BOMBARDIER WINS MAJOR TURBOPROP ORDER FROM AIR NEW ZEALAND - Air New Zealand placed a series of orders and options with Bombardier Aerospace for as many as 40 new turboprop airliners, if all options are exercised. Under the contract, Air New Zealand placed a firm order for 17 Q300 50-seat twin turboprops and took options on 10 Q300s and 13 Q400s, Bombardier's four-engine, 70-seat turboprop.
JEAN-PIERRE COUSSERANS was appointed senior vice president of customer services for Avions Transport Regional (ATR). He joined Aerospatiale in 1991 and spent more than 12 years since with ATR. Most recently he was general secretary of ATR and has been involved in a complete re-engineering of major processes of ATR.
DALEY CLAIMS CHICAGO DIDN'T BREAK RULES BY BULLDOZING MEIGS - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and other city officials disputed FAA findings that the city violated federal grant agreements when it destroyed Meigs Field's runway in the middle of the night without advance notice. FAA early this month proposed fining the city $33,000 - the maximum possible - for closing the airport without the required 30-day notice and stated it was further investigating whether the city improperly diverted $1.5 million in airport revenues to pay for the demolition of Meigs (BA, Oct. 4/148).
National Research Council Of Canada's Institute for Aerospace Research is testing an experimental millimeter-wave (MM) radar imager on its Falcon 20 aircraft to research single- and multi-sensor vision systems for all-weather approach guidance. NRC will integrate the MM imager with the Falcon 20's existing head-up display. NRC noted that infrared sensors improve guidance in poor weather, but cannot penetrate all extreme conditions.
Premier Aircraft, LLC, of East Alton, Ill., entered into an agreement with Honeywell Aerospace to upgrade existing TFE731-3-1C and TFE731-3D-1C engines installed on Falcon 50 aircraft to a TFE731-4-1C configuration. The modification is designed to improve several operating parameters, increasing range, reducing time-to-climb and boosting hot-and-high performance.
Innotech Aviation of Montreal, Canada won Service Target Authorization and Approval Rating (STAAR) for its powerplant and auxiliary power unit support. The recognition covers Honeywell TFE731 engines and GPTC-36 APUs, which are installed on many Falcon, Challenger, Hawker, Citation and Learjet business jets. Innotech, which began business in 1955 as Timmins Aviation, is preparing to celebrate its 50th year in business.
Thousands of business jets, particularly older, smaller models, have not yet been modified to permit them to operate in Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) airspace, according to an FAA survey. See chart below. The FAA survey was conducted this summer, and new 1,000-foot separation requirements are scheduled to take effect Jan. 20 (BA, Sept. 27/139).
Fractional aircraft operators remain keenly interested in supersonic business jets (SSBJ). Two different groups outlined their plans for SSBJs at last week's National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas (BA, Sept. 27/133). When SSBJ programs were under study a few years ago by Dassault and Gulfstream, Richard Smith, executive vice president of fractional provider NetJets, said the company would buy 50 SSBJs if the aircraft made it to market. Smith's interest hasn't waned.
Raytheon Aircraft received an order valued at $11 million from the Israeli government for 18 Beechcraft Bonanzas for light transportation and utility use. Raytheon will begin delivery of the aircraft in November and continue through April 2005. The aircraft will have a standard commercial configuration and identical paint schemes and interiors. The deal continues a relationship with Israel that spans almost six decades. The first two aircraft in the Israeli government fleet were Bonanzas, Raytheon noted.
The Department of Transportation has drafted a notice providing guidance on the lawful role of air charter brokers. The notice stems from concern that charters may be engaged in air transportation without appropriate economic authority to do so. DOT also has been concerned that charter brokers that lack economic authority have arrangements with licensed carriers under which the brokers sell charter flights on aircraft they own or lease but are placed on an operating certificate of a licensed carrier.
FAA awarded a $24.8 million contract to Bombardier for a Global 5000 business aircraft that will be delivered to the agency's William J. Hughes Technical Center by the end of September 2005.
Mooney Airplane Company formed an alliance with certain Million Air fixed-base operations to launch a fuel and maintenance savings program for customers. Mooney owners will receive fuel and maintenance discounts at select Million Air operations for the next year. Mooney was finalizing the details with individual franchise owners and expects to provide more details in coming weeks.
ECLIPSE PLANS IN-HOUSE SUPPORT NEWORK FOR ECLIPSE 500 JET - Eclipse Aviation is planning a network of seven factory service centers based throughout the U.S. to support Eclipse 500 maintenance. Eclipse plans to open its first two centers in 2006 at its headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M. and Gainesville, Fla., and to have all seven in place by 2008. The move to have in-house support is part of Eclipse's "value proposition," Eclipse President Vern Raburn said last week during the NBAA annual meeting and convention in Orlando.
The Vanallen Group added aircraft acquisition to its portfolio of business aviation consulting services. The company hired Mike Sowa, a 20-year corporate aviation executive, to head the new business unit. The unit will assist the buyer in the acquisition process, including identifying a selection of candidate aircraft, supporting the negotiation process, assisting with purchase fund management, and overseeing inspections.
CMC Electronics, Inc. won a contract from Execaire to install its PilotView electronic flight bag system on two Cessna Encore business jets owned by an Execaire client. The first installation is scheduled for next month.
Enthusiasm about the tax bill was tempered by the inclusion of a measure that partially overturns the Sutherland Lumber court decision and limits how much can be deducted for expenses relating to use of business aircraft by senior executives for personal travel. The Sutherland Lumber measure, which also affects the amount of bonus depreciation that can be taken, was originally added to the tax package by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) to pay for another measure that would reduce tax revenue.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-102 airplanes (Docket No. 2003-NM-185-AD; Amendment 39-13801; AD 2004-19-07) - requires modification of the electrical power circuit. This action is necessary to prevent component failure in the radar indicator, resulting in an overcurrent condition and consequent overheating or burning of an internal component or the ribbon cable. This could lead to smoke in the cockpit, resulting in incapacitation of the flight crew and loss of control of the airplane. FAA estimates that 48 airplanes on the U.S.
The GAMA and NBAA boards have been meeting over the past month to discuss ways the associations could improve cooperation and coordination, but the possibility that the two associations might merge is not under consideration, Rockwell Collins and GAMA Chairman Clay Jones said last week.
Bullish projections by Honeywell Aerospace forecasters for increased deliveries of new business jets over the next decade are depicted in a graph below.
Two separate groups launched public efforts last week to develop supersonic business jets that could carry top-end business travelers, in cruise mode, twice as fast as current-production aircraft.
