BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-604 Variant) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1095; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-241-AD; Amendment 39-17032; AD 2012-08-15] – requires replacing or relocating of certain circuit breaker panel (CBP) bus bars on certain airplanes, inspecting for any loose or improperly crimped lugs in certain electrical panel locations and replacement if necessary, and inspection for foreign object damage in certain areas and removal if necessary.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accepted the airline and airport industries’ voluntary aircraft deicing pollution reduction measures, almost 15 years since it last accepted voluntary measures by any industry. The EPA will mandate that new airports be equipped with its technology-based Effluent Limitation Guidelines, which require a central deicing pad. Established airports, however, will be allowed to adopt other measures that include better application techniques, nozzles and recovery programs.
FAA’s first officer qualification proposal would impose costly and sometimes unworkable requirements, compound a looming pilot shortage and vastly understates costs while overstating benefits, aviation advocates say.
Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI) has named Neil Book and Susan Marr co-presidents to lead the hourly cost maintenance program specialist. Book and Marr will report to JSSI chairman and CEO Louis Seno. Book joins the firm from Juniper Networks, where he was vice president of mobility, and also had served as president and CEO of SMobile Systems. He will be responsible for sales, marketing and technical services operations at JSSI. Marr is a JSSI veteran, previously serving as executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel.
BELL Model 204B, 205A, 205A-1, [Docket No. FAA-2012-0415; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-065-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires conducting various inspections associated with the main rotor grip. If a crack is found, that AD requires replacing the grip before further flight. If delamination of the buffer pad on the grip tang inner surface is found, that AD requires inspecting the grip surface for corrosion or other damage and repairing or replacing the grip if corrosion or other damage is found.
EMBRAER Model ERJ 170 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1325; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-250-AD; Amendment 39-17014; AD 2012-07-08] – proposes to supersede an AD that currently requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) to incorporate new structural inspection requirements. Since FAA issued that AD, during full-scale fatigue testing, cracks were found in certain structural components of the airplane.
Hawthorne Global Aviation Services opened a fixed-base operation (FBO) at Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) in Islip, N.Y., co-located with ExcelAire, a provider of aircraft management, charter and maintenance services. The Hawthorne-branded FBO, the largest private jet facility on Long Island, is a cornerstone of its developing FBO network across North America, the company says. Hawthorne also announced plans to add up to 32,000 sq. ft.
Field Aviation’s new owner Amavco is eyeing possibilities for growth both organically and through acquisition, including the addition of a new U.S. modification center.
WARREN HOGAN was named chief pilot for JetFlite International. Hogan previously had joined charter and management firm JFI Jets in 2007, and eventually became chief pilot. He later became lead captain on JFI Jets’ G-V, mostly to Europe, Russia and the Far East, flying more than 1,100 hr. He has more than 2,600 hr. of G-IV/G-V flight time combined. He has more than 32 years of professional aviation experience, also serving with Martin Aviation, Flexjet, FlightSafety International and Petersen Aviation.
Max-Viz’s Enhanced Vision System (EVS) is on track for supplemental type certification aboard Hawker business jets within the next two months. Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support (HGCS) is working toward STC approval by the end of June for installation of the Max-Viz EVS-1500 on Hawker 750, 800, 850 and 900 series business jets. HGCS factory-owned service centers are offering the installation. The system also is an option on new 900XP aircraft.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-604 Variant) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1223; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-173-AD; Amendment 39-17027; AD 2012-08-10] – requires installing a new or serviceable air driven generator (ADG) generator control unit (GCU). This AD was prompted by reports of the ADG failing to power essential buses during functional tests, due to the low threshold setting of the circuit protection on the ADG’s GCU, preventing the ADG from supplying power to the essential buses.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0036; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-142-AD; Amendment 39-7028; AD 2012-08-11] – requires a detailed inspection for defects and damage of the retract port flexible hose on the left and right MLG retraction actuator and replacement of the flexible hose if needed. This AD was prompted by test reports that showed that failure of a retract port flexible hose of a main landing gear (MLG) retraction actuator could cause excessive hydraulic fluid leakage.
The long-awaited rebound in the used business aircraft market remains elusive, with a mixed bag of market indicators from first-quarter results, market researcher Amstat says in its latest Market Update Report. Inventories are down overall from a year ago, which is welcome news for new aircraft manufacturers finding themselves competing with near-new models on the market at lower prices. But prices also continue to shrink overall. Pricing has been problematic in both the new and used markets.
LEARJET Model 45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1069; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-025-AD; Amendment 39-17025; AD 2012-08-08] – requires revising the maintenance program to include new or more restrictive life-limits and inspections. This AD was prompted by changes to the Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) of the maintenance manual, which adds life-limits, revises life-limits, or adds inspections not previously identified.
Cessna Aircraft signed a new agreement with the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company Ltd., (Caiga) and the Shijiazhuang Municipal Government that the company says is a framework to deliver Wichita-built Cessna Caravan single-engine turboprop utility aircraft to Caiga’s Shijiazhuang factory for final assembly, painting, production flight tests and sale within China.
ATR parent companies EADS and Finmeccanica are interested in developing a new, larger turboprop for the European airframer and may introduce new partners into the project. “We and EADS are closely examining the business case for such a new project,” Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO Giuseppe Orsi said during a ceremony observing the delivery of the 1,000th ATR, which will be operated by Spanish regional carrier Air Nostrum. “We want ATR to remain at the very top of the market, ahead of current and future competitors,” he added.
Cessna’s backlog primarily comprises orders taken in 2007 and 2008, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Ronald Epstein reports, adding that most of the deferrals and cancellations also have come from that time period. Cessna maintains that the light- and medium-jet market is still a spot market with an average three-month order-to-delivery period, Epstein says. However, market demographics continue to shift. U.S. customers accounted for 70% of the business in 2011, but that is trending downward to 60% this year, he says.
May 7-9—Airports Council International-NA Airport Economics, Finance and Human Capital Conference, Nashville, Tenn., www.aci-na.org/conferences/ May 14—16 Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2012), www.ebace.aero May 14—24th Annual Greater Washington Aviation Open, Lansdowne Golf Resort near Leesburg, Va., email [email protected], www.gwao.org June 7—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, N.J., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org
FAA is adopting a series of flight restrictions for a large swath of airspace over Chicago from May 19-21 due to the 25th NATO Summit. The temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are one of two new flight advisories that the agency recently issued for international meetings – the second involves the G-8 Summit in Thurmont, Md.
The National Business Aviation Association has developed a guide to help flight operators properly classify workers as either employees or independent contractors. The association notes that misclassification opens a company to tax, liability and legal risks. “The U.S. Department of Labor has one standard it applies. The Internal Revenue Service has another.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) appointed Craig Spence as acting secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Association (IAOPA), stepping in for John Sheehan, who retired. Spence is currently AOPA’s vice president of operations and international affairs, managing safety and security regulatory and operational issues. He has served with AOPA since June 2008 as the first vice president of the newly created Aviation Security Department.
An industry trade group is trying to spur the release of the FAA’s proposed rules for allowing small UAVs to operate in civilian airspace, which had been anticipated in March. The rule appears stalled in the office of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, according to a May 4 letter from Michael Toscano, president of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International to LaHood.
Bombardier today (May 7) is kicking off its first tour of a Learjet 60 XR in Poland. The five-day tour, which will be conducted with Polish carrier Blue Jet, will include stops in Wroclaw, Krakow, Warsaw, Poznan and Gdansk.
JOHN LEHMANN has joined JetFlite International as director of business development. Lehmann brings an extensive background in sports marketing, spending 25 years as a professional tennis player, coach, agent, promoter, marketer and entrepreneur. He formerly was president of Network Sports Marketing, where he specialized in customer events at Wimbledon, the US Open, the Masters, the Super Bowl and the Tour de France, among others. He also initiated and began Nike Golf’s corporate sales division.
