September 25-27 -- National Business Aviation Association 60th Annual Meeting & Convention, Atlanta, Ga. (202) 783-9000 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.commemorativeairforce.org
FIVE DECADES after the Lockheed JetStar prototype made its first flight, FAA is completing work on several airworthiness directives that might lead to the retirement of much of the remaining JetStar fleet. Back on May 24, the agency published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Docket No. FAA-2007-28255) that would require operators of the approximately 50 remaining L-1329 business jets to determine the number of flight cycles accumulated on the steering cylinder assembly of the nose landing gear, and repetitively replace the assembly.
Was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing for Aviall, Inc., the wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company. Scott will assume all of the responsibilities and direct reports of James T. Quinn, who is retiring from the company at the end of the year. Scott will report to Dan Komnenovich, president and chief operating officer of Aviall Services. Most recently, Scott was senior manager director of OEM programs for the company.
Was named director of sales for the West for fractional aircraft provider Avantair, Inc. Perry previously held executive sales positions at leading pharmaceutical companies. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. and received a master's degree in business administration from the University of Nevada.
Key lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C. from their August recess last week and immediately turned their attention to negotiations over aviation tax proposals as Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline when the current aviation excise taxes and FAA authorization expire. House Ways and Means Committee leaders met to hash out their proposal for the taxes portion of the House FAA reauthorization bill. The committee is expected to take action on the taxes piece of FAA reauthorization as early as this week.
CIRRUS DESIGN CORP. began delivery of its new Turbo Cirrus SR22-G3 model aircraft to PlaneSmart! Aviation. The company signed an agreement in June to replace PlaneSmart's fleet of Cirrus SR22-G2s with the -G3s (Generation Three). Cirrus said the new -G3 incorporates more than 700 refinements over the -G2. The aircraft comes with every option that Cirrus offers, including factory-installed air conditioning and a new turbo-normalized engine that can maintain nearly 100 percent power to the certified service ceiling of 25,000 feet.
Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29064; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-128-AD] - This proposed AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the Civil Aviation Authority of The Netherlands, would require a one-time inspection of the nuts and shuttle valves in the deployment lines of the engine fire-extinguishing system in the APU compartment. Operators would need to take corrective actions, as necessary. The FAA estimates that this proposal would affect 13 airplanes on the U.S. Registry and would cost U.S.
Executive director of the Space Enterprise Council for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was appointed to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) on Aerospace Equipment, which advises the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative on key trade and market issues affecting the nation's aerospace companies and their suppliers. The ITAC is made up of 50 members from the aerospace industry.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT delivered a Citation Mustang to its first European customer, entrepreneur Jane Howell. Cessna secured European Aviation Safety Agency approval for the Mustang in May, and said European customers account for one-third of the aircraft's order book. Cessna has orders for more than 350 Mustangs and has delivered 24 of the aircraft since deliveries began earlier this year. Cessna plans to deliver 44 Mustangs this year, ramping up to 150 Mustangs per year by 2009.
Was named to the newly created post of senior vice president and chief operating officer for Dassault Aircraft Services. He will oversee the company's operations in Wilmington, Del. and at the Little Rock, Ark. service centers and also will be responsible for developing new company owned service centers in the U.S. Sundin will report to Jack Young, president of Dassault Aircraft Services. Sundin most recently served as vice president of airframe operations for Landmark Aviation.
FIRSTFLIGHT added a Hawker 700 to its fleet. The Hawker is based in Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pa. The cabin is equipped with two 15-inch monitors with Airshow and DVD/CD.
The General Electric Co. signed a definitive agreement to purchase Walter Engines, a manufacturer based in Prague, Czech Republic. Terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.
Aircraft management and charter operator JetDirect and Sentient Jet, Inc., which merged in April, said the combined company will now operate under the name Sentient Flight Group.
A balky anti-skid system or another problem with the nose-wheel steering system on a Model 60 Learjet appears to be responsible for a landing accident last month in Westhampton, N.Y. that resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft.
Clifford Development - the Kalamazoo, Mich., firm that was scheduled to fly its Williams International FJ44-3-powered Citation II for the first time this past weekend - has announced plans to obtain a supplemental type certificate for the re-engining of the Citation S/II with the same powerplant. Work on the S/II certification airplane is to begin later this month, with first flight planned for November 2007 and issuance of the STC anticipated in the first quarter of 2008.
FIXED-BASE OPERATOR Business Jet Center, which began operations a decade ago in temporary quarters at Dallas Love Field, is celebrating its 10th anniversary at the airport after investing more than $20 million in a building and expansion program. The facility now covers 24 acres and includes more than 200,000 square feet of hangar, terminal and office space, 13 acres of concrete ramp and an underground fuel farm. BJC said it is pumping nearly 30 percent of the fuel sold at Love, where it is one of seven FBOs on the field.
Was promoted to executive vice president of finance and administration for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Formerly senior vice president, Myers is responsible for membership marketing in addition to serving as the chief financial officer for AOPA. Myers joined AOPA in 1982 in the Accounting Department. Before that, he served as an accountant with Fedders Corporation.
Was appointed chief operating officer for Avidyne Corp. Herguth joins Avidyne from Planar Systems, where he most recently was vice president and general manager of the Medical Business Unit. He also was general manager of the Laboratory and Medication Management Systems unit at GE Healthcare. While at GE he helped integrate recently acquired businesses within the healthcare information technology market.
THE U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL sent a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday that would expand certain notification requirements for private aircraft arriving and departing the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security the same day, said the CBP is hoping to release the proposal this month. "Currently we only receive very basic information from private aircraft entering the U.S.," Chertoff said in his written statement.
AMERICAN EUROCOPTER recently finalized a 15-year lease for more than 80,000 square feet of space at the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport's AirFreight & Logistics Centre. The helicopter manufacturer moved its distribution center from company facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas to the airport to provide quicker access to air carriers and other shippers and is beginning operations at the new site this month.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION officials are being urged by industry trade groups to take action on recommendations developed by the Part 135/125 Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) - two years ago. The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association and the National Air Transportation Association both sent letters to Nicholas Sabatini, the agency's associate administrator for aviation safety, asking him to get the rulemaking process rolling.
THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOP is offering a new course on internal communications for operators. The course, Flight Ops: Improving Internal Communications, will discuss effective listening, the impact of bureaucracy, apathy among communicators and how to ensure that face-to-face time is best used. "Flight Ops is a team sport," said Steve Bassett, who will present the course. "Effective and efficient internal communications is critical to a smooth flight operation.
TFE731-2C, -3B, -3BR, -3C, -3CR, -3D, -3DR, -4R, -5AR, -5BR, -5R, -20R, -20AR, -20BR, -40, -40AR, -40R, and -60 engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-27891; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-14-AD] - This proposed AD would require operators to remove from service certain high-pressure (HP) turbine rotor assemblies and return them to Honeywell for curvic root radius inspection.
DTN, which provides weather forecasting and display technology, expanded its partnership with Flight Explorer to integrate weather and flight operations information. DTN will combine its MxVision Aviation Sentry Online global weather analysis with Flight Explorer's flight operations management. DTN previously provided international weather data to Flight Explorer for use in its flight planning and analysis tools.
