Delta Airelite Business Jets renamed its Comair Aviation fixed-base operation at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as Delta AirElite Jet Center. The full-service FBO is a Chevron fuel supplier and has more than 38,000 square feet of hangar space for tenant and transient aircraft. The facility also includes a flight planning room, lounge areas, business centers, conference room, hotel and car reservations, gourmet and deli catering, shuttle services, de-icing capabilities and tenant offices.
GA SHIPMENTS DROP IN FIRST QUARTER - Still struggling under the weight of a recession and the uncertainties of war, the business jet market sagged dramatically in the first quarter as overall general aviation aircraft shipments fell 16.4 percent compared with the same period in 2002, according to the quarterly report prepared by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Total billings for the industry worldwide tumbled 33.2 percent in the first quarter to $1.87 billion from $2.8 billion in 2002.
OMF TO ADD FOUR-SEAT AIRCRAFT TO LINEUP - German manufacturer OMF Aircraft is adding a second aircraft to its product line, with first flight expected before the end of 2003.
Bombardier Skyjet, the Canadian conglomerate's charter booking service, is creating a new Learjet category for its Premier Fleet jet membership program. The Premier Fleet membership program provides blocks of charter time (25, 50 or 100 hours) for a membership fee plus an hourly rate for flight time. The program guarantees aircraft availability within 12 hours. Under the new Premier Fleet Plus-Learjet Class program, the customer buys a membership specifically for the charter of the Learjet 60.
BURNHAM TO STEP DOWN AS RAYTHEON CEO - Raytheon Co. announced April 23 that its chairman and CEO, Daniel Burnham, will step down on July 1. President William Swanson will take his place.
Thales ATM won a contract to supply Mexico City Airport with an advanced-surface movement guidance control system. The Thales system, STREAMS (Surface Traffic Enhancement and Automation Support System), will be delivered to Mexico City in the second half of 2003. STREAMs, which includes air surface detection equipment radar, enables the control and monitoring of aircraft and vehicle movements at the airport.
Simula Inc. won two follow-on orders valued at $2.9 million from the U.S. Army to supply its Cockpit Airbag Systems (CABS) for UH-60 Black Hawk and OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters. With the most recent contracts, the Army has ordered a total of 612 Black Hawk and 221 Kiowa Warrior CABS units. CABS was designed to protect pilots from the impact associated with helicopter accidents. The system comprises four air bags, four gas generators and three-axis crash sensors.
BOMBARDIER HIRES NEW U.S. SALES DIRECTORS - Bombardier Aerospace brought on three new sales directors to market business aircraft in the U.S. Based in Greenville, S.C., Jim Amador will specialize in narrowbody jets in the Southeast. He has 19 years of sales and marketing experience in business aviation and was most recently vice president, sales and marketing for Stevens Aviation in South Carolina. Amador is a licensed pilot is a former vice president of the National Aircraft Resale Association.
Westwind Technologies struck an agreement to manage the Signature hangar facilities at Huntsville, Ala., International Airport. The agreement provides the military aviation technology specialist an additional 33,000 square feet of space at Redstone Arsenal, enabling the company to perform large military aviation modification and repairs.
FAA officials are hopeful that they will finally be able to release new regulations governing fractional ownership providers by mid-July. The fractional rule, which is expected to create a new Subpart K of Part 91 to govern fractional providers, was sent to the Office of Management and Budget earlier this month for review after languishing for some seven months at the Department of Transportation. In anticipation of the rule's release, FAA is pulling together material for training courses to assist the industry with the transition to the new rules.
Another legislator has asked President Bush to ease the ban on charter aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Rep. Ken Lucas (D-Ky.) wrote the president last week saying, "I believe it is time to recognize the level of security that non-scheduled air carriers have attained and the economic advantages that they provide by allowing this class of operators back into DCA." The Lucas letter followed an earlier letter by senior members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee supporting opening DCA to charter (BA, April 21/179).
Ibis Aerospace selected Chelton Flight Systems as the supplier of primary flight and navigation instruments for its Ae270 turboprop. The avionics include a Flight Logic Synthetic Vision dual screen electronic flight instrument system. The system includes head-up display symbology with real-time forward-looking three-dimensional terrain. The system also meets FAA's terrain awareness and warning system mandate. In addition to the EFIS displays, IBIS selected Czech manufacturer UNIS to provide its SAM -- System of Avionics Modules -- to control several aircraft systems.
Environmental Tectonics Corp. (ETC) sold a GAT-II general aviation trainer to Frederick Flight Center in Frederick, Md. Frederick Flight Center, which provides private, instrument, commercial, multi-engine and flight instructor training, will use the GAT-II to expand its training curriculum for new and recurrent students. The GAT-II provides emergency upset recovery and spatial disorientation training as well as more conventional IFR initial and recurrent training.
Jet Aviation Zurich, recently named a Cessna service provider for Cessna 425 and 441 aircraft, has completed a major avionics modification on a Cessna Conquest II, including the installation of a UNS-1K flight management system, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System and multi-function display unit. "This Conquest II is probably one of the first aircraft of this type to be equipped with such state-of-the-art avionics," said Werner Aerne, Jet Aviation Zurich general manager.
Everyone knows that new orders for business aircraft plunged during the first quarter, but the numbers for Raytheon Aircraft were still shocking. The Wichita manufacturer said it booked orders for 35 airplanes in the first quarter of 2003, down 74 percent from the 137 airplanes ordered in the first quarter of 2002. In addition to the troubled economy, first-quarter orders were depressed because of weeks of uncertainty about whether there would be a war in Iraq, followed by a shorter period of uncertainty about the duration of that conflict.
Adam Aircraft selected Rheinland Air Service near Dusseldorf International Airport in Germany as its designated dealer in Germany, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. The agreement, which includes an initial order for 14 aircraft, covers the sales and service of both the A500 twin-piston aircraft and the A700 jet. Priced at $895,000, the A500 will fly up to 1,500 nautical miles and fly up to 25,000 feet. Certification is expected this year. The $1.995 million A700, a growth version of the A500, is expected to fly before the end of the year.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT REPORTS LOWER REVENUES - Revenues for Raytheon Aircraft (RAC) were down nearly 25 percent in the first quarter ended March 30, primarily due to lower aircraft deliveries and the divestiture of the company's Raytheon Travel Air fractional aircraft program in early 2002 when that business was merged with Flight Options.
BOMBARDIER WINS ORDER FOR 17 Q400 TURBOPROPS - Bombardier's Q400 regional turboprop program received a boost with an order from U.K.-based FlyBE for 17 of the 78-seat aircraft. The agreement, valued at US$362 million, includes an option for up to 20 more Q400s, which could bring the total value to $818 million. Deliveries are slated to begin this quarter.
Rockwell Collins said its high-speed SATCOM system won FAA supplemental type certification approval for installation on the Bombardier Challenger 600, 601 and 604. Bombardier Aerospace completed the installation and certification work. The SATCOM system includes the Collins HST-900, which enhances passenger connectivity, email and Internet access while in flight. A companion to the SAT-906 satellite communications system, the system uses Inmarsat's Swift64 service.
FlightSafety International received FAA Level D approval for an upgraded Hawker 800XP full flight simulator at its Houston learning facility. The simulator includes the Collins 86 flight director and dual Universal FMS avionics. FlightSafety also provides Level D Hawker 800XP simulator training at its Wichita Raytheon and Wilmington, Del. learning centers.
