Bombardier last week reported profits of $249 million for the fiscal year ending in January, a significant improvement from a loss of $85 million the previous year. Revenues fell from $4.7 billion a year ago to $4 billion in the 12 months ended Jan. 31 as airliner deliveries fell. The company said increased business aircraft and turboprop deliveries compensated for declining regional jet deliveries. Business jet deliveries were up 45 percent to 186 from 128, while regional plane deliveries dropped 26 percent to 149.
Former FAA Official Sharon L. Pinkerton on Friday was named vice president of government affairs for the Air Transport Association, reporting directly to President and CEO James May. As assistant administrator for aviation policy, planning and environment at FAA, Pinkerton was heavily involved in developing reauthorization and funding proposals (BA, March 27/137). Through its www.smartskies.org initiative, ATA is advocating adoption of a user-fee system to fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
Elliott Aviation promoted Donald Jay to chief operating officer. Jay formerly was vice president of branch and flight operations, managing operations at Elliott Aviation's facilities at Flying Cloud Regional Airport in Eden Prairie, Minn., Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Neb., Des Moines International Airport and Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Ill. He also managed the company's air taxi operations. Jay joined the company in 1989 as director of customer service and was named vice president and general manager at Des Moines in 1991.
The Senate last week adopted the lobbying reform bill 90-8, but left out an amendment by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) that would require senators who travel on private aircraft to reimburse the owner of the aircraft the fair market value of the flight based on either the charter or rental rate (BA, March 13/115). Current Senate rules allow senators to reimburse airplane owners at a rate equivalent to a comparable first-class ticket.
Model ERJ 170 Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-23475; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-117-AD; Amendment 39-14518; AD 2006-06-09] - Requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) of the Airplane Maintenance Manual (AMM) to include new, specific maintenance tasks related to the incorporation of a new horizontal stabilizer actuator. This AD also requires revising the ALS of the AMM to include revised repetitive inspection intervals for certain tasks in the maintenance plan related to the aileron and flap/slat flight controls system.
Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24204; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-178-AD] - Proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain BAE Systems Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ airplanes. The existing AD currently requires a one-time inspection to detect corrosion of the flap structure and machined ribs, corrective actions if necessary, and reprotection of the rib boss bores.
Terence T. (Tom) Henricks, a former Air Force pilot and NASA astronaut, takes over this week as president of McGraw-Hill's newly renamed Aerospace & Defense (MHA&D) unit, formerly known as the Aviation Week Group. Henricks, who will report to Harry Sachinis, president of the Business Information Group, succeeds Kenneth E. Gazzola, who has served as executive vice president of the Aviation Week unit. Gazzola is retiring at the end of the year.
After years of planning and discussions among legislators and industry participants, Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva and members of his cabinet officially installed Brazil's National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC). ANAC is slated to take over the functions performed for the last 75 years by the Civil Aviation Department under the Ministry of Defense, and will operate this year with a budget of $130 million and 400 employees, civil and military.
ATR delivered the first of 35 ATR 72-500s to Kingfisher Airlines. The Indian carrier placed an initial order for 20 of the regional turboprops in November and in February exercised options for 15 more (BA, Feb. 27/93).
Gulfstream Aerospace is claiming a speed record for a G550 flight between Seoul, South Korea and Salt Lake City, Utah - 10 hours and 19 minutes. Carrying four crew members and seven passengers, the G550 departed Incheon International Airport at 10:30 p.m. local time March 25 and flew 5,642 nautical miles, landing at Salt Lake City International at 4:27 p.m. the same day. Average airspeed was Mach 0.85 with what Gulfstream described as "an average headwind of 64 knots." The aircraft landed with 4,000 pounds of fuel remaining.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America (MHIA) is strengthening its in-house MU-2 support capabilities through the acquisition of Tulsa, Okla. maintenance provider Intercontinental Jet Corp. MHIA will rename the company International Jet Services Corp., but said programs and operations will remain intact under the new ownership. The Tulsa facility has supported, either directly or indirectly, about half the MU-2s currently in service, MHIA said, adding that it believes that percentage will grow over time.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) last week expressed his displeasure about cuts included in the FAA's fiscal 2007 budget proposal. During a hearing on FAA funding, Stevens, who formerly chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted FAA called for dramatic cuts in small-airport funding, and reduced funding for cargo airports and safety programs such as the Alaska Capstone program.
Appointed director of business development for Dallas Airmotive. A veteran of nearly 15 years in the Dallas Airmotive/BBA Group family, "Greg has a tremendous depth of knowledge of our industry as well as a global view of the turbine engine business," said Hugh McElroy, president and CEO of the engine overhaul firm. Martin holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He joined H+S Aviation in Portsmouth, England as a sales engineer on the Rolls-Royce Dart program in 1992, moved to Standard Aero in 1996 and rejoined H+S in 2002.
The Department of Transportation last week granted a request by the National Business Aviation Association to lift restrictions on certain operations, such as time-share and interchange, when the operations involve a U.S.-registered aircraft that is owned by either a foreign or foreign-led company. But at the same time, DOT denied NBAA's request for a similar exemption from limitations involving the carriage of political candidates.
The National Transportation Safety Board issued seven recommendations Thursday warning of a potential fire hazard on Bombardier CRJ200 regional airliners when moisture gets into the under-floor avionics bay near the main entry door of the aircraft. The safety board is aware of seven fires aboard CRJ200s, six of them in the past six months, officials said, and warned FAA that "the potential exists for an uncontained fire to compromise the oxygen line, which could develop into an even more critical situation."
The City of Chicago continued to appeal a $33,000 civil penalty assessed by FAA for the deactivation of Meigs Field, saying the city was exempt from prior notification requirements because "an emergency involving public safety existed." FAA in late August assessed a $33,000 civil penalty against the city for failing to comply with a required 30-day notice before deactivating the Chicago lakefront airport (BA, Sept. 12/11). The city last month disagreed that it violated the regulations by failing to give FAA adequate notice.
Raytheon Aircraft last month handed over the first new Hawker 850XP to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The delivery followed certification in February (BA, March 6/104). The Hawker 850XP is a follow-on to the Hawker 800XPi with Raytheon-designed winglets. The winglets boost range by 100 nautical miles and decrease the aircraft's climb time by eight percent.
Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has taken full ownership of an entity that performs trend monitoring and related services. Data Systems & Solutions LLC (DS&S), based in Reston, Va., was formed as a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in 1999. The engine maker acquired SAIC's stake in DS&S late last month.
ARINC continues to build a distributor network for its SKYLink satellite broadband communications system, signing agreements with Midcoast Aviation, Duncan Aviation and Jet Aviation Palm Beach to sell and install the technology. ARINC previously named Landmark Aviation as a distributor of SKYLink in the North American aftermarket (BA, March 13/121). The SKYLink satellite broadband service uses Ku-band connectivity to provide access to Internet, e-mail, virtual private networks, and Voice over IP and Fax over IP services.
Bombardier's Challenger 850 corporate shuttle entered service last week with Canadian oil producer Suncor Energy Inc. of Alberta. The aircraft will be used to shuttle Suncor personnel and contractors between Suncor's headquarters in Calgary and Fort McMurray in northern Alberta. Bombardier launched the Challenger 850 corporate shuttle in May 2005 as a derivative of the Bombardier CRJ200 airliner.
Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24252; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-062-AD; Amendment 39-14528; AD 2006-05-11 R1] - Revises an existing airworthiness directive applicable to certain Bombardier Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes.
Named a sales director for pre-owned aircraft at Gulfstream Aerospace. Based in Southern California, he will be responsible for the sales of pre-owned aircraft to customers in the western U.S. and Canada, Central and South America, Australia and Asia. Ross joins Gulfstream from TAG Aviation, where he was a regional vice president. Before working for TAG, Ross was senior vice president for ExcelAire Service in Islip, N.Y. Ross began his career with Bombardier Aerospace, beginning as a marketing coordinator and working his way up to sales director for the western U.S.
Mayo Aviation added a Learjet 31A to its growing charter fleet. Based at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo., Mayo provides aircraft charter, management, maintenance, parts and emergency medical transport services. The Mayo fleet ranges from turboprops to light, medium and heavy jets.
Appointed director of U.S. aftermarket sales for Avidyne. Luster, who holds an aviation management degree from Oklahoma State University, previously held marketing and sales positions with Commander Aircraft and Mooney Aircraft. Most recently, she was aftermarket product marketing manager and a regional sales manager for Avidyne.
