DAVID WELCH was promoted to manager of FlightSafety International’s facility in Lafayette, La. Welch has served with FlightSafety since 1995 as a senior analyst and program manager. He moved to the West Palm Beach, Fla., center in 2005 to serve as an instructional technologist and Sikorsky S-70 instructor and was promoted to his most recent position as director training at the Lafayette center in 2008.
FAA is soliciting input in an effort to update and streamline airman training and certification standards. The effort is one of a number of initiatives under way to help find ways to reduce the fatal general aviation accident rate. The agency in 2011 charged an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to evaluate possible changes that could be made to testing and training materials to help improve the accident rate.
DIAMOND Models DA 42, DA 42 M-NG, and DA 42NG airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1148; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-039-AD; Amendment 39-17405; AD 2013-07-01] – requires modification of certain affect main landing gear (MLG) shock absorbers and prohibits installation of unmodified shock absorbers. This AD stems from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the European Aviation Safety Authority, which cites reports of incident in which a DA 42 experienced MLG extension problems during approach that stemmed from overextension of the MLG shock absorber.
The U.S. House of Representatives April 26 moved to avert the FAA’s air traffic controller furloughs and closure of 149 contract towers with the passage of a bill to permit the agency to shift funds within its budget. Passage followed similar action in the U.S. Senate late April 25. The White House has indicated that President Barack Obama will sign it.
GIL SCHNABEL was appointed regional director, regulatory affairs for FlightSafety International. Schnabel will monitor and direct compliance efforts and participate in the design, development and updating of regulatory compliance standards for FlightSafety’s training programs, courseware, standards policies, and ISO 9000 guidelines, as well as the implementation and maintenance of the company’s quality management and safety management systems and processes.
Bombardier and Gulfstream are among the few manufacturers that have succeeded in overcoming mainland Chinese customers’ strong disinclination to buy secondhand business aircraft. But that success is rare and involves like-new aircraft. A few users — not many — have been willing to buy a used Bombardier aircraft from the manufacturer itself with a manufacturer’s warranty, says Bob Horner, senior vice president for sales. Gulfstream, too, has sold two used aircraft to Chinese buyers, says Roger Sperry, senior vice president for international sales.
The Transportation Security Administration is continuing to look at means to improve access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) while still providing the same level of security, Kerwin Wilson, manager of TSA’s General Aviation Branch, said during last week’s National Air Transportation Association’s 2013 Aviation Business and Legislation Conference.
Flight Options is expanding its Jet Membership Club program to include access to the Nextant 400XT business jet as the fractional ownership provider finds that the year-old program is drawing back customers who have remained on the sidelines since the economic downturn. Flight Options a year ago unveiled the Jet Membership Club as a hybrid between fractional, in which the customer owns a portion of the plane, and jet cards, in which a customer buys a block of hours.
Executive AirShare is continuing its rapid expansion coming off its third consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2012. The regional fractional ownership program called 2012 its most successful year yet, increasing its shareowners to more than 140 and adding 36 more members in equity charter, lease and management programs, including Launch, Launch Premium and EMBark 32. The company has gone from 75 shareowners in 2009 to more than 130 by last fall. The company introduced the Launch and Launch Premium programs late last year.
April 29-30—Aircraft Electronics Association Regional Meeting, Munich, Germany, www.aea.net/events.asp April 30–May 2—National Business Aviation Association 2013 Maintenance Management Conference, Ft. Worth, Texas, (703) 783-9000,www.nbaa.org May 3—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Taxes Seminar, Washington, D.C., (703) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org May 21–23—13th Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2013), Geneva, Switzerland, (703) 783-9000, www.ebace.aero
EUROCOPTER FRANCE EC130B4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0630; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-010-AD; Amendment 39-17409; AD 2013-07-05] – requires visually checking the center windscreen panel for a crack and replacing the center windscreen if there is a crack, if the windscreen distorts during flight, or within 12 months. This AD was prompted by inflight cracking and failure of a center windscreen.
Deer Jet has begun offering China’s first fractional ownership service, partly responding to requests from business aircraft users who have found they were getting little use out of their aircraft. In its first stage, the company is offering shared ownership of Gulfstream G450s, G550s and Dassault 7Xs, beginning with one of each type, says Wu Wending, deputy general manager of Deer Jet’s aircraft asset management department. For the second stage, the offerings will be Bombardier Global 6000s and 5000s, Challenger 605s and Gulfstream G280s.
AMPARO CALATAYUD was named manager of FlightSafety International’s training center in West Palm Beach, Fla. Calatayud joined FlightSafety in 1997 as an instructor at the San Antonio facility, and was promoted to assistant manager in 1998 and then manager in 1999. Most recently she has been manager of the FlightSafety facility in Lafayette, La.
ROBERT OLIVER was named COO of Tempus Jets. Oliver recently joined the aviation services firm after serving as president of TWC Aviation. Oliver will focus on development business in the Asia Pacific Region. He will be based in Los Angeles.
BRP-POWERTRAIN Rotax 912 F2; 912 F3; 912 F4; 912 S2; 912 S3; 912 S4; 914 F2; 914 F3; and 914 F4 reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2013-0263; Directorate Identifier 2013-NE-12-AD; Amendment 39-17416; AD 2013-07-12] – requires a one-time visual inspection for excessive oil deposits or carbon deposits on the No. 2 and No. 3 spark plug center and grounding electrodes, and if found, replacement of the cylinder head before further flight. This AD was prompted by a report of certain No. 2 and No. 3 cylinder heads not manufactured to proper specification.
SKIP MADSEN joined Landmark Aviation as vice president of MRO. Madsen has 30 years of experience, most recently as vice president of MRO operations for Jet Aviation.
Bell Helicopter has begun offering the Max-Viz-15000 enhanced vision system as an option on new Bell 429s, as well as a retrofit installation on the helicopter. Bell and Astronics collaborated on the integration of the system, which they say will maximize visibility in poor weather and operating conditions. The EVS is installed at the factory on new helicopters and offered as a retrofit at Bell’s service facility in Piney Flats, Tenn.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-102, -103, and -106 airplanes. [Docket No. FAA-2013-0297; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-205-AD] – proposes to require repetitive inspections for cracking of the lower longerons in the nacelles and replacement with new longerons or repair if necessary. Additionally, this proposed AD specifies an optional terminating action. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of cracking in a lower longeron in a nacelle.
Piaggio Aero is already planning to open an authorized service center (ASC) in China, even though it has just two Piaggio Avanti II turboprop aircraft in the country. The ASC will be set up as a joint venture with Chinese distributor CAEA (Beijing) Aviation Investment Co. Ltd., at the Zhuhai operating base of CAE’s Free Sky Aviation, which makes the aircraft available to private members. Li Xuefeng, president of CAEA, says the ASC will begin to provide services to customers as early as this year.
Pilatus named Tronrud Aviation as an authorized PC-12 sales and service center in the Nordic region of Europe, covering Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. A subsidiary of Tronrud Engineering AS, Tronud Aviation specializes in manufacturing parts and machines and employs more than 170 people in Norway and Singapore.
GARY NORTHAM , who is dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott campus, was selected as the new president of the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI), effective fall 2013. Northam has spent 16 years as a member of the AABI visiting team and has served as team chair, developing and teaching team training workshops and chairing a committee on the development of graduate criteria. He joined Embry-Riddle in 2005 as professor and chair of the Safety Science Department and became dean of the College of Aviation in 2010.
Daher-Socata has named Bartolini Air Maintenance in Lodz, Poland as a TBM service center, authorized to provide TBM 700 and TBM 850 maintenance, warranty support and parts and technical support. The move expands the company’s support efforts in Eastern and Central Europe. Founded in 2012 as a sister company of flight training specialist Bartolini Air, Bartolini Air Maintenance provides services for a range of aircraft from its facilities at Lodz Lublinek international airport.
Eurocopter has begun proving trials of its EC145 twin-engine helicopter with an optionally piloted flight control system. The self-funded demonstration program, revealed April 25, made its first flights in early April and has already carried underslung loads and performed what the company calls a “representative observation mission.”
The SunBorne Companies signed a lease agreement with charter and management company Prime Jet to take space at its One InterPort facility at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo., outside of Denver. Prime Jet is slated to take occupancy in early May. SunBorne is developing the 125-acre Centennial Interport at the airport. The Interport currently comprises 261,400 sq. ft. of existing hangar and office space with another 107,000 sq. ft. in design and development stage.
