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.
April 19-21—Flight Safety Foundation/National Business Aviation Association 56th Annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar, San Diego, www.flightsafety.org or www.nbaa.org April 21—The Wings Club Luncheon featuring Calin Rovinescu, President & CEO, Air Canada, The Yale Club, New York, (212) 867-1770, [email protected] April 25—Greater Washington Aviation Open 23rd annual golf tournament, Lansdowne Golf Resort, Lansdowne, Va., [email protected], www.gwao.org
After years of development, FAA has declared its new en route air traffic control system fully operational and ready for nationwide introduction. The agency made the “in-service” decision on the en route automation modernization (ERAM) system based on its performance at the operational test sites in Seattle and Salt Lake City. ERAM, which will be the backbone of the ATC system at the 20 en route centers in the Continental U.S., is regarded as a crucial precursor to the NextGen modernization effort.
RUSSELL HALASZ was named general manager of the Landmark Raleigh-Durham facility. Halasz has held a number of positions at Raleigh/Durham International Airport, beginning as a baggage handler with Raleigh Flying Services for TWA, Northwest and Continental in 1995. In 2003, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical science and a minor in aviation weather from Embry-Riddle University. He joined Landmark as a line service technician in May 2003 and by 2008 had been promoted to assistant manager.
StandardAero Business Aviation recently upgraded a Dassault Falcon 50EX business jet with Pro Line 21 avionics. The upgrade from the original Pro Line 4 cockpit includes four large, configurable 10- by 8-in. liquid crystal displays with Rockwell Collins’ Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS). IFIS provides access to electronic charts, XM graphical weather and enhanced navigation maps. In addition, the upgrade includes Rockwell Collins’ Flight Management System for Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) GPS Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV) approaches.
Pilatus is planning to introduce a new general aviation aircraft next year and expects to add workers this year to support development of the aircraft. The company is providing no details on the aircraft, saying only that the PC-24 will be properly unveiled next year.
PRISM, a subsidiary of Argus that specializes in safety management system (SMS) services, has completed comprehensive SMS training for China’s largest charter and management company, Deer Jet. PRISM provided an SMS overview for the company’s senior executives, along with company-wide training for more than 300 Deer Jet employees. The program included eight days of on-site coaching and working with Deer Jet’s safety, quality and operational staff to improve and refine their processes and procedures.
Honeywell’s TPE331-12JR turboprop engine has received European Aviation Safety Agency approval aboard the Cessna Caravan. Texas Turbine Conversions worked with Honeywell on certification. The engine provides up to 40% more power, says Honeywell, which estimates that the powerplant also saves up to $40 per hr. in operational costs, with longer maintenance intervals, fewer life-cycle-limited parts and better fuel efficiency. The engine also meets Germany’s 78 dB maximum fly-over noise level.
DASSAULT Falcon 50 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0261; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-028-AD; Amendment 39-16648; AD 2011-07-11] – Visually inspect the fire-extinguishing system line and the low-pressure bleed line of the No. 2 engine at Frame 42 in the rear compartment to determine if the lines are properly installed, per the instructions of Dassault Service Bulletin F50-519 (dated Feb. 18, 2011). If the lines are improperly installed, reinstall the lines using the proper connections before further flight.
DAVID PETKE was promoted to VP-flight operations for Jet Aviation’s aircraft management and charter division in the Americas. Petke, who has 6,400 hr. of flight time, has spent 13 years with Jet Aviation, most recently as lead captain for a Global Express based in Teterboro, N.J. In this new role, he will oversee operating practices and procedures to assure continued compliance with regulatory standards.
Cirrus Aircraft executives are awaiting word from the U.S. government regarding clearance to proceed with the Minnesota planemaker’s acquisition by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co., Ltd., (AVIC). Since being announced Feb. 28, the takeover, valued at more than $200 million, has met with opposition that Cirrus executives maintain is misplaced and potentially damaging. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.), whose district includes the main Cirrus plant and headquarters in Duluth, told the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
