FlightWorks has added a Gulfstream IV business jet and Bell 407 helicopter to its charter fleet. The G-IV is based at McCollum Field in Atlanta, Ga., and will be managed under the company's FlightWise management program. The Bell 407 is the first rotorcraft in the FlightWorks fleet. FlightWorks will operate the helicopter for customers based in the Southeast.
The FAA has delayed until Jan. 1, 2007 proposed changes in aircraft registration policies that would have severely limited the ability of aircraft owners to request "priority service" in connection with declarations of international flights. Citing an increasingly heavy workload and the fact that many operators routinely request priority service even if it is really not needed, officials at the FAA's Aircraft Registration Branch sought to limit priority handling for international flights to one request per aircraft in any three-month period.
Pilatus Business Aircraft is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Since being established in Broomfield, Colo. in 1996, the U.S. arm of the Swiss aircraft manufacturer has delivered some 430 aircraft to customers in North and South America, thus accounting for about 70 percent of the PC-12 turboprops delivered worldwide.
In an effort to stem the decline in the U.S. pilot population, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is planning to launch "Project Pilot" during its 16th annual AOPA Fly-In and Open House in Frederick, Md. on June 3. AOPA officials note that the overall pilot population has declined 25 percent since its peak in 1980. Project Pilot is designed to increase the number of general aviation pilots in the United States by teaming experienced AOPA member pilots with prospective pilots.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) supports FAA's goal of eliminating the inefficiency of issuing special conditions to protect critical aircraft electronic systems from High-Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF). GAMA also is in favor of harmonizing FAA's HIRF protection requirements with those of European aviation authorities.
Named executive director of Salt Lake City Airport, effective May 30. Since March 2001, he had been director of aviation at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans.
Hartzell has introduced a new Top Prop propeller conversion kit for early model Cessna 210s and 205s. At 82 inches long, the new two-bladed prop has the same diameter as the original propeller used on Cessna 210, 210A, 210B, 210C, 210-5 (205) and 210-5A (205A) aircraft with IO-470-E and IO-470-S engines. However, the new prop weighs much less - only 60.5 pounds. Also, the time between overhaul has been improved to 2,400 hours or six years, and the system's warranty is for three years or 1,000 hours.
The deadline for SIC type ratings is just over two weeks away for operators who fly outside the United States. An FAA rule released last August stipulated that all aviators who are acting as second-in-command pilots in aircraft certificated for at least two pilots must have a type rating by June 6 if the aircraft is going to fly outside of U.S. airspace and land overseas.
A new type of taxiway lighting system has been installed at Arizona's Prescott Municipal Airport. The new prototype system uses Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology to notify pilots that they are approaching a runway hold line. The taxiway edge lights emit a clear blue light that provides pilots with a visual cue marking the taxiway edge, while the runway guard lights notify pilots that they are approaching a runway hold line.
Midcoast Aviation has delivered the first corporate-use Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft to be custom-completed outside the factory. The long-range aircraft is one in a series of Global 5000s being completed for corporate and government operators by the Jet Aviation affiliated company. Midcoast, a Bombardier-designated preferred completion provider for all models of the Global family, is completing several Global Express XRS and Global 5000 airplanes for corporate operators at its St. Louis Downtown Airport completion center.
NetJets Europe expects to achieve full-year operating profitability in 2006 and net profitability in 2007. The company plans to take delivery of 28 airplanes worth $445 million this year and expects to receive about 30 aircraft next year.
Jet Aviation Dubai has been appointed a Hawker 800 authorized service center by Raytheon Aircraft. Jet Aviation Dubai, the first business aviation maintenance facility at the Dubai International Airport, will perform line and base maintenance and provide warranty and spare parts support.
Sikorsky Aircraft has signed the first European customer for its S-76D. Premier Aviation Services Ltd. of Ireland has agreed to take two of the twin-turboshaft helicopters. The S-76Ds, which are to be used for VIP and executive transport, will be based at Weston Airport outside Dublin. More than 220 operators in 59 countries are flying S-76 helicopters.
Model ERJ 170 Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24788; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-073-AD] - Proposes to require a one-time inspection for proper crimping of the terminal lugs for the power cables of each integrated drive generator (IDG), installing a new sleeve on the terminal, and re-crimping if necessary. This proposed AD results from a report that the terminal lugs for the power cables of the IDGs may not be adequately crimped, which could allow the cables to be pulled out of the terminals with no significant force.
Bombardier has designated Omni Aviação/Aero Services as its exclusive Learjet sales representative in France and Portugal. Omni Aviação is an aircraft charter and services company based in Cascais, Portugal.
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.
