The newest A318 elite customer is JetAlliance, an Austrian VIP charter operator that operates a fleet of 37 aircraft. The A318 Elite, which is the smallest member of the Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) family, will be powered by CFM International CFM56-5 engines and will feature a cabin installed by Lufthansa Technik.
Hired as senior director in the origination team of the Aviation & Portfolio Group of Republic Financial. Before joining the privately held, Aurora, Colo.-based investment company, he spent 20 years with General Electric, including stints with GE Capital Aviation Services and GE Aviation.
y late last week, the Sport-Jet, a new four-place jet powered by a single Williams International FJ33-4A engine, had made seven flights as part of a 50-hour flight-characteristics validation program. Bob Bornhofen, the aircraft's designer and president of Excel-Jet, Ltd., the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based firm that is developing the light jet, said he was pleased with the stability and handling of the airplane so far. The Sport-Jet is designed to cruise at 340 knots at 25,000 feet and have a range of more than 900 nm.
Flight testing of the Citation Mustang and Citation Encore+ recently passed the 1,000-hour and 100-hour marks, respectively, as development of the new Cessna business jets proceed. The three Mustangs in the certification program have made more than 600 flights, and FAR Part 23 approval of the six-seat business jet is anticipated in the fourth quarter of this year. Mustangs number three through 10 are on the production line in Independence, Kan.
Is the new European field service representative for Gulfstream Aerospace. Previously based in Los Angeles, Turner moved to Zurich, Switzerland recently to support the growing number of Gulfstream operators in Europe. He joined Gulfstream in 1981 as an avionics technician in the company's Savannah, Ga. service center. In 1987, Turner moved into Gulfstream's Technical Operations Department and eventually was promoted to leader of that group.
The FAA's Southwest Region office has revoked the operating certificate of American Air Network, Inc., a Chesterfield, Mo. Part 135 management company. The FAA determined that the firm permitted flights for hire or compensation to be conducted on its air carrier certificate when individuals who did not hold an air carrier certificate exercised operational control of those flights.
AirCell has teamed with MedAire to offer a new program, MedLink Powered by AirCell, to give business aircraft operators access to in-flight, on-demand medical assistance worldwide. The program enables AirCell satcom customers to dial directly into MedAire's 24/7 MedLink Global Response Center. The service will be available in the third quarter of 2006.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey bade farewell to another member of her inner circle last week as public relations chief Greg Martin decided to return to the private sector. Martin joined Blakey's team more than five years ago when she was chairing the National Transportation Safety Board. After Blakey took over as FAA Administrator in September 2002, she asked Martin to serve as assistant administrator for public affairs (now communications).
Model BO 105 LS A-3 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2006-24632; Directorate Identifier 2005-SW-31-AD] - Proposes replacing certain fixed bolts and nuts, reidentifying certain main rotor nuts, and revising the Airworthiness Limitations - Time Change Items (TCI) list to reflect the new life limits and new part numbers.
Business aviation is growing faster than the overall air traffic market in Europe, and European traffic managers must take into account this growth when making plans for the future, according to a new study released by Eurocontrol. The study, "Getting to the Point: Business Aviation in Europe," predicts that the business aviation fleet in Europe will grow by four percent per year from 2,000 aircraft currently to about 3,000 by 2015 (BA, May 8/207).
Piaggio Aero received an order for the Piaggio Avanti II from Robert (Bob) Pond, the owner of the first production Piaggio P.180 Avanti. The Avanti II will replace the original Avanti, and Pond plans to add the older aircraft to his public collection of more than 25 aircraft. A Navy World War II veteran and military aircraft collector, Pond opened the The Palm Springs Air Museum in 1996 after retiring as chief executive of industrial floor cleaning machines producer Advance Machine Company.
Model AS-365N2, AS 365 N3, EC 155B, EC155B1, SA-365N, N1, and SA-366G1 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2004-18850; Directorate Identifier 2004-SW-19-AD] - Proposes to revise an existing AD that currently requires inspecting the main gearbox (MGB) base plate for a crack and replacing the MGB if a crack is found. This action would increase the time intervals for inspecting the MGB base plate. This action also would include minor editorial changes throughout the AD.
Models AT-602, AT-802, and AT-802A airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24228; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-22-AD] - Proposes to require repetitive inspections of the engine mount for any cracks, repairing or replacing any cracked engine mount, and reporting any cracks found to the FAA. FAA is proposing this AD to detect and correct cracks in the engine mount, which could lead to failure of the engine mount. Such failure could lead to separation of the engine from the airplane. The proposed AD would affect an estimated 368 airplanes on the U.S.
ARINC DIRECT received a contract from Air Charter Scotland for flight planning and support. ARINC DIRECT services will include a full-featured runway analysis capability, the latest weather data and NOTAMs, and Aircraft Situational Display.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will hold a ceremony Tuesday to commission Runway 10-28. The 9,000-foot runway has been "in the making for 20 years," the airport said. When 10-28 becomes operational later this month it "is expected to reduce departure delays...by half, saving airlines...millions of dollars per week, and reducing on-board dwell time for passengers connecting to other flights." The $1.28 billion runway project is the centerpiece of a $6.2 billion development program at the airport.
Appointed president and chief operating officer of Aspen Executive Air d/b/a aexjet. Before joining aexjet, Gallaher was president and chief financial officer of Sunset Aviation, Novato, Calif., where he was responsible for all of the company's operations, which included more than 30 managed aircraft, most of which were on Sunset's Part 135 certificate. aexjet is a private jet card membership and aircraft management operator headquartered in Aspen, Colo. with flight operations in Chicago.
May 17-19 - National Aircraft Finance Association 35th Annual Conference, St. Regis Resort, Laguna Niguel, Calif., (410) 571-1740 May 22-25 - Regional Airline Association Annual Convention, Wyndham Anatole Hotel, Dallas, Texas, (202) 367-1170 June 3 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Fly-In and Open House, Frederick Municipal Airport, Frederick, Md., (301) 695-2000, www.aopa.org/fly-in June 5-7 - Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association, 2006 Spring Conference, Wichita, Kan., Hyatt Regency Hotel, www.raccaonline.org
Appointed vice president-commercial operations for Bombardier Regional Aircraft. He will be responsible for support functions related to sales and asset management. Reporting to Williams are Anne Woodyatt, vice president-contracts; Trung Ngo, vice president-marketing and communications; Rod Sheridan, vice president-asset management; and Barry MacKinnon, vice president-markets and airline analysis.
General Dynamics' Network Systems unit won a contract to provide engineering services at FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center Office of Integrated Engineering Services in Atlantic City, N.J. The company said the seven-year contract has a potential value of $3 million in labor costs if all options are exercised. GD will provide both on-site and off-site engineering services, including daily operations management, system and network administration, software installation, Web administration and related tasks.
Model 600N helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2006-24518; Directorate Identifier 2006-SW-10-AD; Amendment 39-14569; AD 2006-08-12] - Supersedes an existing AD that currently requires inspecting both upper tailboom attachment fittings, nut plates and both angles for a crack or thread damage, and repairing or replacing any cracked or damaged part. That AD also requires replacing the upper right tailboom attachment bolt with a new attachment bolt, and if the upper right attachment bolt is broken, replacing the three remaining attachment bolts with airworthy bolts.
Sponsors and participants in last week's Greater Washington Aviation Open golf and tennis tournament at the Golf Club at Lansdowne in Ashburn, Va. helped raise $125,000 for the Corporate Angel Network (CAN). Over the past 18 years, the GWAO has raised more than $1 million for CAN, which offers free transportation on corporate aircraft for cancer patients traveling to and from treatment centers.
