Joined Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. as vice president for institutional advancement. Montplaisir spent the past five years as director of alumni relations and development for the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. At Embry-Riddle, he will report to the president of the university and oversee a staff of 22 responsible for fund raising, grants, alumni and donor relations and related activities.
Model GA8 airplanes [Document No. FAA-2007-27174; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-006-AD; Amendment 39-14944; AD 2007-04-12] - Requires, for aircraft that do not incorporate CNC machined elevator hinges, inspection of the left and right horizontal stabilizer rear pivot attachment installation, and repair if necessary. The AD also requires, for all aircraft, replacement of the left and right rear attach bolt, repetitive inspections of the horizontal stabilizer for cracking, and repair, if necessary.
Kaiser Aluminum and Bombardier entered into a new agreement under which Kaiser will supply the Canadian aerospace manufacturer with aluminum plate and sheet products. The new pact extends the long-standing relationship between the companies through 2012. Kaiser said the increased volume contemplated under the new agreement was made possible by a $105 million expansion of its Trentwood rolling mill in Spokane, Wash.
Named general manager of Landmark Aviation's fixed-base operation in Fayetteville, N.C. He was formerly operations manager at the company's busy FBO at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va. Brookshire joined Landmark's legacy company, Piedmont Hawthorne, in 2000, providing line service training for employees at the Winston-Salem, N.C. FBO.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) last week emphasized his belief that Stage 2 business jets should be phased out and asked National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen what can be done to accomplish that goal. "We don't want to be too heavy handed," Lautenberg said, but added, "We have got to figure out a way to do this because the community at large won't permit this.
DayJet, the Florida-based startup that plans to offer on-demand air taxi service with a fleet of Eclipse 500 Very Light Jets, secured another $50 million in additional equity last week, its third round of funding. Securities were placed with eight institutions, private equity funds and individuals, including some foreign private equity investors.
Transportation Security Administration released new revisions to the Twelve-Five Standard Security Program (TFSSP). The National Air Transportation Association said the changes are designed to address concerns industry had with a January 2007 version of the TFSSP. The latest revision, dated March 5, supersedes the Jan. 8 TFSSP. NATA encouraged members to visit the TSA Web Board to review the revisions.
SEACOR's Aviation Division signed an agreement under which Sikorsky subsidiary Keystone Helicopter Corp. will provide aviation maintenance and completion services for SEACOR. The SEACOR Aviation Division includes Era helicopters, Era Leasing, EraMed and a fixed-base operation at Anchorage International Airport. The division operates more than 160 helicopters in the northeastern U.S., the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska supporting a wide range of oil and gas exploration and production, firefighting, aeromedical and sightseeing operations.
Bombardier Aerospace is partnering with NBAA and EBAA to sponsor Safety Standdown Europe May 24-25 in Geneva, Switzerland, immediately following the close of the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in that city. Patterned after Bombardier's annual North American safety standdown, the European event is free of charge to all pilots and crew regardless of what type aircraft they operate. The event will kick off with a welcome reception Thursday evening, followed by a full day of seminars on Friday.
Cabin Entertainment Equipment from Flight Display Systems, working with Northern Avionics of Milan, Italy, is now available as a factory option for Agusta A109S Grand helicopters. A standard entertainment system for that helicopter includes an LCD monitor, a moving map computer processing unit and a DVD/CD/MP3 player.
Demand for turbine-powered helicopters will reach more than 15,000 aircraft valued at approximately $144 billion over the next 10 years, according to Scott Crislip, president of Rolls-Royce's helicopter and small gas turbine division. Engine sales will account for about $15 billion of that $144 billion, he said. The Rolls-Rolls forecast predicts delivery of 8,943 military rotorcraft and 6,095 commercial helicopters during the period, but the revenue generated by the military models will far outweigh that from the civil market.
Was hired by The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) as editor of the organization's Unmanned Systems magazine. Davis previously served as editor of BA affiliate Aerospace Daily and Defense Report and before that as a Washington correspondent covering space programs, missile defense and NASA for the Huntsville Times newspaper in Huntsville, Ala.
Five and one half-months after winning FAA type certification for its Eclipse 500, and 10 weeks since delivering the first, and so far only, customer aircraft, Eclipse Aviation announced a whole new team of vendors to supply avionics for its Very Light Jet program.
Appointed was appointed to the newly created position of technical service advisor for Elliott Aviation. Chitty previously was vice president and general manager of Elliott Aviation's operations at Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Ill. He has 30 years of aviation industry experience, also holding positions with Raytheon Aircraft, Associated Air Center and Million Air in Dallas.
Appointed vice president-marketing in CIT Aerospace's Commercial Airlines Group. Niven will be based in Singapore and oversee marketing for the CIT unit in North East Asia. He previously was co-founder and director of Crichton and Co. and held positions at Focus Aviation Group and Hungarian International Bank.
Russell Chew apparently still craves big challenges. The former American Airlines operations guru, who just stepped down after three-plus years as chief operating officer of FAA's Air Traffic Organization, had accepted the top operations job at Hawaiian Airlines. But last week Chew agreed to forego Hawaii, accepting the post of COO for New York-based JetBlue.
Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) last week put the aviation industry on warning that aviation users likely will face a tax increase as Congress begins to move forward on a bill that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and modernize the air traffic control system. "We all agree that we have to modernize....We all agree that we need more money.
Named director of quality and organizational excellence at Associated Air Center. Greer will be responsible for all quality and safety certifications, including ISO9000 for the Dallas Love Field-based facility. He formerly was a process leader for Associated Air Center, and before that was director of operations at Hampson Texstars, where he was responsible for manufacturing activities of the plastics and composites manufacturer. He also has served as director of operations at GTM Plastics.
Jet Aviation Ceo Heinz Kohli stepped down last week to "seek a new challenge outside of the company," Jet Aviation said. Jet Aviation said the move was prompted by differences over the future strategy of the company. Carl Hirschmann, son of the late Jet Aviation Founder Carl W. Hirschmann, has agreed to serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found. "The board of directors is convinced that he will successfully continue with the company's growth strategy," the company said.
CIT Group Inc. has surpassed $1 billion in total lease and loan originations with owners of aircraft operated by NetJets, the aircraft financing firm said. CIT also formally announced a fleet financing program with Marquis Jet, the jet card provider that is an exclusive partner of NetJets. CIT said it provided financing for 15 aircraft ranging from the Raytheon Hawker 400XP to the Gulfstream 450 last year under its agreement with Marquis Jet.
AVFAB, the Clinton, Mo. supplier of interior furnishings for business aircraft, said it recently won European Aviation Safety Agency supplemental type certificate (STC) approval for its side-facing divans in Cessna Citation Model 500, 501, 550, S550, 551 and 560 aircraft and all model of the Hawker business jet from the DS.125 up through the Hawker 800 and 1000 models.
But Blakey acknowledged that finding someone qualified and willing to take the ATO job could be complicated by the fact that her five-year term as Administrator will expire Sept. 30. That was a problem when the top ATO job was first created because the original search for a COO got under way when former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey was nearing the end of her term.
