ALEX JOYA was promoted to vice president, business development for TWC Aviation, where he will oversee the aircraft sales and acquisitions department, spearhead strategic business development initiatives, and identify potential business opportunities. Joya previously was TWC’s manager of business operations and supervisor of the aircraft maintenance department.
The Chicago Department of Aviation is seeking a Projects Administrator – Environmental Management to plan, initiate and manage environmental management and sustainability programs to ensure compliance with applicable regulations for O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. The City of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. For full details and to apply go to: https://chicago.taleo.net/careersection/100/jobsearch.ftl?lang=en
SAC Swiss Aviation Consultants, an independent aviation advisory group, has been awarded International Standard for Business Aviation Operations (IS-BAO) accreditation. IS-BAO is a code of best practices designed to help flight departments worldwide achieve a high level of safety and professionalism.
Three California congressmen are proposing to ban nighttime flights at both Bob Hope Burbank Airport and Van Nuys Airport. Reps. Adam Schiff (D), Brad Sherman (D) and Howard Berman (D) last week introduced the Valley-Wide Noise Relief Act, H.R.842, to permit both airports to adopt curfews between 10 p.m.-7 p.m. “Valley residents living under the flight path and near Bob Hope and Van Nuys airports should be able to enjoy a restful night without the roar of jet engines waking them up,” says Sherman.
Garmin International, a pioneer in GPS technology, and I.D. Systems, a Woodcliff Lake, N.Y. provider of tracking systems, have released SafeNav Powered by Garmin, a GPS-based navigation and alert system for airport vehicle operators. The system, which provides real-time situational awareness, is designed to help airport operators avoid runway incursions, Garmin says. SafeNav provides a “moving map” of the vehicle’s location on the airport.
Signature will expand its chain of fixed-base operations to 104 locations under an agreement to acquire the assets of Yellowstone Jetcenter at Gallatin Field Airport in Bozeman, Mont. Yellowstone Jetcenter, which has been in business for 10 years, will retain its name but operate as part of the Signature network. The acquisition will give Signature a foothold in southwestern Montana and Big Sky Country, and expands the company’s footprint in the Northwest Mountain region. The facility, which operates round-the-clock, includes seven hangars totaling 100,000-sq.-ft.
March 7-10—Composite Airframe Structures, UCLA Extension Building, www.uclaextension.edu/shortcourses March 14-18—Structural Integrity of New and Aging Metallic Aircraft, UCLA Extension Building, www.uclaextension.edu/shortcourses March 15–16—The Air Charter Safety Foundation, Air Charter Safety Symposium, NTSB Training Center, Ashburn Va., www.acsf.aero/symposium March 21-24—National Business Aviation Association, 38th Annual International Operators Conference, San Diego, (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org/events/ioc/2011/
New York City-based private jet and charter flight service Jet Partners Worldwide, Inc. has unveiled a new website that offers instant charter quotes. Most charter websites offer the same basic information, says Jet Partners Managing Partner John Henry Logan. “Most companies make promises offering instant quotes, but what you really wind up getting is a message along the lines of ‘a representative will contact you shortly,’” he says, adding that the response may take a day or two.
The European Business Aviation Association and National Business Aviation Association are taking nominations for the 2011 European Business Aviation Award, which will be presented at this year’s European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) May 17-19 in Geneva. The award honors companies and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of business aviation in Europe. Nominations are due April 12. Contact EBACE at +322-766-0073 or [email protected].
The Chicago Department of Aviation is seeking a Director of Project Development to direct the implementation and evaluation of planning, engineering, and environmental projects for O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. The City of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. For full details and to apply go to: https://chicago.taleo.net/careersection/100/jobsearch.ftl?lang=en
Fractional pioneer NetJets, which has returned to profitability, is reversing course on its large-cabin fleet with last week’s announced order for up to 120 Bombardier Global business jets. The order, valued at as much as $6.7 billion, is the largest Bombardier has ever received for its business jets. It also is the first such deal between NetJets and Bombardier, which operates a competitor fractional company, Flexjet.
Embraer’s Legacy 650 was granted FAA certification. The FAA approval follows Brazilian and European Aviation Safety Agency certifications last fall. “This important approval of our new long-range, large-cabin Legacy 650 executive jet opens the way for the company to better serve not only the U.S. market, but also several other countries that require FAA certification,” says Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer executive VP, Executive Jets. Derived from the Legacy 600, the 650 has a 3,900-nm-range with four passengers and NBAA IFR reserves.
The Kansas Department of Transportation’s (KDOT) Division of Aviation has created a Google Earth-based Airspace Awareness Tool designed specifically to increase the awareness of airspace around the state’s airports.
BOB WHETSELL was named project leader for the Flight Safety Foundation’s (FSF) helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) project. Whetsell is VP of sales at Aerobytes, the U.K.-based supplier of flight data management software and services. FSF launched the HEMS project in 2009 to study flight operations quality assurance in HEMS and will conduct a pilot program on flight data management.
The Chinese are continuing to increase their reach into the aviation industry, most recently with the acquisition of Duluth, Minn.-based single-engine plane-maker Cirrus Industries. The acquisition, announced last week, is expected to close by midyear. Terms of the transaction were not released.
With India’s general aviation industry growing, a new policy framework is needed to address infrastructure, safety and security issues, say industry officials at the recent Indian Business Aviation summit. A report by Sydney-based consultancy Center for Asia Pacific Aviation India (CAPA) says the industry could see new aircraft sales—business jets, helicopters, turboprops and piston-powered airplanes—of up to $12 billion over the next decade, by which time the general aviation fleet is expected to reach 2,000 aircraft, up from the current 680.
The various segments of the aviation community are part of an interdependent system and must work together to strengthen the industry and advance key issues such as reauthorization and the Next Generation (NextGen) air transportation system, says National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen.
CAE gained a foothold in the helicopter training market with the completion of its acquisition of CHC Helicopter’s training business, CAE announced Friday. The deal also included an agreement under which CAE becomes CHC’s long-term training partner. Under the agreement, CAE will train more than 2,000 helicopter pilots and maintenance engineers, along with providing general training, pilot provisioning and certain types of search-and-rescue training for CHC.
The Atlanta Aero Club recently presented Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream Aerospace with the Epps Aviation Award for outstanding aviation achievements and accomplishments that benefit the Georgia aviation community.
FRANK MILIAN has joined Bridgeford Flying Services as president of its flight services division, where he will be responsible for the aircraft management, charter and maintenance operations. He was most recently president of ACM Aviation in San Jose, Calif.
The Organization for Economic Development has formally signed off on a new regime governing export credit for aircraft and, in the process, urged Russia and China to join the accord. The agreement, which supplants one struck in 2007, has been in the making for some time and tries to address competing demands from airlines, manufacturers and financial institutions. A draft agreement was struck in December, and its terms have now been finalized without change.
Bombardier Aerospace has dedicated a Challenger 601 business jet at Dubai International Airport for its new PartsExpress program. The program offers rapid delivery of parts to resolve aircraft-on-ground (AOG) situations for Learjet, Challenger and Global customers in the Middle East, parts of Asia and North Africa. Bombardier says the program builds on its PartsExpress airborne parts delivery services launched in the U.S. in 2007 and in Europe in 2009.
Cessna handed over the first internationally bound Model 162 Skycatcher to a customer in Australia. Aeromil Pacific, based at Sunshine Coast Airport in Queensland, will use the aircraft as a sales demonstrator throughout this year.
Prague-based executive jet operator Grossmann Jet Service has added a Cessna Citation CJ2 to its fleet, responding to demand for charter services from clients in Central and Eastern Europe. The jet joins an existing fleet that includes an Embraer Legacy 600 and a Hawker 900 XP. The CitationJet replaces a Cessna Mustang.
FAA, facing a March 10 court deadline, last week issued a long-awaited regulatory analysis of a 2006 expansion of drug- and alcohol-testing requirements to subcontractors “at any tier.” On March 1 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set a March 10 deadline for FAA to show cause why it should not have to comply with a three-year-old court mandate for the regulatory analysis, and why the court should not stay a portion of the expanded drug- and alcohol-testing rules.
