Piper Aircraft has begun offering the Kelly Aerospace ThermaCool air conditioning system as an option on twin-engine Piper Seminoles. The system is available for both new aircraft and as a retrofit on used Seminoles. Piper worked with Kelly Aerospace Thermal Systems on the supplemental type certificate for the installation of the system. Aircraft conditioning power is supplied from a 28-volt/60 amp alternator mounted on the left engine. The system can provide ground cooling from a 28-volt power cart.
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June 7—National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Regional Forum, Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, N.J., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org June 11-13—National Air Transportation Association 2012 Air Charter Summit, Westfields Marriott, Chantilly/Dulles, Va., (703) 845-9000, www.nata.aero June 14–16—National Business Aviation Association 17th Annual Flight Attendants/Flight Technicians Conference, Chicago, Ill., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org
AGUSTA Model A109E and Model A109S helicopters with certain lower semichannel assemblies installed [Docket No. FAA-2012-0501; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-083-AD] – proposes require a one-time inspection of the lower semichannel assemblies to determine if metallic spacers are installed. If the metallic spacers are installed, this proposed AD would require an inspection for the correct installation of the metallic spacers on the semichannels and for the correct seating of the gaskets.
AGUSTA Model AW139 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2012-0529; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-050-AD] – proposes to require, within 500 hr. time-in-service (TIS) or five months or when an “AVIONICS FAULT” crew alerting system (CAS) message is displayed, whichever occurs first, replacing all solder splices identified in BT 139-249. This proposed AD is prompted by the discovery of improper installation of solder splices on the co-pilot audio system causing intermittent noise through the audio system during flight.
Butler National Corporation’s Kings Avionics subsidiary received FAA supplemental type certification for installation of the new Garmin GTN Series of navigators on Learjet aircraft. The initial approval involved installation for dual GTN 750 navigators in a Learjet 24B. “The STC for the new Garmin GTN series allows us to tap into a significant upgrade market,” says President and CEO Clark Stewart. “Our initial focus will be on upgrades to the Lear 20 series, Lear 30 series, and Lear 50 series airplanes.
House General Aviation Caucus leaders are trying to build opposition to an amendment in comprehensive highway transportation reauthorization legislation that would expand the National Park Service’s authority over air tour operations and the airspace over national parks. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), was added by voice vote to the Senate version of the highway bill, and Helicopter Association International (HAI) believes that the measure has strong backing.
Solairus, a San Francisco-based charter and management firm, has added four managed accounts in the past 30 days – a Gulfstream 400 and 450 based in Connecticut, a Falcon 2000 EX/EASy in Texas and an Arizona-based Hawker 800XP. The three-year-old firm has added a total of nine jets over the last three quarters, including a Gulfstream GIV-SP based in Geneva. The Solairus fleet has topped 50 managed aircraft.
FAA must expedite the incentives and provide flexible loan-guarantee programs to persuade the aviation industry to make the large investments in aircraft equipment needed for NextGen, industry leaders told FAA officials last week. The agency held the first of a series of meetings on possible incentives for commercial and general aviation operators.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is continuing an investigation of last week’s midair collision involving separate aircraft carrying an FAA accident investigator and a National Transportation Safety Board employee. Since NTSB and FAA employees were aboard both aircraft, NTSB took the unusual step of asking TSB to take over the investigation of the May 28 accident near Warrenton, Va. “This accident hits especially close to home, with the involvement of an NTSB employee,” says NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman. TSB deployed a team to the site.
Bell Helicopter received approval from India’s Director General of Civil Aviation for a 500 lb. maximum gross weight increase on the Bell 429 light twin-engine helicopter. India is the 10th country to approve the increase since Transport Canada certified the 492’s 7,500 lb. maximum gross weight in January. Earlier this month, Ecuador and Malaysia approved the increase, following validations from Australia, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
JOHN DELISI was named director of the Office of Aviation Safety for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). DeLisi has served as the office’s deputy director since 2007. He has been with NTSB for 20 years, overseeing numerous major investigations, including the January 2009 ditching of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River and the February 2009 Colgan Air accident in Buffalo. He began his aviation career as an aircraft systems engineer.
CONTINENTAL MOTORS (CMI) Models TSIO-520, TSIO-550-K, TSIOF-550K, and IO-550-N series reciprocating engines [Docket No. FAA-2011-1341; Directorate Identifier 2011-NE-41-AD; Amendment 39-17062; AD 2012-10-13] – supersedes an AD that applies to engines with new or rebuilt CMI starter adapters installed between Jan. 1, 2011 and Nov. 20, 2011. That AD currently requires replacing affected CMI starter adapters with starter adapters eligible for installation. This AD requires the same actions, but to an expanded population of reciprocating engines.
Whether it is highly integrated antennas that reduce drag, certifiable data links for unmanned aircraft or simulation tools for NextGen airspace research, it is not often that a major manufacturer takes the wraps off its internal R&D. But Aviation Week was given a glimpse inside Rockwell Collins' Advanced Technology Center (ATC)—and a look into the avionics company's future—during a visit to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The ongoing consolidation of fixed-base operations and withdrawal of major oil companies from the “downstream” aviation market is leading fuel distribution companies such as Epic Aviation to transition their operations and look toward international expansion, according to Epic Aviation executives.
The Eaton chief suspects that the introduction of new technologies that make aircraft cheaper to operate may have permanently shortened their economic lifecycles.
Momentum is growing behind the desire for a step-change in rotary-wing performance. More speed is most often mentioned by customers and manufacturers, but range and payload limitations are also seen as holding back rotorcraft from wider use.
With billions being spent in pursuit of fuel savings, closer integration of engines and aircraft may hold the greatest untapped potential for improvement. But extracting synergies from the intermingling of propulsion and airframe design is demanding changes in the way the stove-piped aerospace industry operates.
Aerospace researchers generally agree that step changes in efficiency for future commercial aircraft designs will only be achieved through unprecedented levels of integration between propulsion and airframe.
Japan's last attempt at developing a twin-engine transport helicopter flopped. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) built only seven MH2000s from 1998 to 2003.
REORG PLAN: Hawker Beechcraft is facing a June 30 deadline to file its reorganization plan and disclosure statement, and is expected to confirm its reorganization by November. The Wichita airframer is hoping to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of the year under new ownership through a restructuring plan that would eliminate $2.5 billion of the company’s debt and $125 million in annual interest expenses. Last year the company lost the U.S.
The FAA is under pressure from lawmakers and government inspectors to provide the specifics of its plan to consolidate facilities during the transition to the NextGen air traffic modernization system.
