Despite broader economic woes and a continuing climate of fiscal uncertainty, this year’s Heli-Expo convention set another record for attendance with well more than 20,393 visitors at the show. The record marks the sixth consecutive year of growth. Matt Zuccaro, president of Heli-Expo organizer Helicopter Association International (HAI), says for the past five years “it has been trending up each year and exceeding attendance from the previous year.” Some 730 exhibitors booked 1 million sq. ft.
FAA is scaling back its long-term general aviation outlook, but still forecasting brisk industry growth that will be driven by higher corporate profits and increased worldwide gross domestic product.
IMP Group Limited (IMP), the Canadian conglomerate that owns Canjet, Innotech Aviation, Execaire and Pacific Avionics, among other companies, continues to expand its aviation portfolio with the acquisition of Toronto-based Image Air Charter. IMP purchased all of the issued and outstanding shares of Image Air Charter. The company, which has 60 employees, manages a fleet of 20 aircraft. The acquisition will bolster Execaire’s charter and management services, the company says. Execaire employs 290 workers and has a managed fleet of 53 aircraft.
FAA is coming under increasing pressure to look for alternatives to its plan to implement rolling furloughs of its 47,000 workers and shutter nearly half of the nation’s air traffic control towers, with two key Republican lawmakers questioning whether the agency has explored all its options before “punishing employees and the traveling public.”
The Federal Communications Commission has extended until April 1 its request for comments period on potential plans to ban the production, sale and, eventually, use of emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) that rely on the 121.5 MHz frequency. FCC in January released a proposal considering “whether to prohibit the certification, manufacture, importation, sale or use of 121.5 MHz ELTs, and, if so, under what timetable.” FCC solicited input from manufacturers, importers, sellers and users on the burdens of such actions.
Boosted by buoyant sales of the R44 and turbine-powered R66, Robinson is ramping up production to 13 helicopters per week at its Torrance, Calif. manufacturing site. The rate increase means overall annual production could come close to 600 in 2013, exceeding the record-setting 517 helicopters made in 2012. “The economy has been quite a challenge, but interestingly enough it hasn’t impacted us. We’re just carrying on doing our thing,” says company President Kurt Robinson.
Scott’s – Bell 47 (SB47), a Minnesota-based upgrade and modification specialist, has launched a program to restart production of an all-new variant of the venerable Bell 47 light utility helicopter.
FlightSafety International is teaming with National Airways Corp. in Johannesburg, South Africa, to offer Pratt & Whitney Canada engine maintenance training for technicians in South Africa and the surrounding regions.
AGUSTA Model AB412 and AB412 EP, and BELL Model 412, 412CF, and 412EP helicopters with certain Dart high gear aft crosstubes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0145; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-059-AD] – proposes to require adding a life limit of 10,000 landings to the crosstube and removing from service any crosstubes with more than 10,000 accumulated landings. This proposed AD is prompted by five separate reports of crosstube failures. The actions in this proposed AD are intended to prevent failure of the crosstube and subsequent collapse of the landing gear.
Eric Byer, who served as vice president of government and industry affairs for the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), was named senior vice president of Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, where he will help expand the firm’s association management practice and its internal and external communication activities. In his new role, Byer will also serve as vice president of communications, policy and planning for the Aeronautical Repair Station Association.
Cessna continues to progress on its plan to bring six new or updated aircraft to market this year, rolling out the new Citation Sovereign and completing the first flight of a production TTx single-piston aircraft. The Sovereign, which sports new avionics and winglets similar to the new Citation X, comes off the assembly line just four months after Cessna unveiled the follow-on business jet at the National Business Aviation Association’s annual meeting and convention in Orlando, Fla. last fall.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which has kept general aviation safety on its Most Wanted List since 2011, is meeting this week to discuss five key areas aimed at reducing the number of GA accidents: reduced-visual reference; aerodynamic stalls at low altitude; pilot inattention to indications of mechanical problems; risk management of aviation maintenance technicians and risk management for pilots. The safety board will consider the issuance of five safety alerts on these areas.
JASON WEISS was appointed vice president of operations for Flexjet. Weiss has more than 13 years of aviation experience, including five as vice president, crew resource planning for NetJets. He also has served in senior operations positions at Air Wisconsin and Atlas Air. In his new role, Weiss will manage Flexjet’s flight operations, training, technical operations, operations analysis and fleet management, the owner operations center and procurement.
MARK WILSON has joined West Star Aviation as Gulfstream/Challenger technical sales manager at its East Alton, Ill. base. Wilson has more than 30 years of aviation industry experience both in manufacturing and maintenance. He has held technician, lead, manager and supervisor roles for companies including Boeing, Gulfstream and Lockheed Martin.
EMBRAER Model ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0092; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-067-AD] – proposes to require a detailed inspection for damage to the insulation and inner conductors of the auxiliary (APU) electronic start controller (ESC) power cables, installing new grommet support in the tail cone firewall, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of chafing between the APU ESC power cables and the airplane tail cone firewall.
Gulfstream continues to rack up city-pair speed records with its new aircraft models, the latest involving a nonstop G650 flight between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi. The trip was the longest duration nonstop for Gulfstream’s demonstrator aircraft since it entered service in late 2012. The aircraft completed the 6,329-nm flight from Melbourne International Airport to Abu Dhabi Al Bateen Executive Airport in 13 hr. and 5 min., averaging a speed of Mach 0.87. The previous longest flight for the demonstrator G650 was a 6,102-nm trip between Doha, Qatar and Teterboro, N.J.
Beechcraft delivered the 800th T-6 turboprop, nearly 13 years after the aircraft first entered service. The milestone aircraft was one of two Beechcraft T-6Bs delivered to the U.S. Navy’s Training Air Wing 4 at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. The Training Air Wing 4 is scheduled to take a total of 98 T-6Bs to replace its aging T-34 fleet. Beechcraft has delivered 16 of the aircraft to the Wing 4 so far. Beechcraft began delivery of the first T-6 – which is based on the Pilatus PC-9 – in 2000 after it was selected for the U.S.
Part 135 is a fast growing segment to adopt Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAPs), says Chris MacWhorter, senior technical advisor for FAA’s Flight Standards Service. Currently, 19 Part 135 operators and eight Part 135/91K operators have the programs in place, which provides a means for employees to voluntarily report safety issues and events. The Air Charter Safety Foundation has begun a program that would enable smaller operators to participate, and ACSF Director of Safety Russ Lawton says four operators are on board with more in the works.
Signature Flight Support parent BBA Aviation is preparing for another flat year in the business and general aviation sector but will continue to make strategic acquisitions in anticipation of market growth in the medium and long term, CEO Simon Pryce says.
SIMON MORRIS was named vice president for ICF International’s aviation practice, SH&E. Morris has more than 20 years of experience, with a background in airport transactions. He formerly was principal of A.T. Kearney’s airport practice and also has served as director for LeighFisher’s European airport practice. He will work with business and strategic planning for airports and lead the London Airport team in projects.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is launching a search for a new president and CEO following the decision of Craig Fuller to step down from the office he has held since January 2009. Fuller, who had succeeded longtime president Phil Boyer, is only the fourth president at AOPA since the association’s inception 75 years ago.
New FAA guidance is providing Part 121, 135 and 91K operators an alternate means to demonstrate compliance with initial training requirements for their contract instructors and check airmen. The guidance, effective last month, was released after the agency met with industry groups, which were concerned that the training requirements were forcing some Part 142 training centers to pull authorizations of their inspectors and check airman.
ROLLS-ROYCE DEUTSCHLAND BR700-710A1-10 and BR700-710A2-20 turbofan engines, and certain BR700-710C4-11 engines [Docket No. FAA-2012-1055; Directorate Identifier 2012-NE-33-AD; Amendment 39-17351; AD 2013-03-17] -- requires reducing the life limits for certain high-pressure turbine (HPT) Stage 1 and Stage 2 discs. This AD was prompted by RRD performing an evaluation that determined that certain HPT Stage 1 and Stage 2 discs from a specific supplier may contain steel inclusions that may cause the discs to fail before they reach their current life limits.
