Jet Aviation has added seven aircraft to its managed fleet in Asia in recent months, growing the total in the region to 25 aircraft. Four of those aircraft have joined the fleet this spring – including a Gulfstream G450, Bombardier Global 5000, Dassault Falcon 7X and Gulfstream G650. The company is expanding its operations team in the region to meet the increased demand. This includes the addition of a full-time safety manager, and the dispatcher staff at the company’s Hong Kong aircraft management and charter division has increased to 12.
At least two sites for a potential business aviation airport for Beijing are being explored by China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., according to its aviation consultant, London-based lawyer David Tang. The development, when and if it happens, should allow business aviation slots to be switched to airlines at the city’s main airport, Beijing Capital International.
Embraer’s 12 executive jets delivered in the first quarter were below analyst expectations and foreshadows what is expected to be another sluggish quarter for the light end of the business jet market. Embraer delivered 29 commercial and business aircraft in the first quarter, and increased its backlog by $800 million to $13.3 billion. Of the 12 business aircraft delivered, eight were Phenoms (five 100s and three 300s) and four were Legacy 650s.
April 22-23—National Air Transportation Association Aviation Business and Legislative Conference, Renaissance Capital View, Arlington, Va., 703-845-9000, www.nata.aero 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
Key Air, an Oxford, Conn.-based charter and management business, promoted Greg Kinsella to president and CEO, succeeding Bob Marinace. Kinsella, who has original equipment manufacturer, airline and charter/management experience, had been vice president of business development for the company. He has also served with British Aerospace, Saab Aircraft and Rolls-Royce North American, in addition to holding leadership positions with American Eagle Airlines and Arcadia Aviation.
Embraer, accruing more than 150 hr. on its Legacy 500 midsize jet, hopes to have the smaller 450 join the flight test program by year’s end. The company cut metal on the 450 light-mid aircraft in August and expects to finish the wing next month with the fuselage sections joining in July. This would put the 450 on pace for first flight sometime in the second half of 2013, about a year after the 500 first flew.
Cessna’s newest Citation X came off the assembly line, bringing the Mach 0.935 airplane closer to reaching market this year. The new X, a speedier, improved version of the X currently on the market, is one of six new or follow-on products that Cessna hopes to bring to market this year and one of at least nine in various stages of production or research. But the X – which was originally announced as the “Ten” in late 2010 – was the first of Cessna’s new pipeline of products to be announced after the economic downturn began.
Beechcraft is finding growing interest in its turboprop aircraft from private customers in China, increasing its reach in the market that had once been primarily limited to aviation schools and government uses. Beechcraft took its first order from a Chinese private buyer in 2011, says Ted Farid, vice president for sales in the Asia-Pacific region. The total is now eight, among 22 Beechcraft aircraft operating in China and 10 on order, Farid said in an interview ahead of the opening of the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition.
The U.S. Federal Claims Court has ruled that the U.S. Air Force rightly allowed Sierra Nevada and Embraer to continue work on the first of 20 A-29 Super Tucanos for the Light Air Support (LAS) program, despite protests by losing bidder Beechcraft. The decision clears the way for the winning team to continue pushing to deliver aircraft for use in Afghanistan next year.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1003; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-064-AD] – revises an earlier proposed AD that would require replacing all three advance pneumatic detectors (APDs) with new detector assemblies. That proposal was prompted by reports of ADPs for engine fire/overheat detector assemblies failing to reset after activation due to permanent deformation of the detector switch diaphragm after being exposed to high temperatures. This action revises that NPRM by adding airplanes to the applicability.
CESSNA Models 190, 195 (L-126A,B,C), 195A, and 195B airplanes that are equipped with certain inboard aileron hinge brackets. [Docket No. FAA-2012-18033; Directorate Identifier 2004-CE-16-AD; Amendment 39-17400; AD 2004-21-08 R1] – revises an existing AD that currently requires repetitively inspecting the affected inboard aileron hinge brackets for cracks or corrosion and replacing them if cracks or corrosion are found. Replacement with aluminum brackets would terminate the need for the repetitive inspections.
West Star Aviation sold its Dallas (DAL) facility to Waypoint Holding as the company consolidates and expands services at its East Alton, Ill. (ALN), Grand Junction, Colo. (GCT), and Columbia, S.C. (CAE) facilities. The sale will enable the company to focus on growing the CAE facility, along with bolstering its service at ALN and GCT, the company says. West Star is adding a 15,000-sq.-ft. interior and hydraulic department at ALN, while the company is adding onto its hangar at GCT to provide maintenance and storage space.
Nextant has secured an anchor customer in China under a sales agent agreement with China Great Wall Industry Corp. (CGWIC) that includes an initial order for up to 18 Nextant 400XTs valued at $89 million. The agreement, which makes CGWIC Nextant’s exclusive sales agent for the greater China region, also calls for CGWIC to help establish service, sales support and parts distribution in China.
Jim Swickard, a long-time aviation communications veteran and contributor to Aviation Week’s Business & Commercial Aviation (BCA) magazine, died April 14 from a heart attack at home in Tucson, Ariz. He was 68.
Signature Flight Support received a green light on its largest yet fixed-base operation project, an $82 million complex at Mineta San Jose International airport. The San Jose City Council on April 16 voted 10-1 to approve a 50-year lease for the FBO, which will be developed on 29 acres at the west side of the airport. As part of the development, Signature is relocating its headquarters from Orlando, Fla. to its new San Jose, Calif. base.
Emirates-CAE Flight Training received certification from authorities in the U.S., Asia, Europe and the Middle East for its dual configuration full-flight simulator for Bombardier Challenger 604 and Challenger 605 business jets. Based at the Emirates-CAE facility in Dubai, the simulator received approvals from the Hong Kong Aviation Civil Aviation Department, FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency, the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority, the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia, and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority.
Air traffic controller furloughs, scheduled to have begun April 21, could cause an average flight delay of 50 min. at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and delays as long as 210 min. at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International, FAA and U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) officials say. O’Hare and Hartsfield are just two of 13 airports that will see “heavy to moderate” flight delays because of the furloughs, which are necessitated by the sequester-driven cuts in the federal budget, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said during an April 18 briefing at DOT headquarters.
Last week’s Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE2013) in Shanghai eclipsed nearly all records, reflecting the continuing growth of the business aviation market in the Asia-Pacific region.
MARK FERGUSON was named environmental/health/safety manager for West Star Aviation’s facilities in East Alton, Ill., (ALN) and Chesterfield, Mo. (SUS). Ferguson has 19 years of business experience, most recently overseeing federal and state regulatory compliance for Wal-Mart. In his new role, he will oversee overall safety of both the facilities and employees and monitor for environmental and energy improvements for both locations.
A coalition of local officials and industry stakeholders in May are expected to release recommendations to reduce helicopter noise over the Los Angeles region, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta says. Huerta told the Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee last week that the recommendations should cover voluntary routes and operating practices to help reduce noise. House and Senate lawmakers have introduced bills calling on FAA to implement mandatory noise reduction measures. Similar legislation covering New York’s Long Island was unsuccessful.
The South Korean government is looking at backing development of a business jet as the foundation of a national industry capable of building its own complete civil transports. If the program goes ahead, possibly in a year or two, the manufacturer will be Korea Aerospace Industries.
C.M. HWANG was named managing director of commercial sales, Asia Pacific. Hwang will oversee all marketing and sales activities within the Asia Pacific region for Bell Helicopter. He has more than 20 years of aviation industry experience, 18 of which were with Bell. He formerly served as commercial business development manager for Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Singapore for the company. Before joining Bell Helicopter in 1995, Hwang served in the Republic of Singapore Air Force and subsequently joined DHP Aviation.
MITCHELL WIEDENMANN has joined Aero Charter as first officer of the Hawker 400A and Cessna Citation XLS aircraft. Wiedenmann recently obtained his master’s of science in aviation safety from the University of Central Missouri, and also worked as a flight instructor providing private, instrument, commercial, and multi-engine training. He also has served as a first officer with Express Jet Airlines.
