MIKE FLINT has joined CIT Business Aircraft as vice president, U.S. sales. Flint will oversee new transactions and manage CIT business aviation relationships in the U.S. He formerly spent more than 20 yr. with GE Capital, most recently as vice president and sales director, corporate aircraft finance. He is based in Atlanta.
KIM CHAN was appointed vice president and head of Jet Aviation’s newly established Asia division, comprising Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing. Chan will be responsible for regional growth, strategy and strengthening relationships. Chan has held senior management positions with HNI International, Honeywell, Bombardier, Lucas Aerospace and most recently, China Alstom.
Hawker Beechcraft was granted an additional 120 days to file its plan to emerge from bankruptcy, pushing the deadline to Dec. 29. The court also provided until Feb. 27 for Hawker Beechcraft to solicit votes on the proposal. The Wichita airframer entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 3 and had outlined a plan to receive confirmation of a reorganization plan by Nov. 15 and have that plan take effect by Dec. 15.
Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company handed over the first four Beechcraft T-6C+ military trainers to the Mexican Air Force (FAM). The trainers, the first of six on order, were delivered during a ceremony at Santa Lucia Air Force Base in Reyes Acozac, Mexico. The remaining two aircraft are slated to be delivered by Sept. 16. FAM is the first customer for the T-6C+ enhanced variant of the T-6 military trainer aircraft. The T-6C+ can carry external stores and deliver practice weapons for training purposes.
SAMI TEITTINEN was appointed CFO for Signature Flight Support. Teittinin joined BBA Aviation’s ASIG (Aircraft Service International) in 2002, spending the last five years as the division’s CFO. There he led the company through several acquisitions, finance department restructuring and infrastructure reinvestments.
A coalition of about 85 industry organizations and businesses is urging FAA to preserve the use of non-citizen trusts (NCT) for aircraft registration. The coalition, which includes a dozen aviation associations and more than six dozen airframers, financial firms, attorneys and others, instead believes FAA should rely on operator information to better track aircraft use. The coalition’s comments were submitted in response to a proposed policy clarification the agency issued earlier this year as it grapples with the use of NCTs to obtain n-numbers.
Airport representatives are asking the FAA to hold off on any effort to develop guidelines on competition for ground services, saying it is unnecessary and congressional requests for such measures are misguided. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and 10 other lawmakers earlier this month wrote acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, saying the agency needs to further define requirements so airport sponsors can fully understand the rules they must follow if they compete with privately owned businesses such as fixed-base operations (FBO).
FAA’s long-standing opposition to the use of cell phones in-flight continues with the devices excluded from a new study on portable electronic devices (PEDs). The six-month study is expected to investigate policies and procedures that aircraft operators currently follow and eventually present its recommendations to the FAA. The agency currently requires aircraft operators to determine that radio-frequency interference from PEDs does not pose inflight hazards, before authorizing their use.
RICK SCREEN was named Gulfstream program manager for Stevens Aviation. Screen will oversee the companies Gulfstream services, which were recently expanded to include GIII, GIV and GIVSP models. He previously held management positions with Gulfstream Aerospace and West Star Aviation.
The general aviation community is holding a roundtable discussion with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to delve into a number of general aviation issues, such as notice of arrival procedures, processing and operational differences of CBP installations at different airports.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-1A11 (CL-600), CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, & CL-604 variants) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0725; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-207-AD] – proposes to require revising the maintenance program. The proposed AD is prompted by reports of cracking found on the upper and lower web of the engine support beam. FAA is proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the engine support beam, which could result in failure of the engine support beam and affect the structural integrity of the airplane.
Associated Air Center recently delivered its 23rd Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) in a completion project involving a “green” aircraft. The aircraft was handed over to an Eastern European-based energy company customer. The completion comes as the Dallas-based facility recently won a contract to complete an Airbus A330-200 series aircraft. Associated Air Center continues to expand its facilities to accommodate the work, including the opening of a 4,000-sq.-ft. customer interior design center housing a full-scale interior of a narrowbody BBJ/Airbus Corporate Jet cabin.
Nextant is building a presence in Asia for its Nextant 400XT program with the sale of 10 of the remanufactured business jets to Asia Pacific Jets and a distributor partnership. The Asia Pacific Jets order calls for the aircraft to be delivered over three years, with the first two delivered by the end of this year. Singapore-based Asia Pacific provides medical evacuation and corporate charter services.
40 Years Ago Aug. 14, 1972 – Full development gets underway on Dassault-Breguet Aviation’s Mystere 10. 30 Years Ago Aug. 9, 1982 – Gulfstream American ends nine-week shutdown of Commander business turboprop production. 20 Years Ago Aug. 24, 1992 – Justice Department approves the merger of Page Avjet Airport Services and Butler Aviation International, clearing the way for nation’s largest chain of fixed-base operations that becomes Signature Flight Support.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s (GAMA) board of directors has approved Flight Design and Sandel Avionics as members, bringing membership for the association to 78. Based in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany, Flight Design makes the recently EASA-type certified CTLS light-sport aircraft and is developing the C4. Sandel Avionics produces avionics for rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft.
The dispute over an airport-built fixed-base operation (FBO) at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) continues to draw national attention as lawmakers recently wrote FAA Administrator Michael Huerta urging new guidance on airport competition. The letter, sent by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and 10 other House members, notes a “recent trend” of airport-sponsored fixed-base operations competing with privately-owned FBOs.
GRAEME SHANKS has joined CIT Business Aircraft as vice president of sales. Shanks formerly was senior vice president/head of marketing for AMS Aircraft Ltd. Before that, he was a customer support account manager for Thales Aerospace.
BETSY WINES was appointed to the Corporate Aircraft Association Advisory Board as fixed-base operation advisor. Wines is vice president of customer service and human resources at Meridian. She has served with Meridian – then called General Aviation – since 1985, beginning as a flight school dispatcher. She later became customer service manager.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS350B3 and EC130B4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0794; Directorate Identifier 2006-SW-04-AD] – proposes to require revising the Limitations section of the Rotorcraft flight Manual (RFM) to reduce the starter generator operating current to 180 amperes (amps) and installing a placard in the instrument panel indicating the revised limitation.
An FAA/industry working group is developing recommendations to smooth out and speed up the process of obtaining approval to operate in Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM) airspace. The 25-member RVSM Action Team recently agreed to focus the recommendations on three key areas – expediting approvals for new aircraft, improved inspector guidance for administrative changes and temporary authorizations for manufacturers and repair stations.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Friday (Aug. 24) overwhelmingly approved a pension proposal from Hawker Beechcraft that the union believes could save the pension plans. The IAM recommended approval of the proposal – which captured a 97.3% yes vote. IAM Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge says the proposal “represents a significant improvement over earlier proposals.”
EMBRAER Model ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1251; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-017-AD; Amendment 39-17132; AD 2012-15-03] – requires performing a one-time general visual inspection to determine if a certain part number is installed on the main landing gear (MLG) retraction actuator; if necessary, performing a general visual inspection for discrepancies between the actuator rod end and shock strut lug of the MLG retraction actuator; and corrective actions, if necessary.
VARIOUS RESTRICTED CATEGORY HELICOPTERS [Docket No. FAA-2010-0488; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-20-AD; Amendment 39-17126; AD 2012-14-12] – requires inspecting each affected tail rotor blade forward tip weight retention block (tip block) and the aft tip closure for adhesive bond voids and removing any blade with an excessive void from service. This AD also requires modifying certain blades by installing shear pins and tip closure rivets.
FAA is moving to decommission the last of the direction finders (DF) in the U.S. – 29 DFs in Alaska – saying the technology is “beyond its useful life cycle.” The agency, which decommissioned DFs outside of Alaska in 2007, requested comments on a plan to shut down the remaining DFs.
