The FCC is indefinitely suspending LightSquared’s conditional waiver to operate its proposed 4G voice and data network in bands adjacent to those used by GPS, citing concerns that potential interference with GPS units could pose aviation safety risks. “The commission clearly stated from the outset that harmful interference to GPS would not be permitted,” the FCC says. “Consequently, the commission will not lift the prohibition on LightSquared.”
The Obama administration’s fiscal 2013 budget proposal would cut airports funding by nearly $1 billion, but includes an 11% increase in funding for the NextGen air traffic control system. The White House, which released its budget proposal Feb. 13, is asking for a $15.172 billion budget for FAA in fiscal 2013, down by more than $700 million over the estimated fiscal 2012 appropriation and the actual fiscal 2011 budget. The airports program is set to take the biggest hit, with a proposed cut of $926 million, to $2.4 billion.
Feb. 22-23—Business Jet Interiors World Expo, Cannes, France, www.fly-corporate.com Feb. 22-23—MIU Events/Exhibitions India Group’s Indian Business Aviation Expo 2012, Manekshaw Center, New Delhi, +44 (124) 351-3606, www.miuevents.com/ibae2012 Feb. 23-24—Fifth Society of Experimental Test Pilots’ Annual Southeast Symposium, Ramada Plaza Beach Resort, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., www.setp.org/table/southeast Feb. 28 - 29—2012 Air Charter Safety Symposium, NTSB Training Center, Dulles, Va, www.acsf.aero/symposium
Gulfstream is checking off a number of outstanding tests necessary to receive full certification of its G650 by midyear. The company received provisional type certification last fall and delivered the first 12 green aircraft. Gulfstream since has confirmed stall speeds and minimum control airspeeds with FAA, and has completed certification testing of the hydraulics, fly-by-wire flight controls and fuel system. The aircraft also has undergone testing for flight into known icing approvals.
FAA has issued special conditions for the new Learjet 85 (LJ-200-1A10) to cover the use of hydrophobic windshield coatings in place of windshield wipers. FAA says current regulations don’t provide adequate or appropriate standards for the windshield coatings, and the conditions are needed to provide the necessary level of safety. The hydrophobic windshield coating is designed to provide an unobstructed view from the cockpit during precipitation.
Icon Aircraft successfully completed spin-resistance test flights of its A5 amphibious light-sport aircraft. The aircraft demonstrated compliance with FAA’s Part 23 spin-resistance standards. Icon says spin resistance can significantly reduce the number of loss-of-control accidents involving light aircraft. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute found that 41% of pilot-related fatal accidents were due to stall/spin loss-of-control scenarios.
SASKIA DE JONG joined Avinode as a sales manager for the middle and southern parts of the U.S. She will be based in Miami. Before joining Avinode, she was director of sales and product development for American Adventure Tours, a global wholesale tour operator.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE AS332L2 and EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0005; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-091-AD; Amendment 39-16914; AD 2012-01-03] – supersedes an existing AD to include additional corrective action to prevent failure of the main gearbox (MGB) due to the degradation of the epicyclic module of the MGB and expands the applicability to include the ECF Model AS332L2 helicopter.
It may have been the worst-kept secret in the helicopter industry, but the unveiling of Bell’s new super-medium, long-range 525 Relentless at this year’s Heli-Expo nevertheless marks a watershed moment for the rotorcraft market. The largest civil helicopter ever developed by Bell, the emergence of the 525 sees the biggest strategic shift for the manufacturer since establishing its military market dominance during the Vietnam War era.
Bell Helicopter and Cessna will open a combined sales and service center later this year at Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore. The facility will handle business jet and helicopter MRO, marking the Textron companies’ first factory-owned service center in Asia-Pacific. The 48,700-sq.-meter (160,000-sq.-ft.) complex of hangar, office, storage and maintenance space will employ 90 technicians and office workers when fully operational.
Any remaining doubts over whether the recovery in the civil helicopter market is for real were dispelled in a whirl of record orders, new product announcements and building backlogs at this year’s Heli-Expo. As if to underscore the rising tide of optimism, the show itself was busy, with attendance topping 19,200, eclipsing 2008’s record of almost 18,000. More than 650 exhibitors covered nearly 1 million sq. ft. of floor space; manufacturers brought in 60 helicopters for the show.
Jet Aviation is expanding its operation at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park. The company’s second hangar is in its conceptual phase and will be built on land adjacent to its existing FBO/MRO facility. “We’ll probably get our final specification for the 4,000-6,000-sq.-meter hangar development sometime after the Singapore air show, around March, and be operational by the fourth quarter of 2013,” says Christof Späth, Jet Aviation EMEA and Asia senior vice president of MRO and FBO services.
Eurocopter later this year will begin delivery of its next generation EC-130 T2 that will sport a new engine and almost a completely new airframe from its EC-130 predecessor.
Bombardier is making big investments in China, both in rail – it’s teaming with in-country manufacturers to develop a 280 kph train – and aviation, since AVIC is supplying fuselages for both the Q400 turboprop and new CSeries airliner. However, company President & CEO Pierre Beaudoin said last week that the Canadian manufacturer will not be partnering with Chinese entities to build or develop a business jet there. “We have no intention of doing that,” Beaudoin told reporters at a Wings Club luncheon in New York, ending speculation about such a possibility.
Cessna recently boosted the expected range for its new Citation Latitude midsize aircraft by 15% to 2,300 nm. Initially targeted for 2,000 nm, the range adds a number of additional city-pairs to the nonstop capability, such as between Singapore and Shanghai, Perth and Mumbai. Unveiled during the October National Business Aviation Association annual meeting, the Latitude is scheduled for first flight in mid-2014 and certification a year later. The aircraft is designed with the widest passenger cabin in the Cessna fleet and with stand-up access.
Greenwich AeroGroup’s Summit Aviation reached a long-term agreement with Sikorsky Global Helicopters to manufacture, assemble and test transmissions for new production Schweizer 300 CTM aircraft. The agreement also covers aftermarket support. The accord expands the ongoing partnership between Sikorsky and Summit, which has built subassemblies for the Schweizer 333 for the past five years. The agreement is valued at about $5 million. The work will be completed at Summit Aviation’s Middletown, Del., facility.
Sikorsky’s Composite Technology Inc. (CTI) unit last week officially opened a new $15 million facility dedicated to composite rotor blade services. The facility houses a bidirectional whirl tower that will test main rotor blades that rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise. The balance stand is able to test blades of all sizes and rotational speeds. The whirl tower is powered by two 3,000 shp variable frequency drive induction motors for rotation of three blades – two test blades and a precision-balanced master blade – in either direction. The tower’s 6,000-lb.
Global deliveries of new civilian-use helicopters will increase to 4,700-5,200 through 2016, Honeywell predicts in its 14th Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook report released at Heli-Expo 2012. Recent order momentum and strong purchase plans for 2012 bolster the near-term outlook, despite lingering tight credit conditions and significant inventories of used current production models for sale which continue to shadow the industry.
The Royal Aeronautical Society’s Washington chapter will hold its annual general meeting March 8 in Washington, D.C. Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO William Voss will address the meeting. He also will be presented with an award during the event.
BOMBARDIER Challenger 300 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1089; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-110-AD] – revises an earlier proposed AD that would require an inspection to determine if a certain oxygen cylinder and regulator assembly (CRA) is installed and the replacement of affected oxygen CRAs. That proposal was prompted by reports of deformation found at the neck of the pressure regulator body on the oxygen CRA. This action revises the compliance times.
Piper Aircraft named Eagle South America S.A. as a distributor for its new airplane sales in Chile. Eagle South America is located near Santiago at the Aérodromo de Chicureo and headed by General Manager Martin Andrés Busquets.
Embraer and Avic would extend their cooperation in business jets to sales and service if Beijing approves a proposal to build Legacy 650s in Harbin. Approval should come in the first half of this year, says Ernest Edwards, president of Embraer Executive Jets.
Bell delivered its first 407GX to Toluca, Mexico operator Avemex. Announced during the 2011 Heli-Expo, the 407GX incorporates the Garmin 1000HTM integrated glass flight deck, including two 10.4-in., high-resolution LCD displays, synthetic vision and a terrain avoidance warning system. Avemex, which has operating Bell 407 helicopters for nine years, will use its new 407GX for executive transport.
