Avionics maker Rockwell Collins unveiled a series of new products for business jet cockpits and cabins at last week's NBAA show, including Pro Line Fusion, a new-generation avionics system that incorporates key technological advancements into Pro Line 21.
HONEYWELL forecasters, who said earlier that manufacturers will deliver 14,000 new business jets through 2017 (BA, Sept. 24/138), expect production to peak at about 1,400 units annually in 2009-2010, before settling back to around 1,200 aircraft annually for a couple of years. But a round of new aircraft introductions in 2011 is expected to drive annual business jet shipments back to the 1,400 mark or beyond in the later years of the forecast period.
DUNCAN AVIATION has joined Rockwell Collins' engineering service solutions (ESS) program. The diversified Midwestern aircraft support company will help the avionics manufacturer enhance the life cycle of current Rockwell Collins products by increasing the functionality and reliability of those systems for business jet owners. ESS, first announced by Rockwell Collins in April, offers technology insertions and engineering-developed preventative maintenance techniques to enhance the life cycle of fielded Rockwell Collins products.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT received an order from Lufthansa Flight Training for four Citation CJ1+ aircraft. The aircraft, to be delivered between October 2008 and mid-2009, will be used for basic jet training at Lufthansa's facility in Bremen.
Appointed manager of operations for Dallas Airmotive's Minneapolis Regional Turbine Center. Capra will be responsible for day-to-day operations. He joined the Minneapolis facility in 1996 as chief inspector and later became supervisor. He moved to Dallas Airmotive's facility in Grapevine, Texas in 2005 to become TFE731 field service supervisor.
Cessna and EADS Socata announced plans last week to upgrade the cockpits of their respective utility single-turboprop aircraft with the Garmin 1000 avionics suite.
GREAT LAKES AVIATION will service re-engined Citations under a contract awarded by Clifford Development, the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company that is pursuing supplemental type certification for the installation of Williams International FJ44-3A engines on Citation IIs and S/IIs. Great Lakes, a Kalamazoo FBO, is to provide sales, installation and service support for operators who purchase the Clifford engine STC.
Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29256; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-137-AD] - This proposed rule would require installation of an improved roller in the nose landing gear door uplock bracket assembly in accordance with the instructions of Fokker Service Bulletin SBF100-32-143 (dated February 15, 2006). This proposed AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Netherlands, is designed to correct a condition that could prevent unlocking the nose landing gear doors.
USER FEE RHETORIC ratcheted up last week when AOPA President Phil Boyer used the "L" word during a user fee update session at the NBAA convention in Atlanta.
FAA last week rolled out a two-pronged plan designed to ease congestion in the New York area. The plan calls for an industry-government committee to look at delays. The plan also includes a meeting between FAA and airlines to reduce overscheduling in peak hours. The plan came after FAA faced days of criticism from Congress over lack of action on flight delays. See article below.
LANDMARK AVIATION'S network of 33 fixed-base operations is up for sale (BA, Aug. 6/51), but it appears that the country's largest FBO chain will not participate in the bidding. Officials of Atlantic Aviation, which has 61 U.S. FBOs, would not comment last week when asked if they would try to acquire the Landmark locations.
Joined Million Air as director of safety and best practices. Meryhew will oversee safety regulations and standards involving Million Air facilities, equipment and procedures. He also will develop and implement safety and risk reduction best practices. Meryhew formerly spent 14 years with Continental Airlines as manager, safety and winter operations.
CESSNA Tuesday flew a Citation X with Elliptical Winglets for the first time. The aircraft departed Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport at 1:30 p.m. for a 90-minute flight. The aircraft flew the following day on a data collection mission. Cessna is working with Winglet Technology to secure a supplemental type certificate for the winglets (BA, March 19/131). The Elliptical winglets, which curve upward from the wing, are expected to increase range and payload under hot/high takeoff conditions.
AVIATION EXCISE TAXES on fuel, passenger tickets and freight waybills are due to expire today (Oct. 1) absent last-minute congressional action. The House last week approved a three-month extension of the aviation taxes while Congress continues negotiations on a comprehensive aviation reauthorization/tax bill. The Senate, however, had not acted on the bill as of late Friday afternoon.
FOKKER SERVICES recently delivered an executive conversion of a Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet. The makeover entailed removing the entire airline interior and installing a three-cabin executive suite with 21 seats, new sidewall and ceiling panels, soundproofing materials, a SATCOM unit and in-flight entertainment and cabin management systems. Fokker Services designed the executive interior, and the conversion was performed at the company's completion center at Woensdrecht in the south of the Netherlands.
CHINA WILL TAKE THREE AVANTI II aircraft under a $21 million contract signed recently between Piaggio Aero Industries and Sino Europe Aircraft Limited, the first Chinese customer for Piaggio Aero. Sino Europe Aircraft, through its association with Beijing PanAm International Aviation Academy, will promote, operate and service Piaggio P.180s in the region. The first Avanti II, to be delivered in the second quarter of 2008, will be used in government search and rescue operations. The other two Avanti IIs will be delivered in 2009 to Beijing PanAm Aviation Academy.
SF340A and 340B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29248; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-155-AD] - This proposed AD would require operators to revise the "Airworthiness Limitations" section of the "Instructions for Continued Airworthiness" to incorporate new limitations on the fuel tank system. This proposed AD results from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency. The FAA estimates that this proposal would affect 144 aircraft on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S. operators a total of $11,520, or $80 per airplane.
October 4-6 - AOPA Expo Convention and Trade Show, Hartford Convention Center, Hartford, Conn., www.aopa.org/expo October 6-7 - Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Houston Airshow, Houston, Texas. Contact Kay Crites at (432) 563-1000, Ext. 2231 or www.commemorative airforce.org October 8-11 - CAE International Flight Simulator Engineering &Maintenance Conference, Hilton Montreal Bonaventure, Montreal, Quebec (410) 266-2008 or [email protected]
AIRCELL partnered with Thrane & Thrane to develop a product that will bring Inmarsat's Swiftbroadband service to the business aviation product. The product, which is slated to reach the market by the end of 2008, will be based on the Thrane & Thrane Aero SB Lite unit and will be marketed through the Air Cell dealer network. The unit, which will be compatible with the AirCell Axxess system, will provide inflight voice and data connections at up to 432 kbps per channel.
A RE-ENGINED KING AIR B200 is to be delivered next month by Blackhawk Modifications. The first B200 Super XPR, which was developed in conjunction with Raisbeck Engineering, incorporates factory-new Pratt & Whitney PT6A-61 engines and Raisbeck's EPIC performance package. The modified aircraft features improved takeoff, climb and cruise performance, including cruise speeds of up to 305 knots.
Named to the newly created position of vice president-strategic projects for FirstFlight. Lee will focus on business development and expansion opportunities for FirstFlight's charter, aircraft management, and maintenance services in the Washington, D.C. area. He formerly was responsible for Washington-area operations and business development for SportsFlight Air. Before that, Lee held senior program manager positions for Twenty Four Seven Solutions, Inc. and Computer Sciences Corporation/DynCorp.
SUPPORT FOR PIAGGIO P-180S will be enhanced thanks to recent agreements between Piaggio Aero and two key suppliers. An Avanti II simulator is to be installed at FlightSafety International's West Palm Beach, Fla. Learning Center in 2008. Separately, Landmark Aviation of Greensboro, N.C. has been designated an authorized service center for the Avanti II.
