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.
The Management Advisory Council (MAC) called for a greater government investment to pay for the Federal Aviation Administration's operations, saying that a 60 percent general fund contribution to the agency's operations would strike a reasonable balance given the public benefit derived from the National Airspace System. The recommendation was one of several the MAC made in a 12-page report on the outlook for FAA's funding situation (BA, May 16/219).
RAYTHEON Model Hawker 800XP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20251; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-164-AD; Amendment 39-14071; AD 2005-09-03] - Requires inspecting to detect damage of certain wiring in the flight compartment, performing corrective actions if necessary, modifying certain wiring connections, and revising the airplane flight manual. This AD is prompted by reports of miswiring in the power distribution system.
EJM OFFERING MANAGED CUSTOMERS UTILIZATION, REVENUE GUARANTEES - Executive Jet Management (EJM), one of the nation's largest aircraft charter and management companies, is hoping to increase its already expanding fleet with new guarantees on revenue and charter hours as well as offers to waive costs for joining the Cincinnati, Ohio-based operator's Part 135 air carrier certificate. The offer comes as the company's managed fleet has topped 100 aircraft based at more than 60 locations throughout the U.S.
GE HONDA AERO ENGINES was one of the competitors to provide powerplants for Embraer's new very light jet, but Embraer ultimately selected the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F. The GE-Honda joint venture is "talking to a few" airframe manufacturers, a spokesman said Friday, but no agreements have been signed. Engine development testing and improvement installation is under way in both Japan and the U.S. See article below.
SIKORSKY BEATS LOCKHEED FOR KOREAN PRESIDENTIAL HELOS - Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. said May 6 that South Korea has chosen the S-92 helicopter for its presidential mission and the Stratford, Conn., company will deliver three of its VIP variant helos beginning in 2007. The S-92 was selected over the AgustaWestland EH101 in a competition conducted by the Korean Ministry of National Defense. The competition served as a rematch of a U.S. bid that Sikorsky lost to Lockheed Martin Corp. In January, the U.S.
AGUSTA Model A119 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2005-20291; Directorate Identifier 2004-SW-25-AD; Amendment 39-14074; AD 2005-09-06] - requires visually inspecting each main transmission support fitting attachment bolt for a fracture, a crack, or looseness, and verifying the torque on each fitting bolt. This amendment is prompted by two incidents of fatigue failure of the bolts that secure the transmission rear support fittings to the helicopter.
BAE Jetstream Model 4101 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-21137; Directorate Identifier 2002-NM-86-AD] - proposes to require repetitive detailed and specialized inspections to detect fatigue damage in the fuselage, replacement of certain bolt assemblies, and corrective actions if necessary.
NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION last week presented its first Sentinel of Safety award to Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) in recognition for his "outstanding achievement in the advancement of aviation safety." The 14-term congressman is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and former chairman of the House aviation subcommittee.
ANA CANCELS 2006 SHOW, CEASES OPERATIONS - Aerospace North America is canceling its ANA2006 aviation conference and trade exposition and ceasing operations as an association later this month.
NATIONAL AIR SERVICES (NAS), an independent provider of private aviation services in the Middle East, signed a letter of intent to acquire three Gulfstream G350s from Gulfstream Aerospace. NAS previously ordered three G300 business jets from Gulfstream, and those airplanes are now in service. The latest purchase will be financed by Arab Banking Corp., headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, and guaranteed by the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
TOM SULLIVAN was appointed senior manager, corporate communications at Rolls-Royce North America headquarters in Chantilly, Va. Sullivan will handle media relations and marketing communications for the company's Civil Aerospace business in North America, including the Corporate and Regional Aircraft and Airlines-Americas business units. He has more than six years of civil aerospace experience and more than a decade of transportation public relations experience. Most recently he was manager of media relations for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
JAMES DAUTERMAN was named vice president of sales and contracts for Flight Options, LLC. Dauterman has more than 30 years of aviation experience and helped start Flight Options in the late 1990s.
CAE will provide Dassault Falcon training at its center at Burgess Hill, the United Kingdom. CAE won an exclusive training contract from Dassault to train pilots, maintenance personnel and cabin crew for the Falcon 7X. The Burgess Hill location will serve operators in Europe, while CAE will train North American Falcon 7X operators at the company's new business aviation training center under construction in Morris County, N.J. CAE is building two Falcon 7X full flight simulators to provide the training.
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, 202-331-1955, Fax 202-293-2309
