JONATHAN BURLS was named director of maintenance for Miami-based aircraft charter and management company Executive Air Services. He previously had founded Reliable Jet Maintenance, a Part 145 repair station located in Boca Raton, Fla.
Comlux Aruba N.V. registered a Boeing 767-200ER in Aruba under registration marks P4-CLA. The aircraft will be based in Zurich, Switzerland, as part of Comlux VVIP fleet. This aircraft is the fourth aircraft registered by Comlux in Aruba as part of their strategic cooperation with The Registry of Aruba. The aircraft will later be added to Comlux Aruba AOC, which is pending certification from the Department of Civil Aviation of Aruba.
General aviation groups were urging members to be on the alert as the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 drew near. That warning stemmed in part from the Sept. 3 alert issued by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which stated, “While there is no specific or credible intelligence that al-Qaida or its affiliates are plotting attacks in the U.S.
The bi-partisan “super committee” kick off last week appeared mostly pro forma with little discussion of specific possible deficit-reduction measures or ways to raise revenue. General and business aviation advocates plan to closely watch the progress of the committee because user fees and possible lengthening of corporate aircraft depreciation periods had been on the table as possible ways to raise revenue to help the nation reduce its debt. The White House in particular had backed a change in the corporate aircraft depreciation schedule, from five years to seven years.
LYCOMING reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0533; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-16-AD] – This proposed AD would require removing certain “machined-from-billet” HA-6 carburetors, inspecting them for a loose mixture control sleeve or for a sleeve that may become loose, per the instructions of Marvel-Schebler Aircraft Carburetors LLC Emergency Service Bulletin SB-18 (dated Oct. 14, 2010). Operators would need to repair or replace faulty carburetors.
Piper Aircraft is earning dividends from its efforts to increase its international reach though the recent appointments of a number of new dealers and agents, says Executive Vice President Randy Groom. The company so far has appointed nine affiliates this year, plans to name two more and is in discussions with several others in a number of regions.
Piper Aircraft is planning to lock down the design on its new single-jet Altaire in the fourth quarter, a final step before the first conforming test article flies next year. Executive Vice President Randy Groom says the project’s critical design review is “imminent,” and that no real surprises have cropped up and no significant changes have been necessary since the company revamped the design a year ago.
DOWTY R321/4-82-F/8, R324/4-82-F/9, R333/4-82-F/12, and R334/4-82-F/13 propeller assemblies [Docket No. FAA-2010-1270; Directorate Identifier 2001-NE-50-AD; Amendment 39-16788; AD 2005-25-10R1] – Perform repetitive ultrasonic inspections of the rear wall of the rear half of the propeller hub for cracks. An optional terminating action to the repetitive inspections is installation of a new hub assembly. This AD was issued to prevent propeller hub failure due to cracks in the hub, which could result in loss of control of the airplane.
DORNIER 328-100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0912; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-035-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to modify the power-lever control box and revise certain procedures in the Airplane Flight Manual. This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was prompted by several runway-excursion incidents and an accident in which the power lever could not be operated as intended during the landing rollout. FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 20 aircraft on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
Magellan Jets is expanding into the Chinese market with its private jet and concierge services. Magellan initially is offering a “Cultural Education” charter service, designed for the transport of Chinese citizens. Magellan Jets also will provide help with personal letters of invitation and consultations for U.S. visa applications and EB-5 investor immigration business opportunities, which provide green cards for Magellan’s clients. Magellan Jets appointed Stephen Huntsman as global advisor and chief business development-director of sales for the Asia market.
PAUL PFAFFENBERGER has joined Phoenix Heliparts as engineering program manager. He will oversee all engineering projects, his focus areas being Phoenix’s STC and PMA projects for MD500 helicopters. He was a founder and engineering director of FAA-PMA parts manufacturer Extex (now a unit of Timken) that held more than 300 turbine engine approvals. Most recently, he completed contracts with Southwest Turbines, a repair station and PMA manufacturer in Phoenix.
JAMIE FIELDS was promoted to the newly created position of director, repair and overhaul services for Gulfstream Aerospace, where he will be responsible for expanding and enhancing the company’s repair and overhaul capabilities worldwide, particularly for components. Fields, who has been at Gulfstream for 26 years, was most recently senior manager of maintenance, repair and overhaul.
Embraer has partnered with Aircraft Performance Group (APG) to expand the iPreFlight operations software for the iPad by including in the service a new region and new aircraft from the Embraer Executive Jets portfolio. Embraer launched iPreFlight in May for North American customers operating the Phenom 100 and 300, and now the tool is available to Brazilian customers at Apple App Stores.
Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support (GCS) has chosen the sites for the West Coast and Northeast bases for its Mobile Technical Support team’s current fleet of ground support vehicles. The company announced the addition of support vehicles earlier this year. The West Coast base will cover Arizona, Nevada and California, while a second unit in the Northeast will support operators in New York, New Jersey and Virginia. The vehicles, in addition to a dedicated support aircraft, are equipped to provide quick response to unexpected service issues with customer aircraft.
Houston Aviation Services Business For Sale: Houston Hobby FBO with new facility on a long-term lease available, principals please, contact Mark Chambers or Steve Dennis at Aviation Resource Group International via email: [email protected] Click here to view the pdf
Know More “Knowing more lets us make the complicated process of buying or selling aircraft feel simple to our clients. We need skill, focus, and a broad spectrum of knowledge to succeed, and JETNET has always given us the tools to make it possible. They listen to us, constantly evolving their software and including new views, features and services to meet the needs of businesses like ours. They’re the most advanced service with the best support in the business. I wouldn’t use anyone else.”
CESSNA Citation Sovereign airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0913; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-031-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to add diodes to the fuel cross-feed wiring and revise the Airplane Flight Manual to include procedures to use when the left or right generator is off. This proposal was prompted by a false cross-feed command to the right-hand fuel control card, due to the cross-feed inputs on the left- and right-hand fuel control cards being connected together and causing an imbalance of fuel between the left and right wing tanks.
August business aircraft activity was up 4% from July, according to new data from Argus TRAQPak. Part 91 operations rebounded from July, increasing 7.4%, and the Part 135 charter segment rose 0.5%. The fractional segment showed a slight decline in activity, down 0.6% from July.
The number of aircraft for sale that are 20 years old or less has nearly doubled over the past five years, according to aviation consultancy Jetnet. Comparing the aircraft for sale in July 2011 with those in July 2006, Jetnet says those that are 20 years or younger have grown to 1,239, or 10.1% of the fleet, compared with 664, or 7.6% of the fleet in July 2006. The for-sale percentages of aircraft 21 years or older, however, are nearly the same: 21.1% in July 2011 versus 20.8% in July 2006.
A change in Part 61.58 that takes effect Oct. 31 will require all pilots in command (PIC) of turbojet aircraft to undergo annual proficiency checks. Previously, PICs with a single-pilot type rating in certain jets were exempt, including all narrow-body Cessna Citations, the Eclipse 500, Hawker Beechcraft Premier, SyberJet SJ30 and Embraer Phenom 100.
The House transportation appropriations bill, which cleared the transportation appropriations subcommittee on Sept. 8, includes language that essentially prohibits FAA from continuing its limits on the Block Aircraft Registration Request program. Similar language is included in the House version of the long-term FAA reauthorization bill, but that legislation has been on hold as lawmakers have continued to authorize FAA through a series of short-term extensions. See article on Page 2.
FAA is deploying a new tool at ATC facilities around the U.S. that will aid controllers in maintaining optimum separation between aircraft on approach. The Automated Terminal Proximity Alert (ATPA) tool was developed by Lockheed Martin and FAA. The Minneapolis terminal radar approach control (TRACON) was the first to use ATPA, and it has also been deployed to the St. Louis TRACON. Chicago and Denver are next on the list, and the agency plans to bring it to other facilities by year end.
AUSTRO ENGINE E4 engines [Docket No. FAA-2010-1055; Directorate Identifier 2010-NE-35-AD; Amendment 39-16801; AD 2011-18-19] – Conduct frequent inspections of the fuel pressure supply to determine if the high-pressure (HP) fuel pumps have been exposed to damaging pressure oscillations. Pumps that have been exposed to such oscillations must be replaced before further flight.
The first AOPA-China Fly-In, scheduled Sept. 22-24, was postponed after last month’s crash of a Beijing Police Department Agusta Westland AW139 helicopter into the Miyun Reservoir northeast of the Chinese capital. Four of the five people on board the helicopter were killed. The National Business Aviation Association says the crash is considered a “terrible blow” to the just-formed aviation unit. The first fly-in had been restricted to privately owned helicopters, and more than 20 were expected.
