RANDY BOLINGER was named vice president of marketing and sales for The Lancair Company. Bolinger formerly spent two years with Cirrus Design Corp., most recently as vice president of marketing. Before joining Cirrus, he held positions in brand management, public relations and marketing for Volvo Trucks in the U.S.
PAN AM FLIGHT ACADEMY MOVING FT. PIERCE TRAINING UNIT TO ARIZONA - Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA), whose Ft. Pierce, Fla. training facility was heavily damaged and disrupted by the hurricanes that swept through Florida last year, will relocate its Career Pilot Development (CDP) center from Ft. Pierce to the company's CDP campus in Phoenix, Ariz.
BRIAN CHAPMAN was appointed charter sales manager for American Jet International. Formerly a dispatcher for the company, Chapman will oversee both domestic and international charters. He joined AJI in 2001 and has 12 years of aviation industry experience.
Brazilian Manufacturer Embraer is expected to announce its new entry in the business jet market relatively soon, possibly as early as next month (BA, March 28/141). The increased focus on the business jet market is reflected in the company's decision to name a veteran senior executive to oversee that market segment. See article below.
Aerosonic Corp., Clearwater, Fla., said it and the other parties engaged in the Aerosonic Corporation Securities Litigation filed a notice of settlement with the court, confirming that all parties had executed a memorandum of understanding to settle pending class action litigation. Aerosonic said the MOU "defines a total settlement of $5.35 million, of which Aerosonic will pay $800,000." The settlement is contingent upon preliminary and final court approval, "and could be voided if opt-outs exceed a certain agreed-upon threshold."
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-102, -103, -106, -201, -202, -301, -311, and -315 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20852; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-240-AD] - proposes to require revising the airworthiness limitations section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness by incorporating new and revised structural inspection procedures and new and revised inspection intervals for the longitudinal skin joints in the fuselage pressure shell. This proposed AD also would require phase-in inspections and repair of any crack found during any phase-in inspection.
SKYWEST ORDERS MORE CRJ700 REGIONAL JETS - SkyWest Airlines, of St. George, Utah, already one of Bombardier's largest regional jet customers, last week placed a firm order for 20 additional CRJ700 aircraft, which will boost its total CRJ700 fleet to 52 aircraft. The latest order is valued at about $637 million (U.S.).
April 12-18 - Sun 'N' Fun Fly-In, Lakeland, Fla., (863) 644-2431 April 18-20 - ATCA/FAA/NASA Technical Symposium, Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel, Atlantic City, (703) 299-2430, e-mail [email protected] April 21 - NBAA Business Aviation Regional Forum, Farmingdale, N.Y., http://www.nbaa.org April 26-28 - Flight Safety Foundation/National Business Aviation Association Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000
Corporate Jets Inc., a fixed-base operation based in Scottsdale, Ariz., opened a new flight crew lounge that covers more than 3,000 feet and includes full kitchen facilities, private bathrooms and quiet rooms. The lounge also is equipped with flight planning areas and a conference room. Corporate Jets is an Avfuel dealer.
CESSNA C208 and C208B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20514; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-08-AD; Amendment 39-14025; AD 2005-07-01] - requires incorporation of information into the applicable section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM). This AD results from several accidents/incidents of problems with the affected airplanes during operations in icing conditions, including six accidents in the previous two icing seasons and nine events in the past few months.
Schneider Electric won a two-year contract from the Federal Aviation Administration to provide power support for air traffic control centers, administrative offices and terminal radar approach control facilities. The contract, which includes options for three two-year extensions, has a potential value of $50 million. The contract is a follow-on for Schneider, which has supplied its Square D power products, monitoring, and programmable logic controllers to FAA centers since 1998.
Bombardier Aerospace appointed OceanAir as an authorized service facility for Bombardier Learjet aircraft. OceanAir's service facility, based at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, won Brazilian Department of Civil Aviation approval and will begin operating this spring. Bombardier previously appointed OceanAir Taxi Aero Ltd. an aircraft sales representative for Bombardier business jets in Brazil.
Gulfstream Aerospace won FAA supplemental type certificate approval permitting the installation of the manufacturer's new ultra-high-speed Broad Band Multi-Link TM (BBML) data system in G550 and G500 business jets.
CURTIS HELMS was named director of safety for American Jet International. Helms joined AJI in 2003 and formerly was crew leader. He has nine years of aviation experience.
EMBRAER Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20733; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-004-AD] - proposes to require inspecting to determine the part number of the left and right engine fire handles; and replacing the engine fire handles with engine fire handles having different part numbers if necessary. This proposed AD is prompted by cases of the internal circuit of the engine fire handle failing.
DONALD (DRENT) SARAULT was promoted to vice president at American Jet International. Formerly charter sales manager for AJI, Sarault will manage daily office operations and coordinate support activities for the company's aircraft management business. Sarault has served with AJI for six years.
GULFSTREAM SECURES EASA VALIDATION FOR THE G350 - Gulfstream Aerospace received European Aviation Safety Agency validation for the Gulfstream G350 business jet. The validation follows Federal Aviation Administration type approval for the 350 in November. The G350 was announced in February 2004 as the successor to the G300/GIV-SP. Gulfstream designed the G350 to have commonality with the longer-range G450, G500 and G550 business jets. The four aircraft share several systems, including the PlaneView cockpit avionics suite, and have the same pilot type rating.
Jet Aviation Engineering Services, which holds a multiple FAA supplemental type certificate for installation of the Bendix/King Integrated Hazard Avoidance System (IHAS 8000) in Cessna Citation 500, 550, S550 and 560 series aircraft, is offering the STC for purchase. As an option, Jet Aviation is offering a complete turnkey installation at one of its maintenance facilities.
FOKKER Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20870; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-180-AD] - proposes to require repetitive inspections for damage of the drive rod assembly of the aileron tab on each aileron actuator; repetitive measurements of the clearance between the aileron hydraulic lines and the drive rod; and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary.
AirNet completed the first unattended coast-to-coast transfer of a kidney destined for transplant with the help of a new device that protected the organ en route, the company said. The LifePort Kidney Transporter, developed by Organ Recovery Systems, preserved the kidney during a 2,700-mile flight from its donor in Miami to the recipient in San Diego. The company is developing similar devices for shipping other organs, such as the heart and pancreas. AirNet operates a fleet of 130 aircraft throughout the U.S.
National Transportation Safety Board said Sino-Swearingen's "incomplete high-Mach design research, which resulted in the airplane becoming unstable and diverging into a lateral upset," was the probable cause of an SJ30-2 test flight that claimed the life of test pilot Carroll Beeler, 59, nearly two years ago (BA, May 5, 2003/203). Beeler was in a descent attempting to attain a Mach 0.884 target speed during a flutter test.
ANDREAS MEISEL was appointed senior vice president in charge of the Aircraft Overhaul and VIP Jet Services department for Lufthansa Technik. Meisel will oversee the Overhaul, VIP and Government Jet Maintenance, Airframe Related Components and Aircraft Paint business units. He joined Lufthansa in 1989 and most recently was vice president of marketing and sales for Lufthansa Technik.
PETER BUNCE TAKES OVER AS GAMA PRESIDENT - Fresh from six years working closely with members of Congress on behalf of the U.S. Air Force, Col. Peter Bunce (USAF-Ret.) took over Friday as president and chief executive of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Bunce succeeds Ed Bolen, who left GAMA last year to become president of the National Business Aviation Association (BA, Aug. 9/59). Ron Swanda, GAMA's senior vice president of operations, served as interim president following Bolen's departure.
