Embraer expects it will win a rebid on the U.S. Air Force’s botched Light Attack Support (LAS) contract and sees no justification for changing the contract’s specifications. “We have to hope that when this process is reopened there are no changes to the original specs,” Embraer President and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado told reporters April 10 during a roundtable discussion in Washington. “If there are no changes, the same reasons that made us win the first time will make us win a second time.”
Lufthansa Technik (LHT), following a careful and slow expansion of its capabilities, can now handle three widebody completions simultaneously–ust in time for a peak in that market, said Walter Heerdt, senior VP-marketing and sales at the recent Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai. A Boeing 767-400 now being completed at LHT’s Hamburg facility will be joined by a 747-8, the first of that model, in September and another in December or January, Heerdt says.
EMBRAER Model ERJ 170 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0191; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-035-AD; Amendment 39-16980; AD 2012-05-08] – requires repetitive inspections for fuel leakage and cracks on the wing spar II, close to the rib 10 area, and repair, if necessary. This AD was prompted by reports of fuel seepage at the left-hand wing, close to the rib 10 area in two airplanes. FAA is issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking on the wing spar II, which could result in a fuel leak, consequent reduced structural integrity of the airplane, and possible fire.
Terrafugia is beginning the flight test program of its first production prototype of its Transition roadable aircraft. The aircraft made its 8-min. first flight from Plattsburgh, N.Y., on March 23, after completing initial drive testing. The prototype has also accomplished initial testing of the conversion between aircraft and automobile mode. Conversion is performed without exiting the vehicle, the wings folding up against the body and power switching from the pusher propeller to the road wheels.
An increase in Part 135 commuter/air taxi business jet accidents is driving a significant jump in business jet accidents through the first three months of the year. But an improving turboprop record has kept down the overall number of U.S.-registered business turbine accidents, according to the latest information released by safety expert Robert E. Breiling Associates.
FlightSafety International is renewing its 2012 Proficiency Protection Program that is designed to help pilots and maintenance technicians who have lost their jobs to maintain proficiency. The program provides free recurrent training to qualified pilots and technicians who became unemployed this year.
ANDY RICHARDS was named vice president of completions and modifications for Duncan Aviation’s Battle Creek, Mich., facility. Richards will oversee the Battle Creek avionics line, avionics installations and interior completions teams. He will also provide on-site support for OEM completions, materials and engineering in Battle Creek. Richards joined Duncan Aviation in 1997 as a cabinet builder in the Kal-Aero Interior shop. Kal-Aero was acquired by Duncan Aviation in 1998.
FAA is strengthening expectations for manufacturers and other type certificate holders to provide Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA). The agency recently issued a policy statement that is designed to address what FAA views as efforts by some design approval holders (DAHs) to “inappropriately restrict the availability, distribution, or use” of ICA through restrictive language, use or access agreements.
Austrian plane-maker Diamond Aircraft is beginning flight tests on a new twin diesel-powered airplane that the will incorporate one of the largest cabins in the product line. A prototype DA52, powered by two Austro Engine 180-hp turbo-diesel engines, AE300E, completed its first flight with Diamond Chairman Christian Dries and head of flight test Ingmar Mayerbuch at the controls, the company said April 3.
TIMOTHY PUGLIELLI was appointed chief financial officer for PAS Technologies. He will be responsible for all financial activities of reporting, budgeting, accounting and treasury management, including overseeing all financial aspects for the business, as well as investor relations. Puglielli has more than 32 years of financial/operational management experience, including a background in the aircraft engine industry. Before joining PAS Technologies, he was general manager, Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners.
MIKE SAPANARA has joined West Star Aviation to lead avionics technical sales. Sapanara previously spent 22 years with Rockwell Collins, holding positions including senior field service engineer and regional sales manager. He also has gained avionics experience during his career with the U.S. Coast Guard, and recently retired from the Air Force Reserve.
Business aviation advocates are becoming increasingly concerned over an apparent effort by the Internal Revenue Service to expand the applicability of the 7.5% passenger ticket tax.
Used business jet metrics continued to improve in February with the number of sales transactions increasing 7.6% and the average time on the market declining by 82 days to 346 days, according to business jet market analyst JetNet. Business jet asking price also inched up 3% (to $4.053 million) and the overall number of business jets for sale as a percentage of the fleet dropped 0.5% to 13.9%.
Business aviation veteran Dennis Keith, who currently is president and owner of Jet Solutions, was named chairman of the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF). Keith succeeds Jim Christiansen, whose term expires June 30. Keith has served on the ACSF board of directors since its inception, is a former chairman of the National Air Transportation Association and also has served on the National Business Aviation Association board of directors. Before his current role with Jet Solutions, he served as president of Flexjet.
BOMBARDIER Model BD-100-1A10 (Challenger 300) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2010-1200; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-136-AD; Amendment 39-16647; AD 2011-07-10] — supersedes an existing AD and mandates a revision of the maintenance schedule, the (repetitive) cleaning of the safety valves, the removal of material from the area surrounding the safety valves and the modification of the safety valves with a gridless cabin pressure-sensing port plug. The required actions also include a detailed visual inspection of the safety valves and surrounding areas for discrepant material.
DASSAULT Model Falcon 7X airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0259; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-196-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires the incorporation into the airplane flight manual a new abnormal procedure when radio 1 lockup occurs and also prohibits dispatch of the aircraft with any inoperative radio altimeter.
Aerion, the developer of the supersonic business jet, has kept a steady orderbook for “just under 50” of its $80 million aircraft, says Aerion Vice Chairman Brian Barents. “We’ve essentially maintained that $4 billion orderbook with which we entered the recession,” he says. “We’re delighted with that.” Buyers must put down refundable deposits of $250,000.
