Switzerland-based maintenance, repair and overhaul provider SR Technics has sold its 49% stake in a Shanghai-based line maintenance joint venture to Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (Haeco) and that company’s subsidiary, Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (Taeco). The venture has been renamed Shanghai Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Services Co. Ltd. The majority owner is Shanghai Foreign Aviation Service Corp. (Fasco).
Organizers of the National Championship Air Races are moving forward with the annual event in Reno, Nev., but have established a blue-ribbon panel to assess safety concerns that have arisen in the wake of the Sept. 16, 2011 crash of an experimental North America P-15D that killed the pilot and 10 others on the ground and injured 74 people.
The head of the Airports Council International for North America is urging lawmakers to pass a two-year extension of FAA’s operating authority – while negotiations continue on a long-term reauthorization bill. The current, 22nd extension expires Jan. 31. Lawmakers working to strike a deal have been haggling over several differences between the House and Senate versions of FAA reauthorization.
LYCOMING ENGINES fuel injected reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-0218; Directorate Identifier 92-ANE-56-AD; Amendment 39-16894; AD 2011-26-04] – supersedes an existing AD that requires inspection, replacement if necessary, and proper clamping of externally mounted fuel injector fuel lines. That AD also states that it is not applicable to engines that have a Maintenance and Overhaul Manual with an Airworthiness Limitations Section that requires inspection and replacement, if necessary, of externally mounted fuel injector lines.
ROBERT NADR has joined NationAir Aviation Insurance as a sales executive. Nadr, based at NationAir’s headquarters in suburban Chicago, will be responsible for general aviation insurance sales in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. A licensed pilot with commercial multi-engine ratings, Nadr has served as first officer for Billings, Mont.-based Merlin Airways, a Part 135 cargo company operating. He also has owned and operated Nadr POS, which provided information technology product sales and support.
In addition to a lawsuit, Hawker Beechcraft is hoping to build political pressure on lawmakers and the Defense Department to convince the U.S. Air Force to revisit its decision to award the Light Air Support contract to rival Embraer and Sierra Nevada. The company has launched a letter-writing campaign, asking customers and other supporters to contact their local congressmen and DOD concerning the contract. As a result, close to 5,700 letters had been sent to Congress and DOD by Friday afternoon, according to the company. See article on Page 4.
When things get moving in China, they can move quickly. Until about four years ago, Chinese demand for business aviation was one of those things that was forever coming, forever predicted, but never a reality. Then, when orders from China finally began picking up, around 2008, the market revealed its immaturity: almost all the buyers wanted large aircraft. With no business aviation culture, the only people who thought of flying in business aircraft were extremely rich individuals and top managers of huge companies.
U.S. fixed-wing business aircraft operators posted a slightly worse safety record in 2011, with the increase in accidents appearing to exceed the slight increase in operations, according to the latest information released by safety expert Robert E. Breiling Associates. At the same time, however, accidents involving U.S. twin-turbine helicopter operations were less than half the number in 2010.
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) declared a 20% dividend for member companies participating in the association’s workers’ compensation insurance program. The program returned a 20% dividend last year as well, and NBAA notes that to date participants have received nearly $1 million in dividends. The association launched the program in May 2009. The program is underwritten by Phoenix Aviation Managers and its affiliate Old Republic Insurance Company, and administered by NationAir Aviation Insurance.
Embraer is beginning ground tests of its midsize Legacy 500 in preparation for a first flight scheduled for the third quarter of 2012. The ground tests follow the Dec. 23 roll out of the business jet from Embraer’s production hangar at its São José dos Campos, Brazil headquarters.
Cessna business jet traffic is showing signs of improvement, increasing year over year and sequentially by month in November, analyst Morgan Stanley says. The year-over-year increase of 2.3% is the first for Cessna business jet flight activity since June. But growth in business jet operations had slowed over the course of 2011 and “going forward, we continue to expect flattish growth,” Morgan Stanley says. Gulfstream jet activity, meanwhile, was down year over year for the second straight month in November. Activity was down 0.8% in the month, and 0.2% in October.
The Jet Business, a showroom for business jet aircraft, is formally opening this month. Based in central London, the company will house displays and mockups of a range of business jet aircraft, including the Airbus Corporate Jet. The showroom will have floor-to-ceiling screens showing full-size cabin cross sections and floor plans. The Jet Business, which is not affiliated with any manufacturer, will educate clients on the various models and guide prospective buyers through the transaction process.
PETER MASTROIANNI has joined Million Air as general manager of the Fayetteville, Ark., facility. Mastroianni recently retired from the U.S. Air Force, where he spent 22 years, most recently as chief, standardization and evaluation, for the 61 Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base-McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst. There, he was responsible for the wing readiness of 705 airmen.
West Star Aviation received FAA approval to install the Safe Flight Instrument Corporation AutoPower System in Pro Line 21-equipped Hawker business jets. With the supplemental type certificate, West Star is able to offer the AutoPower System for Hawker 800XP, 850XP, 750, 900 and 800XPr models. The work is accomplished at the company’s facility in Grand Junction, Colo., under a distribution agreement with Hawker Beechcraft. Under the agreement, AutoPower installations are completed exclusively by either West Star or a Hawker Beechcraft Services facility.
Bombardier Aerospace has received a firm order for five Challenger 850 business jets from a single undisclosed customer. The total value of the order is about $156 million, based on current list prices. The aircraft is an executive version of the Bombardier’s 50-seat CRJ200LR.
Hawker Beechcraft 1900 aircraft are the subject of an emergency airworthiness directive (AD 2011-27-51) issued late last month. The AD, covering Model 1900, 1900C, and 1900D airplanes, calls for inspections within the next 10 hr. time-in-service of the elevator bob-weight and attaching linkage for correct installation and damage or deformation. The AD further directs corrective actions, if necessary. The emergency action stems from reports of the elevator bob-weight (stabilizer weight) traveling past the stop bolt and reducing nose-down elevator control.
LightSquared is bringing back telecommunications veteran Marc Montagner to serve as chief financial officer, responsible for the company’s daily financial operations and investor and bondholder relations.
ALBERT GIVRAY was named general counsel for Nordam, succeeding Russell Wienecke, who retired. Givray, a partner at Denver-based Davis Graham & Stubbs, has served as outside counsel to Nordam for more than 30 years. He has handled intellectual property, litigation and transactional matters for Nordam.
Flight test results on the EC175 twin-engine helicopter are allowing Eurocopter to offer customers improved performance. The helicopter maker is betting heavily on the 7-metric-ton EC175 to help combat strong competition in the medium-twin market from AgustaWestland. The revised performance figures for the EC175, being developed with Avic, give the helicopter a 135 nm radius of action with 16 passengers and 190 nm with 12 passengers, representing a 30% improvement over the initial baseline.
Jan. 11-13—Airports Council International-NA Insurance & Risk Management Conference, New Orleans, www.aci-na.org/conferences/ Jan. 15-16—American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 15th Annual FAA Space Transportation Conference, Walter E. Washington (D.C.) Convention Center, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C., www.aiaa.org Jan. 15-18—National Business Aviation Association’s Annual Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference, San Diego Convention Center, www.nbaa.org/events/sdc/2012
The U.S. Air Force has issued a stop-work order to Sierra Nevada and partner Embraer on their recently awarded $355 million Light Air Support (LAS) contract as the team’s one-time competitor, Hawker Beechcraft, claims unfair contracting practices in federal court.
Associated Air Center (AAC) secured supplemental type certification for installation of an Aircell ATG-5000 wireless Internet on a Boeing 757-200 aircraft. AAC worked on the project with its StandardAero affiliate in Springfield, Ill. The cooperative efforts have resulted in STC approval and installation of the ATG-5000 wireless Internet on several other Boeing Business Jet aircraft. The 757-200 aircraft is owned by MLW Aviation and operated by Elan Express, transportation provider for the Dallas Mavericks pro basketball team.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) are taking steps to expand their nationwide reach to better fight issues at the local and state levels. The changes come as the groups have devoted more time and resources on an increasing number of state issues – particularly as states look to raise new tax revenues.
