Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) has filed a lawsuit seeking reinstatement of its $355 million U.S. Air Force contract to supply 20 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light air support (LAS) aircraft to Afghanistan. The company says the Court of Federal Claims action is in response to a lawsuit filed by disqualified bidder Hawker Beechcraft (HBC), which led the Air Force to set aside the December sole-source award and reopen the competition.
Gulfstream Aerospace rebranded its maintenance operations facility in Sorocaba, Brazil, to Gulfstream Brazil, joining Gulfstream Luton near London to establish a base of company-branded international service centers. Gulfstream is adding a third international center, Gulfstream Beijing, later this year. The Sorocaba facility’s has expanded its capabilities to become a full-service center that can provide heavy maintenance work. The facility includes a 24,000-sq.-ft. hangar that can accommodate four to six large- and mid-cabin aircraft.
China has secured a deal to sell three Xian Aircraft MA60 turboprops to an airline in the Ukraine, the home market of aircraft maker Antonov, which developed the An-26 from which the Chinese aircraft is derived. The agreement for three MA60s has been finalized with MARS RK, says Xian Aircraft. MARS RK is a relatively small Ukrainian carrier that operates two Saab 340 aircraft on behalf of other airlines. It also has a small number of helicopters and Diamond DA42 aircraft.
EMBRAER Model ERJ 190-100 STD, -100 LR, and -100 IGW airplanes; and Model ERJ 190-200 STD, -200 LR, and -200 IGW airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0590; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-112-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires revising the maintenance program to incorporate modifications in the Airworthiness Limitation Section (ALS) of the ERJ 190 Maintenance Review Board Report (MRBR). Since FAA issued that AD, new inspection tasks and their respective thresholds and intervals have been issued.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is developing a training curriculum for on-demand, fractional and aircraft management flight coordinators. The training, the first of its kind, would involve a certificate program administered by NATA’s Safety 1st program NATA moved forward with the initiative to address a vacuum in training for the position, notes Jacqueline Rosser, director of regulatory affairs for NATA, saying the association hopes to “establish a baseline of training.”
Reflecting sour European market conditions, Jet Aviation is restructuring its Basel, Switzerland location into two independently managed maintenance and completion business units, each reporting directly to Dan Clare, president of General Dynamic’s Jet Aviation Group. Neil Boyle has been appointed vice president completions and Johannes Turzer as vice president maintenance at Basel.
Duncan Aviation recently secured supplemental type certificates for installing Aircell Broadband with inflight Wi-Fi aboard Learjet 45 and Challenger 600-2B16 aircraft (including 601-3A/601-3R/604 variants). The approvals are the latest in a list of STCs Duncan has accumulated for inflight system installations. Duncan has installed systems aboard nearly 300 aircraft and says it has “plans for dozens more in the coming months.” The installation work has been accomplished at its Lincoln, Neb., and Battle Creek, Mich., facilities, along with its satellite avionics locations.
The tough budget environment on Capitol Hill makes it highly unlikely that Congress will provide assistance for NextGen equipage beyond the approval for FAA to create a public-private loan guarantee program, a Senate aide told attendees of the RTCA 2012 Symposium last week.
GULFSTREAM Model G-1159, G-1159A, and G-1159B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0494; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-088-AD; Amendment 39-17069; AD 2012-11-06] – requires, for certain airplanes, a measurement to determine the clearance (gap) of the exposed rounded portion of the doubler and clothespin fitting at the wing-to-fuselage attachment, and repair if necessary.
CHRISTOPHER BERO was named director of marketing for Flexjet. Bero joins Flexjet with more than 15 years of experience in brand marketing and communications. Most recently, he was responsible for strategic marketing activities and media initiatives at Samsung Mobile Electronics. In his new role, Bero will develop marketing plans and communication strategies for Flexjet.
The Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal is not expected to surface at all this year, and should it get released, it will likely be dramatically different and may carry a new name, industry groups believe. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials had hoped to release a supplemental LASP notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) this year. But given the presidential election season, the Office of Management and Budget is believed to have encouraged agencies to hold off on most non-congressionally mandated rulemakings.
New Zealand’s air force plans to lease five used Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft from Australian company Hawker Pacific to replace five King Air 200s it currently leases from another company. “We are currently in negotiations with Hawker Pacific to conclude a contract to lease five secondhand King Air 200s to replace the fleet currently leased from Aeromotive,” New Zealand’s air force chief, Air Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell says.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has begun certifying the initial aircraft models under new light sports aircraft (LSA) specifications. The agency recently granted approvals in the new LSA category – which applies to aircraft with no more than two seats and a mass of less than 600 kg – to the Czech Sport PS-28 Cruiser, Flight Design CTLS-ELA and Evektor SportStar RTC.
Aerion is beginning research with NASA on a computer code developed to perform aerodynamic design and analysis for high-speed aircraft, such as the company’s planned supersonic business jet. The latest research means to achieve efficient and stable supersonic inlet operation. The collaborative effort began this month and is expected to continue for a year.
StandardAero has delivered the 4,000th Rolls-Royce AE3007 engine that the company has worked on since the program began in 1997. StandardAero completed the work at its Maryville, Tenn., service center for longtime customer Aerolitoral, S.A. de C.V., a Mexico-based regional airline. The 130,000-sq.-ft. center provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the AE3007, which powers Embraer ERJ 145 regional jets, the Embraer Legacy 600/650 and Cessna Citation X.
PIPER Models PA-31T and PA-31T1 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0251; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-002-AD; Amendment 39-17058; AD 2012-10-09] – supersedes an AD that currently requires correcting a model identification error on the aircraft data plate. Since FAA issued that AD, the agency became aware that some owner/operators of the affected airplanes modified the aircraft data plate in error because of confusion in the serial number applicability. Because of the confusion, the manufacturer has issued new service information to clarify affected airplane serial numbers.
TURBOMECA Arriel 2B and 2B1 turboshaft engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0115; Directorate Identifier 2010-NE-40-AD] –- proposes to supersede an existing AD that requirements accomplishment of a TU166 modification. Since FAA issued that AD, the agency became aware of an accident involving an engine inflight shutdown on a twin-engine helicopter powered by two Arriel 2S2 engines. This proposed AD would add the Arriel 2S2 engine to the applicability of engines requiring the TU166 modification with a different compliance time.
Edward King, an avionics pioneer and founder of King Radio, passed away June 3 at the age of 90. National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen calls King “one of the most important figures in the development of modern avionics. His vision and entrepreneurial spirit helped establish and advance the state of the art for onboard electronics.”
The National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) GA Desk was renamed NBAA Air Traffic Services, a change designed to emphasize its role in helping members with air traffic issues, NBAA says. The desk, established in August 2001, is based at FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center to represent general aviation interests. NBAA also launched a Twitter feed, www.twitter.com/NBAA_ATS, to share airspace alerts and other information.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B19 (Regional Jet Series 100 & 440) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0496; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-263-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires revising the airworthiness limitations section of the instructions for continued airworthiness of the Canadair Regional Jet Maintenance Requirements Manual by incorporating new procedures for repetitive detailed and special detailed inspections for cracking of the aft pressure bulkhead.
Eclipse is starting production of its Eclipse 550 very light jet model with initial deliveries in 2013. On June 1, Eclipse dealers representing more than 30 countries attended the first international Eclipse dealer sales conference at Eclipse headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M., and signed agreements to purchase new Eclipse 550 Jets for delivery in 2014 and early 2015.
Signature Flight Support has added ATP Jet Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., to its Signature Select affiliate fixed-base operation program. Under the program, independent FBOs participate in Signature’s systems, training, sales and marketing processes and must meet certain standards. The FBOs keep their independent brand but also carry the Signature Select badge.
Industry profit-to-earnings ratios are up 86% over May 2009, notes industry analyst Rollie Vincent, who heads Rolland Vincent Associates, LLC. The P/E ratio, currently 25.1, is up from 13.5 in May 2009. The dividend yield, meanwhile, is up 30% over that of a year ago. But the five-year sales growth rate is still 26% below that of May 2009 and 19% below that of May 2011, Vincent says.
GULFSTREAM Model Galaxy and Gulfstream 200 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0495; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-236-AD] – proposes to require determining the lengths of the wear indicating pins of all brake assemblies, shortening the pin if the wear indicating pin is too long, inspecting for normal brake wear, and replacing brakes with new brakes if necessary. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of degraded brake performance during landing due to improperly-sized wear indicating pins.
