A problem with the Attitude Heading & Reference System (AHRS) component of the Garmin G1000 integrated avionics system caused Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing to lay off production workers last week and disrupted deliveries of aircraft by other general aviation manufacturers.
Dassault Falcon Jet is continuing to expand its U.S. facilities with plans to increase its service center space in Little Rock, Ark. and add service and completions capabilities in Wilmington, Del. The company is investing $10 million in a project to double the size of the Little Rock Service Center. Construction is expected to begin in 2007 and be completed by the end of 2008.
Appointed chairman of the Reno-Tahoe, Nev. Airport Authority board. Wagnon is vice president of marketing and sales for Vail Resorts, Inc. and Heavenly Mountain Resort. He also serves as the president of Ski Lake Tahoe, a cooperative marketing organization that includes the seventh largest ski areas in the Lake Tahoe area.
STG AEROSPACE has developed new unpowered cabin signage, SafTGlo TR (Tritium Replacement), that will incorporate the same photoluminescent technology used in the company's SafTGlo floorpath marking strips. STG estimated that SafTGlo could save operators up to $4,000 per sign because it will not require the testing, maintenance and replacement that is necessary for Tritium signs. STG added that SafTGlo is inert while Tritium uses radioactive material, and SafTGlo is designed to maintain its luminosity for the life of the aircraft.
CAE won a contract from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) to design and build a handling qualities simulator that will be part of the KAI-led Korean Helicopter Program. KAI will use the simulator initially as an engineering development tool to test and validate the handling qualities of the new helicopter. The simulator subsequently will be used for test pilot familiarization training.
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF AIR SHOWS said former ICAS executive John B. Cudahy has rejoined the organization as president and chief staff officer of the 40-year-old air show trade association. Cudahy, who has more than 25 years of association management experience, served as ICAS president from 1997 to 2006. He previously held management posts with the National Pest Management Association; William C. Pflaum Co., an association management company; and most recently served as executive director of the American Medical Student Association.
NetJets named Benjamin Murray president and chief executive officer of its Cincinnati, Ohio-based charter and management subsidiary Executive Jet Management (EJM). Murray succeeds Albert C. Pod, who had served at the helm of EJM as president since 2000. Murray returns to EJM after serving as vice president of new business development for NetJets for the past two years. Before that he was vice president of sales for EJM.
THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION plans to acquire four more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to bolster border security by 2009. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said three more Predators B UAVs will be committed to strengthen border security by the end of 2008, and an additional UAV will be added in 2009. Combined with the four Predators that Customs and Border Protection (CPB) plans to have on hand by the end of 2007, the new aircraft would bring the total CPB Predator complement to eight.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION issued special certification conditions for the fire extinguishing system on the Adam Aircraft Model A700's Williams FJ33-4A engines, which are mounted on the aft fuselage. FAA said current Part 23 requirements do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards to cover fire protection for the aft mounted engines. Part 23 addresses fire protection through prevention, identification and containment.
Model SN-601 (Corvette) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28259; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-024-AD; Amendment 39-15154; AD 2007-16-15] - Requires repetitive inspections of the left-hand and right-hand hinge fitting for cracks and replacement, if necessary. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) from the aviation authority of France. The MCAI stemmed from reports of cracks on the nose landing gear left-hand and right-hand hinge fittings due to stress corrosion on in-service aircraft.
Five of the nine people aboard a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver aircraft were killed Thursday when the aircraft crashed near Traitors Cove about 25 miles from Ketchikan, Alaska. Officials said several of the survivors sustained burns and other injuries. The aircraft was operated by SeaWind Aviation, an air tour provider. Five people were killed last month in another small airplane crash near Ketchikan while on a sightseeing flight in the Misty Fjords area.
OCEAN TAXI AEREO LTDA (Ocean Air) based in Sao Paulo, Brazil was named an authorized service facility for all Bombardier business jets. Bombardier appointed Ocean Air an authorized service facility for Learjet in 2005. The company has since expanded its service capabilities to include Challenger and Global aircraft models. Ocean Air will offer aircraft-on-ground, maintenance and other services. Bombardier said the appointment helps build its support network in Latin America, where 320 operators fly Bombardier business jets.
Special conditions for a FADEC in the Cirrus SR22 have been published by the FAA. Centex Aerospace Inc. is installing in the light plane a Teledyne Continental Motors IOF-550-N powerplant, which features a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC).
TSA also made a few changes last week to the Twelve-Five Standard Security Program (TFSSP) that were designed to iron out some ongoing concerns that operators have had with the program. National Air Transportation Association officials late last month met with TSA officials to discuss longstanding concerns about interpretation and compliance with the program. TSA officials committed to addressing all six of the concerns that the association had raised.
WHILE ADAM AIRCRAFT is focused on obtaining certification for its Very Light Jet A700, the company also is keeping an eye on new possibilities for the product line, said John Wolf, who succeeded Rick Adam as chief executive. Wolf said expanding the product line is one of four steps the company is concentrating on as it moves from a development company into a "world-class producer" of aircraft. See article below.
Models IO-550-N, TSIO-520-BE, TSIO-550-A, TSIO-550-B, TSIO-550-C, TSIO-550-E, and TSIO-550-G engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-28863; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-33-AD; Amendment 39-15149; AD 2007-16-10] - Remove before further flight certain Kelly Aerospace Power Systems turbochargers. This AD, which resulted from four incidents of the turbine rotor separating from the shaft of the turbocharger, has been issued to prevent this condition from occurring again, which could result in full engine power loss, loss of engine lubricant or smoke in the airplane cabin.
SA226 and SA227 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25927; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-52-AD; Amendment 39-15142; AD 2007-16-03] - Establish life limits on certain pitch-trim actuators and replace those components with an improved actuator to terminate Airplane Flight Manual limitations and reduce the repetitive inspection and repetitive replacement requirements of earlier ADs.
CHANGES TO FLIGHT LIMITS AT LAGUARDIA proposed by the FAA would not affect unscheduled operations, according to a notice published recently by the agency. FAA, which is working on a long-term plan to manage congestion at the New York City airport, said it needs to amend the Dec. 12, 2006, order that placed temporary limitations on air carrier flights there. The LaGuardia rule allows 75 scheduled operations and six unscheduled flights per hour from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. received certification authority for the Beechcraft Premier 1A from Transport Canada. MBE Jet Ltd. of Calgary, Canada recently took delivery of its first Premier 1A and has a second on order.
AIRCRAFT ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION scheduled a series of regulatory and technical training sessions in the fall. The sessions will cover regulatory updates from FAA headquarters and the field, repair station training program auditing, light sport aircraft maintenance, aviation technician training, and training on a number of systems from AirCell, Garmin, Chelton and other manufacturers. The sessions will take place during the AEA Regional Meetings Sept. 13-14 in St. Louis, Mo.; Oct. 25-26 in Irvine, Calif.; and Nov. 8-9 in Orlando, Fla.
LAWMAKERS on Capitol Hill have adopted their latest versions of internal ethics laws, and once again have highlighted the use of private aircraft for election campaigns. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, S.1, requires that senators who fly on private aircraft reimburse the owner at a rate equivalent to the fair market value of a similar charter flight. Senators previously were required to pay at a rate that is equivalent to a first-class ticket.
A GULFSTREAM G150 set three new city-pair speed records on a trip between Los Angeles, Maui, Hawaii, Las Vegas and Savannah. Michael Jarrett, Gulfstream international demonstration captain, and Chip King, Gulfstream senior production test pilot, flew the aircraft between Los Angeles and Maui in 5 hours and 24 minutes, averaging a cruise speed of .79 Mach into headwinds of 50 knots during the 2,024-nm trip. The pilots then flew the aircraft 2,396 nm from Maui to Las Vegas in 5 hours and 26 minutes, averaging a speed of .79 Mach.
A Beechcraft King Air 90 on an air ambulance mission crashed in New Mexico Aug. 5, killing all five people aboard including a 15-month-old patient. The aircraft, N369CD, crashed into mountainous terrain shortly after taking off at about 10:40 p.m. from Ruidoso Airport in New Mexico. The aircraft was operated by Southwest Medevac, which provides medical flights in Southern New Mexico and Texas. Aboard the aircraft were the crew - Ricky Byers, Brian Miller and Deanna Palmer - the patient, Lilly Smith, and her mother, Tracy Smith.
