TAG AVIATION will be one of the earlier operators of the Eclipse. Officials said they are scheduled to receive aircraft No. 12 at the end of November and will base it in the San Francisco, Calif. area. TAG has specialized in providing aircraft management services for owners of large business jets, but decided to order three Eclipse 500s some time ago to assess interest among its customer base in the VLJ market.
French engine-maker Snecma is exploring the business jet market with a new engine family, the Silvercrest, designed to yield a family of powerplants with thrust ranges between 8,000 and 11,000 pounds for use on the next generation of super-midsize to large business jets. Snecma expects the engines will power a large-cabin, long-range aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of between 45,000 and 60,000 pounds. Snecma also sees the engine family finding a place in the regional jet market, particularly with 40- to 60-seat RJs.
AVIATION TECHNOLOGY GROUP continues to add suppliers for its Javelin executive jet/fighter trainer aircraft, selecting Goodrich Aircraft Interior Products to provide the pilot seats, Kavlico for the throttle quadrant, Moritz for power distribution and Parker Aerospace for hydraulics. Parker Aerospace also is supplying flight controls. The Javelin will be powered by Williams International FJ33 turbofans providing 1,800 pounds of thrust each. Last month ATG named Op Technologies the primary avionics supplier.
THE SURGE of new entrants and new business jets on display at last week's NBAA convention underscored the generally bullish outlook for new aircraft sales over the next decade. "We're in the midst of a very, very strong market," Gulfstream Aerospace President Bryan Moss told reporters in Orlando. But a number of OEM executives, including Moss, said boosting aircraft production rates requires careful attention to supply chain management.
October 23-25 - International Loran Association 35th annual ILS Convention and Technical Symposium, Mystic Marriott Hotel, Groton, Conn. Bob Lilly, (805) 967-8649, e-mail: [email protected], or www.loran.org. October 27 - 64th annual Wings Club Dinner-Dance honoring Al Ueltschi, Chairman of FlightSafety International, Inc, with its Distinguished Achievement Award; Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, (212) 867-1770, email: [email protected].
SAVANNAH AIR CENTER (SAC) delivered its first completed Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft to a customer. Bombardier named SAC an authorized completion center for the Global 5000 and Global Express XRS in late 2005. The first completed aircraft, which went to an international customer, included exterior paint, a 13-passenger interior and an integrated avionics suite with high-speed data, SATCOM, Iridium communications and head-up display. SAC also recently finished a 20,000-square-foot expansion of its Savannah, Ga. facility to accommodate new business.
Fractional aircraft operator Avantair, which specializes in offering shares in Piaggio P.180 Avanti turboprops, announced its planned entry into the jet business last week by placing an order with Embraer for 20 of the Brazilian manufacturer's new Phenom 100 business jets. The order value is estimated at $57 million, based on January 2005 list prices. The Phenom 100 is expected to enter service in mid-2008 and Avantair is scheduled to take delivery of its first Phenom in June 2009.
October 17-19 - National Business Aviation Association 59th Annual Meeting & Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000 October 22-24 - International Aviation Womens Association 18th Annual Conference, "Aviation's Global Resurgence: Five Years Later and Climbing," W Hotel, New York, Ellyn Slow, (732) 326-3703, email: [email protected], www.iawa.org or Karen Griggs, (410) 571-1990, [email protected]
The European Commission will introduce new security restrictions for carry-on baggage across Europe Nov. 6, and although aviation officials are working hard to ease the transition, the rules are expected to cause passenger confusion and airport disruptions.
London City Airport has been acquired by a consortium composed of AIG Financial Products Corp. and Global Infrastructure Partners, the infrastructure joint venture between Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure Inc. The consortium outbid parties including Hochtief and Fraport AG. Although a final sale price was not released, the airport was valued at $917 million when the facility was put on the block in May. The airport was bought by Irish businessman Dermot Desmond in 1995 from the U.K.'s Mowlem, which built the airport in 1986.
DANIEL HOGAN was named to oversee sales in the Northeast and Southeast U.S. for VISTAGY. Hogan has 15 years of sales experience in the software and engineering industries, working with companies including Invention Machine and IBM/Rational Software.
Model EMB-135 airplanes and Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25925; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-167-AD] - Proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires repetitive inspections of the pitot static heating relay K0057 and corrective actions, if necessary. The existing AD also requires a terminating modification, which ends the repetitive inspections.
NEW PRODUCTS continue to drive sales, and this week's NBAA convention is expected to see multiple new business jet introductions. Cessna Aircraft already announced plans for a CitationJet 4 (BA, Sept. 4/105), and is expected to share its vision for a wider-body successor to the company's Mach 0.9-cruise Citation X, deliveries of which began more than a decade ago. Raytheon has plans for two new Hawkers, Models 750 and 900. Also, Piper Aircraft is believed to be ready to announce a new jet.
Jet Aviation is making a major investment in its hangar and shop facilities in Basel, Switzerland to accommodate a growing tide of business for its aircraft completion, modification and repair business there.
Model BAe 146 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22974; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-180-AD; Amendment 39-14774; AD 2006-20-05] - Requires repetitive inspections to measure the depth of chafing or scoring in the skin along the full length of the wing-to-fuselage fairing from forward to aft ends at the contact between the seal and fuselage, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from a report of chafing in this area.
CLAYTON A. CALLIHAN, a veteran communications official with extensive experience in the aviation/aerospace industry, recently joined Science Applications International Corp. in a senior-level communications post at the company's McLean, Va. headquarters.
ONE PERSON aboard a Robinson R44 helicopter, N769RT, was killed Oct. 8 when the aircraft crashed into Lake Tapps in Washington, but the other occupant survived.
BRIAN DUBIE, the lieutenant governor of Vermont, was elected chairman of the Aerospace States Association (ASA) at the group's recent meeting in Washington, D.C. ASA is a bipartisan body comprising lieutenant governors and governor-appointed delegates from more than 40 states.
FA-200 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25259; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-36-AD; Amendment 39-14783; AD 2006-20-13] - Requires creation of inspection holes, corrosion inspection of the flange of the wing spar, repair of corrosion if necessary, and removal of the sealing compound. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the aviation authority of Japan. FAA is issuing this AD to require actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.
Several New York-area political leaders called on the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration to review airspace restrictions over New York City, and metropolitan areas in general, in the aftermath of Wednesday's crash of New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle's Cirrus SR20 into a Manhattan skyscraper.
A STRIKE against the Bombardier Aerospace facility in Wichita, Kan. by members of Local 639 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is heading into its third week with no new negotiations scheduled. Union leaders had approved a new contract proposal from the company at the end of September, but workers rejected the package by a wide margin.
Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-25920; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-137-AD] - Proposes to require calculating the current life of each lift spoiler jack, and eventually replacing each lift spoiler jack. This proposed AD results from a review of all system components as part of the life-extension program for the affected airplanes that indicated the fatigue life limit of certain lift spoiler jacks cannot be extended from the current life limit.
IVIATION, Memphis, Tenn., is releasing a series of interactive computer-based learning courses for corporate, charter and commercial operations. The first two courses will cover human factors/crew resource management and aircraft icing. "These are critical areas of safety that flight operations need," said CEO David Perdue. "There's a tremendous demand for human-factors/CRM and aircraft icing training as well as the other courses." Perdue said the courses will fit any sized flight department or charter operation.
DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT has a new source of revenue, an oil and gas lease with Chesapeake Energy Corp., which will be drilling for oil and gas under airport property. Under terms of the agreement finalized this month, the airport received $185 million in an "initial bonus," which is equivalent to more than 30 percent of the airport's current annual budget. DFW also will receive an annual royalty of 25 percent of the value of natural gas produced on the airport's 18,000 acres.
