Beechcraft recently received an order for the Hawker 400XPR upgrade from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. Delivery of the aircraft is expected in the first half of this year. Truex recently purchased the Beehchjet 400A, which will be upgraded to include the Hawker winglets and Williams International FJ44-4A-32 engines, along with a refurbished interior and new exterior paint. The aircraft will be among the early deliveries of the 400XPR program.
Nextant, eying the Asia-Pacific region, placed its first 400XTi on the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority registry. Nextant Pacific Pty, Nextant’s agent for the Asia-Pacific region, will demonstrate the aircraft, which is fitted with Nextant’s quick-change air ambulance configuration. With the configuration, the aircraft can be converted from VIP to air ambulance in less than 45 min. Nextant Pacific Managing Director John Oppenheim notes Australia is home to some of the largest air medical organizations, and demand for air ambulance configurations is strong.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is reiterating its appeal for the Federal Communications Commission to halt its effort to ban 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recommended moving forward with the proposed order.
NEIL TURNBULL was appointed chief operating officer of Vertis Aviation, the Swiss-based charter broker and services company. Turnbull, who will be based at the company’s Kensington, London office, will be responsible for expanding the Vertis brand and support growth of the fleet and systems. He has more than 27 years of international business aviation experience, most recently as general manager of SaxonAir Charter.
VARIOUS RESTRICTED CATEGORY HELICOPTERS originally manufactured Bell Model Numbers HH-1K, TH-1F, TH-1L, UH-1A, UH-1B, UH-1E, UH-1F, UH-1H, UH-1L, and UH-1P. [Docket No. FAA-2013-0736; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-013-AD; Amendment 39-17747; AD 2014-03-10] – requires inspecting the tail rotor (T/R) cable assembly for an incorrectly machined body. This AD is prompted by a report from Bell that a defective body on the cable prevents the barrel assembly from fully engaging in the body cavity.
Eclipse Aerospace, which in October completed the first ceremonial delivery of its Eclipse 550 very light jet, inched closer to receiving all the necessary FAA clearances to begin formal deliveries with approvals on three key components and systems. FAA issued supplemental type certification for the auto throttle, standby display unit and anti-skid brake system.
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS Model AS332C, AS332L, AS332L1, AS332L2, and SA330J helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0737; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-111-AD; Amendment 39-17739; AD 2014-03-02] – requires inspecting the crimping of the ball joint of the upper- and lower-end fittings of the main servo-control and, depending on findings, replacing the main servo-control or repairing the ball joint. This AD was prompted by incidents of missing crimping on the ball joints of servo-control end-fittings.
While the National Transportation Safety Board is not expected to release its 2013 general aviation safety statistics until March, the early numbers are believed to show the first real improvement in years. The numbers are still being vetted and can still change, but an improvement would be significant given that the accident rate had ticked up in the early part of the year.
TURBOMECA Arriel 2B, 2B1, and 2B1A turboshaft engines [Docket No. FAA-2006-23809; Directorate Identifier 2005-NE-52-AD] – proposes to supersede AD 2007-10-07, which currently requires an inspection of the splines of the coupling assembly and the hydro-mechanical metering unit (HMU) drive gear shaft for wear. This proposed AD would require the same inspection and expand the affected population. This proposed AD would also remove Arriel 2B1A engines from the applicability.
A $300 million deal involving the sale of eight Gulfstream aircraft to China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. helped push the Export-Import Bank’s financial backing of the business aircraft and helicopter market to more than $1 billion.
Bell Helicopter sold two Bell 412EPI and two Bell 407GX aircraft to Chongqing General Aviation Co., Ltd. The helicopters will be used by the Chongqing Firefighting Department for firefighting and search and rescue missions.
The strength of the large business jet market has returned industry billings to near the record-high level of 2008, but unit shipments are still almost half of what they were before the economic downturn, according to the latest General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) report.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association added three new members, bringing its membership to 87 companies. The latest to join the association are Blackhawk Modifications, FreeFlight Systems and GE Honda Aero Engines. Waco, Texas-based Blackhawk, founded in 1999, provides engine upgrade kits for a range of turboprop aircraft, including Beechcraft King Airs, Piper Cheyennes, and Cessna Conquests and Caravans.
Aircell has surpassed the 2,000th installation of its Gogo Biz system in business aircraft. Aircell reached the milestone less than five years after it introduced the broadband service in June 2009. Aircell dealer Jet Aviation performed the first Gogo Biz installation on a Midwest corporate aircraft operator. Aircell expects further expansion as it begins to roll out the service in Canada beginning this year. “The business aviation market’s passion for the service continues to exceed our expectations,” says Aircell Executive Vice President and General Manager John Wade.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association board members last week continued their push to expand use of the FAA’s Organization Delegation Authority system. The manufacturing executives met with senior FAA officials, including Peggy Gilligan, associate administrator for aviation safety, to urge her to ensure more streamlined procedures are accepted and implemented throughout the agency.
The recently funded and newly renamed Mooney International Corp. is in final preparations for the resumption of its aircraft production lines this week, ending a five-year hiatus. The planned Feb. 26 restart follows a cash infusion that Mooney received in October from California-based engineering firm Soaring America Corp. That deal, backed by Chinese investors, concluded on Oct. 7 following months of negotiations.
PETER CUTLER was named vice president of customer support for Airbus Helicopters. Cutler, who will also continue as vice president of government programs, will be responsible for customer support in the U.S. for both the government and commercial business segments. He has more than 30 years of helicopter industry experience, primarily in the military aviation segment.
More than six months after the end of a nine-month halt to flights over hazardous environments by the Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) EC225, all operators of the heavy helicopters, the majority of which are used to support oil and gas platforms, have returned it to the air having implemented a series of interim fixes certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) last July.
Sikorsky Aircraft is bringing oil and gas platform operations into the 21st century with a new satellite-based approach system that takes the human calculation and guesswork out of legacy rig approaches in instrument conditions and at night. The system offers operators an automated arrival tool to reduce crew loading while increasing situational awareness.
The trouble began with the CJ610 and JT12, the kerosene guzzlers that launched business aviation's jet age. The showgirls at the Sahara and Flamingo just made things worse. The problem with the former was their ungodly racket, while the latter served as leggy magnets that got those single-spoolers howling at all hours. And too often the place of departure and return was Santa Monica Airport (SMO).
Petroleum Helicopters Inc. Sikorsky S-92A departs an oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The company recently began using a Sikorsky-developed automated rig approach system to reduce the workload and increase the safety for S-92 pilots in night or low-visibility conditions. A special report starting on page 38 examines how trends in the oil-and-gas industry and the search-and-rescue business are impacting helicopter operations. The Petroleum Helicopters photo was altered to obscure details of the offshore rig.
Cessna kicked off the flight-test program of its Latitude midsize business jet, keeping the aircraft on schedule for a 2015 certification. The aircraft, which recently rolled out quietly before employees, took to the air three years after Cessna unveiled the aircraft during the National Business Aviation Association's annual convention in October 2011. The first flight, announced Feb. 18, tested flaps, landing gear, pressurization systems, anti-ice capabilities, stability and control. Flight engineers reported that systems performed as expected.
