Gulfstream Aerospace, whose aircraft manufacturing plant has been "bursting at the seams" for several years, will announce a major, multi-year expansion program during ceremonies in Savannah, Ga. today (March 6). Over the years, Gulfstream has moved some operations, such as aircraft painting and completions, to new facilities as aircraft production rates have climbed, but the actual amount of manufacturing space at company headquarters in Savannah has remained relatively unchanged since the late 1960s.
Delivery of a new generation of Very Light Jets (VLJs), the first of which will be delivered to owners later this year, will drive up general aviation flight hours and help double the size of the turbine-powered U.S. fleet over the next 12 years, according to FAA's latest assessment, which was unveiled at the 31st Annual FAA Aviation Forecast Conference last week in Washington, D.C.
March 20-23 - National Business Aviation Association International Operators Conference, Tampa, Fla., (202) 783-9000 March 22-23 - Federal Aviation Administration General Aviation Summit, Doubletree Hotel, Overland Park, Kan., (816) 329-4117 March 23-25 - 17th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference, Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tenn., (937) 839-4647
Named western region vice president, management and charter sales for Executive Jet Management (EJM). Pedicino will oversee EJM's San Jose, Calif. office and be responsible for charter sales in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. He joined EJM as vice president, business development for the West Coast in 2000. Before that, Pedicino was vice president of Lenicom Network Consulting in Los Angeles. He also has worked for Peterson Aviation and Clay Lacy Aviation.
Raytheon Aircraft was awarded FAA certification for its newest Hawker, the 850XP, an upgraded Hawker 800XPi with Raytheon-designed winglets. The winglets boost range by 100 nautical miles and decrease the aircraft's climb time by eight percent. The winglets incorporate LED position lights that have a 5,000-hour mean time between failures. Raytheon Aircraft also is offering improved scheduled maintenance intervals with only a detailed walk-around inspection required at 300 hours and scheduled maintenance at 600 hours.
Joined Schubach Aviation as chief pilot. Standish is responsible for managing the pilot staff and training. Standish has 16 years of aviation experience, most recently as an instructor and check pilot for Hawker jets at CAE Simuflite in Dallas, Texas. She also spent 13 years as a chief pilot at Crow Executive Air in Toledo, Ohio and as a staff sergeant in the Ohio Air National Guard.
BBA Aviation Services Group acquired Ontic Engineering & Manufacturing Inc., a worldwide provider of aircraft parts and services, in a transaction announced Tuesday.
Joined Wingspeed Corp. as vice president of customer service. Kyslowsky will oversee customer relations and develop Wingspeed's customer service organization that supports the company's XLLink system product line. He has 25 years of management experience in the software and telecommunications industries, formerly serving as vice president of customer service for OuterLink. He also has served with Lotus, Mathsoft, Beyond and Octocom.
IV A and IV C series turboshaft engines [Docket No. 99-NE-12-AD] - proposes to supersede an existing AD for Turbomeca Turmo IV A and IV C series turboshaft engines that currently requires borescope and eddy current inspections or ultrasonic inspections of centrifugal compressor intake wheel blades for cracks and evidence of corrosion pitting, and replacement with serviceable parts. This proposed AD would require the same actions, but would require borescope inspections at more frequent intervals for certain engines.
Federal Aviation Administration named Stan Sieg deputy director of the agency's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Sieg succeeds Richard Rodine, who retired Jan. 3. A retired Air Force general, Sieg has served with the agency for four years, most recently as program director for the Aeronautical Center's FAA Logistics Center. He has more than 30 years experience in acquisition, supply chain management, information technology, program management, financial management, and maintenance.
Thales won two contracts from Italian air navigation services provider ENAV for a number of air navigation systems. The contracts include 11 ILS 420 instrument landing systems, 22 distant measuring equipment units, four non-directional beacons and three direction finders. The systems will be installed this year at airports throughout Italy.
Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701, & 702), CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705), and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22632; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-158-AD; Amendment 39-14486; AD 2006-04-05] - requires repetitive inspections for cracking or fracturing of the output links of the power control unit (PCU) for the ailerons, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from reports of fractured output links of the aileron PCU.
Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez of Mexico was elected president of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization Thursday, effective Aug. 1. Gonzalez will succeed Assad Kotaite of Lebanon, who has been involved with ICAO's activities since 1953, when he joined the organization's Legal Committee. Kotaite has served as president of the ICAO Council since Aug. 1, 1976, having been elected 11 consecutive times. He announced two years ago that he would step down at the end of his current three-year term.
The pilot and all three passengers aboard an Australian Robinson R44 helicopter were killed when the aircraft collided with terrain Feb. 21, about six miles west of the community of Gunpowder, Queensland. The aircraft, VH-HBS, was owned and operated by North Australian Helicopters Pty. and was operating under the provisions of the Australian Civil Aviation Regulations.
A Falcon 900 business jet ran off the end of a runway at the Teterboro, N.J. Municipal Airport (TEB) after landing about 2:30 Friday afternoon and got stuck in a muddy area just beyond the end of the runway. There were three people on the aircraft. A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told BA there were no injuries, but workers were still trying late in the afternoon to free the aircraft from the mud. TEB has drawn a lot of attention from anti-airport forces since a Challenger overrun accident there a year ago.
Arinc Engineering Services, LLC (AES) was named a prime contractor by NASA to support aircraft flight critical systems research. AES will compete against four other prime contractors for a range of task orders under a recent indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity award. The contract tasks will cover support of flight critical systems development and integration as well as flight dynamics, guidance and control, crew systems and aviation operations, and reliable and robust avionics systems.
MD Helicopters plans to expand the standard equipment packages on its entire product line to include wire strike alert systems, cockpit voice and video recorders, health and usage monitoring systems and terrain awareness warning systems, beginning in 2007. In addition, MD Helicopters is adding a "Fly Safety Training" package to the company's training program. The company said it is enhancing its safety equipment and training program offerings as part of an effort to support the safety recommendations of the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST).
The Federal Aviation Administration delayed a series of controversial flight restrictions over Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) until Feb. 20, 2011. FAA originally proposed the tighter restrictions, including restructured routes and flight-free zones, in two separate rules released in 2000. The agency implemented the tougher restrictions in the western end of GCNP in April 2001, but delayed implementation in the eastern end of the park after the United States Air Tour Association and seven air tour operators filed suit and raised safety concerns.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association will hold its annual Fly-In and Open House Saturday, June 3 at the association's headquarters at the Frederick, Md. Municipal Airport (FDK). The event will include a static display of aircraft, seminars and a self-guided tour of the AOPA headquarters building.
Wingspeed Corp. released two XLLink Systems, which are designed as low-cost communication units for diverse applications on both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The XLLink System Model L, retailing for about $3,000, provides flight tracking and aircraft situational display capabilities. The system generates and sends messages with aircraft GPS information to Wingspeed's ground-based services via the Iridium network of low-earth-orbiting satellites. XLLink is integrated with Flight Explorer's aircraft situational display software.
Montreal's Mirabel Airport, which hasn't seen a passenger flight since October 2004, will be transformed into an amusement park under a deal reached late last month. Aeroports de Montreal (ADM) and I-Parks-Oger International signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an "indoor recreational multiplex" at Mirabel covering more than 100,000 square meters. AeroDream, or Reveport in French, will be a "one-of-a-kind attraction in North America," targeting local visitors as well as tourists and business travelers.
Fuel providers have experienced the price sensitivity in the aviation gasoline market. ConocoPhillips executives said avgas sales were off five to six percent in the latter half of 2005 when fuel prices spiked. Avgas sales already were softening, but went into an even steeper decline after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, they said. Jet fuel sales, however, were up about two percent in 2005.
GARY PORTERFIELD was promoted to assistant manager of FlightSafety International's learning center in West Palm Beach, Fla. Porterfield joined the West Palm Beach facility in 2003 as an instructor for the Bombardier Learjet 55 aircraft and subsequently led development of the Piaggio Avanti P180 training program. He was promoted to program manager for Learjet 55 and Piaggio Avanti training in July 2005. Before joining FlightSafety, he flew for American Eagle and a number of corporate and charter operators. He also served in the U.S. Air Force.
