Dassault Falcon Jet named Eric Monsel vice president of programs. Monsel, who has been with the French aircraft manufacturer for more than two decades, will succeed Marc Valle, who will retire from the company. Valle has been with Dassault since 1967 and has served as vice president of programs since 1997. Monsel will be responsible for coordinating all new Falcon options and the new projects developed for the completion programs.
EMS Technologies signed a seven-year agreement to supply high-speed data satellite communications products to complement the Honeywell/Thales MCS-4000/7000 high-speed data system. The products will include high-power amplifiers and high-speed data units that will support Inmarsat Swift64 and can upgrade to SwiftBroadband when it is available. EMS officials said the agreement will provide Honeywell/Thales clients the potential of a single source for their SATCOM products while the agreement provides EMS greater airline market penetration.
CSSI, INC., the Washington, D.C.-based engineering and technical services firm, was selected to assist seven Latin American and Caribbean countries in an initiative to reduce vertical separation minimums (RVSM) from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet at altitudes between 29,000 and 41,000 feet. CSSI had worked in consultation with FAA on domestic RVSM rules, which are slated to take effect Jan. 20, 2005. CSSI will work with FAA to assist implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean shortly thereafter.
LMI Aerospace agreed to sell its Versaform Division in British Columbia to a group of private investors, part of a previously announced plan to sell certain non-core assets. Acquired in 2002, Versaform serves aerospace, architectural and commercial industries. The Langley, B.C. facility provides stretch wrap forming, skin forming, hydro forming, tooling, assembly and heat treating.
NEW FAA UNIVERSITY TEAM WILL FOCUS ON CABIN AIR QUALITY, THREATS - The Federal Aviation Administration established a new Center of Excellence, headed by Auburn University, to examine cabin air quality and study chemical and biological threats in airliners.
Transportation Security Administration released an interim rule transferring background check authority for aliens seeking flight training in the U.S. from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the TSA. The interim rule, scheduled for publication in today's (Sept. 20) Federal Register, establishes standards for the security threat assessment process that TSA will conduct and establishes a fee to cover the costs of conducting the threat assessment. The rule also includes security-training standards for flight school employees. TSA is requesting comments on the rule.
Most business aircraft operators aren't any closer to regaining access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) than they were three years ago, but government officials who can obtain waivers to use DCA continue to take advantage of the privilege. Last Wednesday, for example, the nation's most famous King Air 100, operated by the Kentucky State Police, was at DCA. Back in June that airplane, which was carrying Gov.
Gulfstream Aerospace received type certification for the G200 business jet from the European Aviation Safety Agency, clearing the aircraft for registration in European Union member companies.
MD HELICOPTERS Model MD900 helicopters (Docket No. 2004-SW-10-AD; Amendment 39-13764; AD 2004-16-08) - requires installing a fan input force limiting control rod assembly fail-safe device. This AD also requires, after installing a fail-safe device, before the first flight of each day, checking the fail-safe device for bent clips, taut lanyards, and piston rod movement. If any of these conditions are found, this AD requires replacing the control rod assembly with an airworthy control rod assembly before further flight.
MICHELLA BALLARD was named marketing coordinator for JetCorp, a fixed-base operator at Spirit of St. Louis Airport, Mo. Ballard will oversee a number of marketing functions, including trade show coordination, advertising and media relations, promotions and internal communications. Ballard graduated from Parks College of St. Louis University with a bachelor of science degree in aviation management and most recently was marketing coordinator for L-3 Avionics Systems in Grand Rapids, Mich.
WEINER DEFERS PUSH ON GA SECURITY BILL; SAYS FUTURE ACTION POSSIBLE - After hearing an outpouring of opposition to his bill to severely curtail general aviation flights, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) decided last week to withhold action on the legislation to address "the obvious concerns" of the GA community, but said he hoped to follow up with more focused security measures in the future.
Avexus, Inc., which specializes in providing software to help manage aviation and aerospace operations, said Turbine Controls, Inc., an FAA/JAA/CAAC repair facility that repairs gas turbines and airframe components, selected Avexus software to help manage its maintenance, repair and overhaul operations in Bloomfield, Conn.
DASSAULT FALCON OPENS NEW TEB FLIGHT OPS CENTER - Dassault Falcon Jet opened its new flight operations center at the Teterboro, N.J. Airport (TEB), a facility that will house the company's 23-person flight operations department and the Falcon demonstration fleet. The new structure, located directly across from DFJ's headquarters, also will house three of the company's field service representatives.
LARGE MARKET SEEN FOR HAWKER 800 WINGLET RETROFIT - Aviation Partners, Inc., the Seattle, Wash. firm that specializes in developing winglet retrofits for business jets and commercial airliners, believes hundreds of Hawker 800 business jet operators will opt to install the performance-enhancing devices on their aircraft now that API has finally won certification from FAA.
LOSSES MOUNT AT FIRST AVIATION DESPITE SHARPLY HIGHER SALES - First Aviation Services, Inc., (FAS) the Westport, Conn.-based provider of parts and supply chain services to the aerospace industry, reported 12 times higher losses in the first half despite a significant increase in sales.
UNIVERSAL WEATHER NAMES NEW PRESIDENT - Ralph Vasami, a veteran of more than two decades with Houston, Texas-based Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., was named president of the company. Greg Evans will retain the post of chief executive officer, "increasing his focus on developing the future strategic direction for the organization in addition to maintaining his prominent role with customers and partners," according to a statement from the company. Vasami will focus on daily business operations.
February 6-8, 2005 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2005, Anaheim, Calif., (703) 683-4646 February 12-16, 2005 - 16th Annual National Business Aviation Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, Reno, Nev., (202) 783-9000 March 8-10, 2005 - National Air Transportation/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association GSE Aviation Services and Suppliers AS3 Supershow, March 8-10, Sands Expos & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 845-9000
Tucson Airport Authority, Ariz., approved five proposals for charter and storage facilities at Tucson International Airport (TIA) under the Valencia general aviation development project. The proposals include an 81,892-square-foot facility for charter activity that will be used by Million Air Tucson (Hotton Enterprises), a 33,848-square-foot storage facility for ARM Aerospace and a 17,859-square-foot storage facility for Real Air, LLC.
Senate Commerce Committee this week is expected to consider another bill to tighten aviation security. While final details have not been completed on the Senate legislation, Washington lobbyists are tracking the progress of a potential amendment that would require aircraft manufacturers and charter companies to pre-clear the names of first-time customers. That amendment apparently has been scaled back - some senators wanted the industry to pre-clear the names of all aircraft and charter customers.
Cessna Aircraft won FAA certification for the T206H Turbo Stationair equipped with a Garmin G1000 cockpit. The G1000 integrates primary flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather and engine sensor data on 10.4-inch glass displays. Cessna previously won certifications for the G1000-equipped 182T Skylane and T182T Turbo Skylane. Cessna expects FAA approval for its normally aspirated Stationair 206H this month.
FAA, ASSOCIATION VETERAN NAMED TO HEAD OPERATIONS AT NBAA - Steven J. Brown, a senior executive in FAA's Washington, D.C. headquarters, was selected to head operations for the National Business Aviation Association. Brown, 47, will succeed Bob Blouin as senior vice president-operations, effective Oct. 4. Blouin, who was in charge of operations at NBAA for the past seven years, resigned to pursue other professional challenges (BA, Aug. 30/94).
UltraJet LLC is offering an UltraJet Card that provides 25 hours of flight time in the UltraJet business jet fleet with a one-time pre-payment. UltraJet cards begin at $87,500 for use of a seven-seat light jet.
Aviation Points Exchange, the nationwide loyalty and rewards program tailored to aviation businesses, added Panorama Flight Service, based in White Plains, N.Y., to its network of fixed-base operations participating in the program. Panorama provides a range of line services, including Texaco fuels, as well as maintenance services. Panorama also provides charter, sales, management and Cessna flight training.
HOYER URGES GA AIRPORT FUNDING - While the House version of the fiscal 2005 transportation appropriations bill included no money to fund any of the $100 million authorized to compensate general aviation for losses incurred stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) last week continued to urge funding for at least the three small Maryland airports that lie within the no-fly zone over the Washington, D.C. area.
COMMUNICATIONS GLITCH GROUNDS FLIGHTS IN CALIFORNIA, SOUTHWEST - Hundreds of flights were delayed or diverted Tuesday because of a radio communication outage at FAA's Los Angeles Enroute Air Traffic Control Center. FAA issued a statement Wednesday that said the five-hour outage resulted from a failure to perform a standard maintenance check. The agency said the problem was "not the result of system reliability, but rather an event that should've been avoided had strict, FAA operating and maintenance procedures been followed.
