The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is reiterating its appeal for the Federal Communications Commission to halt its effort to ban 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recommended moving forward with the proposed order.
NEIL TURNBULL was appointed chief operating officer of Vertis Aviation, the Swiss-based charter broker and services company. Turnbull, who will be based at the company’s Kensington, London office, will be responsible for expanding the Vertis brand and support growth of the fleet and systems. He has more than 27 years of international business aviation experience, most recently as general manager of SaxonAir Charter.
VARIOUS RESTRICTED CATEGORY HELICOPTERS originally manufactured Bell Model Numbers HH-1K, TH-1F, TH-1L, UH-1A, UH-1B, UH-1E, UH-1F, UH-1H, UH-1L, and UH-1P. [Docket No. FAA-2013-0736; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-013-AD; Amendment 39-17747; AD 2014-03-10] – requires inspecting the tail rotor (T/R) cable assembly for an incorrectly machined body. This AD is prompted by a report from Bell that a defective body on the cable prevents the barrel assembly from fully engaging in the body cavity.
Eclipse Aerospace, which in October completed the first ceremonial delivery of its Eclipse 550 very light jet, inched closer to receiving all the necessary FAA clearances to begin formal deliveries with approvals on three key components and systems. FAA issued supplemental type certification for the auto throttle, standby display unit and anti-skid brake system.
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS Model AS332C, AS332L, AS332L1, AS332L2, and SA330J helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0737; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-111-AD; Amendment 39-17739; AD 2014-03-02] – requires inspecting the crimping of the ball joint of the upper- and lower-end fittings of the main servo-control and, depending on findings, replacing the main servo-control or repairing the ball joint. This AD was prompted by incidents of missing crimping on the ball joints of servo-control end-fittings.
While the National Transportation Safety Board is not expected to release its 2013 general aviation safety statistics until March, the early numbers are believed to show the first real improvement in years. The numbers are still being vetted and can still change, but an improvement would be significant given that the accident rate had ticked up in the early part of the year.
TURBOMECA Arriel 2B, 2B1, and 2B1A turboshaft engines [Docket No. FAA-2006-23809; Directorate Identifier 2005-NE-52-AD] – proposes to supersede AD 2007-10-07, which currently requires an inspection of the splines of the coupling assembly and the hydro-mechanical metering unit (HMU) drive gear shaft for wear. This proposed AD would require the same inspection and expand the affected population. This proposed AD would also remove Arriel 2B1A engines from the applicability.
A $300 million deal involving the sale of eight Gulfstream aircraft to China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. helped push the Export-Import Bank’s financial backing of the business aircraft and helicopter market to more than $1 billion.
Bell Helicopter sold two Bell 412EPI and two Bell 407GX aircraft to Chongqing General Aviation Co., Ltd. The helicopters will be used by the Chongqing Firefighting Department for firefighting and search and rescue missions.
The strength of the large business jet market has returned industry billings to near the record-high level of 2008, but unit shipments are still almost half of what they were before the economic downturn, according to the latest General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) report.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association added three new members, bringing its membership to 87 companies. The latest to join the association are Blackhawk Modifications, FreeFlight Systems and GE Honda Aero Engines. Waco, Texas-based Blackhawk, founded in 1999, provides engine upgrade kits for a range of turboprop aircraft, including Beechcraft King Airs, Piper Cheyennes, and Cessna Conquests and Caravans.
Aircell has surpassed the 2,000th installation of its Gogo Biz system in business aircraft. Aircell reached the milestone less than five years after it introduced the broadband service in June 2009. Aircell dealer Jet Aviation performed the first Gogo Biz installation on a Midwest corporate aircraft operator. Aircell expects further expansion as it begins to roll out the service in Canada beginning this year. “The business aviation market’s passion for the service continues to exceed our expectations,” says Aircell Executive Vice President and General Manager John Wade.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association board members last week continued their push to expand use of the FAA’s Organization Delegation Authority system. The manufacturing executives met with senior FAA officials, including Peggy Gilligan, associate administrator for aviation safety, to urge her to ensure more streamlined procedures are accepted and implemented throughout the agency.
The recently funded and newly renamed Mooney International Corp. is in final preparations for the resumption of its aircraft production lines this week, ending a five-year hiatus. The planned Feb. 26 restart follows a cash infusion that Mooney received in October from California-based engineering firm Soaring America Corp. That deal, backed by Chinese investors, concluded on Oct. 7 following months of negotiations.
PETER CUTLER was named vice president of customer support for Airbus Helicopters. Cutler, who will also continue as vice president of government programs, will be responsible for customer support in the U.S. for both the government and commercial business segments. He has more than 30 years of helicopter industry experience, primarily in the military aviation segment.
Business jet deliveries, which will be formally detailed this week by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, were tracking down by low single digits (1-2%) in 2013 from 2012 levels, according to preliminary Aviation Week data. This does not come as a surprise; industry leaders expected a soft year given the fact that several aircraft programs were pushed back in 2013. But with recent certifications and additional certifications anticipated this year, most of the business jet manufacturers are forecasting improved deliveries in 2014.
TRACY BIEGLER was promoted to president and CEO of Enstrom Helicopter Corp., succeeding Jerry Mullins, who retired. Biegler has 26 years of aviation industry experience, 10 of which have been at Enstrom. He most recently was vice president of the company.
Bell Helicopter – which has a regional service center in Singapore that also does maintenance and reassembly of helicopters – is looking to expand its technical capability there by doing more complex customization work. C. M. Hwang, Bell Helicopter managing director of commercial sales for Asia Pacific, says the facility in Singapore already has the capability to do some customization, but he describes this as minor work, in which the team in Singapore works from kits sent from the factory in the U.S.
JAMES WALKER has joined Rockwell Collins as vice president and managing director of Asia Pacific. Walker brings more than 25 years of aerospace and defense industry experience to Rockwell Collins, including 15 years with the Royal Australian Air Force, where he was commanding officer joint communications and deputy director, space intelligence and communications. He also spent 10 years with Boeing Company in Australia and most recently was CEO of AutoCRC Ltd.
Cessna was awarded a contract to deliver three Citation CJ4 business jets to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) through its special mission affiliate Kanematsu Corporation of Japan. The deliveries will mark the first of the model to Japan. The aircraft will be equipped with flight inspection systems for use to confirm the accuracy of air navigation capabilities, air routes, and air traffic control facilities.
Flying Colours was approved as a China Civil Aviation Regulations 145 Maintenance Organization under China Civil Aviation regulations, clearing it to work on Chinese-registered aircraft in Canada. Flying Colours has completed 15 Bombardier Challenger 850s for Chinese customers since August 2008, and has been contracted to outfit and finish seven Bombardier CRJ700s with VIP+ airline interiors for another customer there.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-802 and AT-802A airplanes. AD 2010-17-18 R1 [Docket No. FAA-2014-0077; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-021-AD] – proposes to supersede AD 2010-17-18 R1, which currently requires repetitively inspecting (using the eddy current method) the two outboard fastener holes in both of the wing main spar lower caps at the center splice joint for cracks; repairing or replacing any cracked spar; changing the safe life for certain serial number ranges; and sending the inspection results, only if cracks are found, to the FAA.
The Cessna Citation fleet surpassed the 30 million flight-hour mark, a milestone that 6,600 Citations have collectively reached some 42 years after the first Citation entered service. Cessna notes that more Citations have been sold than any other business jet family. The original Citation aircraft flew for the first time in 1969 and entered service in 1972. The most recent Citations to join the fleet were the M2 and new Sovereign+, both of which reached the market in December. Next to come will be the new Citation X.
Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) are continuing their push for answers to why law enforcement, at the direction of Customs and Border Protection, has been detaining and searching general aviation aircraft flying within the U.S. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which had received more than 40 reports of such stops, turned to Congress for help on the issue after it received no response from government officials on why they were occurring.
