TODD BITGOOD was promoted to assistant manager of FlightSafety International’s St. Louis center. Bitgood has served with FlightSafety since 2001, initially as an instructor in the Tucson, Ariz., facility, and later as program manager of the Bombardier Learjet 60 training program and then director of training. He also has served as a standards pilot at Lufthansa’s Airline Training Center in Phoenix.
Cessna Aircraft has appointed Genesis Aviation of Shanghai as an authorized sales representative for Citation business jets in China. Genesis is the second Citation sales representative in China, joining longtime Cessna dealer Aviation Supplies.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 700, 701,702, 705 and 900 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0703; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-093-AD; Amendment 39-16654; AD 2011-08-04] – Before further flight, perform a one-time detailed inspection of the main landing gear’s shock strut assembly and take all necessary corrective actions on the torque link apex joint, per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 670BA-32-019, Rev. A (dated Sept. 18, 2008). Also, replace or rework the apex nut.
Piper Aircraft is expecting to complete renovations this summer to accommodate production of its Altaire business jet as work continues on the first of four conforming test articles, the company says. Piper last week updated the status of its first jet offering, the $2.6 million single-engine Altaire, noting that it has selected all “Tier 1” vendors, including tooling specialist Hampson/Global Tooling Services, which has tooling designers on site at the Piper facility. The airframe maker says the Altaire production facility will be ready to manufacture aircraft next year.
FAA’s plan to curtail most use of the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program is “dangerous, invasive and unwarranted” and could have far-reaching implications, says the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).
STEPHANE LEROY was named sales director, South America and Caribbean for Bombardier Business Aircraft. LeRoy, who has served with Bombardier since 2001, has more than 13 years of international sales experience in the aviation industry. In his new role, he is responsible for all Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft sales in South America and the Caribbean, excluding Brazil.
Jet Aviation Flight Services—Jet Aviation’s aircraft management and charter division for the Americas — added a Cessna Citation XLS, Bombardier Challenger 300 and Global Express to its fleet. The Global Express and Challenger are based at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, while the Citation is at Chicago Midway. The newest members of the fleet follow the additions last month of a Dassault Falcon 50 and Citation Encore.
JP Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol is “guardedly optimistic” about a recovery in new business jet demand this year, but in his latest Business Jet Monthly report, he warns that the path is a winding one with mixed signs of improvement. Used aircraft inventory inched up slightly in March, marking the first increase since October, Nadol says. “The increase was slight, but a further decline would have inspired more confidence,” he says. Prices were up on many models, and Nadol says, “We still see a trend toward firming prices.”
Metrojet has become an approved line maintenance facility under Maintenance Center Malta’s European Aviation Safety Agency Part 145 maintenance organization approval. Maintenance Center Malta is a Transport Malta Civil Aviation Directorate-approved maintenance organization at Luqa Airport, Malta, that specializes in maintenance of business jets.
FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center—which coordinates national air traffic at a strategic level—has completed its transition to a new purpose-built facility in Warrenton, Va. Construction of the 64,000-sq.-ft. building started in late 2008. The new facility was built beside the existing Potomac terminal radar approach control (TRACON) facility, which opened at the Warrenton site in 2002. The cost of the project was initially estimated at $46 million, including a $22 million contract for Corinthian Construction Co.
Curtiss-Wright Corporation has acquired the assets of ground support vehicle supplier Douglas Equipment for about $20 million in cash. Curtiss-Wright plans to fold the business into its Flow Control segment. Founded in 1947, Douglas supplies commercial aviation ground support vehicles, including a range of towbar-less and conventional aircraft tractors and runway friction measuring devices. Douglas also has a range of products for the defense industry, including battery-operated traversers for moving helicopters and fighter jets.
Bombardier is expanding its Safety Standdown venues to Asia, with the first event planned for June 9 at Le Royal Meridien Shanghai in China. The daylong Safety Stand-down is designed to provide insight into factors that precipitate errors in judgment, as well as ways to mitigate them. The standdown focuses on human factors and includes knowledge-based and skill-based training. Bombardier has held its Safety Standdown in the U.S. for 15 years and has expanded its safety seminars to Europe and Latin America. For more information, visit www.safetystanddown.com.
Hank Krakowski, chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO), has resigned following a series of incidents involving controllers either asleep or unresponsive during late night shifts. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, who announced the resignation April 14, has appointed the FAA’s chief counsel, David Grizzle, as ATO’s acting COO while a permanent replacement is found.
StandardAero Business Aviation has expanded the capabilities of its facility in Springfield, Ill., adding line services for Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 series engines. PW307 and PW308 engines power the Dassault Falcon 2000 DX/EX/LX, Falcon 7X and Hawker 4000 business jets. StandardAero next plans to add the capabilities to its facilities in Houston, Los Angeles and Augusta, Ga., later this year.
Al Bateen Executive Airport posted an 18% jump in commercial aircraft movements in the first quarter of this year, versus the first three months of 2010. The field, located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, continues to register double-digit growth in traffic from both based and visiting aircraft operators, the airport reports. Al Bateen Executive registered 15 new visiting aircraft operators in March, while based operators continue to take delivery of new aircraft.
The U.K.’s Cambridge Airport has bolstered the full-time presence of the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) service with a new, dedicated operations center. The Archie Morson Center includes a crew room, restroom and a facility for crews to clean up. The center also is equipped with medical facilities to provide clinical care for patients awaiting transfer to one of Cambridge’s nearby hospitals. Flight planning resources and an IT system have been integrated with the airport’s system.
FAA released an “Information for Operators” (InFO) document last week, encouraging all business and corporate aircraft operators to implement a safety management system (SMS). The April 11 InFO also outlines International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) SMS requirements for operators of large aircraft (those weighing more than 12,500 lb.).
China is positioning its helicopter industry to compete commercially, both domestically and internationally. The task falls to Avicopter, created by Avic in 2008 to consolidate China’s state-owned helicopter companies. As China moves to open up its low-altitude airspace to general aviation, local industry hopes to meet demand with indigenous designs, but foreign manufacturers see a potentially huge market through direct sales, local assembly or joint programs; several Avicopter helicopters owe their origins to Eurocopter designs. See related article on Page 6.
DAVID NIELD was promoted to director, final phase operations for Gulfstream Aerospace. Nield will oversee all final phase back-shop operations in Savannah, Ga., including the fabricating of the seats, cabinetry and upholstery for the Gulfstream G450, G550 and G650 aircraft. He joined Gulfstream in 2007 as a production design team lead, and before that served with Raytheon Aircraft (now Hawker Beechcraft) for 13 years.
Cleveland-based Flight Options posted strong year-over-year growth in sales and operations in the first quarter of this year, which the company says reflects broader demand for its fractional ownership, membership and jet card programs. The company reported a 467% hike in fractional jet sales and a 46% increase in 25-hr. JetPASS card sales during the first quarter, compared with the first quarter of last year. Fractional utilization was up 8% compared to the first quarter of 2010, while JetPASS flight revenue hours rose 35%.
BELL 212 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2011-0323; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-005-AD; Amendment 39-16651; AD 2011-08-01] – Before further flight, replace certain main-rotor hub inboard strap fittings with airworthy fittings. Also, perform a magnetic particle inspection to see if certain other fittings are cracked. If any fittings are cracked, replace them with airworthy fittings before further flight and report the inspection findings to the FAA within 24 hr.
Hawker Beechcraft is accelerating the Hawker 400XPR project by adding a second aircraft to the test program. The second airplane will be used primarily to develop and certify the various Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics options for the upgraded Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP. “This additional aircraft allows us to engineer the program’s optional avionics upgrade concurrently with the Williams International FJ44-4A engine integration,” says Christi Tannahill, vice president of Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support.
Jet Aviation has received approval to lease additional land at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park, where it plans to build a second hangar and an engine overhaul shop.
