Model 750XL [Docket No. FAA-2007-27859; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-033-AD; Amendment 39-15049; AD 2007-10-08] - Requires disconnection of the autopilot, inspection of the pitch servo, and modification of the autopilot pitch trim circuit. This AD results from MCAI issued by the aviation authority of New Zealand. The MCAI was designed to help prevent failure of the Autopilot System Computer, which could cause an out-of-trim condition and loss of aircraft control. The AD becomes effective June 15. FAA will accept comments on the AD through June 11.
AVIATION FLEET SOLUTIONS recently installed its QuietEagle noise reduction kit on a VIP MD-87 owned by Siviera Invest Ltd. The QuietEagle System will bring the aircraft into compliance with FAR Part 36 Stage 4 and ICAO Annex 16 Chapter 4 noise standards. The system includes a 16-lobe internal exhaust mixer, an exhaust muffler, a new tabbed nozzle and an improved front fan case. The new hardware replaces older-technology components and is designed for seamless installation into the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 engine.
National Air Services, a major provider of business jet transportation in the Middle East, signed an agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace that includes firm orders for three Gulfstream 450 business jets and options for 17 more. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2009, continuing for the next five years. Gulfstream values the order, if all options are exercised, at more than $650 million.
June 4-6 - American Helicopter Society's/IHST Latin American Regional International Helicopter Safety Symposium, Renaissance Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil, (703) 684-6777, fax (703) 739-9279, www.vtol.org June 11-15 - Bombardier Aerospace CRJ World Wide Operators' Conference & Tradeshow, Montreal. Contact Laurence Villion at (416) 375-4208, [email protected] June 13 - Wings Club Luncheon featuring Pedro Heilbron, CEO of COPA Airlines, Yale Club, New York, (212) 867-1770, email: [email protected]
JET SOURCE is planning to expand on the West Coast with the opening of a second facility in 2008 at Henderson, Nev. The Henderson facility will include two 35,000-square-foot hangars and an executive terminal with amenities such as a VIP room and concierge services. The facility will provide aircraft charter, aircraft management, maintenance, avionics, and aircraft sales/acquisitions. One of the Henderson hangars will be used for the aircraft management and charter operation, and the second hangar will house Jet Source's avionics and aircraft maintenance operation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit this month upheld earlier decisions that resulted in a pilot for fractional aircraft provider NetJets getting his job back after being fired by the company for his dramatic opposition three years ago to a proposed labor agreement with the company.
Piaggio secured European Aviation Safety Agency approval for upgraded Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-66B engines on the P.180 Avanti II, clearing the twin pusherprop to fly at a maximum speed of 402 knots. The Avanti II first won EASA certification in October 2005, and was billed then as "the world's fastest turboprop" with a maximum cruise speed of 398 knots.
THE VERSACE/TAG AIRCRAFT INTERIORS collaboration received its first design project for the Airbus A319 Corporate Jet. Versace Design and TAG-AI teamed a year ago to provide an interior design service and have developed a catalog of luxury interior designs for private jets. Versace is responsible for content, design and style and TAG-AI is managing marketing, logistical and technical aspects of the completion.
Model F406 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26692; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-89-AD; Amendment 39-15043; AD 2007-10-02] - Requires a one-time inspection of the rudder brackets-hinge and bearings for corrosion and replacement of the parts, if corrosion is found. The AD also requires repetitive lubrication of the rudder bearings. This AD results from MCAI issued by the French aviation authority. The MCAI cites reports of corrosion on the bearings with propagation to the bracket-hinge of the rudder.
Model EMB-135BJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28158; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-018-AD] - Requires replacement of the water and waste system drain masts with new ones bearing a new part number. This proposed AD results from MCAI issued by the aviation authority of Brazil. The MCAI cites cases in which the drain mast of the water and waste system does not meet the SFAR-88 (Special Federal Aviation Regulation No. 88) requirements.
John W. Douglass, who has headed the Aerospace Industries Association for the past nine years, will retire as president and CEO of the organization at the end of the year. Douglas, 66, is a former assistant secretary of the Navy and U.S. Air Force brigadier general. During his tenure as head of AIA, he was heavily involved in the effort to establish the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, on which he also served.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION asked FAA Flight Standards Director James Ballough to change regulations regarding wet leases to clear up lingering confusion about the rules. In a letter last week to Ballough, NATA President James Coyne praised FAA for its cooperation in implementing a new operational control policy. While the policy answers many questions surrounding operational control issues, Coyne said wet lease rules raise several unresolved questions.
Rockwell Collins plans to announce by the end of the year whether it will enter the commercial side of the aircraft simulation and training market, a move that would enable the avionics powerhouse to capitalize on booming demand for new commercial aircraft.
TETERBORO AIRPORT (TEB) in New Jersey would have the ability to impose more stringent weight restrictions without recourse from FAA under a provision included in the Senate version of the FAA reauthorization bill that cleared the Senate Commerce Committee this month (BA, May 21/227). The provision prohibits FAA from "taking action designed to challenge or influence weight restrictions or prior permission rules" at TEB. The measure raises fears that it could establish a precedent for allowing local politicians to usurp federal authority on aviation matters.
The U.S. Army's Pentagon-based aviation director, Brig. Gen. Stephen Mundt, picked up the long-simmering fight between the service and NASA over the agency's aeronautics investments. During the annual Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) conference in Atlanta this month, Mundt said that less than one-half of one percent of NASA's aeronautics budget is dedicated to advancements in rotorcraft technology. "They are killing us," he told the audience. "Unless all of us stand together on the funding, we will ultimately lose this battle."
CAE completed the acquisition of MultiGen-Paradigm, a supplier of real-time, commercial-off-the-shelf software for creating and visualizing simulation products, following recent receipt of U.S. government approval for the transaction. The deal with Parallax Capital Partners, LLC and others to acquire MultiGen-Paradigm for $16 million (U.S.) was originally announced on April 20.
National Air Transportation Association Friday expressed "deep concerns" with how the Transportation Security Administration has handled the Twelve-Five Standard Security Program (TFSSP) for Part 135 operators.
Model AT-602 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26775; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-01-AD; Amendment 39-15042; AD 2007-10-01] - Requires installing access holes to do repetitive detailed visual inspections for cracks in the horizontal stabilizer brace tube assembly, and if any cracks are found as a result of a visual inspection, to replace the horizontal stabilizer brace tube assembly with a new design horizontal stabilizer brace tube assembly.
SA226 and SA227 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25927; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-52-AD] - Proposes to supersede AD 98-19-15 R1 and AD 2000-03-17, which apply to M7 Aerospace LP SA226 and SA227 series airplanes equipped with certain pitch trim actuators. AD 98-19-15 R1 currently requires incorporating changes into the Limitations Section of the FAA-approved Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) if certain part number (P/N) pitch trim actuators are installed. AD 2000-03-17 requires repetitive inspections and repetitive replacements of the pitch trim actuator.
The European Commission expects to implement a new fees and charges schedule June 1 that would establish flat fees for certification and other European Aviation Safety Agency activities and could dramatically increase costs. The proposal, developed by EASA and set to be implemented by the European Commission, would drop the current combination of fixed and variable fees in favor of flat fees.
Barco won a contract from AERO Vodochody in the Czech Republic to provide cockpit head down displays for integration into the L-159 trainer fleet of the Czech air force. The contract is part of a conversion program that will rebuild four single-seat L159s into two-seat trainers. The modified L-159s will be equipped with two Barco displays that will be used as a repeater of the front position's primary flight display and head up display. The system will include a video cross-link communication path for redundancy.
Jet Aviation brought in two former senior Bombardier executives to fill key posts on the company's leadership team. Peter Edwards, a 28-year industry veteran who previously was president of Bombardier Business Aircraft Division, was named group chief executive officer, responsible for all of Jet Aviation's global activities. Edwards succeeds Carl W. Hirschmann, who had been serving as interim CEO since Heinz Kohli stepped down in March (BA, March 12/123).
Duncan Aviation hosted an open house at the company's Michigan facility this month to give the public its first glimpse at the recently expanded and renovated 345,000-square-foot complex. The event included a job fair at which some of Duncan's 615 employees at Battle Creek, along with representatives from several Michigan aviation schools, talked to visitors about local aviation educational options.
