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The National Transportation Safety Board is planning a two-day forum to discuss safety issues surrounding public aircraft operations. The event, titled “Public Aircraft Oversight Forum,” will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 1 in Washington. Chaired by NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman, all five board members are expected to participate. NTSB notes that government organizations conduct public aircraft operations for a variety reasons—from national defense and search and rescue to biological and resource management —but with no FAA oversight.
Heico Corp. has acquired French microelectronics manufacturer 3D Plus, integrating the company into Heico Electronic Technologies Group. It first announced the agreement in June. Heico plans to strengthen 3D Plus activities in the U.S., which include a sales and marketing office in McKinney, Texas, and a technical center in Fremont, Calif. 3D Plus employs 120 people at its headquarters in Buc, France, where it continues to design and produce microelectronic and stacked memory products for satellites and medical equipment.
Air Partner, a London-based air charter broker, has opened a new office in Monaco as part of its strategy to grow its international presence. The new office joins Air Partner’s network of 21 offices. In the first half of the current financial year, new JetCard requests in the South of France increased by 10%. The launch of Air Partner Monaco will build on this success.
Sabreliner has opened a new $7 million paint hangar in Perryville, Mo. The 32,000-sq.-ft. facility will eliminate a bottleneck in the refurbishing process and enable the company to handle larger aircraft than before, according to Sabreliner officials. The new hangar, which eventually will employ 25 people, utilizes an electrostatic paint process, which reduces emissions by 35% and uses less paint. All the painting equipment is housed on the hangar’s second floor in the event of a major flood, like the one that hit the Sabreliner facility in 1993.
DOWTY R212/4-30-4/22 and R251/4-30-4/49 propeller assemblies [Docket No. FAA-2011-0735; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-01-AD; Amendment 39-16807; AD 2011-19-02] – Repetitively inspect for cracks in the buttress threads in the propeller hub and driving center assembly, per the instructions of Dowty Propellers Alert Service Bulletin No. 61-1043, Rev. 7 (dated March 1, 2011). If any cracks are found, remove the propeller assembly from service before further flight.
National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen sees business aviation as a driver of global economic growth as China moves ahead quickly with its plans for general aviation. “There is a real responsibility for all of us to do what we can to make sure, not just that this industry reaches its full potential in China, but it does so in a very safe, very secure and very efficient way,” says Bolen, who was a participant in the recent U.S.-China Aviation Summit, hosted by the American Association of Airport Executives.
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), the ranking Democrat and former chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, is retiring at the end of his term in January 2013. He has served in Congress for 23 years, first elected in 1988. “You can’t go from 100 mph every day and just stop—I intend to continue to go full speed pursuing other interests and opportunities that may come along,” says Costello. Costello has co-authored long-term FAA reauthorization legislation and has been an outspoken opponent of aviation user fees.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp. plans to celebrate its 65th anniversary during this year’s National Business Aviation Association meeting and convention. The firm was founded in October 1946 to develop Leonard Greene’s stall-warning system invention. Since then, the company has pioneered a number of important safety and performance products, including wind shear warning, AutoPower (automatic throttle system), SCAT (speed command of attitude and thrust), angle-of-attack sensors and systems, helicopter exceedance warning units and powerline detection systems.
Oct. 10-12—National Business Aviation Association 64th Annual Meeting and Convention, Las Vegas, 202-783-9000, www.nbaa.org Oct. 10-14—International Air Transport Association’s World Passenger Symposium, Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore, www.iata.org Oct. 11-14—Inter Airport Europe 18th International Exhibition for Airport Equipment, Technology, Design & Services, Munich Trade Fair, +44 (172) 781-4400, www.interairport.com
Bombardier has handed over the first of four Global 5000 jets to the German Ministry of Defense’s Special Mission Wing. The 12- to 13-passenger aircraft are to be used for VIP transport and medical evacuation flights. The Global 5000 acquisitions are part of a broader agreement regarding the modernization of the Special Mission Wing. Lufthansa Technik AG of Hamburg, Germany, is the prime contractor for the overall agreement, which includes the purchase of Airbus aircraft and technical support for all new aircraft types.
In a new study released last week, “The Market for General Aviation/Utility Aircraft 2011-2020,” market research firm Forecast International predicts that manufacturers of general aviation and utility aircraft (not including business jets and light sport aircraft) will produce more than 24,000 aircraft worth about $28 billion in the coming 10 years.
The Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) has launched a version of the National Business Aviation Association/General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s “No Plane, No Gain” business aviation public relations campaign. CBAA’s “Business Aviation Works” campaign was created to promote the importance of business aviation operations in Canada, and aims to educate those seeking to stymie the Canadian industry with new rules and fees driven by a contentious political environment, CBAA says.
Honeywell Aerospace is changing its approach to reaching its customer base with unprecedented information sharing through its customer advisory board (CAB), the Global Customer Committee, along with a wide-ranging training initiative that will involve every company customer service representative.
DORNIER 328-100 and 328-300 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0995; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-243-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to revise their airplane maintenance program by incorporating several tasks related to more frequent inspections of flight control linkages and actuators, per the instructions of Dornier 328 Certification Maintenance Requirements Document TM-CMR-010793-ALL, Rev. 13 (dated April 30, 2007) or Dornier 328JET Certification Maintenance Requirements Document TM-CMR-010599-ALL, Rev. 2 (dated May 1, 2007).
Nextant Aerospace received FAA certification of its Nextant 400XT, a complete makeover of the Beechjet 400A/XP, the company announced last week. Initial deliveries of the remanufactured light jets are to begin this month, with the first aircraft going to fractional jet provider Flight Options, which has ordered 40 of the airplanes. Cleveland-based Nextant Aerospace claims the 400XT is the equivalent of a new jet at a cost approximately half that of competing models.
JOAN HOOPER was appointed senior executive vice president and CFO for Vancouver-based CHC Helicopter. She replaces Rick Davis, who stepped down in early August. She comes from Dell Global Public, where she oversaw corporate finance and was the chief accounting officer for the company.
Deliveries of business jets should begin to rise again in 2012, ending a three-year slide that has decimated much of the industry. But any increase will be modest, and deliveries are unlikely to return to 2008 peak levels until after 2017. That is the upshot of Honeywell’s “2011 Business Aviation Outlook.” Business jet manufacturers are expected to deliver just 600-650 aircraft this year, down from 732 in 2010, as the hangover from a dramatic decline in orders lingers. And next year’s delivery total is projected to remain below 700.
The Great Lakes 2T1A may re-enter production. The documents for ownership of Waco Classic Aircraft Co.’s Great Lakes 2T1A were signed late last month, giving the company the green light to put the biplane back into production, co-owner Peter Bowers tells Aviation Week. He expects to begin work immediately, with the first customer delivery coming next summer. Bowers also says he is looking to add five more people to his 27-person payroll in Battle Creek, Mich., to handle the additional work.
The number of accidents involving U.S. turbine business aircraft inched up slightly in the first nine months of the year, but the number of turbine business aircraft accidents worldwide held steady during the same period, according to preliminary information released by aviation safety expert Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla.
While analysts believe confidence is growing for a rebound in orders and deliveries over the next several years, 2011 remains a stark picture of the toll of the past couple of years. Morgan Stanley “conservatively” estimates Cessna’s business jet deliveries this year will end up at about 30% of the 2008 peak. Gulfstream will fare better at about 75%, says Morgan Stanley analyst Heidi Wood. The gap between the large-aircraft market and mid- and light-aircraft market also is reflected in business aircraft operations, she adds. “The U.S.
Embraer’s Phenom 300 has been certificated in India. The Brazilian airframer recently received type acceptance for the light executive jet from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. First certified in 2009 by Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency and FAA, the Phenom 300 is now approved in almost 40 countries.
CHC Helicopter has ordered 20 additional Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma twin-engine helicopters and will put them into its operations over the next several years. The EC225s—including an option for four additional aircraft beyond the initial 20—will be delivered through 2016. The aircraft are expected to be deployed to serve oil-and-gas customers in the U.K., Norway, Australia and Brazil.
Five more schools have been added to Cessna’s Pilot Training Center Network, which now includes more than 250 organizations. The newest members of the network are Colt Aviation of Big Rapids, Mich.; Flugsportgruppe Zuercher Oberland of Feharltorf, Switzerland; MERA Inc. (dba Benz Aviation) of Grand Haven, Mich.; Island Air Express of Panama City, Fla.; and Baltimore’s Middle River Aviation. All these flight training affiliates use Cessna aircraft and the new Cessna Flight Training System courseware.
