July 19-25 - Society of British Aerospace Companies Farnborough International 2004, Farnborough, Hampshire, U.K., http://www.farnborough.com/ July 27-August 2 - Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh 2004, Oshkosh, Wis., (920) 426-4800 August 24 - National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Seattle, Wash., (202) 783-9000 September 19-21 - National Association of State Aviation Officials, 73rd Annual Convention and Trade Show, Radisson Riverfront Hotel, St. Paul, Minn., (301) 588-0587
The Gulfstream 200 business jet, which got off to a slow start as the namesake airplane of Galaxy Aerospace, is finding broader market acceptance after a few years in the Gulfstream product line. There are now 92 G200s in service, and Gulfstream, which expects to deliver the 100th aircraft later this year, is continuing to enhance the systems offerings on the airplane. See article below. When General Dynamics, Gulfstream's parent, agreed to buy Galaxy three years ago, fewer than 20 Galaxy business jets had been delivered (BA, May 7, 2001/213).
ExcelAire added two turbine-powered aircraft to its charter fleet. A Cessna Citation III will be based at Islip, N.Y. and a Beech King Air will operate from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. "The new aircraft supports our continued growth as a premier charter provider and complements our large fleet of locally based heavy jets," said David Rimmer, vice president of charter services for ExcelAire, which is based on Long Island's MacArthur Airport (ISP) in Islip, N.Y.
Jet Aviation Geneva received approval from the Bahrain Ministry of Transportation to provide both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on Gulfstream GII and GIV aircraft registered in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The approval covers base and line maintenance, airframe and on-wing engine repairs, avionics modification and service bulletin work.
FlightSafety International received FAA Level D approval for its Citation Sovereign flight simulator. The simulator features the Honeywell Epic avionics system with four large liquid crystal displays. It includes an interactive SimVu debriefing system. FlightSafety Simulation in Tulsa, Okla. designed and built the simulator and SimVu system, and FlightSafety's Visual Simulation Systems Division in St. Louis, Mo. provided the high-definition visual system. The simulator is based at FlightSafety's Cessna learning center in Wichita, Kan.
The General Accounting Office, which has served as investigative arm of Congress for decades, is now the Government Accountability Office. President Bush signed a bill this month that included a provision renaming GAO to reflect its role in holding the government accountable for its actions, a GAO spokesman said July 12.
Honda Motor Company, which has been eyeing the U.S. business aircraft market for years, plans to establish a U.S. subsidiary "to focus on the aviation engine business in the U.S., the world's largest aviation market."
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-212A series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-301-AD; Amendment 39-13672; AD 2004-12-13) - requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the upper closing rib of the vertical fin, related investigative actions, and corrective actions if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent interference between the upper closing rib and the rudder, which could result in a rudder jam and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that the AD would cover two airplanes on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $130 per airplane.
Aerospace Component Manufacturer TransDigm of Cleveland, Ohio completed the acquisition of Avionics Instruments, Inc. of Avenel, N.J. The New Jersey firm designs and builds power conversion devices for military and commercial aircraft, and will enhance TransDigm's market position for those products, the company said. TransDigm was founded in 1993 with the simultaneous acquisition of the Adel, Aeroproducts, Controlex and Wiggins businesses, the company said, and has been expanded since by other acquisitions.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the Transportation Department and FAA should caution travelers against flying to Costa Rica because of a lockout of controllers in that country. NATCA's warning last week said Costa Rican authorities have replaced controllers with unqualified personnel.
Business & Commercial Aviation magazine and Conklin & de Decker will hold their Second Annual Charter Operators & Management Tax Course in Van Nuys, Calif. Sept. 9-10 at the Airtel Plaza Hotel. The course will cover the entire range of key tax issues confronting business aircraft management companies and charter operators, including federal excise taxes, state taxes, international fees, the Federal Aviation Regulations and Internal Revenue Service rulings. The fee is $895 for registration before Aug. 20 and $995 for registrations received after that date.
RHODE ISLAND REPEALS AIRCRAFT SALES/USE TAXES - The State of Rhode Island will repeal the seven percent tax on the sale or use of aircraft beginning Jan. 1, 2005 under a new law that Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) signed last week. The legislation, House Bill 7211, passed the Rhode Island House and Senate June 25 and was sent to the governor for his signature June 29. A broad-based tax bill, H7211 includes a provision that exempts the sale, storage and use of new and used aircraft from both the sales and use tax.
Chinese Aviation Authorities and Thales are building three new en route air traffic control centers in China. The first facility, in Beijing, has passed site acceptance tests, with the Shanghai and Guangzhou centers to follow. When operational, the three centers are expected to handle about 60 percent of China's air traffic.
STANDARDS COMMITTEE RELEASES UAV SENSE-AND-AVOID STANDARD - The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) standards committee has released its first technical standard, which defines the requirements for an automatic "sense-and-avoid" system that would allow UAVs to detect and deconflict with other air traffic. Founded in 1898, ASTM specializes in the development of voluntary industry standards.
Brazilian Manufacturer Embraer delivered 66 aircraft in the first half of the year, and reconfirmed its plans to deliver a total of 160 aircraft for the commercial, corporate and defense markets this year and 170 airplanes in 2005. Embraer's firm backlog was $10.5 billion at the end of June; backlog including options totaled $28.3 billion.
FIRST-HALF ACCIDENTS DOWN, BUT EMS CRASH MARS SECOND-HALF START - Accidents and fatalities involving the U.S. business jet and turboprop fleet were down during the first half of 2004, Robert E. Breiling Associates reported last week, but the second half of the year got off to a bad start July 2 with the fatal crash of an Israel Aircraft Industries 1124 Westwind medical evacuation flight that claimed seven lives in Panama. See article on Page 16.
Bombardier Aerospace won Transport Canada certification for the Model 40 Learjet business jet. Introduced at the 2002 Farnborough Air Show, the Learjet 40 won U.S. FAA certification in July 2003.
