CESSNA AIRCRAFT'S top executive Jack J. Pelton agreed to continue serving as chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Gathering of Eagles Committee for two more years, EAA said last week. The Gathering of Eagles event, held during EAA's annual AirVenture fly-in convention, attracts a broad cross-section of general aviation industry enthusiasts to raise funds to support the association's missions. Cessna also will continue to serve as the hosting sponsor of the EAA Gathering of Eagles event through 2009.
FAA is testing a new system at Las Vegas Airport designed to improve the detection of dangerous "microburst" winds in dry climates. The system is called light detection and ranging, or LIDAR. According to an FAA employee newsletter, the latest phase of LIDAR tests finished Nov. 30, during which more than half of all possible types of windshear were detected. In the dry microburst category, LIDAR detected 91 percent of incidents.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory circular this month providing guidance for certification of electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS) on Part 25 transport category airplanes. AC No. 25.1701-1 provides detailed information for manufacturers, maintenance facilities and modification firms on complying with Part 25 Subpart H and Appendix H requirements.
ATLANTIC AVIATION added its 70th fixed-base operation with the completion of the acquisition of Rifle Air, LLC based at Garfield County Regional Airport in Rifle, Colo. Atlantic Aviation CEO Louis Pepper said the acquisition complements the company's FBO in Aspen to better serve customers in the Rocky Mountains. Atlantic Aviation expects the Rifle FBO will be integrated into its network this month. The existing Rifle management and staff will remain intact.
Mooney Airplane Company reinforced its management team with the appointments of new sales, customer service and human resources executives. The company named Susan Harrison manager of international sales. Harrison reports to Rick Neely, director of sales. She rejoins Mooney after serving as manager of Texas operations for Premier Aircraft Sales in Addison, Texas. Premier represents Mooney in Texas and the Southeast U.S. She formerly held a number posts in marketing, delivery and sales with Mooney and also was a marketing coordinator for TBM North America.
JETAVIVA, a flight training provider with facilities in Van Nuys, Calif. and Albuquerque, N.M., has begun offering a Jet Familiarization Training (JFT) program for pilots of new Very Light Jets. JetAVIVA, which is using an Eclipse 500 VLJ, said the training is designed to improve jet pilot skills and allow pilots to gain experience in the Eclispe 500. The company is offering basic, intermediate and advanced course packages that include 10.5, 25 and 45 flight hours, respectively. The training also includes ground school, materials and cockpit procedures training.
AERION received more than $1.5 billion in letters of intent for the company's Supersonic Business Jet (SSBJ), the company said. Aerion announced shortly before the Dubai Air Show that it would accept LOIs secured by a refundable deposit of $250,000. The company named ExecutJet Aviation Group as a sales representative outside the Americas (BA, Nov. 12/217). The LOIs have come from customers in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the U.S. Aerion is pricing the aircraft at $80 million.
ECLIPSE AVIATION is "getting a very good response" from customers to the manufacturer's offer to freeze the final price of Eclipse 500 aircraft on order in return for an immediate up-front payment of $625,000 to help Eclipse through a cash flow bind. A spokeswoman declined to provide additional details last week, but said officials may have more to say later - the offer was scheduled to expire Dec. 14.
Ladish Company, Inc. plans to build a new investment casting foundry in Mexico, a project that will cost an estimated $16 million to $20 million. The decision to build a plant in Mexico was driven by "our unprecedented backlog of orders, approaching $600 million," according to Kerry L. Woody, president and CEO, along with capacity limitations at its existing facility in Oregon. Ladish is a producer of highly engineered metal components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial markets.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE will attempt to commemorate the anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight today (Dec. 17) by flying a C-17 Globemaster from McChord Air Force Base Washington to McGuire AFB New Jersey using a 50-50 blend of synthetic fuel and JP-8. The Air Force anticipates certification of the C-17 using Pratt & Whitney F117-100 engines with the synthetic fuel blend in early 2008 and plans to eventually use the blended fuel in its entire fleet of aircraft and ground vehicles.
Because of the holiday schedule, The Weekly of BUSINESS AVIATION will not publish a Dec. 24 issue. The next issue will be dated Jan. 7. The deadline for receipt of advertising materials for the Jan. 7 issue is noon, Jan. 2. Please accept our best wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued a Safety Alert For Operators to owners and operators regarding new training requirements for pilots of CE-208 (Cessna Caravan I) and CE-208B (Grand Caravan) turboprops for flight into known icing conditions. The SAFO notes the adoption of AD 2007-10-15 earlier this year, which requires the addition of a supplement to the Pilot's Operating Handbook detailing "known icing equipment.
Promoted to vice president of maintenance for Voyager Jet Center (VJC), West Mifflin, Pa. A 30-year aviation veteran, he spent 18 years in various aviation maintenance posts with the U.S. Army and also worked at US Airways. Priselac joined VJC in 2005 as director of maintenance. VJC is an aircraft management and services company that operates the fixed-base operation at Allegheny County Airport (AGC) near Pittsburgh, Pa.
Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-0262; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-247-AD] - This proposed AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada Civil Aviation, calls for application of sealant to bolts on the collector fuel tanks in accordance with the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 601R-28-051, Revision A (dated March 30, 2005).
THE NETJETS AVIATION PILOT UNION, members of Teamsters Local 1108, approved an amendment extending their collective bargaining agreement with NetJets. The union represents more than 2,600 pilots, 75.7 percent of whom voted in favor of the contract extension. The agreement will become amendable in five and one-half years.
Encore FBO LLC and private equity firm GTCR Golder Rauner LLC signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Landmark fixed-base operation business from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), a transaction that will result in a network of 42 FBO locations in the U.S. and Europe. DAE put Landmark's FBO network of 33 locations on the block after purchasing Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero from the Carlyle Group this summer for $1.9 billion (BA, Aug. 6/51). DAE said it wanted to focus on the maintenance, repair and overhaul business.
BLR secured its largest orders yet for the company's King Air Winglet System from Elliott Aviation and Cutter Aviation. Elliott and Cutter each ordered 90 shipsets, which BLR said amounts to the entire 2008 and 2009 U.S. production capacity. BLR has delivered more than 100 of the systems for King Air 90s, Super King Air 200 and King Air 300s, and has begun to expand sales in Europe.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded BAE Systems and American Airlines a $29 million contract to test laser jammer technology on scheduled commercial airline flights as a defense against shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile attacks, the department confirmed Dec. 10. The contract calls for installing BAE's JetEye infrared laser jamming device on project partner American Airlines aircraft making scheduled flights across the U.S. The contract runs through April 2009.
THE FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTRY selected the Eurocopter 120 light helicopter for its new lead-in helicopter training program, one of several training initiatives that are to be outsourced to private operators. France contracted earlier with EADS to provide lead-in training for air transport pilots using Grob aircraft. Government officials said the EC120 operator has been selected, but could not yet be divulged. The number of rotorcraft to be procured will be determined by the operator.
