REFURB SPECIALISTS TEAM TO FORM MONTREAL CENTER - A group of aircraft modification and refurbishment specialists have teamed to build a new corporate aircraft servicing and interior refurbishing business at Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Quebec. The new business, called Montreal Jet Center (MJET), is a joint venture involving DEM Capital, which provides aircraft maintenance and refurbishment, and Elisen Technologies, an aeronautics engineering company authorized as a design approval organization by Transport Canada.
EMBRAER ACHEIVES CERTIFICATION FOR 170 REGIONAL JET - Brazilian plane-maker Embraer secured Brazilian, European and U.S. approval for its 70- to 78-passenger Embraer 170 regional jet, the first of Embraer's new family of jets to fill the 70- to 110-seat market. The Brazilian Centro Tecnico Aerospacial and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration granted type certification last week for the Embraer 170.
CESSNA TO BUILD MUSTANG IN INDEPENDENCE, KAN. - Cessna Aircraft will assemble its newest entry-level jet, the Citation Mustang, at its facility in Independence, Kan., where the company's single-piston aircraft lines are produced. Cessna President and CEO Jack Pelton said the decision came down to Cessna's plants in Wichita and Independence, but said Independence had more excess capacity and would be a better fit with the company's planned approach to building the Mustang.
National Business Aviation Association has scheduled a series of training sessions throughout the country based upon its proof-of-concept security TSA Access Certificate (TSAAC) project developed in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration. The Train-the-Trainer seminars provide participants with materials necessary to train the company employees to meet standards required for a TSAAC.
Jet Source added a Citation I and a Learjet 40 to its charter fleet. Both aircraft are based at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif. Jet Source operates a full service fixed-base operation with 120,000 square feet of hangar space at the airport located just north of San Diego. It provides maintenance, avionics, ramp service, fuel sales along with aircraft charter, management and sales.
PART 139 FORCES SMALL AIRPORT UPGRADES - FAA's final revised Part 139 rule will require all airports to make at least some modification to their airport certification manuals, but the biggest effect will be on small airports handling scheduled commercial service of aircraft with between nine and 30 seats. For the first time they will have to be certified by FAA, after meeting a number of safety and operational requirements including Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) regulations. The rule was published in the Feb. 10 Federal Register.
LOCKHEED AWARDS EADS CASA DEEPWATER CONTRACT - Lockheed Martin, a lead integrator on the U.S. Coast Guard's 20-year $10 billion Deepwater upgrade program, awarded a contract valued at $87.4 million to EADS CASA of Spain for two CN-235-300 Medium Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The contract covers the development, manufacture and testing of the aircraft and includes a $4.15 million option for spaces and integrated lifetime support. The contract also includes the option for up to six more aircraft.
LIBERTY WINS TYPE CERTIFICATION FOR XL2 - Liberty Aerospace received Federal Aviation Administration approval for its two-place, single-engine Liberty XL2 aircraft, the first single-piston to win certification with a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) system, the company said last week. "The TC I'm holding right now is the culmination of four years of very hard work," said Liberty Aerospace President and CEO Anthony Tiarks. "The XL2 sets new standards for this category of aircraft."
FLIGHTSAFETY BUILDING NEW CENTER AT FARNBOROUGH - FlightSafety International is expanding its reach into the international market with a major new learning facility under construction at Farnborough Airport near London. Slated to open for training early next year, the center will have capacity for 14 full flight simulators, interactive classrooms, training devices, pilot briefing rooms and customer service facilities.
Cessna Aircraft is planning to boost employment at its Independence, Kan. facility back up to at least 850 people with the addition of Mustang assembly work. The Independence facility, where Cessna's single-piston aircraft are made, employed 950 workers in early 2001. But the sluggish economy and weak demand in the single-engine piston market forced Cessna to scale back employment there to 350. See article below.
Honda Motor Company and General Electric Co. have formed a strategic alliance to develop Honda's new HF118 turbofan jet engine, a powerplant designed for the new generation of entry-level business jets. Honda began researching small business jets in the mid-1980s, but the company kept an extremely low profile about its efforts. Then, on Dec. 3, the company flew a prototype HondaJet powered by twin HF118s from Piedmont Triad International Airport near Greensboro, N.C. (BA, Dec. 22/275).
SR TECHNICS TO GROW WITH FLS AEROSPACE ACQUISITION - SR Technics plans to grow even larger in the overhaul and maintenance business with the acquisition of FLS Aerospace, the Danish-owned aircraft maintenance and engineering company with major bases in the U.K. and Ireland.
Eclipse Aviation is scheduled to dedicate its new Friction Stir Weld Center in Albuquerque, N.M. March 10. The friction stir welding process is at the heart of the company's program to produce the low-cost Eclipse 500 entry-level jet. Company officials say the new technology will permit Eclipse to build its aircraft with far fewer parts and with significantly lower man-hours of production time than conventional aircraft manufacturers.
March 2-3 - ASME International (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Aero Engine Life Management Conference, Thistle Royal Horseguards Hotel, London, England, (404) 847-0072; [email protected] or www.asme.org.igti March 15-17 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2004, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 683-4646 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
House Aviation Subcommittee will probe the lack of progress in granting general aviation access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in a hearing scheduled next month (BA, Feb. 2/45). The hearing will be held at 2 p.m. March 16 in the Signature Flight Support hangar at DCA. Several members of the aviation subcommittee - and the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee - have strongly advocated reopening the airport to GA, under certain circumstances.
ARINC named John Belcher chairman of the company and Frederic Jacoby chairman of ARINC Engineering Services, LLC. Belcher, who served as president and chief executive since 2002, succeeds James Pierce, who is retiring. Belcher joined ARINC in 1997 as president and chief operating officer. He also has held senior positions with Hughes Aircraft, Thomson-Hickling Aviation and PRIOR Data Sciences, and formerly was executive director of Transport Canada and director general of Supply and Services Canada.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association tapped Roger Cohen as vice president of regional affairs. Cohen will oversee AOPA's 13 regional representatives along with state affairs, the Airports department and the Airport Support Network. Cohen previously spent 15 years as managing director of state and local government affairs for the Air Transport Association.
LLOYD BINGHAM, JR. joined Butler National Corporation's turnkey certification enterprise. Bingham is an FAA Designated Engineering Representative (DER) test pilot who is certified for performing flight tests in helicopters and large and small airplanes. He has DER authority under Parts 23, 25, 27 and 29 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Bingham was the first engineering test pilot hired by King and has 25 years of experience with King, Allied, AlliedSignal and Honeywell.
Transportation Security Administration completed a draft of its recommendations for improving security at general aviation airports and has solicited limited industry input on those recommendations. The general aviation airport security guidelines are based upon the recommendations drafted by the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which in November approved "a tiered but flexible security plan" that codifies industry best practices (BA, Nov. 24/233). TSA is expected to complete the recommendations and release them by the end of March.
National Air Transportation Association's Airline Services Council drafted an agreement to form an alliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to address health and safety issues of personnel who work in Airport Operations Areas. The alliance will focus on training and educational programs, and first consider issues involving severe weather hazards. Other possible areas of focus include vehicular traffic and congestion.
