FirstFlight Management executives are hoping the company's recent sale to Scottsdale, Ariz.-based FBO Air will serve as a launch pad for nationwide growth of its charter and management services and its new international handling business. FBO Air bought Horseheads, N.Y.-based FirstFlight in late September from owner John Dow for 2.3 million shares of common stock and $1.4 million in cash.
AVIOINTERIORS (formerly ALVEN), Series 312 Box Mounted Seats [Docket No. FAA-2005-20848; Directorate Identifier 2005-NE-02-AD; Amendment 39-14323; AD 2005-20-26] - requires initial and repetitive inspections of the seat attachments for cracks, and if necessary, replacing the attachments. This AD results from 10 reports of cracked attachments of Series 312 box-mounted seats.
EAA COMPLAINS THAT PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS WILL DAMPEN AIR SHOWS - The Experimental Aircraft Association said a series of new air show restrictions being proposed by FAA will do little or nothing to improve safety but will force changes in current practice and remove much of the drama of traditional air shows.
J.C. Bamford Excavators Ltd., an international heavy construction firm, is adding to its S-76 helicopter fleet. The company recently signed an agreement to buy an S-76++, scheduled for delivery in September 2006, the first planned European delivery for the new model, according to Sikorsky.
Emteq Aerospace And Defense Solutions was approved as a vendor for the Thrane & Thrane high-speed Satcom system, Aero-HSD+. EMTEQ will provide avionics support packages - including tray, rack connector, circuit breaker and mounting hardware - and cables for ARINC 429 and MPDS Connections. EMTEQ also offers engineering, certification and other services necessary for installation.
Embraer in October handed over the 100th E-Jet, an Embraer 175 that will join the Air Canada fleet. The delivery comes 19 months after Embraer first began delivery of its Embraer 170/190 aircraft product line. Air Canada has placed nine 175s into service and has 60 E-jets on order - 15 Embraer 175s and 45 Embraer 190s. Embraer also has delivered E-Jets to LOT Polish Airlines, Alitalia, US Airways Express, United Express, Delta Connection, Cirrus, Paramount Airways, Hong Kong Express and Finnair.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT REPORTS IMPROVED PROFITS, BUT BOOKINGS SLOW - Raytheon Aircraft Company (RAC) reported increased operating profits for the third quarter and nine months, but the Wichita, Kan. aircraft manufacturer said its order volume was down substantially from the same period a year earlier.
Landmark Aviation Executives said the company's Associated Air Center (AAC) unit in Dallas recently completed and delivered one of the "most elaborate interiors ever" in a Boeing 747-400 that AAC modified for an unnamed customer. The project, which involved moving the stairwell to the upper deck of the aircraft by several feet, took 18 months. AAC's ability to finish the job in 18 months was a key to winning the contract, officials said, noting that competitors told the customer the job would require two years. How extensive was the modification?
RAC WINS CERTIFICATION FOR PREMIER UPGRADE - Raytheon Aircraft Corp. won FAA approval last week for its new Beechcraft Premier IA business jet. The IA model features a completely redesigned cabin interior, a Rockwell Collins ProLine 21 avionics upgrade and several systems improvements developed as part of the evolution of the Premier I. The new interior is modeled after those installed in the larger Hawker 800XP, featuring a contoured cabin headliner that increases passenger headroom, adjustable LED lighting and repositioned passenger reading lights.
The top executives of the former Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated Air Center enterprises outlined a road map for strong growth, both organically and through acquisition, as the company unveiled an integrated marketing and sales strategy under its new Landmark Aviation banner.
Despite receiving requests from Congress, FAA and industry, the Internal Revenue Service did not shelve a new fuel tax calling for certain jet fuel to be taxed at the highway diesel fuel tax rate (BA, Oct. 24/184). But the IRS did provide guidance on complying with the new tax. As expected, fixed-base operators must pay the higher tax and register as an ultimate vendor to file for a refund. The taxes are deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and stay there until the IRS receives a refund request.
BELL Model 212, 412, and 412EP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2005-22634; Directorate Identifier 2005-SW-12-AD; Amendment 39-14335; AD 2005-20-38] - requires inspecting a certain part-numbered reservoir assembly adapter for the counter bore depth (dimension D). If the dimension D of the adapter exceeds .860 inch, before further flight, this AD requires replacing the reservoir assembly and adapter with airworthy parts. This amendment is prompted by a report of a rupture of an adapter during nitrogen charging because of inadequate wall thickness for the operating pressures.
ROLLS-ROYCE (formerly Allison) 250-B and 250-C Series turboshaft and turboprop engines [Docket No. 2004-NE-10-AD] - proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires a one-time inspection of the fuel nozzle screen for contamination, and if contamination is found, inspection and cleaning of the entire aircraft fuel system before further flight. That AD also requires replacing the fuel nozzle with a new design fuel nozzle at the next fuel nozzle overhaul or by June 30, 2006, whichever occurs first.
TSA DEVELOPING SECURITY PROGRAM FOR FRACTIONAL OPERATORS - The Transportation Security Administration is developing a "security oversight and monitoring" program for fractional ownership aircraft operators, TSA chief Edmund "Kip" Hawley said. In a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, Hawley wrote that TSA officials "recognize the need for the development of [a] security program addressing fractional ownership, especially as the number of owners continues to grow." Such a program would apply to both domestic and international flights, he said.
Sikorsky Aircraft secured FAA approval for S-92 helicopters equipped with the Rotor Ice Protection System (RIPS) to operate into known icing conditions. Certification follows a final series of flight tests earlier this month in Alaska. The European Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada also evaluated the tests, and Sikorsky is hoping to win similar approvals from those agencies.
November 2-3 - Regional Airline Association Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., (202) 367-1170 November 3-5 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, AOPA Expo 2005, Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Fla., www.aopa.org/expo November 9-11 - National Business Aviation Association Annual Meeting and Convention, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000 December 1-2 - National Air Transportation Association Line Service Supervisor Training, Albuquerque, N.M., (703) 845-9000
Bombardier Aerospace is moving south of the border with plans to invest $200 million for a new facility in Mexico aimed at making components that Bombardier now buys from other suppliers. Work at the new facility, located just southwest of Yuma, Ariz., is scheduled to begin in mid-2006. The Mexican plant will begin making and assembling wire harnesses for Bombardier aircraft and then move on to making "major structural aircraft components currently being built by Bombardier Aerospace suppliers," Bombardier said.
FAA'S WET LEASE GUIDANCE ALARMS BUSINESS AVIATION GROUPS - Business aviation groups are concerned that guidance the Federal Aviation Administration released last week about wet leases could devastate the Part 135 industry. In a notice printed in the Oct. 25 Federal Register, FAA seeks comments on guidance discussing what would be considered legal and illegal wet lease arrangements - those involving the lease of an aircraft and at least one crewmember.
BAE Model ATP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22586; Directorate Identifier 2002-NM-258-AD; Amendment 39-14315; AD 2005-20-19] - requires one-time inspections for corrosion of the engine sub-frame tubes in Zone 1 and of the engine attachment struts in Zone 5, and corrective action if necessary. This AD results from reports of reduced thickness in localized areas of the engine sub-frame tubes due to corrosion, and reports that corrosion also may exist in the engine attachment struts in Zone 5.
AL RAMSEY was named center manager of FlightSafety International's Seattle/Tacoma learning center. The facility trains pilots and mechanics for Bombardier Dash 8, Jetstream and Metro III models. A 13-year FSI employee, Ramsey most recently managed the Houston learning center. He formerly had a 20-year career with the U.S. Air Force, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also managed the flight department of an international petroleum company.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-1A11 (CL-600), CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), and CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A and CL-601-3R) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22627; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-156-AD] - proposes to require measuring to detect migration of the lower gimbal pin and inspecting for other discrepancies of the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator (HSTA). This proposed AD also would require replacing or modifying the HSTA, as applicable. This proposed AD results from reports of failure of the lower gimbal pin of the HSTA.
