Officials of Brazilian manufacturer Embraer held a cornerstone-laying ceremony Dec. 21 for a major new manufacturing facility in the Gaviao Peixoto industrial complex. Embraer plans to use the new plant to perform final assembly of its corporate and defense aircraft. The facility also will serve as a major flight test center. One of the first construction initiatives will be to begin work on a 16,400-foot-long runway, that will vary in width between 147 feet and 311 feet, specifications the company said are designed to ensure flight test safety.
JACE STONE was named senior director of sales and new business development for BIZJET International. Stone, who has 16 years of aircraft maintenance industry experience, previously spent five years with Gulfstream Aerospace in California as senior regional sales manager.
AIR TOUR OPERATORS believe the nomination of Gale Norton to be Secretary of the Interior "is a very positive development from our perspective," said Steve Bassett, president of the U.S. Air Tour Association. Norton, a Colorado native and a two-term state attorney general, has Washington experience - as an associate solicitor at the Interior Department and as an assistant to the deputy secretary of agriculture.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE named Mike Lederer and Robert Brant sales directors for the Business Aircraft division's Eastern Region. Lederer will assume sales responsibilities for Challenger and Global Express business jets in the Southeast U.S. He is a 25-year veteran of the aviation industry and a former corporate pilot who has been with Bombardier for 13 years, primarily handling Learjet sales. Brant will be based in White Plains, N.Y. and will be responsible for Continental and Learjet sales in the Northeast U.S.
AIR BP assumed operational control of commercial refueling at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The move is the result of an agreement between Air BP and Sunoco, the former airport refueling operator, under which Air BP will supply jet fuel and manage refueling operations at the airport.
Petitioner: Department of the Air Force Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.169(b) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit the Department of Air Force to list alternate airports in instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plans for military aircraft in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Department of the Air Force. Grant, Nov. 28, 2000, Exemption No. 7389
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.
Petitioner: RGT Air Freight Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 135.143(c)(2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit RGT to operate certain aircraft under Part 135 without a TSO-C112 (Mode S) transponder installed in the aircraft. Grant, Nov. 28, 2000, Exemption No. 7386
RAYTHEON, which had been shopping its Raytheon Aircraft unit headquartered in Wichita, Kan., has now taken RAC off the market, sources say. Raytheon had been seeking as much as $4 billion for RAC, but apparently found no takers at that price (BA, Oct. 16/175). The attempt to sell the Wichita manufacturer wasn't helped by Raytheon Aircraft's inability to achieve certification for its Premier I business jet, now more than two years behind schedule (BA, Nov. 27/243).
RAYTHEON Model MU-300, MU-300-10, 400, 400A, and 400T series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-60-AD; Amendment 39-12038; AD 2000-25-04) - requires a one-time inspection to detect hydraulic fluid leakage from the B-nut area, which attaches a hydraulic tube to the anti-skid valve assembly, and corrective actions, if necessary; and installation of an additional support for the hydraulic tube. This amendment is intended to prevent an asymmetric braking condition and a longer stopping distance due to sudden loss of normal braking to the left wheel.
DONNA REESE was named manager of Gulfstream customer service/sales for BIZJET International. Reese has eight years of aircraft maintenance experience, most recently as a special projects coordinator for Gulfstream Aerospace.
REGENT AVIATION owner William Bieber has reached a preliminary agreement to sell controlling interest in the St. Paul, Minn. fixed-base operation to Glen Nelson, vice chairman of Medtronic, Inc., who has been a customer at Regent. Regent, which will remain under the direction of President John LaFontsee, provides aircraft hangaring, fuel, maintenance and charter/management services at St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP).
Petitioner: Federal Express Corp. Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 45.15(a)(4) Description of Relief Sought: To Federal Express to install replacement or modification parts designated for installation on Douglas DC-10 airplanes on McDonnell Douglas MD-10 airplanes.
Naples Airport Authority will implement its Stage 2 aircraft ban at Naples, Fla. Municipal Airport today, but officials plan to meet with FAA officials Thursday "to respond to any remaining questions" the agency has about the airport authority's action. The authority expressed disappointment that FAA continued to question its compliance with required documentation for a Stage 2 ban, and Executive Director Theodore Soliday said, "We believe we have met both the spirit and the letter of the law."
Petitioner: Bombardier Aerospace, Inc. Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 25.1435(b)(1) Description of Relief Sought: To relieve Bombardier Aerospace from the requirements of 14 CFR 25.1435(b)(1) for static testing of a complete hydraulic system to 1.5 times the design operating pressure for the CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet CRJ-900) airplane.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION promoted Shelly Snyder Simi to vice president of communications and Walter Desrosier to director of maintenance and engineering. Simi joined GAMA in 1989 and has served as director of communications since 1995. Desrosier has served as manager of maintenance and engineering for the association since September 1997 and, before that, was a presidential fellow at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Petitioner: AirNet Express Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 135.85 Description of Relief Sought: To permit AirNet to carry cockpit crewmembers who are employed by other certificated air carriers on its all-cargo Learjet aircraft.
AIR BP was the successful bidder in the Bolivian Government's recent public tender to privatize that country's aviation fuel business. In addition to taking over the refueling facilities at Bolivia's 15 airports - including both the La Paz and Santa Cruz de le Sierra international airports which handle about 50 million gallons per year - AIR BP said it now has the marketing rights in Bolivia for the next 22 years.
AVIATION PARTNERS won patent approval last month for its blended winglet system on the Gulfstream II aircraft, a modification priced at $520,000 that can be installed in 10-14 days. Aviation Partners said the winglets provide GII-SP operators with seven percent more range, faster time-to-climb, higher initial cruise altitudes, improved fuel reserve margins and better handling characteristics.
Cessna Aircraft, which won type certification of its new Citation CJ2 entry-level business jet in June, closed out the year with shipments of the first six to customers. The CJ2, a variant of the original CitationJet, was among four new aircraft that Cessna announced during the 1998 National Business Aviation Association annual meeting and convention.
BALLISTIC RECOVERY SYSTEMS, INC. signed a contract with Millennium Aerospace to pursue certification for and market an aircraft emergency parachute system for the Cessna 172. Millennium Aerospace previously signed a similar agreement for the system on Cessna 150 models. BRS expects a 12- to 18-month certification and development program for the BRS-172 parachute system, saying it hopes to "leverage its work with the similar but smaller Cessna 150 and heavier, faster Cirrus Design SR20 and SR22 models." Millennium Aerospace unit Aerospace Marketing Inc.
BP Amoco plans to take over the Exxon-branded ester-based synthetic jet turbine lubricating oil business Thursday following last month's regulatory clearance of the acquisition. The acquisition covers Exxon's interest in blending and packaging facilities at the Tosco refinery in Linden, N.J., including research equipment, raw material, finished product inventories and intellectual properties. ExxonMobil agreed to sell the business as part of an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission for the two oil giants to merge.
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES reported a net profit of $60.9 million for the first nine months of 2000, a 27 percent increase over the same period a year earlier. Revenues for the first three quarters were up 7.6 percent to $1.56 billion. The company said it signed new contracts valued at $1.92 billion during the first nine months of 2000, a five percent decrease from the $2.02 billion signed during the comparable period a year earlier.
UNISON INDUSTRIES was chosen by Nordam Group's Nacelle/Thrust Reverser Systems Division to supply engine nacelle electrical harnesses for the Dassault 2000EX business jet. Under the agreement, which begins in 2001 and extends through 2003, Unison's Fort Worth, Texas facility will manage design, material procurement, production planning and certification of the harnesses. Actual production of the wiring harnesses will be done in Unison's new Saltillo, Mexico facility.
JOHN HILES was named avionics program manager for BIZJET International in Tulsa, Okla. Hiles, who has 26 years of industry experience, previously was an avionics supervisor at BIZJET.
