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.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE is claiming a speed record for a seven-hour, 19-minute Gulfstream 450 flight from DuPage Airport, 30 miles west of Chicago, to London Luton Airport. Gulfstream said the flight carried two pilots, a flight attendant and four passengers. The plane departed DuPage at 6:31 p.m. (local) on May 15 and flew 3,500 nautical miles at an average cruise speed of Mach .85, landing at Luton at 7:50 a.m. (local) the next morning.
BOEING BUSINESS JETS is nearing 100 orders for its Boeing 737 variant since the program was launched in 1996. Boeing has orders and commitments for 97 of the ultra-large-cabin, long-range BBJs, including six within the past six months. "The interest and orders for the BBJ continue to grow," said BBJ President Steven Hill. "We're confident that the record sales pace will continue and that we will achieve 100 orders before the end of this year," he said during a press conference last week at the EBACE conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
SYMPHONY AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES won an FAA type certificate for the SA 160 aircraft manufactured in Three Rivers, Quebec, clearing the way for shipments to U.S. customers. Transport Canada issued type and production certificates to Symphony in mid-March, and the European Aviation Safety Agency issued a European type certificate.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE was scheduled to stand up a squadron Friday (May 20) at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. to train pilots to fly the CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The 71st Special Operations Squadron, part of the 58th Special Operations Wing, will begin its work with several flight simulators. The squadron is scheduled to receive its first aircraft in June 2006. CV-22 pilots will be trained on the basic handling of the tiltrotor at the Marine Corps MV-22 training facility at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
BAE Model Avro 146-RJ series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20078; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-210-AD; Amendment 39-14068; AD 2005-08-16] - requires an inspection of the Thales Avionics distance bearing indicator (DBI) to determine part number (P/N) and serial number (S/N), and replacement of the affected DBI with a new or modified DBI. This AD is prompted by a report of defective electrical insulators in DBIs.
EMBRAER POSTS SALES INCREASE IN FIRST QUARTER - Brazilian manufacturer Embraer posted substantially higher sales in the first quarter, although earnings declined slightly for the period.
KELLY AEROSPACE Power Systems Part Number (P/N) 14D11, A14D11, B14D11, C14D11, 23D04, A23D04, B23D04, C23D04, or P23D04 Fuel Regulator Shutoff Valves (formerly owned by ElectroSystems, JanAero Devices, Janitrol, C&D Airmotive Products, FL Aerospace, and Midland-Ross Corporation) [Docket No.
HONEYWELL WINS RAYTHEON PARTS MANAGEMENT CONTRACT -- Honeywell won a contract valued at $86.5 million over five years to provide supply chain management and parts bin replenishment for Raytheon Aircraft's Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft facilities in Wichita and Salina, Kan., Little Rock, Ark. and Grapevine, Texas. Honeywell's Hardware Product Group will station personnel at Raytheon production and aftermarket service locations to oversee order management, inventory control and replenishment for more than 80,000 hardware bins.
CESSNA appointed JA Flight School, based at Austria's Oberwaltersdorf Airport, an authorized Cessna Pilot Center (CPC). JA Flight School, the first CPC to be appointed in Austria, operates five 172 Skyhawks and two 182 Skylanes. The school is the joint venture of Jetalliance and the Avia Consult Group and offers complete training for a private pilot's license through a commercial air transport pilot's license.
JET-CARE is expanding its recently launched Total Healthcare Program to cover certain Pratt & Whitney Canada and Williams International engines. The engine-monitoring program includes a comprehensive scheduled analysis of gas path, oil and filter. Initially launched for Honeywell TFE731 powerplants, Jet-Care is extending the program to Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100, PW300, PW500 and JT15D engines and Williams FJ44 engines.
