A DASSAULT FALCON 7X business jet, S/N 04, has logged more than 1,000 hours since the aircraft was delivered last July, according to the manufacturer. The airplane is operated by Dasnair and based in Geneva, Switzerland. During the nine-month span of service, the aircraft has carried more than 1,000 passengers and made more than 415 stops in 10 countries on five continents. A total of 12 Falcon 7X aircraft are now in service.
OPERATORS of nearly 400 Bell helicopters were ordered to check the tail rotors of their aircraft to detect cracks. In an airworthiness directive issued by FAA, operators of Bell Model 204B, 205A, 205A-1, 205B, 210, 212, 412, 412CF and 412EP helicopters were told to inspect each tail rotor at specific intervals and repair or replace the rotors as necessary. The AD was prompted by three inflight failures of tail-rotor blades and the discovery of a cracked blade during a scheduled visual inspection. FAA estimates the AD applies to 384 helicopters on the U.S.
DAVID HERBST was appointed executive vice president of corporate strategies for Mercury Air Group and will oversee strategic growth of the company. He formerly served as director of corporate relations for Mercury in the early 1990s. He subsequently joined MWW Group, serving as senior vice president and general manager of the public relations firm. Herbst also serves as director of the William H. Hannon Foundation, dedicated to the financial support of schools and nonprofit organizations in Southern California and on the boards of several colleges in California.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-102, -103, -106, -201, -202, -301, -311 and -315 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0179; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-367-AD] – This proposed AD, which would expand the scope of a previous proposal, would reduce the initial compliance times for revision of the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new fuel-system limitations and inspection requirements. This proposed AD resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada.
SCHUBACH AVIATION placed a new Cessna Citation Bravo on its charter certificate. The eight-passenger Bravo joins a fleet that also includes two Bombardier Challenger 601s, four King Airs, five other Citations and five Hawkers. Founded in 1992, Schubach employs 66 workers at its base at Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif.
May 20-22 – National Business Aviation Association, European Business Aviation Convention and Exposition (EBACE 2008), Geneva, Switzerland. Contact Kathleen Blouin at NBAA at (202) 783-9000 May 27- June 1 – Berlin International Air Show (ILA2008), Berlin, Germany, sponsored by the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) and managed by Messe Berlin. For more information, call (609) 987-1202; fax (609) 987-0092 or e-mail (www.ila-NA.com)
EXCELAIRE, the Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based charter firm, added a third Embraer Legacy 600 super mid-size business jet to its fleet. The Legacy can carry up to 13 passengers and fly nonstop between New York and London.
FIELD AVIATION of Toronto, Canada delivered the first of three Dash 8 Q300 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft to the Swedish Coast Guard this month. The three-aircraft contract is valued in excess of $80 million. Field, the prime contractor and aircraft integrator for the Swedish Coast Guard, entered into a teaming agreement with Bombardier Aerospace and L-3 Communications-Integrated Systems, which supplied the aircraft and selected sensor systems.
EMBRAER EMB-135, EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0483; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-006-AD] – Following the instructions of Embraer Service Bulletin 145-30-0052 (dated Aug. 2, 2007) or 145LEG-30-0019 (dated Aug. 28, 2007), this proposal would require operators to check Pitot 1 and 2 and TAT 1 and 2 current-sensor relays and sockets for damage. As necessary, replace the A1 and C1 electrical contacts of the sockets and re-identify them, and replace both the sockets and the current-sensor relays.
EMBRAER EMB-135BJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0416; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-297-AD] – This proposal would require operators to inspect for the possible absence of cable guard pins in the aileron control system and install new ones, if needed, following the instructions of Embraer Service Bulletin 145LEG-27-0023 (dated Jan. 24, 2006).
VIKING AIR LIMITED won a contract valued at $14.3 million from the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team for three DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft. The latest contract brings the number of orders and options to 40 Viking Twin Otters. Viking, which owns type certificates for a number of former de Havilland models, is relaunching production of the Twin Otter. Viking will deliver the first of the Golden Knights aircraft in 2010 and the remaining two in 2011.
CLAY HAMMOND was named aircraft sales representative for SouthEast Piper. Hammond will be responsible for aircraft sales in the Atlanta metro area and surrounding Southeast markets. Hammond is rejoining SouthEast Piper after a two-year stint in aircraft sales for a manufacturer. SouthEast Piper is the authorized Piper dealer serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
Very Light Jet air taxi pioneer DayJet is curbing its expansion plans and cutting almost 40 percent of its work force as it struggles to raise the additional funding required for growth, company Founder, President and CEO Ed Iacobucci announced last week. Iacobucci said the decision to curtail expansion plans was “caused by external economic factors and [is] not a reflection of a weakness in the underlying DayJet business model.”
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. reported sales of $576.5 million for the three months ended March 30, but said it recorded an operating loss of $1.5 million for the quarter. “The loss was the consequence of an $18.4 million charge related to early production Hawker 4000 aircraft,” resulting in “an increase in the cost to conform the early aircraft to the final type design.” HBC said delivery of five Hawker 900XPs and one Hawker 850 XP was shifted from the first quarter to the second due to a reorganization of the company’s Little Rock, Ark.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT’S first production model SkyCatcher Light Sport Aircraft made its first flight May 1, just under two months since the first SkyCatcher prototype made its first flight (BA, March 17/119). In addition to now having two aircraft in the test program, Cessna plans to begin static and fatigue testing on a separate airframe in mid-May.
WEST STAR AVIATION expanded its facility at Dallas Love Field (DAL) to accommodate growing demand for maintenance on a number of business jet lines. West Star added a new facility adjacent to its existing 42,000 square feet of hangars, shops and offices located by Runway 31R. The new facility provides an additional 33,000 square feet of shop and office space and includes sheet metal, avionics, and interior refurbishment shop capabilities, along with maintenance and avionics services capabilities.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week proposed to eliminate provisions in the Federal Aviation Regulations that permit certain Part 91, 125 and 135 operators to fly with “polished frost” on the wings of their aircraft. Part 91, 125 and 135 regulations currently allow pilots to take off with frost adhering to wings as long as the frost has been polished to make it smooth, frequently accomplished by vigorously rubbing a rope or similarly rough-textured object across the surface of the wing.
ROBERT MAURACHER was appointed vice president of business development for Viking Air Ltd., the Victoria, British Columbia company that is gearing up to manufacture new models of the DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. Mauracher was most recently chief executive officer of Hawaii Island Air, a regional airline that operated a fleet of Dash 8 turboprops.
CASA CN-235, CN-235-100, -200, -300 and C-295 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-0048; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-181-AD; Amendment 39-15503; AD 2008-09-22] – Requires revision of the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to include critical design configuration control limitations data for the aircraft’s fuel system. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is designed to minimize the possibility of fuel-tank explosions.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-400 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0178; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-366-AD] – This proposed AD, which would expand the scope of a previous proposal, would reduce the initial compliance times for revision of the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new fuel-system limitations and inspection requirements. This proposed AD resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada. The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 38 airplanes on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
ACM AVIATION in San Jose, Calif. is adding a Boeing Business Jet and a Citation II to its managed fleet. The BBJ will be the largest aircraft in ACM’s fleet, which also includes large jets such as the Bombardier Global Express, Gulfstream V and Dassault Falcon Jets. ACM also manages a range of smaller aircraft from a King Air and Piaggio Avanti II to a Learjet and a Challenger 604. “We have aggressively pursued a more diverse fleet of aircraft to serve the entire spectrum of private aviation,” said Greg Johnson, vice president of business development.
KRISTEN WEIVODA is the new chief operations officer for Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance, which is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. Weivoda was formerly a manager of Air Evac Services (a medical entity of Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.), where she spent more than three years guiding the air medical base operations and educational activities in order to meet certification standards.
KELLY TURBOCHARGERS installed on a variety of general aviation aircraft must be checked as a result of an AD issued recently by the FAA. The directive requires a one-time visual inspection of suspect turbochargers for an excessive gap between the turbocharger turbine-housing flange and the exhaust tube flange. Any units that fail the inspection must be replaced.
THE OUTLOOK is bullish for U.S. fixed-base operators, according to Macquarie Infrastructure Company (MIC), which operates 64 FBOs under the Atlantic Aviation banner.
