The broad-based committee advising U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on aviation policy is entering the home stretch. Recommendations could lead to financial assistance for airlines to equip their aircraft for the NextGen air traffic control system, a lowering of airline taxes, an increase in money for airports to use on environmental and NextGen-related projects, and a freeze and re-evaluation of the subsidization of small community air service.
Raisbeck Engineering was selected to provide its Ram Air Recovery System (RARS) for the new Beechcraft King Air 250. The systems boosts performance throughout the flight envelope by reducing engine inlet turbine temperature by about 20 deg. Celsius, Raisbeck says. The effects include increased flat-rating for operation at hot, high-altitude airports; increased climb capability; increased cruise speeds and a more efficient engine.
MARC JOHNSON has joined Jet Works Air Center as director of sales for large cabin completions. Johnson previously has provided maintenance and completions consulting services to several BBJ operators. He also has been vice president of project development and coordination for Aviation Concepts and a project manager for McKinney Aerospace.
Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) is joining Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) as the new co-chair of the House General Aviation Caucus. Barrow is succeeding Allen Boyd (D-Fla.), who is retiring. Graves is filling the leadership post being vacated by retiring Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) (BA, Nov. 22/3).
Aeronautical Accessories, a Tennessee-based affiliate of Bell Helicopter, recently received FAA supplemental type certification (STC) for a Bell 429 accessory package. The STC includes a crew floor protector kit, passenger floor protector assembly, automatic door openers and fuel filler area protector kit. The components of the accessory package also are available individually. Certification of the package in other countries, including Japan, is being sought.
West Star Aviation has earned several FAA approvals recently, which is enabling the company’s East Alton, Ill. facility to offer upgrade packages for various Falcon business jets. The company’s Falcon 2000 Pro Line 21 enhancement (from Pro Line 4 avionics) includes a WAAS/LPV FMS upgrade, the DBU-5000 database loading unit, and an option to step up from the existing AHRS-85 to the AHRS-3000 attitude heading reference system. Installations are slated to start in the second quarter of 2011.
StandardAero has added four mobile service teams (MSTs) to its existing business aviation support network, for a total of nine. The new MSTs will be located in Little Rock, Ark., Van Nuys, Calif., San Jose, Calif., and Dallas. The company also has opened a Mobile Operation Center (MOC), operating 24 hours a day, seven days per week, 365 days per year.
Fractional ownership companies have been near the epicenter of the business aviation industry’s economic turmoil, and their leaders seized on challenging times to reduce flight operations and shrink cost footprints, says a new report. “The largest players—NetJets, NetJets Europe, Flexjet, Flight Options and CitationAir—have realigned their operations, reduced debt, lowered their employment base, cut back fleets, and reduced expenses such as charter purchasing, sales and marketing,” reports Plano, Texas-based consultancy Rolland Vincent Associates.
The first flight of a Sikorsky S-70i in Poland took place this month at the facilities of PZL Mielec, the Sikorsky-owned company that is assembling the newest Black Hawk variant. The first S-70i to fly recently completed flight testing in the U.S. and is being fitted out with options. The S-70i that flew in Poland is the second helicopter to be produced by PZL Mielec. Two more aircraft are in final assembly at the company, with a fifth aircraft slated to begin production in December. Initial deliveries are expected to begin in 2011.
Stamford, Conn.-based charter broker WannaJet has created a business model to offer seats on private jets at a fixed price that is comparable with first- or business-class seats on commercial airlines.
PILATUS PC-7 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-0849; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-043-AD; Amendment 39-16488; AD 2010-22-09] – Conduct a one-time inspection to verify that the bolts of the aileron outboard bearing supports are installed in the correct positions and that the threads of the associated anchor nuts are in good condition, per the instructions of Pilatus PC-7 Service Bulletin No. 57-015, Rev. No. 1 (dated July 23, 2010). Replace the attachment hardware if a bolt is installed in the wrong location or any damage is found on the anchor nut threads.
ExecuJet Aviation Group has been issued an air operator’s certificate from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority. The move allows the company to begin basing aircraft operations in New Zealand. ExecuJet initially is managing a privately owned Gulfstream G550 in the region. The G550 will be available for third-party charter, effective immediately.
Embraer has delivered the first Phenom 100 to a customer in India. The aircraft also was the first of 18 Phenom 100s delivered to India’s Invision Air Services Pvt. Ltd., a Mumbai-based on-demand charter company. Invision Air ordered the Phenom 100s three years ago, along with two Embraer Phenom 300 jets. The Phenom will enter service this year.
A pilot was seriously injured and the passenger killed when their Bell 206 helicopter apparently struck an inactive electrical line and crashed at about 3 p.m. MDT Nov. 3 near Meeker, Colo. The helicopter, N8533F, was owned by Denver-based Kauffman Well Service and operated by Mile High Helicopter Co. of Englewood, Colo. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a visual flight rules flight plan had been filed.
FAA has granted supplemental type certification for installation of the CAV Aerospace TKS ice-protection system on Quest Aircraft’s Kodiak single-turboprop utility aircraft. The certification is part of a series of improvements that Quest has sought since receiving certification for the Kodiak in 2007.
Sikorsky deliveries in China will set a company one-year record in 2010, as the Stratford, Conn.-based helicopter manufacturer plans to ship 10 new S-76 and S-92 helicopters to the world’s most populous nation by the end of December. Recent deliveries include two S-76C++ search and rescue helicopters to the Ministry of Transport’s China Rescue and Salvage Helicopters, as well as two S-76C++ rotorcraft to Eastern General Aviation Company. Earlier this year Sikorsky delivered two S-76C++ helicopters to the Zhuhai Helicopter Branch, a division of China Southern Airlines.
Part 135 industry representatives call a potential FAA plan to apply new Part 121 flight, duty and rest requirements to on-demand operations “alarming” and say such a move would be unworkable.
BOMBARDIER CL-215, CL-215T and CL-415 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-1108; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-151-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct repetitive ultrasonic inspections of the hydraulic accumulators for cracks. Any cracked accumulators would need to be replaced, per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletins 215-541, 215-3155 and 215-4414 (all Rev. 1 and dated March 12, 2010).
PHIL CHERNIN has joined the board of directors of Solairus Aviation. Chernin owns his own investment banking firm in Lafayette, Calif., and has been the CEO and CFO of both technology and consumer companies. He began his career at Ernst & Young. He also has been around aviation throughout his life. His father was a founder of Seaboard World Airways.
Thanks to the recent issuance of a series of FAA supplemental type certificates (STCs), a number of Dassault and Gulfstream aircraft equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 and Pro Line 21 avionics can be upgraded to provide Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (LPV).
FAA’s takeoff and landing data shows a continued recovery in business jet traffic, as October was the 11th consecutive year-over-year positive month, a Morgan Stanley report says. Traffic was up 5.7% year-over-year and 1.3% sequentially last month.
JetSelect Aviation has been certified as compliant with Industry Standard for Business Aircraft Operations by the International Business Aviation Council. JetSelect offers on-demand aircraft charter, management and maintenance to businesses and individuals.
Ocean Sky has opened an office in Dubai, which will serve as a base for its expansion in the Middle East over the next several years. The Dubai operation initially will focus on providing charter and aircraft management services, but Ocean Sky anticipates expanding into further areas, such as aircraft acquisition and sales and fixed-base operations.
FBO chain TAC Air cited the economic downturn for its decision to sell its facility in Greenville, S.C., to rival Greenville Jet Center (GJC) and warned that economy activity levels cannot support two FBOs at Tennessee’s Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA), where the local airport has outlined plans to build a second FBO.
