MOST OF STARSHIP FLEET IN RAYTHEON'S HANDS - Raytheon Aircraft Company, which announced plans last summer to acquire and retire the entire fleet of Beech Starship aircraft (BA, July 14/13), has control of nearly 90 percent of the fleet and is working with the remaining owners to complete the process.
L-3 AVIONICS SYSTEMS was selected to provide its standby indicator as standard equipment aboard the Cessna Citation Mustang. The Mustang, Cessna's new entry-level business jet, is expected to be certified in 2006. L-3 provides standby indicators for Cessna's entire line of business jet aircraft as well as for the Caravan turboprop.
BAE SYSTEMS Jetstream Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 2001-NM-288-AD) - proposes to require a review of airplane maintenance records and an inspection of the nose landing gear (NLG) to determine the part number of the steering pinion, and follow-on/corrective actions as applicable. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of the steering pinion in the NLG, which could result in loss of steering and possible damage to the airplane during takeoff and landing. FAA estimates that 57 airplanes on the U.S.
National Association of State Aviation Officials lamented the Bush Administration's proposal to slash Essential Air Service funding from $113 million in the current fiscal year to just $50 million in fiscal 2005, which NASAO said "would eliminate aid to at least 23 communities and force 82 other communities to pay a large portion of the costs associated with continuing commuter service to hub airports." NASAO noted that the Vision 100 FAA reauthorization legislation provides for establishment of a nine-member commission to assess EAS and make recommendations (see Section
CZECH GOVERNMENT BACKS IBIS PLANE, SECOND AE270 JOINS FLIGHT TESTING - The Czech government agreed to provide ongoing support for Aero Vodochody, securing the future of the Ibis Aerospace Ae270 turboprop. Ibis, a joint venture of Aero Vodochody and AIDC of Taiwan, markets the turboprop and Aero Vodochody produces the aircraft at its factory in the Czech Republic. Under a previous agreement, the Czech government committed to support Aero operations through 2005.
Bonus depreciation backers are still trying to win approval of a deadline extension for buyers to put their aircraft into service. Under the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act signed into law in May, buyers must acquire an aircraft and put it into service before Jan. 1, 2005 unless the buyer is in the business of transporting people - such as a charter or scheduled airline. In those cases, the aircraft must be placed into service before Jan. 1, 2006.
Practice makes perfect, but you can't forget the before-landing checklist. FAA said the pilot of a Beech Duchess was practicing single-engine approaches at the St. Charles, Mo. County Airport late last month when he forgot to lower the landing gear. The aircraft landed on the runway centerline and skidded 800 feet, damaging the belly skin and both propellers.
CIRRUS INTRODUCES UPGRADED VERSIONS OF SR20, SR22 - Cirrus Design Corp., already setting sales records with its existing models, has introduced the latest iterations of the company's popular SR20 and SR22 single-engine aircraft, the SR20-G2 and SR22-G2.
CJ Systems Aviation Group named David Horton president of its Heli-Dyne Systems unit in Hurst, Texas. Horton has a background in aviation management, manufacturing, sales, engineering and customer service. He has served with both Bell Helicopter and American Eurocopter in addition to spending several years running his own aircraft maintenance and flight school business.
National Business Aviation Association and The Van Allen Group are offering an Emergency Response Planning Workshop April 20-21 in Atlanta, Ga. to help companies manage the difficult circumstances surrounding an aircraft accident or incident. The two-day workshop begins at 8:30 a.m. April 20. Cost to attend for NBAA member companies is $1,200 for the first attendee and $1,000 for each additional attendee from the same organization. For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 862-5552 or www.nbaa.org/seminars.
Honeywell predicts higher helicopter sales over the next five years, driven by demand from the corporate, emergency medical services and law enforcement markets.
Experimental Aircraft Association tapped actor Harrison Ford to serve as the new chairman of the EAA Young Eagles Program. Ford, who first began flight training in the 1960s but put those ambitions on hold until the early 1990s, is a pilot who is rated in rotorcraft and tailwheel aircraft. He is the third person to serve as chairman of the Young Eagles Program, following Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, who held the title from 1994 until recently, and actor Cliff Robertson, who was chairman from the program's founding in July 1992 through 1994.
Smoke And Fire Prevention Systems is marketing lightweight fiberglass fabric curtains designed to contain smoke and toxic fumes in aircraft hangars. Toby Newcomb, executive vice president of the Clarksville, Va. company, said the translucent FabriLock fabric offers lower-cost protection than heavy drywall and metal smoke curtains, adding that his product is accepted by all building codes. In addition to locking in smoke and toxic fumes to protect lives and property, the translucent curtains help illuminate hangar interiors.
Dassault Falcon scheduled its Maintenance and Operations seminar June 13-15 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Fla. Dassault is offering online registration through CVENT at www.cvent.com. Falcon operators who have not received an invitation with an event code for registration should contract Toni Busuttil at [email protected].
National Business Aviation Association published a new children's book, The Flying Office: Aviation Goes to Work, as part of the association's AvKids initiative. AvKids is designed to introduce students in grades 2 through 5 to aviation, and business aviation in particular, through a curriculum that incorporates science, math, geography and language arts.
NATCA GROWS MORE FRUSTRATED WITH ADMINISTRATION, ENDORSES KERRY - National Air Traffic Controllers Association last week continued to express its dissatisfaction over the contract dispute with the Bush Administration, touting a statement by the AFL-CIO that called the Federal Aviation Administration's bargaining approach draconian. NATCA filed a lawsuit in late January seeking resolution of impasses with FAA through the Federal Services Impasses Panel. The contract dispute involves NATCA's non-controller bargaining units.
JEFF AGUR was promoted to vice president of The VanAllen Group, the Atlanta-based aviation and management consulting firm. Agur joined the firm in 2002 as director of business operations. In his new role, he will manage business development.
The controversy surrounding the FAA proposal to further regulate air tours and charity sightseeing flights has captured the attention of some congressional leaders, who want to look into the issue. The Small Business Committee's subcommittee on rural enterprises, agriculture and technology has scheduled a hearing on the proposal at 10 a.m. on March 30.
Israel Aircraft Industries reported sales $1.87 billion last year, an 11 percent decline from the $2.06 billion in sales in 2002. Net profits totaled $15 million last year, compared with $33 million the previous year. The company's year-over-year order backlog remained static at $4.5 billion, but officials noted it signed a contract this month to sell three early warning aircraft to the Indian Air Force, a deal that boosts company backlog to $5.6 billion.
EMBRAER Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes (Docket No. 2003-NM-237-AD) - proposes to require repetitive detailed inspections of the oil in the air turbine starter (ATS) to determine the oil quantity and the amount of debris contamination in the oil. If the oil quantity is incorrect or if excessive debris is found, this proposal would require replacement of the ATS with a new or serviceable ATS having the same part number, and continued repetitive detailed inspections.
