First Aviation Services (FAS), the parent company of aviation parts distributor Aerospace Products International, Inc., filed a Form 25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to voluntarily delist its stock, effective today (July 16). On the July 26 effective date of the delisting, the company said it also will file a Form 15 seeking to deregister its stock. The company said it is eligible to delist and deregister its stock because it had fewer than 300 shareholders of record at the beginning of its fiscal year.
Western Aircraft, Inc., the multifaceted fixed-base operator, aircraft sales and maintenance provider in Boise, Idaho, has been sold to Berkley Aviation Investors, Inc. Closing of the deal, details of which were not released, is expected this month. The acquisition will be the second this year for Berkley, which purchased Atlantic Aero Holdings and the Atlantic Aero FBO in Greensboro, N.C. in February.
GRUPO OMNILIFE DE MEXICO signed a contract to buy a Lineage 1000 business jet from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, the first sale of the Embraer 190 airliner to a Mexican customer. The Lineage is expected to enter service in 2008. Grupo Omnilife de Mexico, a major distributor of health and entertainment products and services, is scheduled to get its Lineage in December 2009.
DIGITAL ANGEL CORP. said the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority will permit the use of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) in lieu of Emergency Locator Transmitters by general aviation pilots. The company, based in South St. Paul, Minn., said the decision by the CAA will permit the use of PLBs built by the manufacturer's McMurdo division.
RECTRIX AERODROME CENTERS INC. AT SRQ said it recently paid the Sarasota, Fla. Airport Authority $1.8 million to acquire the former maintenance facilities and associated land at the airport, clearing the way for demolition of the existing structures. Rectrix plans to construct four "hangarminiums" on the 22-acre tract where it will "offer the advantages of private hangar ownership, along with the amenities of a world-class aircraft service provider."
PRIVATAIR recently named Napo Hohn chief executive officer North America. A 20-year veteran of the PrivatAir Group, Hohn has held various senior management positions, some of which he will retain in addition to his new duties as CEO.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) threatened Thursday to limit general aviation access to high-volume airspace if the GA community continues to oppose his legislation to establish a $25 per flight fee for turbine aircraft using controlled airspace.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL will build a fourth Gulfstream G200 simulator and install the unit at FSI's learning center in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas during the fourth quarter of 2008. There currently are more than 150 G200 aircraft in service worldwide.
PETER HARTMANN was named managing director of ExecuJet Europe, the European aviation services arm of ExecuJet Aviation Group. Hartmann, born in 1952, began his aviation career at 20 in the German Air Force where he flew the F104 Starfighter for almost 12 years. After separating from the military Hartmann moved to Switzerland and began his business aviation career and hold posts with a number of operators. He moved to Avcon in the early 1990s and became a member of ExecuJet when Avcon was blended into the company in 2001.
PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA'S PW308 turbofan was selected by The Spaceship Company (TSC) to power the White Knight II (WK2) launch aircraft for the commercial suborbital space vehicle SpaceShipTwo (SS2). TSC is an enterprise jointly owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites Co. Virgin Galactic is the launch customer for the SS2 system, having ordered five SS2 spacecraft with options for a further seven WK2 carrier aircraft.
SCHUMER also said he "wants to see results" on the impasse between the FAA and the air traffic controllers union. "There are fewer controllers in towers than there should be," he charged. Schumer's focus on aviation has been intense recently. A week ago, during a meeting with Long Island constituents, he decried the increase in helicopter flights to the East End of Long Island, saying the noise and vibration from those flights have become a serious annoyance to other Long Island residents.
WILL BLAKEY STAY LATE? Aviation industry lobbyists have been hearing for weeks that FAA Administrator Marion Blakey would leave the agency Sept. 13 when her five-year term expires and that she was looking forward to stepping away from the high-pressure post. But at last week's Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) praised Blakey and asked if she would consider staying on at FAA after Sept. 13 to help ensure that new FAA reauthorization gets enacted into law.
Was named manager of operations for the Salina, Kan. Airport (SLN). A retired Marine Corps warrant officer, Wiles conducted flight line operations that included aircraft rescue and firefighting, aircraft recovery, airfield design and construction, as well as fueling operations and flight line security at posts around the world. Wiles was emergency services officer and fire chief at the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Va., which supports the presidential helicopter squadron.
A JULY 11 RUNWAY INCURSION at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The safety agency said a United A-320 was cleared onto Runway 9L via Taxiways T7, D and B while a Delta Boeing 757 was inbound for landing on 9L. After noticing the pending conflict, controllers told the United crew to stop, but the A-320 was going too fast to hold short, finally coming to a stop 30 feet from the centerline of the runway.
Founder and chairman of Wing Aviation, headquartered at Lone Star Executive Airport (CXO) in Conroe, Texas, was named to the board of trustees of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Models TB9, TB10 and TB200 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27432 Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-017-AD; Amendment 39-15122; AD 2007-13-18] - Update the "Airworthiness Limitations" section of the Aircraft Maintenance Manual to include a new 10,000-flight-hour life limit for engine and nose landing gear mounts. This AD results from an MCAI issued by the French aviation authority. The FAA estimates that this AD will affect 146 aircraft on the U.S. Registry and cost operators a total of $5,840, or $40 per airplane. The AD becomes effective August 10.
A witness to the fatal crash of a Cessna Citation 500 aircraft in Arkansas last month told investigators the pilot appeared to be trying to take off after a failed landing attempt when the aircraft crashed and burned.
Eurocontrol opened its new Central Flow Management Unit in Brussels, Belgium, featuring an operations room specifically designed for the task. The CFMU is used by Eurocontrol to ensure airspace is used in the most efficient manner. The CFMU concept was introduced in 1985, but because of significant increases in European flights it outgrew the original facility. Eurocontrol estimates that delays would more than triple without the intervention of the CFMU.
LINEAR AIR, the Concord, Mass. air taxi operator, took delivery of its first Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet. Linear Air current operates a large fleet of executive Cessna Grand Caravan single-engine turboprops.
Cessna Aircraft Company "will proceed with its Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) program and will unveil a full scale mock-up" of the new aircraft along with program details this coming weekend at the Experimental Aircraft Association's Air Venture gathering in Oshkosh, Wis., the company said last week. "After conducting extensive market research, it is clear to us there is a great need for this aircraft as we strive to drive down the cost of flying and learning to fly," said Jack Pelton, Cessna's chairman, president and CEO.
Model R2160 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26494 Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-079-AD; Amendment 39-15119; AD 2007-13-15] - Conduct initial and repetitive inspections of the visible parts of the spar web and the upper and lower boom angles (top and bottom spar caps) for corrosion and take remedial actions, as needed. This AD, which is based on an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is designed to prevent the development of an unsafe condition that could cause a catastrophic failure of the wing.
