The European Commission (EC) says it is ready to explore with the U.S. how to expand the scope of a new aviation safety agreement and wants issues such as flight crew licensing and aircraft operations to be included rapidly. The agreement on cooperation in the regulation of safety between the European Union and the U.S. went into effect on May 1.
Air Works India Managing Director Vivek Gour has set his sights on acquiring a medium-sized maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. Gour joined the company in 2010, about two years after it started going after commercial MRO work and a few months after it made its first big acquisition: U.K. aircraft paint services provider Air Livery.
A pre-European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) workshop is designed to help keep safety at the forefront as the industry continues to grow rapidly in Europe. The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) are partnering on the convention, as well as the daylong workshop, which will be held on Sunday, May 15 in Geneva, Switzerland, the site of EBACE.
MARK WULBER has joined Executive AirShare as director of training and FAA compliance, based at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. Wulber, a 20-year aviation veteran, formerly was manager, audit and flight safety programs for Executive Jet Management. He began as a flight follower and dispatcher for Mid Pacific Air Corp., and later served as an instructor pilot, chief pilot and flight officer before joining Executive Jet Management in 2005.
The state-run Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) has been is looking to upgrade its fleet, but first must face increasing scrutiny following two high-profile accidents. The wreckage of a Pawan Hans Eurocopter AS350 B3 Ecureuil helicopter that was carrying an Indian minister and four others was found May 4 after the aircraft went missing for nearly five days. The Indian government indicated that Chief Minister of the northeastern state of Arunachal, Pradesh Dorjee Khandu, was killed in the crash, along with the four others aboard.
GAMA’s board next week plans to continue its work with FAA on improving the Organization Delegation Authority (ODA) and other designee processes. GAMA met with FAA in April and has had an ongoing dialog about making the designee processes more efficient. Both FAA and industry officials believe this becomes particularly important as FAA grapples with limited resources. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt continues to warn that tight budgets could hamper certification projects (BA, March 28/1).
A youngster who pointed a laser at a helicopter has been arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. A 16-year-old Los Alamitos, Calif., teenager was charged with endangering the flight of a sheriff’s department helicopter by pointing a laser from a car near Interstate 5. Deputies from a local police station stopped the suspect’s automobile on the 605 freeway and found a green laser pen light in the juvenile’s possession.
Hawker Beechcraft posted its first jump in backlog since 2008 and reported a significant increase in overall deliveries during the first quarter. But a decline in jet deliveries and soft prices kept revenues down and contributed to an increased loss in the Business and General Aviation segment, the company reported last week.
MIKE KAHMANN was named managing director, CIT Aerospace, Business Aircraft. Kahmann will oversee the Business Aircraft team based in Dallas. He formerly was senior VP, transport finance at CIT, responsible for the Financial Institutions Group. Before joining CIT, he was president of Emigrant Business Credit Corp.
DASSAULT Falcon 7X airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-1207; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-140-AD; Amendment 39-16680; AD 2011-09-18] – Install dedicated fuses on the weight-on-wheels (WOW) proximity sensors, per the instructions of Dassault Mandatory Service Bulletin 7X-065 (dated July 24, 2009). This AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is designed to prevent a short circuit in one WOW proximity sensor from causing a simultaneous loss of power to all WOW sensors on that part of the system.
Nextant Aerospace has named three business aviation veterans to oversee its field sales effort in the U.S. Mark Whitman will have responsibility for the Southern U.S., Tom Chapman will oversee the Northeast and John Frevola will be responsible for the Western U.S. Whitman most recently managed the Midwest sales effort for fractional operator Avantair. Chapman came from XoJet, where he most recently served as a senior sales director. Frevola most recently served as VP and general manager for Flightcraft.
CitationAir by Cessna has formed a strategic alliance with The Boathouse, a private club located on Martha’s Vineyard. CitationAir customers and their immediate family members have free access to The Boathouse and its amenities for up to three days per year. The Boathouse has extended a trial membership to CitationAir customers planning to spend more than three days a year on the Vineyard by waiving its $125,000 membership fee.
Cessna recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the CitationJet prototype. Piloted by Bob Leonard and Bob Carnahan, the CitationJet prototype took off on April 29, 1991, from Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport, reached an altitude of 10,000 ft. and checked basic handling and response. The aircraft was certified in 1992. Cessna, which announced the aircraft during the National Business Aviation Association annual meeting and convention in 1989, has since delivered more than 1,450 CitationJet series aircraft.
Embraer posted increased first-quarter 2011 earnings, with net income jumping from $24.1 million in the first three months of 2010 to $105.1 million in the most recent quarter. The improved results come in spite of a precipitous drop in its business jet business. Embraer delivered two large business jets and six light jets in the first quarter, which the company said was in line with expectations. This compares with 17 light jets and two large jets in the same quarter last year. The company declined to reveal the aircraft types.
AAR Aircraft Services-Oklahoma, based at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City (KOKC), has extended for five more years its contract as a Phillips 66 Aviation branded dealer. The sole FBO at KOKC, AAR supports military, commercial and business aircraft. The FBO participates in WingPoints Rewards, the Phillips 66 Aviation fuel rewards program.
The Greater Washington Aviation Open (GWAO), held April 25 at the Lansdowne Golf Resort outside Washington, raised $104,000 to support the Corporate Angel Network and the Veterans Airlift Command. Raising this amount of money at the 23rd annual golf and tennis tournament in the midst of a soft economy “was extremely satisfying,” says GWAO Chairman Paul Bollinger.
JDA Aviation Technology Solutions (JDA) has partnered with The Head Guard.com on the Head Guard, which was created to prevent passenger, flight crew and service personnel head injuries on entry doors and cargo compartments. Head Guard is designed to custom fit each airplane doorway specification. Head Guard complies with FAA product certification requirements similar to other cabin products, and materials and can be stored in the cabin overhead bin or closet.
DANA COX was named director of sales for the Asia/Pacific region for Piper. Cox has 35 years of aerospace experience, previously as general manager of international sales and operations management at Itochu Aviation. Before that, he held special-mission aircraft and regional marketing positions for Beech Aircraft Corp.
Jet Source in Carlsbad, Calif., has been appointed as a Piper Service Center for Southern California. Jet Source provides routine airframe and avionics maintenance on all Piper products, along with warranty repairs.
While the investigation continues into the cause of the April 2 crash of a test Gulfstream 650, Gulfstream Aerospace is continuing to move forward on all non-flying activity on the G650 program and still expects to deliver 12 of the aircraft this year, Jay Johnson, chairman and CEO of Gulfstream parent General Dynamics, told analysts last week.
UNIVAIR AIRCRAFT Ercoupe 415-C, 415-CD, 415-D, E and G; Forney F-1 and F-1A; Alon A-2 and A2-A; and Mooney M10 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0360; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-061-AD] – This proposed AD would require inspections of the ailerons, the aileron balance assembly and aileron rigging for looseness or wear. Operators would need to repair or replace parts as necessary and report the inspection results to the FAA.
Quest Aircraft Company has received FAA approval for its external cargo compartment (ECC) and air conditioning system on the Kodiak single-turboprop utility aircraft. Both are offered as options and can be retrofitted on the Kodiak. The ECC provides an additional 65 cubic ft. of storage space. Noting it has orders for both retrofit and new aircraft installations, Quest expects that about 15% of the fleet eventually will be equipped with the ECC. Quest also has a number of orders for the air conditioning system.
Jeppesen has teamed with ETS Aviation to provide a service that helps operators monitor, record, analyze and report flight data within European airspace to facilitate compliance with the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) requirements. Under the partnership, operators can integrate the web-based ETS Aviation Footprinter application with Jeppesen’s International Trip Planning services. Operators can record and monitor plans, as well as company and fleet information, using the Jeppesen/ETS Aviation service.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has appointed three veteran managers to key positions as part of the agency’s ongoing review of how the U.S. oversees its air traffic control system.
THIELERT TAE 125-01, TAE 125-02-99 and TAE 125-02-114 engines [Docket No. FAA-2010-0820; Directorate Identifier 2010-NE-31-AD; Amendment 39-16646; AD 2011-07-09] – Install full-authority digital electronic control software version 2.91. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is designed to prevent an inflight engine shutdown or power loss, which could result in reduced airplane controllability. FAA estimates that this directive will affect 112 engines installed on airplanes on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
