BOMBARDIER FLEXJET WINS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM BID - Bombardier Flexjet Europe is hoping to expand its network with a recent agreement to serve as the official business jet provider for the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting Jan. 23-28 in Davos, Switzerland. Bombardier won the endorsement after the World Economic Forum approached potential charter and fractional ownership providers for expressions of interest in transporting annual meeting attendees, said Dan Maiden, managing director of Bombardier Flexjet Europe.
Experimental Aircraft Association picked Carter Ryley Thomas public relations and marketing counsel as its agency of record for the Countdown to Kitty Hawk centennial celebration of the Wright Brothers' first powered flight. Sponsored by Ford Motor Company, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Eclipse, Countdown to Kitty Hawk will involve a yearlong series of events celebrating the first flight, including an interactive touring pavilion and a re-enactment of the flight. Carter Ryley Thomas, which also is the agency of record for the U.S.
Aircraft Owners And Pilots Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association sent angry letters to TIME magazine last week complaining about an "irresponsible ad" in the publication's Dec. 23 issue implying that general aviation is a threat to power plants. The ad in question shows two small aircraft tied down with nuclear plant cooling towers in the background captioned, "Remember when only environmentalists would have been alarmed by this photo?
National Business Aviation Association published a new book, NBAA Works: Spirit & Achievement of the National Business Aviation Association, which recognizes the thousands of volunteers who have supported the association over its 55-year history. The 136-page book provides a history of the association, including its achievements since its founding as the Corporate Aircraft Owners Association in 1947 with 19 members. It covers the challenges the association has faced and highlights the contributions of the NBAA board and committee volunteers over the years.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries won a contract to supply center-wing supports for Boeing B747 jumbo jets. The contract is the first large-scale order Mitsubishi has received from Boeing since the two formed a collaborative relationship in 2000, Mitsubishi said. Shipments of the center-wing supports are slated to begin by the end of March 2005. In addition to Boeing, Mitsubishi supplies center-wing supports for Bombardier business jets.
Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) emerged Friday as a leading candidate to succeed Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) as Majority Leader of the Senate in the 108th Congress that convenes next month. Frist, 50, a practicing surgeon from 1978-1994 who specialized in heart and lung transplants, is an experienced pilot. He started the Vanderbilt Transplant Center and frequently used his personal aircraft to pick up donor organs and fly them back to Nashville to perform transplant surgery on patients waiting for new organs.
Ralph E. "Chip" Parker was named executive vice president of Charter Services. Based in Albuquerque, N.M., Parker will manage the marketing, sales, operations and special contracts divisions. Parker, a pilot with more than 3,000 hours of flight time, recently retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a brigadier general, where his last assignment was commanding general of Marine Corps bases in Hawaii.
Bombardier Flexjet Europe has found that reducing the required minimum purchase of flying hours from 50 to 25 is helping to jump-start its Jet Membership program. Dan Maiden, managing director of Bombardier Flexjet, said the company lowered the minimum hours to generate interest from small entrepreneurs and others who are not already involved in business aviation (BA, Dec. 16/279). Maiden added that in response, "we've signed several new deals in the last few weeks."
Richard Ashooh was named vice president of legislative affairs at BAE Systems North America. He will provide policy direction, management and oversight. Ashooh was most recently vice president for public affairs at BAE Systems' information and electronic warfare systems business in Nashua, N.H.
Mercury Air Centers broke ground Thursday for a new hangar and tenant office facility at its Charleston, S.C. fixed-base operation. The 45,000-square-foot building, which will be constructed next to the existing Mercury Air Center terminal, will incorporate a 23,000-square-foot hangar with doors 28 feet tall - high enough to accommodate Gulfstream V and Global Express aircraft.
SIKORSKY WINS CERTIFICATION FOR S-92 HELICOPTER - FAA granted type approval Thursday for Sikorsky's S-92 medium-size commercial helicopter, marking the company's first new FAA aircraft certification since it launched the S-76 in November 1978, Sikorsky said. "Today represents a culmination of almost a decade of work by the best team in the helicopter industry," said Sikorsky President Dean Borgman.
Because of the holiday schedule, The Weekly of BUSINESS AVIATION will not publish a Dec. 30 issue. The next issue will be dated Jan. 6. The deadline for receipt of advertising materials for the Jan. 6 issue is noon EST Jan. 2. Please accept our best wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
A Cessna Caravan Model 208 crashed Dec. 18 while attempting to land in pre-dawn darkness in Rockford, Ill., killing the pilot. FAA said the aircraft, N277PM, had been cleared to land before controllers lost radio contact.
TSA/NBAA TO TEST SECURITY PROTOCOL AT TETERBORO - The Transportation Security Administration early next year plans to implement a voluntary "proof of concept" security program for Part 91 operators based at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey that will be based on the National Business Aviation Association's security protocol. NBAA's Security Council and TSA are reviewing the protocol, which the association hopes will form the foundation for business aircraft operators to get waivers from certain restricted airspace.
BRS SETS NEW REVENUE RECORD, PARACHUTES SELLING WELL - Parachute maker BRS, Inc. set a revenue record for the third year in a row, with sales increasing to more than $5 million during 2002, up 34.2 percent from 2001 revenues, which totaled about $3.8 million. The company attributes the increase in sales to "growth of the company's whole-aircraft emergency parachute systems used in business and personal aircraft." BRS net income this year after taxes was $604,801, compared with $599,010 in 2001.
Steven Baker was named deputy aviation director at the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, located at Miami International Airport. He will be responsible for operations, maintenance, security, business, finance, marketing and administrative services. Baker was formerly deputy general manager at Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport and was most recently vice president of portfolio management for the Harold A. Dawson Company.
GARMIN UPS REVENUE EXPECTATIONS FOR FOURTH QUARTER - Solid sales of its consumer and aviation product lines during the fourth quarter prompted GPS specialist Garmin Ltd. to boost its revenue expectations, the company said last week. Garmin was anticipating revenues of between $106 million and $110 million in the fourth quarter, but said it now expects to bring in between $132 million and $135 million. For the year, Garmin expects revenues to be in the $464 million to $467 million range.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association Friday staged a leafleting event at airports nationwide to campaign against any attempts by the Bush Administration to privatize air traffic control functions. NATCA leadership voiced strong opposition to proposals to privatize ATC, saying, "We believe our aviation infrastructure is a national treasure that belongs to the citizenry, and it is reckless, foolish and more than a little naive to believe a change in ownership will improve safety, increase capacity or reduce delays." Other industry groups agreed with NATCA.
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.
FAA APPROVES EVS FOR RETROFIT ON GIV-SP AIRCRAFT - Federal Aviation Administration approved last week the use of Gulfstream's Enhanced Vision System (EVS) on the Gulfstream GIV-SP business jet. The EVS system, which incorporates a specially designed forward-looking infrared camera that projects an infrared image on the pilot's Honeywell Head-Up Display, was approved by FAA for use on the Gulfstream V about a year ago.
Jeppesen launched a new web-based portal on BEA WebLogic Platform 7.0 in a move to enhance delivery of its flight information services. The Boeing unit provides flight information, flight planning services, aviation weather services, maintenance information and aviation training systems to aircraft operators, dispatchers and support staff. "We're laying the groundwork to drastically reduce the need to produce hard copies of our maps and charts," said Tim Sukle, Jeppesen executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Rockwell Collins Aviation Services entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center to share avionics engineering and logistics resources to improve communication and navigation planning and support. Collins Aviation Services, which has a network of more than 60 locations worldwide, repairs and overhauls avionics and in-flight entertainment equipment.
WEBER AIRCRAFT TO OPEN LARGER TEXAS FACILITY NEXT MONTH - Weber Aircraft, one of the larger commercial aircraft seat-makers, plans to open a new multimillion-dollar manufacturing and assembly facility Jan. 23. The new facility, at the company's Gainesville, Texas, headquarters, will boost production capacity thanks to more than 160,000 square feet of manufacturing, assembly and office space. The company hopes to announce new multi-year contracts with several airlines in the first quarter of 2003.
DASSAULT FALCON JET is stepping up its maintenance training and service center support with the appointment of Dean Anderson to the newly created position of service center network director. Anderson, a 27-year industry veteran, will oversee worldwide maintenance training standards for Dassault, its customers and service centers in addition to managing the independent service center network in the Western Hemisphere.
