FlightSafety International received FAA and/or European Aviation Safety Agency Level D qualifications for five simulators equipped with its new Vital 1100 visual system. FlightSafety expects to receive similar approvals for three more Vital 1100-equipped simulators in the next few months. The most recent approvals include an EASA-approved Sikorsky S-92 simulator in Stavanger, Norway and FAA approved AgustaWestland AW-139 and Sikorsky S-92 simulators in Lafayette, La.; an Embraer 190 simulator in St.
Hangar 8’s aircraft management group recently took delivery of four more long-range aircraft, marking the largest monthly increase for the U.K.-based management and charter company. The latest additions increase Hangar 8’s long-range charter capacity to 30 aircraft. The additions were a Bombardier 604, two Bombardier 605s and an Embraer Legacy. Hangar 8 manages more than 50 aircraft.
Certification of Airbus Helicopters’ new EC175 intermediate twin-engined helicopter is imminent, but the company does not plan to begin deliveries until the second half of 2014.
Business aircraft flight activity in the U.S. and Canada in December declined seasonally from November, but remained up year-over-year by 5.1%, according Argus. Part 135 and Part 91 operations were both up from December 2012, by 13.4% and 1.6%, respectively. But fractional operations were still down overall, reflecting the demise of Avantair. This was in part due to the 53.5% decline in fractional turboprop flying (Avantair flew Avanti twin-pusherprops). But large cabin fractional operations were up 21.9% and small cabin fractional operations increased 19.8%.
GULFSTREAM G150 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2014-0003; Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-103-AD] – proposes to supersede AD 2013-03-23, which currently requires revising the airplane flight manual (AFM) to include procedures to advise the flight crew of certain runway slope and anti-ice corrections and takeoff distance values. Since FAA issued AD 2013-03-23, a revision to the AFM has been issued, which modifies runway slope and anti-ice corrections to both V1 and takeoff distance values.
The Air Charter Safety Foundation added Jet Access Aviation to its membership base. Jet Access is a charter and management company based in West Palm Beach, Fla. It expanded its operations in early 2012 through the acquisition of Arcadia Aviation, the former Wayfarer Aviation/TAG Aviation USA operation. Jet Access joins more than 100 companies that are part of the Air Charter Safety Foundation.
Fixed-base operations are rethinking how they charge for services as they continue to face increased price pressures with little expectation of volume measurably increasing in the near future.
After three consecutive quarterly losses, late 2013 certifications of its new Sovereign+ and M2 helped Cessna Aircraft finish the year with a slight fourth-quarter profit and position the company for a 19% growth in revenues in 2014.
Despite mixed activity in the second and third quarters, the used market finished the year with the strongest quarterly activity for business jets since fourth quarter 2007, and the available inventory dipped below the 20-year average, according to market analyst Amstat. According to Amstat’s latest Market Update Report, 2.9% of the active business jet fleet turned over in the fourth quarter of 2013, up from the 20-year average of 2.8%.
Daher-Socata reported improved deliveries of its TBM 850 single turboprop in 2013, and is hoping the program will continued to expand as Europe considers permitting single turbine-engine commercial operations in instrument meteorological conditions. The French manufacturer delivered 40 TBM 850s in 2013, up 5% from 2012 deliveries. Daher-Socata says 2013 became the fourth best year for the TBM family since its introduction in 1990.
Duncan Aviation completed the first two Dassault Falcon 900B flightdeck upgrades under a partnership with Universal Avionics. The upgrade program includes technologies that would enable use of the latest NextGen capabilities, including Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) and Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV), Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A+ and Link 2000+.
MARIN TODOROV was promoted to manager, specialty and enrichment training programs for FlightSafety International. Todorov has served with FlightSafety since 2006, initially working on development of the company’s web-based training programs and providing eLearning technical assistance. He was promoted to manager of eLearning Systems in 2008.
Henry Ogrodzinski, the president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) and a longtime industry advocate, died at his home in Washington, D.C. Jan. 22 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 65.
Gulfstream Aerospace signed a lease with the Brunswick and Glynn County Development Authority to expand its service center at Brunswick Golden Isles Airport in Brunswick, Ga. The company is planning to build a $25 million, 110,000-sq.-ft. maintenance repair and overhaul facility near its two existing hangars. Groundbreaking is expected to begin later this year, with the new facility opening in May 2015. Gulfstream expects that the new facility will result in the creation of 100 more jobs, a 50% increase over the existing base.
OLIVIER ZUBER was named international sales manager for Africa for Dassault Aviation. Zuber formerly was Dassault Aviation’s Falcon marketing and business development manager for India. He joined the company in 2005 at the flight test center and then took a role in Customer Service before joining the New Delhi liaison office in 2011. In his new role, he will be based at the company’s Saint-Cloud, France headquarters.
Quest Aircraft Company recently handed over three of its Kodiak single turboprops to TAME AP Airlines. The aircraft will be used for passenger transport and eco-tourism in conjunction with the Ecuadorian Amazon Connectivity Project. The first aircraft is in Ecuador and the second two will arrive this month. The Kodiak has been certified in 14 countries, and Quest expects additional certifications this year.
FAA hopes to release a proposal later this year that would make permanent a requirement that helicopter operators use the New York North Shore Helicopter Route when flying near Long Island. FAA in July 2012 mandated operators to use the route, which previously had been voluntary. The controversial rulemaking drew protests from helicopter operators, who said it was completed under political pressure in an effort to appease local noise concerns.
Luxaviation, the European business aviation charter and management group, is continuing on its path of rapid growth through the acquisition of French charter and management company Unijet. The acquisition, completed through Luxaviation’s Belgian subsidiary Abelag, helps secure Luxaviation group’s position as one of the largest in Europe with a combined staff of 350 employees and 60 business aircraft.
Jan. 21-22, 2014—MRO Latin America, Windsor Atlantica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, www.aviationweek.com/events Jan. 30, 2014—National Business Aviation Association Regional Forum, Signature Flight Support, Boca Raton Airport, Boca Raton, Fla., www.nbaa.org Feb. 4-6, 2014—MRO Middle East, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, www.aviationweek.com/events Feb. 5-7, 2014—National Business Aviation Association Business Aircraft, Finance, Registration and Legal Conference, St. Pete Beach, Fla. www.nbaa.org
Jet Aviation Basel was awarded a contract to complete the interior of an Airbus Corporate Jet ACJ-A320 for an undisclosed head of state. The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to Jet Aviation’s completions center in Basel, Switzerland in the third quarter 2014. The A320 will be fitted with a bedroom, bathroom, lounge and office areas, along with a large executive staff area. Jet Aviation, which has completed an aircraft for the client in the past, is currently consulting with the customer to complete the design detail.
FAA is asking a U.S. district court to dismiss a lawsuit by the city of Santa Monica, Calif., seeking control over Santa Monica Airport, saying the case is invalid because it exceeds a statute of limitations. The agency further argues that the city is bound by a post-World War II agreement (a 1948 Instrument of Transfer) that requires the continued operation of SMO as an airport, and that the city agreed with that assessment long ago in its own legal findings.
Bombardier and its landing gear provider used a cleaner type of hydraulic fluid than required during the certification testing of key components of the Challenger 300 nose wheel steering system, potentially masking failure modes. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) revealed the finding in its final report on the runway excursion upon landing of a privately owned Challenger 300 at the Iqaluit Airport in Northeastern Canada on March 12, 2011.
FABIO REBELLO was named regional senior vice president, international sales, Florida and Latin America, for Gulfstream Aerospace. Rebello will be responsible for new and existing customers in Florida and Latin America, including the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and South America. He joins Gulfstream from Bombardier, where he had served as regional vice president of sales for Latin America since 2002. He had also served as regional sales director for South America for Raytheon Aircraft, and began his career in aviation as an engineer at Embraer.
A U.S. effort to provide public-private financing for NextGen equipage is making significant progress, with access to a fund specifically for general aviation users to be provided in the spring.
