PIPER Model PA-18 and PA-19 aircraft [Docket No. FAA-2012-0756; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-012-AD] – withdraws a proposal that would have required either moving all toggle-style magnet switches located on the left cabin panel, adjacent to the front seat, away from this position; or replacing these switches with FAA-approved, non-keyed, rotary-style switches. Since issuance of the NPRM, the FAA has re-evaluated this airworthiness concern and determined that an unsafe condition does not exist that would warrant AD action.
Beechcraft, competing head-on with Nextant Aerospace with its “XPR” factory upgrade of the Beechjet 400, is planning to reissue a customer letter warning that major modifications to Hawker or Beechcraft aircraft that are not factory authorized will not be factory supported. The company originally stated the position in a customer communication in 2011, and Christi Tannahill, senior vice president of Global Customer Support for Beechcraft, says the company wanted to clarify its position because it has received customer inquiries about this support.
Atlantic Aviation, which earlier this month filed a lawsuit to halt plans for a Signature Flight Support fixed-base operation at Mineta San Jose Airport citing environmental and safety concerns, is filing a second suit, this time claiming the city had broken its own rules on fair, competitive bidding. Atlantic asks the Santa Clara County Superior Court to order the city to reissue a request for proposals (RFP).
Piper Aircraft received FAA certification for installation of its G1000 avionics suite in its twin-piston-engine Seneca V model. The certification follows similar approval last month for the installation of the G1000 aboard the Archer piston-engine aircraft. Piper, which is moving to expand its presence in the training market, says the G1000 all-glass avionics package has been requested by several flight schools.
The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to suspend audits the agency has been conducting on aircraft management fees and services while the agency drafts new guidance on taxing management activities. The agreement follows another recent meeting agency officials held with industry leaders, who have been appealing to the IRS to hold off on action against management companies until the management-fee tax issue could be resolved.
The Department of Transportation’s decision to continue funding contract air traffic control towers through fiscal 2013 comes as temporary relief for local communities, but backers of the program are continuing their push to preserve the contract tower program in the future.
General aviation groups this summer have agreed to highlight skills to avoid loss-of-control incidents as part of a multi-pronged effort to stem the recent increase in accidents that has raised the concern of industry, FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board. FAA last week held a meeting with a number of general aviation stakeholders to look at both short-term and long-term initiatives to help turn the accident rate, which has been stubbornly flat over the past five years and up in the past six months.
May 21–23—13th Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2013), Geneva, Switzerland, (703) 783-9000, www.ebace.aero June 6—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, White Plains, N.Y., (703) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org June 17-19—National Air Transportation Association 2013 Air Charter Summit, Marriott Dulles, Dulles, Va., 703-845-9000, www.nata.aero
Beechcraft management, in the throes of divesting the Premier and Hawker 4000 programs, wants to make this crystal clear: The Hawker 400 and 800 programs are not for sale.
JOHN HUNT was appointed regional sales manager and director of business development for Cutter Aviation’s Aircraft Services and Avionics business unit in Phoenix. Hunt will focus on supplemental type certificate business development. He has more than 20 years of business aviation industry experience, including holding a sales role representing three original equipment manager manufacturers and general manager positions at a Part 135 charter and Part 121 flight school.
KEOW KEONG (KK) LOW was named regional sales manager for StandardAero’s helicopter programs in Asia. Low will provide marketing and service support on the Rolls-Royce M250 and the Rolls-Royce RR300 product lines for operators in the Asia-Pacific region. He formerly was with the company’s airline and fleets sector, where he also served as a regional sales manager.
A Gulfstream G650 recently set a new city-pair speed record between Shanghai, China and Newark, N.J. The aircraft flew the 6,855-nm trip in 13 hr. and 32 min. The G650 departed Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 10:38 p.m. local time on April 18 with five passengers and four crewmembers on board and landed at Newark Liberty International Airport at 12:10 a.m. local time. The aircraft cruised at speeds between Mach 0.85 and 0.88.
PILATUS Model PC-7 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0383; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-008-AD] – proposes to require additional life limits, revisions to life limits and additional inspections of the emergency fuel control system. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) from the Federal Office of Civil Aviation for Switzerland, citing a need to incorporate new revisions into the Limitations section of the FAA-approved maintenance program (e.g., maintenance manual).
Hawthorne Global Aviation Services is hosting a fly-in June 1-2 at its facility at New Orleans Lakefront Airport. The event takes place as New Orleans Lakefront has slowly renovated and returned to full operations following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hawthorne acquired the KNEW base – formerly called AeroPremier Jet Center – in July 2012. The facility once housed a National Guard helicopter unit, but sustained critical damage from the Katrina floodwaters, and its fate had become uncertain.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND Model MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0020; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-107-AD] – proposes to require inspecting the rigging of the power-boosted control system and, if there is a nonparallel gap between the rigging wedges and the inner sleeves, performing a rigging procedure. This proposed AD is prompted by the discovery, during rigging of the main rotor controls, of movement of the longitudinal main rotor actuator piston after shutdown of the external pump drive. Such movement could cause incorrect rigging results.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS350B3 [Docket No. FAA-2012-1297; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-100-AD; Amendment 39-17285; AD 2012-25-04] – supersedes an emergency AD with certain part-numbered laminated half-bearings and tail rotor (T/R) blades installed. The existing AD currently requires installing two placards and revising the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM). The AD also requires certain checks and inspecting and replacing, if necessary, all four bearings. Finally, the AD requires a one-time removal and inspection of the bearings, and replacing the bearings if necessary.
SCOTT GUNNUFSON was appointed vice president of sales, marketing and support for Rockwell Collins Commercial Services. He has more than 20 years of experience, holding a number of leadership roles with the company. He most recently was vice president and general manager for Rockwell Collins International and Service Solutions.
DIAMOND DA 40 NG airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0348; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-005-AD; Amendment 39-17439; AD 2013-08-21] – requires repetitive inspections of charged air tubing for the presence of the chafing marks and, depending on findings, replacement of damaged tubing, or installation of improved design tubing. This AD stems from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency that cites reports of chafing between the charge air tubing and the engine firewall that may cause a hole in the charge air tubing.
The Pilatus PC-12 fleet surpassed the 4 million flight-hour milestone. Nearly 1,200 aircraft have entered service since first delivery in October 1994, and the high-time PC-12 has logged more than 24,000 hr. in operation as an air ambulance with Air Bravo in Ontario, Canada.
While Dassault’s business jet deliveries dropped in the first quarter, the French manufacturer expects shipments to improve throughout the year and remain on track to reach the highest total in three years. Dassault expects to deliver 70 Falcons this year, up slightly from the 66 delivered in 2012 and 63 in 2011, company executives say. As Dassault worked to certify its newest Falcon 2000 models, deliveries were down nearly 50% in the first quarter to eight, compared with 15 in the first quarter of 2012.
Beechcraft has received the latest renewal for the U.S. Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) program, a $210 million contract for 35 T-6 trainers. The renewal, which is for the 19th production lot, will carry JPATS production at least through February 2015. The latest order, which comes in the face of sequestration cuts, includes 33 T-6 aircraft for the U.S. Navy and two more for the U.S. Army. Deliveries on Lot 19 will begin this month.
AGUSTAWESTLAND Model A119 and AW119 MKII helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0350; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-050-AD] – proposes to require inspecting the pilot and co-pilot doors to ensure that the windows are properly bonded within the doors. If the windows are not properly bonded, the proposed AD would require applying bonding to the windows, the seals, and the window frames of the pilot and co-pilot doors. This proposed AD is prompted by the loss of a pilot-door window during a test flight.
