July 14—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, San Jose, Calif., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org July 17-19—Aviation Suppliers Associations’ 2011 Annual Conference, Washington Marriott at Metro Center, www.aviationsuppliers.org July 23-24—Dayton Air Show, Dayton Int’l Airport, Dayton, Ohio July 25-31—Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh 2011, Oshkosh, Wis., www.eaa.org
TURBOMECA Arriel 2B and 2B1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0115; Directorate Identifier 2010-NE-40-AD; Amendment 39-16728; AD 2011-13-05] – Insert blade dampers between the gas generator (GG) turbine disc and the GG turbine blade platform, per the instructions of Turbomeca Mandatory Service Bulletin (MSB) A292 72 3166, Ver. B (dated Sept. 20, 2010).
CAV Aerospace, based at Salina Airport in Kansas, has received FAA approval for the repair of its TKS ice protection system. “This achievement is another building block for the continued growth of CAV Aerospace’s MRO capabilities and an extension of our TKS ice protection services,” says CAV Aerospace President Kevin Hawley. CAV notes that more than 6,000 customers fly aircraft equipped with the TKS ice protection system.
JetSuite has moved from its Long Beach, Calif., headquarters to Orange County. JetSuite’s new headquarters is across the street from John Wayne Airport in Irvine, Calif., says Marketing Director Sara De Lowe. The charter operator has 70 employees, including pilots, based at the new facility, she adds. It currently operates 12 Embraer Phenom 100s and will have 13 or 14 by year’s end. “We simply outgrew our space in Long Beach and wanted to create a brand-new, state-of-the-art mission control center,” she says.
Signature Flight Support has become the latest business aviation company to join the microblogging site Twitter. The company was looking to provide a forum for customers, staff and industry stakeholders to have access to real-time information regarding the Signature network, says Patrick Sniffen, vice president of marketing. “We also wanted to listen to the community and engage in conversations that were meaningful,” he says.
Cessna Aircraft has secured a supplemental type certificate (STC) for Wide Area Augmentation System upgrades for the Citation Ultra and Citation Encore business jets. The STC covers Ultra and Encore aircraft with Serial Numbers 260-750, upgrading them to dual Universal UNS-1Espw Flight Management Systems certified for fully coupled WAAS LPV approaches. WAAS updates already have been approved for CJ1+, CJ2+, CJ3 and Citation Encore+ models, as well as for the Citation Excel and XLS.
TREVOR JONES was appointed director of client relations for Gama Aviation. Jones will support the client base and help grow Gama Aviation’s European operation. He has spent the past 18 years as managing director for Manhattan Air and has been a commercial pilot since 1980.
Walter Pague, 96, a founding member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) predecessor organization, the Corporation Aircraft Owners Association (CAOA), died in his sleep July 1 at his home in Middletown, Ohio, NBAA reports. Pague was director of aviation for Armco Steel Corp. when he gathered with 12 other individuals at the Wings Club in New York in 1946 to lay the foundation for CAOA. Pague served on the board of directors of the association from 1947-1964 and was the first chairman of the Technical Committee.
General aviation groups last week endorsed FAA’s selection of the agency’s chief counsel, David Grizzle, to head the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) as chief operating officer, saying he has a grasp of industry concerns. FAA announced the appointment on July 7, almost three months after Henry Krakowski resigned the position after a series of embarrassing incidents involving air traffic controllers.
JDA Aviation Technology Solutions (JDA) was selected to provide its 135 Pro certification support services to Small Business Aviation Charter Services, Inc., an Ardmore, Okla.-based start-up charter operator. JDA’s 135 Pro is designed to simplify the process and lower costs associated with obtaining a Part 135 certificate. The program includes a customized web-based application and document manager for storage and support purposes.
PlaneSmart Charter has received a Part 135 certificate from FAA and will begin offering one-way and roundtrip charter flights in central and north Texas. The company is a subsidiary of aircraft ownership program PlaneSmart Aviation, based in Addison, Texas.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and National Business Aviation Association are urging federal regulators to drop a plan that would bar flight below 18,000 ft. mean sea level (MSL) over certain Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) corridors, saying the proposal could harm aviation safety with little environmental benefit. The associations jointly filed comments on a National Park Service (NPS) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that outlines the NPS’s preferred alternative for strengthening flight restrictions over GCNP.
Constant Aviation, a Cleveland-based aviation services company, has completed a supplemental type certificate (STC) to install Aircell’s Cabin Wireless Access Point (CWAP) on an Embraer EMB-135 corporate shuttle. CWAP provides in-cabin Wi-Fi service for the Gogo Biz Inflight Internet system. The completion of this STC marks the first Gogo Biz installation in an EMB-135 corporate shuttle.
Saab struck a deal to buy Sensis Corp. in a move to strengthen the company’s activities in the field of air traffic management, but also to expand the company’s footprint in the U.S., where it has been eager to grow. Saab is acquiring Sensis for around $155 million, with another $40 million potentially to be paid by 2014, depending on how the business performs. The Swedish aerospace firm says “the acquisition provides a growth platform from which Saab can build on the combined installed base and skills in systems engineering, design and integration.
GUILLAUME LANDRIVON was appointed vice president of worldwide spares for Dassault Aviation. Landrivon succeeds Jean Kayanakis, who is now general manager of Dassault Falcon Service. Landrivon will report to Jacques Chauvet, senior vice president of worldwide Falcon customer service, where he will lead the spare part strategy and logistics efforts to support the fleet of more than 1,800 Falcons spread throughout the world. He came to Dassault Falcon in 2004, when he was named director of customer relations and field service.
Fixed-base operation (FBO) chain Million Air secured a multiyear lease to build and operate a new FBO at Calgary International Airport. The facility, the third for Million Air in Canada, will become the 31st FBO in the chain and comes as Million Air is planning a new facility in Reno, Nev., and opens a facility in Gulfport, Miss. (BA, May 30/3).
HyperMach Europe Aeronautics is relying on revolutionary engine technology and drastic sonic-boom reduction measures to develop a supersonic business jet (SSBJ) that the firm hopes will meet the stringent regulatory standards that have served as a barrier to supersonic travel. HyperMach used the recent Paris air show to unveil its new supersonic, 10- to 20-seat business aircraft concept, the SonicStar. The company aims for certification within 10 years.
Signature Flight Support London Luton has invested in a new security screening facility that makes it the only fixed-base operator on the airport with this equipment. The system meets all U.K. Department for Transport security regulations, Signature says. The facility was designed to reduce security-screening times for departing passengers by adding an automated metal detector arch and explosive trace detector.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Craig Fuller will be the featured speaker at the Wichita Aero Club’s monthly luncheon, scheduled for noon on July 12 at the Airport Hilton in Wichita.
Field Aviation, which recently completed its first major flight deck modernization on a Dash 8 Q300 maritime surveillance aircraft for the Icelandic Coast Guard, has received a contract from Air Iceland to modernize the flight decks on two “classic” series Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 aircraft. The upgrade package will include five Universal Avionics EFI-890R large-format flat-panel displays with dual Vision-1 synthetic vision systems. More than 40 existing mechanical instruments will be replaced in Air Iceland’s instrument panel and center pedestal.
LYCOMING ENGINES AND TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL MOTORS turbocharged reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0126; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-03-AD; Amendment 39-16726; AD 2011-13-03] – For engines with certain Hartzell Engine Technologies, LLC (HET) turbochargers installed, disassemble and clean the center housing and rotating assembly (CHRA) cavities of affected turbochargers, per the instructions of HET Service Bulletin 040, Rev. A (dated Dec. 22, 2010).
ROB FOX was named regional sales director for StandardAero’s Business Aviation sector, where he will direct the company’s western region sales. Fox also will oversee Business Aviation’s regional sales team, which is responsible for daily interaction and support of StandardAero’s Business Aviation customers. He has served in different positions since joining the company, formerly Garrett Aviation, in 1990.
