FAA communities pained last year by congressional gridlock and the long-feared effects of so-called sequestration budget cuts will benefit from a little more protection under the fiscal 2014 omnibus appropriations bill passed by Capitol Hill last week. The House passed the bill Jan. 15, followed by the Senate on Jan. 16.
Nextant appointed JetHQ as its sales agent for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey and Lebanon, a move that the remanufacturer of Beechjet/Hawker 400 aircraft hopes will enable it to tap into some of the most active markets in the Middle East. Garett Jerde, managing director of JetHQ in Dubai, will work with Nextant on sales, marketing and customer service strategy in the region. JetHQ has brokered a range of aircraft, including Beechcraft, Hawker, Bombardier, Gulfstream and Agusta.
Moody’s cites risk in a planned loan that Atlantic Aviation is seeking for its $195 million acquisition of Galaxy Aviation, but says an improving operating environment this year should help offset that risk. Atlantic Aviation announced late last year that it had reached a deal to acquired five fixed-base operations from Galaxy Aviation for $195 million. The acquisition will provide Atlantic Aviation with a foothold in Florida, with four of the five Galaxy FBOs in the state. The fifth is located near Steamboat Springs, Colo.
ROLLS-ROYCE AE3007A series turbofans [Docket No. FAA-2009-0811Directorate Identifier 2008-NE-41-AD; Amendment 39-17715; AD 2013-26-06] – supersedes AD 2010-19-01, which required removing certain high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 2 heels, or performing inspections on them, and reduced their approved life limits. This new AD clarifies the AE 3007A turbofan engine model applicability, further reduces the approved life limits of affected HPT stage 2 wheels, and eliminates the inspections required by the existing AD.
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced a measure last week calling on the FAA to conduct a formal rulemaking if it plans to press forward with a policy requiring pilots and controllers with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more to undergo obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) testing. The bill, similar to a measure introduced in the House, comes as the agency evaluates potential changes to the policy that it put on hold late last year.
Bell Helicopter reached an agreement to sell 20 Bell 206L-4s to Air Medical Holdings Group (AMGH), which provides air ambulance services in the U.S. and internationally. The contract calls for deliveries to begin this year and continue through 2017, both replacing older aircraft already in service and expanding the existing fleet. Bell has been a longtime supplier for AMGH.
TAC Air, which had unsuccessfully battled to prevent the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA) from opening a second fixed-based operation at Chattanooga Airport (CHA) in Tennessee, has pulled out of the market and is setting its sights on expansion at other locations.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) added helicopter operations to this year’s “Most Wanted List” of transportation safety improvements, citing concerns that nearly 1,500 helicopters have crashed over the past decade. The 2014 list, released Jan. 16, continues to highlight general aviation safety, including a special focus on communication of weather hazards. The rest of the list mostly covers a range of safety concerns in other modes of transportation, and one general across-the-board safety concern involving occupant protection.
Despite a year of turnover within the Transportation Security Administration’s General Aviation branch, TSA has slowly built up the number of approved gateways that provide direct access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and has progressed on other initiatives to increase business aviation operations there.
Wheels Up, the relatively new membership-based private aviation company, is partnering with the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), a nonprofit network of young CEOs. Under the three-year agreement, Wheels Up will have access to the YPO member network through conference sponsorship, marketing and branding opportunities. Wheels Up will also be designated an official partner of YPO and sponsor select YPO events. YPO members will receive additional benefits for becoming a Wheels Up member.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC120B and EC130B4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA–2013–1090; Directorate Identifier 2013–SW–017–AD] – proposes to require replacing parts of the sliding door star support attachment assembly, depending on the outcome of required inspections. This proposed AD is prompted by a report that passengers in a Eurocopter helicopter were forced to exit through the pilot door after landing because they could not open the sliding door from the inside.
A strong fourth quarter, particularly in its Executive Jets segment, helped Embraer to meet its delivery guidance on the year and improve over 2012’s totals. Embraer delivered 209 aircraft for the year, more than 40% of which were handed over in the fourth quarter. That is up slightly from the 205 aircraft Embraer delivered overall in 2012, as well as from the 76 handed over in the fourth quarter of that year. Embraer’s business jet deliveries eclipsed commercial deliveries in 2013, jumping 20% for the year.
Aviation safety expert Argus International is rolling out a Certified Charter Broker Program to provide charter operators and their customers necessary details about their brokers. The program comes as the Department of Transportation weighs comments from a number of industry groups urging the creation of a broker registry. Industry advocates, such as the National Air Transportation Association, have long pushed for such a registry, worrying about an infiltration of disreputable brokers that harm the industry overall.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-1A11 (CL-600), CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), and CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, and CL-604 variants) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-1065; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-230-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires operators to assign serial numbers or part numbers to certain landing gear parts; and to establish the number of landings on the parts, if necessary.
JOHN SLIETER , vice president of sales for Duncan Aviation, was named chairman of Honeywell’s Channel Partner Advisory Board (CPAB). The CPAB provides recommendations to help make Honeywell’s service and support even better for their mutual end-customers.
Rockwell Collins finalized an agreement with Beijing Bluesky Aviation Technology, an AVIC subsidiary, to establish ACCEL (Tianjin) Flight Simulation Co. as a joint venture (JV) in China. The JV, equally owned by both Rockwell Collins and Beijing Bluesky, will develop a center of excellence for commercial flight simulation and training.
BELL Model 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, and 206L-4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0603; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-079-AD; Amendment 39-17706; AD 2013-25-10] – requires, for affected helicopters with a certain tailboom upper left attachment fitting, inspecting the fitting for a crack and other conditions. This AD was prompted by the manufacturer revising and extending the 100-hr. time-in-service (TIS) inspection requirements for the fitting.
SIKORSKY Model S–70, S–70A, S–70C, S–70C (M), and S–70C (M1) helicopters [Docket No. FAA–2012–0945; Directorate Identifier 2010–SW–110–AD; Amendment 39–17722; AD 2013–26–13] – requires, for affected helicopters with GE T700–GE–401C or T700–GE–701C engines installed, establishing new fatigue life limits for certain GE engine gas generator turbine (GGT) rotor parts.
As South Korea strives to build an industry that can independently make complete aircraft, it is achieving the most progress in helicopters. And it is the South Korean army, not the air force, that is offering the most support.
Swiss-owned VIP charter operator Fly Comlux is displaying its revamped Bahrain-based 767BBJ aircraft at the show, which is possibly, according to commercial director Claire Brugirard, the largest VIP wide-body aircraft available for charter in the world.
A European Aviation Safety Agency draft rulemaking tackles a series of recommendations from accident investigators and working groups that call for beefed- up standards and maintenance practices for aircraft flight and data recorders (FDR). The key changes would mandate higher-capacity cockpit voice recorders (CVR) on large aircraft, ban “obsolete recording technologies,” such as magnetic tape, and improve post-crash location broadcasting capabilities.
The finalized U.S.-certified repair station security rule, a significantly scaled back version of what the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) originally proposed in 2009, is a reflection of industry feedback that sought a more focused, purpose-driven set of regulations.
