Who would have believed it? Embraer’s then-president Maurício Botelho convened a press conference at the Corcoran Museum of Art in May 2005 in Washington, D.C., He introduced Luís Carlos Affonso, whom he said would direct the design, development, manufacture and certification of a VLJ and a light jet, the Phenom 100 and 300 — and bring the Phenom 100 into service in 2008. Most of the reporters in the room were taken aback since Embraer was then primarily a builder of airliners.
The NBAA cancelled the February 2009 Hong Kong ABACE event and scaled back its first Light Business Airplane Conference (LBA2009) to a two-day event “to address unprecedented changes in the economy,” the association announced. Originally planned as a three-day conference, LBA2009 will now take place March 13-14 in San Diego. The NBAA reduced LBA2009 attendance fees by 50 percent and exhibitor space fees by 20 percent.
FlightSafety International acquired Glass Mountain Optics Inc. of Austin, Texas, the company announced Jan 9. Glass Mountain Optics is a leading provider of simulation visual display systems and massive industrial optics.
FAA Reauthorization is a high priority for both House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and aviation subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.). A definitive timetable has not yet been set, but Oberstar said the committee “will be ready to move very early on.” Meanwhile, the committee is getting an infusion of new blood in the 111th Congress. Veteran congressmen Rep. Solomon Ortiz, a 14-term Democrat from Texas, and Rep. Phil Hare, a second-term Democrat from Illinois, have been appointed to it.
Your January 2009 Viewpoint (“Without Apology,” page 7) hit it right on the head, but it will be a hard sell to the idiots on the Hill and the great unwashed public. Just this morning in the last panel of the comic “Non Sequitur” in the Arizona Republic, Danah says to her dad, “Too bad we don’t have a corporate jet to sell” after he shows her the newspaper telling of the major newspapers hitting on hard times and her allowance is in jeopardy
RNP 0.1 through 10 (RNP-“X”) are specified tolerances for allowable deviations from course centerline 95 percent of the time. The smaller the value, the tighter the navigation error tolerance. So, RNP 10 (nm) might work for en route oceanic, while RNP 0.1 (nm) might be required for an instrument approach through the Gatineau Channel to Juneau or down the Potomac River to Reagan National Airport (RNP .11).
The NBAA is taking issue with an NTSB assertion that pneumatic deice boots should be activated immediately upon entering icing conditions. The NTSB has been pushing the FAA to make it a requirement, and added that recommendation to its “Federal Most Wanted List” of safety improvements for 2009. The recommendation was designed to address “a widely held, but incorrect, belief that activation of deice boots be delayed” rather than immediately activated in icing, the Safety Board said.
Editor’s note: Last month’s Viewpoint, “Without Apology,” focused on the fallout from the appearance of the CEOs of the “Big Three” carmakers before Congress in December 2008. That column generated much commentary because it dealt with such a signal event for the business aviation community.
Cessna will lay off 2,000 more employees than the 665 it previously planned, company spokesmen Doug Oliver and Bob Stangerone told reporters Jan. 13. The cuts will affect both salaried and hourly employees across the entire company and are expected to be completed in March. As we go to press more details are not forthcoming. In a letter sent to company employees earlier in January, Jack Pelton, Cessna’s chairman, president and CEO, wrote the first half of 2008 was “full of promise,” with orders being signed according to projections.
— About 1445 CST, a Bombardier CL-600-2B16, N573BA, operated by the Boeing Co., sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on Runway 12 (7,003 feet by 150 feet, asphalt) at the Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Ind. The FAR Part 91 positioning flight departed Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) at 1435 with GYY as the intended destination. During the landing at GYY, the nosewheel of the airplane hit the runway hard and the airplane bounced.
— At about 1530 EST, a Beech C23 (N2109W) lost engine power and collided with a tree near Linden Airport (LDJ), Linden, N.Y. The airplane was owned and operated by a private individual and was being operated under VFR as a personal flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The pilot stated that he covered the wings of the airplane to prevent a buildup of snow and ice that was forecasted. He said that he arrived at the airport on the afternoon Dec.
Lake Aircraft’s parent is offering to sell the company’s assets including the type certificate, intellectual property, drawings, marketing rights and all the tooling necessary to manufacture the familiar amphibian. More than 1,300 Lake amphibians have been delivered since production began. “It’s time to do more fishing,” Armand Rivard, head of Lake’s owner, Revo Corp., said Jan. 8 in explaining his decision to divest the Lake assets.
Aero Law Group, Bellevue, Wash., has announced the addition of Cheryl Kringle to its staff. She will be responsible for representing clients sales, leasing and the exchange of business and commercial aircraft.
Embraer’s new UPS-operated parts distribution center, in Louisville, Ky., was certified by the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil — ANAC) just before year-end. ANAC certification is recognized by the FAA. For customers, certification means the logistics site can receive and generate airworthiness tags (Form 8130-3) for Embraer spares, saving customers time and expense.
2009 Feb. 18-19: NBAA Leadership Conference, Doubletree Hotel, New Orleans. www.nbaa.org Feb. 26-28: Women in Aviation International (WAI) 20th Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, Ga. www.wai.org Mar. 3-4: 2009 Air Charter Safety Foundation Symposium, NTSB Training Center, 45065 Riverside Pkwy., Ashburn, Va. www.acsf.aero/symposium March 6-7: PAMA 2009 Aviation Maintenance & Management Symposium, American Airlines Training and Conference Center, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. www.pama.org
Embraer announced Jan. 7 that its Lineage 1000, derived from the EMB 190 airliner, simultaneously received its FAA Type Certificate along with an STC for its sophisticated modular interior designed, fabricated and installed by De Crane Aerospace subsidiary PATS Interior Completions of Georgetown, Del. The executive jet received its ANAC (Brazilian) and EASA (European) certifications just prior to the end of 2008.
Eckert Seamans Cherin and Mellott, LLC, Washington, D.C., announced that Shelley A. Hession has joined the firm as an associate in the Business Division, practicing in the Aviation Group.
Due to two great strokes of fortune, the Hill Aerospace Museum in Idaho has ended up with an absolutely gorgeous, newly repainted Air Force One C-140B/JetStar, fully restored, including a vintage 1970 interior. (For the full story, see Business & Commercial Aviation, July 2008, page 124.)
A science, engineering and technology workforce shortage is posing a serious challenge for the aerospace industry, according to a new survey by the Aerospace Industries Association. The study, “Launching the 21st Century American Workshop,” noted that the shortage of skilled workers is threatening the dominance of the U.S. aerospace industry.
Textron cut its fourth quarter 2008 earnings estimate by more than half amid a slumping economy, but says its Bell Helicopter unit should partially offset weaknesses in its Cessna Aircraft and industrial businesses.
