Cessna Aircraft is developing a series of service bulletins for installation of the new Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) on the Citation Bravo, Encore, Excel and X. Cessna released the service bulletin for the Excel in July and will release the remaining bulletins in mid-September. The RAAS system improves situational awareness and helps protect against runway incursions by providing an aural advisory to the flight crew during taxi, takeoff, final approach, landing and rollout.
Million Air completed a renovation project for its facility at Van Nuys, Calif. Airport. The $750,000 project included repaving and reconfiguring the jet ramp, a new fuel farm, hangar repainting and a renovation of its terminal building. Million Air said the renovations are the beginning of a long-term construction project planned for the facility. The FBO lost its 5,500-square-foot glass terminal building in the Northridge earthquake, and has since been waiting for city approval to build a new terminal and 13 corporate jet hangars.
Corporate Angel Network (CAN) arranged 217 flights for cancer patients in July, a record for the public charity that works with corporations to provide free transportation using empty seats on business aircraft. In addition to the record number of flights, CAN recently flew its 19,000th cancer patient. "We have been able to help more patients so far this year than ever before," said CAN's Peter Fleiss.
601P CRASH INVESTIGATION FOCUSES ON AIRCRAFT WEIGHT - The National Transportation Safety Board is focusing on the takeoff weight of an Aerostar PA-60-601P twin-engine aircraft that crashed and burned just after taking off from an airport in Austin, Texas Aug. 3. The crash killed all six people aboard, including the pilot.
NATA PROMOTES BYER, KORANDA TO KEY POSTS - The National Air Transportation Association promoted Eric Byer to vice president of government and industry affairs and Amy Koranda to director of safety management. Byer assumed responsibility for steering the association's government relations and lobbying efforts as director of government and industry affairs, when Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside left the association in October (BA, Oct. 20/178). Byer joined NATA in 1998 as a legislative affairs specialist.
General Dynamics Aviation Services (GDAS) appointed David Pearman general manager of the Las Vegas service center. The Las Vegas facility is one of five centers in GDAS's regional network. Pearman will direct all service and maintenance work performed on Gulfstream, Challenger, Falcon, Hawker, Learjet and other business jets at the Las Vegas center. He formerly was senior operations manager at GDAS's facility in Westfield, Mass. Before joining GDAS, he was a crew chief for Garrett Aviation in Los Angeles.
TRIUMPH EARNINGS DECLINE DESPITE HIGHER REVENUE - Triumph Group, the Wayne, Pa. firm whose operating companies provide a range of products and services for the aviation market, reported higher revenues but sharply lower profits for the first quarter of fiscal 2005, which ended June 30.
Aviation Groups last week praised a charter operation, Fostaire Helicopters based at St. Louis Downtown Airport, for contacting the FBI and the local police after two suspicious individuals attempted to charter a helicopter. The individuals planned to pay for the flight with cash, furnished driver's licenses from two different states and drove a car from a third state. The men, described as multi-ethnic, carried backpacks and had "odd-shaped" luggage, according to an American Association of Airport Executives report.
Raynor Reavis, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. since July 2002, was elected a vice president of General Dynamics Corp., the business jet manufacturer's parent company. Reavis, 63, will continue to hold his position at Gulfstream.
Dassault Falcon completed the process of certifying the Falcon 2000 maintenance program developed by CAE SimuFlite, the French aircraft manufacturer's first training partner to meet Dassault's expanded instructor and training program requirements for the Falcon 2000. Dassault said CAE SimuFlite had to meet the stringent requirements set forth in the Dassault Falcon Training Policy Manual (FTPM). That document defines the objectives necessary to meet training requirements to operate and support Falcon aircraft.
Lee Monson, who has been president of Boeing Business Jets, is expected to move to a new international sales post within Boeing. A Boeing spokesman refused to provide details about the anticipated personnel changes but said an announcement is likely this week. Monson was traveling last week and unavailable for comment.
GOGLIA JOINS WASHINGTON AVIATION COMPANY - Former National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia joined Washington, D.C.-based JDA Aviation Technology Solutions to lead the company's operations and safety programs. Shortly after leaving the NTSB, the vocal Goglia joined the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) as VP-government and technical programs, as well as the faculty of St.
SHOULDER-FIRED MISSILES COUNTERED BY INTERIM PROPOSAL - The full House of Representatives on July 23 in a 423-0 vote passed H.R. 4056, which includes "interim" measures to counter the threat of shoulder-fired missile attacks on commercial aircraft. The bill also supports further work in ground-based defenses against the missile threat, often referred to as man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). The vote was taken just before the Democratic National Convention in Boston. The bill, also called the Commercial Aviation MANPADS Defense Act of 2004:
HOUSE LEADERS PUSH BIOMETRIC BILL - House Transportation aviation leaders introduced a bill July 23 that would require national biometric identification standards to be adopted for personnel at U.S. airports. The bill, H.R. 4914, is said by its sponsors to be in response to recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission.
MARC ALLINSON was named vice president-financial services for the Americas for Rolls-Royce. He is responsible for all customer finance for commercial aviation clients. Allinson reports to William T. Powers, executive vice president and CFO of Rolls-Royce North America. He is based at the company's regional headquarters in Chantilly, Va. He previously was on the board of debis AirFinance USA, Inc. and debis AirFinance, Inc.
Competitors for the government contract to provide a new fleet of VIP helicopters that will be used as Marine One, the helicopter that carries the President, continue to strut their stuff and show off their entries. Last week Northrop Grumman hosted the Sikorsky Aircraft VH-92 demonstrator at the Northrop Grumman plant in Wheeling, Ill.
PrivatAir, citing a big jump in charter activity this year, added five charter sales representatives at its U.S. corporate headquarters in Stratford, Conn. The new inside sales representatives are Loryn Cook, Debbi Higgins and Zach Zola. Outside sales representatives include Maureen Jewell, who will be responsible for the Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y. area, and Jeffrey Triana, who is now responsible for the New York City area.
AAR Corp. said last week that operations at its Mobility Systems Operating unit in Cadillac, Mich. had been disrupted by a strike called by Local 1433 of the International United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. The strike was called after union members at the plant failed to ratify an agreement between AAR and the union negotiating committee. The plant manufactures containers, shelters and pallets for military customers and prime contractors.
