TIMOTHY DECOURSEY was promoted to assistant manager of FlightSafety International’s facility in Columbus, Ohio. Decoursey joined the Columbus center in 2002 as a Cessna Citation ultra instructor and has been promoted into positions of increasing responsibility, including assistant program manager for the Citation X and program manager for the Citation Ultra.
LEVAN TABIDZE was named engineering manager for Twin Commander Aircraft in Creedmoor, N.C. Tabidze has worked with a number of aircraft programs, including Luscombe, Tiger, Sino-Swearingen and Sierra Nevada. Before emigrating to the U.S. in 1993, Tabidze served with several Soviet aircraft manufacturers, including the Sukhoi Company and Yakolev.
Oklahoma has brought back a measure that re-establishes tax credits for engineers going to work for state companies, as well as the companies that hire them. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) April 4 signed a bill lifting a two-year moratorium placed on the credit last year to help overcome a $17 billion budget deficit. The moratorium will be lifted effective July 1.
The SJ30 business jet program is coming under new ownership with the April 7 approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for Utah-based Metalcraft Technologies to purchase the assets of Emivest in San Antonio. The asset purchase agreement also was signed on April 7 for Metalcraft, an aerospace components specialist, to buy Emivest for $3.5 million and assume Emivest’s liabilities, including $1.688 million related to production of SJ30 No. 12, according to court documents.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Namibia has become the 69th organization worldwide and the seventh in Africa to join the International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilot Associations (IAOPA). IAOPA notes that general aviation is particularly important in Namibia, which is one of the least densely populated countries in the world, with a population of 2.1 million people and a size that is a little more than half that of Alaska.
Dassault Falcon is now offering its certified Practical Training Program for Falcon 900 and 2000 EASy business jets, following approval from the French aviation authority, DGAC. The 10-day program, which was launched in 2007 to support entry of the Falcon 7X into service, provides maintenance technicians with hands-on instruction using actual aircraft.
Correction: Gregory Sahr has joined Elliott Aviation in Moline, Ill., as VP, sales, marketing and business development. The April 4 edition of BA incorrectly identified the company.
The National Business Aviation Association and Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) have signed a memo of cooperation (MOC) with the Shanghai Airport Authority (SAA) to formalize support for the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) in 2012. Signed on March 18, the MOC states SAA will exclusively support ABACE and that the cooperation will continue for at least five years.
Signature Flight Support has launched a new maintenance brand, Signature TECHNICAir. The division consolidates all of the Signature-owned maintenance facilities under one unified brand, including the former Executive Beechcraft locations at Kansas City Downtown Airport (MKC); Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS); New Century Air Center Airport (IXD) and Signature locations at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass. (BED); St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP) and the newly acquired Yellowstone Jetcenter in Bozeman, Mont. (BZN).
Determination of the probable cause of a Gulfstream G650 crash April 2 in Roswell, N.M., may be more than a year away, but Gulfstream Aerospace says it plans to resume flight testing once it and FAA are satisfied it is safe to proceed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on April 7 released the preliminary report of the investigation into the crash that killed all four people aboard and left a charred hulk of Serial Number 6002 lying beside Runway 3/21 at Roswell International Air Center (RIAC).
BRENT HORNBECK joined Dallas Airmotive as manager of the company’s Regional Turbine Center in Phoenix. Hornbeck has more the 25 years of experience in the aviation industry as a maintenance manager and technician and was most recently customer project manager at Hawker Beechcraft Services in Mesa, Ariz.
The Aircraft Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) scheduled a meeting of key industry leaders on May 4 to discuss potential changes to its Industry Audit Standard (IAS) and means to make it more accessible to smaller operators. The move to take a new look at the standard comes after a key supporter of the IAS, Executive Jet Management, dropped its backing of the standard and instead brought its audit work in-house.
Dallas Airmotive has unveiled a dedicated website for its First Support command center. FirstSupportAOG.com gives visitors an overview of First Support capabilities, as well as a list of locations, contact information, downloads and a video tour of the operation. The new website provides customers with a look at how First Support operates and provides several options for contacting the center.
Planning, conceptual design, preliminary design, systems integration, wind tunnel model, testing (2 entries) and loads analysis done around 2 Williams FJ33. Work has been completed by leading FAA Designated Engineering Representatives in Wichita, KS USA. Next step is detailed structure design. (303) 859-4618 or [email protected] Click here to view the pdf
London Executive Aviation (LEA) is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Founded on April 1, 1996, with one aircraft, LEA has grown to become one of Europe’s largest executive aircraft operators, flying a diverse charter fleet of 25 jets. The company, which started operations at its headquarters at Stapleford Airport, now operates seven bases around London and holds a worldwide air operator’s certificate.
Diversified Aviation Services, the Miami-based aircraft completions company, has won a new order from Transaero Airlines of Russia for a Boeing 737-500. DAS has begun work on reconfiguring the aircraft with 18 VIP seats in the front half of the cabin and 38 seats in the back. The VIP area will have a private lounge area and a meeting room, a high-definition IFE system, custom cabinetry, hi-low tables and Internet connectivity.
The National Air Transportation Association is holding its 15th annual Day on the Hill on May 5 in Washington. The event coincides with the association’s Annual Meeting and Industry Excellence Awards dinner.
AmSafe has developed its next-generation seatbelt/airbag for use on commercial aircraft. The airbag brings aircraft into compliance with 16G requirements. The seatbelt/airbag incorporates a new lightweight design and construction that AmSafe says will produce fuel savings, improve passenger comfort, ease maintenance and lower life-cycle costs. Available in the third quarter, the airbag is 30% lighter and has a 40% increase in service life, AmSafe says.
During a government shutdown, development of the FAA’s NextGen air traffic control modernization system would grind to a halt. That’s just one element of what would stop if Congress fails to meet its midnight Friday deadline to pass a new spending bill that will keep the government running. And while the bulk of FAA’s employees, 33,550, would continue to provide air traffic control, safety inspections and other essential services, nearly 15,000 wouldn’t be allowed to work – or be paid, according to a 33-page fact sheet issued by the Department of Transportation Friday.
Duncan Aviation recently received a supplemental type certificate enabling Wi-Fi operations aboard Gulfstream IV/ IV-SP aircraft. The certification, completed under Duncan Aviation’s organization designation authorization, covers Wi-Fi access in the cabin using Aircell’s Gogo Biz Inflight Internet service. Gogo Biz Inflight Internet provides high-speed inflight connectivity for iPads, laptops, BlackBerrys, iPhones and other Wi-Fi devices.
Universal Weather & Aviation has added features to its UVflightplanner.com website that enable clients to create, file and review regional and international flight plans on any web-enabled mobile device. The website is Universal’s online flight planning system designed for business jet operators.
The average asking prices for “heavy” business aircraft inched up 0.5% last month to $20.7 million, according to JP Morgan’s latest Business Jet Monthly report. The prices for heavy aircraft have rebounded about 6% since the beginning of the year, the report adds, but are still 32% off the November 2008 peak of $30.5 million. Dassault’s Falcon 2000/EX made the largest gain of 7.6%, with Bombardier’s Global 5000/Express and Gulfstream’s G500/550/V following at 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively.
Diehl Aerosystems signed an agreement to buy German aircraft galley manufacturer Mühlenberg. The cabin interiors supplier expects to close the deal within the next two years. Given the fact that Diehl is not currently in the galley business, its Aerosystems CEO, Rainer von Borstel, does not expect the acquisition to encounter any regulatory hurdles. The deal was announced on the opening day of the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. Mühlenberg is a small company with sales of €20 million in 2010 and about 200 employees.
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