July 7 - NBAA Business Aviation Regional Forum, San Jose, Calif., www.nbaa.org July 11-14 - SAE International's Conference on Environmental Systems and European Symposium on Space Environmental Control Systems, Hotel Villa Pamphili, Rome. Call +1 (724) 776-4841 or see www.sae.org July 16 - National Aviation Hall of Fame 44th Annual Induction Ceremony, Dayton, Ohio, (937) 256-0944
Honda, which has provided only limited information on its twin-engine experimental HondaJet aircraft, plans to stage the aircraft's "world debut" at this month's Experimental Aircraft Association convention in Oshkosh, Wis. The Japanese manufacturer has spent nearly two decades developing the aircraft, which began flying in late 2003 (BA, Dec. 22, 2003/275).
Bombardier Model DHC-8-401 and -402 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-21435; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-163-AD] - proposes to require a one-time inspection of the fuel and hydraulic tubes, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD also would require modifying fairlead plate assemblies. This proposed AD is prompted by reports of chafing between fuel and hydraulic tubes and the fairlead plate where the tubes pass through the firewall.
John T. Walton, one of the richest men in the country, was killed Monday when the unregistered ultralight aircraft he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff from the Jackson Hole, Wyo. Airport (JAC) in Grand Teton National Park. Walton, 58, was one of three sons of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and served on the company's board of directors. His net worth was estimated at $18.2 billion.
CitationShares, the Greenwich, Conn.-based fractional ownership program, may have found a way to help mitigate the cost of aircraft positioning flights, a bane of both fractional and charter operators. At the same time, the company is raising prices and fees for its services in an attempt to push its operations into the black. See article below.
Helicopter Association International is seeking a college graduate "with a documented track record as a skilled manager and team leader" who is an "articulate, organized self-starter, with excellent writing skills, and considerable understanding of the political nature of association work" to serve as HAI's chief staff executive. Experience as a civilian pilot, with helicopter time, is listed as "desirable" for potential candidates.
Raytheon Aircraft Company said its Little Rock, Ark. facility won a trophy from fractional aircraft provider NetJets, Inc. for outstanding performance. The Little Rock facility services and performs scheduled maintenance on NetJets' fleet of Hawker 400XPs, Hawker 800XPs and Hawker 1000s.
Cirrus Model SR20 and SR22 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19694; Directorate Identifier 2004-CE-41-AD] - proposes to revise an earlier proposed AD that would have required measuring and adjusting the crew seat break-over bolts and replacing the crew seat recline locks on both crew seats. The earlier proposal resulted from Cirrus discovering that the crew seats, under emergency landing dynamic loads, may fold forward at less than the 26 Gs required by the regulations.
CRASH NEAR FOGGY GROTON CLAIMS FLYING ROTARIANS - A Cessna 182 Skylane, part of a group flight by members of The International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians, crashed shortly after noon June 27 in dense fog into Fishers Island Sound near Groton, Conn., killing all four people aboard. Local law enforcement officials identified the victims as Herbert K. (Chip) Rollins, III of Phoenix, Ariz., his wife Patricia, and another couple, who resided in Australia.
Business aviation executives are becoming increasingly alarmed that a recent Internal Revenue Service notice on the use of business aircraft for entertainment purposes is so overreaching that it may chase away potential new aircraft buyers. The IRS last month released an interpretation of a new tax law that limits or disallows a wide range of expenses that can be deducted when a company aircraft is used by senior executives for entertainment (BA, Jun 13/266).
Joseph Tulowitzki joined Dallas Airmotive as Northeast regional engine manager for Honeywell TFE731 series engines and auxiliary power units and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 series engines. Tulowitzki has 25 years of aviation maintenance and management experience, holding positions as an airframe and powerplant mechanic, inspector, aircraft maintenance supervisor and assistant director of maintenance. Tulowitzki will be based in Warrenton, Va.
BOEING NAMES FORMER GE EXECUTIVE TO HEAD COMPANY - The Boeing Company board of directors named W. James McNerney, Jr., a former senior executive of General Electric Corp., to take over as chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Brenda Seaman was promoted to assistant manager of FlightSafety International's learning center in Atlanta, Ga. Seaman previously was manager of regional marketing for FlightSafety's customers in South and Central America. She joined FlightSafety in 1998, marketing the company's Sabreliner learning center in St. Louis.
FAA apparently has pushed back its timeline by several months for publishing rules that would impose new safety standards on the air tour industry. FAA in November 2003 issued its highly controversial notice of proposed rulemaking on air tour operator safety standards. Many groups and individuals have been urging the FAA to shelve the proposal in its entirety and go back to the drawing board. An FAA official told NATA members a few months ago that the agency has not made any decision on what it planned to do with the proposal (BA, March 14/117).
Front Range Airport Authority in Watkins, Colo. was slated to dedicate a new general aviation tower Saturday that the authority said will enable more business jets to access the airport. The floor of the new tower cab is 190.6 feet above ground level, making it the tallest general aviation tower in the U.S. according to Front Range officials, who say the new structure has already become a landmark for people coming to the airport by plane or automobile.
House Appropriations Committee directed the Department of Transportation to set aside up to $3 million to reimburse fixed-base operators and general aviation ground support services at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and other airports within 15 miles of DCA for losses the businesses sustained while their airports were closed for security reasons following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The directive was included in the House fiscal 2006 transportation, treasury and housing and urban development bill that the committee approved on Tuesday.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-1A11 (CL-600), CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), and CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, and CL-604) airplanes modified by Supplemental Type Certificate SA4900SW [Docket No. FAA-2005-21315; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-090-AD; Amendment 39-14106; AD 2005-11-04] - requires revising the airplane flight manual (AFM) to require repetitive visual checks of the microphone jack assemblies on both control columns to detect damage that may interfere with movement of the control column.
BOEING COMPLETES SALE OF KANSAS, OKLAHOMA PLANTS TO ONEX CORP. - Boeing this month concluded the sale of its Commercial Airplanes operations in Kansas and Oklahoma to Onex Corp.
FlightSafety International has teamed with the Mayo Clinic to offer a Hypoxia Awareness training program. FlightSafety simulation and courseware developers worked with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research to develop a program that could be conducted without the use of hypobaric chambers. Training equipment will be installed at FlightSafety learning centers to enable students to gain knowledge of the symptoms of hypoxia - lack of oxygen.
SENATE PANEL OKs HAWLEY TO HEAD TSA - The Senate Commerce Committee Thursday approved by voice vote the nomination of Edmund "Kip" Hawley to serve as assistant secretary of Homeland Security with responsibility for the Transportation Security Administration. The White House nominated Hawley to succeed Adm. David Stone, who left the helm of TSA earlier this month (BA, May 23/231).
EMBRAER Model ERJ 170 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20501; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-251-AD] - withdraws a proposed AD that would have required inspecting the engine fire handles of the overhead panel in the cockpit, and replacing the engine fire handles if necessary. Since the proposal was issued, FAA has received new data that the identified unsafe condition has been corrected on all airplanes that would have been subject to the proposal. Accordingly, the proposed AD is withdrawn.
Liberty Aerospace received FAA type inspection authorization for instrument flight rules testing of its single-engine XL2 aircraft. The two-seat XL2 is certified only for visual flight rules day and night operations, but the latest approval clears the way for the final phase of FAA testing for IFR use. The piston-powered aircraft is equipped with a full authority digital engine control and cruises at speeds up to 132 knots. The aircraft has a carbon fiber composite fuselage and 48-inch cabin. Liberty priced the aircraft at $139,900.
CESSNA WINS TC FOR NEWEST CITATIONJET MODEL - Cessna Aircraft won FAA type certification for its new CJ1+ business jet, the successor to its original entry-level CitationJet, following a program that comprised more than 200 flights and 400 flight hours over 11 months. Cessna Chairman Jack Pelton called the latest addition to the CitationJet family "a culmination of a very important partnership between our customers and employees," saying it incorporates many enhancements based on customer feedback.
