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.
J. MICHAEL MCMILLAN was promoted to VP, sales-Central U.S. for Executive AirShare. McMillan, formerly senior sales director covering Texas, will add Oklahoma and Kansas to his responsibilities, helping expand the company’s fractional aircraft business. He formerly was president and CEO of S-Tech, and also has served as president of Aircraft Travel Solutions, VP-sales and marketing for Piaggio America and regional VP for Raytheon Aircraft.
Falcon Aviation Services, an Abu Dhabi-based charter operator, has added an Embraer Lineage 1000 to its fleet, joining the existing fleet of Gulfstream G450 and Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft. “The infrastructure upgrades and the enhanced services being provided by both Al Bateen and ADAC are contributing significantly to both improved support services for our clients and for the continued growth of our business,” says A.J. Baker, VP-business development and strategy at Falcon.
CAV Aerospace has received an amended supplemental type certificate (STC) for installation of its TKS flight-into-known-icing protection system in Bonanza G36 aircraft. CAV is offering the installation for a base price of $47,500. CAV previously received approval for the Bonanza A36, and the system is installed on more than 300 of those aircraft. The system, which weighs 115.4 lb. with a full tank of fluid, seeps fluid from laser-drilled titanium panels installed on leading edges of the wings.
You’re reading this publication because you’re on the leading edge. Your passion and knowledge of general aviation drives you. Your industry experience, creativity and entrepreneurial marketing skills give you the competitive advantage. Together, these skills make you the ideal candidate to work at Hawker Beechcraft today. HBC is seeking talented general aviation Marketing professionals -- Hawker Senior Product Marketing Manager
Cessna has added a Citation service facility at Prague Ruzyne International Airport, sharing 3,000 sq. meters of shop space with affiliate Bell Helicopter. Both Cessna and Bell are owned by Textron. The new Cessna center has secured European Aviation Safety Agency certification and has begun offering scheduled and unscheduled maintenance services. “With the growing fleet of Citations in eastern and central Europe, business already has been brisk,” says Stan Younger, Cessna service facilities VP.
ELISE DONALD was appointed customer service supervisor for Avitat Boca Raton in Florida. Donald has more than eight years of aviation industry experience, beginning as a customer service representative at Million Air Houston. She also has served with fuel management specialist Everest Aviation Resources.
As China looks to open up its low-altitude airspace in the coming years, Eurocopter is positioning itself to handle the country’s growing demand for helicopters, which the company believes will become a vital complement to business jets for corporate and VIP air transport, says a new report from the rotorcraft manufacturer.
Desert Jet, a Thermal, Calif.-based charter operator, has received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council-West, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Desert Jet is the only certified Women’s Business Enterprise to hold an air carrier certificate issued by FAA.
Embraer and Avic have reached a compromise to avert the shutdown of a Chinese production line that has been assembling Embraer jets since 2003. The preliminary deal calls for output at the joint venture to shift from 50-seat ERJ-145 regional jets to Legacy 600/650 business jets, which are derived from the ERJ-135/145 family. The Brazilian aircraft company has discontinued production of those aircraft as regional jets, and the last of 41 assembled at the Harbin plant in northeastern China is scheduled for delivery this month.
Brazil’s Novaer Craft is developing a single-engine basic trainer that also is to serve as the baseline for an acrobatic and four-passenger general aviation aircraft. The all-composite aircraft is based on the K-51 aerodynamic design. First parts production already started this year for the T-Xc Pilgrim basic trainer, and the critical design phase was completed in February, says company president Graciliano Campos. First flight is planned in the first half of 2012, followed by aircraft certification a year later.
Emivest’s facilities in San Antonio, Texas, and Martinsburg, W.Va., were placed on the auction block last week, just a week after long-time SJ30 supplier Metalcraft received bankruptcy court clearance to purchase the assets of Emivest for $3.5 million (BA, April 11/3). On April 7 Metalcraft executed an asset purchase agreement for Emivest, following bankruptcy approval. But the agreement did not include the Emivest leaseholds in either San Antonio or Martinsburg.
L.J. Aviation in Latrobe, Pa., and Heritage Aviation in South Burlington, Vt., have successfully completed an audit and have been added to the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) Industry Audit Standard (IAS) Registry. The IAS was designed for Part 135 and 91K operators and includes a safety management system component.
House and Senate staffs have begun negotiations behind the scenes on their respective comprehensive FAA reauthorization bills, and the Senate has lined up its members for a formal House/Senate conference. They have until the end of May to complete negotiations and pass a bill before the 18th short-term extension expires.
Charter operator and jet card provider Magellan Jets has unveiled a new iPhone application that enables customers to search for one-way empty-leg flights. Magellan partnered with Avinode to create the One Way Leg (OWL) Search app, which draws from a live updated database of available empty legs that looks directly into the scheduling software of operators. For example, if a participating operator enters a New York to Miami flight, the app will automatically recognize flights without passengers as available empty legs.
