Titan Airways has added a new Cessna Citation CJ2+ to its charter fleet. The London Stansted-based operator purchased the six-seat light jet directly from Cessna. Titan Airways plans to offer the aircraft for ski charters this winter, as well as for a variety of other duties, including organ transplant missions and aircraft on ground flights to provide vital spares.
Signature Flight Support, already one of the largest fixed-base operation (FBO) chains worldwide, is continuing its rapid expansion with the acquisition of a majority stake in Arrindell Aviation Services (AAS), based at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM/TNCM) on the Dutch side of St. Maarten. The acquisition strengthens Signature’s foothold in the Caribbean and follows the addition of a facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico earlier this year.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND MBB BK 117 C-2 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2011-1075; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-011-AD; Amendment 39-16836; AD 2011-21-13] – Revise the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) by inserting certain temporary pages into the “Emergency” and “Performance Data” sections of the RFM to alert the operators to monitor the power display when a generator is deactivated and take appropriate actions as needed.
Signature Flight Support this month added a voluntary “California Proposition 65 Defense Fee” of $0.25 per gallon in an effort to raise funds for the California Avgas Coalition, which is fighting a lawsuit filed by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) that essentially is intended to discourage and/or end the distribution, sale and use of aviation gasoline in California. The lawsuit seeks, among other things, stringent penalties against up to 250 companies involved in the sale and/or distribution of avgas.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. and Max-Viz donated an infrared camera to Kansas State University Salina’s avionics program to enable students to obtain hands-on experience with infrared technology. The Max-Viz EVS-1000 camera is designed to help pilots to see more clearly using infrared technology “Our avionics students are going to see this equipment in the industry, so getting experience with it in the classroom will be an advantage to them once they enter the workforce,” says Raylene Alexander, assistant professor of aviation and avionics program lead.
Accelerating NextGen air traffic control systems is not being held back by the technology itself, but the inability to develop processes and procedures to support the technology, General Aviation Manufacturers Association President and CEO Pete Bunce says in testimony to the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee. Bunce, who testified Nov. 7 during a T&I field hearing on NextGen, says FAA needs to leverage research resources from various accounts to expedite deployment.
RUAG Aviation, which operates an authorized Cessna Service Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, has won European Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 approval to provide base and line maintenance for the CitationJet 4. The facility, which is located near Munich, also is authorized to work on CJ4s flown by operators based in Aruba, Bermuda, Bosnia, the Cayman Islands, Canada and Qatar. RUAG expects to add other country approvals in the near future.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is formally reactivating an industry-based advisory panel that will provide recommendations to improve aviation security procedures and equipment. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano named 24 members to the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC), marking the first official appointments to the panel in the Obama Administration.
Duncan Aviation plans to open a new 45,000-sq.-ft. paint shop at its Lincoln, Neb., facility next spring. After four months of construction, the hangar’s main frames are complete, along with extension of the ramp at Lincoln Airport (LNK). It is anticipated that the hangar will be enclosed by the middle of this month. Duncan says the new $10.5 million shop will be able to handle some of the largest business aircraft, including the Gulfstream 650, Bombardier Global Express and Dassault Falcon 7X.
Hawker Beechcraft, grappling with a weak third quarter and mounting losses, Friday afternoon issued another round of layoff notices as part of a company-wide restructuring. Chairman and CEO Bill Boisture on Nov. 4 told company workers that affected employees were expected to receive 60-day “Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice” Nov. 11. “The necessary reductions in force will affect all levels of our company,” Boisture says.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CT7-8A, CT7-8A1, CT7-8E, and CT7-8F5 engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0942; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-29-AD; Amendment 39-16840; AD 2011-21-17] – Conduct daily visual inspections of the fuel filter differential pressure switch for fuel leaks and for excessive cracking of the switch mounting flanges due to stress corrosion. Also, install a collar kit over the fuel filter differential pressure switch as a terminating action to the daily inspections.
FAA has singled out the civil aviation authorities of Germany and Italy for having too few operational safety inspectors, according to industry officials involved in aviation safety and a senior European Union official. There is no threat of the FAA downgrading these two nations to Category 2 in its International Aviation Safety Assessments program, but the U.S. agency expects Europe to fix the problem promptly, says the official. Germany has already responded by going on a recruitment drive for more inspectors, adds the politician.
A Eurocopter EC 130 B4 tour helicopter crashed on Hawaii’s Molokai island last Thursday, killing the pilot and all four passengers, according to preliminary press reports. The single-engine rotorcraft was said to have slammed into a mountain ridge near an elementary school shortly after a heavy downpour and was engulfed in flames. The rotorcraft, which was operated by Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, was less than a year old.
RUEDI KRAFT was appointed vice president of market development and completions sales for Jet Aviation Basel. Kraft will be responsible for overseas sales for the completions business in the European, Middle East and Africa, and Asia regions. He formerly served Jet Aviation affiliate Gulfstream Aerospace, where he was regional vice president for the Middle East and North Africa since 2002. He has been a board member of the Middle East Business Aviation Association since its inception in 2006.
GAMA Group plans to establish a new base in Hong Kong during the first half of next year. The new Asian facility will be the fourth regional base for the U.K.-headquartered business aviation charter, management and maintenance company, which has other operations in Europe, North America and the Middle East.
A three-years-and-counting ban on FAA certification of foreign repair stations is stifling U.S. jobs and international aviation expansion, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) says.
BRIAN SCHLEGEL was promoted to vice president, supply chain management for Nordam. Schlegel will be responsible for global procurement, inventory, planning, transportation and logistics across all divisions. He joined Nordam in 2009 as director of supply chain for the repair division.
Nov. 16-17—American Astronautical Society’s National Conference and Annual Meeting, “International Space Station: The Next Decade,” Radisson Resort at the Port, Cape Canaveral, www.astronautical.org Nov. 17—The Wings Club Luncheon featuring Jeff Smisek, president & CEO, United Continental Holdings, Inc., The Yale Club, New York, (212) 867-1770, [email protected] Nov. 28-30—Airports Council International Europe/Asia’s 2011 Airport Exchange, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, United Arab Emirates, www.airport-exchange.com
THIELERT TAE 125-01 and TAE 125-02-99 engines [Docket No. FAA-2010-0683; Directorate Identifier 2010-NE-25-AD; Amendment 39-16852; AD 2011-23-01] – Replace certain clutch assemblies, per the instructions of Thielert Aircraft Engines Service Bulletin TM TAE 125-0021, Rev. 1 (dated Aug. 17, 2011) and TM TAE 125-1011 P1, Rev. 2 (dated Aug. 31, 2011). This AD, which supersedes an existing directive (AD 2010-18-02), requires the same actions, but covers an additional 244 clutch assemblies.
JOE GARCIA has joined Flightline Technical Services as an aviation technician. Garcia previously served with the state of Florida for nearly 10 years as an aircraft mechanic and inspector for the state’s fleet of Hawker Beechcraft King Air turboprops and Cessna Citation Bravo jets. He has more than 17 years of experience as a certified airframe and powerplant mechanic.
AGUSTA AB139 and AW139 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2011-1036; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-088-AD; Amendment 39-16819; AD 2011-20-08] – Inspect certain modules and related connectors for corrosion. If corrosion is found on a module, replace the module with an airworthy module before further flight. If corrosion is found on a connector, clean it before further flight. Also, modify the No. 2 Modular Avionic Unit (MAU) ventilation duct, per the instructions of Agusta Technical Bulletin No. 139-166 (dated April 6, 2009).
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 700, 701, 702, 705 and 900 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0031; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-135-AD; Amendment 39-16860; AD 2011-23-09] – Conduct repetitive visual inspections for damage and corrosion of the protective coating of the main landing gear (MLG) piston axles and repair them, as needed. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by an aviation authority of another country, is intended to prevent failure of the MLG. FAA estimates that this directive will affect 380 aircraft on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
It’s among the world’s largest oil companies, but ExxonMobil says it is done serving business aviation and is shuttering its Avitat system. In so doing, it’s merely following other “Big Oil” outfits. Many within the fixed-base operations and fueling business say they’ve anticipated ExxonMobil’s withdrawal for some time. Foremost among them is Craig Sincock, president and CEO of Avfuel Corp. of Ann Arbor, Mich.
