PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA and MTU Aero Engines GmbH signed a five-year memorandum of understanding “to jointly pursue business opportunities in the growing unmanned aerial vehicle market in Europe,” the companies announced last week. “The emerging UAV market has a strong demand for commercial off-the-shelf engines, mainly out of the business aviation segment,” said Michael Schreyoegg, senior vice president of defense programs for MTU Aero Engines.
Aviation fuels experts will debate next week in Warsaw whether the specifications for Jet A aviation fuel should be opened up to include biofuels, or be limited to allowing coal-to-liquid and gas-to-liquid synthetic fuels to be used as alternatives to petroleum-based jet fuel.
THE HOUSE AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE this month will delve into issues surrounding congestion management in the New York Airspace. The hearing, scheduled for June 18, comes as FAA proposed a number of new mechanisms, including slots for scheduled and “reservations” for unscheduled operations to cope with congestion at New York Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports (BA, May 19/233). FAA already had proposed scaling back the number of unscheduled operations at LaGuardia Airport (BA, April 21/177).
STANDARD AERO named Mike Turner manager of communications, responsible for internal communications and media relations. Turner has held a number of aviation communications posts with companies including Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Elliott Aviation and Sullivan Higdon & Sink. Turner earned a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s in aviation administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
VICTORIA GARMY joined the Aviation Services team of Mead & Hunt. Garmy will be responsible for the marketing efforts of the West Coast team, including creating an annual marketing plan, coordinating with the various aviation business units, meeting with potential clients and tracking projections. She formerly was a systems engineer for Lockheed Martin and also was business development manager for Aerojet in California.
The Burbank-Pasadena-Glendale, Calif. Airport Authority next week plans to close the comment period on a Part 161 study that proposes to impose a nighttime curfew at Bob Hope Airport for all aircraft except in cases of medical, emergency or military flights. The curfew would be in effect from 10 p.m. to 6:59 a.m., but would include a one-hour grace period after 10 p.m. for mechanical or weather delays.
DASSAULT Model Falcon 2000EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0557; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-364-AD] – This proposed AD would require a wiring modification of the Generator Control Units to increase the electrical system robustness, per the instructions of Dassault Service Bulletin F2000EX-141, Rev. 1 (dated Nov. 26, 2007).
EXCELAIRE’S terminal at MacArthur Airport in Islip, N.Y. was approved as a gateway to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Excelaire’s facility is the 21st gateway approved for travel into DCA. The company has been flying charter into DCA for the past two years and underwent an additional series of Transportation Security Administration checks and clearances to qualify for the latest designation.
The legal maneuverings continued last week over a large business jet ban at Santa Monica, Calif. Airport (SMO) as the Federal Aviation Administration issued an initial “Director’s Determination” that the City of Santa Monica is in violation of its federal obligations, and Santa Monica city officials decided to forge ahead with an appeal of an injunction against the ban.
U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP) plans to base a Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on the border with Canada in a month or two, according to Michael Kostelnik, the Air and Marine chief and assistant commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security agency. During a recent appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee, Kostelnik said CBP plans to move one of its four Predators – now based at Sierra Vista, Ariz. – to a base in Grand Forks, N.D. that opened last fall.
PILATUS BUSINESS AIRCRAFT handed over the first PC-12 NG to a customer. Pilatus announced the “NG” upgrade to the PC-12 during the 2006 National Business Aviation Association annual meeting and convention. The aircraft includes a number of enhancements over the original PC-12 model, including the integrated Honeywell Primus Apex avionics system, revised cockpit designed by BMW Group Designworks USA, and an upgraded Pratt & Whitney PT6A engine. The PC-12 NG earned Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency certification in March.
3M AEROSPACE AND AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT plans to build a factory in Wroclaw, Poland to increase the company’s manufacturing capacity for structural bonding adhesives and surface protection products. 3M expects the new facility will be operational by late 2009. “The expansion into Poland is our response to the ongoing needs of our global aerospace customers, many of whom are located in Europe and Asia,” said Brian Young, general manager of 3M Aerospace and Aircraft Maintenance Department.
June 7 — Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, 18th Annual AOPA Fly-In and Open House, Frederick, Md., (800) 872-2672 June 8-11 — American Association of Airport Executives, 80th Annual Conference and Expo, New Orleans, La. Contact AAAE at (703) 824-0500 June 9-11 — Florida Aviation Trades Association, 62nd Annual Meeting & Trade Show, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Contact Paula Raeburn at (407) 383-8619
ECLIPSE AVIATION will begin taking orders for the Eclipse 400 single-engine jet, the Albuquerque, N.M. manufacturer announced late Friday. The E-400 will be a production version of the V-tail Eclipse Concept Jet displayed last summer during the Experimental Aircraft Association convention in Oshkosh, Wis. (BA, July 30/41). “Ten months of quantitative and qualitative Eclipse Concept Jet research has convinced us that this is absolutely the right airplane for the emerging single-engine jet market,” said Vern Raburn, Eclipse president and CEO.
– After nearly two years of drama about the possible relocation of Piper Aircraft from Florida to another state, company and government officials announced agreement on a package of incentives that will keep the light aircraft manufacturer in Vero Beach, Fla.
JOHN WAGONER was promoted to director of operations of aviation services for Wing Aviation LLC in Houston, Texas. Wagoner is responsible for all maintenance functions, safety and security procedures, production, quality assurance and other aspects of the company’s operations.
GKN Aerospace and engine maker Rolls-Royce established a joint venture company to research and develop the use of composite materials in aircraft engine fan blades. Ownership stake and funding contribution is split 51 percent Rolls-Royce and 49 percent GKN. Total funding for the project will be approximately $20 million.
The National Air Transportation Association last week appealed to FAA acting Administrator Robert Sturgell for fairness in the agency’s approach to regulating Part 135 certificate holders, charging that air taxi operators can no longer rely on guidance or approvals from their local FAA officials because personnel from FAA headquarters or regional offices so frequently overrule their local counterparts and file enforcement notices against the operators.
ROLLS-ROYCE DEUTSCHLAND LTD. & CO. KG. Tay 650-15 turbofan engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-0037; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-41-AD; Amendment 39-15521; AD 2008-10-14] – Requires inspection of the Stage 2 and Stage 3 low-pressure turbine disks for corrosion in accordance with Rolls-Royce Deutschland Alert Service Bulletin Tay-72-A1524, Rev. 1 (dated Sept. 1, 2006).
SHANE BUTTCHEN joined the Aviation Architecture team of Mead & Hunt as an architectural CAD technician. Buttchen will prepare architectural and engineering documents, and work with specifications, planning and schedules for design projects for Mead & Hunt, an architectural, engineering, and planning consulting firm. Formerly an AutoCAD maintenance project leader for a medical manufacturer, Buttchen has a bachelor’s degree in interior architecture from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point with additional training in Lean, SQL/AutoLISP, and Oracle.
DORNIER Model 328-100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0584; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-315-AD] – This proposed rule would supersede an existing directive (AD 2005-13-24) that requires modifying the electrical wiring of the fuel pumps, installing insulation at the hand flow-control and shut-off valves and other components of the environmental control system, and installing markings at fuel wiring harnesses.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT has undertaken an initiative to nearly double Citation parts inventories at its Paris Citation Service Center and other authorized service facilities throughout Europe. The inventory expansion is an effort to build up support for the more than 930 Citations in the region, Cessna said. The Wichita, Kan. plane-maker already has completed the initiative at the North American Cessna Citation Service Center network and plans to concentrate on its part supply globally.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the city of Santa Monica, Calif. from enforcing an ordinance that bans large business jets at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO). The preliminary injunction, granted May 16, was the latest step in legal action the Federal Aviation Administration has taken against Santa Monica for attempting to implement the ordinance over the agency’s objections.
EUROPEAN officials recently completed the definition phase of the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) project, after investing about 60 million euros over the past two years into the project. SESAR is designed to create a Single European Sky that will incorporate the new generation air traffic management system.
The European business aviation market demonstrated its increasing strength during last week’s European Business Aviation Convention and Exposition (EBACE), with several major business jet makers announcing orders from European customers that amounted to billions of dollars. EBACE further marked a number of other international orders from growing regions such as the Middle East and Asia.
