Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) has issued a proclamation declaring June as General Aviation Appreciation Month. The proclamation comes just before the Colorado Aviation Business Association’s second annual “Aviation Saves” open house, June 10-11 at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo. The proclamation lauds GA for being home to 75 airports serving 24,118 pilots and 8,074 GA aircraft, while those airports contribute $2.1 billion, or $479 per capita, to the state’s economy annually.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CF34-10E2A1; CF34-10E5, CF34-10E5A1; CF34-10E6; CF34-10E6A1; CF34-10E7; and CF34-10E7-B engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-0187; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-07-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to remove from service certain fan rotor blade retainers, along with the fan rotor spinner supports that were installed with those fan rotor blade retainers, per the instructions of GE Service Bulletin No. CF34-10E-S/B 72-0186 (dated Jan. 31, 2011).
The National Air Transportation Association has released a new fact book, General Aviation in the U.S., which details various aspects of the general aviation and airline services industry. The book provides information on U.S. government agencies that affect the day-to-day operation of aviation businesses, as well as statistics on fuel consumption, fractional ownership companies, active pilots and airports. The fact book is available for free at http://www.nata.aero/data/files/nata%20publications/2011natafactbook.pdf.
Vero Beach, Fla.-based Piper Aircraft reported new aircraft billings of $26.1 million in the first quarter, up 40% compared to the same quarter last year.
NationAir Aviation Insurance has added two safety specialist partners – Air Safety Dynamics and Crisis Advisors – to its portfolio of advisors, providing NationAir clients with expertise in safety management systems (SMS) and emergency response programs. Air Safety Dynamics provides International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) audits and SMS development, and is led by accredited IS-BAO auditor Rob Little. Crisis Advisors, led by Jason Kelly, provides planning and training for emergency response systems.
Three GA associations—the National Business Aviation Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and Experimental Aircraft Association—on May 13 wrote Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), urging his support to preserve a measure in the House-passed reauthorization legislation that would require FAA to maintain the current FAA Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program.
General aviation organizations vowed last week to fight a looming lawsuit in California against 50 fuel retailers and suppliers for distributing leaded aviation gasoline. The Center for Environmental Health (CEH), based in Oakland, Calif., served notice early last week that it plans to sue for violation of California’s drinking water and toxic enforcement law (Proposition 65).
Stéphane Mayer will become president and CEO of Daher-Socata on June 1. Mayer is replacing François Lépinoy, who is moving on to become president of the executive board for the Air Caraïbes Group. Mayer joined the Daher Group in September 2010 as CEO of Daher-Socata. In his new role, Mayer will retain his CEO duties, while adding the responsibilities of president of the organization. Mayer, who has been a pilot for 20 years, began his career in external auditing and has held executive posts at Lagardère Group, EADS Socata and ATR.
TIM RIDDEL was tapped to serve as the new chief pilot for Gulfstream Aerospace’s Airborne Product Support (APS) program. Riddell has served on the APS team for nearly five years.
FAA is evolving Part 121 training requirements with a greater emphasis on full-motion flight simulators and real-world scenarios under a sweeping proposal released last week. The supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) was revamped from a January 2009 proposal to respond to 3,000 pages of public comments and to fold in congressional mandates stemming from the February 2009 Colgan Air crash.
Recovery of the business aviation market remains slow, with economic indicators mixed, according to the latest reports from financial analysts UBS and JPMorgan. UBS’s latest Business Jet Market Index, which measures market conditions on a scale to 100, came in at 49, down from 51 in the prior survey. “While slightly lower, we view this result as relatively positive given higher oil [prices] and Middle East unrest,” writes analyst David Strauss.
A new FAA advisory circular provides guidance and recommendations for training experience for pilots of experimental aircraft. AC 90-109 is designed for flight instructors, owners and pilots of experimental airplanes. FAA says the AC should be used to help develop skills and knowledge necessary for testing of newly built experimental aircraft. The AC also can be helpful for pilots transitioning to fixed-wing aircraft with which they are not familiar, including those that are type certificated.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) continues to spar with the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) over its support for a bill designed to reduce “unfair government competition” with the private sector (BA, April 25/1). In a blog post last week, NATA President James Coyne notes recent ACI-NA criticism of NATA’s involvement in the bill, but says, “There is no ongoing effort at NATA to prohibit airports from serving as FBOs.
SaxonAir has added a second Citation Mustang to its air operator’s certificate. The managed aircraft is part of SaxonAir’s ongoing expansion and comes when its new Business Aviation Center at Norwich International Airport in the U.K. is nearing completion. The aircraft will be jointly operated and marketed by both SaxonAir and Catreus from a new satellite base in Thessaloniki, Greece. SaxonAir’s fleet now consists of two Hawker 400XP business jets, a King Air 350, two Citation Mustangs, and a Eurocopter EC120 and EC135 helicopter.
While the investigation continues into last month’s crash of a Gulfstream G650 test aircraft, FAA’s certification work on the airplane continues, including last week’s proposed special conditions for the 16,100-lbst. Rolls-Royce BR725 engines powering the business jet. FAA is accepting comments on the conditions through June 20.
Magellan Jets in Boston has signed a deal to offer its 25-hr. jet cards to members of Jetsetter.com. Under the deal, Jetsetter members will be able to save as much as $65,157, depending on which type of aircraft they choose, and have their charter ready for boarding within 10 hr., according to Magellan. For example, The G450 Card normally costs $450,157; Jetsetter members can purchase it for $385,000.
General aviation groups last week praised the passage of the $40.1 billion, two-year budget for the state of Connecticut without imposing the new taxes that had been proposed in early versions of the budget. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says the proposals “could have devastated the state’s aviation industry.” The proposals included a new personal property tax on all aircraft and the elimination of the sales-tax exemption for maintenance and repair of light aircraft.
Cessna has increased the number of its Mobile Service Units (MSU) to 12 with the addition of the MSU at Preferred Jet Center at Cobb County Airport-McCollum Field near Atlanta. The MSU will provide planned and unplanned maintenance in customer hangars located in central and northern Georgia, southeastern Tennessee and northeastern Alabama. The MSU includes specially outfitted trucks that carry many tools and equipment found in Cessna Citation Service Centers. The unit can provide a range of services, including engine exchanges.
Hawker Beechcraft’s facilities consolidation and restructuring continues on pace, and Chairman Bill Boisture estimates that the company will have closed down 1 million sq. ft. in Wichita and Salina by year’s end. This represents about one-third of the company’s space in those locations. “We’re winding down in Salina,” he says. At the same time, Hawker Beechcraft also continues to ramp up in Chihuahua, Mexico, where its employment is expected to double from 500 to 1,000 by year’s end.
The General Aviation Avgas Coalition is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to hold off on a draft plan the could lead to further restrictions on 100-octane low lead aviation gasoline until new lead-monitoring data is fully assessed. The EPA released the Draft Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Lead in April, outlining plans for the review of the air quality criteria and national ambient air quality standards for lead.
AgustaWestland and Mitsui Busen Aerospace announced that the Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency has ordered an AW139 helicopter. The helicopter will be used for firefighting, emergency medical service, air rescue and transport missions. The AW139 is scheduled for delivery late this year and will enter service in spring 2012.
Gulfstream Aerospace is trying to make getting a job in the business aviation industry easier. The Savannah, Ga.-plane maker has revamped its online career center, www.gulfstream.com, by streamlining the search and application process and adding a candidate portal where job seekers can check the status of their applications. Applicants can use the candidate portal to access and edit their profile, monitor their open applications, add positions and ask questions. They also will be able to pass along job openings using social-networking links.
Landmark Aviation officially opened its new fixed-base operation (FBO) at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport last week. The company will begin capital improvement projects to upgrade the FBO, including both the terminal and ramp, says President and CEO Dan Bucaro. The Hartsfield FBO will be a “Landmark Cares” facility, where it will support charitable efforts in the local community. For every gallon of fuel sold at the FBO in Atlanta, Landmark will make a donation to local non-profit and charitable organizations.
