INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA COMBINE FOR ROTORCRAFT CENTER - Major helicopter companies, academic institutions and local Pennsylvania companies have entered into an agreement to create a world-class rotorcraft center, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said this month. "I have been working for several years to create a world-class Center for Rotorcraft Innovation to address shortfalls in rotorcraft research and development," Weldon said in a statement.
Gulfstream Aerospace's G550 set two speed records this month - a seven-hour, 24-minute flight from Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. to Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, Germany on March 8 and a seven-hour, 27-minute flight from Rotterdam Airport to Dulles March 11. The records increase the number of city-pair speed records the G550 has accrued to 11. In addition, the aircraft recently set a distance record of 6,554 nautical miles, besting the record set by its predecessor plane, the Gulfstream V, of 6,132 nm in 1997.
House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) expressed dismay that FAA missed its deadline for rescinding or explaining the need for the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering the Baltimore/Washington area. Recently passed reauthorization legislation, "Vision 100," directs FAA within 30 days to report on the reasons the ADIZ is necessary. Acting Transportation Security Administrator David Stone said work on that report is under way, but Mica warned that he would call a hearing if he did not receive it soon. District of Columbia Del.
Bombardier Aerospace named Harrods Aviation in Stansted, England an authorized service facility for the Global Express long-range business jet. Harrods Aviation's Luton facility already has won recognition as a Global Express authorized service provider. In addition, Harrods Aviation's Stansted facility services the Bombardier Challenger family of business jets.
MU-2 CRASH CLAIMS TWO IN CALIFORNIA - Both people about a Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop were killed March 11 when the airplane crashed near Napa, Calif. FAA said the airplane, N966MA, which was the subject of an alert notice when it did not arrive at its destination on time, "crashed under unknown circumstances." The airplane had departed Imperial, Calif. on March 11 en route to Napa and the wreckage was found the following day.
David Stone, acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, was greeted with impatience and skepticism last week after he promised House legislators that the Department of Homeland Security would soon review a plan to reopen Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to business and general aviation.
MOONEY TO OFFER INFLATABLE SEATBELTS - Mooney Airplane Company plans to offer Amsafe Aviation inflatable restraint seatbelts on the new Ovation 2 DX/GX and Bravo DX/GX airplanes, beginning in the third quarter of this year. The certification program is under way, and the company expects to complete it by mid-summer.
DWIGHT COX was named director of Latin America for Sabreliner Corp. Cox has 23 years of aviation experience, beginning as a licensed A&P maintenance technician, who held the same role with Sabreliner from 1992 to 1997. He has served as manager of technical support for Rockwell International and manager of technical support for Sabreliner Corp. in Mexico City. As director of Latin America, Cox will be based in Tucson, Ariz., and act as a field representative for customers and prospects in Latin America.
A Falcon 900, Registration 900MG, landed nose gear up at a Los Angeles-area airport March 16, FAA reported. There were no injuries to the two crew or 13 passengers aboard.
DOT IG OUTLINES NEED FOR FAA ATC CUTS - Cost overruns, schedule slippages and misjudgments about the readiness of certain technologies are forcing the Bush Administration to propose $500 million in cuts in the Federal Aviation Administration's long-term air traffic control modernization efforts, Transportation Inspector General Ken Mead told House appropriators last week.
Eclipse Aviation opened a new 50,000-square-foot friction stir welding facility, which will assemble most parts of the company's Eclipse 500 fuselage. The facility also will house the production assembly of the fuselage pressure vessel for the Eclipse 500. Eclipse's newest building joins the company's 90,000-square-foot headquarters building and 45,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) joined with other anti-noise activists in urging FAA to consider expanding the scope of its proposed Stage 4 standards to include a phaseout of all Stage 2 aircraft (BA, March 15/117). Rothman, who has long championed the cause of anti-noise activists near Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, told FAA Administrator Marion Blakey Wednesday that "we've given smaller, less expensive planes 14 years" to upgrade to quieter standards, while larger commercial planes had to come into compliance much sooner.
"Robust" is how FAA Administrator Marion Blakey characterized the comment process for the agency's proposal to impose new safety regulations for air tour and sightseeing operations. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) had expressed concern about the proposal and its possibly driving 700 small companies out of the sightseeing business. Blakey answered that the comments, which now number close to 1,900, together with the Internet-based public meeting, which drew 1,000 responses, would "certainly inform the way the rule develops."
H-1 UPGRADE PROGRAM REINFORCING TAIL BOOMS AGAINST EXHAUST HEATING - The U.S. Navy's H-1 helicopter upgrade program is strengthening the tail booms on its five test aircraft to protect them against the hotter exhaust coming from their upgraded engines, according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
TURBINE HELICOPTER ACCIDENTS ROSE SLIGHTLY LAST YEAR - Turbine-powered helicopters experienced slightly more accidents last year compared with 2002, but accidents involving offshore operators more than doubled, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates, the publisher of Annual Turbine Helicopter Accident Analysis. The U.S. turbine-powered fleet experienced 102 accidents, including 22 fatal accidents, that resulted in 50 fatalities in 2003. That compares with 98 accidents, including 18 fatal accidents and 29 fatalities, in 2002.
ECLIPSE OFFERING INSIDE LOOK AT CERTIFICATION PROCESS - Eclipse Aviation launched a new section of its web site last week, which it said would permit visitors "to view and track Eclipse's progress against all Eclipse 500 certification program milestones." The company added that "in a time of increased public concern about corporate accountability, Eclipse's goal is to establish a new standard in transparency that will benefit all stakeholders" in the emerging Very Light Jet (VLJ) industry.
March 22-23 - American Association of Airport Executives, ACI-NA, Spring Washington Conference, Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington, 703-824-0504, www.airportnet.org March 22-25 - National Business Aviation Association 31st Annual International Operators Conference, Anaheim, Calif., (202) 783-9000 March 22-25 - Society of Manufacturing Engineers, WESTEC 2004, Angeles, Calif. Convention Center, (800) 733-4763 or www.sme.org/westec
BOMBARDIER NARROWS LOSS; AEROSPACE BUSINESS IMPROVES - Canadian conglomerate Bombardier managed to trim its loss for the year ended Jan. 31, 2004, but the company said last week it initiated a major restructuring of its Transportation division that will entail additional costs.
Aircraft Parts Corp. is moving into a new 48,000-square-foot facility in Holtsville, N.Y. The aircraft DC power generation system provider purchased the building to expand its manufacturing and warehouse capacity in addition to its office space. Its customer service, sales, engineering, purchasing, accounting and shipping/receiving functions will operate out of the new facility beginning this month. Manufacturing, production/assembly and overhaul-service units will follow over the next few months.
Cessna is inviting its "one-million plus" customers to a four-day event the company calls the Great Cessna Homecoming. The homecoming, to be held May 14-17 at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, Kan., will provide a forum for Cessna operators to discuss issues involving their aircraft. "We often receive requests from Cessna operators about doing fly-ins," said Jennifer Julin, executive director of the Cessna Owner Organization.
Flight Options is trying to boost interest in the newest addition to its fractional ownership fleet, the Embraer Legacy, by unveiling a new pricing program that charges shareholders an occupied hourly rate comparable to that of a mid-sized jet. The rates will remain in effect for the first 24 months of ownership, Flight Options said, calling the pricing "the industry's most compelling value proposition." The Legacy, the corporate version of the Embraer's smaller regional jet line, seats 13 passengers and can travel 3,250 nautical miles and reach speeds of Mach .80.
SAFIRE TEAM MOVING FORWARD ON MULTIPLE FRONTS - Safire Aircraft Company, which completed a relocation to the Opa-Locka Airport near Miami, Fla. last year, is engaged in a wide range of endeavors designed to get the company's entry-level jet into the marketplace by 2006.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association added Argo-Tech Corporation and Diamond Aircraft Industries to its membership. Columbus, Ohio-based Argo-Tech produces aviation fuel pumps and liquid natural gas systems for airframes, engines and airport ground fueling equipment. Argo-Tech Chief Executive Michael Lipscomb will join the GAMA board of directors. Diamond Aircraft, based in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, produces a line of single-piston aircraft. Diamond President Peter Maurer will represent the company on the GAMA board.
NBAA PROPOSES 'SECURE ACCESS' PLAN TO REGAIN DCA ACCESS - National Business Aviation Association President Shelley Longmuir unveiled a "Secure Access" security program last week designed to address the anti-terrorism needs of federal law enforcement personnel while allowing business and general aviation aircraft to regain access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
