BANGALORE-based Air Deccan took delivery of two used ATR 42-500 aircraft as part of a five-aircraft deal announced during the Farnborough Airshow 2004. The remaining three ATR 42-500s will be delivered by the end of February. Air Deccan launched operations in 2003 with four ATR 42-320 aircraft. The airline operates on a network that includes Mysore, Hubli, Hampi, Belgaum, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Chennai and New Delhi.
GREAT LAKES AIRCRAFT Models 2T-1A-1 and 2T-1A-2 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-18744; Directorate Identifier 2004-CE-24-AD; Amendment 39-13910; AD 2004-25-22] -- supersedes AD 79-20-08, which currently requires inspections of the engine induction system and the alternate air door for any signs of damage and repair or replacement of any damaged components. AD 79-20-08 also requires inspecting the induction system for the presence of a drain fitting.
ARCHITECTS of a future air transportation system envision security playing a crucial role in operations. The Integrated National Plan for the Next Generation Air Transport System outlines an "embedded and interwoven" security system that includes the ability to continuously track aircraft throughout the nation. The plan, developed by a high-level federal interagency team, includes the possibility of developing smart technologies to track aircraft operations.
PREMIER AIR CENTER, East Alton, Ill., acquired West Star Aviation of Grand Junction, Colo. and West Star Avionics of Hiawatha, Iowa, effective Dec. 31. Premier is located at the St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN), where it provides factory-authorized service for all Model 500 and 650 series Cessna Citation business jets, including the Sovereign, Mustang and CJ3, plus all Dassault Falcon business jet models.
ANDY MCARTOR was appointed director of standards and training at iviation, a Memphis-based aviation services company. McArtor will oversee human factors and crew resource management programs as well as standards and training for Part 91, 121 and 135 operators, controlled flight into terrain and threat management programs. McArtor has 15 years of aviation experience with both the U.S. Air Force and Part 121 operations.
L-3 Communications Corp. bolstered its infrared technology business with the acquisition of Cincinnati Electronics from CMC Electronics, the companies announced last week. Terms of the transaction, completed Dec. 9, were not disclosed. L-3 renamed the business L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics, and said the sale should be accretive to L-3 Communications results in 2005. As part of the transaction, Cincinnati Electronics received a long-term supplier agreement from CMC Electronics to provide infrared sensors for CMC Electronics' Enhanced Vision System.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT opened a new Executive Transport Center where the Marine One presidential helicopter fleet will be built if Sikorsky wins the contract, the company said this month. The center is at Sikorsky's main facility in Stratford, Conn., but it is secluded for security. Sikorsky has offered the VH-92 in a bid to win the VXX competition against Lockheed Martin-AgustaWestland's US101 helicopter. The Navy has delayed selecting a winner in the competition until the end of January.
AN EFFORT to launch a local group to represent aviation interests in the Washington, D.C. area attracted more than 40 expressions of interest within one week of announcement. The new group, the Greater Washington Business Aviation Association (GWBAA) is expected to hold an organizational meeting in mid-January. Former NBAA executive Bob Blouin, who is coordinating the new group, said organizers have heard from Part 91 and 135 operators, management companies, manufacturers, associations, fixed-base operators, FAA, airport operators and aviation consultants.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2004-19761; Directorate Identifier 2003-NM-167-AD] - proposes to require modification of the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) cooling air exhaust. This proposed AD is prompted by reports of incomplete drainage of the APU enclosure.
MIKE SCHRADER rejoined Lancair as national sales manager. Schrader will oversee the company's network of 12 domestic sales and service centers. Schrader originally joined Lancair when it was launched as a kit airplane company in 1992 from NEICO Aviation. He left Lancair in 2003 to serve as the West Coast sales representative for Flying magazine.
A federal, state and industry partnership is critical to success in securing general aviation, the Government Accountability Office told Congress. GAO, Congress' investigative arm, reached that conclusion in a report on general aviation security it produced at the request of Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), chairman of the House homeland security appropriations subcommittee (BA, Dec. 13/266).
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE won Part 145 approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its London Luton Airport service center in England. The EASA approval permits Gulfstream's U.K. facility to perform base and line maintenance on business jets. The new approval replaces the previous Joint Aviation Authorities accreditation the Luton facility held.
Italy's Finmeccanica has completed its buy of the other half of AgustaWestland, which it formerly shared with the United Kingdom's GKN. Finmeccanica and GNK formed AgustaWestland in 2001 as a 50-50 joint venture, but Italy's largest defense contractor announced in May that it intended to buy the other half to try to expand its growth in the U.S. market (BA, June 7/259).
Financially beleaguered Canadian manufacturer Bombardier last week dismissed Paul Tellier -- the man it had hired just two years ago to make tough decisions and get the company back on track -- and said the far-flung enterprise will now be run by a three-man Office of the President that includes two members of the controlling Beaudoin family.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION Friday elected Kenneth Emerick of GM Worldwide Travel Services chairman and Treasurer Jeffrey Lee of IBM Corporation to also serve as vice chairman. Emerick fills the post vacated by Don Baldwin, who resigned to pursue career interests. "I am profoundly grateful to Don Baldwin for his outstanding contributions as NBAA board chairman," said NBAA President Ed Bolen. "His significant personal contributions during a time of transition went well beyond what was required.
ELLING HALVORSON, chairman of Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, was selected to receive the Helicopter Association International's 2004 Lawrence D. Bell Award during HAI's Heli-Expo Feb. 7 in Anaheim, Calif. Halvorson is the founder and chairman of Elling Halvorson, Inc., a general contracting firm. His first major project was building a two-mile tramway system on a 10,400-foot peak in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and it was at that time that he purchased his first helicopter.
NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT sold seven Piper Warrior III aircraft equipped with the Avidyne Entegra integrated flight deck to Ohio University. The order is the largest New Piper has received for glass-panel-equipped trainers. The Warrior's computerized flight deck will include multi-function displays, moving maps and integrated flight instruments. New Piper offers the Entegra flight deck as optional equipment on the Warrior III, Archer II and Arrow. The system also is offered on the Piper Saratoga II HP, Saratoga II TC, 6X and 6XT.
CORPORATE JETS, INC. plans to open a new 3,000-square-foot renovation project this month on the second floor of its fixed-base operation in Scottsdale, Ariz. The new area will include state-of-the-art flight planning/weather computers, wireless Internet access, individual work stations and a private conference room. The new lounge also will include a comfortable area for watching widescreen TVs, a complete kitchen, shower facilities and an unobstructed view of the aircraft operations area.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE received a contract from Northwest Airlines for 10 CRJ200 regional jets. The contract converts 10 of 175 options that Northwest holds for the CRJ. Northwest has ordered a total of 139 CRJ aircraft, of which 109 had been delivered by the end of September. Northwest Airlink carrier Pinnacle Airlines will operate the CRJ aircraft under the latest order.
THE EMBRAER 195 made its first flight this month, at the company's Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil headquarters. Powered by General Electric CF34-10E engines, the 108-seat plane flew for just under two hours. Certification is anticipated in the second quarter of 2006. Swiss has 10 aircraft on order and GECAS has options for 10 planes.
THE WHITE HOUSE released a policy to ensure uninterrupted availability of the global positioning system while balancing the needs of homeland security and national defense.
BOMBARDIER received European Aviation Safety Agency approval for the Honeywell TFE-731-20BR engine upgrade on the Learjet 45 XR business jet. The approval authorizes Bombardier to deliver production Learjet 45 XR aircraft to customers in any of the 25 EASA member countries. Bombardier this month plans to issue a service bulletin along with revisions to the aircraft manual to current Learjet 45 operators that will enable them to upgrade their aircraft at Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services in Berlin, Germany.
