REIMS AVIATION Model F406 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1346; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-047-AD] – proposes to require inspection of the pushrods and horizontal tail structure to detect fretting, bending or eccentricity and, depending on findings, replacement with a serviceable pushrod, or repair. The proposal stems from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) from the European Aviation Safety Agency, which cites a report of retting (wear and/or chafing) found between the elevator pushrod assembly and horizontal tail structure.
Aerion Corporation promoted Doug Nichols to CEO and appointed him to the board of directors. Nichols, who had been COO, will be responsible for all of Aerion’s corporate activities. He also will be responsible for Desktop Aeronautics, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based software and consultancy firm that Aerion recently acquired. Nichols, who formerly spent 30 years with Boeing, also was CFO for Aerion.
DARWIN STOUT was named product support sales director for Gulfstream Aerospace. Stout, who is relocating to Southern California, will be responsible for sales along the West Coast, mountain states, Hawaii, Alaska, parts of Canada, and Central and South America. Stout has served with Gulfstream for 17 years, most recently as a national sales manager for product support sales.
RICHARD HILDENBRAND was promoted to president of Avjet Corp. Hildenbrand joined Avjet in 1995 as director of aircraft management and became executive vice president in 2006.
Cessna is releasing a series of service bulletins for the installation of Astronics Corporation’s Max-Viz-600 enhanced vision system (EVS) on newer model Cessna 172 Skyhawk, 182 Skylane or 206 Stationair single-piston aircraft. The bulletins provide the factory provisions for retrofit of the systems on the aircraft. The retrofit has received both FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency approval. The Max-Viz systems are also offered as optional equipment on new Skyhawks, Skylanes and Stationairs.
THIELERT TAE 125-02-99 and TAE 125-02-114 reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2012-0885; Directorate Identifier 2012-NE-18-AD; Amendment 39-17307; AD 2012-26-12] – requires inspection of the oil filler plug vent hole at the next scheduled maintenance or within 110 flight hours after the effective date of this AD. If chips are found to be blocking the vent hole, additional corrective action is required before next flight. This AD was prompted by an inflight shutdown of an airplane equipped with a TAE 125-02-99 engine.
Bombardier’s Business Aviation division enjoyed gains across the board with orders jumping 80% in 2012. Bombardier received 343 net orders in 2012, compared with 191 a year earlier. Bombardier’s business jet deliveries, meanwhile, were relatively flat in 2012 at 179 aircraft. The manufacturer delivered 163 aircraft in 2011, but that only reflects activity of the final 11 months (an accounting change to a calendar fiscal year shortened the 2011 reporting time frame). The 2012 deliveries were actually at about the same pace – only slightly increased from 2011.
U.K. air accident investigators have widened their search into the root cause of gearbox failures that forced the crews of two Eurocopter EC225 helicopters to ditch into the North Sea last year. In late 2012, investigators from the U.K. Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) linked their probes into two controlled ditchings of EC225s – one operated by Bond Offshore in May and a second operated by CHC Scotia in October. The rest of the North Sea EC225 fleet was grounded in the U.K. and Norway following the incidents.
Constant Aviation, which expanded into the Beechjet landing gear overhaul business last summer, has found demand for the business so strong that it is relocating the services from Birmingham Ala., to a larger facility near its Cleveland headquarters.
Eclipse Aerospace is hoping to secure a potential contract to replace the fleet of T-1A Jayhawks (Beechjet 400s) flown for the U.S. Air Force Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) program. The company responded Jan. 7 to an Air Force request for information (RFI) for a potential large fleet of very light jets (VLJs) to support the SUPT Multi-place Training Track.
SAAB 2000 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1032; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-079-AD; Amendment 39-17296; AD 2012-26-01] – requires a general visual inspection to determine if certain fasteners are installed, and related investigative and corrective actions. FAA is issuing this AD to detect and correct any chafing on the bottom panel of the center cabin, which could affect the structural integrity of the affected wing-to-fuselage connection. FAA estimates the AD would affect 10 aircraft on the U.S. Registry at a cost of $3,400 or $340 per aircraft.
Embraer has selected Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G geared turbofan to power its soon-to-be-launched, second-generation E-Jet family, which is scheduled to enter service in 2018. The engine decision marks a key milestone in Embraer’s plan to formally launch the second-generation E-Jet family later this year. Provisionally outlined with 78 to 122 seats, the new aircraft will succeed the current E-170 and E-190 lines.
Chinese interests continue to build up their aerospace portfolios, this time in the U.S. helicopter market with the purchase of light helicopter manufacturer Enstrom. The Michigan-based helicopter manufacturer, which has been producing helicopters since the late 1950s, was acquired by the Chongqing Helicopter Investment Co. (CQHIC). Enstrom hopes the move will enable it to expand its reach into China. At the same time, the new financial backing will permit the company to invest in its plant at Menominee to meet current and expected future demands.
JOAN POMPA was named interior refurbishment sales manager for West Star Aviation’s Grand Junction, Colo., facility. Pompa will be responsible to providing design and sales support for West Star customers. She has a 13-year career in interior, paint, design and other maintenance, repair and overhaul operations.
Hawker Beechcraft is furloughing workers on its T-6/AT-6 production line as it works through the most recent Joint Primary Aircraft Training Systems (JPATS) contract. The company is currently on the contract for Lot 18 aircraft, but is in negotiations for Lots 19 and 20, Hawker Beechcraft says.
Cessna is beginning delivery of its more powerful Grand Caravan EX following the receipt of FAA type certification. The Caravan, which sports the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 engine, is the first of as many as six new or follow-on aircraft that Cessna expects to bring to market this year.
While business aviation struggles to regain its footing following the economic downturn, Gulfstream is rapidly expanding. The manufacturer in late 2010 committed to hiring 1,000 employees at its Savannah, Ga. campus over the next seven years. Within the following two years, Gulfstream not only met that seven-year goal, it exceeded it by 70% – hiring more than 1,695 workers in Savannah alone. But Gulfstream isn’t finished. The company signed a 12-year lease on a 70,000-sq.-ft.
DOUG MEADOR was appointed president of Dallas Airmotive, a BBA subsidiary. Meador joined Dallas Airmotive eight years ago, initially as vice president and general manager of operations for the company’s Forest Park maintenance, repair and overhaul facility. He has been chief financial officer since June 2005.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) plans to retire at the end of his term next year, concluding a more than 30-year career in the Senate. An outspoken proponent of NextGen, Rockefeller has had both spirited debates with and praise for the business aviation industry. He has strongly believed that business aviation operators should pay more into the national air transportation system, but was willing to compromise his position on a need for aviation user fees to ensure that long-term FAA reauthorization legislation would pass the Senate.
EUROCOPTER Model AS350BA helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0774; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-057-AD; Amendment 39-17302; AD 2012-26-07] – requires, for helicopters with certain Aerazur emergency flotation gear container assemblies installed, replacing each affected emergency flotation gear container assembly at specified time limits based on the date of manufacture. This AD was prompted because container assemblies with an intended operating limitation of 10 years may not have been replaced because the limit is no longer recorded in the Maintenance Program.
The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) has found that repair station executives are bullish on 2013 business prospects, with more than half the respondents to a recent AEA survey expecting revenue improvement in 2013. The survey generated 180 responses, the association says. Big-picture takeaways include a more bullish outlook than last year’s survey, and a range of services driving the growth. AEA’s survey results show that 56% of respondents expect business to increase in 2013, compared to 49% responding to last year’s survey on 2012 prospects.
Hawker Beechcraft is proposing to pay Swiss plane-maker Pilatus Aircraft $7.5 million to settle a dispute over Hawker Beechcraft’s production of the T-6/AT-6 military trainer. Hawker Beechcraft says the move is neither an admission that it is using “protectable intellectual property” of Pilatus, nor that it owes royalty payments. But Hawker Beechcraft says the proposed payment would be in its best interest because it would avoid a public dispute and prolonged lawsuit at a critical juncture of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Aeronautical Engineers (AEI) is planning a program to convert Bombardier CRJ200 passenger aircraft to freighters with a large cargo door. The program is just “a few weeks away from a formal launch,” says Robert Convey, AEI vice president-sales and marketing. AEI, a Miami-based conversion company, in October reached an agreement with Bombardier Aerospace to “explore market interest” in large cargo door-inclusive conversions of CRJ200s.
