October 3-6 - SAE 2005 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Area, Texas, www.sae.org/events/atc/ October 30-November 2 - Air Traffic Control Association 50th Annual Conference and Exposition, Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center, Dallas/Ft. Worth, www.atca.org, e-mail [email protected] November 2-3 - Regional Airline Association Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., (202) 367-1170
Raytheon Aircraft appointed Mike Turner senior manager, media relations. Turner will work with local, trade, national, business and international media and handle crisis management support and executive communications duties. He previously was an account strategist for Sullivan Higdon & Sink, where he supported a number of aviation clients, including Rockwell Collins and Aerospace Products International. Before joining SH&S, Turner was director of marketing for Elliott Aviation.
Raytheon Aircraft appointed Superior Aircraft Maintenance, Inc. in Medford, Ore., as an authorized service center. Superior is factory-trained to maintain all Beechcraft Bonanza, Baron and King Air products. Superior Aircraft Maintenance plans to break ground this month on an expansion project that will increase the executive terminal to 14,000 square feet and the hangar to 25,000 square feet.
The letters follow earlier correspondence sent by the National Business Aviation Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association and National Air Transportation Association seeking a delay (BA, Sept. 26/133). The associations held a series of meetings on Capitol Hill on the issue, expressing their concern that the aviation trust fund stands to lose business aircraft tax dollars until or unless the appropriate vendors seek rebates for the tax differences. NBAA late Friday further explained its concerns during a meeting with senior Treasury Department officials.
AIR WISCONSIN TO CLOSE ITS APPLETON MAINTENANCE BASE - Air Wisconsin is closing its Appleton, Wis., maintenance base and opening new East Coast facilities to accommodate its flights as US Airways Express.
TMG Airepairs, a subsidiary of The Memphis Group, delivered 20 multi-mode, night-vision compatible, strobe light system kits to the Taiwan Air Force. The kits will be used for the Taiwan Air Force C-130 fleet. TMG Airepairs has delivered more than 900 of the kits worldwide. The company also develops missile detection and avoidance Countermeasure Defense System Kits for the C-130.
RAYTHEON BRINGS HEAVYWEIGHT KING AIR TO MARKET - Raytheon Aircraft received FAA approval for a heavyweight version of the Beechraft King Air 350. The King Air was modified with a heavyweight landing gear and several airframe modifications that enable the company to boost maximum gross takeoff weight by 1,500 pounds to 16,500 pounds. The modifications are part of a package of modifications under development for the new Beechcraft King Air 350ER, which the company unveiled during the Paris Air Show (BA, June 27/288).
TOM BYRD was appointed director of program management for government business for Raytheon Aircraft. Byrd formerly was director of strategic customer solutions for BAE Systems Sensor Integration in Austin, Texas. He also served in several capacities for L-3 Communications and worked for Electrospace and Sikorsky.
FAA tapped Joseph Bogosian to be assistant administrator for the Office of International Aviation, effective Oct. 3. Bogosian will coordinate all of the agency's international activities, with a focus on international standardization and harmonization. He also will work to strengthen ties with various civil aviation authorities and build aviation safety networks with developing countries. He joins FAA from the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he most recently was deputy assistant secretary for manufacturing.
Embraer's Business Aircraft unit is bullish about the outlook for growth of the business aviation market over the next decade. The Brazilian manufacturer said the total market value was $23.4 billion in 2004. That total includes $10.5 billion in airframe/OEM deliveries, $4.1 billion in charter and aircraft management and $1.3 billion in fractional aircraft ownership programs.
Pratt & Whitney Canada was selected by Czech manufacturer Evektor-Aerotechnik to provide the PT6A-21 engine for EV-55 utility aircraft. Evektor-Aerotechnik is developing a twin turboprop aircraft that will seat between nine and 14 passengers or carry 1,824 kilograms (4,021 pounds) of cargo. The EV-55 will be designed to cruise at 220 knots at 10,000 feet. Plans call for a prototype to be completed in mid-2007 and FAR Part 23 certification by the end of 2008.
MERCURY AIR GROUP REPORTS LOSS FOR THE YEAR - Mercury Aircraft Group, which earlier spun off its Mercury Air Centers chain of fixed-base operations, posted a net loss of $2.3 million, or 78 cents per share, for the year ended June 30, 2005. That compares with net income of $600,000 in the previous year.
BRITISH AEROSPACE Model BAC 1-11 200 and 400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22427; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-263-AD] - proposes to require revising the airplane flight manual (AFM) to contain applicable AFM amendments, which advise the flightcrew of information pertaining to safely operating the fuel system. The proposed AD also would require revising the FAA-approved maintenance program to include certain repetitive maintenance tasks intended to improve the safety of the fuel system.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20403; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-144-AD] - proposes to require an inspection of the laminated shims for cracks, damage, or extrusion between the forward attachment fittings of the horizontal stabilizer and the top rib of the vertical stabilizer; a torque check of the attachment bolts in the attachment fittings of the front, middle, and rear spars; and corrective actions if necessary.
JET CARD INNOVATORS CREATE NEW CHARTER SERVICE OPTIONS - Two innovators in the private jet membership business are hoping to attract new customers in their latest venture, Private Business Jets, which offers the guaranteed hours and rates of a membership program but does not require a minimum investment. Don Smith and Greg Goodwin, who were part of the management team that founded business jet membership card provider eBizJets - now called Sentient - launched Private Business Jets three years ago and have been quietly trying to grow their business.
Rolls-Royce named Douglas Cribbes senior vice president for aftermarket and customer services for the company's Corporate and Regional Aircraft business. Cribbes will manage aftermarket and customer services for all in-service products for the Corporate and Regional Aircraft business. Cribbes formerly was president and general manager of Texas Aero Engine Services Limited, a Fort Worth, Texas-based engine overhaul and maintenance joint venture between Rolls-Royce and American Airlines.
House and Senate legislators joined the business aviation community in its call for the Treasury Department to a delay a new rule that taxes certain aviation jet fuel at the highway diesel rate. Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and aviation subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) as well as Rep.
ECLIPSE AVIATION completed airframe static testing of its Eclipse 500 very light jet. Eclipse called the testing a major milestone that keeps the Eclipse 500 on track for certification in March. The static testing subjects airframe elements to maximum design loads. The testing included the wings, fuselage and flight control systems, and Eclipse said all systems successfully completed the tests. FAA approved an initial 10,000-hour lifetime for the aircraft.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42-200, ATR 42-300, and ATR 42-320 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22454; Directorate Identifier 2001-NM-108-AD] -- proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires inspections to determine the proper installation of rivets in certain key holes and to detect cracks in the area of the key holes where rivets are missing; and correction of discrepancies. The existing AD also requires various inspections of the subject area for discrepancies, and corrective actions if necessary; and replacement of certain cargo door hinges with new hinges.
CMC ELECTRONICS named Cathy Bain vice president, marketing and sales, and Francois Dorval vice president, quality assurance and continuous improvement. Bain will consolidate the marketing of all CMC military aviation, commercial aviation and custom electronics products. She will direct a team of employees in Canada, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Bain formerly was director of marketing for CMC's commercial aviation business. She joined CMC Electronics in 1997 as marketing manager, satellite communications products.
