FAA, in the throes of finalizing new flight, rest and duty regulations for Part 121 carriers, is considering extending the rules to Part 135 operators, says FAA Flight Standards Director John Allen. Speaking during the National Air Transportation Association’s Air Charter Summit June 8 in Chantilly, Va., Allen did not provide a time line on a potential proposal for Part 135, and concedes the agency has its hands full with mandates from last summer’s Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010, which stemmed in part from the 2009 Colgan Air crash near Buffalo, N.Y.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is one month away from opening its new general aviation terminal. The new facility, scheduled to open in July, was built to replace the existing facility, says spokeswoman Antoinette Spaans. The GA terminal is located at Schiphol East, about 500 meters (1,640 ft.) away from the existing one, she adds. The current facility handles about 18,000 business aircraft a year.
MARK DENNEN has joined Key Air as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He formerly served as senior vice president of finance for TAG Aviation and its successor companies. Dennen has spent 13 years integrating several acquisitions and managing business aviation fleets in excess of 200 aircraft
Jet Solutions has introduced a new initiative for its Flexjet 25 Jet Card program that eliminates charges for 5 hr. of fuel for customers purchasing new 25-, 30- and 35-hr. jet cards. The program will cover the Fuel Component Adjustment (FCA) for the first 5 hr. of flying. No federal excise tax will be applied to the free hours, and there is no quantity limit, Jet Solutions says.
Hawker Beechcraft has secured FAA type certification for its newest member of the venerable King Air twin-turboprop line, the King Air 250, which sports BLR Aerospace composite winglets and a lighter weight design. Announced during the National Business Aviation Association annual meeting and convention in October, the King Air 250 is derived from the King Air 200, but offers improved efficiency and field performance.
David Rimmer, who joined Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based ExcelAire in 2003 as vice president of sales and marketing, was promoted to president of the charter and management firm, the company announced Friday. During his tenure with ExcelAire, Rimmer has overseen the company’s charter operations, customer service and marketing programs.
Boustead Projects was awarded a contract to design and build a maintenance, repair and overhaul hangar facility for Bell Helicopter Asia in Singapore. With a gross floor area of approximately 15,000 sq. meters (161,459 sq. ft.) spread across two floors, the MRO facility will be used to undertake the maintenance, repair and servicing of helicopters and airplanes. Completion is expected in mid-2012.
Dassault last week developed and validated a modification that it believes will enable the Falcon 7X to resume flight shortly, the company said late last week. At the request of the French airframer, the European Aviation Safety Agency and FAA issued emergency directives grounding the fleet late last month after one of the aircraft encountered “an uncontrolled pitch trim runaway during descent” (BA, May 30/2).
The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) has joined the chorus of dissent against the European Union’s proposed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), calling the program discriminatory, flawed and, ultimately, illegal. Europe’s ETS is central to the region’s climate-control policy in that it attempts to limit carbon dioxide emissions. However, the inclusion of any airline that uses EU airspace has angered industry and governments alike amid claims that the EU, among other things, is imposing a tax on companies outside its jurisdiction.
Gulfstream’s G150 demonstrator has set three city-pair speed records, according to the National Aeronautic Association. The midsize business jet set one record on a 3,196-nm flight between Anchorage, Alaska, and Savannah, Ga., and then two more on a roundtrip between Hong Kong and Nagoya, Japan. The flight from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport began at 11:51 p.m. March 18 and lasted 7 hr. and 19 min. A week earlier the aircraft had traveled from Hong Kong International Airport to Nagoya Airport in 3 hr. and 12 min.
Ed Iacobucci, the man who launched DayJet, last week was at the kickoff of VirtualWorks, a new venture that will return him to his tech roots. Iacobucci had earlier founded Citrix, now a tech giant with headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The fledgling company will create a new data indexing system to be called Virtual Index Architecture, Iacobucci told technology news outlets.
ADRIAN LEE was named head of aircraft transaction management for IBA. Lee has 27 years of experience in the finance, aviation, aircraft remarketing and management. Before joining IBA, he held senior positions with Standard Chartered Bank and was vice president at Focus Aviation.
Eurocopter Canada has delivered two new twin-engine EC135 helicopters to the Ontario Provincial Police. “The multirole EC135 is an ideal aircraft for police operation,” says Guy Joannes, Eurocopter Canada president and chief executive. “We are fully committed to supporting the OPP Aviation Services with these platforms.”
Despite the recent departure of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) general aviation branch general manager, Brian Delauter, TSA is hoping to continue building on its collaborative approach with industry, improving access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), moving forward on the proposed Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) and refining temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), a senior agency official says.
HAYDEE RAMIREZ was promoted to director of business development for Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI). Ramirez has worked for JSSI’s global sales team for three years as an international sales assistant. In her new role, she leads business development activities for Africa.
Jet Aviation Basel has selected the Honeywell Ovation Select Cabin Management System (CMS) to install in a Boeing Business Jet as part of a major completions project. “Ovation Select is a robust and reliable entertainment system that provides passengers maximum quality, functionality and productivity,” says Stephan Krenz, general manager of Jet Aviation Basel. “Honeywell’s inflight connectivity will meet our customers’ system requirements, as well as their expectations for the highest quality possible, while its ease of installation is distinctly advantageous.”
CESSNA 310, 320, 340, 401, 402, 411, 414 and 421 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0562; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-015-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to install a placard that prohibits flight into known icing conditions and install another placard that increases published speed on approach by 15 kt. in case of an inadvertent encounter with icing, per the instructions of Cessna Service Bulletin MEB97-4 (dated March 24, 1997).
Jet Professionals struck a deal with European operator VistaJet to serve as the preferred supplier of pilots and crew. Based in Switzerland, VistaJet operates a fleet of Bombardier aircraft for charter. “As preferred supplier to the largest charter operator in Europe, this is a great opportunity for Jet Professionals to expand its service offerings in the region,” says Hani Farag, managing director of Jet Professionals EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia. Jet Professionals EMEA and Asia provides recruitment, staffing and consulting services.
VIKING AIR LIMITED (DE HAVILLAND) DHC-3 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0597; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-019-AD] – This proposed AD, which would supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD 2011-05-02), would require operators to repetitively inspect the elevator control tabs for discrepancies. If any discrepancies were found, operators would need to take corrective actions to bring all discrepancies within acceptable tolerances. FAA proposed this AD to add new repetitive inspections of the elevator control tabs.
TWC Aviation and its wholly owned subsidiary ACM Aviation Services have added a new Embraer Legacy 650 to the managed fleet. TWC Aviation becomes the first company to manage a U.S.-registered Legacy 650 and the first to add a Legacy 650 to its air carrier certificate. The jet will be based at the company’s facility in Singapore.
Altitude Aerospace Interiors, the Air New Zealand subsidiary, has won a second VIP aircraft completion contract to outfit a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ). The client will take delivery of the brand-new green aircraft later this year, and the BBJ is expected to arrive at Altitude’s facilities early next year. The Altitude team will then spend nearly a year fitting it out with a luxury interior.
DC Aviation, the German charter operator, has won the 2011 Gold Safety of Flight Award from the European Business Aviation Association. The company signed a deal with Wyvern to handle its recertification. “Our goal is to far surpass the basic, legally prescribed domestic and international quality and safety requirements,” says Michael Kuhn, managing director of DC Aviation.
The decision to dismantle the Block Aircraft Registration Request program – which permits operators to request that their tail numbers be withheld from real-time flight tracking data – “was above our pay grade,” concedes FAA Flight Standards Director John Allen (BA, June 6/1). He notes the decision came down from the Department of Transportation, and reiterated that “this administration has a perspective on transparency of data.” See article on Page 3.
