July 15-16 - National Business Aviation Association Asian Business Aviation Convention and Exposition, Hong Kong, China, (202) 783-9000 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
Keytech, the aerospace engineering unit of Keystone Ranger Holdings, Inc., Berwyn, Pa., plans to offer its services to a wider segment of the aviation industry. Keytech is an FAA Designated Alteration Station (DAS), which is able to provide sophisticated design and FAA certified engineering modifications, avionics integration and special equipment installations.
GEOFF BLOSS was appointed director of business application development for FlightSafety International. FlightSafety created the position to expand its information technology group. Bloss reports to Chris Weinberg, director of Business Systems. He formerly was a consultant with Verizon's eCommerce and Call Management Systems.
Meggitt/S-TEC said 250 units of its MAGIC EFIS systems have been installed in turboprop aircraft over the past two years. The MAGIC system - MAGIC is a marketing acronym for Meggitt Advanced Generation Integrated Cockpit - includes a primary flight display, navigation display, engine display unit and ADAHRS (Air Data Attitude Heading Reference System). The certified system also includes the 2100 DFCS (digital flight control system), a three-axis, fully digital attitude-based flight control system. Meggitt/S-TEC is headquartered in Mineral Wells, Texas.
Federal Aviation Administration has proposed an advisory circular, AC 20-SV, Satellite Voice Equipment as a Means for Air Traffic Services Communications, that provides guidance on securing design and airworthiness approval for satellite voice equipment. The proposed AC was written for designers, manufacturers and installers of satellite voice equipment. FAA is accepting comments on the proposed AC through Aug. 2.
Butler National's Avcon Industries received an order to install its cargo door modification in two Dassault Falcon 20 airplanes. The installations, which typically are priced at $525,000 each, will be performed at the company's Newton, Kan. facility.
Engineered Support Systems said its Technical and Management Services Corp. won a $4.5 million, two-year contract to support the Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center in Elizabeth City, N.C., which provides a wide variety of repair and depot support for Coast Guard aviation assets.
FAA CONSIDERING MORE PROHIBITED FLIGHT AREAS - Five months after releasing a controversial proposal to turn a temporary flight restriction over a U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, Ga. into a permanent prohibited area, the agency has proposed a second prohibited area, this time over the Naval Submarine Base at Bangor, Wash. As in the case with Kings Bay, the agency proposal stemmed from a request from the U.S. Navy because of "the current world situation and continued security concerns at this facility."
AOPA'S BOYER EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ROCKEFELLER COMMENTS - Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association Phil Boyer expressed "surprise and shock" last week after Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate aviation subcommittee, likened general aviation aircraft to "killing machines" during a hearing on airport screening options. During the June 24 hearing, Rockfeller expressed concern about the damage corporate aircraft could inflict in the hands of terrorists and questioned whether such aircraft should be subject to screening.
AGUSTA Model A109E helicopters (Docket No. 2003-SW-32-AD; Amendment 39-13652; AD 2004-11-06) - requires disabling certain windshield wipers and thereafter modifying the electrical system of the windshield wipers by installing a new resistor and condenser, eliminating incompatibility problems with the relays, and replacing the timed relay for certain windshield wiper kits.
Business Air, a full service fixed-based operation in Denton, Texas, opened a 48,000-square-foot hangar for refurbishment. The company already has begun interior refurbishment in its new facilities, and the paint facility will be operational by mid-September. In addition to aircraft refurbishment, Business Air offers charter and aircraft management as well as corporate aircraft sales and leasing.
Federal Aviation Administration issued a contract to Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif. to modernize portions of the National Airspace System. The Traffic Flow Modernization project is intended to increase the capacity of U.S. airspace and reduce costs by enabling airlines, research organizations and FAA to make collaborative decisions that optimize traffic flow.
CHARTERED SIGHTSEEING HELICOPTER CRASH CLAIMS TWO - Two people were killed and three others seriously injured last month when a Bell 206B flew into power lines and crashed into a river while carrying guests at a birthday party on a sightseeing flight near a small town southwest of Tulsa, Okla. The June 26 accident involved a helicopter, N27TV, owned and operated by Interstate Helicopters, Inc. of Oklahoma City, Okla.
National Air Transportation Association also held several meetings on Capitol Hill with legislators over the DCA issue as well as temporary flight restrictions in general. NATA President James Coyne hopes to create a more unified front on those issues on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in the federal government. "We are so fragmented. We've got to do a better job marshalling the leaders of our industry," Coyne said, adding that NATA's board plans to discuss ways to create a larger presence in Washington during its upcoming meeting.
STERN FAMILY MEMBERS FILL KEY ROLES AT KREISLER MANUFACTURING - Kreisler Manufacturing Corp., which fabricates a variety of parts for aircraft and industrial gas turbine engines, announced a number of management changes following the recent death of the company's top executive.
The market for regional jets will continue to grow rapidly over the next 20 years with demand for some 8,450 new aircraft in the 30- to 120-seat category, according to a new forecast released by Brazilian plane-maker Embraer. North American operators should account for some 71 percent of the deliveries of smaller jets (30 to 60 seats), but only about half of jets with 61 or more seats. The Embraer forecast predicted delivery of some 2,600 jets with 30-60 seats, 2,900 aircraft with between 61 and 90 seats, and 2,950 jets with more than 90 seats over the next 20 years.
LORANGER BOLTS NO. 2 SPOT AT TEXTRON TO HEAD ITT INDUSTRIES - Steven R. Loranger, the No. 2 executive at Cessna Aircraft parent Textron, abruptly left that job last week to become president and chief executive officer of ITT Industries.
The pilot of a Bell 206B in Mesa, Ariz. was killed and the helicopter destroyed June 24 when it rolled over and hit the ground while the pilot was attempting to lift off from a trailer. Investigators said the pilot had recently purchased the trailer and planned to use it to haul the helicopter to Canada for use during his vacation. The pilot had been practicing landing on the trailer. During a final takeoff, which occurred after darkness had fallen, the ground handling lug on the left rear skid of the helicopter hooked a "D" ring on the trailer.
SEAN ARCHER joined Schubach Aviation as a pilot. Archer will co-pilot the company's Learjet and Hawker aircraft, assisting with preflight planning and release of flight, ensuring compliance with federal aviation regulations and ensuring airworthiness of aircraft. He has more than five years of industry experience, including as a pilot on Beech King Air and Cessna Citation aircraft for West Coast Charters. He also has experience as a certified flight instructor, dispatcher, and in-line service person.
BAE TO INCREASE ELECTRONICS BUSINESS WITH BOEING UNIT - BAE Systems North America plans to further its penetration in the aircraft flight control and electronics market with the purchase of Boeing's Irving, Texas-based Commercial Electronics business. Terms of the acquisition, announced Wednesday, were not disclosed, but the companies expect the sale to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition includes the operations and service center in Irving, London and Singapore service centers and certain operations in the Puget Sound area.
EMBRAER SELLS 12 170 REGIONAL JETS TO FINNAIR - Brazilian plane-maker Embraer won an order from Finnair Aircraft Finance for 12 Embraer 170 airliners in a contract valued at $306 million. The order included options for an additional eight aircraft - either the Embraer 175 or 190 - valued at more than $200 million. The initial order for the 170s calls for deliveries to begin in September 2005 and continue through May 2007. The aircraft will be configured with a 76-passenger single-class layout.
EMBRAER CHINA VENTURE HANDS OVER FIRST 145 REGIONAL JETS - Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Company Limited delivered the first two Embraer ERJ 145 regional jets built in-house to China Southern Airlines. Embraer in December 2002 teamed with Harbin Aviation Industry and Hafei Aviation Industry to establish a production unit in China to expand its reach into the Chinese market. Based in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, the facility specializes in building 30- to 50-seat ERJ 145 series aircraft.
Cessna Aircraft Company, which last week delivered the first four Skylanes equipped with Garmin G1000 integrated avionics (BA, June 21/283), is offering a Garmin G1000 factory-authorized orientation program that meets FAA/Industry Training standards (FITS) and is designed to transition customers from using a traditional aircraft panel to an all-glass, jet-like cockpit. The two-day program uses a combination of classroom, simulator and flight training to acquaint customers with the G1000. The training is offered at Cessna's factory in Independence, Kan.
LATEST ORDER BOOSTS RAC'S RECENT NETJETS ORDERS TO $1 BILLION - Fractional aircraft provider NetJets, Inc. ordered 40 new business jets last week from Raytheon Aircraft Company, raising the value of recent transactions between the operator and the manufacturer to approximately $1 billion.
