AIR TOUR OPERATORS ASKED TO VERIFY FLIGHT NUMBERS - The Federal Aviation Administration is asking commercial air tour operators to reevaluate, and possibly restate, the number of flights they conducted during a baseline period several years ago. Under the provisions of Part 136, the National Parks Air Tour Management program, FAA had initially asked applicants for Interim Operating Authority how many air tour flights they were flying in the 12-month period prior to April 5, 2000.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Kellogg Company Chairman and CEO Carlos Gutierrez last week as Secretary of Commerce by voice vote. The Commerce Committee approved the nomination earlier in January.
Russ Axtell was promoted to assistant manager of FlightSafety International's Raytheon learning center in Wichita, Kan. Axtell joined FSI in 1999 and has been an instructor and training center evaluator. He also was wing commander of the 184th Bomb Wing at McConnell Air Force Base and a pilot and commander in the Kansas Air National Guard. He currently is Air National Guard adviser to the commander, Air Force Space Command, with the rank of major general. He graduated from Wichita State University with a degree in aeronautical engineering.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics appointed Robert Dickman executive director, succeeding Cort Durocher. Dickman will join the staff in mid-February after he leaves his current position of deputy, Military Space, Office of the Undersecretary of the Air Force. Gen. Dickman retired from the Air Force in 2000 as the senior military officer at the National Reconnaissance Office. He also has held activation and management assignments at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command.
Sullivan Higdon & Sink, the Wichita-based advertising and marketing firm that represents several major aviation companies, was selected to provide brand development services for aircraft parts distributor and logistics specialist Aircraft Parts International. Under the agreement with API, SHS will assist with marketing strategy, sales support, collateral, trade show materials, media relations and direct mail.
The Air Group added two Gulfstream IVs - one based in Van Nuys, Calif., and the other based at Teterboro, N.J. - to its managed fleet. The Gulfstreams are part of a number of jets on order that will be delivered to The Air Group's fleet in the next six months. "With the economy growing stronger every month and commercial airlines cutting back schedules, we expect 2005 will be a banner year for private jet sales and chartering," said President and CEO Jon Winthrop.
LANCAIR Models LC40-550FG and LC42-550FG airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20048; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-01-AD; Amendment 39-13945; AD 2005-02-01] - requires incorporating additional takeoff chart distance values information into the Performance Section of the FAA-approved Airplane Flight Manual (AFM). This AD results from flight testing that revealed that the takeoff distance values for the affected airplanes could not be duplicated.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told the Aero Club of Washington Thursday there is "a need to look at other options" for improving the aviation infrastructure. Mineta did not provide any examples and did not take any questions from the audience, but some of those "other options" are sure to be discussed at a "Forum on Alternative Funding" that FAA plans to host April 7-8.
Rob Leonard was named chief operating officer for the Sacramento County Airport System. Leonard will be responsible for finance and administration, operations and maintenance, public safety and security, planning and design and special projects. Leonard most recently was deputy director for the Sacramento County Airport System and its predecessor Sacramento County Department of Airports.
Bombardier Aerospace named Sojitz Corporation of Tokyo as its new sales representative in Japan for the Bombardier Challenger and Global Express business jet families. Sojitz will work closely with Bombardier's Asia-Pacific sales organization, based in Hong Kong.
JACKSON TO REPLACE HUTCHINSON IN NO. 2 SLOT AT DHS - Turnover continued within the senior management at the Department of Homeland Security with last week's announcement that Asa Hutchinson, under secretary of border and transportation security, will leave the agency, but industry officials were encouraged that President Bush is nominating an experienced Washington transportation official to fill the position.
An article in the Jan. 24 issue about the rollout of the Gulfstream G150 business jet incorrectly identified the aircraft in Gulfstream's product line. After G100 production is supplanted by the new model, the company's product line will include the G150, G200, G350, G450, G500 and G550.
INHOFE INTRODUCES BILL TO BOOST PILOT RETIREMENT AGE - Charging that there is no scientific basis for requiring Part 121 pilots to quit flying at age 60, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) reintroduced legislation that would increase the mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots.
NTSB SEEKS LIMIT ON NUMBER OF FLIGHT CHECK FAILURES - The Federal Aviation Administration should limit the number of times a pilot can fail a flight check and require Part 121 and 135 carriers to obtain flight check failure background data on new hire candidates, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended to FAA last week. The NTSB recommendations stem from its investigation of the July 13, 2003 crash of an Air Sunshine Cessna 402C, N314AB, which ditched into the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas after an in-flight failure of the right engine.
FLYBE BUYS 20 MORE BOMBARDIER Q400S - Bombardier Aerospace received a follow-on order from United Kingdom-based low-cost carrier FlyBE for 20 Q400 regional turboprops. The contract, valued at $485 million, converts 20 options FlyBE held for the Q400. The deal will increase the carrier's fleet of Q400s to 41 aircraft. "The versatility of the Bombardier Q400 makes it a great aircraft for FlyBE," said FlyBE Managing Director Jim French, who added that the aircraft's quiet, jet-like performance and economics makes it a "key strategic weapon" for the carrier.
GULFSTREAM REPORTS RECORD ORDERS FOR ITS BUSINESS JETS - Gulfstream Aerospace recorded orders for 95 new business jets last year, and has essentially sold out its production for nearly all of this year and a portion of 2006. "Gulfstream had tremendous order activity in the fourth quarter, resulting in a $586 million increase in its funded backlog," said Nicholas Chabraja, chairman of Gulfstream parent General Dynamics.
Eric Ramsdell, a member of the Operations staff at the National Business Aviation Association for the past three-plus years, is resigning because he and his wife have decided to relocate to the Charlottesville, Va. area. Ramsdell joined the association in October 2001, and he has served as manager of safety and operations and as liaison to the association's Safety and Part 135 Committees.
Cessna Aircraft signed a five-year agreement with the Experimental Aircraft Association launching EAA's "Partners In Flight," which provides financial support for the association's youth education and historical preservation missions. The agreement will help EAA "form a prestigious group of corporate and individual contributors who share EAA's vision of personal aviation - including its cherished past, its enormous value today and its promise for the future," said Tom Poberezny, EAA president.
The Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office was awarded an advanced acquisition contract valued at $850 million for long-lead work and materials for 11 V-22 aircraft, the Defense Department said. The aircraft are the fiscal 2006 low-rate initial production Lot 10. The work is scheduled to be completed by September 2008. The new contract was issued despite continuing questions about the military tiltrotor's durability (BA, Jan. 24/40).
LANCAIR RAMPING UP PRODUCTION, STAFF - Piston-aircraft maker Lancair is planning to boost employment by more than 25 percent by mid-summer by hiring 130 new workers at its facility in Bend, Ore. The increase in employment comes as Lancair ramps up production to build 190 aircraft this year - nearly matching the cumulative total of Columbia 300s, 350s and 400s that Lancair has delivered since 1998. Lancair said the company's board approved the expansion as its backlog continues to grow.
CESSNA: CITATIONS LARGELY SOLD OUT FOR 2005-06 - Cessna Aircraft, benefiting from strong demand for its business jet models, said it has logged orders for most of the Citations it plans to build this year and next.
COMMANDER AIRCRAFT TO BE LIQUIDATED - Commander Aircraft Co., the bankrupt Oklahoma-based manufacturer of the Commander 112/114 single-engine aircraft lines, will be liquidated, according to a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Aviation General, Inc., which had been seeking a buyer for the aircraft manufacturing unit while it was under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said the filing was converted to a Chapter 7 proceeding Jan. 14 and the court appointed a trustee "to preside over the preservation, disposition and sale of the company's assets."
The 2005 Cleveland National Air Show is scheduled Sept. 3-5 at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. The three-day event will include demonstrations by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, Army Golden Knights and other military tactical demonstrations and fly-bys as well as a number of aerobatic and historic aircraft displays. Organizers expect the event to attract 50 static display aircraft, educational exhibits, tanks and simulators. For more information, call (216) 781-0747 or visit www.clevelandairshow.com.
