CAE plans to introduce new courses for the Citation X, Legacy, Hawker 800XP and Falcon 900B/EX business jets. The courses, which will use CAE Simfinity simulation-based training tools, will be offered at CAE SimuFlite in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and at Emirates-CAE Flight Training in Dubai.
AGUSTAWESTLAND TAKEOVER PAVES WAY FOR U.S. MARKET PUSH, OFFICIAL SAYS - Finmeccanica's acquisition of the other half of AgustaWestland will pave the way for the company to pursue a more aggressive growth strategy in the U.S. market, according to Finmeccanica Inc. President Stephen Bryen.
FIRST AVIATION ALERTS STOCKHOLDERS TO PROXY BATTLE - First Aviation Services, Inc. sent letters to its stockholders last week seeking their support in an anticipated proxy battle at the company's upcoming stockholders meeting. "This year, the Wynnefield Group, a dissident stockholder group controlled by Nelson Obus, is mounting a proxy contest against your board. We believe the Wynnefield Group and Mr.
ATR WINS AIR TAHITI ORDER - Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) received an order from French Polynesian carrier Air Tahiti for one ATR 42-500 and four ATR 72-500 regional turboprops. ATR will deliver the aircraft between November 2004 and December 2008. Air Tahiti, which currently operates nine ATR aircraft, will expand its inter-island network with the new aircraft. The order includes options for two more ATR 72-500s.
Add John Kerry to the list of politicians in favor of re-opening Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to non-airline flights. Kerry, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, held a ceremony at DCA last week to inaugurate his new campaign plane, a modified Boeing 757.
June 7-11 - 13th International Flight Inspection Symposium, hosted by Nav Canada at Fairmont, The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. E-mail: [email protected], phone: (613) 563-3938, or visit www.navcanada.ca/ifis2004 June 16-17 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers TURBO EXPO 2004, Vienna, Austria, 212-591-8157, e-mail [email protected], www.asme.org/pi/pr/2004/033104a.html June 18-19 - National Business Aviation Association 9th Annual Flight Attendants Conference, Anaheim, Calif., (202) 783-9000
The Metropolitan Airports Commission for the Minneapolis/St. Paul region is continuing to draft a new fee schedule for the area's network of reliever airports and is planning to host a public hearing to discuss the schedule once it is complete, a MAC spokesman said (BA, May 10/209). A firm timeline for implementation has not yet been set, but the MAC expects to hold the public hearing sometime in June, and possibly vote on implementation of new general aviation fees at its July 19 meeting.
"Thanks to contract towers, 2003 was just about the longest five years of my life," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told the American Association of Airport Executives Contract Tower Workshop in prepared remarks last week. Blakey, who last year fought efforts to cap the number of contract towers, reiterated her strong support for continuing the program, saying studies continue to demonstrate the towers' safety and cost effectiveness. "The pressures on the FAA are huge. That's why programs such as our contract tower program are so important," Blakey said.
Eclipse Aviation said it achieved its goal of selling its full orderbook of 2,100 Eclipse 500 aircraft at prices under $1 million. The company is now charging $1.175 million for all new orders. Prices are expressed in June 2000 dollars.
Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory And Distribution (RAPID) established a new parts distribution center in Liege, Belgium for Beechcraft and Hawker customers in Europe. RAPID accumulated 10,000 parts that will be distributed through PFSweb, an international distribution provider, which has an automated center near Liege Airport. PFSweb will provide warehouse management, product receipt and inspection, order fulfillment and IT integration.
BILL AIMS TO CLOSE CORPORATE JET TAX 'LOOPHOLE' - A Chicago Democrat has introduced legislation to amend the Internal Revenue Code to close what he calls "the $3 billion corporate jet tax shelter loophole in the U.S. tax code."
MARYLAND SATSLAB TO ROLL OUT EMERGING SATS TECHNOLOGIES - The Maryland Mid-Atlantic SATSLab team, part of a handful of private/public partnerships coordinating on NASA's Small Aircraft Transportation Systems (SATS) program, will demonstrate emerging technologies during a half-day event scheduled this month at Easton Airport in Easton, Md. The NASA SATS program is designed to develop new technologies that would make the more than 5,000 general aviation airports accessible in all weather conditions.
Million Air added a branded fixed-base operation in Vancouver, British Columbia, increasing the total number of Million Air FBOs to 30. The new FBO, based at Vancouver International Airport, began operating in 1970 as Executive Aircraft and changed its name to Penta Aviation in 1995. The company expanded in January with the purchase of the 180,000-square-foot Vancouver Jet Centre. The FBO provides fueling, maintenance, paint and completions. "We have wanted to expand to the Northwest region for awhile," said Roger Woolsey, Million Air chief executive.
Honeywell was selected as the preferred vendor for satellite television systems on Gulfstream aircraft. Gulfstream Aerospace selected the Honeywell AIS-1000 and AIS-2000 systems as preferred systems for installation in its line of business jets. The AIS-1000 provides satellite television coverage throughout the continental U.S. while the AIS-2000 multi-regional unit covers the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. The television installations will include subscriptions coordinated through Honeywell OneView service.
Federal Aviation Administration will hold another seminar to discuss domestic reduced vertical separation minimums in the continental U.S., Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. The seminar is scheduled June 9-10 at the Renaissance Concourse Hotel in Atlanta, Ga. CSSI Inc. is organizing the seminar on behalf of the FAA. To register or for more information, contact CSSI's Latonia Sewell at (202) 863-2175, Ext. 134; fax: (202) 863-2398; or e-mail: [email protected].
NBAA RECOGNIZES MATTHEWS, LANE FOR INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENTS - National Business Aviation Association selected long-time Flight Safety Foundation head Stuart Matthews for its 2004 Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation and former NBAA Chairman Allan Lane as the 2004 John P. "Jack" Doswell Award recipient.
Jet-Care International received a five-year contract to provide engine performance trending for Honeywell's HTF7000 (formerly AS900) engines. Honeywell also signed five-year contract renewals for trend monitoring of its Honeywell TFE731 and ALF502/LF507 engines. Jet-Care provides monitoring services for more than 10,000 Honeywell engines. Jet-Care tests for damage and abnormal wear to engine components such as discs, blades and stators that may not be noticed during routine flight line inspections.
Several people who noticed a low-flying Mitsubishi MU-2 shortly before it crashed near Baltimore-Washington International Airport May 14 say the high-wing turboprop made a number of abrupt maneuvers before the plane hit trees and terrain. The witness accounts are included in a preliminary report on the accident by the National Transportation Safety Board, which said the wreckage revealed "no evidence of mechanical failure."
National Business Aviation Association is concerned about legislation - the Corporate Jet Tax Shelter Reform Act of 2004 - introduced by a Chicago congressman. The bill, H.R.4352, was introduced by Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a first-term Democrat, and 10 co-sponsors. It would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 "to deny a deduction for the portion of employer-provided vacation flights in excess of the amount of such flights which is treated as employee compensation." Emanuel said the legislation would "close the $3 billion corporate jet tax shelter loophole in the U.S.
