A group of California-based fixed-base operators and fuel distributors last week sought a federal court injunction to halt an effort by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) to seek enforcement actions for the distribution of leaded aviation gasoline. The FBO and fuel distributors coalition is suing CEH and the California attorney general in response to a notice of intended lawsuit against the fuel providers for violating the California Safe Drinking & Water Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65).
Talon Air has added a Gulfstream V to its charter fleet. The jet will be based at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, N.Y. during the summer months and Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport during the winter season. The jet will enable Talon to better serve international destinations and offer more nonstop long-range travel options, the company says.
The National Business Aviation Association last week strengthened its ties with the Shanghai Airport Authority with the signing of a five-year agreement to hold the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. NBAA notes that since ABACE was last held four years ago, the association has received numerous requests from cities and countries seeking to host the event. The next ABACE is scheduled for March 27-29, 2012 and is expected to attract more than 5,000 attendees and 200 exhibitors.
ConocoPhillips and Horizon Business Concepts have rolled out a new process designed to standardize and simplify dealer point-of-sale (POS) credit-card processing for ConocoPhillips branded fixed-base-operations (FBOs). The process, the culmination of a two-year joint project, enables Horizon’s TotalFBO software to be used as the single-source, single-entry POS. This is designed to speed up customer transactions and provide greater accuracy, the companies say.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0260; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-242-AD; Amendment 39-16731; AD 2011-13-08] – Conduct a free-play check of the shaft swaged bearing installed in the elevator power control tailstock end. Replace the shaft swaged bearings if excessive free-play is found.
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, (D.C.) 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
StandardAero Business Aviation has expanded its services at its Omaha, Neb., center to include line support for the Honeywell TFE731 engine. The new service, combined with StandardAero’s Mobile Service Team (MST) support network, will enable StandardAero to offer nose-to-tail service to Omaha-based operators. The addition also is part of an overall expansion of StandardAero’s TFE731 support. Last year the company reopened its TFE731 shop at Springfield, Ill.
CAE has targeted the civil helicopter market as a growth area. In 2010, it acquired the training activities of CHC Helicopter, a leading offshore helicopter company, and now provides those services for its 2,000 pilots and maintenance staff. It also formed a joint venture with Lider, Brazil’s largest helicopter company, for training there. In addition, CAE launched a helicopter ab initio training program with the Airports Authority of India at the CAE Global Academy in Gondia.
FlightSafety International has delivered new flight simulators for Bombardier and Embraer aircraft. The ninth Bombardier Q400 aircraft full-flight simulator has been installed at the company’s learning center in Tokyo and is expected to receive Level D qualification from the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau this month. Meanwhile, Azul Brazilian Airlines has taken delivery of its second Embraer 190 simulator, which has been installed at the air carrier’s training facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Piper Aircraft is sponsoring the launch of AirNav.com’s new application for the iTouch, iPhone and iPad. The first 2,000 subscribers will have the option of receiving an annual $4.99 subscription to the application for free when they complete a brief online survey from Piper Aircraft. The new application is available at AirNav.com.
Pratt & Whitney Canada has won the 2011 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Aerospace & Defense Award for Engine OEM of the Year. Frost & Sullivan praised the engine maker for its continuous investment of millions of dollars annually to ensure that its engines and support services are environmentally sound. The research company said that long before the fuel crisis, P&WC had been advancing green programs through the implementation of innovative technologies to optimize fuel consumption and minimize carbon emissions, noise levels and weight.
Nearly two-thirds of all Part 135 on-demand revenue flights and 63% of certificate-holder, non-revenue flights occurred in visual meteorological conditions, according to the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s (ACSF) updated Part 135 Incident/Accident Review. ACSF recently released the latest update, which details factors surrounding charter incidents and accidents between 2004 and 2010.
A coalition of fixed-base operation (FBO) leaders met with the airports community again last week to discuss possible means to facilitate future investments in airports. The two groups met earlier in June with key House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members to air their concerns about long-term leases, the ability to secure viable financing packages for investment and public/private competition (BA, June 27/1). Meeting participants agreed to report back within about a month on the progress of the ongoing dialogue between FBO and airport officials.
General Dynamics (GD) has appointed Daniel Clare, who has been senior vice president and CFO of GD subsidiary Gulfstream Aerospace, to succeed Peter Edwards as president of Jet Aviation. The announcement comes a little more than a week after Jet Aviation, also a subsidiary of GD, announced that Edwards was stepping down on July 4, but would support the leadership transition through Aug. 31 (BA, June 27/3).
Halfway through 2011, Bill Boisture, chairman and CEO of Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC), anticipates it will be another stormy year for the troubled general aviation aircraft manufacturer. But he is taking pragmatic steps to boost HBC revenue in the coming years.
Cessna Aircraft has released a new mobile version of its Citation Customer Service website. Customers can go to Cessna.mobi on their smartphone, iPad or tablet to access contact points for technical information, Cessna Service Parts & Programs, Citation Service Centers, field service reps, customer care, authorized service facilities and the Customer Service leadership team. In addition, the site includes a calendar of events staffed by Citation Service Center and Cessna Service Parts & Programs experts.
President Obama reopened barely healed wounds and drew an outcry of protests from the general aviation community and elected officials last week when he pushed for increased taxes on millionaires, billionaires and corporate aircraft users, saying their tax breaks could compromise health, education and safety programs.
EMBRAER EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC and -120RT airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0546; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-215-AD; Amendment 39-16659; AD 2011-08-09] – Determine the real fuel quantity in each fuel tank using dripless measuring sticks, comparing the results of the fuel quantity measurement with the fuel master indicator and repeater indicator readings for each tank. Take corrective actions as applicable.
DIAMOND DA 40 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0687; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-017-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators of aircraft equipped with certain cabin air conditioning systems to deactivate and remove the vapor cycle system (VCS) and revise the airplane’s weight and balance. This proposal, which was prompted by reports of damage around the VCS compressor mounting areas, is designed to prevent the air conditioner compressor from disconnecting in the engine compartment, which could result in engine stoppage or damage to the engine.
AAR Corp. was named the exclusive worldwide aftermarket distributor for Unison Industries’ electrical components, sensors and systems for aircraft and industrial uses. The agreement is valued at more than $600 million over 10 years. AAR will forecast, order, warehouse and provide aftermarket distribution of Unison replacement parts. AAR also will provide a call center to provide rapid-response support services.
The Chinese continue their expansion into general aviation with the completion of China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company’s (CAIGA) acquisition of Cirrus Aircraft. Terms of the transaction were not released. Cirrus announced the planned acquisition in late February, saying, “This transaction will have a positive impact on our business and our customers because we share a common vision with CAIGA to grow our general aviation enterprise worldwide.”
TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL MOTORS AND ROLLS-ROYCE MOTORS reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0085; Directorate Identifier 2000-NE-19-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace certain magnetos and inspect them to verify that the stop pin is still in place. If the stop pin were not in place, operators would need to inspect the engine gear train, crankcase and accessory case.
Dassault has named three fellow European firms to help develop and produce the SMS, the French airframer’s next-generation super-mid-size business jet that is expected to enter service in 2016. Fokker Aerostructures will be responsible for the design and manufacture of the complete empennage, which will feature advanced lightweight materials involving the Dutch company’s state-of-the-art thermoplastics know-how. Fokker has a longstanding relationship with Dassault, having built wing components for the Falcon 7X.
The Chinese air force plans to open six airfields to joint military and civil use in the current five-year planning period, running to 2015. The newly opened airfields, which have not been identified, join 63 military fields that the air force has made available to civilian use since the 1990s. Military flying takes up 23.51% of China’s usable airspace, the air force says in a statement released under the guise of a Xinhua news agency report. Civil traffic uses 32%, it says, without accounting for the rest.
Piper Aircraft has tapped Circor Aerospace to design and manufacture a fuel system motor-operated component on the manufacturer’s Altaire business jet. The contract’s value was not disclosed. Circor Aerospace will manufacture, assemble and test the component at its Corona, Calif., facilities.
