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.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-101, -102, -103, -106, -201, -202, -301, -311, -315, -401 and -402 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-1157; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-137-AD; Amendment 39-16674; AD 2011-09-12] – Install a drain system for the lower windshield frames. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada, is designed to prevent trapped water on the bottom of the cockpit windshield frames from causing corrosion that could lead to the structural degradation and inflight loss of the windshield.
Miami Executive Aviation has expanded the hours that U.S. Customs operates on the field at Florida’s Opa Locka Executive Airport. Previously, Customs was only available until 9 p.m.; now, the airport can accept international aircraft arrivals until midnight year-round.
Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly spent last week in Wichita as he took on his new role as the temporary chief of Cessna Aircraft and faced the task of stemming losses at the 84-year-old company. Donnelly took the reins of the Textron subsidiary on an interim basis in the wake of the surprising departure of Jack Pelton.
The used business aircraft inventory has dropped, indicating a continued recovery for the industry, say two reports released last week. Corporate aviation information provider Amstat points to a reduction in the used jet inventory, which has been a drag on new airframe sales. And Utica, N.Y.-based business aviation research company Jetnet reports that all the leading indicators in the used business jet market are showing signs of an early-stage recovery, except for continued softness in average asking price.
As the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) prepares to release its quarterly shipment results early this week, President and CEO Pete Bunce concedes, “The first quarter was not as robust as we would’ve hoped.” Cessna already has reported flat deliveries in the first quarter, while Embraer and Gulfstream were down compared with first quarter 2010. And, while Hawker Beechcraft’s overall deliveries were up, its business jet shipments slid (see article on Page 5).
Eurocontrol has issued an updated action plan to deal with calls for expanded runway incursion incident reporting. The 104-page document spells out “the need to improve the quality of data provided in runway incursion incident reports and the need to disseminate the lessons that can be learned from the actual incidents.” The action is driven by an increase in runway incursions in Europe, which, on average, occur at the rate of two a day, Eurocontrol notes.
AERONCA (Burl A. Rogers) Model 15AC and S15AC airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0318; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-033-AD] – This proposal would extend the comment period on a proposed AD that would require operators to conduct repetitive inspections of the upper and lower main wing spar cap angles for cracks or corrosion and install inspection access panels. The proposed AD also would require operators to replace the wing spar cap angles if moderate or severe corrosion is found and apply corrosion inhibitor.
The Los Angeles City Council, at the behest of Santa Monica area member Bill Rosendahl and council member Janice Hahn, late last month unanimously passed a resolution in favor of shutting down all six flight schools at Santa Monica Municipal Airport. Rosendahl and Hahn cited safety, noise and pollution concerns. Hahn previously said that flight school students and instructors were performing hazardous maneuvers over densely populated areas, but she cited no specific examples. She and Rosendahl nevertheless want to see the flight schools moved to an unpopulated area.
FOKKER F.28 Mark 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-1304; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-254-AD; Amendment 39-16644; AD 2011-07-07] – Conduct a detailed inspection for minimum clearance between the Fuel Quantity Tank Unit (FQTU) wiring harness and the outer wing FQTU hole reinforcement structure, per the instructions of Fokker Service Bulletin SBF28-57-097, Rev. 1 (dated June 10, 2010). If the minimum clearance is insufficient, rework the surrounding structure before further flight to remove the possibility of an ignition source.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT King Air B300 and B300C (C-12W) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0436; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-009-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to update the performance charts in the FAA-approved Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) and the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH). This proposal, which was prompted by an error found in the takeoff speeds and field lengths published in the FAA-approved AFM, is intended to ensure that the published data in the manual and the POH are correct and correspond with the published data in the pilot’s checklist.
AERObridge, the nonprofit organization devoted to coordinating emergency aviation response during disasters, is participating in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Level Exercise (NLE 2011) this month. The exercise is designed to prepare for and coordinate a multiple-jurisdictional integrated response to a national catastrophe. NLE 2011 will simulate a major earthquake in the central U.S.
DOWTY R321/4-82-F/8, R324/4-82-F/9, R333/4-82-F/12 and R334/4-82-F/13 propeller assemblies [Docket No. FAA-2010-1270; Directorate Identifier 2001-NE-50-AD] – This proposed revision of an existing directive (AD 2005-25-10) would provide operators with an optional terminating action (installation of a new propeller hub) to the repetitive ultrasonic inspections of prop hubs required by the earlier AD. This proposal is designed to prevent propeller hub failure due to cracks in the hub, which could result in loss of control of the airplane.
