National Business Aviation Association's second annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (LABACE) drew 3,735 attendees, a 30 percent jump over the 2003 LABACE show, the association said. LABACE, held this year April 15-17 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is organized in cooperation between NBAA and the Brazilian-based Associacao Brasileira de Aviacao Geral. Event organizers noted that the 2004 LABACE had more visitors on the first day than were logged for the entire 2003 event.
Rockwell Collins was selected to provide components of its Pro Line 21 avionics suite for a retrofit program that Garrett Aviation is developing for the Cessna Citation 501. Deliveries of the initial systems are scheduled to begin in January. The upgrade will include a new Collins IDS-3000 integrated display system, which incorporates functions such as charting and enhanced mapping. The IDS-3000 also includes optional weather displays.
NBAA NAMES CARR CORPORATE SECRETARY - Doug Carr, who has played a key role in the National Business Aviation Association's operations, political, and government affairs work for the past six years, added the role of corporate secretary. In addition to continuing in his other roles, as corporate secretary Carr will attend all NBAA board meetings, record all votes and minutes and handle other association duties.
Avfuel added Medford Air Service in Medford, Ore., to its nationwide network of fuel dealers. Medford Air is a full-service fixed-base operation that provides fueling, tie-down space, maintenance and hangars. The FBO remodeled its facilities last year, adding hangar space and refurbishing the lobby. Avfuel, an independent supplier of aviation fuels and services, has more than 700 branded dealers and 2,500 other aviation customers nationwide.
ARINC is offering a new portable electronic flight bag (EFB) that includes data collection and information management capabilities. The ARINC eFlightDeck is a removable Class II EFB that runs both commercial flight software and custom flight applications. It also can run Windows-based flight applications, map programs, weather graphics, weight-and-balance calculations, flight checklists and aircraft performance programs. The EFB will manage and display the data through the aircraft's flight management computer.
Federal Aviation Administration, which has come under fire for holding Internet public meetings rather than face-to-face sessions on its controversial National Air Tour Safety Standards proposal, finally caved in under pressure and said it will hold regional public meetings after all - and extend the comment period on the proposal. The new comment deadline is June 18. The proposal has drawn more than 2,000 comments to date, the overwhelming majority of which oppose the notice of proposed rulemaking. See article below.
The General Aviation Coalition is hoping to receive some good news on a number of thorny security issues when it meets with Transportation Security Administration acting Administrator David Stone on May 7. Stone, nominated this month by President Bush to be assistant secretary of homeland security, likely will face questions from the coalition about the progress of general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and a report on the continuation of the Washington-area Air Defense Identification Zone.
NBAA'S BALDWIN APPEALS FOR BONUS DEPRECIATION EXTENSION - National Business Aviation Association acting President Don Baldwin called an extension of the 50 percent bonus depreciation benefit critical to stabilizing general aviation manufacturing and related jobs and appealed to senior House and Senate leaders this month to take up the issue.
Signature Plating won a contract from Gore Design Completions to provide plating for a Boeing 767 Head-of-State project for a Central Asian customer. Gore Design will begin work on the Boeing 767-300ER in October, installing VIP areas in the forward and mid sections of the cabin and a staff section in the rear. Signature Plating will provide all plating, including decorative pieces, light and air fixtures, more than 600 feet of trim, custom logos and a restraint system.
Title VIII - MISCELLANEOUS Section 820. A Sense of Congress that the Department of Transportation should formally define "Fifth Freedom" and "Seventh Freedom" consistently for both scheduled and charter passenger and cargo traffic Section 822. Prohibits scheduled charter airlines from operating at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey unless the Secretary of Transportation determines that it is in the public interest
Garrett Aviation Services unveiled a marketing program to generate more business at its Los Angeles facility that offers customers quadruple AVTRIP points each time they refuel. The company is refurbishing the facility, merging capabilities of the former Jet Center at Van Nuys into the Los Angeles fixed-base operation. "We're excited about the bold new changes at our LAX location and want to show our customers how much we've appreciated their business over the years," said Harvey Ticlo, vice president and general manager.
Air Security International teamed with the National Business Aviation Association to conduct one-day security training seminars and help business aircraft operators develop and document security procedures deemed acceptable by the Transportation Security Administration. The Train-the-Trainer seminars are scheduled in Atlanta, May 11; Chicago, June 8; Denver, June 10; Philadelphia, Aug. 24; and Las Vegas, Oct. 15. Eric Ramsdell, manager, safety and operations for NBAA, and Darlene Radloff, director, security training and education for ASI, will host the sessions.
Cessna Aircraft opened the Experimental Aircraft Association's Sun 'N' Fun Fly-In this month with the signing of contracts for 50 new single-engine aircraft. Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representatives Air Orlando Sales and Executive Aircraft Sales ordered a mix of Cessna Skyhawks, Skylanes and Stationairs. The Skylanes and Stationairs will be delivered with Cessna's Nav III, Garmin G1000 avionics package. The aircraft are slated for delivery in 2005.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is studying the links between cabin air quality and health. This month the Atlanta-based association began the research with a survey on air quality of passengers and flight crew on four flights out of Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Chicago and Seattle. The study will be expanded to many more flights and include measurements of chemicals in cabin air and other factors, including temperature, humidity, noise, light levels and motion.
DANIELLE BOUDREAU joined Bombardier Aerospace as media relations coordinator. Boudreau has served with Bombardier for seven years at the Montreal Completion Center and Business Aircraft marketing department. She earned a bachelor of arts degree and a public relations certificate from McGill University.
While little movement is seen in the House on the JOBS bill, at least a few representatives are supporting extending bonus depreciation in separate legislation. Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) this month introduced a bill, H.R.4128, that would permanently extend the 50 percent bonus depreciation benefit. The bill has four co-sponsors - Reps. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), Phil English (R-Pa.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.). The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, but no hearings have been scheduled.
GULFSTREAM EARNINGS UP IN FIRST QUARTER - General Dynamics Corp. said revenues and operating earnings for its Gulfstream Aerospace business jet manufacturing business rose in the quarter ended March 31.
Raisbeck Engineering has completed development and flight testing of the company's ZR Technology Drag Reduction and Takeoff Performance Program on the Learjet 35/36 fleet. The company currently is conducting a final market assessment before it makes a decision on production of the technology, which Raisbeck said would provide better balanced field lengths, better airport performance under high-altitude, hot-day conditions, higher initial cruise altitude, faster cruise speed, increased range and improved lift capabilities.
AVCON Industries earned FAA group approval for a reduced vertical separation minimum package on Learjet 20 series airplanes. AVCON secured the supplemental type certificate following a test program that began in March 2003. AVCON modified and flight-tested six different Learjet 20 series airplanes equipped with the company's RVSM package and the JET FC-110 autopilot. AVCON has completed 11 installations and booked more than 50 orders for the retrofit.
