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.
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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.
Air Partner has rebranded its global flight support division—formerly called Air Planner—as Air Partner Ops 24. Air Partner says the move eliminates confusion over Air Planner’s association with Air Partner and builds on the Air Partner Group branding. Over the last year, Air Partner, led by Operations Manager Peter Turner, has strengthened and restructured the unit’s operations base. “This is the first time Air Partner has had a round-the-clock specialist operations team of this caliber,” Turner says. “Following reorganization, our portfolio of experience and skills ...
PIPER PA-46-310P (Malibu), PA-46-350P (Malibu Mirage) and PA-46R-350T (Matrix) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-1295; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-060-AD; Amendment 39-16635; AD 2011-06-10] – Inspect, clean, and calibrate the Turbine Inlet Temperature (T.I.T.) system, replacing any system that fails the calibration test. Also, repetitively replace the T.I.T. probe on certain airplanes and insert a copy of this AD into the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH).
April 14—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Dallas, (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org 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]
ANN HEIN was appointed director of public relations and communications for Jet Aviation in the Americas. Hein, who has been with the organization for 17 years, will represent all of Jet Aviation’s businesses in the Americas, including maintenance, repair and overhaul; completions; fixed-base operations; charter; management and staffing services (Jet Professionals). She formerly spent seven years as a communications professional in the engineering industry.
In the first three months of this year, U.S. jets and turboprops flying on business missions were involved in 15 accidents, including four fatal mishaps that resulted in 13 fatalities, according to a report released last week by Boca Raton, Fla.-based Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc., which publishes the annual Business Turbine Aircraft Accident Review each year. The 2010 edition was recently released.
Dubai-based aviation services company Project Phoenix is still working on its Bombardier CRJ200 VIP conversion program, but plans to do similar conversions on Boeing 737-800s (Phoenix LBJ), announced at last year’s EBACE, are on hold. Project Phoenix President Mike Cappuccitti declined to release the number of CRJs and LBJs converted and sold to customers, although one CRJ was delivered to a customer in Macau back in May 2009 (BA, May 18, 2009/16).
PAULINE SMITH was appointed fixed-base operations (FBO) manager for Abu Dhabi-based Al Bateen Executive Airport. Smith joins the airport from ExecuJet Middle East, where she was responsible for the day-to-day running of its FBO facility at Dubai International Airport. She has 17 years of aviation experience, beginning with Harrods Aviation at London Stansted Airport.
The Air Transport Association has named Steve Lott, currently head of communications for North America at the International Air Transport Association, as its new VP-communications, reporting to Jean Medina, who joined in January from United Airlines as senior VP-communications. Lott is a previous senior editor for Aviation Week.
The 100th Global 5000 business jet recently entered service with Heritage Aviation, a Vermont corporation, Bombardier says. Bombardier celebrated the event during a delivery ceremony late last month at the company’s Global Completion Center in Dorval, Québec. Based at Burlington International Airport, Heritage Aviation provides fixed-base operation, charter, management and maintenance services.
Bombardier Aerospace expanded its aftermarket service network for Challenger business aircraft customers in Latin America, increasing the authorizations at Aerovitro S.A. of Monterrey, which is based in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and Aviacion Atlantico Sur S.A. (AASSA) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Aerovitro was named an authorized service facility (ASF) for Challenger 300 and Challenger 604/605 aircraft, while AASSA was appointed an aircraft-on-ground line maintenance facility (AOG LMF) for Challenger 604/605 aircraft.
