AirCell recently shipped its 3,500th airborne telecommunications system, and company executives said AirCell is on track to complete its most successful year yet. AirCell Chairman and CEO Jack Blumenstein called 2005 "a record-shattering year in every respect." The company shipped more than 1,100 airborne telecommunications systems from Oct. 31, 2004 to Oct. 31, 2005, a 50 percent increase from the year earlier.
Piaggio America named Jet Aviation in West Palm Beach, Fla. and Jet Works Aviation in Denton, Texas authorized Avanti completion centers. The centers will complete P.180 Avanti and Avanti II aircraft for single-operator owners. Stevens Aviation in Greenville, S.C. will remain the primary completion center for fleet aircraft. Piaggio said the additional completion capacity was necessary due to demand for the Avanti II.
ADAM AIRCRAFT BEGINS DELIVERY OF A500, ROLLS OUT SECOND A700 - Adam Aircraft is ramping up production of the A500 as the company has begun delivery of the centerline twin piston-engine aircraft, company executives said during the National Business Aviation Association this month in Orlando, Fla. At the same time, the Colorado-based airplane manufacturer rolled out a second A700 very light jet (VLJ) and is preparing to fly the plane before yearend.
Rockwell Collins was selected to provide its Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS) for the Bombardier Challenger 300 flight deck. The IFIS will be incorporated into the Challenger 300 Pro Line 21 avionics suite. The upgrade will be a factory option on aircraft delivered in early 2007 and become standard equipment later in the year. IFIS facilitates access to electronic charts, graphical weather and enhanced map overlays.
Flightsafety International is expanding its Hypoxia Awareness training program with plans to offer the curriculum at six different centers by the end of the year. Developed in concert with the Aerospace Medicine section of the Mayo Clinic, the program includes ground school and hypoxia profiles that are conducted in a flight simulator. The program enables pilots to experience symptoms of hypoxia and trains them to take corrective action. A Mayo clinic observer and a co-pilot monitor each pilot during training.
Recent comments by the new owners of Jet Aviation and executives at Landmark Aviation about plans to invest heavily in acquiring fixed-base operations underscore a widespread interest in FBO acquisitions these days, driven by the strong business aviation growth curve. "I have never seen such a feeding frenzy of people wanting to invest in the FBO industry," one veteran consultant and deal maker told BA Friday.
Sikorsky successfully flew a Schweizer 333 helicopter equipped with a fly-by-wire system that will be incorporated into the X2 Technology demonstrator rotorcraft. Sikorsky called the flight a key milestone in the development of the X2 demonstrator, which is expected to fly by the end of next year. Sikorsky in April announced plans to build a demonstrator for a coaxial XT technology helicopter that will have counter-rotating rotors on the same vertical axis and have a high-speed configuration that can cruise at 250 knots.
SUSAN HARRISON was promoted to manager of the delivery center for Mooney Airplane Company. Harrison will interface with new aircraft customers during initial delivery of their aircraft and with customers picking up their aircraft after major maintenance. Harrison, previously delivery coordinator, has served with Mooney for nearly four years.
SIKORSKY Model S-76A, B, and C helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2005-22757; Directorate Identifier 2005-SW-32-AD; Amendment 39-14345; AD 2005-22-01] - requires certain inspections of the main rotor lower bifilar arm assembly in the attachment area around the lower bifilar lugs for a crack. If a crack is found on any bifilar lug, this AD requires replacing the bifilar arm assembly with an airworthy bifilar arm assembly.
PILATUS Models PC-12 and PC-12/45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-21835; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-35-AD; Amendment 39-14357; AD 2005-22-13] - requires inspecting the left and right main landing gear (MLG) assemblies for any part number (P/N) 532.10.12.077 or FAA-approved equivalent part number bolts that do not have white primed and painted heads; and replacing non-compliant bolts found with new P/N 532.10.12.077F or FAA-approved equivalent part number bolts in all MLG assemblies.
Flightsafety International was awarded training contracts by NASA, FAA and the U.S. Navy. NASA signed a contract for pilot and maintenance training on Gulfstream II and III, Beechcraft King Air 200, and de Havilland Twin Otter Aircraft. FAA retained FSI for initial and recurrent pilot training on the Bombardier Global 5000. That five-year contract calls for the Global 5000 training to take place at FSI's learning center in the Philadelphia/Wilmington area. FSI received two five-year training contracts from the Navy.
SHORT BROTHERS Model SD3-60 SHERPA, SD3-SHERPA, and SD3-60 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22875; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-179-AD] - proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness AD that requires an inspection of the fork end of the rear pintle pin on each main landing gear (MLG) to verify that sealant is properly applied and is undamaged, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would add an inspection for correctly applied sealant on the MLG rear pintle pin assemblies, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary.
Executive Jet Management, Inc., the Cincinnati, Ohio-based aircraft management company, appears to have complied with nearly all federal requirements necessary to launch commuter air carrier service between major U.S. cities with a fleet of up to 70 business jets.
LANDMARK PREPARING TO TAKE OVER SKYPORT FBO AT HPN - Landmark Aviation executives were briefing employees at the Skyport Flight Services fixed-base operation at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. last week and anticipate closing on Landmark's acquisition of the FBO Dec. 1. Landmark announced earlier that it had reached agreement with Jet Equity, LLC to buy Skyport, part of Landmark's aggressive acquisition strategy to pick up some FBOs at major business aviation airports (BA, Nov. 7/207).
Dassault scheduled its 26th Worldwide M&O (maintenance and operations) session May 30-June 1, 2006 at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Boca Raton, Fla. The seminar will include model-specific technical and operational sessions and knowledge sharing meetings. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen will be a keynote speaker at the opening and general session and the event will conclude with a dinner and gala reception.
JIM THOMPSON was appointed director of engineering, Nacelle/ Thrust Reverser Systems Division, for The Nordam Group. Thompson will oversee the engineering team that designs and develops nacelle and thrust reverser systems for business and regional aircraft. He formerly served with Garrett Aviation Services, where he was vice president, programs and technology. He also filled the roles of vice president and general manager of Garrett-Van Nuys and director of program development.
Gulfstream Aerospace said a Gulfstream G450 established a new speed record, flying 3,290 nautical miles from Washington, D.C. Dulles International to Luton, England in six hours and 12 minutes. Gulfstream said the flight benefited from a 30-knot tailwind for most of the trip. The aircraft flew an average speed of Mach 0.85. The record is pending National Aeronautic Association review.
BizJet International, the Tulsa, Okla., subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik, struck cooperative agreements with Palwaukee Service Center in Wheeling, Ill. and Thornton Aircraft Company in Van Nuys, Calif. The agreements expand BizJet's portfolio of capabilities and will enable the repair station to enhance its services to customers on the West Coast and in the Chicago area, BizJet said.
ROSS AVIATION ACQUIRES SANTA FE JET CENTER - Ross Aviation has acquired the Santa Fe Jet Center at San Fe, N.M. Municipal Airport, the third major acquisition for the company in the past 12 months. The Santa Fe facility, which will now be known as Santa Fe AirCenter, joins Scottsdale AirCenter and Denver AirCenter in the Ross Aviation stable.
EMBRAER Model EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC, and -120RT airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22871; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-191-AD] - proposes to require installing a rivet and washer in the hole of the upper frame of the auxiliary power unit (APU) firewall. This proposed AD results from a report indicating that, during production, a pinhole was left open at the upper frame of the APU firewall. FAA is proposing this AD to ensure that the APU compartment is isolated from the rest of the airplane in the event of an APU fire.
FAA SLATED FOR INCREASED FUNDING, MORE GENERAL FUNDS IN FY06 - Congress late last week was putting the finishing touches on a $13.8 billion funding package for FAA in fiscal 2006 that includes substantially more funding than FAA requested, and far more funding from general federal receipts than the agency sought.
