Fractional aircraft operator NetJets posted pre-tax earnings of $143 million in 2006 after the company was able to turn around its European operations, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett said in his annual letter to shareholders. "A much improved situation is emerging at NetJets," he said. "This company has never had a problem growing: Revenues from flight operations have increased 596 percent since our purchase in 1998. But profits had been erratic."
Robinson Helicopter Company, which has dominated the light piston-powered helicopter market for years, said Friday it is developing a new five-place helicopter that will be powered by a single Rolls-Royce 300 engine, a powerplant that the engine company hopes to get certificated by the end of this year.
Really did get promoted by Elliott Aviation, but BA did not report her new title correctly in the Feb. 26 issue. Stein, who joined Elliott in 1998 as marketing administrator, is the company's new director of marketing. She will oversee all advertising, public relations and sales support programs. Her promotion was announced by Dan Frahm, a 26-year veteran at Elliott, who recently was named vice president of sales and marketing (BA, Jan. 22/44).
Model 500, 501, 550, 551, S550, 560, 560XL, and 750 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27258; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-213-AD] - proposes to supersede an existing AD that applies to certain Cessna Model 500, 550, S550, 560, 560XL, and 750 airplanes. The existing AD currently requires installing identification sleeves on the wires for the positive and negative terminal studs of the engine and/or auxiliary power unit (APU) fire extinguishing bottles, as applicable, and re-connecting the wires to the correct terminal studs.
THE NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION and the American Association of Airport Executives are co-hosting the 2007 Airports and FBO Symposium March 19 in Orlando, Fla, in conjunction with NATA's annual convention in Orlando. The Airports and FBO Symposium will provide an open forum for discussions between industry leaders and representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Security Administration.
SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT recently delivered a Model 333 turbine helicopter to the San Antonio Police Department Helicopter Detail. The 333, the fourth to be delivered to the operation, will be used for airborne law enforcement missions. The San Antonio Helicopter Detail flies its Model 333 helicopters more than 2,200 hours a year for patrol, search, surveillance, photo and command and control missions that cover about 520 square miles.
The European Commission pledged to offer "a legislative proposal" next year "to limit nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from aviation" in its policy strategy for 2008, which it circulated late last month. "Affordable and environmentally sustainable transport services are a prerequisite for making full use of the EU's internal market," the EC said. ICAO in 2005 adopted a new set of NOx standards that are 12 percent more stringent than the previous levels agreed in 1999.
EMBRAER received a contract from M1 Travel Ltd. for five Embraer 190 E-Jets and options for up to five more 190s or 195s. Embraer valued the contract at $355 million, including options. M1 Travel is a subsidiary of the M1 Group and a shareholder of Geneva, Switzerland-based Flybaboo. Flybaboo will lease the first three aircraft from M1 to supplement existing routes and expand into new markets. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2008.
Was promoted from the office of the controller for KaiserAir to the new position of chief financial officer for the company. Strickland, 48, joined KaiserAir in 2004 as a controller. He has 24 years of experience in finance and accounting and is a business administration graduate of the California State University - Chico.
Former Mooney CEO Gretchen Jahn has accepted a new post at New Zealand-based Alpha Aviation as general manager. Jahn replaces Managing Director Richard Sealy, who was named deputy group managing director of Gregory Australia Ltd. Jahn joins Alpha as it is shifting from a start up company to a manufacturer. The company recently won FAA certification for its two-seat aerobatic Alpha 160A aircraft.
THE OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK painted by Merrill Lynch analysts would probably get revised downward if the user fee schedules in the Bush Administration's FAA reauthorization proposal were to be enacted (BA, Feb. 19/81). According to "illustrative flight examples" prepared by FAA, the tax bill for typical domestic business jet flights would jump by 100 percent in some instances to 255 percent in others.
JET-CARE INTERNATIONAL won a five-year contract from the U.S. Coast Guard to provide oil and debris analysis for the 200-plus Turbomeca Arriel 2C2CG engines that power the service's HH-65 Dolphin helicopters.
Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25232; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-106-AD; Amendment 39-14935; AD 2007-04-04] - Requires repetitive inspections of the wing top skin under the Rib 0 joint strap, and related investigative and corrective actions, if necessary. This AD results from a report of a significant crack in the wing top skin under the Rib 0 joint strap. FAA is issuing this AD to detect and correct corrosion and cracking in that area, which could reduce the structural integrity of the wing.
LIGHT HELICOPTER guru Frank Robinson is launching a new helicopter, the R66, the first Robinson Helicopter Co. model that will be powered by a turbine engine. That engine will be a new Rolls-Royce Model 300, a more powerful upgrade from the ubiquitous Allison/RR 250 that powers several light helicopter models.
After months of denunciations of avionics supplier Avidyne by Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn, the two companies finally severed their relationship, leaving Eclipse scrambling to find new avionics suppliers as it falls farther behind its announced delivery schedule for the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet.
The Federal Aviation Administration abandoned long-held economic practices and made the policy decision to move forward with a more simplistic approach to cost allocation that amounts to "simple division" in drafting a new user fee system that would dramatically increase costs for general aviation users, according to one leading transportation economist.
BUSINESS JET MANUFACTURERS might not top the 18 percent jump in deliveries they achieved last year, but steady growth is anticipated for the next several years, according to an industry overview by Merrill Lynch last week. The industry delivered 885 new business jets in 2006, compared with 750 in 2005. Merrill Lynch analysts believe "2007 deliveries could see bizjet deliveries of roughly 1,000 units" or an increase of 11-14 percent.
Model 23, 24, 24A, 24B, 24B-A, 24C, 24D, 24D-A, 24E, 24F, 24F-A, 25, 25A, 25B, 25C, 25D, 25F, 28, 29, 31, 31A, 35, 35A (C-21A), 36, 36A, 55, 55B, and 55C airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25563; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-083-AD; Amendment 39-14950; AD 2007-04-18] -- Requires modifying the left- and right-hand standby fuel pump switches. This AD also requires revising the Emergency and Abnormal Procedures sections of the Airplane Flight Manual to advise the flightcrew of the proper procedures to follow in the event of failure of the standby fuel pump to shut off.
BELL HELICOPTER decided to drop the Bell 417 program that was introduced a year ago as the follow-on to the Bell 407 single-engine helicopter (BA, March 6, 2006/103). The announcement came as the company reported an upswing in orders overall that has that boosted backlog to $3.1 billion. "The increased demand for vertical lift aircraft continued to grow in 2006," said Bob Fitzpatrick, Bell Helicopter senior vice president of marketing and sales.
AMERIFLIGHT marked the end of an era last month when it sold the last single-engine aircraft in the company's fleet - a Piper PA-32R-3000 Lance - to a new owner. At one time, when the Burbank, Calif. freight hauler's largest business segment was carriage of check and other financial instruments between small-town branch banks and big city processing centers, Ameriflight operated as many as 36 Piper Cherokee Six, Lance and Arrow airplanes.
FAA's five-year road map for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) should be complete by the end of March and made available for industry comment by April, according to Doug Davis, manager of FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Program Office.
Orbis International, the non-profit organization working to rid the world of unnecessary blindness, marked its 25th anniversary with a series of events in New York City that included special recognition for A. L. Ueltschi, the founder and chairman of FlightSafety International and a major contributor to the Orbis program for many years.
Was named general manager of Landmark Aviation's fixed-base operation in Rochester, N.Y. McAuliff has more than 15 years of industry experience, serving with Safe Step in Greensboro, N.C. as a project manager, responsible for OSHA compliance, fuel tanks and safety equipment. He also worked for Wilair Service/Corporate Wings as manager of flight operations. He joined Landmark predecessor company Piedmont Hawthorne in 2003 as airline manager, overseeing ground support, safety and quality control.
Model TBM 700 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-26235; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-65-AD; Amendment 39-14945; AD 2007-04-13] - Requires inspecting the main landing gear forging body for cracks and repairing any cracks found. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the French aviation authority . The MCAI cites reports of cracks found on several main landing gear cylinders. FAA estimates the AD will cover 272 aircraft on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $65,280, or $240 per aircraft.
