The U.S. Air Force is studying a possible replacement for the aging Bell UH-1N Huey helicopters used by intercontinental ballistic missile wings, a general said May 24.
Carmanah Technologies Corp., which specializes in manufacturing solar-powered LED lighting for a variety of applications, including airport signage and runway marking, has agreed to buy another Canadian provider of solar power and alternative energy products in a cash and stock deal.
FLIGHTWORKS, the Atlanta, Ga.-based aircraft management and charter company, accepted two green aircraft for its charter fleet. The aircraft, a Hawker 800XP and a Gulfstream 450, are under management contract and will join the charter fleet once completed. FlightWorks also is opening a 40,000-square-foot facility in Manassas, Va. that will include an executive terminal, passenger lounge and office space later this year. A hangar there, already in use, can accommodate up to 15 aircraft.
CESSNA received an order from Arab Wings Ltd. of Amman, Jordan for a new Citation XLS business jet. The aircraft will be used for on-demand charter in the Middle East and Europe. Wallan Aviation, Cessna's Citation authorized sales representative in Saudi Arabia and surrounding territories, helped secure the sale.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION is offering a new term life insurance program it has developed with the Pilot Insurance Center, based in Addison, Texas. The programs will cover pilots as well as other members of flight departments. "Pilots have special challenges when purchasing life insurance," said Pilot Insurance Center President William Fanning. "Most life insurance companies and agents don't understand the actual risks involved in aviation, and are unable to find pilots the most cost-effective coverage."
June 4 - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, 15th Annual AOPA Fly-In and Open House, Frederick Municipal Airport, Frederick, Md., www.aopa.org/fly-in June 6-8 - Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association Spring Conference, Scottsdale Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort, 5401 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, Ariz., http://www.racconline.org June 8 - National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association Annual Aviation and Transportation Law Conference, Washington, D.C., 202-331-1955, Fax 202-293-2309
JET AVIATION signed a new contract with Emirates CAE Flight Training for pilot training in Gulfstream IV, V and G550 business jets at ECFT's facilities in Dubai, U.A.E. Jet Aviation also renewed a contract with the training company for instruction on the Boeing Business Jet.
GARRETT/PIEDMONT HAWTHORNE is formally opening a new 18,000-square-foot hangar June 9 at Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport in Virginia. The $1.2 million hangar will house at least six aircraft -- a Gulfstream GV, Bombardier Challenger, Beechcraft King Air 90, Citation Encore, Citation CJ2 and Beechcraft Baron.
FOUR PERSONS in a Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop were killed Tuesday when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from the Hillsboro, Ore. Airport. At least one witness said the pilot of the aircraft, N312MA, appeared to be making a high-performance takeoff, pulling the nose of the aircraft up sharply upon takeoff. The aircraft yawed to the left before the deck angle of the aircraft decreased, but the MU-2 then appeared to slow before the pilot lost control and it crashed.
NBAA FIGHTING TWO TAX MEASURES IN HIGHWAY REAUTHORIZATION BILL - National Business Aviation Association is working with congressional leaders to remove two provisions in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act that would increase business aviation operators' tax and paperwork burden.
FAA SEEKING CONSULTANTS TO HELP PART 121 APPLICANTS - The Federal Aviation Administration, citing limited resources in-house, is seeking qualified consultants to help applicants for Part 121 operating certificates get through the lengthy and complex application process.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT developed a uniform avionics cable assembly for Citation CJ1+, CJ2+ and CJ3 business jets, which the manufacturer said establishes a new level of parts commonality for the three light-jet models. Cessna said the new cable assembly is the first standard avionics cable assembly it has had that can be used in more than one Citation model. The cable commonality "gives customers more flexibility to change their airplane's equipment as their transportation needs evolve," said David Brant, senior vice president of product engineering.
GENERAL DYNAMICS AVIATION SERVICES (GDAS) completed an agreement with Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems (HSPS), a United Technologies subsidiary, under which GDAS will be the exclusive provider for HSPS of overhaul, repair and other support services to operators of Hamilton Sundstrand auxiliary power units on business jets based in the Americas. In addition to overhaul and repair, GDAS' Appleton, Wis. facility will provide line maintenance, troubleshooting, inspection and testing of specific models of APUs used on more than a dozen business jet models.
DASSAULT AVIATION launched a "FalconCare" program to provide "nose to tail" service support for new Falcon business jets. The six-year renewable program covers scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and includes parts and labor throughout the Falcon authorized service center network, Aircraft On Ground technical assistance and mandatory and recommended service bulletins. "The beauty of the program is that it is totally flexible," said Olivier Villa, senior vice president of civil aircraft at Dassault Aviation.
Federal Aviation Administration officials said they planned to take no action against the pilot of a Canadian-registered Cessna twin-engine aircraft that flew into restricted airspace around Washington, D.C. Monday evening. The aircraft, C-GDAM, had departed Knoxville, Tenn. on an IFR flight plan to the Montgomery County, Md. Airpark, but did not contact air traffic controllers before entering restricted airspace.
Business aviation advocates hailed the long-awaited plan to reopen Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to general aviation as a good first step but are hoping the restrictions the Transportation Security Administration wants to place on GA access will give way to less restricted access in the future. Flanked by several members of Congress and FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, TSA chief David Stone Wednesday announced that the Department of Homeland Security had settled on a process to lift the 44-month-old ban on business and charter operations at DCA.
Weren't the only ones enthusiastic to learn that the Transportation Security Administration really does plan to allow general aviation flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said. "There's one person who's really happy about this and that's Gov. Ernie Fletcher," whose state-owned King Air sparked a security flap in Washington a year ago. (BA, June 14/270).
F. JOHN WRIGHT, one of Pratt & Whitney Canada's best-known executives, plans to retire from the company after this year's Paris Air Show. Wright, who is vice president-business aviation and military engines, began his career as a pilot for the Canadian Department of National Defense in 1965 after earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Nova Scotia Technical College. He joined United Aircraft of Canada Ltd. (later known as Pratt & Whitney Canada) in 1970 as an installation engineer. He subsequently held a number of marketing positions in the U.S.
Pratt & Whitney Canada, already the largest spender on research and development in the Canadian aerospace industry, plans to boost its R&D expenditures with the help of a reimbursable grant from the government of Quebec.
TRIUMPH GROUP named Dean Evans president of its Triumph Precision Castings subsidiary. The unit, which has a plant in Chandler, Ariz., manufactures blades, vanes and nozzles for the aerospace propulsion market. Before joining Triumph, Evans had been corporate director of aerospace sales for Hitchiner Manufacturing Co. Inc. In his new position, Evans will report to John Brasch, president of Triumph's Aftermarket Service Group.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE, with help from the National Capital Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, was to implement and begin testing of a new Visual Warning System over Washington, D.C. May 21 (BA, May 9/207). The system, which uses low-level red and green lasers, will signal pilots who fly into restricted airspace surrounding Washington. The system, which officials say is eye-safe and non-hazardous at all ranges, has been in development for months. Implementation comes 10 days after the widely publicized May 11 incursion of the restricted airspace by a Cessna 150.
PENTAGON TO EXPLORE SCALED COMPOSITES' TECHNOLOGY - The Pentagon wants to find out whether unmanned aerial vehicle technology developed by Scaled Composites LLC could be useful to warfighters. James "Snake" Clark, director of the Air Force Combat Support Office, said May 17 that he and "a couple undersecretaries of defense" planned to travel May 19 to Mojave, Calif., where the Burt Rutan-founded company is based, to "see what he's got."
SAFE FLIGHT INSTRUMENT CORPORATION signed a distribution agreement with Heli-Dyne Systems, Inc. of Hurst, Texas. Under the agreement, Heli-Dyne will sell and install Safe Flight's Powerline Detection System, which senses electromagnetic fields radiating from power lines and warns pilots that their helicopters are near live wires. Heli-Dyne has performed more than 600 major helicopter modifications and completions.
HONDA, GE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS IN HF118 ENGINE - GE Honda Aero Engines LLC has implemented a number of changes in materials and structures in the HF118 turbofan engine following recent tests and is continuing the development program to come up with a family of engines for the very-light-jet and light-jet market.
WHITE HOUSE SENDS HAWLEY NOMINATION TO SENATE -- The White House Thursday formally nominated Edmund "Kip" Hawley to be the next assistant secretary of homeland security in charge of the Transportation Security Administration. The Senate referred the nomination to the Senate Commerce Committee for consideration, but the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs also will review the nomination.
