PIAGGIO AMERICA, INC. named Jim Holcombe executive vice president, sales and marketing, with responsibility for all sales and marketing efforts for the Piaggio Avanti turboprop in North America. He will supervise flight demonstrations, sales contracting, advertising and corporate communications. Holcombe most recently had been senior vice president of marketing at Gulfstream Aerospace. Before joining Gulfstream, he was vice president of sales and marketing at K-C Aviation.
PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN BN-2A and BN2A Mk. III series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-33-AD) - proposes to supersede AD 97-14-01, which requires repetitively inspecting the left-hand rudder bar assembly for cracks, measuring the slider tube unit wall thickness, and modifying the rudder bar assembly by installing a slider tube unit of improved design as a terminating action for the repetitive inspections. AD 97-14-01 resulted from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom.
ROLLS-ROYCE is boosting its corporate aircraft customer support efforts with a new team of regional customer managers dedicated to providing support to operators of Rolls-Royce-powered business jets. The engine manufacturer will have dedicated regional customer managers available round-the-clock to answer operator questions about in-service technical and logistics support, warranties, lease engines, repair and overhaul services, technical publications and CorporateCare, its new comprehensive engine maintenance program.
BUDDY GUESS was named product support manager at Whittaker Controls, Inc. of North Hollywood, Calif. Guess, a former Delta Air Lines executive, was most recently vice president and general manager of U.S. Technical in Atlanta, Ga.
Tiger Aircraft beat its neighbor Sino Swearingen to the punch by earning the first FAA production certificate (PC) in West Virginia for the Tiger AG-4B aircraft last week. Tiger delivered its first three aircraft at the end of 2001 (BA, Dec. 10/269). But the company had been hampered for the past year, working without a production certificate and having FAA inspect each aircraft.
SIMCOM won FAA Level C approval for a new Hawker 800A simulator based at its training center in Orlando, Fla. The six-axis, full-motion simulator includes a five-tube Honeywell electronic flight instrument system. SimCom provides initial and recurrent training in the Hawker aircraft. In addition to the Hawker simulator, Simcom houses Level C Learjet and Citation simulators and provides training for an array of turboprop and piston aircraft.
JET AVIATION DALLAS received certification for the installation of an integrated hazard awareness system (IHAS) on the Citation S550 series aircraft. The facility will install the Bendix King IHAS 8000 units on Cessna aircraft.
In its continuing effort to tighten aviation security, a Senate panel last week called for expanding background check requirements to cover all new foreign student pilots and moved to block FAA from modifying or issuing any waivers from flight restrictions over stadiums and other open-air events for at least six more months.
PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN BN2T and BN2T-4R series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-34-AD) - proposes to require repetitive inspections of the left and right engine-mounting frame for cracks and replacement of the frame if cracks are found. This proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to detect and correct cracks in the left and right engine-mounting frame, which could lead to engine mount failure.
JET AVIATION DUSSELDORF won German LBA maintenance approvals for the ERJ 135 and 145. With the new approvals, the facility is able to perform line and base maintenance on the Embraer Legacy jet, the ERJ 135 and ERJ 145 aircraft. "This will be our first entry into the maintenance market for regional jets," said Johannes Turzer, general manager of Jet Aviation Dusseldorf.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION added FlightSafety International to its list of approved training providers for the NBAA Schedulers Professional Development Program (SPDP). Other training providers for the SPDP include Air Routing, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Professional Performance Improvement Company, Summit Solutions and Universal Weather and Aviation. SPDP includes a series of courses tailored to business aviation schedulers and dispatchers.
AS ONE OF HIS last actions before retiring, FAA acting Administrator Monte Belger signed the final rule establishing a new Subpart K to Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations to govern fractional aircraft operations. The rule was signed Sept. 13, Belger's last day with the agency. Belger retired from FAA after a 30-year career that culminated in his temporary appointment as acting administrator in August. Former National Transportation Safety Board Chair Marion Blakey last week assumed her new responsibilities as FAA Administrator (BA, Sept. 16/123).
BRITTEN NORMAN Limited BN2A Mk. III series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-36-AD) - proposes to require repetitive inspections of the rear engine-mounting frame for cracks and replacement of the frame if cracks are found. This proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to detect and correct cracks in the rear engine-mounting frame, which could lead to engine mount failure.
The board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association is expected to approve applications from four non-U.S. aircraft manufacturers to become members of the organization when the GAMA board holds its November meeting. Bombardier of Canada, Dassault Falcon Jet of France, Embraer of Brazil and Piaggio of Italy have applied for membership in the lobbying organization.
While the Senate's latest aviation security legislation included some items that concerned the general aviation community, it also offered some help. A provision in the Aviation Security Improvement Act passed last week could exempt operators of some Twin Otter and King Air 200 aircraft from the "Twelve Five" security requirements. The rule currently covers commercial operators of aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more but would be changed to cover operators of aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds. See article below.
MESSIER-DOWTY was selected to provide the integrated landing gear system for Bombardier's Global 5000 business jet. The Global 5000 is expected to begin flying early next year with certification following a year later. Messier already supplies the integrated landing gear for the Bombardier Global Express and has been awarded similar contracts for the Raytheon Hawker Horizon, the Bell/Agusta BA609 civil tiltrotor, Bombardier Continental (300) and Dassault Falcon 7X.
PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN BN-2 and BN2A Mk. III series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-CE-35-AD) - proposes to require inspections of the universal joints on the pilot's and co-pilot's control column to determine the diameter of the shaft. This proposed AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom.
EMBRAER Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-166-AD; Amendment 39-12845; AD 2002-16-06) - corrects a typographical error that appeared in AD 2002-16-06 that was published in the Federal Register on August 12, 2002 (67 FR 52398). The typographical error resulted in specifying an incorrect serial number for the auxiliary power unit (APU) exhaust silencer. This AD is applicable to certain Embraer Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes.
Hangar Space Available at Atlantic Aviation FBO's TEB/MDW/PHL/FRG/HOU/PNE/HFD/BDR Please call Steve Hirschfeld 972-447-4220 or email: [email protected]
MEMBERS of the General Aviation Coalition were concerned that the Transportation Security Administration might be planning some widespread restrictions on flight operations last Tuesday when they were notified that Adm. James Loy would be contacting them via a conference call later that day. The heads-up from TSA followed an earlier announcement by Attorney General John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge, head of the Office of Homeland Security, that the government was raising the terror alert level to Code Orange for the first time, which denotes a "high" level of danger.
Gulfstream Aerospace, which for years prospered while producing only one or two models at a time, is dramatically expanding its product line to appeal to a wider range of business aircraft buyers and provide direct alternatives to aircraft being developed by competing manufacturers. The company added two new models last year with its acquisition of the Astra SPX (G100) and Galaxy (G200) when it bought Galaxy Aerospace and brought the product line to four models.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON, a division of Textron Canada, Model 407 helicopters [Docket No. 2002-SW-03-AD; Amendment 39-12868; AD 2002-17-03] - requires a fuel filler cap assembly shimming and electrical bonding procedure. This amendment is prompted by the FAA's determination, based on information from the manufacturer, that electrical bonding may be inadequate. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent a lack of electrical bonding that could result in an electrical arc, ignition of fuel vapors and an onboard fire.
