Cessna Aircraft is growing its service capabilities with the recent acquisition of a facility in the U.K. and the opening of a center in Valencia, Spain. The company acquired a 50,000-sq.-ft. facility at Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield and rebranded the facility Doncaster Citation Service Center. Formerly Kinch Aviation Services, the facility had been operating for 15 years, and for the past four as a Cessna authorized service facility.
DAVID DAVENPORT was named to the senior management team of FlightSafety International. He was promoted to vice president and is based in the corporate offices in New York. He formerly was manager of FlightSafety’s Savannah, Ga., facility and regional operations manager. In his new role, Davenport will focus on development and expansion of the company’s corporate aviation training programs. He will also be involved in strategic planning, business and financial decisions. He joined FlightSafety in 1996 as assistant manager of the West Palm Beach, Fla., learning center.
The CitationJet Pilots Association honored Russ Meyer, Jr., Cessna chairman emeritus, as the first person to be inducted into its new Hall of Fame on Sept. 26.
GIPPSAERO GA200 and GA200C airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0946; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-037-AD; Amendment 39-17187; AD 2012-18-10] – requires inspection on the wing strut bolts and replacement if necessary. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the aviation authority of Australia that cites reports of a failure of the strut bolt through the main spar. The actions are designed to prevent wing strut bolt failure and wing structural failure. FAA estimates the AD will affect three aircraft on the U.S.
Six general aviation associations are seeking more time to comb through a little-noticed draft 400-page order that would combine various FAA designee programs into one document.
Embry-Riddle is working on a system involving a new muffler and altered propellers that will reduce the noise of its fleet of Cessna 172 trainers by up to 5 db. The university, the first flight training organization to install a noise-reduction system on the fleet of Cessna 172s, has spent $250,000 so far and five years on the research to address the concerns of local residents about noise.
A substantial number of Part 135 operators must rewrite their training curriculum after FAA last month released guidance clarifying that operators cannot provide credit to new hires for training conducted by another operator. The agency released guidance, Notice 8900.197, to clear up confusion surrounding training requirements under an operator’s approved program.
AMANDA FARNSWORTH was named to the board of trustees for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Farnsworth recently retired following a 27-year career at J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC, a Louisville, Ky.-based investment brokerage where she remains a partner. She also has served on corporate boards, including National Safety Alliance, Consumers Insurance Group (current chairman), Franklin American Mortgage Co., Precision Energy Solutions and Optimum Solutions, Inc. She also serves on the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
FABIO MIGUEZ was promoted to manager of FlightSafety International’s learning center in Columbus, Ohio. Miguez, who has been with FlightSafety since 2004, moves to Columbus from the company’s Detroit Metro/Toledo learning center, where he was manager. He also has served as avionics instructor, program manager and director of programs for Dassault Falcon Jet training, along with assistant manager of Columbus Center.
John and Martha King were selected for the National Aeronautic Association’s (NAA) Frank G. Brewer Trophy for Aviation Education. The Kings were among several members of the general aviation community selected for upcoming NAA honors. Also to be honored are Henry Ogrodzinski, president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), and Flying magazine’s Dick Koenig. The awards will be presented Nov. 13.
CESSNA Models 172RG, R182, TR182, FR182, 210N, T210N, 210R, T210R, P210N, P210R, and T303 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0962; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-033-AD] – proposes to require inspection of the aircraft’s hydraulic power pack wiring for incorrect installation, and if needed, correct the installation. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of a cockpit fire that appeared to originate from the area of the landing gear’s hydraulic power pack system. FAA estimates the AD would affect 2,961 aircraft on the U.S.
A new AgustaWestland Service Center has been opened by AVIASUR in Santiago, Chile to provide maintenance and support services for AgustaWestland civil helicopter customers. The service center, located at Santiago's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Chile, officially opened Aug. 8. AgustaWestland now has 17 of its helicopters operating in Chile: 8 AW119 Koalas, 7 AW109s, one Grand and one W-3A Sokol. The first GrandNew light-twin helicopter is scheduled to be delivered to Chile later this year.
NBAA named safety expert Robert E. Breiling the recipient of the 2012 NBAA John P. “Jack” Doswell Award. The award, to be presented during NBAA's 65th Annual Meeting & Convention Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Orlando, recognizes lifelong individual achievement on behalf of and in support of the aims, goals and objectives of business aviation.
Bell Helicopter delivered two 407GX aircraft to Helicopter Flight Services, Inc., a New York-based company offering tours, charters, aerial photography, lift work and custom projects. Helicopter Flight Services is the first to operate a Bell 407GX in a sightseeing capacity. The company also operates five Bell 407 aircraft.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) has confirmed its new opening date will be Oct. 27, 2013, the beginning of the winter 2013/2014 schedule. Multiple delays in opening the city's new airport has been a source of embarrassment to Germany's capital.
For many communities, building a heliport means new business opportunities, additional revenue and a new type of transportation. For the airport director, it's one more meeting with the FAA and one more stack of paperwork. As daunting as constructing or “renovating” a defunct heliport may seem, the process is easily divided into three manageable steps. The construction and alteration of airports is governed by 14 C.F.R. Part 157. Notifying the FAA in a timely manner is a key part of the process.
Los Angeles-based Jet Edge International has expanded its fleet with a West Coast-based, Wi-Fi enabled 2001 Bombardier Learjet 45. The Jet Edge fleet includes Gulfstream V, Gulfstream 450, Gulfstream IV-SP, Gulfstream IV, Gulfstream III, Gulfstream 200 and Learjet 45 aircraft as well as Hawker 800XP, Cessna Citation X and Bombardier Challenger 300 aircraft via its Platinum Partner status with XOJET.
FAA is moving to decommission the last direction finders (DF) in the U.S. — 29 in Alaska — saying the technology is “beyond its useful life cycle.” The agency, which decommissioned DFs outside of Alaska in 2007, requested comments on a plan to shut down the remaining DFs. In a recent notice, FAA says their usage for pilot orientation “has become almost nonexistent.” The Alaska Flight Service Information Area Groups (AFSIAG) has documented eight flight assists involving lost or disoriented pilots over the past eight years.
North America, not China, holds the key to industry recovery says aviation analyst Brian Foley. “Although the China region provided a steady sales stream of large and expensive jets at the height of the world economic downturn, we see that trend rapidly losing steam,” he asserts. The China market, “was a conveniently timed mini-rescue, a nice shot in the arm at a critical moment, but now it's starting to slow down. Chinese GDP is almost halved from 2010 and its stock market is at its lowest in three and a half years.
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Regarding “Righting the Wronged,” I hope the fact that James Inhofe is a sitting senator had nothing to do with his being allowed to keep his license after 7 hr. of remedial training following the incident. I only say this because he is 77 years old and I've seen quite a few elderly pilots who should not be flying, or at the very least not be allowed to carry passengers. Oregon
GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce believes time is running short for the FAA to make substantial changes to the certification process, which he says is resulting in up to 18-month delays in products reaching market and costing jobs. Given potential budget cuts that Congress may be facing, he says changes in the way FAA operates — including using the designee program the way it was designed — must be made soon. “FAA absolutely has to change right now,” he says, noting the agency has the budget and congressional authority to make the changes.
Hawker Beechcraft is beginning avionics installation on its first customer-bound Hawker 400XPR, jump-starting the upgrade program that had been slowed by the company's ongoing financial struggles.
European business aviation traffic continued its downward trend in July, as the region grapples with the lingering effects of the economic downturn and casts a wary eye toward global anxieties and other concerns. According to the July 2012 Business Aviation Traffic Tracker, published by the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), business aviation traffic throughout the European Union slipped 4% from July 2011 figures. That decline also contributed to a 2.6% drop in year-to-date traffic numbers compared with 2011 figures.
Aerodynamically clear F-28 has radically rigid-in-line three-blade rotor with elastometric bearings in the hub. Power goes from engine to main-rotor gearbox via a belt drive with controlled idler. Priced at under $30,000.
