FAA has scheduled a public meeting on May 30 to solicit input on incentives for commercial and general aviation operators to equip their aircraft with NextGen capabilities. In the most recent FAA reauthorization bill, Congress gave the secretary of Transportation authority to establish an equipage incentive program for U.S.-registered aircraft.
June 7—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, N.J., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org June 11-13—National Air Transportation Association 2012 Air Charter Summit, Westfields Marriott, Chantilly/Dulles, Va., (703) 845-9000, www.nata.aero June 14–16—National Business Aviation Association 17th Annual Flight Attendants/Flight Technicians Conference, Chicago, Ill., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org
The Gulfstream G280 flight test campaign, now at more than 2,000 hr., has completed all company and FAA certification flights, says Scott Neal, Gulfstream senior vice president for sales and marketing. The focus is now on completing the paperwork, and full certification is still anticipated in the third quarter. The first customer aircraft was also just delivered to begin its completion process, Neal says. The next production slot is available at the end of 2014. Gulfstream also is expecting full G650 approval in the third quarter.
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) presented the 2012 European Business Aviation Awards to David McMillan, director general of Eurocontrol, and Don Spruston, director general of the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC). McMillan and Spruston, who received the awards May 14 during the 12th Annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition, were recognized for their service to the business aviation industry.
Joe Lombardo, executive vice president of the General Dynamics Aerospace Group, was selected to receive the National Aeronautic Association’s 2012 Cliff Henderson Trophy.
CESSNA Models 210G, T210G, 210H, T210H, 210J, T210J, 210K, T210K, 210L, T210L, 210M, T210M, 210N, T210N, P210N, 210R, T210R, and P210R airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0534; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-015-AD; Amendment 39-17053; AD 2012-10-04] – requires an inspection(s) of the left- and right-wing lower main spar caps for cracks and either replacing cracked wing lower main spar caps, wing spars, or wings (as applicable) with serviceable spar caps, spars, or wings that are found free of cracks or incorporating an FAA-approved modification.
Seven California lawmakers are pushing for Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to address helicopter noise issues in Los Angeles County. In a May 23 letter to LaHood, the lawmakers ask the FAA to formally solicit local stakeholder views on helicopter noise to “more quickly develop solutions to this ongoing problem.” A study should be the “first step in efforts to enact helicopter flight restrictions,” says Rep. Howard Berman (D), among those signing the letter.
FAA is creating a new classification system for general aviation airports to position them better for local, regional and federal support. This system, which is detailed in a report “General Aviation Airports: A National Asset,” is the culmination of an 18-month study conducted with industry that is intended as a “strategic tool” to help FAA, state agencies and airport sponsors make planning decisions, the agency says. The report also is designed to educate the public of the benefits of local airports and other landing facilities.
Airbus wants to grow the charter market for its corporate jet line and has gained recent approvals from FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency and General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia for Part 135 operations of its ACJ318 and ACJ319, as well as Civil Aviation Administration of China backing for the ACJ319.
The relaunch of the U.S. Air Force’s Light Air Support aircraft competition is getting a mixed response from Super Tucano-maker Embraer. There is some measure of disappointment that the flyoff that was part of the previous competition — won by a Sierra Nevada/Embraer team over the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 entry — was dropped. But on the other hand, there appears to be greater emphasis on having a system with strong past performance in counterinsurgency operations, says Embraer CEO Frederico Fleury Curado. “That should favor us,” he notes.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701 & 702), CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705), and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes [Docket No.
The Pennsylvania House last week passed a measure to exempt aircraft purchases and maintenance from the state’s 6% sales tax, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says. AOPA worked with the Aviation Council in Pennsylvania on the measure, House Bill 1100, which was introduced in April 2011. The bill, which passed 179-19, now heads to the state Senate for consideration. AOPA says the bill is “a vitally important jobs measure” that will increase the competitiveness of the state aviation industry.
FOKKER Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0141; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-092-AD; Amendment 39-17054; AD 2012-10-05] – requires implementing new abnormal procedures for hydraulics in the airplane flight manual (AFM).
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SIKORSKY Model S-92A helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0216; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-025-AD] – proposes to require inspecting the tail rotor (T/R) pylon for a loose or missing fastener, a crack, damage, or corrosion and adding an internal doubler to the aft shear deck tunnel assembly. This proposed AD is prompted by the discovery of cracks in T/R pylons.
As the market remains weak in Europe, so are flight operations. Business aircraft flights within Europe have been down year-over-year every month since September, with April’s flights marking the greatest drop (down 5.4%). In the past 12 months, business aircraft flights are down 0.8% within Europe. However, including international departures and/or arrivals, traffic is up overall for the past 12 months (1.4% for arrivals and 1.5% for departures). See related charts on Pgs. 1, 11 and 12.
Hawker Beechcraft’s May 3 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is enabling the Wichita, Kan., airframer to sort out its supplier relationships, a senior executives says. With uncertainty hanging over the company’s financial future in the run-up to the filing, some suppliers were holding off shipping parts, impacting the aircraft maker’s ability to build its product. The company has issued rolling furloughs, in addition to layoffs, in part to adjust to supply issues.
12,638: The 12th Annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva drew 12,638 attendees from 99 countries, nearly the same as last year. The convention also hosted 491 exhibitors that occupied a record-breaking 2,280 booth spaces, while 60 aircraft were on static display thanks to a 10% increase in ramp space.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND Model BO-105A, BO-105C and BO-105S helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0503; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-032-AD] – proposes to requires repetitive inspections of the MGB oil filter and MGB magnetic plug. If the MGB oil filter or MGB magnetic plug contains metallic fuzz, depending on the amount of metallic fuzz, this proposed AD would require cleaning the magnetic plug, flushing the main transmission, changing the oil, and performing a ground run.
Cessna’s unveiling of the Longitude last week brings the Wichita airframer back to the super mid-size market that it walked away from just a few years ago. In 2008, at the height of the business aircraft boom, the Textron division launched the ambitious Columbus with great fanfare. A year later, with business aviation sales tanking, the company aborted the $750 million development plan. Now, with hints of recovery, Cessna is returning. However, the Citation Longitude represents a far more modest and cheaper development effort, reflecting a more modest market outlook.
WILLIAM CLAREY was appointed sales director in Gulfstream Aerospace’s North American Sales, East Division, Mid-Atlantic Region. Clarey, based in Northern Virginia, will be responsible for sales in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. He joins Gulfstream from Hawker Beechcraft, where he was sales director for the Pacific Northwest. He also has held sales positions of increasing responsibility for Phoenix-based Cutter Aviation and Boise, Idaho-based Western Aircraft.
The Aircraft Performance Group (APG) has updated its iPreFlight application for the iPad to enable standalone computation of takeoff and landing performance without the Internet. The app integrates their Runway Analysis and Weight and Balance systems with a flight-planning module. In addition, the latest version has a Mobile Content Management and Document Management system.
FAA is formally revoking standards used to build emergency locator transmitter (ELT) equipment that transmit via the 121.5 MHz frequency, a move largely expected since the internationally supported Cospas-Sarsat satellite system stopped processing such signals in 2009.
STEVE SIMPSON was promoted to director of training for Executive AirShare, a regional fractional ownership company that operates Embraer Phenom, Hawker Beechcraft Beechjet and King Air aircraft. Simpson has more than 35 years of aviation experience, including a career in the U.S. Air Force and Naval Reserves. He also spent 22 years as a pilot with American Airlines and has served with CAE Simuflite.
