General Dynamics broke ground in Westminster, Md. this month on a 150,000-square-foot facility that will specialize in robotics. The production and operations facility for General Dynamics Robotic Systems is expected to open in the second quarter of 2006 and create 135 jobs over four years. The facility will consolidate machining and assembly operations from several leased facilities. GD said the facility will provide room to grow as the robotics market continues to expand.
GAMA ADDS ANOTHER OFFSHORE MEMBER - The General Aviation Manufacturers Association, which decided several years ago to admit non-U.S. aviation manufacturers, named another European firm to its ranks this month.
New Piper Aircraft is offering Avidyne's CMax electronic approach charter display and MultiLink services, including XM WX satellite weather capabilities, text messaging and flight tracking, as optional equipment on all Piper entry-level and mid-range aircraft. The packages will be offered on PA-28 aircraft (Warrior III, Archer III and Arrow) and PA-32 aircraft (Saratoga II HP, Saratoga II TC, Piper 6X and Piper 6XT) equipped with Avidyne's FlightMax Entegra integrated flight deck.
Goodrich Corp. appointed Marc Duvall president of its Engine Control Systems business. Duvall has 20 years of experience working for large, multinational corporations, and most recently was vice president and general manager for Honeywell Process Solutions, Americas. He has held a number of positions for Honeywell's industrial and aerospace businesses.
Gulfstream Aerospace is scheduled to deliver a G450 business jet to Speed Jet Chartered, Ltd., next month, which the manufacturer said will be the first G450 to be operated in Asia. The airplane will be based in Hong Kong and managed and operated by Metrojet, a provider of corporate aircraft charter services.
Premier Aircraft Sales, a general aviation sales firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Dallas, Texas, delivered its 200th aircraft sold since the company launched in 2003. The company shipped a 2005 Mooney Ovation equipped with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit to a retired American Airlines captain. Premier represents Mooney Aircraft in Texas and throughout the Southeast, and Diamond Aircraft in Texas, Alabama and Florida. Premier also is a dealer of late-model Piper aircraft and small jets.
Summary: This notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR, dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
Western Aircraft next month will launch construction of an expansion project that will more than double the fixed-base operation's terminal in Boise, Idaho from 1,450 square feet to 3,600 square feet. The renovation will include the addition of a separate pilot and passenger lounge, customer conference room and flight planning center. Western Aircraft expects the project to be completed by February.
Raytheon Aircraft Company appointed Jim Smith vice president of government business. Smith will be responsible for all government business, including the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System program for the U.S. Air Force and Navy as well as trainer aircraft programs for the international market. He formerly was vice president of precision engagement, strategic business area for Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. Before that he was director of Navy C2 Systems for Lockheed Martin. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in October 2002 as a brigadier general.
National Business Aviation Association released a new Aircraft Charter Consumer Guide designed to help potential air charter users find a suitable operator and broker. The guide includes information for seeking charter safety information, locating contractors that audit charter companies, developing pre-screening questions for vetting operators and obtaining and evaluating price quotes. For more information, visit the NBAA Web site at www.nbaa.org/charter.
FIRST-HALF REVENUES DOWN, BUT EMBRAER DELIVERIES TO PICK UP - Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer reported a decline in sales revenue for the quarter ended June 30 but said it plans to boost aircraft production and deliveries in the second half of the year.
BRS REPORTS HIGHER SALES AND EARNINGS - Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) Inc., the St. Paul, Minn. manufacturer of whole-airplane parachute recovery systems for small aircraft, reported higher sales and earnings for the period ended June 30, which marked the end of the third quarter of the company's fiscal year.
International commercialized air transportation systems have remained safe and have taken steps to improve efficiency, but also have imposed higher fees for general aviation, the Government Accountability Office told key legislators. GAO studied five commercialized air traffic control systems that were at least partly government-owned in Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, and reported its findings to the leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has a strong say in financing strategies for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion completed fabrication of a hypersonic ground demonstration engine, GDE-2, fulfilling a nine-year, $58 million contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The demonstrator includes a variable-geometry inlet and bolted construction to simulate the configuration of a reusable access-to-space or global-reach propulsion system. GDE-2 will be tested under Mach 5 flight conditions simulated at NASA-Langley Research Center beginning in October.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-7-100, DHC-7-101, DHC-7-102, and DHC-7-103 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20595; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-149-AD; Amendment 39-14208; AD 2005-16-03] - requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions of Continued Airworthiness to include a new, lower life limit for lower wing skins. This AD results from the discovery that, during the manufacture of the lower wing skins, score marks may have been accidentally inscribed around the edge of the lower wing skin doublers.
NOSE WHEEL SHIMMY SLOWS JAVELIN TEST PROGRAM - Aviation Technology Group officials say they are making progress in resolving a nosewheel shimmy problem with the company's prototype Javelin aircraft and hope to have a solution in place by next month.
EMBRAER Model EMB-135 airplanes and Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22033; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-218-AD] - proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires repetitive inspections of the spring cartridges of the elevator gust lock system to determine if the lock washer projection correctly fits the slots in the cartridge flange, and corrective action if necessary. The existing AD also provides for interim optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections for certain airplanes.
Applications seeking Transportation Security Administration approval to operate into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) are expected to begin rolling in to the TSA this week now that the agency has released a formal application and guidance on the approval process. The rule allowing operators to seek approval to fly into DCA took effect Thursday, but operators had been waiting for the guidance before they applied. Filling out the one-page application form is just the first step of what is expected to be a lengthy vetting exercise.
GULFSTREAM PROMOTES VETERAN PILOT - Neil Vernon, a veteran corporate pilot, was promoted to chief pilot, G450/G550 demonstration, by Gulfstream Aerospace. In his new role, Vernon will oversee G450 and G550 demonstration flights to best display aircraft performance and capabilities to potential customers and customer pilots. A five-year Gulfstream employee, Vernon previously served as an international demonstration captain/safety officer. In 2000 he joined Galaxy Aerospace as a demonstration pilot/international captain, flying Astra and Galaxy business jets.
Sterling Aviation, based at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wis., added a Raytheon Hawker 800XP to its charter fleet. The aircraft seats eight passengers. Sterling provides charter, management, acquisition and maintenance.
FLIGHT OPTIONS TRANSITIONING FLEET, SERVICE OFFERINGS - Flight Options, the Cleveland, Ohio-based fractional aircraft provider, is in the midst of a major transformation of its business jet fleet at the same time as it is expanding the number of programs available to its customers.
LEARJET Model 23, 24, 25, 35, and 36 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20798; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-257-AD; Amendment 39-14214; AD 2005-16-09] - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires repetitive inspections to detect deterioration of both flappers of the tip tank in each wing of the airplane, and various follow-on actions. The existing AD also requires replacing the flappers with new flappers, and repetitively performing certain other follow-on actions.
SENATOR CALLS FOR STUDY OF AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH ACROSS DOD-NASA - Adding to earlier legislative attempts to shore up federally funded aeronautical research, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) has proposed a Joint Aeronautical Research Working Group to study cooperative research across NASA and the Defense Department.
