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.
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.
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
Bombardier’s official groundbreaking of its Learjet facility in Wichita on April 30 is expected to help bring more than 1,000 jobs to the facility over the next decade, the company says. The expansion, the largest in Learjet’s history, is welcome news for Wichita, which already has seen the loss of 13,000 aerospace jobs in recent years and is bracing for 2,000 more with the decision by Boeing to pull out of the community. Just last month, Hawker Beechcraft issued layoff notices to 350 more workers.
Click here to view the pdf Accidents, Fatalities, and Rates, 1992 through 2011,U.S. General Aviation Accidents, Fatalities, and Rates, 1992 through 2011, U.S.
Click here to view the pdf Accidents, Fatalities, and Rates, 1992 through 2011,for U.S. Air Carriers Operating Under 14 CFR 135,On-Demand Operations Accidents, Fatalities, and Rates, 1992 through 2011,for U.S.
The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is rolling out an aviation safety action program (ASAP) demonstration project with two charter operators in the Great Lakes Region that will lay the groundwork for a program that could be implemented nationwide. ACSF has partnered with FAA on the program, and the agency’s Great Lakes Region has begun educating operators on the benefits of ASAP, notes ACSF President Bryan Burns.
Aviation advocates continue to build support for a fuel-fraud repeal amendment to the highway transportation bill. House and Senate lawmakers are set to begin negotiations on a compromise highway bill in May after the House passed an extension of federal transportation authority. The House bill includes a Keystone XL provision that has drawn a veto threat, while the Senate is pushing for a two-year authorization. Thirty-two House lawmakers in April sent a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee leadership urging support for a fuel-fraud repeal amendment.
40 Years Ago April 10, 1972 – Cessna dealer files suit against Cessna Aircraft and nine independent wholesale distributors, alleging dual pricing and conspiracy to compete directly with Cessna retail distributors. 30 Years Ago April 5, 1982 – General aviation (GA) groups oppose a Civil Aeronautics Board proposal to take operating slots away from general aviation and transfer them to new entrant airlines, saying the General Aviation Reservation system already has reduced GA flying.
