Aircraft Electronics Association's 46th Annual International Convention and Trade Show, held March 29 through April 1 in Las Vegas, Nev., attracted a record 1,650 attendees and 143 exhibitors that filled 222 booth spaces. Attendance jumped 16 percent from the 2003 event.
SBA ADVOCACY OFFICE CALLS ON FAA TO SHELVE AIR TOUR RULE - After meeting with a number of air tour representatives, the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy sent a 10-page letter urging FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to shelve the agency's proposal to establish new safety standards for air tour operators and charity sightseeing flights. The SBA office recently met with several aviation groups who brought up concerns that the rule could have a devastating impact on charity sightseeing and air tour businesses.
Massport once again is examining peak-hour pricing schemes for Logan International Airport in Boston, BA affiliate Airports reported. Massport spokeswoman Barbara Platt said that when FAA approved the construction of long-delayed Runway 14/32, one of its conditions was that Massport submit a peak-pricing study before construction could begin. Massport expects to submit a report by late spring, but no date is set.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-102, -103, -106, -201, -202, -301, -311, and -315 airplanes (Docket No. 2003-NM-258-AD; Amendment 39-13516; AD 2004-05-21) - requires lubrication of the flap actuators, repetitive measurements ("checks") of the backlash of the flap actuators, determination of the next backlash measurement interval, and replacement of discrepant actuators with new or overhauled actuators if necessary.
Raytheon Aircraft Charter & Management recently added four aircraft to its charter fleet - a Challenger 604 based in Cincinnati, Ohio; a Gulfstream IV in Houston, Texas; a Beechjet 400A in Houston, Texas and a Beechcraft King Air B200 in Van Nuys, Calif. Raytheon Aircraft Charter & Management added seven aircraft to its charter certificate in 2003. Founded in 1999, the Raytheon unit operates a fleet of aircraft that includes Challengers, Gulfstreams, Hawkers, Learjets, Citations, Diamond Jets and King Airs throughout the nation.
Massport once again is examining peak-hour pricing schemes for Logan International Airport in Boston, BA affiliate Airports reported. Massport spokeswoman Barbara Platt said that when FAA approved the construction of long-delayed Runway 14/32, one of its conditions was that Massport submit a peak-pricing study before construction could begin. Massport expects to submit a report by late spring, but no date is set.
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.
SIKORSKY CHAIRMAN BORGMAN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT - Sikorsky Aircraft Chairman Dean Borgman announced plans to retire July 1 following five decades of service in the helicopter industry. Borgman was named chairman of Sikorsky in 2003 and before that was president for five years. Before joining Sikorsky he was senior vice president overseeing Boeing's helicopter facility in Mesa, Ariz. He joined the Boeing unit as part of the merger with McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company, where he had served as president. Borgman also served in the U.S. Army Aviation Command.
COREY HOOVER was appointed manager-engineering in avionics for Raytheon Aircraft Services. Hoover will oversee all engineering project management for RAS's 11 fixed-base operations in U.S. and Mexico and coordinate factory support. He has held a number of engineering-related positions at Gulfstream Aerospace and Honeywell. He holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming.
Mercury Air Group's sale of its chain of Mercury Air Centers fixed-base operations, which originally had been targeted to close by yearend, is now expected to be completed within a few weeks. Mercury said last fall that it planned to sell the FBOs to Allied Capital Corp. of Washington, D.C. (BA, Nov. 10/212).
KATRINA BRADSHAW was named director of membership marketing for the Experimental Aircraft Association. Bradshaw has 10 years of experience in aviation association marketing with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and spent three years with Young & Rubicam in New York. She also had her own creative consulting business.
April 13-19 - Sun 'n' Fun Fly-In, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Fla., (863) 644-2431 April 15-17 - Latin American Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (LABACE2004), Sao Paulo, Brazil, (202) 783-9000 April 20-22 - Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE 2004 General Aviation Technology Conference and Exhibition, Century II Convention Center, Wichita, Kan., (724) 772-7131 or [email protected] April 27-29 - Flight Safety Foundation/National Business Aviation Association Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar, Tucson, Ariz., (202) 783-9000 May 1
TIMCO SELLS MIRAMAR, FLA. FACILITY - TIMCO Aviation Services sold its former headquarters and warehouse facility in Miramar, Fla., the company announced late last month. The overwhelming majority of the $26 million in proceeds "were used to pay in full the tax retention operating lease (TROL) obligation associated with the construction of the facility." The remaining proceeds of approximately $500,000 will be used for working capital. TIMCO relocated its headquarters to Greensboro, N.C. in 2001, and the company had been subleasing the Miramar facility since then.
ATP'S DANIELS HIRES TECHNICAL, AVIATION VETERAN AS PRESIDENT - Carol Daniels, long-time president and chief executive of Aircraft Technical Publishers, hired Gerald Kosbab to handle the duties of president. Daniels will continue as CEO of the 30-year-old technical publishing firm that her father previously ran. Kosbab, who has more than 25 years of aviation and technical experience, joins Brisbane, Calif.-based ATP as it plans to launch the company's new regulatory software tool, ATP Navigator V.
GROB'S RANGER TAKES FLIGHT - Grob-Werke Aerospace Division's new Grob Ranger G160 turboprop completed its first flight late last month. The first prototype, Registration D-FTBG, took off March 29 from the airport at the company's plant in Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Germany. Grob Test Pilot Ulrich Schell and co-pilot Toni Uhl said the aircraft demonstrated precision controllability as well as "rapid acceleration and impressive climb rate." The G160 is a seven-seat variant of the smaller G140, which entered flight-test about a year ago.
Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-N.M.) is urging aircraft owners to complain to FAA about public policy on treatment of long-term aircraft hangar leases. Pearce last year pushed for Congress to adopt language that would guarantee leases over 50 years. Congress adopted a measure mandating airports to enter long-term leases with companies that build hangars at their own expense, but dropped the 50-year stipulation.
Mercury Air Group's sale of its chain of Mercury Air Centers fixed-base operations, which originally had been targeted to close by yearend, is now expected to be completed within a few weeks. Mercury said last fall that it planned to sell the FBOs to Allied Capital Corp. of Washington, D.C. (BA, Nov. 10/212).
Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-N.M.) is urging aircraft owners to complain to FAA about public policy on treatment of long-term aircraft hangar leases. Pearce last year pushed for Congress to adopt language that would guarantee leases over 50 years. Congress adopted a measure mandating airports to enter long-term leases with companies that build hangars at their own expense, but dropped the 50-year stipulation.
The committee seeking a new president for the National Business Aviation Association is asking association members to let the panel know what qualifications they're looking for in a candidate and to recommend potential candidates. "We would like to pursue an accelerated, open process as we conduct the search for the next NBAA president and chief executive officer," said Ken Emerick, vice chairman of NBAA's board of directors and chairman of the search committee, in a statement released Wednesday.
ARINC Engineering Services this month successfully flight tested a new precision approach and landing system designed to withstand electronic jamming. The flight test, conducted at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., is part of the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) program to develop the next-generation precision approach and landing system for the Department of Defense.
Transportation Security Administration last week issued a request for proposals for a registered-traveler pilot program to begin operating at select airports by the end of June. TSA is soliciting interest from companies by April 19 to provide program management, tactical operations, systems integration and biometrics for the registered-traveler program. Under the program, frequent travelers at the airports will have the option of volunteering. Volunteers will submit information including biometrics such as fingerprints.
API's SCHLESINGER TO JOIN NETJETS NEXT WEEK - G.E. (Jerry) Schlesinger, the president and chief executive officer of Aerospace Products International (API), resigned a week ago to accept the position of senior vice president and chief financial officer of fractional aircraft provider NetJets. Schlesinger, who will be based at NetJets operational headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, is scheduled to assume his new duties April 19.
PILATUS SALES REMAIN ON TARGET - Swiss plane-maker Pilatus Aircraft has nearly sold out the production for the year for its PC-12 single turboprop, joining other business aircraft manufacturers in a trend that many industry leaders attribute in part to bonus depreciation tax breaks. Pilatus said it has committed nearly all of the 70 PC-12s it plans to produce this year. Sales jumped 35 percent in 2003 and "continue to grow at an unprecedented rate," the company said. Commitments have come from both retail customers and the dealer network.
