LUFTHANSA TECHNIK plans to open a customer service facility at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow, Russia that will stock a large pool of component parts for Western-built aircraft, an increasing number of which are operating in Russia and other regions of the former Soviet Union. The new Lufthansa Technik Vostok unit at Domodedovo is expected to employ about 50 workers when it is fully operational by the end of 2008. The facility is expected to open late this year.
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS are continuing to pressure FAA to develop a plan to ensure that the agency has an adequate inspector work force. In the Senate fiscal 2008 transportation appropriations bill, senators said they were "gravely" concerned because FAA's inspector work force continues to shrink despite the fact that Congress has provided additional funding for aviation inspectors the past three years. The House version of the appropriations bill echoed those concerns. See article on Page 86.
Boeing is strengthening its relationship with Russian titanium giant VSMPO-AVISMA Corp. through the inking of a joint-venture deal for initial machining of titanium parts for the 787 program. The Russian joint venture will be managed by 27-year Boeing veteran Gary Baker, headquartered in Verkhnaya Salda - north of Yekaterinburg - where VSMPO-AVISMA has its major production site. An 8,900-square-meter production facility is being built for the joint venture.
Was named vice president and general manager of Technical Service Solutions for Rockwell Collins. He will manage Rockwell Collins' global service and support operations, including the service center network, parts management and logistics. He formerly was vice president of global customer management with Smiths Aerospace (now GE Aviation) in Grand Rapids, Mich.
ELLIOTT AVIATION opened a new design center at its headquarters in Moline, Ill. The center previously was housed in Elliott's Completion Center. Elliott moved the center into the main lobby to provide additional space for the company's growing completions business. The new center includes a showroom that will display selections for seating, cabinets, sidewalls, flooring, countertops, plating and other amenities.
A Bombardier Challenger, N336FX, and a Learjet 45, N145AP, missed colliding at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in Teterboro, N.J. earlier this month while air traffic controllers were engaged in developmental training, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION promoted Jens Henning to vice president, operations. Henning will be responsible for flight operations, safety and training issues, including air traffic control system modernization policy. Henning has been with GAMA since 2003 as manager of operations.
House and Senate appropriators plan to boost the Federal Aviation Administration's inspector work force budget to help reverse the decline in the number of the agency's safety and certification inspectors. The Senate fiscal 2008 transportation appropriations bill recommended an Aviation Safety budget of $1.092 billion, some $36 million more than the Bush Administration requested and $89 million more than approved for fiscal 2007. The House appropriations bill would provide $1.076 billion.
Was appointed director of engineering for International Communications Group, the Newport News, Va.-based producer of aeronautical communications systems for general aviation and air transport customers. Andregg will be responsible for monitoring and improving development processes along with managing the engineering department. He has 23 years of experience in software and hardware development, most recently as director of firmware development at Axxcelera Broadband Wireless.
Falcon 10, 20, 50, 200, 900, 900EX, 2000 and 2000EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28941; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-276-AD] - This proposal would extend the applicability of an existing AD that requires repetitive tests and inspections to detect (and, if necessary, correct) problems with the overwing emergency exit.
MARION BLAKEY has only three weeks left on the job as FAA Administrator, but even though she'll soon be moving over to head the Aerospace Industries Association, her pace at FAA isn't slowing. Last week she addressed an Air Traffic Organization Leadership Summit and a gathering of the agency's senior safety inspectors on consecutive days at FAA headquarters. Then she flew to Los Angeles to make two speeches, including one to the L.A. Chamber of Commerce urging members to get behind a push to expand Los Angeles International Airport and improve airside capabilities.
THE SPORTY'S FOUNDATION made a $10,000 donation to the Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles program last month. "Young Eagles and The Sporty's Foundation share the vision of creating new pilots," said Hal Shevers, founder and chairman of The Sporty's Foundation and head of Sporty's Pilot Shop and related enterprises. The foundation was formed in April "to fund initiatives to attract and create new pilots and the technicians necessary for a healthy general aviation community."
NTSB is launched an investigation into a runway incursion at Los Angeles Airport this month, the latest incident in a category that is proving to be a headache for FAA this year. The Aug. 16 incursion involved an aircraft passing less than 40 feet from another plane while taking off, NTSB said. The aircraft taking off was a Northwest A320, and the other was a WestJet Boeing 737.
THE HOUSE VERSION of the fiscal 2008 transportation appropriations bill would continue to prohibit FAA from changing the weight restriction at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The prohibition, intended to keep out aircraft that weigh more than 100,000 pounds, has been included at the behest of Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) in recent appropriations bills. That prohibition may become permanent if a measure included in a separate bill, the Senate FAA reauthorization legislation, is adopted (BA, May 28/239).
The pilot of a Cirrus SR20 aircraft who encountered worsening weather conditions while attempting to make an approach to the Nantucket, Mass. Memorial Airport (ACK) was injured this month when he decided to abandon the approach and activate the SR20's whole aircraft parachute system.
CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29014; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-179-AD; Amendment 39-15165; AD 2007-17-07] - Until a permanent solution to flap failures becomes available, modify the Airplane Flight Manual to provide crews with additional guidance regarding the "flaps fail" abnormal procedure and to address the possibility of fuel exhaustion resulting from a flaps failure at other than zero degrees while diverting to an alternate airport.
Was appointed director, structured finance for CIT Group's Aerospace and Defense Finance unit. Cantwell will provide structured financing options for CIT's commercial aviation and aerospace clients. He previously was senior vice president for GE Commercial Aviation Services, and before that was vice president for Bankers Trust/BT Securities.
Garmin International resumed shipments last week of its GRS 77 AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System) units used in the company's G1000 avionics systems, permitting aircraft manufacturers who use the G1000 system in their aircraft to resume production (BA, Aug. 20/73).
ASPEN AVIONICS joined the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. The Albuquerque, N.M.-based company was established in 2004 to design cockpit technology for general aviation aircraft. The company last month unveiled its Evolution Flight Display system that is designed as a low-cost, modular upgrade for general aviation cockpits. John Uczekaj, a 26-year industry veteran who has held senior positions with Nordam and Honeywell, is president and chief executive.
MU-2B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27191; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-007-AD; Amendment 39-15167; AD 2007-17-09] - This new airworthiness directive, which supersedes AD 93-07-11 and AD 94-04-16, retains the actions required by those earlier directives - a reduction in the maximum deflection of the elevator nose-down trim to a one-degree to three-degree range. However, the new AD also requires modification of the elevator-trim indicator scale dial so that it is consistent with the reduced elevator-trim capability.
EOS AIRLINES, INC. secured another $50 million in equity capital from institutional and private sources in a transaction that occurred Aug. 17. Eos operates a small fleet of Boeing 757s equipped with 48 passenger seats, providing premium-class, nonstop service between New York and London Stansted Airport. Eos is scheduled to put its fourth 757 in service next month. The latest round of funding "means that we will acquire our fifth and sixth Boeing 757-200ER aircraft, both to be delivered during the next five months," said Jack Williams, president and CEO.
AS SHORTAGES of key personnel cause growing problems for aviation operators around the world, Lufthansa Technik is addressing the situation by expanding its apprentice program for maintenance technicians. The company's 2007 training year is about to begin, Lufthansa Technik said, with "235 young people ...taking their first step on the career ladder," up from 182 in last year's starting class.
FOUR INDIVIDUALS who helped design the Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS), which has prevented several potentially serious aircraft accidents, were honored for their work Monday with a major award for improving transportation safety. Peter T. Mahal, president of the Emergency Arresting Systems Division (EASD) of Engineered Arresting System Corp. (ESCO); Robert F. Cook, formerly of the University of Ohio-Dayton; Pam L. Phillips of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; and James White of FAA's William J.
FORECASTS of Very Light Jet deliveries range widely both in number (from 3,000 to 7,600) and in timeframe (from 2016 to 2025), but most experts do agree that the growing use of VLJs will have little impact on safety, the Government Accountability Office stated in a report released last week. GAO studied eight different VLJ forecasts, saying there was less consensus compared with forecasts of other business jet segments.
