EU COMMISSIONERS APPROVE AVIO TAKEOVER PLAN - European Union commissioners on Aug. 19 approved the takeover of the Italian aerospace company Avio, formerly FiatAvio, by the Carlyle Group and Finmeccanica. Under the proposed takeover deal, Carlyle will control 70 percent of Avio's share capital with Finmeccanica controlling the remaining 30 percent. Finmeccanica and the Carlyle Group announced last month they planned to buy Avio for an estimated 1.5 billion euros ($1.76 billion). The deal was to be financed through a combination of debt and equity.
The Federal Aviation Administration failed to fully examine the consequences of its proposed regulation to impose new domestic reduced vertical separation minimums (DRVSM) and needs to develop less burdensome alternatives for small general aviation businesses before issuing the final rule, House Small Business Administration Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) told the Office of Management and Budget this month.
EMBRAER'S EARNINGS HIT HARD BY VOLATILE EXCHANGE RATE - A roller coaster real-dollar exchange rate forced a sharp drop in Embraer's quarterly income, already pressured by deliveries that fell from 132 aircraft a year ago to 110 for 2003. Embraer's $4.9 million second quarter net income was drastically lower than the $36 million the airframer logged in the same quarter last year. CEO Mauricio Botelho told analysts earnings also were hit by a spike in research and development (R&D) spending and an $85 million loss from transactions aimed at stabilizing currencies.
AIRLINES MOST AFFECTED BY POWER OUTAGES - The scheduled airlines and their passengers appeared to bear the brunt of aviation travel disruptions resulting from last week's widespread power outages that stretched from New York to Cleveland and north of Toronto in Canada. The power problems, which began shortly after 4 p.m. EDT Thursday, forced the carriers to cancel hundreds of flights and divert aircraft already in the air to airports that still had power, disrupting travel plans for tens of thousands of customers.
National Air Transportation Association continues to raise the visibility of the problems several operators of smaller aircraft are facing with the pending regulations to reduce vertical separation minimums (RVSM) in domestic airspace. FAA's final rule establishing new RVSM standards was sent to the Office of Management and Budget last month for review. NATA wrote OMB asking it to force FAA to conduct an economic analysis of the effects of the rule on smaller operators, particularly those operating older aircraft (BA, July 21/26).
UNSTABILIZED APPROACH PRECEEDED LEARJET ACCIDENT - Evidence collected by National Transportation Safety Board investigators indicates that the crew of a Model 35A Learjet that crashed while attempting to land at the Groton/New London Airport (GON) in Groton, Conn. made an unstabilized approach with several abrupt course changes shortly before the aircraft hit several houses and crashed into a river. Both pilots were killed in the Aug. 4 crash. The airplane, N135PT, was being operated by Air East Management, Ltd.
Cessna Aircraft will send out the remaining 300-plus layoff notices to employees by the end of the month. The company announced plans in March to eliminate 1,200 jobs and since that time has reduced its workforce by 900 (BA, March 24/129). The remaining 300 notices are slated for salaried positions. Cessna said the move is necessary "to align our workforce with lower 2003 and 2004 production schedules." The company currently employs 8,300 people in Wichita and 9,900 worldwide.
Pilatus Aircraft is offering a special mission version of its single-turboprop PC-12 aircraft. The PC-12 Spectre is designed to meet special mission needs of local, state and federal agencies. The aircraft, which has a 270-knot "quick dash" capability and ability to loiter on station for up to eight hours, can be used for covert surveillance missions, Pilatus said. The Spectre flew in early July, and the first aircraft is slated for delivery this fall.
FIRST PRODUCTION CJ3 FLIES - The first production Cessna Citation CJ3 took to the skies Aug. 8, three weeks ahead of the Cessna-set schedule and less than four months after the first conforming prototype flew (BA, April 21/179). The production CJ3 flew for 90 minutes, departing from McConnell Air Force Base and landing at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport. The aircraft, Serial Number 001, tested the aircraft's flight profile, including a range of speeds from stalls to maximum operating speed (MMO). S/N 001 will be used primarily for avionics development and certification.
General Aviation Groups are becoming increasingly concerned about possible delays in passing aviation reauthorization legislation once Congress returns from August recess. A privatization provision threatens the outcome of the bill, and those on both sides of the issue dug in their heels last week reinforcing their positions. Despite the privatization measure, the bill contains a host of provisions that GA groups have long sought - including $100 million in relief for GA businesses that incurred losses in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks.
IBIS Aerospace appointed East Coast Jet Center as a distributor for the Ae270 turboprop. Based in Stuart, Fla., East Coast Jet Center will sell and service Ae270s throughout the Southeast, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, most of Georgia and the Caribbean. East Coast Jet Center has been in operation for more than 20 years providing aircraft sales, Part 135 operations, maintenance, avionics and completions. With the addition of East Coast Jet Center, the number of firm orders for the Ae270 aircraft has grown to 76.
Santa Monica Airport is the latest airport to strongly oppose FAA's proposed policy to limit an airport authority's ability to impose weight-based restrictions. Santa Monica, which earlier this summer adopted a sliding weight-based landing fee schedule (BA, June 16/275), told FAA that the proposal would be a "nightmare for airport operators" and should be rejected.
CESSNA Model 650 airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-332-AD) - proposes to adopt a new AD that would require repetitive replacement of the horizontal stabilizer primary trim actuator assembly with a repaired assembly. This action is necessary to prevent uncommanded movement of the horizontal stabilizer, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane. FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 285 airplanes on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $648,375 or $2,275 per airplane per replacement cycle. Comments must be received by Sept. 22.
National Air And Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center is unveiling the restored Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb in combat and helped end World War II, in a private ceremony today (Aug. 18). The Udvar-Hazy Center, next to Washington Dulles International Airport, is steadily adding aviation displays in advance of its Dec. 15 opening to the public.
The owners of more than 200 Model 45 Learjets will not be able to use their aircraft until the Wichita-based manufacturer is able to build, certify and install new parts in the tail section of the $10 million business jets, a process that could take several weeks.
September 8-12 - Society of Automotive Engineers 2003 Aerospace Congress & Exhibition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (724) 772-4081 September 8-12 - Aerospace North America & SAE: Aerospace Congress & Exhibition; Palais des Congress, Montreal, PQ. (604) 473-9664 September 10-11 - Aviation Industry Conferences, Ltd. Aero-Engine Expo 2003, London, U.K., +44 207-931-7072 September 14-17 - Airports Council International - North America 12th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Tampa, Fla., (202) 293-8500
The Vanallen Group has teamed with the National Business Aviation Association to offer an Emergency Response Planning Workshop on Oct. 5-6 in Orlando, Fla. The workshop, scheduled immediately prior to the start of NBAA's annual meeting and convention, will provide information on managing the circumstances surrounding an aircraft incident. The workshop will discuss communications, operations, financial, legal and regulatory issues. It also will focus on working with people involved with the incident.
FAA issued special conditions for certification of Dassault Model Falcon 10 series modified with an IS&S digital air data system. FAA said the special conditions are designed to ensure the protection of the new systems from the effects of high-intensity radiated fields. For more information, contact Greg Dunn, FAA Airplane and Flight Crew Interface Branch, at (425) 227-2799; fax: (425) 227-1149.
PARESH BUCH was named vice president of engineering at Dassault Falcon in Little Rock, Ark. He started at the Little Rock facility in 1982 as a stress engineer and was most recently director of interior design. Buch replaces Jim Aldrich, who is retiring. KELLY LANPHEER was named corporate communications manager at Air Wisconsin. She was most recently a communications strategist for Thrivent Financial, where she worked on national marketing campaigns. Lanpheer will be based in Appleton, Wis.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association urged the European Joint Aviation Authorities to back away from a proposal calling for corporate operators to register with their national aviation authorities. Responding to a JAA advance notice of proposed amendment for non-commercial operators (JAR OPS-2), GAMA said the proposal is so vague it could apply to any corporate operation.
Labor, industry and airport groups last week continued to wage a contentious public relations campaign over a scaled back provision to ban the Federal Aviation Administration from privatizing segments of the air traffic control system, leaving the fate of the nearly $60 billion FAA reauthorization bill cloudy (BA, Aug. 4/45).
GULFSTREAM AND PARTNERS CELEBRATE G550 CERTIFICATION - Gulfstream Aerospace won FAA type certification for the Gulfstream 550 long-range business jet last week, a major objective for the Savannah, Ga. manufacturer and its major business partners in the program. Gulfstream noted that the G550 program began in 1999 as an advanced cockpit project and evolved into the GV-SP, which was ultimately renamed the Gulfstream 550 when the company revamped its product line at last year's National Business Aviation Association convention (BA, Sept. 16/126).
