IBIS Aerospace appointed Rheinland Air Service (RAS) a distributor for its Ae270 turboprop throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. RAS, based in Monchengladbach, Germany, provides a range of services including sales, maintenance, avionics, factory direct parts sales and line services. Its facility includes a 10-acre apron. IBIS Aerospace said it has secured 73 orders and options for the Ae270, which continues to make progress toward certification.
CANADIAN FRACTIONAL ORDERS SIX PIAGGIO AIRCRAFT - Piaggio America sold six Avanti aircraft to Avia Aviation Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, one of only three fractional operators in Canada.
Greg P. Goodwin was appointed vice president of charter operations at Private Business Jets. Based at the company's headquarters in Norwell, Mass, Goodwin will direct charter travel and related staff. He was previously director of charter operations at Sentient Jet, formerly known as eBizJets.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON Model 204B, 205A, 205A-1, 205B and 212 helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-14-AD; Amendment 39-13015; AD 2003-01-04) - requires conducting various inspections associated with the main rotor grip on BHTI model helicopters. If a crack is found, this AD requires replacing the grip before further flight. If delamination of the buffer pad on the grip tang inner surface is found, this AD requires inspecting the grip surface for corrosion or other damage and repairing or replacing the grip if corrosion or other damage is found.
Panama's Civil Aviation Department is striving to regain Category 1 status in the FAA's safety oversight program "by March or April," according to local officials. The country was downgraded from Category 1 to 2 last year following an ICAO operational safety audit on airworthiness, operations and personnel compliances - an audit supported by an FAA inspectors' evaluation. Panama is fully implementing ICAO's recommendations and 90 percent have been adopted, according to Humberto Chavarria, deputy director of aviation for the country.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer Friday hoped to educate Washington, D.C. insiders about general aviation security during a round-table discussion at the think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The discussion is a follow-up to an exercise, Silent Vector, designed to simulate possible U.S. reaction to a credible threat of a terrorist attack. During that simulation, which took place last fall, former Sen.
Conklin & De Decker released the latest version of its MxManager maintenance management software, which expands maintenance forecasting functions. The updated software allows a maintenance director to forecast significant maintenance activities for individual aircraft or the entire fleet. The forecasting can be exported into an existing Excel spreadsheet. The new version, the third upgrade to MxManager within the last year, also allows maintenance departments to create logbook entries.
Southwest Jet Aviation of Scottsdale, Ariz., added two new aircraft to its charter fleet, bringing its aircraft total to 16. A 1999 Raytheon Hawker 800 XP will be based in Phoenix, Ariz. and a 1996 Learjet 60 in Santa Fe, N.M. Southwest Jet has been adding about four aircraft every year since new management took over operations in 1999. The company said it expects to close on more aircraft deals within ninety days of the new year.
After struggling for more than a week over how to split committee funds between Republicans and Democrats, Senate leaders last week took up consideration of an omnibus appropriations bill that would fund most federal government agencies for fiscal 2003. While the government is in the fourth month of fiscal 2003, it continues to operate under a "continuing resolution," which essentially freezes funding at 2002 levels and prevents the start up of new initiatives. This is causing heartburn among all of the affected aviation agencies - including DOT, TSA, FAA and NTSB.
HAMMERSCHMIDT DESIGNATED VICE CHAIRMAN OF NTSB - John A. Hammerschmidt, who has spent nearly two decades working for the National Transportation Safety Board, was designated by President Bush as vice chairman of the agency, effective Jan. 19. As vice chairman, Hammerschmidt will become acting chairman of the agency since a new chairman has not been named following the resignation of Marion Blakey, who left to become FAA Administrator. Hammerschmidt, a Republican, takes over as vice chairman/acting chairman from Carol Carmody, a Democrat.
Duncan Aviation, the Lincoln, Neb.-headquartered aircraft modification and repair facility, was listed for the third consecutive year among FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America." Duncan was No. 25 on this year's list, which appeared in the Jan. 20 issue, up from No. 30 last year. The rankings are based heavily on random employee surveys. Noting that Duncan also receives high ratings and awards within the business aviation industry, President Aaron Hilkemann said he was "most proud" of Duncan's recognition by FORTUNE.
German carrier Lufthansa began offering free access to inflight broadband Internet connections last week on its flights between Frankfurt and Washington, D.C. The broadband access will be available free of charge aboard a specially equipped Boeing 747-400 for three months, providing passengers with unlimited access to the Internet, as well as their corporate networks. The promotion is part of the company's pilot project to conduct internal tests for "Lufthansa FlyNet," the working title for its on-board broadband access.
MIDAIR COLLISION AT CASINO AIR SHOW KILLS TWO - A Jan. 11 midair collision between a Cessna 182H and a Grumman F6F-5 during an Arizona air show resulted in the deaths of both persons on board the Cessna.
CAE Simuflite teamed with Summit Solutions to offer management, communications and leadership courses that are approved for the National Business Aviation Association's Professional Development Program (PDP). Under the new alliance, professional development consultant Summit Solutions will provide the courses at CAE SimuFlite's training facility in Dallas. Course participants will receive NBAA PDP certificates upon completion.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association reached an agreement with AIG Aviation under which it can offer qualified members a five percent discount on aircraft insurance. AOPA is offering the discounts through its AOPA Insurance Agency on policies issued since Jan. 1.
Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
Triumph Group completed the acquisition of Boeing's Fabrication Operation facility in Spokane, Wash. this month after members of the International Association of Machinists agreed to a 15 percent pay cut to preserve their jobs. Triumph also signed an eight-year, single-source contract to supply Boeing with parts from the Spokane facility. The Spokane plant employs about 400 workers who produce composite and thermoplastic aircraft parts, such as floor panels, air control system ducts and non-structural composite flight deck components.
HELICOPTER CRASHES IN UTAH; KILLS TWO - Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating the crash of a medical helicopter in Salt Lake City, Utah that killed two and seriously injured a third passenger last week. The Augusta A109 K-2 helicopter, N601RX, owned by Life Flight, took off from Salt Lake City's LDS Hospital to respond to a car accident in Wendover, Utah, near the Nevada border. The helicopter crashed in an open pasture near Utah's Interstate 80 in dense fog.
Ann Galland was named director corporate marketing for BarcoView, a Belgian company that produces visual imaging products for air traffic control systems. Based in Belgium, Galland will coordinate the company's marketing initiatives to strengthen its brand recognition.
Kronos Air Technologies, Inc. signed a development and acquisition agreement with Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., under which Kronos will develop, design and produce air movement and purification devices for installation aboard Gulfstream business jets. The devices will be manufactured to meet all FAA safety standards, including environmental, flammability and electromagnetic interference (EMI). The devices will be designed to provide silent air circulation and purification throughout the cabin.
House and Senate leaders this month have begun to lay the ground work for developing a new comprehensive aviation bill that will authorize FAA funding programs beyond fiscal 2003 and likely cover a host of issues such as security and environmental streamlining. The last authorization bill, AIR-21, was considered landmark legislation because it dramatically boosted FAA funding levels, and essentially guaranteed that revenues channeled into the Airport and Airways Trust Fund would be used for their intended purpose - aviation (BA, April 10, 2000/163).
Reports keep circulating that Raytheon has, or will shortly, assume control of the Flight Options fractional ownership program. Raytheon Travel Air combined its fractional program with Flight Options' last March under an agreement which provided for Flight Options to hold a 50.1 percent stake in the joint enterprise while Raytheon got a 49.9 percent stake. But this fall, in a 10Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Raytheon said Flight Options had been seeking additional equity financing, but had not been able to secure that funding.
FAA ALTERS LONG-RANGE ATC PLANS TO REFLECT INDUSTRY WOES - The Federal Aviation Administration is reshaping some of its long-range goals to upgrade the air traffic control system and reduce airspace congestion to reflect an ailing airline industry that may be unable to keep up with the required equipment and investment necessary for modernization. The agency last week released its latest version of the Operational Evolution Plan, (OEP), Version 5.0, which is a rolling 10-year plan outlining goals for improving the ATC system.
Harvey Smart was appointed senior account manager for the Americas at Cordiem. With more than 20 years of aerospace experience, Smart most recently worked at PriceWaterhouseCooper's Management Consulting Group.
