Mechtronix won European JAA approval for its ATR 42/72 Ascent full flight trainer based at the ATR Training Center in Toulouse, France. The Ascent is the first of a series of Aerosim-Mechtronix training devices for the ATR 42/72 family. The trainer can be configured for the 42-300, 42-500, 72-200 and 72-500 and can include GNSS, weather radar, traffic alert and collision avoidance system, and enhanced ground proximity warning system features.
Gulfstream Aerospace continued last year to book more orders for new aircraft than it delivered, setting the stage for a sharp increase in production over the next two years. Nicholas Chabraja, chairman of Gulfstream parent General Dynamics, said the Savannah, Ga. manufacturer would deliver 111 new aircraft in 2006 and 127 in 2007, up significantly from the 89 new aircraft the company delivered in 2005.
Jose Manuel Perez De La Cruz was appointed general manager of TAG Aviation's Espana operation. Perez de la Cruz will oversee day-to-day management of the Madrid base, including the aircraft management and charter business and fixed-base operation services. He previously was general manager of a Spanish airport services company and served with the Spanish Civil Aeronautics Administration.
Dr. Thomas Connolly, a veteran of more than three decades at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., was named chancellor of the Florida campus last week.
The Army hopes to be able to rethink its acquisition strategy for the Aerial Common Sensor program and restart the competition in 2009 following a new study by the Pentagon on joint airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements. The service chose to terminate prime contractor Lockheed Martin's $879 million ACS development contract rather than proceed with any of the company's proposed options for saving the program following the revelation last year that the company's chosen ACS aircraft was too small.
CharterX continues to expand its portfolio of charter companies with 25 more operators joining the online charter business exchange. CharterX provides up-to-date information on airplane availability, scheduling and pricing. CharterX said its Industry Xchange processes more than 2,000 flight requests each day.
BAE Model Avro 146-RJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22792; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-084-AD; Amendment 39-14447; AD 2006-01-08] - requires reviewing the airplane's maintenance records to determine if certain tasks of the BAe 146/Avro RJ Maintenance Planning Document, issued May 15, 2004, have been accomplished. This AD also requires doing repetitive detailed inspections of the external fuselage skin adjacent to the longeron at Rib 0 from Frame 29 to Frame 31, and repairing any damage.
Bombardier received an order from the French Securite Civile for a Bombardier 415 amphibious aircraft, which will increase the French agency's fleet of Bombardier 415s to eleven. Bombardier has sold 63 415s to firefighting agencies in Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Ontario and Quebec. The aircraft can complete nine drops within an hour and deliver 14,600 gallons of fire suppressant.
The Air Defense Identification Zone over Washington, D.C. is an "idiot's game" that is killing light general aviation in the area, costing the economy millions of dollars and jeopardizing safety - while not accomplishing its intended purpose of enhancing security, airport managers, pilots and industry advocates told the government last week.
National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public hearing Tuesday (Jan. 24) to discuss its investigation of the Oct. 19, 2004 fatal crash of a Corporate Airlines British Aerospace Jetstream twin turboprop. The airplane was making a night approach to the Kirksville, Mo. Regional Airport when it struck trees and crashed short of the runway, killing 13 of the 15 people on board.
CESSNA Models 208 and 208B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-21275; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-28-AD; Amendment 39-14450; AD 2006-01-11] - requires installation of the pilot assist handle (Part Number (P/N) SK208-146-2) (or FAA-approved equivalent part number) and deicing boots on the cargo pod and landing gear fairings (Part Number (P/N) AK208-6C) (or FAA-approved equivalent Part Number); and changes to the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) and FAA-approved Airplane Flight Manual (AFM).
Ascend Development, a San Francisco, Calif.-based airport real estate company, is adding 80,000 square feet of custom hangar space at Hayward Executive Airport in California. The project is the second phase of a Park Avion Hayward hangar-development project that will encompass a total of 130,000 square feet of hangar space and 15 separate bays. Hangar options include wine cellars, custom flooring, relaxation rooms, private crew quarters with showers, private offices, 24/7 online security, biometrics and keypad security access.
Adam Aircraft handed over the second customer-bound A500 centerline piston-twin-aircraft to a gastroenterologist based in Franklin, Pa. last month. The doctor will fly the aircraft to perform medical procedures in the field rather than in his office. The aircraft will be outfitted with air conditioning and pressurized within the next 90 days. Adam also will expand the altitude envelope to a ceiling of 25,000 feet. The Denver, Colo.-based plane-maker is preparing its second A700 twin jet for a first flight by mid-February.
While the true debate is expected to start once FAA releases its proposal, National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen points out that the current authorization - and aviation tax rates - do not expire until the end of 2007. Many faces on Capitol Hill can change between now and then, he said, noting that House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) will take a new assignment at the end of this year under House rules while Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is expected to retire.
Jon Pollack was named manager of FlightSafety International's E-Learning program. Pollack first joined the company in 1982 at the FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Fla. He moved to the West Palm Beach center, where he held positions of increasing responsibility and was promoted to manager of the company's Toronto, Canada center and director of operations for FlightSafety Boeing's Boeing Business Jet training program.
Israel Aircraft Industries, which has been building the G100 business jet and its predecessor models for decades, recently rolled out the last G100 to be manufactured and transitioned to producing the G150, which incorporates a larger-diameter fuselage.
COLLINS SAYS EFLIGHT SYSTEM WILL BOOST EFFICIENCYRockwell Collins officials said they are on board with two airlines to supply the company's new eFlight products and services for those carriers' fleets, and expect to finalize a similar agreement in the near future with fractional operator NetJets.
Air Tractor, the Olney, Texas manufacturer of agricultural aircraft, created a college fund to aid children of pilots who lost their lives in aerial application accidents involving Air Tractor aircraft. Air Tractor and its dealers created the SOAR (Student Outreach and Assistance Resource) Fund, which will be financed from the profit on sales of Air Tractor G-246AT aviation replacement batteries. "This is a way families and businesses within the ag aviation community can help each other," said Kristin Edwards, vice president of sales for Air Tractor.
BAE Model BAe 146-100A and -200A series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22791; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-083-AD; Amendment 39-14448; AD 2006-01-09] - requires inspecting the nose landing gear (NLG) assembly to determine the part number of the NLG main fitting subassembly. For subject NLG main fitting subassemblies, this AD also requires determining the total number of accumulated landings and eventually replacing the NLG assembly.
Following a series of accidents resulting from loss of hydraulic power on AS-350BA helicopters, the National Transportation Safety Board told FAA it should require operators to comply with applicable manufacturer service bulletins and identify a life limit or inspection interval for drive belts on AS-350 helicopters.
GULFSTREAM Model Gulfstream 100 airplanes; and Model Astra SPX, and 1125 Westwind Astra airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22511; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-120-AD; Amendment 39-14440; AD 2006-01-01] - requires a one-time inspection for discrepancies of the nose wheel steering assembly of the landing gear, installation of a warning placard on each nose landing gear door, and corrective action if necessary. This AD results from reports of failure of the steering brackets of the nose wheel steering assembly, and in one incident, loss of steering control.
January 25-27 - National Business Aviation Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (202) 783-9000 February 26-28 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2006 Annual Convention and Exposition, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646 Feb. 28-March 1 - Federal Aviation Administration, 31st Annual Aviation Forecast Conference, "Survival and Growth in Today's World," Washington, D.C. Convention Center, (202) 267-7924
