In the third quarter of 2005, Embraer the recorded net sales of US$1,064.3 million and net income of US$110.2 million, equivalent to diluted earnings per ADS of US$0.6280. At the end of the quarter, Embraer's firm order backlog totaled US$10.4 billion, which the company believes is a strong indicator of their commitment to long-term growth and customer diversification. In the current quarter, the company generated positive net cash provided by operating activities of US$379 million, a reflection of lower inventory and accounts receivable levels.
The Senate Commerce Committee recently approved the nomination of Mark Rosenker as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Rosenker was first sworn in as a board member in March 2003 and was re-nominated to a five-year term in January 2005. He currently is serving as acting NTSB chair, because the Commerce Committee has yet to take action on the nomination of Ellen Engleman Conners for a second two-year term as chair. Conners initially became chair in March 2003, and her term expired in March 2005.
Iwas on weekend duty at the hangar, doing a meet and greet for several planeloads of executives heading out for a large and important series of international meetings. After sending off two aircraft, I went back to my office to finish up some projects while awaiting the third and final departure, which was to take place in two hours. Once it was gone, I could call it a night.
FlightSafety International, Flushing, N.Y., promoted Ralph Lintelman to center manager of the company's La Guardia Learning Center. Al Ramsey was named center manager for the company's Seattle/Tacoma center. Derek Maeer has been promoted to vice president of simulation.
Bombardier Aerospace has contracted with Lufthansa Technik for the German firm to complete up to 17 Challenger 850 business jets over the next three years. The agreement builds upon the alliance the two companies announced during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in May, when Bombardier named Lufthansa a preferred completion center for the 850. Lufthansa Technik will complete the aircraft at its facility in Hamburg, Germany.
Cirrus Design Corp. may build a single-engine personal jet. Alan and Dale Klapmeier, co-founders of the Duluth, Minn. aircraft manufacturing firm, told attendees at the recent AOPA Expo in Tampa, Fla., the new aircraft would cost under $1 million and would be equipped with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System, similar to those found on its popular SR20 and SR22 piston-engine models. The Klapmeiers ``believe this emerging class of personal jet is between high-performance single-engine flight and what is now the new market sector, known as very light jets.
Bell/Agusta reports EASA has certified a max gross weight increase of its AB135 medium twin helicopter to 14,110 pounds. The Bell and Agusta joint venture has delivered 17 AB139s and says it expects to deliver three more by the end of the 2005. Total orders for the AB139 stand at more than 135 aircraft. To date, the fielded aircraft have accumulated more than 4,000 hours in EMS, offshore and paramilitary operations.
IT SEEMED LIKE I HAD HARDLY returned from one weeklong trip when I was departing on another, this time to attend the NBAA convention in Orlando, and under quite different circumstances. On the earlier excursion my conveyance was a Falcon. For much of that trip, my wife and I had the cabin to ourselves. We savored the spaciousness, the quiet and the privacy and delighted in the convenience, since we departed from and landed at Westchester County Airport, less than a mile from the office.
Galvin Flying Services, Inc. technicians Ted Bray, Mike Holmsher, Larry Joyce, Gary Lausten and Frank Pretz were given FAA Certificates of Training by the local Flight Standards District Office Western-Pacific region. The award recognizes technicians who demonstrate their commitment to professionalism through continued formal training.
Infinity Aviation Group, White Plains, N.Y., has announced the promotion of Greg Lison to the position of general manager of its Nashua, N.H., facility. Pat Sullivan has been named director of maintenance. In addition, Infinity has added three aircraft to its managed aircraft fleet and they will be available for charter out of the New York area through Director of Charter Sales Ron Muller, in the White Plains office.
A tale of two forecasts. Both Honeywell and Embraer shared their respective business aviation aircraft delivery projections at November's NBAA gathering. Both forecasts are bullish -- predicting nearly 10,000 new jets over the next decade -- though Honeywell's shows a dip after 2007 before the delivery climb continues. The two forecasts differ markedly on the popularity of the new family of lightest jets, but both expect it to be significant.
Signature Flight Support will purchase the assets of Million Air La Quinta at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport (TRM) in Riverside County, Calif. The acquisition will mark Signature's eighth FBO purchase in the past 12 months. Bruce Van Allen, president and chief executive of BBA Aviation Services Group, the parent of Signature, said the company expects to continue to aggressively grow the FBO network.
Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Neb., appointed Tom Burt, a 26-year veteran of the company, to the position of chief operating officer for its Battle Creek, Mich., facility.
Since almost all of the providers spotlighted here provide Web-based do-it-yourself trip planning and arrangements for vastly reduced fees over outsourcing the function to the service companies for a hefty fee, operators with some international experience may wish to take advantage of this option.
Landmark Aviation, the new name of the Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated Air Center FBO, maintenance and completions group, is in a growth mode. CEO Roger Wolf told B&CA that company plans to expand in all of its major businesses, including FBO and airport services, MRO, aircraft sales, charter and management and completions.
Cruising along at 0.83 Mach at 45,000 feet toward NBAA 2005 in Orlando with five passengers aboard, we glanced down at fuel flows and did a double take. The Hawker 4000 we were flying was burning 1,850 pph, about what you would expect if you were flying a Hawker 800XPi at 0.77 Mach down in the high 30s. Then, we swapped seats with the safety pilot in the cabin and checked interior sound levels.
Cruising along at 0.83 Mach at 45,000 feet toward NBAA 2005 in Orlando with five passengers aboard, we glanced down at fuel flows and did a double take. The Hawker 4000 we were flying was burning 1,850 pph, about what you would expect if you were flying a Hawker 800XPi at 0.77 Mach down in the high 30s. Then, we swapped seats with the safety pilot in the cabin and checked interior sound levels.
Embraer Executive Jets, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, has announced several changes in its restructuring of this unit. Mauricio Aveiro will lead the global services and customer support unit; Scott Kalister has been named vice president, executive aviation customer support in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean; Ernest Edwards is vice president, executive aviation marketing and sales for the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The GAMA Board of Directors elected Cessna Aircraft Chairman, President and CEO Jack J. Pelton as the organization's Chairman for 2006. Pelton previously served as GAMA's vice chairman and will continue as chairman of the association's Flight Operations Policy Committee. John J. Grisik was elected vice chairman for 2006. Grisik is president, Electronic Systems, Goodrich Corporation. Additionally, the following GAMA Board Members were appointed to serve as committee chairmen during 2006: Product Liability Committee
Associated Air Center completed an Airbus Corporate Jetliner Prestige aircraft. The aircraft is the fourth ACJ that Associated has completed but the first in the Airbus Prestige program. The Prestige interior includes 16 VIP seats, divans for 16 passengers, an aft cabin master bedroom, galley and crew rest area. The aircraft also has a state-of-the-art digital entertainment and cabin management system, moving map display, external cameras, liquid crystal screens and multi-region satellite television, wireless Internet and satellite communication voice and fax service.
These graphs are designed to illustrate the performance of the Hawker 4000 under a variety of range, payload, speed and density altitude conditions. Do not use these data for flight planning purposes because they are gross approximations of actual aircraft performance.
Bombardier Chairman and COO Laurent Beaudoin opened a new Regional Office in Singapore on Nov. 14, which will serve the company as a regional hub. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Beaudoin said, ``The opening of this office represents further evidence of our dedication to finding innovative transportation solutions for this country and the Asian region.'' Bombardier's presence in Singapore will offer support to customers in the areas of business jets, regional aircraft, large transportation systems, metros and Light Rapid Transit (LRT) systems throughout Asia.
Dassault Falcon Jet brought the No. 3 Falcon 7X to NBAA. It's the endurance and ``cabin- comfort test aircraft. Dassault Aerospace CEO Charles Edelstenne said these tests include the ``final stages of validating some improvements,'' details of which will be made public shortly. It is no secret, however, that the No. 1 prototype is currently flying with winglets, which appear likely to become standard on the 7X. Already, though, Edelstenne is prepared to offer an ``upgrade'' to the promised 5,700-nm range to approximately 6,000 nm.
