Pilatus has delivered the 1,100th PC-12. The milestone single-engine turboprop was handed over recently to Frontline Aviation during ceremonies held at the Swiss aircraft manufacturer’s U.S. facility in Broomfield, Colo. Thomas Bosshard, CEO of Pilatus Business Aircraft, states, “Since its introduction to the market in 1994, the PC-12 program has greatly exceeded all expectations originally set for it by Pilatus.” The PC-12 fleet has amassed 3.3 million flight hours of operating experience.
Inmarsat selected Aircell and OnAir to be distribution partners as it prepares to roll out its Global Xpress satellite service beginning in mid-2013. Inmarsat is investing nearly $1.2 billion in its Inmarsat-5 satellite constellation, which will use three Ka-band satellites to provide Internet connections at speeds of up to 50 Mbps. The service is expected to launch on a regional basis in mid-2013.
JOHN HAYES has joined West Star Aviation as general manager of the company’s Dallas Love Field facility. A 33-year aviation veteran, he previously was director of maintenance for Business Jet Access in Dallas. He also has held positions with NJI, Inc., Executive Jet International, NetJets Middle East, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Gulfstream.
Eurocopter China recently sold a EC120B and a EC135 to Xilin Fengteng General Aviation Co., Ltd. The two rotorcraft, which are to be delivered by mid-2012, will be used in a variety of missions, including aerial photography, passenger transport, forest firefighting, business charter, emergency medical service and pilot training. Based in Deyang, Sichuan Province, Xilin Fengteng is Eurocopter China’s first customer in southwest China.
Jet Aviation Dubai has received FAA approval to perform base and line maintenance on Gulfstream G200 aircraft. Similar approval for the G150 is expected by yearend. With the clearances, the Dubai facility has earned FAA’s approval to perform base and line maintenance on all the models in the Gulfstream fleet. The company also is working toward European Aviation Safety Agency approval for the G200 and G150. Those nods are expected in early 2012.
AgustaWestland has finalized its acquisition of Bell Helicopter Textron’s 609 tiltrotor program, re-designating the BA609 as the AW609. Required legal and regulatory approvals have been completed, and AgustaWestland is moving the program forward, under its full control, toward FAA and EASA certification in late 2015 or early 2016, with customer deliveries following immediately thereafter.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 100 and 440 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1224; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-175-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace the air driven generator (ADG) generator control unit (GCU), per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 601R-24-130 (dated April 27, 2011). This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada, was prompted by the discovery that the low threshold setting of the circuit protection on the ADG GCU could prevent the ADG from supplying power to the essential buses.
Duncan Aviation has received a supplemental type certificate for installation of a Wi-Fi system in Thrane & Thrane-equipped Dassault Falcon 2000s and 2000EXs. The approval enables Wi-Fi service in the cabin by upgrading the Thrane & Thrane Swift 64 Aero HSD+ satellite communication system to the SwiftBroadband Aviation 700 system, which offers four channels of global voice service, one flight deck datalink and up to two channels for Internet data.
Greenwich AeroGroup has established Greenwich AeroGroup Financial Services to provide aircraft acquisition services. Greenwich AeroGroup Financial Services will provide finance and leasing options for a variety of general aviation aircraft and rotorcraft. The unit will offer capital and municipal leases and customized package options, such as bundling with maintenance services. Scott Grady will head the new unit.
FAA reauthorization talks continue, and business aviation lobbyists are encouraged that senior lawmakers in both the House and Senate are pressing for an agreement. “We’ve got the best shot of seeing this bill passed as we’ve had in a long time,” says one insider. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) have been discussing the possibility of separating out a controversial airline labor provision that has been a sticking point for an agreement on FAA reauthorization.
Eurocopter has sold 25 EC145 T2s to air rescue operator DRF Luftrettung, making the German company Europe’s largest customer for this type of helicopter. DRF Luftrettung will be using the new helicopters to replace its BK 117s. The company plans to put the first five aircraft into service between December 2013 and the end of 2015. The remaining 20 rotorcraft are to be delivered in phases through 2022. DRF Luftrettung, which is based in Filderstadt, operates a total of 31 helicopter stations in Germany, Austria and Denmark, eight of which offer 24-hr. service.
Twenty-two aviation companies and associations are urging Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to release the final repair station security rule, which has been in the works for seven years, by the end of 2011. “The extensive delay in promulgation of a final rule regarding repair station security has a negative impact on … the U.S. industry,” they say in a Nov. 22 letter to Napolitano. “American companies seeking to expand their markets overseas are hindered relative to foreign competitors due to their inability to get new repair stations certified.”
Volvo plans to sell its aerospace division, Volvo Aero, as a step to “further streamline the group” toward commercial vehicles. “One of the prerequisites for a transaction being implemented is that a divestment could enable Volvo Aero to enter into a structure that would enhance the company’s opportunities for further development in its sector,” Volvo CEO Olof Persson says. “Another requirement is, of course, that we are paid a reasonable price.
DASSAULT Falcon 50 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1166; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-169-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise their maintenance programs to include a new procedure for nondestructive checks of flap tracks 2 and 5, as found in the Falcon 50/50EX Maintenance Manual, Rev. 21 (dated June 2011). This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is intended to prevent cracking of the flap tracks, which could lead to flap asymmetry and loss of control of the airplane.
JOLANE CRAWFORD has rejoined Schubach Aviation as business development manager. Crawford, who has 19 years of aviation industry experience, will be responsible for community outreach and business development efforts, including sponsorship and philanthropic activities, cross-promotion partnerships and charter customer outreach. She most recently had served as business development and charter sales director for another San Diego-area charter company. She also previously had spent six and one-half years with Schubach in charter sales and client services.
Raisbeck Engineering added Deer Horn Aviation of Midland, Texas, to its dealer network. Deer Horn maintains more than 30 Beechcraft King Airs and operates two Dassault Falcon 2000s, three Cessna Citation CJs and five King Airs. The company has been authorized to perform services on certain Hawker Beechcraft, Cessna and Cirrus aircraft.
CHRIS MURVINE was named lead inspector and director of training for Phoenix Heliparts. He will coordinate and oversee all inspection functions. Murvine most recently spent 15 years as field service engineer and senior maintenance instructor with MD Helicopters.
Nov. 28-30—Airports Council International Europe/Asia’s 2011 Airport Exchange, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, United Arab Emirates, www.airport-exchange.com Nov. 28-30—Power of India: New Horizons for Airport Commercial Revenues, Novotel, Hyderabad, www.aci.aero Dec. 1-2—Airports Council International-NA International Aviation Issues Seminar, Washington, D.C., www.aci-na.org/conferences/
Quest Helicopters has launched a new family of turbine helicopters that are to be built in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The new, privately owned aerospace company, which is headquartered in Dubai, plans to develop a family of new light twin-engine and twin-rotor helicopters designed by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Udovenko.
T.J. JAEGER was promoted to Gulfstream/Learjet program manager for West Star Aviation in Grand Junction, Colo. Jaeger will supervise all Gulfstream and Learjet maintenance projects at the Grand Junction facility.
GULFSTREAM G150 and G200 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0716; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-013-AD; Amendment 39-16858; AD 2011-23-07] – Perform a one-time detailed inspection of the aileron control servo actuators to detect fractured or broken centering spring rods, per the instructions of Gulfstream Service Bulletin 150-27-123, Rev. 1, or 200-27-374, Rev. 1 (both dated Jan. 27, 2011). If any centering spring rod is fractured or broken, replace the rod before further flight.
Pilatus has released a PC-12 app for the iPad and iPhone. The digital, interactive aircraft flight manual for the Apple iOS operating system is available free of charge at the Apple App Store. Pilatus pilots can use the app to calculate weight and balance, crosswind numbers, takeoff and climb, as well as cruise, descent and landing performance for all PC-12 models. Performance and weight-and-balance calculations can be emailed to a dispatch center. Many of the app’s controls feature “switchology,” which mimics controls in the actual aircraft.
Constant Aviation Birmingham has become an Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 authorized service center. Officials at the maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Alabama’s Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport say they will provide complete maintenance and avionics services, as well as modifications, composite repairs and compliance with airworthiness directives and service bulletins. Constant Aviation, which has had a relationship with Embraer since 1996, has relocated technicians from its Cleveland base to Birmingham to support Embraer aircraft.
General Electric’s long-term plan to develop the H80 turboprop into a challenger to the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 has taken another step forward with the first flight of an H80-powered L410 commuter aircraft.
DASSAULT Falcon 900 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1164; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-084-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace certain fuel-quantity sensors with an improved fuel-quantity sensor, per the instructions of Dassault Service Bulletin F900-410 (dated Dec. 20, 2010). This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was prompted by several incidents in which fuel leaked from defective fuel sensors located in the wing front spar.
