BRAZILIAN MANUFACTURER Embraer completed its acquisition of the operating assets of Celsius Aerotech, Inc., Nashville, Tenn., from Reliance Aerotech, Inc. (BA, Jan. 14/25). Embraer is retaining the more than 200 Celsius employees and plans to continue providing aircraft maintenance and refurbishment, as well as component repair and overhaul for U.S. operators. The acquisition was made by Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services, Inc, (EAMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Embraer Aircraft Holding, Inc.
ROBERT W. O'BRIEN was named executive director of the Greater Rockford Airport Authority in Illinois. He was most recently the executive director of aviation at Capital Airport in Springfield, Ill. O'Brien retired from the United States Army as a captain and has more than 25 years of airport and aviation experience.
DPI LABS has developed a new portable diagnostic tool, the Fly-Away Kit, which will test, verify, and diagnose cabin management systems. The kit is designed for use for DPI's Smart-Link II or III Cabin Management Operating Systems and can test systems ranging from the data bus and relays to shipside wiring and individual components. Used with a laptop computer, the kit plugs into aircraft systems, eliminating the need to disassemble the aircraft. It also can be used to update plane configuration software or get online troubleshooting help from DPI via the Internet.
AEROGROUP INTERNATIONAL, the Florida-based company founded in 2001 to provide aviation support to the U.S. military, signed a letter of intent to buy Specialized Transport International. Founded in 1992, STI provides maintenance and support services to the U.S. government and a number of commercial airlines, including Delta, Continental, Atlantic Southeast and Comair. STI has annual revenues of about $3 million and an inventory of aircraft and equipment in excess of $3.5 million. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
SOCATA Models MS 892A-150, MS 892E-150, MS 893A, MS 893E, MS 894A, MS 894E, Rallye 150T, and Rallye 150ST airplanes (Docket No. 2001-CE-41-AD; Amendment 39-12672; AD 2002-05-04) - supersedes AD 77-15-06 which currently requires repetitively inspecting the engine mount assembly for cracks, repair of any cracks found, and modification of the brackets on airplanes with right angle engine mounts.
FLIGHT EXPLORER won an agreement to provide its real-time flight tracking software to Executive Jet, Inc. Executive Jet will use the Flight Explorer software at its operations center in Columbus, Ohio as well as 11 remote locations across the country.
WILD TURKEY in the cockpit can distract pilots during high workload periods, as two Atlantic Coast Airlines Bombardier CRJ pilots found out the hard way March 9. With 50 passengers on board, the crew was hurtling down the runway for takeoff from Dulles International Airport when the airplane was struck by two wild turkeys, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. No injuries to those on board were reported and the takeoff was aborted. There was damage to the No.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CF34-3A1 and -3B1 series turbofan engines (Docket No. 99-NE-49-AD; Amendment 39-12670; AD 2002-05-02) - supersedes an existing airworthiness directive that currently requires revisions to the engine maintenance program specified in the manufacturer's instructions for continued airworthiness for GE CF34-3A1 and -3B1 series turbofan engines. Those revisions require enhanced inspection of selected critical life-limited parts at each piece-part exposure.
Gulfstream Aerospace won a 10-year contract from the U.S. Air Force to supply up to 20 Gulfstream business jets, a deal with a potential value of $1.6 billion.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT signed an agreement to purchase Derco Holding Ltd., including its aerospace and repair services units. The transaction is expected to close in April. Sikorsky said the acquisition "represents a major expansion of the company's aftermarket business, wahich is expected to total $1 billion in annual revenue in 2003. The purchase price was not disclosed. Derco Holding, based in Milwaukee, Wis., is a privately owned provider of military aircraft logistics and component distribution, component repairs, and aftermarket program management.
TEXTRON LYCOMING fuel injected reciprocating engines (Docket No. 92-ANE-56-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive, applicable to certain Textron Lycoming fuel-injected reciprocating engines, that currently requires inspection, and replacement if necessary, of externally mounted fuel injector fuel lines. Since the issuance of the existing AD, additional engine series have been identified with the potential for the same problem and necessitating inclusion in the AD's applicability.
Warren Buffett, the financial icon who chairs Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., says the fractional aircraft business didn't turn a profit for the company last year, but he's still high on the concept.
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION is complaining that a number of FAA Flight Service Stations remain closed for walk-in briefings. The association said that despite a General Notice from the agency that FSS locations should be reopened for walk-in customers, 14 of the 61 FSS sites remain closed to pilots since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Facilities in Gainesville and St. Petersburg, Fla.
DELTA AIRELITE BUSINESS JETS added a CitationJet to its charter and aircraft management fleet. The CJ1 is based at Tallahassee, Fla. Regional Airport. The aircraft is configured with a five-passenger interior and can fly up to 1,200 miles.
The post-Sept. 11 downturn in tax revenues from air travel has left the Aviation Trust Fund about $2.6 billion short in funding for FAA's fiscal 2003 $14 billion budget request, and more will have to come out of the General Fund, DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead told the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee Wednesday.
KAISERAIR won FAA approval to install terrain awareness warning systems (TAWS) on Gulfstream G-IIB and G-III aircraft. KaiserAir can perform the installation at its Oakland International Airport facility or sell the hardware along with the supplemental type certification authorization.
BOEING bought a supercomputer from Cray, Inc. to support its research and development. Boeing will use the computer for functions like computational fluid dynamics. The computer can process 36 gigaflops of data, which translates to billions of operations per second, said Cray.
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Chief John Magaw agreed to support reopening Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) to business aviation and to keep the national airspace system open to business aircraft during periods of heightened security, according to Bob Blouin, senior vice president-operations for the National Business Aviation Association. Magaw made the commitment at a recent meeting with NBAA's board of directors.
TELEPHONICS CORPORATION will deliver 14 search and rescue, weather avoidance radar systems to Agusta-Westland of Italy. The contract is valued at more than $700,000. The RDR-1600 systems will be used to support the EH-101 helicopter program in Denmark. Delivery is scheduled for 2003 through 2005.
EXECUTIVE JET's NetJets fractional aircraft program didn't make any money last year, and neither did the other fractional aircraft providers, according to Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the parent company that bought EJI about four years ago (BA, July 27, 1998/35). See article below.
Fairchild Dornier, the German manufacturer with ambitious plans to develop a line of regional and business jets, is facing a financial crisis and earnestly seeking a partner with the financial strength necessary to permit Fairchild Dornier to execute its business plan.
Mesa Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pratt&Whitney Canada under which the engine manufacturer would assume responsibility for supporting the PT6 engines that power Mesa's fleet of Beech 1900 aircraft. The MOU calls for Mesa to sell the assets of its Desert Turbine Services (DTS) subsidiary, as well as spare engines. The tentative agreement with P&WC covers 116 engines, valued in excess of $70 million, that power 58 Beech 1900s.
SHARPLY LOWER aviation user tax collections due to lower than expected airline bookings and fares are raising concerns about a big shortfall in FAA's budget in coming years.
EAST ASIA AIRLINES/HELICOPTERS HONG KONG signed a deposit agreement for an S-92 to be used for regular passenger service between Macau and Hong Kong. The operator currently provides passenger service with four S-76C+ helicopters that make 56 flights a day between the two points.
THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE will sponsor the Aerospace Products Literature Center at the 2002 Farnborough International Air Show in Farnborough, England July 22-28. The department's booth will display sales literature for aerospace products, provide product information to potential customers, and register visitors who show interest in any product for any aerospace company at a cost of $600. For more information, contact Mara Yachnin or Sean McAlister at the Office of Aerospace at (202) 482-3113.
