Lightning protection standards for aircraft have been revised by FAA. The new rule – which applies to electrical and electronic systems installed on aircraft certificated under FAR Parts 23, 25, 27 and 29 – establishes two levels of lightning protection for aircraft systems based on the consequences of system function failure. “Catastrophic consequences” are failures that would prevent continued safe flight and landing.
BOMBARDIER CL-215-1A10, CL-215T and CL-415 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0565; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-280-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace solid (round head) rivets with flush rivets on the bracket assembly of the emergency water dump pulley. Operators also would need to install new stiffeners on the bracket assembly and conduct a detailed visual inspection and liquid-penetrant inspection of the stiffeners for cracks, deformations or signs of corrosion. If damage to stiffeners were found, new stiffeners would have to be installed.
Business Jet Access recently dedicated its new 50,000-sq.-ft. facility at Dallas Love Field. Located on a 7.5-acre parcel on the west side of the airport, the facility includes a terminal building and two large hangar bays. The company formerly shared space with its sister company, Business Jet Center, on the airport’s east side. “This new stand-alone facility will enable us to expand our business footprint at Love Field in order to better serve our many customers, both regionally and nationally,” says Brian Hoffman, general manager of Business Jet Access.
FAA’s John Allen believes iPad and iPhone technology can help its effort to standardize its field offices. FAA is exploring their use to expedite the dissemination of information to the field offices, he notes. The agency is in a position where it pays Jeppesen to furnish products FAA itself produces. That is because FAA would otherwise have to go through the Government Printing Office, he says, “which slows the process.”
May business aircraft activity was up 3.6% over April, according to “TraqPak” data from Cincinnati-based Argus. Looking at the results by operational category, all segments posted a positive month, with Part 91 operations leading the way, up 5.5%, says the report. “Part 135 charter activity came in second, up 2%, and the fractional market showed a slight increase of 0.1%,” the company says.
June 14—University of Westminster Aviation Seminars: Air Transport Marketing: Practical Techniques and Strategies, London, +44 (207) 911-5000 ext 3220, fax +44 (207) 911-5171, www.westminster.ac.uk/aviation June 15-16—Shephard Group’s UV Europe Air, Land & Sea 2011, Hotel Husa President Park, Brussels, +44 (175) 372-7001, www.shephard.co.uk/events/ June 15-17—Regional and Low-Cost Air Transport: Opportunities and Challenges, London, +44 (207) 911-5000 ext 3220, fax +44 (207) 911-5171, www.westminster.ac.uk/aviation
The major business and general aviation groups are mounting a legal challenge to a recent U.S. Department of Transportation decision to effectively end the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) say they will seek an injunction to prevent the DOT’s BARR ruling from taking effect on Aug. 2. The partners also will ask the court to invalidate the new policy altogether.
Cambridge Airport in the U.K. has opened a bid process to solicit a new fixed-base operation. The addition of an FBO is a “further demonstration of its commitment to enhance its service offering to business aviation clients,” the airport says. The new provider will take over the FBO from Marshall Business Aviation, which will provide maintenance. The airport, which has a 6,447-ft.-long runway, is owned and managed by the Marshall Group of Companies. Cambridge officials note that they already have received expression of interest in a new facility from six companies.
West Star Aviation recently completed installation of the first upgrade of a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 package to the Pro Line 21 avionics suite on a Falcon 2000. The upgrade, which involved replacing the existing cathode ray tube displays with liquid crystal displays, is now available for both Pro Line 4-equipped Falcon 2000 and 2000EX aircraft. The new system displays charts, maps and graphical weather, and operators can upgrade the GPS sensors with WAAS for LP/LPV capability. The project was completed at the West Star’s facility in East Alton, Ill.
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.
