DRU MILKE is assuming the role of president and CEO of Gulf helicopter operator RLC with the planned retirement of Rodger Bagwell. Bagwell had been with the company for 10 years, helping grow it from a small Part 135 operator focused on the refurbishment and maintenance of aircraft to one of the largest independent helicopter services operators in the Gulf of Mexico with a fleet of 75 aircraft. Milke joined RLC in September after serving as chief financial officer for energy service provider Moreno Group Holdings.
FltPlan.com, an online flight-planning specialist, has teamed with Corporate Angel Network (CAN) to make it simpler for corporate flight departments to notify CAN of the availability of empty seats in the aircraft they fly. CAN arranges free transportation for cancer patients to treatment using donated space on corporate aircraft. Since its founding in 1981, the organization has arranged nearly 40,000 patient flights. FltPlan modified its software to enable CAN participants to automatically send flight schedules into CAN’s database.
CHRIS PAUL was named general manager of Landmark Aviation’s facility at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Paul has 20 years of industry experience, mostly with Landmark. He began working at YVR in 1993 as a line service technician and was most recently operations manager for the facility.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) continues its growth in membership and scope in announcing four new member companies. The additions, which bring the international trade association’s membership to 77, underscore the continued growth of its membership base beyond that of traditional manufacturers, including fuel supplier Avfuel Corp. and flight planning specialist Foreflight among them.
FAA concedes that the costs of the requirements in its pilot-training proposal far exceed the benefits, but says about 75% of the costs come from congressional mandates, making the costs unavoidable. FAA published the proposal in the Feb. 29 Federal Register, significantly increasing the training, experience and type rating requirements for first officers and captains flying in Part 121 operations.
Embraer delivered the first medevac version of its Phenom 300 light jet to Amil Resgate Saúde in Brazil. The aircraft, tail number PP-UTI, is the 100th Embraer executive jet to be delivered in Brazil. Embraer received supplemental type certification for the installation of a medical rescue equipment package aboard the 300. This included a new interior design and assembly, including horizontal space for a stretcher, and four seats for the medical team and companion, and a private aft lavatory.
Cessna expanded its sales leadership team to strengthen its position in established markets, along with growing its base in new markets. Tim White, based in Wichita, was appointed senior vice president-the Americas, responsible for sales in North, Central and South America. White has 19 years of experience, include 14 with Cessna. Kriya Shortt was promoted to vice president, sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Shortt, who has 15 years of experience with Cessna’s sales and customer service groups, will be based in a new sales office in Geneva.
Magellan Jets, the Quincy, Mass.-based jet card and charter service broker, has begun offering a 25-hr. Hawker 800XP jet card special after the company recently purchased a significant number of hours on the business jet. The special includes two additional hours. The company notes the Hawker 800XP has been among its client’s top choices for aircraft selection.
AeroPremier Jet Center opened its renovated fixed-base operation at New Orleans Lakefront Airport. The opening marks the continued rejuvenation of the airport since the devastation of the floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
HONEYWELL Models TFE731-4, -4R, -5, -5R, -5AR, and -5BR series turbofan engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-1045; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-32-AD] – proposes to require replacing affected first stage low-pressure turbine (LPT1) rotor assemblies. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of a rim/web separation of a LPT1 rotor assembly. FAA is proposing this AD to prevent uncontained disk separation, leading to fuel tank penetration, fire, personal injury and damage to the airplane.
FAA Flight Standards Service Director John Allen is working to help expedite the process for business aircraft operators to obtain approvals for reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM). Allen, speaking during the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s 2010 Air Charter Safety Symposium last week, agrees the agency has fallen behind on the work, but says, “I’ll expect improvements,” moving forward. Agency officials met with industry leaders last week on the issue.
Lawmakers are lining up to show their opposition against the White House’s proposed $100-per-flight tax charge. The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) and Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), gathered signatures from 195 House members for a letter to President Barack Obama opposing the user fee proposal. “Imposing a $100-per-flight fee on commercial and general aviation is the wrong approach, and we respectfully request that you abandon this idea once and for all,” the letter says.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute (ASI) finds little evidence of any difference in the safety records of general aviation aircraft with glass cockpits compared with those equipped with analog instruments. ASI last week released a study, the Accident Record of Technologically Advanced Aircraft, which tracks the safety records of more than 20,000 certified piston airplanes produced between 1996 and 2010.
Jet Aviation expanded its network to 14 fixed-base operations (FBOs) with the acquisition of Enterprise Jet Center at Hobby Airport in Houston. Opened in 2006, Enterprise Jet Center provides fuel, catering, aircraft cleaning and maintenance, repair and overhaul services. The company’s facilities include a 28,500-sq.-ft. terminal/office built, an 85,000-sq.-ft. hangar and a 30,000-sq.-ft. maintenance facility. The facility is Jet Aviation’s sixth FBO in the U.S., joining locations in Boston/Bedford, Dallas, Palm Beach, Fla., St. Louis and Teterboro, N.J.
Gulfstream Aerospace is hoping to obtain full certification and delivery of its G280 super midsize business jet in the second quarter, after receiving provisional type certification (PTC) from FAA on March 1. The PTC followed similar approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel on Dec. 29.
Higher revenues and lower aircraft maintenance costs are driving NetJets’ profitability despite slower aircraft sales, says NetJets parent company Berkshire Hathaway. NetJets reported pretax earnings were up 10% to $227 million in 2011, a performance that Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett says was particularly impressive because sales of new aircraft shares were slow during most of the year. NetJets did see an uptick in December “that was more than seasonally normal,” he says, but it’s still unclear whether that improvement is sustainable.
SUPERIOR AIR PARTS, LYCOMING AND CONTINENTAL fuel-injected reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0547; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-13-AD; Amendment 39-16947; AD 2012-03-06] – supersedes an existing AD that requires removing AVStar Fuel Systems (AFS) fuel servos installed after May 20, 2010, if the servo contained an AFS diaphragm, part number (P/N) AV2541801 or P/N AV2541803, from certain production lots.
ExecuJet Europe is increasing its presence at its new location at Cambridge Airport with U.K. ExecuJet, which recently won a five-year contract to run the fixed-base operation at the airport, is planning to relocate its aircraft operations department from Zurich to Cambridge in the second quarter. The company will retain some of its operations resources in Zurich to maintain the Swiss air operating certificate. In addition, ExecuJet Europe’s headquarters will remain in Zurich. ExecuJet says the U.K.
Feb. 28 - 29—2012 Air Charter Safety Symposium, NTSB Training Center, Dulles, Va, www.acsf.aero/symposium March 5—Speednews’ Second Annual Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference, Beverly (Hills) Wilshire Hotel, Calif., www.speednews.com/conferences March 5-7—26th Annual Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference, Beverly (Hills) Wilshire Hotel, Calif., www.speednews.com/conferences
Landmark Aviation received a 37-year lease to operate a fixed-base operation (FBO) at San Diego International Airport. The lease extends Landmark’s presence at the airport, beginning with Landmark’s acquisition of Jimsair Aviation Services in 2008. Under the most recent agreement, Landmark will design, build and operate a new FBO, with a 20,000-sq.-ft. terminal, a 250,000-sq.-ft. ramp and five hangars on a 12.4-acres tract. Landmark, which added 11 locations to its network in 2011, operates a total of 52 FBOs.
House aviation subcommittee leaders Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) and Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) have begun circulating a letter to President Obama objecting to the proposed $100 per-flight fee on commercial and general aviation.
BOB REDING has joined FlightSafety International as senior advisor to the CEO. Reding most recently was executive vice president-operations for AMR Corporation. He also has held senior roles with American Airlines, American Eagle, Canadian Regional Airlines, Reno Air, Midway Airlines and Air Florida.
Jet Aviation Basel has installed a custom-built tail and wing dock station that is certified for Boeing BBJ and Airbus 320 aircraft. The platform will help reduce aircraft downtime by up to six weeks, Jet Aviaiton says, noting it provides complete access to all areas of the tail on all four levels, as well as full structural inspection of the wings.
