Model 205A, 205A-1, 205B, 212, 412, 412CF and 412EP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2007-27496; Directorate Identifier 2005-SW-37-AD; Amendment 39-15238; AD 2007-22-02] - Inspect each affected tail-rotor blade forward tip weight retention block and the aft tip closure for adhesive bond voids, removing from service any blade with an excessive void. Also, modify certain blades by installing shear pins and tip closure rivets. Finally, re-identify modified blades by adding "FM" after the part number and then dynamically balance the tail rotor.
BELL HELICOPTER officials announced last week that they had frozen the exterior profile of the Model 429, the company's new light twin helicopter. "This is one of the most significant events in the development of an aircraft," said Robert Fitzpatrick, senior vice president of marketing and sales. "This means our design meets the aesthetic and inflight handling specifications we set long ago.
AVIATION FLEET SOLUTIONS installed a QuietEagle Noise Reduction System on a VIP MD-87 for SG Air Leasing Limited. The system brings the aircraft into compliance with FAA Stage 4 and ICAO Chapter 4 noise standards. The installation was the second on a VIP MD-87. The QuietEagle includes a 16-lobe internal mixer, a muffler, a tabbed nozzle and improve front fan case, replacing the original hardware on the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 engine.
Florida's Panama City-Bay County International Airport broke ground Nov. 1 on a new greenfield airport located on 4,000 acres of land donated by the St. Joe Company. Meanwhile, the airport Oct. 26 signed the final contract with Community Airport Redevelopment, LLC to redevelop the existing facility, said Randy Curtis, executive director of the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District.
Was named vice president of sales and marketing for DeCrane Aerospace. She has more than 13 years of aerospace industry experience, including seven years in market planning and strategy for Honeywell Aerospace. While at Honeywell she helped establish strategic direction for the company's air transport sector and also served as head of marketing for Asia Pacific.
THE DIFFICULTY of finding enough skilled labor in the Wichita area is among the reasons cited by Hawker Beechcraft for opening a new sheet metal plant in Mexico (BA, Oct. 29/193). HBC has some 500 unfilled openings in Wichita for jobs ranging from engineers to shop floor production workers.
Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., former chairman of Executive Jet Aviation who was better known as the U.S. Army colonel who piloted the aircraft that dropped the world's first atomic bomb, passed away at his home in Columbus, Ohio, last week.
Raytheon reached a definitive agreement to sell fractional ownership aircraft provider Flight Options LLC to a Miami, Fla.-based private equity firm, H.I.G. Capital, the company announced last week. The decision to sell Flight Options comes as the Cleveland, Ohio-based unit posted an operating loss of $96 million in the third quarter 2007, compared with a $10 million loss in the third quarter of 2006. Raytheon said it "initiated a process to dispose of" the Flight Options business in the third quarter and reached a definitive agreement with H.I.G. Oct. 15.
AVFUEL CORPORATION added Triangle Aviation of Leesburg, Fla. to its network of branded dealers. Triangle Aviation was purchased by Rhett Lawton and Neil Fischer in 2006 and has since been undergoing a series of renovations and expansions, including the scheduled opening of a new facility in early November. The new facility will include a pilot lounge, conference rooms, a kitchen and a large lobby. Triangle Aviation provides fueling, maintenance, aircraft sales and a flight school. Triangle plans to add charter service in 2008.
CARMANAH TECHNOLOGIES appointed Ted Lattimore chief executive, succeeding Art Aylesworth, who is assuming the role of chairman. Lattimore joins Carmanah from mobile telecommunications provider Vodafone Romania (formerly Connex-MobiFon), where he served as president and chief operating officer. While at Connex-MobiFon, he helped grow the company's customer base from 700,000 to 5.5 million subscribers in six years. He also was senior vice president for Western Canada for Bell Mobility and held sales and marketing positions with Xerox Canada.
Model 600N helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2007-29342; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-08-AD] - This proposed AD would require interim repetitive inspections of tailboom parts, installing six inspection holes in the aft fuselage skin panels, installing tailboom attachment bolt washers, modifying both access covers and replacing broken attachment bolts. As a terminating action, operators would have to modify the fuselage aft section within the next 24 months to strengthen the tailboom attachment fittings and upper longerons.
THE HAWKER 800 is slated to get an automatic throttle system. Safe Flight Instrument Corporation and West Star Aviation are working together to win FAA supplemental type certification of Safe Flight's AutoPower system in the twin-engine business jet by late 2008. West Star Aviation, the full-service FBO located in Grand Junction, Colo., plans to offer to install the system on all types of Hawker 800s.
Eclipse Aviation cut a number of temporary positions along with a few permanent posts, a move the Albuquerque, N.M. manufacturer said was necessary to realign the work force with production rates. Eclipse President and CEO Vern Raburn on Oct.
SCHUBACH AVIATION, based in San Diego, Calif., added a Cessna Citation SII and a Hawker 800 aircraft to its charter aircraft fleet. The Citation SII, which has a range of between 1,400 and 1,800 nautical miles, is configured for nine passenger seats. The Hawker is equipped with blended winglets and a newly designed interior that accommodates up to eight passengers.
Gulfstream Aerospace earnings grew 37 percent to $226 million on revenues that exceeded $1.3 billion in the third quarter of 2007, Gulfstream parent General Dynamics reported last week. Gulfstream posted an operating margin of 17.2 percent in the third quarter, up from 15.2 percent in the third quarter of 2006. "They continue to perform beautifully," said GD Chairman and CEO Nicholas Chabraja, adding that Gulfstream experienced "volume growth across all of our models, including the G150, which is gaining considerable traction in the marketplace."
THE MAX-VIZ Enhanced Vision EVS-1000 won FAA supplemental type certification for installation on Cessna Citation 500 through 560XL aircraft. The EVS is available through Cessna service centers. Max-Viz said its EVS products are flying on more than 200 aircraft.
The White House decision to nominate FAA acting Administrator Robert A. Sturgell to a full five-year term as FAA Administrator drew wide industry praise last week. But the fate of that nomination remained unclear since several Washington insiders believe the Senate is not inclined to move on the nomination.
Model EA500 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29316; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-078-AD] - This proposal would lift restrictions on operation of the aircraft in IFR conditions once a manufacturer-developed modification is installed to eliminate the possibility of freezing condensation occurring within the pitot/angle-of-attack system. FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 64 airplanes on the U.S. Registry and would cost U.S. operators a total of $601,600, or $9,400 per aircraft. Comments on this proposal, which are due Dec.
One of the three NASA Gulfstream Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) was grounded following an Oct. 19 incident in which the left wingtip of an STA flying a normal aircraft landing approach to the shuttle runway at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., struck the upper branches of a tree during its final approach.
Tapped to head the aviation insurance division for Kemmons Wilson Companies, parent company of Wilson Air Center. Buchanan joined the Kemmons Wilson Insurance Group in March with 20 years of aviation broker experience.
WHILE the National Transportation Safety Board frequently urges the Federal Aviation Administration to make various voluntary safety measures mandatory, NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker last week noted, "Regulation is not the only way to improve safety." Rosenker, who was a speaker during the 2007 Bombardier Safety Standdown in Wichita, said, "Personal discipline, combined with skill and knowledge-based training, can make a stronger impact on safety than any written regulation." See article below.
