WILLIAM BODIE is joining DFI Government Services as vice president for Armed Services programs. Bodie formerly served with the Department of the Air Force as director of Air Force Communications. Before that he was special assistant to the secretary of the Air Force.
National Business Aviation Association last week urged its members to remain vigilant about their security efforts. The association said the Bush Administration fears that terrorist organizations hope to coordinate another attack on the U.S. before the November elections to create an event like the train attacks in Spain just days before national elections there. The Administration is not sure how such an attack would be staged in the U.S.
Sy Sherman, 81, founder and chairman of Aircraft Parts Corp., Holtsville, N.Y., died April 19 after several weeks of complications from pneumonia. Sherman, who stepped aside from his leadership role in 2002 after suffering several strokes, founded the business in 1960 providing small aircraft parts to customers. In 1974, APC purchased the piston-engine product line from Bendix Corp. and began to handle sales, distribution and manufacturing of piston-engine starter products.
AVCRAFT PLANS MAJOR MAINTENANCE, COMPLETION CENTER - Avcraft is opening a new 180,000-square-foot maintenance and completion center at the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Myrtle Beach facility will be used as the factory-owned service center for the Dornier 328 turboprop and 328JET and support Avcraft's maintenance work with BAE Systems. It also will be the completion center for new corporate 328JET aircraft and provide maintenance and completions for other regional airliners and business aircraft.
TRIUMPH GROUP NET INCOME FALLS 50 PERCENT - Triumph Group reported slightly higher revenue for the 12 months ended March 31, but net income for the year was just half what it had been in the previous year. Sales from continuing operations in fiscal 2004 were $608.3 million, compared with $565.4 million in fiscal 2003. Net income for the most recent year totaled $18.2 million, or $1.14 per common share. That compares with net income of $36.7 million, or $2.31 per share, for fiscal 2003.
GA SHIPMENTS, BILLINGS BOUNCE BACK IN FIRST QUARTER - General Aviation Manufacturers Association President and CEO Ed Bolen credited the bonus depreciation tax benefit for helping to spur a first quarter turnaround in general aviation shipments, which had stagnated in 2003. GAMA Friday reported that billings had jumped 21.1 percent from 2003's first quarter to $2.38 billion and deliveries jumped 9.7 percent to 541 aircraft in the first quarter.
IRAQ AUTHORITY'S PLANE REQUEST PROMPTS QUESTIONS FROM INDUSTRY - A requirement for eight surveillance aircraft to be used by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq has prompted a series of questions from builders of such aircraft. The planes would report on "potential threats, tampering, and malfunctions of essential infrastructure elements in divergent areas throughout Iraq," according to a FedBizOpps notice from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), the CPA's contracting agency.
David A. Pishko, 61, a veteran aviation marketing and communications executive, died April 27 of an apparent heart attack while cutting the grass at his home in Coralville, Iowa. Pishko had been director of corporate marketing communications for Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa since March 2002, but he had held communications, sales, advertising and marketing posts for a number of airframe and engine manufacturers for the past 34 years.
BAE SYSTEMS Model Avro 146-RJ series airplanes and BAE Systems Model BAe 146 series airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-317-AD; Amendment 39-13541; AD 2004-06-15) - requires a test to determine the torque setting for the collar cap screw of the differential box for the nose landing gear, and follow-on actions. This action is necessary to prevent uncommanded inputs to the nosewheel steering, which could reduce controllability of the airplane during takeoff and landing. FAA estimates that 55 airplanes on the U.S.
A small team of Executive Branch officials is developing a national vision statement for an air transportation system that can meet air traffic demand in 2025.
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY SEEKS PERMANENT R&D TAX CREDIT - The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is part of a coalition urging Congress to pass legislation to make the federal research and development tax credit permanent. The credit has been renewed by Congress 12 times since its creation in 1981, and without another renewal will expire June 30. The credit benefits mostly manufacturers, who receive 68.6 percent of the value.
CAMP SYSTEMS TO TAKE OVER MONITORING CHALLENGER FLEET - Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace and CAMP Systems announced an agreement under which CAMP will "assume responsibility for providing maintenance-tracking services for Bombardier business jets."
Rolls-Royce received a contract from Bogota, Colombia-based El Servicio Aero a Territorios Nacionales (SATENA) to provide its TotalCare engine support for the carrier's Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft. The deal is valued at $14.9 million through 2016. The Rolls-Royce AE 3007 engine powers the ERJ 145. "SATENA is the first carrier in Colombia to operate regional jets, and we welcome them to the growing list of AE 3007 TotalCare customers worldwide," said David Whetton, executive vice president-airlines Americas for Rolls-Royce North America.
CAE reached an agreement to provide CRJ type rating training for graduates of the DeLand, Fla. airline career school, Regional Airline Academy. CAE estimated that the agreement will generate revenues in excess of $2.4 million. CAE will train CRJ candidates at its Denver training center and will work with airlines to place graduates.
National Air Transportation Association has been soliciting candidates for the association's summer internship program. The program will include opportunities for interns to attend congressional hearings and industry meetings, research aviation issues and assist with event planning or staffing. For more information, contact Beth Van Emburgh at [email protected] or (703) 845-9000.
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.
