MD HELICOPTERS Model MD900 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0486; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-031-AD; Amendment 39-17622; AD 2013-20-16] – requires, for affected helicopters with certain main rotor blade (MRB) retention bolts installed, a daily check of the position of each bolt, a daily check and a repetitive inspection for a gap in each bolt, and, if necessary, removing and inspecting the bolt for a crack and replacing any cracked bolt with an airworthy bolt. This AD was prompted by multiple reports of in-service bolt failures.
GE Aviation has joined the UK National Composites Centre (NCC) as a Tier 1 member, positioning GE’s Aerostructures and Dowty Propeller units to take an instrumental role in researching and developing new technologies for the design and manufacture of composite products. Based in Bristol, the NCC is the U.K. center of excellence for composite materials and manufacturing development, working with industry and academia.
Berkshire Hathaway is crediting increased share sales by its fractional ownership business NetJets for helping improve overall company revenue. NetJets is part of Berkshire Hathaway’s “other services” group, which also includes FlightSafety International, Dairy Queen, Business Wire, TTI and a range of other media outlets.
Signature Flight Support, already the largest and fastest-growing fixed-base operation chain worldwide, is set to further its penetration in the Caribbean, winning a request for proposals for a new FBO at Port of Spain, Trinidad. The RFP, for a facility at Piarco International Airport, is the second RFP that Signature has won this year; Signature earlier captured a bid to build a $70 million facility at San Jose International Airport.
FAA, which has increasingly worked toward a risk-management based approach to safety over the past decade, is moving to incorporate it with private pilots with the overhaul of knowledge testing standards. The agency in the coming weeks is expected to publish and seek comment on a comprehensive report released this month that provides detailed recommendations and draft documents to establish knowledge testing standards for private, commercial and instructor certificates.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, and CL-604 variants) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0332; Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-009-AD; Amendment 39-17637; AD 2013-22-05] – requires, for certain airplanes, inspecting for drain bottles having certain part numbers, and replacing affected drain bottles. This AD requires, for certain other airplanes, replacing drain bottles. This AD was prompted by reports of airspeed mismatch between the pilot and co-pilot’s airspeed indicators, which occurred during or after heavy rain.
The Turkish National Police have begun operations with the first seven of 15 Bell 429 helicopters ordered in early 2012. The force signed the contract following a competitive tender in March 2012, making it the largest single operator of the new Bell light twin helicopter so far. The Model 429s will replace a fleet of single-engine MD 600 helicopters, which have been operated by the organization since the early 1990s. The first seven helicopters were accepted in September and October, and operations began “as soon as they were delivered,” Bell says.
Piaggio investors Tata Group and Mubadala Development Company have increased their shares in the Italian airframer, a move that will hike the equity in the company by €190 million ($256 million) and narrow the Ferrari stake to just 2%. The investment provides capital to further development of the P.1HH HammerHead and the MPA Multirole Patrol Aircraft.
Los Angeles-based TWC Aviation and Oxford, Conn.-based Key Air each added aircraft to their respective charter and management fleets. TWC added a fourth Bombardier Global Express. The 6,000-nm Global Express becomes one of 20 large cabin jets available for charter from TWC Aviation. Meanwhile, a Dassault Falcon 900C joined the Key Air fleet. The Falcon is based in Virginia, helping to expand Key Air’s newest market, Washington, D.C., and the Mid-Atlantic region.
Astronics Corporation’s Max-Viz Enhanced Vision System was selected as standard equipment aboard the Simplex Aerospace SkyCannon and Fire Attack systems. The SkyCannon is a helicopter-mounted system for firefighters. The Max-Viz system will enable operators of Simplex firefighting equipment to see through smoke while fighting high-rise fires. The Fire Attack system supports data acquisition of door operation, hover pump activation and foam pump activation, all correlated with aircraft GPS position.
Aviation Search Group, an executive recruiting firm for the aerospace and aviation industries, formed a new recruiting department dedicated to business aviation clientele. Grayson Barrows, director sales, says that hiring demand in the business aviation segment has grown significantly recently. Aviation Search Group works with manufacturers, airlines, service providers, business and general aviation businesses and airports.
JULIO RAMIREZ was appointed general manager of AeroMaritime America’s Mesa, Ariz., facility, which specializes in Rolls-Royce M250 series engines. Ramirez has served with AeroMaritime parent ITP Group for more than 15 years, including three years as general manager of AeroMaritime’s facility in Queretaro, Mexico.
The House on Nov. 14 gave final clearance to a bill designed to boost the general aviation industry. House approval, by unanimous consent, followed Senate approval of the Small Airplane Revitalization Act, H.R.1848, last month. The bill, which calls on FAA to adopt new Part 23 certification standards by the end of 2015, next heads for President Barack Obama’s signature.
The San Diego Air & Space Museum is inducting the National Business Aviation Association into its International Air & Space Hall of Fame. The ceremony, planned for Nov. 16, is in recognition of NBAA’s 65 years of industry advocacy. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen will accept the honor on behalf of the association during the induction ceremony. The ceremony also marks the International Air & Space Hall of Fame’s 50th anniversary.
Business aviation operations are continuing to increase slowly worldwide, improvements that come as flights involving the oil and gas and consumer goods industries picked up notably in the third quarter, according to hourly-cost maintenance specialist Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI). That improvement appears to be continuing early into the fourth quarter as business aviation flights in just the U.S. and Canada in October reached their highest levels since 2008, reports business aviation industry safety expert and analyst Argus.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400, -401, and -402 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0594; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-019-AD; Amendment 39-17641; AD 2013-22-09] – requires an inspection to determine if certain rudder feel trim units (RFTUs) are installed, an operational check for signs of seizure of affected parts, repetitive lubrication of certain RFTUs, and replacement of the RFTU if necessary. Installing replacement RFTUs having conformal bushings terminates the repetitive lubrication requirements.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators last week were on scene of the crash of a Mitsubishi MU-2B-25 near Owasso, Okla., that claimed the life of Sen. James Inhofe ’s 52-year-old son, Perry Inhofe.
While the current FAA authorization continues through the end of fiscal 2015, lawmakers and aviation groups are beginning to lay the groundwork for a new FAA reauthorization bill now with the hopes of averting another scenario in which the agency’s spending authority runs on years of short-term extensions, says Tom Hendricks, president and CEO of the National Air Transportation Association.
Constant Aviation has moved its interior operations to a new 30,000-sq.-ft. facility, after quickly outgrowing the existing facility at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The company in 2011 expanded its facilities to accommodate the interior work, but within two years, “our interior business has grown to the point where we needed to relocate the facility to a larger location with a better layout to increase productivity,” says Dave Bowman, vice president of operations at Cleveland.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association elected its next slate of officers for 2014, with Boeing Business Jets President Steve Taylor taking the lead as chairman. Taylor has served as vice chairman and chairman of the association’s Flight Operations Policy Committee. Hartzell Propeller President Joe Brown will fill the role of vice chairman and continue serving as chairman of the Policy & Legal Issues Committee.
The business aviation market is continuing to evolve, but a long-awaited recovery is coming slower than anticipated, according to market experts who spoke at the SpeedNews 18th Annual Regional & Business Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference this month in Phoenix.
BELL Model 407 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0490; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-004-AD; Amendment 39-17611; AD 2013-20-05] – requires installing a placard beneath the NR/NP dual tachometer and revising the limitations section of the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM). This AD was prompted by several incidents of third stage engine turbine wheel failures, which were caused by excessive vibrations at certain engine speeds during steady-state operations.
