The Gulfstream G250’s hydrophobic windshield coating, which will be used in lieu of wipers to remove moisture from the windshield, will be subject to special FAA certification conditions.
Swiss Aviation Consulting (SWIC) has opened new offices in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Operating under the trading name “SWICAMO Middle East Aviation Services, LLC,” the company offers services in aircraft asset management, continuing airworthiness management and aviation advisory services.
Ricon Group of Portugal has acquired one Embraer Phenom 300 for its newly created subsidiary Everjets. The deal also includes an option for a second Phenom 300. Everjets plans to start operations with the aircraft in December in Southern Europe.
The House and Senate have another month to iron out the differences in their respective long-term FAA reauthorization bills, after each chamber approved the 19th short-term extension of FAA’s authorization last week. FAA’s authorization was set to expire May 30, but the short-term extension pushes the deadline to June 30. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) says the FAA reauthorization bill is “close, very close” to a resolution.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)—the world’s largest commercial bank—has thrown its hat into the international business jet financing ring.
Nearly two thirds of business leaders believe a lack of investment in transportation and its supporting infrastructure is stifling U.K. businesses, a new survey by online broker PrivateFly.com says. PrivateFly.com tapped independent online survey company Clarity to speak with CEOs, managing directors and chairmen from some of the country’s top companies. The poll discovered that a lack of investment in surface transportation has had a bigger influence on business travel than anything else in the last decade.
Rockwell Collins launched a regional trip-support service for European operators under the banner of its Ascend Flight Information Solutions offering. Ascend is the avionics giant’s evolving suite of integrated information services for business aviation operators, offering end-to-end support for flight dispatchers, pilots, passengers and maintenance staff. “Ascend is in a state of constant change, so we feel a need to keep on explaining its benefits,“ says Colin Mahoney, VP for commercial systems sales and marketing.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE AS350B, B1, B2, B3, BA and EC130 B4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2010-1228; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-12-AD; Amendment 39-16693; AD 2011-10-12] – Replace the starter-generator’s cup springs and fan nut, functionally test the damping system, and after accomplishing this modification, mark “004” on the identification plate of the Aircraft Parts Corporation starter-generator.
Jet Aviation Geneva has signed an agreement with ExxonMobil Avitat that allows the company to provide aircraft refueling services to its maintenance and fixed-base operation (FBO) customers in Geneva. In April 2010, Jet Aviation Geneva FBO was appointed a member of ExxonMobil Avitat, the fuel producer’s premier FBO network.
A Manhattan jury last week sided with Cirrus in the wrongful death suit filed over the 2006 crash of a Cirrus SR20 aircraft that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and certified flight instructor Tyler Stanger.
Comlux America in Indianapolis was tapped as a cabin outfitter for Airbus. The facility, which will outfit aircraft for customers in America, worked on an ACJ320 that was brought to the recent European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva. Comlux was selected after an Airbus audit. The center plans to outfit three-four of the aircraft each year. The selection of Comlux increases the network of Airbus-approved outfitters to nine.
CAE has been designated as the authorized training provider for Bombardier Challenger 605 aircraft based in Dubai. The companies also will boost training capabilities for Challenger 605 aircraft pilots and maintenance technicians at Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) in Dubai, as well as new Learjet 45 aircraft training at a future location in Toluca, Mexico. Instruction will be offered on both Bombardier platforms beginning in the spring of 2012.
Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) has delivered a BBJ 737-700 IGW to Beijing Airlines, a business jet subsidiary of Air China. This is the first BBJ for Beijing Airlines, bringing its fleet to 11 business jets.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is launching a campaign to reduce the number of runway-related accidents, which were referred to as “the number one killer in commercial aviation today” by Nancy Graham, director of the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau. Accidents linked to runway operations represent 35-40% of total accidents reported to ICAO in the last five years, Graham said in opening remarks at a three-day conference last week in Montreal. Runway excursions and incursions represent 18% of all serious incidents and accidents.
Fixed-base operation (FBO) attrition, while ongoing for the past two-plus decades, has accelerated in recent years, notes Million Air COO Terry Cross. Since the recent economic downturn began, FBOs have been disappearing at a rate of about 100 a year, he says. The total number has declined from about 5,000 in the mid-1980s to about 3,000 currently. This comes as margins on fuel sales, once at about 35-40 cents per gallon, have diminished to about a nickel.
40 Years Ago May 17, 1971—U.S. State Department denies a Soviet request for negotiations on a bilateral airworthiness agreement, blocking the possible sale of the Yak-40 commuter/business jet and the TU-144 supersonic transport in the U.S. 30 Years Ago May 25, 1981—Singer and International Learning System outline plans to establish SimuFlite Training International in Dallas. 20 Years Ago May 6, 1991—Cessna’s CitationJet completes its first flight as the company accrues nearly 100 orders.
The final minutes of the Aug. 9, 2010 flight that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) remain a mystery to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), but the board believes that the pilot’s temporary unresponsiveness is at least part of the cause of the crash.
As the use of iPads and other tablets for aviation applications increases, FAA recently released an Information for Operators (InFO) document to clarify acceptable use of the technology as electronic flight bags (EFB).
BRITISH AEROSPACE HP.137 Jetstream Mk.1, Jetstream Series 200, Jetstream Series 3101 and Jetstream Model 3201 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0230; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-004-AD; Amendment 39-16699; AD 2011-11-01] – For aircraft that have accumulated 41,000 flight cycles and have main landing gear (MLG) fittings that embody modifications JM5218 or JM8003, conduct repetitive eddy-current inspections of the fittings to detect cracks. Replace or repair any cracked fitting.
Million Air is in final preparations to open the doors of a new 52,000-sq.-ft. fixed-base operation (FBO) at Gulport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi that will be one of the crown jewels of the chain. The facility, one of the half-dozen Million Air “owned” FBOs and the 29th in the chain, will be part-owned and run by Arve and Emily Henriksen. The opening culminates more than a decade-long effort for the Henriksens, who were formerly owners of a Million Air franchise in Mobile, Ala., that was sold in 2005.
RON MATYSIK was promoted to manager of service engineering for Dassault Falcon. Matysik will oversee the day-to-day activities of Dassault’s model specialists. He spent the last eight years in Dassault Falcon’s service engineering department, most recently as a senior service engineer. He began his career with the company working as an avionics specialist at the Help Desk.
SAMANTHA CLOUDER was appointed sales and business development director for Ocean Sky Aircraft Charter. Clouder most recently was VP of U.K. sales for NetJets. Prior to joining NetJets, she worked in financial public relations as a member of the flotations, mergers and acquisitions team at the consultancy Citigate Dewe Rogerson.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) grounded the EASA-registered Falcon 7X fleet last week after a report from Dassault Aviation regarding “an uncontrolled pitch trim runaway during descent” in one its fly-by-wire trijets in Malaysia on May 25. Dassault Falcon Jet has advised all other Falcon 7X operators to ground their aircraft under Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-0102-E, pending an analysis of the cause of the incident.
RICHARD KNIGHT was appointed airport manager at the U.K.’s Cambridge Airport. He formerly served with the U.K. Defense Academy, where he was responsible for training and mentoring senior military commanders. In his new role, Knight will be responsible for the airport’s operational infrastructure, including security, fire, fuel, training services, fixed-base operation management and general airport operations.
The liberalization of general aviation in China has reached the northernmost part of the country, with the civil aviation administration approving a trial of sightseeing flights at Gegeen-gol in Inner Mongolia. But the trial is exactly the type that aircraft manufacturers are least interested in seeing: one that is in a remote part of the country where the authorities see minimal safety challenges, but where demand for aircraft will be slight.
