GAMA: CHINA'S AIRFRAMERS SEE GROWTH CHALLENGES IN RECOVERY - Chinese general aviation manufacturers face a raft of challenges if they hope to capitalize on the worldwide economic recovery, ranging from developing China's limited infrastructure to building products that can meet the exacting standards of aviation regulators outside China, a U.S. association executive said.
WISCONSIN AVIATION EXECUTIVES LAUNCH MANAGEMENT, CHARTER COMPANY - Executives from Wisconsin-based Scott AirCharter and corporate flight specialist Volare Partners have teamed to form a new aviation services company at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. The new company, Sterling Aviation, will provide aircraft management, charter, maintenance and acquisition services. Sterling will be owned primarily by Chris and Dan Doerr, who owned Volare Partners.
Gulfstream Aerospace signed an agreement with Varig Engineering & Maintenance (VEM), the largest aircraft maintenance provider in Brazil, under which VEM will perform heavy maintenance, warranty work and inspections on all Gulfstream IV/IV-SP, G400, G300, GV, G500 and G550 business jets. Gulfstream said VEM will stock a new Gulfstream parts inventory valued at $2.4 million and will send two of its technicians to four-week maintenance training classes conducted by FlightSafety International in Savannah, Ga.
TAG Aviation USA, Inc. and a charter affiliate added nearly two dozen aircraft to their fleets last year. TAG said it added 10 aircraft to its management program at nine different locations while AMI Jet Charter, Inc. added 12 airplanes to its charter management program in 2003.
"If we could close Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) altogether, we would," are the words that apparently led off a recent internal Department of Homeland Security report discussing whether general aviation should be allowed access to the airport. David Stone, acting administrator for the Transportation Security Administration, met with an intra-agency planning group to discuss a congressionally mandated plan to allow access to DCA, but reports from the agency are that the plan was not well received.
Adam Aircraft's A500 transition training syllabus was accepted by FAA as an FAA Industry Training Standard (FITS), the manufacturer said. The FITS program is a joint project among FAA, leading aeronautical universities and participating aircraft manufacturers designed to significantly reduce general aviation accidents through the use of mission-specific training.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-212A series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-301-AD) - proposes to require 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. Send comments in triplicate before April 16 to FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, ANM-114, 1601 Lind Ave. S.W., Renton, Wash.
Sporty's Pilot Shop is offering FAA approach charts on DVD through its ChartViewer software. The DVD includes every current FAA terminal procedure publication including approaches, departures, arrivals and airport diagrams for the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. Pilots can load the charts directly onto their computers or view them on DVD. Sporty's has priced the DVDs at $9.95 each and is offering them on a subscription basis.
National Transportation Safety Board faulted Bombardier's flight test procedures and the actions of the pilot in the crash of a Canadair Challenger 604 on Oct. 10, 2000. The pilot and flight test engineer were killed in the crash and ensuing fire, and the co-pilot died 36 days later as a result of his injuries. NTSB said the probable cause of the accident "was the pilot's excessive takeoff rotation, during an aft center of gravity takeoff, a rearward migration of fuel during acceleration and takeoff and consequent shift in the airplane's aft c.g. to aft of the aft c.g.
Lufthansa Technik Logistik (LTL) signed a long-term cooperative agreement with The Memphis Group under which LTL will provide warehouse management and transport management logistics services for the rotables and repair parts provider. LTL will store and manage the spare parts for The Memphis Group. The parts will be housed in a distribution center near the Airbus Materiel Support Center at Hamburg Airport in Germany.
Timken was named the approved repair service provider for Model AE 3007 turbofan engines built by Rolls-Royce. The engine manufacturer will handle all bearing repair sales, but will use the Timken Aerospace facility as a supplier to perform the repair service.
GA GROUPS MOUNT OPPOSITION TO NEW KINGS BAY RESTRICTIONS - General aviation advocates strongly opposed a proposal to make permanent a temporary flight restriction over a U.S. Naval Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Ga., saying the federal government has yet to reveal a demonstrated threat to justify the proposal. FAA in February proposed establishing a permanent prohibited area over Kings Bay that extends up to 3,000 feet mean sea level and within a two-nautical-mile radius.
HONEYWELL PICKED TO SUPPLY APEX AVIONICS FOR EXTRA EA-500 - Extra Aircraft awarded Honeywell a contract to supply its APEX integrated cockpit for the Extra EA-500 single-engine turboprop. Honeywell will supply an avionics suite that includes two 10.4-inch-diagonal active matrix liquid crystal displays, a flight management system, digital communication and navigation radios, a flight management system and dual-channel air data attitude heading reference system.
BAE SYSTEMS Jetstream Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-208-AD) - proposes to require operators to determine the flight cycles accumulated on each component of the main landing gear and the nose landing gear, and to replace each component that reaches its life limit with a serviceable component. This proposal also would require operators to revise the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness in the aircraft maintenance manual to reflect the new life limits.
Flightsafety International added Learjet 35/35A and King Air 350 simulators to its learning center in Atlanta, Ga. The Learjet simulator is Level C approved and incorporates a VITAL VIII daylight visual system. FlightSafety's Atlanta center also houses Learjet Model 31A, 45 and 60 simulators. Other FlightSafety centers that provide Learjet training are based in Tucson, Ariz.; Wichita, Kan. and West Palm Beach, Fla. The King Air 350 simulator joins a King Air 200 trainer at FlightSafety's Atlanta base.
EMBRAER Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-178-AD; Amendment 39-13512; AD 2004-05-17) - supersedes an existing AD that requires repetitive inspections to detect discrepancies of both vertical-to-horizontal stabilizer bonding jumpers and the connecting support structure, and corrective action if necessary. This amendment requires modification of the bonding jumpers, including the installation of a protective cover to the elevator control cables, which terminates the requirements of the existing AD.
CESSNA BOOSTS CJ3 PERFORMANCE, EQUIPMENT - Cessna Aircraft has upgraded its CJ3 to include a standard FMS performance database and has improved the aircraft's payload specification by 70 pounds as the entry-level business jet nears certification. Cessna originally offered the FMS performance database as an option aboard the CJ3 but has decided to make the equipment standard.
FlightSafety International added features to its web-based customer service MyFlightSafety (www.myflightsafety.com) that will assist customers with record keeping and training management. MyFlightSafety users will be able to view and print training records with electronic signatures and manage multiple accounts with a single log-in. Launched in 2003 by FlightSafety International, the Web site has drawn more than 3,000 FlightSafety customers.
Conklin & De Decker released the latest version of its Aircraft Cost Evaluator software package that provides information on direct costs, fixed costs and annual budgeting. The package also includes information on fractional ownership as well as pilot reports, aircraft interior and exterior diagrams, photos and histories. The edition includes more than 380 jets, turboprops, helicopters and piston aircraft.
