United States Air Tour Association appointed a new board of trustees: Scenic Airlines President Chad Dixon as chairman; Brenda Halvorson, president of Papillon Helicopters, as vice chairman; Lash Larew, executive vice president of Era Aviation, secretary; and David Chevalier, president of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, treasurer. Newly appointed members to the USATA board were John Sullivan (Sundance Helicopters), Alan Stephen (Grand Canyon Airlines), John Dillon (Grand Canyon Airlines), Greg Rochna (Maverick Helicopters) and Ross Scott (Sunshine Helicopters).
CARLYLE BUYS CONTROLLING STAKE IN STELLEX AEROSTRUCTURES - The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C. private investment firm, completed a tender offer for a majority of Stellex Aerostructures Inc.'s stock, both companies said last month. As a result, a Carlyle affiliate owns a controlling stake in Stellex Aerostructures, a New Jersey supplier of integrated assemblies and precision parts for commercial and military aviation, private and business aviation and space.
Eclipse Aviation promoted Oliver Masefield and Don Burtis to senior vice president, senior fellow, and named Ken Harness vice president of engineering. Masefield formerly was senior vice president of engineering for the Albuquerque, N.M. company. Burtis had led the avionics and electronics organization for Eclipse.
Clay Lacy Aviation was selected to service Boeing Aircraft Company's corporate fleet based in Seattle, Wash. Clay Lacy will provide line maintenance, fuel, aircraft detailing, hangar and concierge services for Boeing. Clay Lacy operates fixed-base operations in Los Angeles and Seattle.
CPI Aerostructures received an accelerated $7.1 million order from the U.S. Air Force for 70 shipsets of structural inlets in 2005 as part of the T-38 Talon trainer Propulsion Modernization Program. The order is $1.4 million more than the 2004 contracts. CPI was selected for the 10-year, $61 million contract in 2001.
National Air Transportation Association was pleased that FAA representatives at a recent meeting appeared receptive to industry concerns over a handbook bulletin requiring operators with aircraft that have more than nine seats to either obtain a supplemental type certificate to qualify for fewer than nine seats or follow a more extensive maintenance regime (BA, Sept. 13/111). FAA had extended the bulletin's implementation date to Nov. 29 at the association's urging (BA, Sept.
All The ARC working groups are slated to meet for the last time Nov. 16-18 outside Washington, D.C. to finalize their recommendations. A steering committee will review the recommendations during that meeting and once again during a final meeting in early 2005 before the industry rulemaking committee presents final recommendations to FAA. The charter for the group is slated to expire in March, and Kathy Perfetti, the FAA point person of the Part 135/125 review, said the agency does not intend to extend that charter. "Will we get everything done [by then]?
NAVY'S ROLE IN ACS FACES DECEMBER REVIEW - The U.S. Navy will finalize its involvement in the Army-led Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program later this year, providing the Navy an opportunity to put forth additional requirements for the intelligence-gathering aircraft, a program official said last week.
KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE AGREES TO BUY MAJORITY STAKE IN LIBERTY - Kuwait Finance House Bahrain (KFH Bahrain) agreed to buy 75 percent of the stock in Melbourne, Fla.-based Liberty Aerospace in a deal that Liberty executives say will open international markets and ensure the company's support of those markets. Liberty, which produces the XL2 two-seat aircraft, will retain its current management and staff.
Stevens Aviation Denver earned FAA approval to add a number of aircraft and powerplant ratings to its repair station certificate. The new approvals cover maintenance on the Raytheon Premier; Hawker Siddley.125 series 600A, 600B, 700A, 700B; British Aerospace.125 series 800A, 800B; Hawker 800, 800XP and 1000; Dassault Falcon 50, 50EX, 900, 900EX, 2000; and Learjet 31, 31A, 35, 35A, 36 and 36A aircraft.
General Aviation aircraft shipments continue to improve in all categories in 2004, the manufacturers report. Bombardier is enjoying the rebounding of the business-jet market, reporting making nearly twice the number of shipments this year as it made in the first nine months of 2003. Turboprop manufacturers such as Pilatus and Raytheon also have increased deliveries. In the piston market, Cirrus continues to build up production, delivering nearly 80 more aircraft through the first nine months of 2004 than it did in 2003.
FirstFlight Management, the aircraft charter and management services company based at Elmira Corning Regional Airport, established an office at Teterboro Airport. The new office will be led by Michael Moore, Toni Drummond and Omar Diaz, who formerly served with Infinity Aviation but also had represented FirstFlight over the past year through an exclusive marketing agreement. "Mike, Toni and Omar have created a top-notch sales team that is well known throughout the industry," said FirstFlight owner John Dow.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car launched a new Web site, www.enterprise.com/GA, which will enable corporate and private pilots to find and reserve rental cars at Enterprise locations near or at fixed-base operations throughout North America. The Web site uses AC-U-KWIK's Airport/FBO database to match FBOs in North America with Enterprise branches.
GENERAL AVIATION BILLINGS JUMP 16 PERCENT AS DELIVERIES IMPROVE - General aviation billings worldwide surged 15.9 percent to $7.8 billion through the first nine months of the year thanks to an improving market that led to a 7.7 percent increase in unit shipments, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported last week. General aviation plane-makers shipped 1,928 airplanes through the end of September, compared with 1,790 aircraft delivered in the first nine months of 2003.
Summary: This notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR, dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
PAPILLON CHIEF BUYS SOLOY CORPORATION - Papillon Airways Chairman Elling Halvorson led a team of helicopter industry executives that bought Olympia, Wash.-based Soloy Corp. last month. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Soloy will continue operating as a stand-alone company under the leadership of Soloy CEO David Stauffer.
JIM DOLLE was promoted to manager of FlightSafety's learning center in Savannah, Ga. Dolle had served as the assistant manager for the past four years. He is a former naval aviator, serving as a commodore of multiple Navy commands in the U.S. and overseas.
An industry working group Friday was putting the finishing touches on recommendations for handling flight and duty time regulations for Part 135 during a meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. The working group hopes to present the recommendations to the full Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) tasked with looking at an overhaul of Part 135 and 125 regulations. The working group first met in Dallas last spring and representatives were optimistic that they could reach a compromise agreement to present to the ARC.
Shelly Simi, vice president of communications for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, has decided to leave the association at the end of the year to focus more on her family. Simi, who has served with GAMA since 1989, plans to remain involved in the industry in a consulting capacity. Simi was named vice president in 2001 after serving as director of communications since 1995. Before joining GAMA, she served in flight operations for Federal Express.
FAA SETTLES NINE-YEAR-OLD DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT - FAA has settled a long-running lawsuit by an employee who claims he was passed over unfairly because of affirmative action policies, and the agency has agreed to review its hiring policies.
