The 500th PW307A engine has been delivered by Pratt & Whitney Canada to Dassault for use on the French airframer’s Falcon 7X trijet. The 6,400-lb.-thrust PW307A has accumulated more than 225,000 flight hours on the Falcon 7X. In total, Pratt & Whitney Canada has fielded more than 3,500 PW300 series engines for eight different civil aircraft applications.
National Airways Corporation has been named Flight Options’ exclusive resale representative in Africa. South Africa-based NAC also has been named as NetJets resale represenetative.
Bryan Moss has joined financial services firm Guggenheim Partners as chairman of its business aircraft investment activities. He has been charged with expanding the firm’s business in that sector as it seeks global investment opportunities. Moss has a long history in business aviation. He spent 16 years at Canadair/Bombardier, including three years as president of the Business Aircraft Division of Bombardier Aerospace Group. He joined Gulfstream Aerospace in 1995 and was named president in April 2003 after Bill Boisture’s retirement.
A Honeywell-operated Gulfstream G450 became the first aircraft to fly from North America to Europe with a 50/50 blend of biofuel and petroleum-based jet fuel powering one of the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines. The second engine operated on 100% petroleum jet fuel. Nevertheless, use of Honeywell biofuel on the flight – unofficially tagged “Pond Scum One” by irreverent observers – saved about 5.5 metric tons of net carbon-dioxide emissions compared with the same flight powered by petroleum-based fuel.
FOKKER F.27 Mark 050, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700; and F.28 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0568; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-010-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to rework the fuel pilot-valve solenoid wiring and install in that wiring a fuse packed in a jiffy junction. Also, operators would need to revise the maintenance program to include a certain Critical Design Configuration Control Limitation.
Bombardier Aerospace continues to fill out its order book for its new Global 7000 and 8000 aircraft, announcing contracts with Switzerland’s VistaJet and AVWest of Australia for 16 of the long-range, large-cabin aircraft at last week’s Paris Air Show. VistaJet ordered 10 Bombardier Global 8000s, which at list price is a contract worth $650 million, the two companies announced. The deal is the latest in a series of transactions that has made VistaJet the largest European operator of Bombardier business jets.
Eurocopter Malaysia will be the anchor tenant at a new Malaysian helicopter center that will begin construction in July. The helicopter facility will be developed within the Malaysian International Aerospace Center and will become the hub for all rotary wing operations and activities at the complex. Eurocopter Malaysia anticipates beginning operations there in April 2012, and an EC225/EC725 full flight simulator is to be installed at the center by the middle of next year.
JAY GIBSON was appointed vice president, special missions for Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC). Gibson, who is part of the senior leadership team, is responsible for the continued development and worldwide expansion of HBC’s special-missions product line. He joined HBC in 2009 as vice president of finance and contracts for the Government Business organization. He also has served as assistant secretary for the U.S. Air Force (financial management and comptroller) in Washington, D.C.
Sikorsky Aircraft has delivered two S-76C++ helicopters to Heli-Union for use in offshore oil missions. With this delivery, the Paris-based operator, which has utilized Sikorsky rotorcraft for more than 30 years, now flies eight S-76C++ aircraft. More than 200 S-76C++ aircraft have been delivered to customers worldwide.
DASSAULT Falcon 7X airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0259; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-196-AD; Amendment 39-16730; AD 2011-13-07] – Revise the “Limitations” section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) to advise pilots to revert to the correct radio-altimeter output if radio altimeter #1 locks up in flight. Also, insert language into the AFM prohibiting dispatch of the airplane with any radio altimeter inoperative.
40 Years Ago June 14, 1971 — North American Rockwell’s General Aviation division announces the 12-place Sabre 75 and Sabre Commander business jets during the Reading Show. 30 Years Ago June 29, 1981 — The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) meets to discuss a tentative agreement on a new contract that resulted from around-the-clock negotiations with Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis and PATCO President Robert Poli, temporarily averting a strike. 20 Years Ago
Business aviation groups made good on their threat and filed a legal challenge last week against the Department of Transportation’s plan to dismantle the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program.
BAE SYSTEMS BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0569; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-240-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct repetitive visual inspections for damage to the main landing gear shock absorber lower attachment pins. If any damaged pins were found, operators would need to replace them with serviceable pins.
Bell Helicopter is selling its assets and intellectual property for the Bell/Agusta 609 tiltrotor aircraft to AgustaWestland, a unit of Finmeccanica, subject to U.S. and European approvals, Bell Helicopter President John Garrison announced at last week’s Paris Air Show. AgustaWestland initially plans to pursue FAA certification of the aircraft, now known as the AW609, in 2015 and begin customer deliveries in 2016, says Bruno Spagnolini, CEO of AgustaWestland.
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) applauded a procedural change designed to ease radiation screening done by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents for business aircraft flying into the U.S. Under the change, auxiliary power units (APUs) can stay on while radiation checks are done on aircraft entering the country, as long as the exhaust vents for those units are 8 ft. above the ground or higher, reports NBAA. The association credits cooperation with CBP officials for the new accommodation.
The EASy II cockpit has been certified on Dassault’s Falcon 900LX by FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency. The first production Falcon 900LX with the next-generation flight deck installed will be delivered in July. EASy II offers a number of new enhancements, including a synthetic vision system, improved takeoff and go-around capability and a runway awareness and advisory system. New options include an automatic decent mode.
FRANCIS LEE has joined Dallas Airmotive as general manager of the company’s new Regional Turbine Center that is scheduled to open in early 2012 in Singapore. Lee has more than 25 years of engine repair and overhaul experience, including spending 12 years at a facility specializing in Rolls-Royce 250 and Turbomeca service. He also spent 14 years with Hawker Siddeley Group.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment of 13 selected general aviation airports found that all had multiple security measures in place to guard against unauthorized access, but most still had identifiable vulnerabilities. GAO also found incidents of unauthorized access and places where some of the security measures were compromised by obstructions.
Daher-Socota won a contract to upgrade 37 TB 20 Trinidad single-engine aircraft for ENAC (Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile), France’s national aviation school. The upgrade deal, signed last week during the Paris Air Show, includes installation of the Garmin G500 integrated avionics suite, two GNS 430W combined communication-navigation systems, a Garmin GAD 43 digital autopilot and numerous additional options. The G500 features a 6.5-in.
Daher-Socata will not make a decision on whether to proceed with a buyout of the intellectual property rights for the Grob G180 SPn business jet from owners Allied Aviation Technologies (AAT) until this fall, the company announced at the Paris Air Show last week. In its centenary year, many thought the French company would discuss at Le Bourget its intentions to develop and produce the all-composite SPn. But as test flying continues, Daher-Socata has remained quiet.
COURTNEY BLOOM joined Mid-Continent Instruments as a marketing specialist. Bloom has a background in marketing, print media and trade show coordination. In her new role, she will focus on the company’s participation in domestic and international trade shows.
JEAN KAYANAKIS was promoted to general manager of Dassault Falcon Service, the largest company-owned aircraft service operation. Kayanakis previously was vice president, Falcon Worldwide Spares. He joined Dassault more than 20 years ago, initially working on the Rafale fighter prototype. He also has held a number of positions within the Dassault Aviation Customer Service department, along with Dassault Falcon Service.
FAA’s bargaining agreement with controllers, estimated at $669 million when it was established in 2009, may need updating to avoid increases that have plagued the administration in the past, warns an audit by the Transportation Department’s Inspector General. The estimated cost of the three-year agreement with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the FAA’s largest workforce, is incorrect for a few reasons, the inspector general says. Primarily, it relies on assumptions about the rate at which employees will retire.
ROBINSON R22, R22 Alpha, R22 Beta, R22 Mariner, R44 and R44 II helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2011-0588; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-074-AD; Amendment 39-16717; AD 2011-12-10] – Repetitively inspect main-rotor blades for possible defects and replace or rework any damaged blades as necessary. This AD, which supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD 2007-26-12) and expands its applicability, is designed to prevent blade debonding, which has caused one fatal accident. FAA estimates that this directive will affect 2,690 helicopters on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
Honeywell is acquiring EMS Technologies, an Atlanta-based network and satellite communications company, for $491 million, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
