BOMBARDIER Regional Jet 700, 701, 702, 705 and 900 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0031; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-135-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct repetitive detailed visual inspections for corrosion and damage to the inboard and outboard piston axles, in accordance with the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 670BA-32-023, Rev. C (dated Jan. 29, 2009). If any corrosion or damage were found, operators would need to repair it before further flight.
Carter Aviation Technologies has completed initial flight tests of its proof-of-concept Personal Air Vehicle (PAV), an aircraft that combines a rotor for vertical takeoff and landing with a propeller and wing for efficient high-speed flight. The “2+2”-seat PAV uses Carter’s slowed rotor/compound (SR/C) technology. The rotor is unpowered, as in an autogyro, but when spun up by the engine, the rotor enables a “jump” takeoff. On landing, the energy stored in the high-inertia rotor enables the aircraft to autorotate to a “zero-roll” landing.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has issued the final ruling on the European Union’s claim that Boeing has benefited from illegal state aid for its commercial aircraft, upholding at least some of Brussels’ charges. The ruling, which will not be made public for several weeks, appears to follow the preliminary finding issued in September. The verdict, coming last week from Geneva, is only the latest in a series of milestones in the long-running subsidy dispute between the U.S. and the European Union.
A group of about two dozen Bombardier production workers held the winning ticket for a $50 million Canadian Lotto Max lottery drawing held Jan. 28. The Bombardier employees reportedly all work together on the Q400 production line in Toronto. According to Canadian news reports, the lottery drawing was still being sorted out last week as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. determined how many of the Bombardier workers held a stake in the winning ticket.
Eurocopter is looking at the emergent wind-farm market as sustaining growth in new platforms orders, even as it expects continued orders from the long-important oil and gas sector. “Renewable energy, wind farms, are in the future,” says Markus Steinke, managing director of Eurocopter U.K., which expects 20 helicopters to be involved in wind farm support in the U.K. by the end of the decade.
At the request of numerous general aviation, manufacturer and repair station organizations, FAA last week extended the comment deadline until March 7 on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would require Part 121 holders to adopt safety management systems (SMS). FAA published the NPRM Nov. 5 and originally called for the comment period to close Feb. 3.
May 10-12, 2011 Washington, D.C. Washington Marriott at Metro Center Air Transportation Modernization Conference Join us in 2011 as we align NextGen stakeholders to accelerate NAS modernization. www.aviationweek.com/events Click here to view the pdf
Sabre Travel Network’s GetThere travel and collaboration management service has named JetUs as its preferred vendor for GetThere customers interested in booking private jets. JetUs is a web-based reservation system that offers real-time availability to business jet service. JetUs customers receive multiple quotes, see aircraft photos and can review safety and quality ratings. Customers can purchase and manage trip details, including catering and baggage handling.
Esterline CMC Electronics recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Star Navigation Systems Group to jointly establish an integrated, turnkey aircraft data monitoring and reporting system for original equipment manufacturers (OEM). The system will be based on CMC’s PilotView electronic flight bag (EFB) capabilities and Star’s STAR-ISMS inflight safety monitoring system software. The system, which will include various applications and aircraft integration services, will be offered to OEMs and certain customers in the business jet and air transport market.
Industry groups last week praised the creation of a new Unleaded Aviation Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) that will provide recommendations regarding the development and use of an unleaded avgas. The General Aviation Avgas Coalition requested the creation of the ARC, and Rob Hackman, VP of regulatory affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, says, “This is a much-needed step in the process that will ultimately determine how the aviation industry reaches an unleaded fuel solution.”
Charles Kaman, who founded Kaman Aircraft Corp. in 1945 and led the company for 55 years, died Jan. 31. He was 91. Born in 1919 in Washington, he began his aviation career in 1940, working with Igor Sikorsky. Kaman began developing his own ideas on ways to make helicopters easier to fly, and in 1945 he formed what is now known as Kaman Corp. in Bloomfield, Conn., to expand upon those ideas, using $2,000 invested by two friends.
Titan Airways is adding an Avro RJ100 regional jet to its charter fleet. The aircraft will join Titan’s London Stansted-based fleet of 12 aircraft and initially will be used on the airline’s U.K. Ministry of Defense contract to provide passenger and freight capacity.
Feb. 9-10—14th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., (703) 264-7500, fax (703) 264-7551, www.aiaa.org Feb. 9-11—National Business Aviation Association’s 22nd Annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, Savannah, Ga., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org Feb. 13-17—21st Annual American Astronautical Society/American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2011 Space Flight Mechanics, Loews New Orleans Hotel, www.astronautical.org
Cessna Aircraft was the recipient of a 2010 Clean Air & Sustainability Award during Wichita’s Regional Energy Summit in late January. Wichita and the Metro Air Quality Improvement Task Force selected Cessna for its efforts to improve and preserve air quality in the four-county metro area and for incorporating sustainability measures in company operations. In 2008 Cessna established an Environmental Strategy Council that set energy- and waste-reduction goals and started a number of environmental programs to reach those goals.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has closed on an equity investment that gives the helicopter maker a minority stake in Eclipse Aerospace and will closely tie Sikorsky to many facets of Eclipse’s operation.
The National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil has certificated the Bell 429. This approval follows certification by FAA, Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Deliveries of the Bell 429 into Brazil will begin shortly.
RICHARD WALKER was appointed business development director for AXON Aviation Charter. He comes to the company from VistaJet, where he was senior vice president for program sales. Walker brings more than 20 years of aviation sector experience to AXON, including stints at British Airways operator Maersk Air, PrivatAir and Bombardier. He will be based at the company’s office at Leeds Bradford Airport in the U.K.
CHRIS ORPHANOU was named managing director of London Oxford Airport. Until January 2009, he was CEO at the U.K.’s Coventry Airport and most recently ran his own aviation and consultancy business, ADAM. He has more than 35 years of professional experience, including two decades in aviation, where he directed large-scale airport projects. Between 1988 and 1999 he worked as assistant airport director for London City Airport.
The Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council has changed its name to Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace (CCAA). The move was made to confirm its identity as the national sector council for the entire aviation and aerospace sector, not just for aviation maintenance. CCAA’s focus will remain on skills development and demographic issues for the Canadian aviation and aerospace industry.
Aircraft finance company SinglePoint, owned by private equity firm Acorn Growth Companies, has closed its first transaction, financing a Hawker 800 XP business jet. Acorn says the deal closed within a month of SinglePoint’s official launch. Acorn Growth Companies is a private equity firm that invests in aerospace and defense companies.
PILATUS PC-6 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-1011; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-047-AD; Amendment 39-16571; AD 2011-01-14] – Incorporate new maintenance requirements, including repetitive inspections of the wing strut fittings and the spherical bearings, into the FAA-accepted maintenance program. This AD, which supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD 2005-17-01), resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency. FAA estimates that this new directive will affect 50 aircraft on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S.
The Senate surprised many Washington insiders last week by taking up consideration of Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s (D-W.Va.) two-year FAA reauthorization bill, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (S.223), just days after the Commerce Committee Chairman introduced the legislation (BA, Jan. 31/10). The bill was positioned as a bipartisan jobs-creation bill, which cleared the path for consideration on the Senate floor while the legislative schedule is still light for the chamber.
FAA last week proposed to strengthen airport certification standards in Part 139, including new training requirements for personnel who access airport ramps and aprons, as well as mandates for pavement surface evaluations and a Surface Movement Guidance Control System (SMGCS) for low-visibility operations. The proposal would further clarify the applicability of Part 139 and strengthen language regarding fraudulent or false statements in a certification application.
