An FAA sequencing system and resource issues are delaying certification projects by up to 18 months, General Aviation Manufacturers Association President and CEO Pete Bunce tells lawmakers. Testifying before the Senate aviation subcommittee last week, Bunce says FAA’s certification processes “have led to missed business opportunities that restrict industry growth.” He adds the problem will become more acute as the need for certification of NextGen technologies increase.
Cessna Aircraft has established a mobile service unit (MSU) at Atlantic Aviation in Birmingham, Ala. Cessna’s MSU network provides on-site technical expertise and support for Cessna Citations. MSUs include specially outfitted trucks that carry a number of tools and equipment found in Cessna Citation Service Centers and can perform a range of work, including engine exchanges. The Birmingham MSU increases the number of Cessna MSUs in the U.S. to 18. In all, Cessna has 22 MSUs, including units in Canada and Europe.
SAAB Model 340A and 340B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0672; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-261-AD] – proposes to require replacing the stall warning computer (SWC) with a new SWC, and modifying the airplane for the replacement of the SWC. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of stall events during icing conditions which were not accompanied with a prior stall warning. FAA is proposing this AD to prevent natural stall events when operating in icing conditions, which if not corrected may result in loss of control of the airplane.
BILL NUGENT was promoted to vice president, government contracts and training for FlightSafety International. Nugent will be responsible for the training that FlightSafety provides to government and military organizations for business aircraft. He joined FlightSafety in 1983 in marketing, was promoted to director, marketing administration in 1986 and director, government contracts and training in 1994. Most recently, he was executive director, government contracts and training.
Citing increased sales of Cessna Citations and Bell commercial helicopters, Textron on July 19 reported second-quarter revenue of $3 billion and a $288 million manufacturing profit, increases of 10.7% and $59 million, respectively, over the same period in 2011. “The payoff from investing in new products and services is reflected in our double-digit revenue growth,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly, “and our focus on operational execution is driving solid results.”
PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA PW118, PW118A, PW118B, PW119B, PW119C, PW120, PW120A, PW121, PW121A, PW123, PW123B, PW123C, PW123D, PW123E, PW123AF, PW124B, PW125B, PW126A, PW127, PW127E, PW127F, PW127G, and PW127M turboprop engines[Docket No. FAA-2012-0416; Directorate Identifier 2012-NE-13-AD; Amendment 39-17078; AD 2012-11-14] – requires initial and repetitive inspections of certain serial numbers (S/Ns) of propeller shafts for cracks and removal from service if found cracked.
FAA is proposing to permit Part 121 or 135 carriers that also operate an air tour business to combine their drug and alcohol testing programs into a single program. Carriers that run air tour operations are currently required to conduct separate programs for each side of their business as if they were separate companies, FAA says, adding this results in “an unnecessary duplication.” FAA already has granted 50 petitions from companies seeking an exemption from the requirement for separate programs.
LISA COOPER was appointed regional sales manager for BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul (ERO). Cooper will be responsible for company sales in the U.K., Spain, Ireland and Portugal. She has spent 20 years with H+S Aviation Ltd, a BBA Aviation ERO company.
Hawker Beechcraft is beginning exclusive negotiations to sell most of the company to Superior Aviation Beijing after receiving approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on July 17. HBC on July 10 formally sought court clearance to begin the negotiations after receiving a $1.79 billion proposal from the Chinese firm for all but the defense business.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has enrolled more than 140 aircraft in its Flight Operations Risk Management Service (FORMS) program, a flight operations quality assurance/flight data program that has been modeled after airline programs. FORMS compares data collected from a quick access recorder with parameters for takeoff, climb, descent, approach and landing. It provides operators access to operation data that can identify potential hazards and is used to improve training. The data also can be used to analyze airport-specific approach procedures that can challenge pilots.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND Model MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0659; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-061-AD; Amendment 39-17101; AD 2012-12-21] – supersedes an existing AD that requires revising the “Emergency and Malfunction Procedures’’ and “Performance Data’’ sections of the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) by inserting three temporary pages into the RFM to alert pilots to monitor the power display when a generator is deactivated and provides procedures to prevent failure of the remaining generator.
Flexjet, the fractional ownership arm of Bombardier, placed orders for three Learjet 70 aircraft for delivery in 2013. The operator announced plans to add Bombardier’s newest Learjets – the 70 and 75 – to its portfolio shortly after the Canadian manufacturer unveiled them during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. But at the time, Flexjet did not have details of its initial plans to fold the new jets, the successor to the Learjet 40XR and 45XR, into its fleet. Flexjet says it is purchasing at least three of the 70 model for 2013.
Constant Aviation opened a new landing gear repair and overhaul facility at its Birmingham, Ala. location. The facility initially will service Beechjet 400A/XP landing gear, but add Embraer Legacy 600 and the Hawker 800A/XP landing gear in the coming months. The company invested more than $500,000 in tooling, equipment and inventory for the Birmingham services. The new facility is part of Constant’s strategy this year to expand its accessory offerings on the Beechjet, Legacy and Hawker airframes. The company also recently added a 25,000-sq.-ft.
The fractional aircraft ownership jet fleet, while not yet returning to growth, has held steady this year, down by only a few jets from 2011, according data released by J.P.Morgan. The fleet count dipped by one jet to 766 in May, and that compares with 770 by the end of 2011. But 101 jets had dropped out of the fleet in 2011, “with each month contributing to the decline except December,” J.P.Morgan says. Overall, the fleet has declined in 33 of the past 41 months since the January 2009 peak of 960 business jets.
Piaggio Aero has teamed with Saab to develop a special mission surveillance variant of its Avanti II pusherprop, the Piaggio Aero MPA (multirole patrol aircraft) for Abu Dhabi Autonomous System Investments (ADASI), a subsidiary of Tawazun. Saab will supply and help integrate a suite of airborne sensors and surveillance systems on the aircraft. Other changes will include additional fuel tanks, increased maximum takeoff weight and reinforced wing to provide an increased surface and higher aspect ratio. Plans call for the rollout of the first two prototypes in 2014.
Piper is expanding its presence in the Republic of Korea with the appointment of Korea Business Air Service Co., Ltd. as the company dealer for new aircraft sales in the South Korean market. The appointment is the latest addition in a concentrated effort by the Vero Beach, Fla., plane maker to build up its international presence. It also marks a re-entry for Piper into the Korean marketplace. Korea Business Air Service has locations at Gimpo Airport and Incheon International Airport near Seoul.
FAA’s proposed $13.57 million fine against Boeing is the second largest civil penalty ever proposed by the agency, topped only by a $24.2 million proposed fine of American Airlines in 2010 that has yet to be settled. FAA Friday announced the proposed fine for allegedly failing to meet deadlines for providing guidance to comply with the agency’s fuel tank flammability reduction rule. The rule, issued in July 2008, gave Boeing and Airbus until Dec. 27, 2010, to provide the regulator with aircraft-specific service instructions on replacing oxygen in fuel tanks with nitrogen.
Sikorsky’s S-76D intermediate-size helicopter is wrapping up certification flight testing after an eleventh-hour delay caused by cracking of mounts attaching the engines to the airframe.
BAE Model BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0189; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-133-AD; Amendment 39-17102; AD 2012-12-22] – requires performing a repetitive high frequency eddy current inspection of the stiffeners on the left-hand sidewall on the nose landing gear (NLG) bay for cracks, and repair or replace the sidewall if necessary. This AD was prompted by a report of a crack found on the left-hand sidewall well on the NLG.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0298; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-072-AD; Amendment 39-17096; AD 2012-12-16]– requires an external inspection, and if necessary an internal inspection, to determine if certain fuel access panels are installed, and replacement if necessary; optional repetitive inspections for cracking of the fuel access panels, and replacement if necessary, would defer the internal inspection; and eventual replacement of affected fuel access panels with new panels.
WOODY MCCLENDON joined FlightSafety International as sales manager, rotorcraft training. McClendon has more than 17,000 flight hours, including 7,000 in helicopters, flying support missions for law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services and corporate aircraft. He also has served as senior vice president, sales and marketing for PrivatAir, aviation manager for the UCLA MedStar program and as an instructor for FlightSafety.
DOUG GILL was promoted to director of engineering for FlightSafety International’s visual simulation facility in St. Louis. Gill has served with FlightSafety since 1998 in the visual simulation facility. Most recently he was manager of real-time software and display management systems.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) President Craig Fuller was elected to a two-year term as chairman of RTCA, which works with industry and government leaders to develop recommendations regarding communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management system issues. Fuller succeeds Mitre Senior Vice President Agam Sinha. Also, Airlines for America President and CEO Nick Calio and National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen joined the RTCA board, alongside RTCA President Margaret Jenny and Sinha.
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing July 17-18 will highlight the safety board’s long-standing concerns over a need to either update the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) requirements or incorporate new technologies to assist in the search and rescue of general aviation accidents. NTSB Member Earl Weener, speaking to reporters Friday, notes that 180,000 general aviation aircraft are still equipped with ELTs that use the 121.5 MHz frequency even though the internationally supported Cospas-Sarsat satellite system stopped processing such signals in 2009.
Market analysts are preparing for potential soft second quarter returns from business jet manufacturers and believe a slowing global economy may further dampen results for the rest of the year. Embraer already reported its second-quarter business aircraft deliveries, which were down from a year ago to 20 aircraft – 17 of its Phenoms and three of its larger business jets. In the second quarter of 2011, the Brazilian manufacturer delivered 20 Phenoms and three Legacy/Lineage aircraft for a total of 23.
