corp. and Jet Aviation Group. Jetcraft called Fazal-Karim “one of the industry’s most successful sales executives,” and said he would add a new dimension to the alliance formed last year. He joined Bombardier Aerospace Business Aircraft in 2001 and most recently was senior vice president responsible for worldwide sales.
ECLIPSE also announced a price boost for the twin-engine Eclipse 500. The new price is $2.15 million, a jump of $555,000 effective immediately. The company said its cost-driven pricing model “requires Eclipse to re-examine aircraft pricing if actual costs change significantly from projections. The new Eclipse 500 price has been set based on a number of factors, including higher manufacturing costs and a slower than anticipated production ramp rate,” the company said, adding that the cost changes necessitated a corresponding shift in aircraft pricing.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION’S 2008 Air Charter Summit, which will be held June 9-11 at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles Hotel in Chantilly, Va., will include a special session on the emerging threats that the illegal drug trade poses to charter operators. William Brown, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s Aviation Division, will discuss the DEA’s growing focus on air charter during a luncheon on June 10. Brown also will advise how operators can protect themselves from becoming targets of drug runners.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400, -401 and -402 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0586; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-043-AD] – This proposed rule would require operators to replace all elevator-centering torsion springs with new springs in accordance with Bombardier Service Bulletin 84-27-31 (dated April 27, 2007). This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada Civil Aviation, follows the reported failure of an elevator-centering torsion spring.
The Safety Committee of the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association has developed a new Safety Management System it has dubbed “SMS Lite.” The new system is based upon a boilerplate safety manual published in Microsoft Word format and available to RACCA members on the organization’s Web site. The manual and SMS Lite incorporate the four major elements of safety management systems – policy, risk management, safety assurance and safety culture.
BILL SCHILLHAMMER was named director of international sales for Avidyne. Schillhammer will oversee growth of Avidyne’s international presence. He joined Avidyne in 2005, helped establish Avidyne-Europe and worked with DAC International to facilitate aftermarket sales in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim. Before joining Avidyne, he held management positions in high-technology display semiconductor and product sales, including as vice president of sales for FOCUS Enhancements. He also served in sales for Intel Corp.
CATCHING UP ON SOME OLD NEWS, The Washington Post opined in the May 28 issue about FAA reauthorization being “stuck on the legislative tarmac” because of all the non-aviation provisions that got dumped into the pot during Senate consideration of the bill last month (BA, May 12/211).
Gunter Kappler, an aircraft engine expert with an extensive background in manufacturing and academia, has joined the management advisory team at Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH (TAE) to “provide support...in continuing the company’s operative business,” according to a May 23 statement from Bruno Kubler, the insolvency administrator overseeing the company’s affairs.
Bombardier Aerospace said Thursday it will build the composite structure for its new Learjet 85 business jet, along with other major portions of the aircraft, at its facility in Queretaro, Mexico. Use of Mexican manufacturing facilities by U.S. and Canadian business jet makers has become a growing trend in recent years, but Bombardier is believed to be the first company to have such a large portion of a new aircraft model built in Mexico.
TWO PASSENGERS in a de Havilland DHC-2 MK I amphibious Beaver aircraft were killed May 17 when the aircraft flipped over while the pilot was attempting to land on Lake Chelan near Stehekin, Wash., with the landing gear wheels extended. The aircraft, N9558Q, was operated by Lake Chelan Air Service, Inc., doing business as Chelan Airways. The airplane, which was operating as a Part 135 air taxi, had departed from the paved Runway 20 at Lake Chelan for the 40-nautical-mile flight to Stehekin.
China’s two main aircraft-making groups, Avic 1 and Avic 2, will merge back together, nine years after they were separated, industry executives say. The merger is the next step in China’s long campaign to turn its aircraft sector into an internationally competitive industry that operates on a fully commercial basis. The combined business will be heavily involved in making aircraft parts, while the new Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (CACC) separately pursues the national project of building a mainline airliner to complement the current ARJ21 regional jet.
JEFFREY SHANE, an attorney and former Transportation Department executive, has rejoined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Hogan & Hartson as a partner. He plans to focus on aviation and surface transportation. Shane left private practice for the government in 2001 and has held a number of senior-level posts, including deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs at the State Department and assistant DOT secretary for policy and international affairs. Most recently he was the first under secretary for policy at DOT.
THE DECISION to move UAV operations to the Canadian border comes just 25 months after a CBP-operated Predator B, which has a gross weight of 10,000 pounds and a 66-foot wingspan, went out of control and crashed near the Arizona/Mexico border on April 25, 2006. As a result of its investigation of that accident, the National Transportation Safety Board issued nearly two dozen safety recommendations calling for safeguards and changes in the way UAVs are allowed to operate in domestic civil airspace (BA, Oct. 22/182).
EADS affiliate Socata says it is close to launching a new twin-engined light aircraft, if it can complete financing and come up with a firm business plan. Officials expect to decide early next year whether to go ahead. CEO Jean-Michel Leonard says Socata has identified a market of more than 1,000 units for the new 6-8 passenger aircraft. Drawing heavily on new technologies, notably an all-composite fuselage developed in the Fuscomp ground-demonstrator program, the plane would be significantly bigger than the existing TBM 850 single-engine turboprop.
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EMBRAER Model ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0562; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-010-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to visually inspect the left-hand bulkhead blowout panel of both the forward and aft cargo compartments to determine whether the pressure equalization valves are installed. If any valve is not present, install the valve in accordance with instructions of Embraer Service Bulletin 170-21-0032 or 190-21-0019 (both dated Aug. 10, 2007), as applicable.
JET AVIATION’S Skylliance charter alliance program this month added two more members, JetNetherlands and Elite Jets. Based at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, JetNetherlands operates a Cessna CJ1, CJ2, Citation XLS and Falcon 2000EX. JetNetherlands was formed in March 2001. Elite Jets of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates was founded in January 2004. The operator flies a Cessna CJ3 and Hawker 850XP. The latest additions increase Skylliance’s total fleet to 30 aircraft and membership to eight carriers.
