DASSAULT Model Falcon 7X airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0669; Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-117-AD; Amendment 39-17540; AD 2013-16-02] – requires incorporation of a new procedure into the airplane flight manual (AFM). This AD was prompted by a report of a runway excursion caused by failure of the nose landing gear position feed-back assembly. FAA is issuing this AD to detect and correct an incorrect angle signal causing an uncommanded nose wheel deflection, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane.
CRISTINA BYMAN has joined West Star Aviation as technical sales manager-avionics at the company’s East Alton, Ill. facility. Byman will be responsible for technical support for all avionics products and services that West Star offers. She has 11 years of corporate aviation experience, most recently overseeing the MRO sales of avionics and cabin modifications for Challenger and Global aircraft.
HARTZELL propeller models HC-(1,D)2(X,V,MV)20-7, HC-(1,D)2(X,V,MV)20-8, and HC-(1,D)3(X,V,MV)20-8 [Docket No. FAA-2013-0130; Directorate Identifier 2013-NE-07-AD; Amendment 39-17520; AD 2013-15-04] – requires replacement of the propeller hydraulic bladder diaphragm. This AD was prompted by failures of the propeller hydraulic bladder diaphragm and resulting engine oil leak. FAA is issuing this AD to prevent propeller hydraulic bladder diaphragm rupture, loss of engine oil, damage to the engine and loss of the airplane.
While the light end of the business jet market has languished over the past five years, the used market is showing encouraging signs of a potential turnaround for smaller aircraft, a Texas based broker finds. Rene Banglesdorf, CEO of Georgetown, Texas-based aircraft broker Charlie Bravo Aviation, is experiencing a notable pickup in inquiries for light and medium-sized jets. Importantly, she says, these inquiries are coming from small and medium-sized companies looking for Cessna CJs and Bombardier Learjets, along with other light and medium-sized aircraft.
BELL HELICOPTER Model 204B, 205A, 205A-1, 205B, 210, 212, 412, 412CF, and 412EP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0639; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-020-AD; Amendment 39-17518; AD 2013-15-02] – supersedes AD 2008-10-03, required certain checks and inspections of each tail rotor blade assembly (T/R blade) at specified intervals and repairing or replacing, as applicable, any cracked or damaged T/R blade. Since FAA issued AD 2008-10-03, an accident attributed to a T/R failure occurred.
WILLIAM GIBSON was appointed director, product support global distribution for Gulfstream Aerospace. Gibson manages the movement and warehousing of spare parts throughout the Gulfstream Product Support global distribution network. He previously spent 10 years with Honeywell, most recently as senior manager, customer operations for its Space and Defense segment.
Van Nuys Airport in California late last month celebrated the completion of a major $20.5 million rehabilitation of its 8,000-ft. primary runway, 16R. The project was the largest maintenance undertaking conducted by the airport in more than 50 years, airport officials say. More than 300 business, community and aviation industry representatives joined in the Aug. 29 ribbon-cutting event. The rehabilitation included a phased asphalt overlay along with partial reconstruction over the north, south and center sections.
WILLIAM BROWN was named director of global security for Gulfstream Aerospace. Brown will manage activities to protect Gulfstream employees, assets and property. He joined the company in 2008 as manager of security services and later was promoted to senior manager of company security services. He has 20 years of experience in security and security management.
While comments aren’t due until Oct. 11, eight aviation organizations are appealing to FAA to either extend the comment period or withdraw a proposal seeking inspections and replacement of Engine Components Inc. (ECi) and Airmotive Engineering “Titan” cylinders found on 6,000 Continental 520 and 550 model reciprocating engines. The proposed airworthiness directive (AD), released Aug. 12, is estimated to cost operators upward of $82.6 million.
Investigators probing the crash of a Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma in the Shetland Islands in August say they have not yet found any evidence of technical failure onboard the helicopter.
Russian Helicopters has achieved civil certification of its Kazan Ansat twin-engine medium helicopter. Kazan initially designed the Ansat with fly-by-wire controls, but the company struggled to have the aircraft certified for civil use, so instead it developed a new version with hydro-mechanical controls. The new version was awarded type certification from the Aviation Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee (AR IAC) at the MAKS air show near Moscow on Aug. 28.
The $1 avgas experiment: More than a dozen general aviation companies and organizations are sponsoring an experiment to see how price-sensitive operators are. Redbird Skyport in San Marco, Texas, will sell avgas for $1 a gallon during October. Redbird maintains the promotion is an effort to gather data on how much it will spur activity. Jeff Van West, director of Redbird Media, acknowledges that $1 offer will increase flying “if by novelty alone.” But the question remains how much will it increase flight and for how long, he says.
Indian business aircraft operators are facing a headwind after the country’s aviation regulator banned them from international flights until they demonstrate compliance with new safety standards.
An offshore safety committee that called for the grounding of all variants of the Super Puma helicopter following the loss of a CHC-operated aircraft in the Shetland Islands has lifted the suspension. The Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) came to the decision following a two-day meeting of helicopter operators, trade unions and regulators in Aberdeen, Scotland, on Aug. 29.
Garmin is jumping into the competitive market for retrofitting Beechjets with a new flight deck modernization program. Garmin is developing a supplemental type certificate to install the G5000 avionics suite in Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP aircraft. The company hopes to have the STC complete by 2015 and offer the upgrade through its dealer network.
DAVID BJELLOS was appointed special liaison to the president and CEO for Flight Safety Foundation. Bjellos is aviation manager for the flight department at Florida Crystals Corporation. He takes the newly created position to serve as a direct liaison to the safety team at the Helicopter Association International.
BELL Model 407 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0574; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-22-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires preflight checking and repetitively inspecting for a crack in certain tailbooms that have been redesigned, replacing the tailboom if there is a crack, modifying and reidentifying certain tailbooms, installing an improved horizontal stabilizer assembly, and assigning a 5,000-hr. time-in-service (TIS) limit. Since FAA issued that AD, the agency received several additional reports of cracked tailboom skins.
NASA, in an effort to demonstrate that unmanned aircraft can be integrated into civil airspace, is planning a competition next year that will challenge contestants to complete a series of missions while ensuring their UAVs remain well clear of other aircraft and obey the same rules as other air traffic. The agency has released for comment draft rules for the UAS Airspace Operations Challenge (AOC), which comprises two competitions.
BELL Model 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, and 206L- 4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0603; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-079-AD] – proposes, for helicopters with a certain tailboom upper left attachment fitting, inspecting the fitting for a crack and other conditions. This proposed AD is prompted by the manufacturer revising and extending the 100-hr. time-in-service (TIS) inspection requirements for the fitting.
LEARJET Model 45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0213; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-207-AD; Amendment 39-17512; AD 2013-14-07] – requires modifying the fire seal on the baggage door, including doing inspections of the fire seal for correct contact and corrective action if necessary. This AD was prompted by a report that the fire barrier seal on the external baggage door does not seal the surrounding door structure due to incorrect positioning of the barrier.
Cessna is still assessing whether a problem that surfaced during a test flight of its diesel Turbo Skylane JT-A will push back the timeline of the aircraft’s certification. The aircraft, N9008H, was forced to make an emergency landing on Aug. 21 in a field in Kingman County, west of Cheney Lake, Kan., apparently after losing power. The pilot successfully landed the aircraft, which did not sustain any notable damage.
The FAA’s updated policy on cabin workplace safety—opposed by most commercial operators—is even broader than many lined up against it feared, information released by the agency shows. The policy, which replaces a 1975 notice and is effective Sept. 26, requires operators to apply Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards in three areas—hazardous chemical communications, exposure to blood-borne pathogens, and a hearing conservation program—to aircraft cabins.
AGUSTA Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0604; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-110-AD] – proposes to require inspecting the nose landing gear (NLG) pin installations for incorrect assembly. This proposed AD is prompted by reports of incorrectly installed pins discovered on in-service aircraft. The proposed actions are intended to detect incorrectly installed pins, which could result in collapse of the NLG during taxi or landing. FAA estimates that the proposed AD would affect 102 helicopters on the U.S.
Jet Aviation Specialists invested in a vacuum furnace that allows it to keep more repair work in-house, which is dropping turnaround times on parts by four-five days. The Miami-based engine MRO is using the vacuum furnace to complete a heat treatment process for GE LM2500 and LM600s, as well as honeycomb repairs for CFM56 and GE CF6 engines. This is the first time the MRO has been able to repair honeycomb in-house.
