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.
After months of discussions with industry groups, the Federal Aviation Administration hopes to release an operations specification that will more clearly define issues of operational control and acceptable wet-lease practices by late summer. The agency last week held the first of a series of briefings on operational control and wet leases in an attempt to clear up confusion surrounding the issue and lay the groundwork for the release of the specification.
Two government agencies reported that the U.S. aviation trust fund is rebounding nicely after years of decline and a new study by an aviation consultant claims that the trust fund is in healthier shape than advertised.
CAE won a contract valued at $22 million (Canadian) to build two EADS Casa C-295 simulators. One C-295 simulator is slated for the Brazilian Air Force, which is buying 12 C-295s. The other simulator will go to the EADS CASA training facility in Seville, Spain. The simulators are scheduled for delivery in late 2007.
Michel, who is vice president of marketing for Cessna Aircraft (BA, March 27/139), declined to discuss specifics of his proposal until members of the Executive Committee have been briefed. To maintain operations and keep BE A PILOT assets viable, program administration was moved to Wichita.
Named director of OEM product marketing for Avidyne Corp., Lincoln, Mass. An instrument-rated pilot and licensed A&P mechanic, Hathaway holds multiple college degrees. He had been serving as OEM sales manager for Avidyne.
