Flight Design USA, the U.S. distributor of the German-built CT two-place sport plane, moved to a new 5,000-square-foot facility in South Woodstock, Conn. The new building also will house Flight Design USA sister companies HPower Ltd. and Flightstar Sportplanes.
RAPSCO (Regional Airline Parts Support Company) reached an agreement with LORD Corp. to take over manufacture and distribution of parts and assemblies related to the Fairchild (now M7 Aerospace) Metro and Merlin turboprop Models SA26 and SA226. LORD has provided engine mounts and related components for the Merlins and Metros.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey bade farewell to another member of her senior management team last week as Sharon Pinkerton stepped down as assistant administrator for policy, planning and environment after three years in the post. Pinkerton is the third top-level FAA official to leave the agency in recent months, following Woodie Woodward, who had been associate administrator for airports, and David Mandell, Blakey's chief of staff, who had worked with her since she chaired the National Transportation Safety Board (BA, March 13/119).
A Kaman 1200 Helicopter was destroyed and its pilot killed during a March 17 accident. FAA said the K-MAX helicopter, N263KA, operated by Grizzly Mountain Aviation, lost power and crashed about 27 miles northwest of John Day, Ore.
A Falcon 900EX that ran off the end of a runway March 3 at the Teterboro, N.J. Airport (TEB) landed long, according to witnesses interviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board (BA, March 6/107).
Aeronautical Repair Station Association is creating a company to provide liability insurance to repair stations. ARSA said 20 of its members have agreed to help launch the Aviation Alliance Insurance Risk Retention Group (AAIRG). ARSA hopes the new company will be operational in the second half of this year. ARSA will limit participation in AAIRG to association members. AAIRG members will pay an up-front capitalization fee, projected at about 30 percent of a member's current annual insurance premium, and will have a stake in the new company.
Named vice president, marketing, contracts and administration for Bombardier Flexjet. Levesque will develop marketing strategies and steer the administrative process for the company. He formerly was vice president, strategy and business development for Bombardier Aerospace. Before joining Bombardier in 1999, Levesque served with McKinsey & Company.
Model ATR 42-200, -300, and -320 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20220; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-152-AD; Amendment 39-14504; AD 2006-05-07] - requires repetitive inspections of the upper arms of the main landing gear (MLG) side braces for missing or inadequately bonded identification plates; an ultrasonic inspection of the upper arm of the MLG side brace for any defects and related investigative/corrective actions, if necessary; and replacing the side brace assembly with a modified part.
The U.S. aviation manufacturing industry continues to outpace national averages for industry wages, according to Janet Harrah, director of the center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University. The average wage for the industry in 2004 was $73,000, 86 percent more than the average of $39,000 for all private-sector jobs. Aviation manufacturers employ 600,000 workers and have payrolls of $45 billion annually. The industry also is slightly ahead of the national average in terms of workers covered under union contracts.
Model SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, and SA-366G1 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2005-23159; Directorate Identifier 2005-SW-10-AD; Amendment 39-14510; AD 2006-06-02] - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires inspecting the main gearbox (MGB) suspension diagonal cross-member for cracks and replacing it with an airworthy part if any crack is found. This amendment requires more frequent inspections of the diagonal cross-member and adding the Model SA-366G1 helicopters to the applicability.
Appointed regional engine manager for the western U.S. for Dallas Airmotive. Hubble will be responsible for sales of the company's TFE731 and PW300 engine services as well as services for Honeywell auxiliary power units. He has 20 years of aviation maintenance experience, having held positions with Raytheon and Bombardier Aerospace. He also spent four years with Garrett Aviation Los Angeles.
The Czech Republic ordered two Airbus A319 corporate jets (ACJs), which it will use for military and government flights. The two ACJs, which will be powered by CFM 56-5 engines, will replace Tupolev Tu-154s in the government fleet. The aircraft will have "quick-change" kits enabling easy interior configuration conversion from transporting troops to carrying government officials. Lufthansa Technik will outfit the cabins in Hamburg, Germany.
750XL airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23579; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-02-AD] [Docket No. FAA-2006-23579; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-02-AD] - proposes to supersede AD 2005-26-53, which currently requires incorporation of text into the Limitations Section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) reducing the maximum takeoff weight from 7,500 pounds to 7,125 pounds. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for New Zealand and the FAA's decision that the actions correct an unsafe condition.
FAA's certification shortages have become a development risk to manufacturers and threaten business plans, Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton told a congressional panel in Wichita, Kan. Wednesday. House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), who hosted the hearing with aviation subcommittee members Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) and transportation appropriations subcommittee member Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), asked about concerns that cuts in FAA's certification services could jeopardize U.S. competitiveness.
Jet Aviation has completed its acquisition of Midcoast Aviation, the St. Louis, Mo.-based business aviation maintenance and modification facility that also provides fixed-base operator services. Jet Aviation, which is attempting to broaden its presence in the U.S. aviation market, announced plans in January to buy Midcoast (BA, Jan. 30/41). Midcoast is a well-respected name in business-jet circles, providing a full array of services for aircraft operators and specializing in executive aircraft made by Dassault Falcon, Raytheon Aircraft and Bombardier.
Executive Jet Management claims it is generating lots of revenues for its aircraft management clients who put their aircraft on EJM's charter certificate. Cincinnati, Ohio-based EJM said 32 client aircraft in its charter fleet each generated more than $1 million in charter revenue last year, compared with 25 aircraft that reached the $1 million mark in 2004. "All of these management clients exhibit similar traits," said Albert C. Pod, president and CEO of EJM.
Model BAe 146 and Model Avro 146-RJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-23477; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-181-AD; Amendment 39-14507; AD 2006-05-10] - requires a one-time detailed inspection for corrosion of the hinge bracket assembly of the left and right main landing gear (MLG) doors, and corrective action, if necessary. This AD results from in-service reports of hinge bracket failures on the MLG doors.
Raytheon Aircraft is handing over two Beechcraft King Air B200Cs to Gama Aviation Limited at Farnborough Airport. The aircraft will be used for the Scottish Ambulance Service. The B200C is a cargo variant of the King Air with a wide cargo door. The aircraft are equipped with Lifeport Pneumatically Assisted Loading and Dual Patient stretcher systems.
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), a 12-term congressman who is chairman of the House Science Committee, announced he will not run for re-election this fall. Boehlert has served on the Science Committee since 1983 and became chairman in 2001. The committee oversees aviation research, NASA, the National Science Foundation and a host of other activities. He also is a founding member of the House Homeland Security Committee.
FAA agreed to extend by 45 days its March 23 deadline for comments on its proposed rule to reduce fuel tank flammability in transport category aircraft. The agency released its preliminary rulemaking last November. Air Canada, KLM, Thomsonfly and Virgin Atlantic all asked for an extension, followed by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, the Air Transport Association and the Association of European Airlines.
Hundreds of airline pilots have unsuccessfully sought exemptions from FAA to permit them to continue flying for Part 121 carriers past the mandatory retirement age of 60, but few have been as persuasive as US Airways pilot John R. Ham of Aurora, Colo. Ham, who will turn 60 on May 15, told FAA this month that he has more than 21,000 hours of accident/incident-free flying. "To replace me would entail hiring a much less qualified pilot, thus marginally decreasing aviation safety," Ham said in his request for an exemption.
March 28-30 - National Air Transportation Association/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, GSE Aviation Services and Suppliers AS3 Supershow, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 845-9000 April 4-10 - Experimental Aircraft Association Sun 'n' Fun Fly-In, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, Fla., (920) 426-4800 May 3-5 - European Business Aviation Association Convention and Exposition EBACE2006, Geneva, Switzerland, (202) 783-9000
The Federal Aviation Administration is planning a series of briefings for inspectors, charter operators and aircraft owners to clear up confusion about the agency's policy on wet leasing aircraft and operational control. The agency released guidance in October on wet leasing that raised a number of questions on crew employment and how to determine who has operational control of which flight (BA, Oct. 31/196). Under a wet lease, the aircraft owner provides the aircraft and at least one crew member.
American Legend Aircraft Company signed a cooperative agreement with Lincoln Electric Company. Lincoln Electric provides welding equipment for Legend Cub manufacture, including TIG welders that are used to build the tubular chromoly airframe. The Legend Cub is a two-place, single-engine piston-powered aircraft designed to meet light-sport aircraft certification requirements.
