Thales completed site acceptance tests for the Shanghai air traffic control center, the second of three centers that will receive Thales equipment under a contract the electronics manufacturer received from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2001. Thales completed site acceptance testing of the air traffic management system in May for the Beijing center. The third site will be in Guangzhou.
National Business Aviation Association is adding political balance to its lobbying corps, hiring Lisa Piccione, who previously worked for Delta Air Lines and an airport group. While other senior NBAA lobbyists have ties to the Republican Party, Piccione formerly worked for Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the ranking Democratic member of the House aviation subcommittee. See article below.
PRIVATAIR TAKES DELIVERY OF 757 FOR NEW ZURICH SERVICE - Charter aircraft provider PrivatAir, which has found a lucrative niche providing transatlantic service in VIP-configured aircraft, is expanding that business using a Boeing Business Jet 2. PrivatAir took delivery last week of the BBJ2, a 757 variant, which will be equipped with 56 lie-flat business-class seats, and will provide all-business-class scheduled service for Swiss International Air Lines between Zurich, Switzerland and Newark Liberty International Airport.
Contentious battles in this year's elections have many Capitol Hill staffers concerned that much of the work left for a lame duck session beginning this month might not be resolved until the new Congress comes in next year. Talks have resumed about the possibility of creating another continuing resolution to keep many agencies operating through the end of January while an agreement on an omnibus appropriations bill is ironed out. The fiscal transportation appropriations bill is one of several bills yet to be finalized.
Cessna Aircraft is planning to stage its fifth Citation Special Olympics Airlift for the 2006 Special Olympics U.S. National Games July 3-8, 2006, at Iowa State University. Cessna expects that 400 Cessna Citations will transport more than 2,500 Special Olympics athletes and coaches from across the nation to the event. Cessna first held the airlift, involving more than 130 Citations carrying nearly 1,000 athletes to the games in South Bend, Ind., in 1987. By 1999, the event had grown to include more than 275 donated Citations from 260 Cessna customers.
BECKER FLUGFUNKWERK AR 4201 VHF AM transceivers (Docket No. 2003-NE-68-AD; Amendment 39-13825; AD 2004-21-04) - requires adding an aircraft flight manual (AFM) limitation to the Limitations Section of the AFM, and cockpit placard due to the intermittent malfunctioning of the transceiver, or removing the affected transceiver from service.
SPACESHIPONE LESSONS FEEDING INTO RASCAL AIRCRAFT - Lessons and technology from Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne are being applied to the supersonic manned aircraft the company is developing for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) RASCAL program, according to Jacob Lopata, chief executive officer for RASCAL prime contractor Space Launch Corp. The RASCAL (Responsive Access, Small Cargo, and Affordable Launch) aircraft is one element of a two-part system for launching small payloads quickly and affordably into low-Earth orbit.
NTSB INVESTIGATES MED AIR, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CRASHES - The National Transportation Safety Board last week was investigating the crashes of a Beech 200 King Air owned by Hendrick Motorsports and a Learjet 35 operated on a flight for Med Flight Air Ambulance that killed a combined 15 people.
Lycoming Engines announced new leaders for the company's sales and marketing unit. Todd Stoner was named vice president of sales and marketing with responsibility for business strategy and long-term growth. Stoner joins Lycoming from Aventis, where he held positions in management, sales and training. Lycoming named Mike Everhart director of distribution and channel management. Everhart, who will manage Lycoming's distribution network, has served with Lycoming since September 2001, holding roles in quality assurance, materials, customer service and operations.
National Air Transportation Association is working with the United States Aircraft Insurance Group and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to offer a Safety and Security of Airport Ground Operations course at the university. The course, based on the NATA Safety 1st Professional Line Service Training Program, covers general aviation airport ground operations, including rules, policies, procedures and potential hazards that affect the safety and security of aircraft, crew, passengers and others.
Raytheon Airline Aviation Services (RAAS), in coordination with Pratt & Whitney Canada, is offering a 9,000-hour overhaul interval for the PT6A-67D engines installed on the Beech 1900D turboprop. The overhaul extension can be accomplished through a service bulletin, SB14003, which covers qualifications, engine specifications, installation of an engine exceedance monitor, engine condition trend monitoring, and the necessary paperwork. RAAS additionally will deliver future 1900D aircraft qualified for the 9,000-hour time between overhaul.
While most aviation leaders on Capitol Hill are considered "safe" in their upcoming elections, a few key retirements will bring new faces to aviation oversight committees.
C4 SYSTEMS MOVES AHEAD WITH CAPSTONE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM - General Dynamics C4 Systems received the go-ahead from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin certification trials for satellite communications equipment it is building for the agency's Capstone Communication System program in Alaska.
Schubach Aviation completed its expansion of the charter carrier's headquarters at Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif. The company added 1,500 square feet of office space to its headquarters to accommodate administrative and office functions, additional scheduling personnel, aircraft and pilot records and a dedicated pilot flight planning area. Schubach said the company needed the space after it increased its staff to keep pace with a 20 percent increase in its charter flight hours. The company is adding four more planes to its fleet of 13 aircraft.
PIAGGIO PLANS PRODUCTION BOOSTS FOR NEXT-GENERATION AVANTI - Piaggio Aero Industries has filled its backlog through 2007 as it moves forward with the next generation of its high-speed pusher-prop Avanti aircraft, the Avanti II. Unveiled during the NBAA annual meeting and convention last month in Las Vegas, Nev., the Avanti II will be equipped new avionics, and offer improved speed and payload.
AGUSTAWESTLAND Friday opened its expanded manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, where it builds the single-engine light utility A119 Koala helicopter. AgustaWestland used the event to unveil the first US101 helicopter equipped with GE engines, which it is offering in partnership with Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter as a potential replacement for the current Marine One fleet that transports the President. The $6.8 million expansion provides 40,000 square feet of hangar space and areas for completions, final assembly, manufacturing stations and avionics assembly.
FlightSafety International is undergoing certification of its Level D simulators designed to train for the King Air B200 aircraft equipped with the Raisbeck Enhanced Performance Package. FlightSafety acquired the in-flight performance data for the package and is adding the data to its Level D simulators. Approval for the training is expected later this year. FlightSafety noted that nearly 50 percent of the King Air B200 fleet has incorporated some Raisbeck modification.
CAE has added initial pilot training for the Embraer Legacy aircraft to its offerings at the company's Phoenix-area facility. CAE provides the training on its Embraer ERJ 145 full-flight simulator at the facility, which is based at the Arizona State University campus in Mesa, Ariz. CAE began offering recurrent training on the Legacy with a four/five-day program in May. The 21-day initial training program is slated to begin this month.
Execair added a Bell 427 twin-engine helicopter to its fleet of managed aircraft. The Bell 427 is based at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada, and is one of two executive helicopters of its type operated in the greater Toronto area.
November 15-18 - Flight Safety Foundation/International Federation of Airworthiness/International Air Transport Association 57th Annual International Air Safety Seminar, Pudong Shangri-La Hotel, Shanghai, China, (703) 739-6700 November 18 - National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Dallas, Texas, (202) 783-9000 February 6-8, 2005 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2005, Anaheim, Calif., (703) 683-4646
National Business Aviation Association will hold its next Business Aviation Regional Forum Nov. 18 at the Business Jet Center on Dallas Love Field. The NBAA's regional forums are designed to provide an opportunity for networking and discussing critical business aviation issues. The forums also provide a marketplace for business aviation products. In addition to the Dallas event, NBAA is planning forums in Morristown, N.J. in April; San Jose, Calif. in July; Denver, Colo. in September; and Atlanta, Ga. in October.
Transportation Security Administration called on operators of Part 125 aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds to implement a new security program if they are not covered under the Part 135 "Twelve-Five" rule or other security requirements. TSA released a notice last month requiring the adoption of the security regime, effective Nov. 18. The notice did not include a comment period.
