ARINC and Jeppesen have teamed to offer an integrated electronic flight bag (EFB) system that combines ARINC's eFlightDeck technology with Jeppesen's EFB software. ARINC will provide the airborne data communications and document-view technology as well as EFB integration and hardware support. Jeppesen will provide its software, data, and applications such as digital terminal charts, en route moving map and airport moving map technologies. ARINC and Jeppesen are doing market research and plan to announce details of the EFB in the next few months.
Bombardier, which last month launched a new unit, Bombardier Corporate Shuttle Solutions, to focus on the corporate shuttle market, said it has letters of intent, backed by deposits, for five Challenger 800-series corporate shuttles. Bombardier is offering three variants of its CRJ family for corporate shuttle operations - the Challenger 850, 870 and 890. The company received an agreement from Fort Lauderdale-based Aero Toy Store as well as from an Eastern European customer for a total of three Challenger 850s.
A who's who of aviation industry leaders was selected this month to advise government officials on the parameters of a new air traffic control system. FAA formed The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) Institute "to assist the federal government as it defines and implements a new air traffic control system" and appointed 15 members to the NGATS Institute Management Council. The Institute is part of the National Center for Advanced Technology, a non-profit corporation affiliated with the Aerospace Industries Association.
GROB UNVEILS PLANS FOR COMPOSITE LIGHT JET - German plane-maker Grob Aerospace last week formally launched a new light jet program, the G180 SP Utility Jet, an all-composite aircraft that will seat eight and sell for just over $7 million (U.S.). The company, which announced plans for the new program during the Paris Air Show, said the new aircraft will combine the performance and comfort of a light business jet with operational versatility of a turboprop.
FLIR Systems, Inc. won a subcontract from General Dynamics Canada to supply Star SAFIRE airborne multi-sensor imaging systems for installation in Sikorsky S-92 helicopters under the Canadian Department of National Defence Maritime Helicopter Project. The helicopters, designated as the CH-148 Cyclone by Canadian defense officials, will use the FLIR Star SAFIRE system for surface and subsurface surveillance, personnel recovery and drug interdiction. The contract, valued at more than $20 million (U.S.), includes a multi-year service and support agreement.
FORECAST INTERNATIONAL SEES DOUBLE-DIGIT JUMP IN BIZJET MARKET - Aerospace market analyst Forecast International (FI) last week predicted that long-range business jets and very light jets will help drive a market for 10,900 business jets valued at $141 billion in the next 10 years. Despite the two-year decline in 2002 and 2003, business jet production turned around last year and is heading into a period of growth that will last at least until 2014, FI forecast in its World Market for Business Jet Aircraft analysis.
Embraer secured $180 million in loans from the International Finance Corp. (IFC), a private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, to complete the launch of the Embraer 190 and 195. IFC is lending $35 million from its own accounts and $145 million from participating financial institutions. Embraer said this is the first time it has borrowed from IFC.
CRISTIANO PIROLI was named regional sales manager for Brazil for Dallas Airmotive. Piroli has spent five years as a maintenance supervisor, engine shop chief engineer and sales manager for Lider Taxi Aero SA and Lider Signature SA. He has maintained CJ610, PT6A and TFE731 engines and held sales roles involving RR250, TFE731, JT15D, PT6A, PT6T and CJ610 customers.
Honeywell won separate European approvals for use of its Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS). The European Aviation Safety Agency granted supplemental type certification for installation of RAAS on Learjet 31, 35, 36, 55 and 60 series aircraft. The French Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile also awarded an STC for the Boeing 777. "This is a major stride in safety improvement for Europe, since runway incursions and other related ground accidents are increasing at an unacceptable rate," said Frank Daly, president of Honeywell Commercial Electronic Systems.
SAAB Model 2000 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-21341; Directorate Identifier 2003-NM-026-AD] - proposes to require inspection for cracking of the fastener holes in the front and rear spar, modification of the fastener holes of the front and rear spars and the rear spar web, and related investigative/corrective actions, if necessary. This proposed AD is prompted by a report of cracking of certain fastener holes in the lower spar cap of the rear spar and in the lower skin at the front spar.
June 27-30 - NBAA Flight Operations Manual Workshop, San Francisco, www.nbaa.org June 29-30 - NBAA Management Fundamentals for Flight Departments Workshop, San Francisco, www.nbaa.org 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
MOONEY CEO TO FLY IN WOMEN'S AIR RACE - Gretchen Jahn, who took over as chief executive officer at Mooney Aircraft in December, will pilot a Mooney Ovation2 GX aircraft in this week's Air Race Classic, a 2,000-mile race for women only. Jahn, a pilot for more than 20 years, will be making her 14th start in the Air Race Classic. Accompanying Jahn will be another air racing veteran, Ruby Sheldon, 87, of Phoenix, Ariz.
Privatair added a Bombardier Global Express to its fleet of aircraft available for charter. The 12-passenger, very-long-range aircraft is based in Geneva six months of the year and in the Caribbean for the remainder of the year.
Bombardier announced a 100,000-square-foot expansion plan for its service center at Love Field in Dallas, Texas. Construction will begin this fall and be completed in about a year. The expansion will include a 52,500-square-foot hangar to accommodate Challenger and Global Express aircraft, and another 45,000 square feet of back shops, support and office space. The new buildings will house about 125 full-time employees, a number that could grow to nearly 200 over the next five years.
Business aviation advocates had hoped the IFR would appear early this month, which - after a 90-day implementation and checkout period - might make it possible to resume DCA flights in September. Because of the delay in publishing the IFR, it now appears that flights might not resume until October, at the earliest.
Christena Ferran was appointed director of sales and marketing for Schubach Aviation. Ferran has a background in sales and marketing, public relations and communications, serving with a number of non-profit organizations.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400, -401, and -402 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20727; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-148-AD; Amendment 39-14113; AD 2005-11-11] - requires repetitive inspections to detect discrepancies of the attachment fittings of the outboard flap front spar at flap track Number 4 and Number 5 locations, and corrective actions if necessary. This AD also requires eventual replacement of the attachment fittings as terminating action for the repetitive inspections.
RAYTHEON UNVEILS GROUND-BASED MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM - Raytheon last week at the Paris Air Show, unveiled a ground-based missile defense system that could be deployed at airports for as little as $25 million per system. The system, called Vigilant Eagle, uses a high-power amplifier-transmitter to emit electromagnetic waves "to disrupt the missile and deflect it away from the aircraft," Raytheon said. Raytheon claimed Vigilant Eagle "could be at least 10 times less costly than the current aircraft-based countermeasure program now in development."
AAR Corp. joined the Northrop Grumman Corp. team that was selected by the Department of Homeland Security for Phase II of the Counter-Man Portable Air Defense Systems (Counter-MANPADS) program to protect commercial airliners from attack by ground-based, shoulder-fired missiles.
More than 9,000 pilots remain on furlough from the large scheduled airlines, but "May will go down in the record books as the largest pilot-hiring month since 9/11," according to AIR, Inc., the Atlanta, Ga.-based firm that tracks pilot hiring trends. The industry added 1,215 pilots last month, including 427 who joined national carriers and 339 who went to work for non-jet operators. Two of the four major fractional aircraft providers hired a total of 42 pilots last month, raising the number of pilots added during the first five months of the year to 249.
