While not yet officially Beechcraft Corp., the newly forming company that is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month already has received a rating on expected new debt. Moody’s Investor Service assigned a B1 corporate family rating to Beechcraft Holdings, LLC on a proposed $375 million term loan that will be used as part of its financing to exit from Chapter 11.
General aviation advocates are working with Congress to help grow membership in the General Aviation caucuses in both the House and Senate. The caucuses had grown to represent more than 40% of lawmakers on Capitol Hill (190 in the House and 39 in the Senate). But the caucuses have collectively lost roughly 40 members either through retirements or the outcome of specific elections last fall.
Duncan Aviation continues to expand its support network, partnering with Flightcraft to open a satellite base in Portland. The facility, which will specialize in avionics installation and repair, joins a network of 30 Duncan satellites throughout the U.S. Duncan says the move is part of an effort to expand its footprint in the Northwest to support its Provo, Utah base. Duncan is also expanding its capabilities for large-body aircraft services with the addition of an upgraded hydraulic Skydrol test bench.
SIDDHARTH BHARDWAJ was appointed director of flight operations for Rizon Jet. Bhardwaj has more than 14 years of aviation industry experience and more than 8,600 hr. of flight time. He has held a number of operations and management positions with a commercial airline and has served as a line training captain, crew resource management instructor, simulator instructor and customer acceptance/post maintenance test pilot.
Helicopter operator Bristow Group boosted its operating income in the third quarter of 2012 despite its European operations being hit by the grounding of the Eurocopter EC225. However, the company says that it is currently unable to determine whether the ditching incidents in May and October of last year and “the resulting actions taken by the CAAs [civil aviation authorities]” will have a material adverse effect on its “future business, financial condition or results of operations.”
LANCE HOMAN was promoted to vice president, sales for Transaero. Most recently director of life support and international sales, Homan joined Transaero in 2008 as program manager.
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is renaming its annual convention to align the event with its growing international venues. Formerly the Annual Meeting & Convention, the event that draws about 25,000 attendees and 1,000 exhibitors each year will now be called the Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (BACE). The annual show is the fifth largest of U.S. trade shows and has become so big that only a few cities – primarily Orlando, Fla., Las Vegas and Atlanta – can host it.
Reeder Flying Service in Twin Falls, Idaho, has come under new ownership. Idaho businessmen David Price, Jack Hunsaker and Alan Anderson purchased the 70-year-old facility, an Avfuel-branded fixed-base operation based at Magic Valley Regional Airport. The FBO staff will remain unchanged.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council President Roberto Kobeh González will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE2013), scheduled April 16-18 at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
BELL Model 412 and 412EP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0082; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-036-AD; Amendment 39-17318; AD 2013-01-04] – requires creating a component history card or equivalent record and begin counting and recording the number of accumulated landings for each high aft crosstube assembly. Also, this AD requires installing “caution’’ decals regarding towing of a helicopter at or above 8,900 lb. This AD also requires confirming the crosstube is within the horizontal deflection limits and replacing it if it is not.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is taking a look at crew rest regulations for on-demand carriers in a step that the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) says could ultimately separate the requirements for charter operators from scheduled airlines for the first time.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND Model MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0021; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-040-AD] – proposes to require changing the direction of the bolt connecting the upper clevis bolt of a specific bellcrank in the main rotor assembly, repetitively inspecting the bearings in the bellcrank assemblies for correct staking, and replacing a bellcrank if a bearing is staked incorrectly. This proposed AD is prompted by improperly staked bellcrank bearings, which may cause the bellcrank to shift in the axial direction and cause chafing.
The Transportation Security Administration ostensibly is targeting August as a potential release date for the long-shelved Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal for larger business aircraft. But industry groups are skeptical of that target, noting TSA’s track record for delays in releasing rulemakings. In fact, TSA Administrator John Pistole, when asked a few weeks ago, would not provide an updated possible time for the release of another long overdue rule, for repair station security.
AgustaWestland is pushing ahead with the flight-test program of its AW169 twin-engine helicopter , with the first flight of the fourth prototype. AC4 flew Jan. 31 at the company’s facilities at Vergiate, Italy, and will join the other three prototypes. The first three AW169 prototypes, which first flew last year in May, July and November, have completed more than 150 flight hours. AgustaWestland hopes to achieve certification in 2014.
Embraer, which launched certification flight trials of its new Legacy 500 mid-size business jet on Nov. 27, expects to add a second aircraft to the flight program in early February and a third to follow soon after that.
The Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) released a new study finding U.S. airports will need $71.3 billion in capital development investment by 2017, or $14.3 billion per year. But this is 11% less than ACI-NA estimated in its last Airport Capital Development Needs study in 2011, which found that airports would need $80.1 billion in the five-year period between 2011 and 2015. Much of this decrease is attributable to the continued weakness of the U.S. economy and airline industry consolidation that has led to cutbacks by U.S.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is hoping to develop data on light aircraft that will trace major causes of general aviation accidents. In its recently released European Aviation Safety Plan 2013-2016, the vast majority of fatal accidents involve aircraft weighing less than 2,250 kg (4,960 lb.), EASA notes, adding that in 2011, 253 people were killed as a result of small aircraft crashes. EASA plans to establish main accident categories and work to identify the scenarios leading to those accidents.
The National Air Transportation Association has released an online version for its line service supervision and training management program. The Supervisor Online program provides training for fixed-base operator (FBO) line supervisors and managers. The program covers lesson planning, supervising staff, motivating others, communicating and coaching a team. Additional modules will cover a range of other topics, including fuel servicing, personal protective equipment, hazard communication and fire safety.
BELL Model 407 helicopters with certain tailboom assemblies [Docket No. FAA-2013-0019; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-051-AD] – proposes to require at specified intervals, inspecting the tailboom assembly for a crack, loose rivet, or other damage. This proposed AD is prompted by a stress analysis of the tailboom skin that revealed high-stress-concentration areas are susceptible to skin cracking. This condition, if not detected, could result in a crack in the tailboom assembly, failure of the tailboom, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.
Gulfstream’s facility in Lincoln, Calif., was named an authorized service station for Howell Instruments, a Fort Worth-based manufacturer of instrumentation, engine monitoring systems and ground support equipment for civilian and military aircraft. Gulfstream Lincoln was authorized to test and repair Howell interstage turbine temperature indicators, Autotemp indicators, Autotak indicators, engine pressure ratio indicators, fuel flow indicators, fan speed indicators, fan speed amplifiers and tachometers.
The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for establishing new duty-time regulations covering maintenance workers involved in on-demand, fractional and all repair station operations, along with those involved with scheduled carriers.
ANDREW HAUPRICHT joined TWC Aviation’s Private Jet Charter Services group as director of business development. Haupricht will work with TWC clients on developing charter programs for them. Before joining TWC, he held a business development role with NetJets, and has also served in the Air National Guard as an aircraft engineer on the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
BAE Systems Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1040; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-029-AD; Amendment 39-17330; AD 2013-02-09] – requires a detailed inspection of the end caps on the anti-icing piccolo tube for lost or loose end caps, and replacing or repairing the end caps if necessary. This AD was prompted by a report of loss of the end caps on the anti-icing piccolo tube of the wing leading edge.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the first Republican appointee in President Barack Obama’s cabinet, says he will not serve a second term, providing grist for the Washington rumor mill on a possible successor. “It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the department [of Transportation], and I am grateful to President Obama for giving me such an extraordinary opportunity,” LaHood says in a statement announcing his departure. He will remain at the department until a replacement can be found.
The used market continues to strengthen, with a record number of sales in 2012 and a continued decline in percentage of fleet on the market, industry analyst Jetnet reports. The 2,240 total transactions in 2012 marked a record, and were up from the low of 1,539 transactions in 2009. The previous record was 2,181 in 2007. The number of business jets for sale inched down by 0.4% in 2012 to 13.4% of the total fleet, and the number of turboprops for sale shrunk 1.3% to 8.3%. The turbine helicopter-for-sale inventory was down 0.5% to 6.1%.
