Rockwell Collins said its NLX unit received FAA Level D qualification for a Bombardier Challenger 300 full flight simulator. The certification is the first for NLX on a Bombardier simulator.
\ NBAA officials anticipate very strong attendance at this week's convention, possibly pushing past the 35,000 mark. Parking for private aircraft flying into the city is already a problem. NBAA issued an alert last week, warning that because of big increases in airline traffic at McCarran International Airport (LAS), airport officials will not be able to close one of the north/south parallel runways to accommodate parking there.
WILLIAMS WINS CERTIFICATION FOR ADAMJET ENGINE - Williams International won FAA type certification last month for the FJ33-4A-15 turbofan engine that will power the new A700 AdamJet. The Englewood, Colo. aircraft manufacturer said the A700 "is the first flying aircraft...in the personal jet market to have a certified powerplant." AdamJet has logged 180 hours on the new engines. "This is a huge milestone for our A700 development program," said Rick Adam, CEO of the aircraft manufacturer. The new FJ33 engines will produce 1,568 pounds of thrust each.
ACM Aviation is building a new executive terminal and hangar at Mineta San Jose International Airport in California. The project is slated for completion in fall 2006. Located on the west side of the airport on a 6.2-acre tract, the 60,000-square-foot hangar will double ACM's hangar space and be large enough to accommodate the largest corporate jets. The project also will increase ACM's terminal space to 17,000 square feet.
HONEYWELL BOOSTS BUSINESS JET DELIVERY FORECAST - Honeywell believes customers will purchase more than 8,300 business jets valued at more than $131 billion during the period 2004-2014, an increase of 600 airplanes or nearly eight percent more aircraft than the company's year-earlier forecast for 2003-2113.
GULFSTREAM Model Gulfstream 100 airplanes and Model Astra SPX and 1125 Westwind Astra series airplanes (Docket No. FAA-2004-19138; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-102-AD) - proposes to require adjusting the ground contact switches of the main landing gear. This proposed AD is prompted by two occurrences of uncommanded deployments of the ground airbrakes during descent. FAA is proposing this AD to prevent a false "Ground" position signal, which could result in deployment of the ground airbrakes and reduced controllability of the airplane.
HARTZELL ACQUIRES ANOTHER FIRM, FORMS HOLDING COMPANY - Hartzell Propeller Inc. of Piqua, Ohio said its family ownership group established a parent company, Charter Aerospace Partners, to act as a holding company for Hartzell "and to provide a vehicle for other aerospace acquisitions." At the same time, Charter announced the acquisition of Industrial Tube Corp. of Perris, Calif. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
American Eurocoper of Grand Prairie, Texas won a five-year, $75 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division to supply more than 55 surveillance helicopters, the company said last week. The CBP will use the single-turbine EC120 helicopters for low-level surveillance and security patrol of U.S. borders to detect, interdict and apprehend illegal intruders.
Despite a resurgence of its business jet lines, softening demand for its 50-seat CRJ200 regional jet has spurred Bombardier Aerospace to slash another 2,000 jobs and cut RJ production rates, the company announced Thursday. Bombardier will lay off workers over a nine-month period beginning in November at its plants in Montreal and Belfast. Scheduled regional jet deliveries will drop from 176 in the current fiscal year to 145 in the fiscal year beginning in February.
TEXTRON EXECUTIVE TO OVERSEE CESSNA'S BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - Cessna Aircraft President and CEO Jack Pelton named R. John Stack vice president of strategy & business development for the Wichita aircraft manufacturer. Stack had been director of strategy development & international for Cessna's parent company, Textron. Stack will serve as a member of Cessna's Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and will report directly to Pelton.
RUDY TOERING was appointed manager of FlightSafety International's Farnborough facility, which is slated to open in the first quarter of 2005. Toering, who has managed FlightSafety's European marketing operations for the past four years, will remain director of European business development for the company. CHAD WININGS joined Triax Partners' aircraft sales staff. Winings will specialize in aircraft brokerage and acquisition and will be based in Indianapolis, Ind. Winings formerly served with Chrysler Pentastar Aviation and Eagle Creek Aviation Service.
The Senate version of the 9/11 Recommendations Implementations Act includes language, sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), authorizing charter and aircraft rental companies to request that TSA check the names of customers against the federal government's "no-fly" list. The language mirrors the provision Rockefeller included in the Aviation Security Advancement Act, S.2393 (BA, Sept. 27/135). The House and Senate are not expected to finish work on the 9/11 Recommendations bill until after the November elections.
SERVICE FIRMS LURE BUSINESS WITH NEW DISCOUNT, MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS - Several companies are rolling out membership and frequent-use programs this week to provide charter, fueling and other benefits for business aircraft operators and their customers.
Cessna Aircraft last week won type certification for a 206H Stationair equipped with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite. The 206H Stationair marks the fourth Cessna single-engine aircraft to win certification with the Garmin G1000 package. Cessna also earned approval for the 182T Skylane, T182T Turbo Skylane and T206H Turbo Stationair. Cessna is next working on certification for a G1000-equipped 172 Skyhawk and expects to begin delivery of those aircraft in 2005.
JetCorp, a full-service fixed-base operation at Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) in Chesterfield, Mo., received certification from FAA as a Class 4 Certified Repair Station. The new certification allows JetCorp to expand the scope of work it does to any airframe for which it has the required tooling and training. The company plans to move its maintenance services to a new hangar on the airport. The 24,335-square-foot facility will permit the company to combine work efforts between service segments to provide more efficient service.
BOB BLOUIN JOINS WASHINGTON CONSULTING FIRM - Bob Blouin, former senior vice president-operations of the National Business Aviation Association, is joining a Washington, D.C.-area consulting firm with extensive ties to the aviation industry. Blouin will be a vice president of Phaneuf Associates, Inc., (PAI) which is headquartered in Crystal City, Va., near Ronald Reagan National Airport. "We are very excited Bob is joining us," said PAI President Roger Phaneuf.
Montreal Jet Center, a new company specializing in business aircraft refurbishment, avionics and maintenance, won Transport Canada approval to perform line and heavy maintenance on Raytheon Hawker 400, 600, 700 and 800 series aircraft. Montreal Jet Center was previously approved to work on Bombardier Challenger 600, Global Express and CRJ series aircraft.
Raytheon Aircraft established a new division to focus on its special mission aircraft products and customers. The company named Raytheon Aircraft Vice President John Brauneis to head the new organization, which will comprise business development, engineering, program management, finance and contract functions. Raytheon Aircraft Chairman and CEO Jim Schuster said the organization will ensure special mission customers have "seamless interaction" with Raytheon Aircraft's business lines.
