Members of the House are trying to reinstate a rule to allow businesses to write off the cost of a major purchase – such as an aircraft – in the year the purchase is made rather than to spread the expense over many years. Bonus depreciation expired at the end of 2011, but a new bill, sponsored by Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), would extend the write off through 2012.
CAE received Level D approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia for a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 full flight simulator. The simulator is housed at the Ansett Flight Training Center outside Melbourne. The location is CAE’s first business aviation training location in Australia.
Boeing still expects to fly its company-funded MC-12S Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System (Emarss) risk-reduction prototype this year pending a decision by the contractor on full-rate production, says Roger Krone, president of Boeing Network and Space Systems. In addition to the Boeing-funded prototype, four Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft are being modified with MC-12S equipment under government funding. They, too, are planned to fly this year.
Piper Aircraft has sold 10 M-class aircraft for delivery to retail customers in Europe so far this year. The latest transaction involves a Meridian single-engine turboprop that will begin service with a business owner in Spain later this year. Winters Aviation, Piper’s authorized new-aircraft dealer in Belgium and France, closed the sale during a recent exhibition in Cannes, France. Three Meridians have been delivered in France so far this year.
Jet Aviation Zurich recently received approval from the Thai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to provide maintenance support to aircraft registered in Thailand. With the authorization, the company is now approved to perform maintenance on Cessna 208, 510, 525, 550, 650 and 750 series aircraft; and Hawker Beechcraft B200, B300, B350, 400, 400A, 400XP, 700, 800, 750, 800XP, 850XP, 900XP airplanes registered in Thailand. This includes support for Williams International FJ44 series and Pratt & Whitney PT6A, JT15D and PW530 series engines installed on these aircraft.
Africa’s first full-motion helicopter flight simulator has been commissioned by Eurocopter in Johannesburg, South Africa. The simulator, designed to train pilots and flight engineers operating Super Puma and similarly compatible helicopters (including the South African Air Force’s Oryx), is located at the SimAero training center adjacent to O.R. Tambo International Airport.
Embraer received a production certification (PC) from FAA to assemble Phenom 100s at its facility in Melbourne, Fla. The PC comes a little more than a year after the Brazilian manufacturer opened the facility and six months after the first U.S.-produced Phenom was delivered. But until now, Phenoms assembled in Melbourne had been certified under the FAA’s type certificate granted to those produced in Brazil, Embraer says.
BELL 205A, 205A-1, and 205B helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0601; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-033-AD] – proposes to require replacing the starter/generator power cable assemblies and their associated parts and performing continuity readings on certain helicopters. This proposal was prompted by the determination that the power cable assembly connector can deteriorate, causing a short in the connector that could lead to a fire in the starter/generator, smoke in the cockpit and subsequent loss of helicopter control.
BELL 205A, 205A-1, and 205B helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0601; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-033-AD] – proposes to require replacing the starter/generator power cable assemblies and their associated parts and performing continuity readings on certain helicopters. This proposal was prompted by the determination that the power cable assembly connector can deteriorate, causing a short in the connector that could lead to a fire in the starter/generator, smoke in the cockpit and subsequent loss of helicopter control.
NetJets’ announced orders and options for up to 450 business jets worth nearly $10 billion are bringing substantial long-term aftermarket business to both Bombardier and Cessna, along with their suppliers.
Rolls-Royce broke ground on a new $50 million jet engine test facility at the company’s outdoor testing site at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The Mississippi Development Authority is helping to support construction and workforce training at the facility, with additional support provided by Hancock County. The new jet engine test facility is the company’s second such company facility to be built in the U.S.
FAA issued special conditions for certification of the Gulfstream G280 because the new business jet will have novel or unusual design features associated with the architecture and connectivity capabilities of the airplane’s computer systems and networks, which may allow access to or by external computer systems and networks.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is cautioning pilots to be aware that in-cockpit Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) information can be up to 15-20 min. older than indicated on display and that relying on such information for real-time reports can cause safety problems when aircraft are transiting through fast moving weather systems. The safety board issued a safety alert that the actual age of NEXRAD data “can differ significantly” from the age indicated on the cockpit displays.
Jet Aviation Dubai has obtained FAA approval to perform maintenance on the Bombardier Challenger 604 and 605, as well as Airbus A318, A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. FAA awarded Jet Aviation Dubai approval to support light scheduled maintenance (A checks) on the aforementioned Airbus airplanes and base maintenance on Bombardier Challenger 604 and 605 aircraft.
BELL 205A, 205A-1, and 205B helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0601; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-033-AD] – proposes to require replacing the starter/generator power cable assemblies and their associated parts and performing continuity readings on certain helicopters. This proposal was prompted by the determination that the power cable assembly connector can deteriorate, causing a short in the connector that could lead to a fire in the starter/generator, smoke in the cockpit and subsequent loss of helicopter control.
Embraer has secured Chinese government approval to assemble Legacy 600/650 business jets in China, extending a relationship that existed on the ERJ145 using the Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Co. joint venture with Avic. The first aircraft is to be delivered next year. Embraer initially considered moving some E-Jet assembly to the site, but China balked because of its own ARJ21 program.
The Transportation Security Administration is working to devise means such as gateway airports that would enable business aviation to access restricted airspace during temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), says Zach Carder, who handles business aviation issues for TSA.
House aviation subcommittee Chairman Tom Petri (R-Wis.) is seeking a congressional review of the IRS’s recent interpretation that would consider aircraft management fees and related activity as commercial transportation that should be taxed accordingly. Petri wrote a letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), noting industry’s concerns over the recent interpretation and says it raises questions of double taxation.
Bombardier Aerospace broke ground this month on a factory-owned service center for business aircraft at Seletar airport in Singapore. The facility, which will open in the second quarter of 2013, will include 31,500 sq. ft. of hangar space and 23,800 sq. ft. of office and backshops. The center will provide light and heavy maintenance on all Bombardier Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft. The facility will serve as a center for a full-service hub in the region. Plans call for Bombardier to move its Singapore Regional Support Office (RSO) to the hub.
Aerion Corporation in July will begin the next round of trials involving a test article positioned under NASA’s F-15B aircraft as the Reno, Nev., engineering firm moves to validate its supersonic flight designs and continues to search for a manufacturing partner. The newly built test article, which includes a 40-in. vertical span by 80-in. chord, will not look like Aerion’s wing design but will behave similarly aerodynamically, enabling the company to collect further data on laminar flow, says Aerion COO Doug Nichols.
Under the shadow of a second lawsuit, Hawker Beechcraft (HBC) and Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) have submitted their bids in the restaged competition to supply 20 light-attack aircraft to Afghanistan. Technical and cost proposals for the Light Air Support (LAS) program were submitted to the U.S. Air Force on June 18. HBC is offering its AT-6 and SNC the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano. Contract award is scheduled for mid-January, leading to first delivery to the Afghan National Army air force in July 2014 — a delay of more than a year.
June 12, 1972 — Pan Am and Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation agree to establish Falcon Jet Corp. in New Jersey, with each owning a 50% stake but enabling Pan Am to divest itself of the liabilities of its Business Jet Division that distributed and marketed Falcon business jets. June 7, 1982 — Gulfstream Aerospace joins other general aviation manufacturers forced to resort to employee layoffs, cutting 5-6% of its 1,150 workforce and imposing a four-week production shutdown at its Commander Division in Bethany, Okla.
Bell Helicopter plans to open its first authorized flight school in China in conjunction with Guanchen Aviation. Eric Cardinali, executive vice president, customer support and services for Bell Helicopter, said, “Partnering with Guanchen Aviation to provide a high-quality, local flight-training solution is an important first step in meeting our customer needs in the region.
