Hawker Beechcraft plans to petition FAA to permit FAR Part 135 charter operators of Hawker 800XP, 800XPR, 850XP and 900XP models to conduct extended over-water operations, such as San Francisco to Hawaii, without requiring the agency’s Extended Twin-Engine Operations Standards (ETOPS) approval. Based upon a series of extensive testing, Hawker Beechcraft believes the aircraft has the capability to travel the required distance within the allotted time.
Fred Rasch has rejoined TIMCO Aviation Services as vice president of maintenance, repair and overhaul sales. Rasch previously had served with TIMCO from 2001 through 2005 as director of contracts and pricing. Most recently he was director of business development for TeamSAI. In his new role, he will manage existing customer accounts and foster new maintenance relationships across the company’s line, engine and airframe businesses.
China has become the fastest-growing market for business jets, as evidenced by activity at last week’s National Business Aviation Association convention. Embraer Executive Jets President Ernest Edwards predicts that Chinese customers will take delivery of 680 new aircraft worth about $20 billion over the next 10 years, while Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. Chairman Kong Lingshan estimates 1,000 jets in that period. But the majority of them will be large-cabin aircraft.
Eclipse Aerospace is planning to deliver its first new production very light jet, sometime in 2013, since buying the assets of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation in 2009. The company last week began taking orders for the Eclipse 550, the new member of the Eclipse family.
Chinese officials attending last week’s National Business Aviation Association annual meeting and convention in Las Vegas signaled that they are positioning their country for a rapid expansion in business aviation.
Garmin is realigning its management structure with Gary Kelley’s announced plans to retire at the end of the year as vice president of marketing. Garmin appointed Philip Straub to lead the aviation unit, Carl Wolf as vice president, aviation marketing and sales, and Frank McLoughlin as vice president, aviation engineering.
FOKKER F.27 Mark 050 and F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1067; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-034-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct a detailed visual inspection of the brightness of all Tritium exit signs and strips. Operators would need to replace insufficiently bright signs and lighting strips. This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is designed to ensure that exit signs and lighting strips are bright enough to facilitate safe evacuation during an emergency.
As Bombardier Aerospace begins production of its mostly composite Learjet 85, company executives believe the first composite member of the Learjet family will become the future of the brand, says Guy Hachey, president of Bombardier Aerospace. “Learjet is moving up-gauge, and we will not enter the very light jet market. … The Lear 85 will change that brand, and we expect to have more than 17% of the market,” Hachey says, referring to Lear’s current market share in its segments.
ExecuJet Europe has won the tender to manage the fixed-based operator business at the U.K.’s Cambridge Airport. Effective Jan. 1, 2012, ExecuJet Europe will take over the management of the former Marshall Business Aviation FBO. Cambridge Airport will be ExecuJet’s ninth European FBO and its first full service FBO in the U.K.
SAAB 340A and 340B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1062; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-038-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace the current main landing gear separation-bolt harness with an improved harness, per the instructions of Saab Service Bulletin 340-32-139, Rev. 01 (dated Nov. 1, 2010).
Flexjet has used the recession to concentrate its fleet and focus on owner retention, says Bruce Peddle, vice president of sales and marketing. Flexjet’s fleet, which numbered 113 aircraft in 2008, has been whittled down to 84 aircraft. This has come mostly through retirement, Peddle says, enabling Flexjet to keep the average age of aircraft in its fleet at 4.5 years. While Flexjet has remained profitable during the past couple of years and sales are up 120% year-to-date, the company is going to continue its path of fleet replacement rather than significant growth.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-102, -103, -106, -201, -202, -301, -311 and -315 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0479; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-154-AD; Amendment 39-16827; AD 2011-21-04] – Rework the cockpit door striker plate and replace the latch block, per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 8-52-61 (dated Oct. 20, 2006). This AD, which supersedes an existing directive (AD 2006-12-16) and resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada, is intended to ensure that the cockpit door can be removed to permit emergency egress.
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES DA 40 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0687; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-017-AD; Amendment 39-16833; AD 2011-21-10] – For airplanes equipped with a cabin air-conditioning vapor cycle system (VCS) STCed by Premier Aircraft Services, deactivate the system, remove the VCS compressor and bracket, and revise the aircraft’s weight and balance chart. This AD was prompted by reports of damage around the VCS compressor mounting areas. FAA estimates that this directive will affect 11 airplanes on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
Ruag’s Do 228NG has begun a three-week road show that will take it from the National Business Aviation Association’s annual conference in Las Vegas to California, Texas and Florida before being paraded at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and then on to Canada. Currently, 15 classic Do 228s are operating in the U.S., according to FAA data. The NG is manufactured under EASA certification, and the improvements that make it an NG – such as avionics, engines, five-bladed propellers and 300 other enhancements – are STC’d by that agency.
Jon Anne Doty was named vice president of sales and marketing for North Carolina-based charter operator Renaissance Jet. She will manage the company’s social media and traditional marketing campaigns. She came from aviation startup Social Flights, where she also handled the traditional marketing efforts and the social media presence of Corporate Flight Management as charter sales manager.
BOMBARDIER Challenger 300 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-1064; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-075-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise the approved maintenance schedule to include two new tasks — a functional test of the Horizontal Stabilizer Trim Actuator (HSTA) No Back and a functional test of the HSTA Brake System — to ensure that a dormant failure of either component is detected and corrected.
Cessna President and CEO Scott Ernest acknowledges a number of internal changes have occurred within Cessna since he took the reins in late May. Bringing a 29-year GE management background to Cessna, Ernest tells Aviation Week he is hoping to apply some of the lessons learned over the years, including process efficiencies and streamlined leadership. “We’re reorganized into a product management structure,” he says, focused on what the next product will be in three to five years.
FlightSafety has received FAA regulatory approval for its corporate cabin attendant training program. The company can now deliver Part 135 records of training with approval from the operator’s principal operations inspector. The training meets the majority of domestic and international regulatory requirements, including FAA 14 CFR Part 135.331, as well as International Civil Aviation Organization and International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations recommendations. FlightSafety’s corporate cabin attendant training is now available at the Long Beach Learning Center.
Gulfstream Aerospace has introduced its PlaneBook app, an electronic document management system for iPad. The app provides pilots easy and immediate access to critical flight information and aircraft-specific documents, such as the Airplane Flight Manual, Operating Manual, pilot checklist and the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH). The electronic version of the QRH, which includes emergency flight procedures, serves as the master document that links to all other documents for easy cross-referencing.
The first Embraer aircraft to be assembled at the company’s U.S. plant in Melbourne, Fla., is in the final stages and on schedule for delivery by the end of the year. The Phenom 100 is currently having its interior installed and is expected to go to the paint hangar at the Melbourne plant in the first week in November, five months after the manufacturer delivered the aircraft’s fuselage and wing parts. The wing mate on the facility’s second Phenom 100 is also complete, and subassemblies for a third jet are now on site.
Signature Flight Support UK has created a dedicated customer support team and hotline to handle the influx of private aircraft during the Summer Olympic Games in London next year. Signature has locations at airports encircling the Olympic venues, and its 24-hr. hotline will assist customers in arranging slots, handling, drop and go and long-stay parking at Signature remote reliever sites, as well as offering access to an extensive U.K.-wide hotel network, dedicated general aviation caterers, crew accommodations, rental cars and competitive fuel pricing.
26,077: The National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) 64th Annual Meeting and Convention drew 26,077 attendees last week in Las Vegas. “What we are seeing is that the show is providing real value to the business aviation community, even in these challenging economic times,” says NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen, calling the three-day event “a highly successful show.” Attendance was up 7% from last year’s convention in Atlanta.
Hawker Beechcraft’s super-midsize Hawker 4000 business jet has received Brazilian type certification from the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC). The Hawker 4000 is the first composite-fuselage aircraft to receive Brazilian certification. The aircraft has won certification from Europe, Bermuda, China, Honduras, India, the Isle of Man, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, UAE and the U.S.
Mike Bunney was named senior vice president of Nordam. Bunney will oversee Nordam’s supply chain, information technology and human resource departments. He has 34 years of aviation experience, having served with McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, including director of logistics for Boeing in Seattle. Most recently, he was chief economic officer for the city of Tulsa, Okla.
