The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) set a number of new goals, including an expansion of its campaign against illegal charter flights and the creation of a regulatory help desk for members, during its recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Eurocontrol in Brussels. During the meeting, the association looked back at achievements from five years ago and ahead with a list of items to help members.
GREGORY SAHR has joined Moline, Ill.-based business aviation services company Wynn Aviation as VP, sales, marketing and business development, where he will manage technical sales and business development programs. He will also oversee marketing communication support, including advertising, direct marketing and public relations. He comes from StandardAero, where he served as regional sales director for the Western U.S.
The Flexjet 25 Jet Card Program is offering a seasonal 10-hr. summer jet card. The program, operated by Jet Solutions, provides flight time that is redeemable anytime between May 16 and Sept. 15, 2011, on any of its Learjet and Challenger aircraft. This includes travel on any day within the four-month period, including heavy-demand days.
Garmin International has unveiled the Garmin G2000, a touchscreen-controlled integrated flight deck designed for high-performance piston aircraft. The G2000 is designed to enable pilots to tailor the information presented to them.
Activities at the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In & Expo resumed April 1, a day after a storm and high winds ripped through Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla., damaging dozens of aircraft, tents and other structures. Sun ’n Fun organizers had suspended activities March 31, as police ordered people to find shelter.
Gulfstream Aerospace’s service center in Westfield, Mass., recently was named an approved maintenance organization by the Cayman Islands. The designation clears the facility to provide maintenance, repairs, alterations and inspections of aircraft registered under the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands. The certificate covers all Gulfstream aircraft (except the GI); Hawker Beechcraft 125s and Hawker 4000s; Dassault Falcon 10, 50/50EX, 900/900EX and 2000s; and Bombardier Challenger 600/601/604 aircraft.
Two Kansas lawmakers are urging House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) to request a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation into the global competitiveness of the U.S. business jet industry. The request comes as Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) reiterated his concerns about potential foreign subsidies backing competitor business jet programs.
Cutter Piper Sales has moved its offices into the Jet Source facility in Carlsbad, Calif. Cutter, recently appointed to sell Piper aircraft in Southern California and Hawaii, has leased about 2,450 sq. ft. in the Jet Source fixed-base operation. Cutter named Phillip Scharber and Alexander Kuzmanovic regional sales managers representing Piper at the Carlsbad base. Jet Source provides FBO, charter, management, maintenance and avionics services at the San Diego-area facility.
More than 400 comments, most of them negative, have been submitted in response to FAA’s proposal to impose strict limits on the use of the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program. The National Business Aviation Association has asked the agency to shelve the proposal, saying it would “seriously damage the public interest.” NBAA has launched a petition in opposition to the proposal, in addition to urging its members to file comments. The comment deadline is April 4.
April 5-7—National Business Aviation Association 26th Annual Maintenance Management Conference, San Diego, (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org/mmc 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
Duncan Aviation’s facility in Provo, Utah, was named an authorized service center for Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 aircraft. The authorizations include scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, aircraft-on-ground support, troubleshooting, engine and auxiliary power unit removal and installation, warranty work, modifications and repairs, and component replacement. The facility expects to obtain a similar authorization for the Legacy 600.
Quest Aircraft Company has named Wichita, Kan.-based Sojourn Aviation as its exclusive international sales representative for the Kodiak single-turboprop aircraft. Sojourn will oversee the development of a Kodiak dealer network in areas where the aircraft is certified or pending certification, including South Africa, Brazil, Australia and the Pacific Rim. Sojourn also will be responsible for distribution and certification activities in other target markets. The appointment comes as Quest moves to increase its presence both domestically and internationally.
XtremeAir has secured European Aviation Safety Agency type approval for its Sbach 342 two-seat aerobatic aircraft. The German company says the approval marks a number of firsts, including the first certified all-carbon fiber aerobatic aircraft. The company completed full occupant-crash testing and full airframe-fatigue testing before type certification, the first aerobatic aircraft to undergo such testing.
Irish lessor Fly Leasing Ltd. has repurchased 1,035,438 shares of its stock for $11.925 per share in a privately negotiated transaction. “We have now repurchased 24% of our outstanding shares, and we continue to see strong value in our stock, which trades at a discount to net book value,” says CEO Colm Barrington. “Our level of unrestricted cash remains strong, enabling us to continue to take advantage of opportunities to enhance shareholder value and to grow the fleet.”
BILL NORMON has joined Timco Aviation Services as president of MRO Services, responsible for the company’s airframe and engine maintenance, repair and overhaul operations and the Timco LineCare business. He previously had his own aviation consulting business, served as senior vice president of maintenance operations for United Airlines and served as general manager for another global MRO firm.
Bombardier Aerospace has sold four Bombardier 415 amphibious aircraft to an undisclosed customer. This is the second order from this customer, who previously ordered one Bombardier 415. The contract is valued at about $162 million and includes training and initial spares provisioning. Deliveries of the aircraft will begin in the second quarter of 2011 and continue through the first quarter of 2013.
Peggy Gilligan, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, warns that it may take the agency some time to work through the foreign repair station applications once the Transportation Security Administration finalizes rules on repair station security. Congress has barred FAA from granting any new foreign applications for Part 145 certifications until TSA completes the repair station rules.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its four-year FAA reauthorization bill (H.R.658) by a vote of 223-196 on April 1, but the legislation contains numerous provisions that will be a tough sell in conference in order to square it with the Senate’s two-year bill. Earlier last week, both the House and Senate passed an 18th short-term extension of FAA’s authorization, with lawmakers hoping to finish work on the long-term bill by May 31.
The passengers and crew of an Arcadia Aviation Gulfstream GV jet were freed after a month and a half of detention in Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The detention came as a result of what Arcadia Aviation called “a misunderstanding” between the DRC government and the GV’s passengers, who were in the country on business in Goma in early February. Press reports allege that a large amount of cash was found on the aircraft, and the government refused to allow the passengers, flight crew and aircraft to depart.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0260; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-242-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to perform a free-play check of any shaft swaged bearing installed in the tailstock end of each of the elevator power control units (PCUs), per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 84-27-52 (dated May 25, 2010). If the bearing free-play were to exceed specified limits, operators would need to replace the elevator PCU with a serviceable one before further flight.
U.S. Defense and Transportation department leaders have expressed concerns about efforts to address the threat of GPS jamming caused by a planned nationwide broadband-wireless network. The agencies also urge a comprehensive study of all potential interference to GPS in a March 25 letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman signed by Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn and Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari.
After a soft start to the year, Bombardier’s net business jet orders swelled to 74 in the fourth quarter ending Jan. 31, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the company’s total for fiscal 2011, the company reported last week. Bombardier had 13 net business jet orders (total orders minus cancellations) in the third quarter. The fourth quarter results do not include a $6.7 billion order from NetJets announced in early March.
CHRISTOPHE NURIT was named VP-Asia for Sikorsky Aircraft. He will be responsible for both commercial and foreign military sales in Asia for Sikorsky. Nurit previously has served with MD Helicopters and Bell Helicopter.
Bombardier Aerospace recently rolled out a new parts satisfaction guarantee program that will waive shipping, labor and restocking charges. Bombardier says it will eliminate restocking fees for any parts ordered for an aircraft-on-ground situation but were not used. Bombardier also will cover shipping and labor costs for parts that were either defective on arrival or that it recommended but did not fix the problem. The guarantee comes as Bombardier says it has been making “substantial headway” in reducing the incidence of “No Fault Found” (NFF) parts in circulation.
