James Coon, who has served as executive vice president for the National Air Transportation Association for the past year, is joining the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association as senior vice president of government affairs and advocacy. Coon brings a strong background on Capitol Hill, including serving as staff director for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and majority staff director for the House aviation subcommittee. In his new role, Coon will manage the association’s advocacy team on a range of Washington issues.
SCOTT CLAREY has joined Gulfstream Aerospace as sales director, North American Sales, Southwest. Clarey is responsible for Gulfstream sales in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Utah. He is based in Tempe, Ariz. He previously served as regional sales director for Piaggio America.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0984; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-022-AD] – proposes to require measuring the operating load of the cockpit fuel shutoff controls and replacing the tangential gearbox if the operating load threshold is exceeded. This proposed AD is prompted by the jamming of the left-hand (LH) side of the fuel shutoff and general cutoff controls. The proposed actions are intended to prevent the jamming of the controls so that a pilot can shut down an engine during an engine fire or during an emergency landing.
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Despite a sluggish third quarter and a government shutdown that delayed $1.9 billion in deliveries, the U.S. general aviation aircraft manufacturing sector remains on pace for nearly double-digit gains in unit shipments this year and is poised to grow by at least as much next year, according to the Aerospace Industries Association. The gains, if they remain on track, would return the industry to a steady upward trend that began after U.S. deliveries hit a nearly 15-year trough in 2010 with 1,334 shipments valued at $7.9 billion.
Atlantic Aviation has reached a deal to acquire five fixed-base operations from Galaxy Aviation for $195 million. Atlantic Aviation parent Macquarie Infrastructure Company plans to fund the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, through a combination of cash, proceeds of an equity offering and a credit facility.
The FAA will keep its minimum random drug and alcohol testing percentage rates the same for calendar year 2014, testing at least 25% of covered employees for drugs and 10% for alcohol, the agency has determined. The decision, set to be formalized in a Dec. 20 Federal Register notice, is made each year based on full-year testing results from the last full calendar year. If positive test rates exceed 1.0% for drugs or 0.50% for alcohol in a year, FAA must boost the percentages of employees tested.
Senate passage of the budget deal on Dec. 18 comes as a relief to general aviation advocates worried that a prolonged impasse could have led to another costly government shutdown in January.
GULFSTREAM GV and GV-SP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1313; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-080-AD; Amendment 39-17651; AD 2013-22-19] – requires inspecting to determine if fuel boost pumps having a certain part number are installed, replacing the fuel boost pumps having a certain part number, and revising the airplane maintenance program to include revised instructions for continued airworthiness.
Cessna is within days of receiving certification and beginning delivery of its new Citation Sovereign midsize and M2 light business jets, but the new Citation X may still be a number of months away. Cessna is working at a “feverish pace” to wrap up the certification programs for the M2 and Sovereign by year’s end, a goal that Brad Thress, senior vice president-business jets for Cessna believes will be accomplished.
In a move that would mark a major consolidation within the U.S. general aviation manufacturing industry, Cessna Aircraft parent Textron is reportedly buying Beechcraft for nearly $1.4 billion. The Financial Times on Dec. 20 reported the sale.
KEVIN BRINK was named sales director, North American sales, Northwest for Gulfstream Aerospace. Based in Oregon, Brink will be responsible for sales in Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Hawaii, Nevada, eastern Oregon, Saskatchewan and Washington. He is based in Lake Oswego, Ore. He joins Gulfstream from Dassault Falcon, where he was responsible for sales in western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS350B, BA, B1, B2, B3, D, AS355E, F, F1, F2, and N helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0354; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-072-AD; Amendment 39-17665; AD 2013-23-10] – supersedes AD 2010- 21-01, which required an inspection to determine whether a cross-member is installed at station X 2165 and doublers at X 2325 and Y 269, and installing them if they are missing.
SOCATA Model TBM 700 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-1019; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-038-AD] – proposes to require a one-time inspection of the landing gear actuators piston/rod and ball joint centering and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable corrective actions. The AD stems from mandatory continuing airworthiness information from the European Aviation Safety Agency that cites a report that during a maintenance check, possible unscrewing of rod and piston during operation was detected on a landing gear actuator.
Because of the holiday schedule, The Weekly of Business Aviation will not publish a Dec. 30 edition. The next issue will be dated Jan. 6. Please refer to the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (subscribers only) or AviationWeek.com for additional coverage. And, please accept our best wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.
Citing safety justification and cost concerns, industry groups are reiterating their call for FAA to shelve its proposed airworthiness directive (AD) to require inspections and replacements of Engine Components Inc. (ECi) and Airmotive Engineering “Titan” cylinders found on 6,000 Continental 520 and 550 model reciprocating engines.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332L2 and EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0487; Directorate Identifier 2010-SW-056-AD; Amendment 39-17666; AD 2013-23-11] – requires inspecting the torque value of the bolts that secure the front and rear main gearbox (MGB) suspension bar attaching fittings, and re-torqueing the bolts to the proper value if the torque value is out of tolerance. This AD also requires, if the torque value is out of tolerance by more than 20%, inspecting the bolts, frames, and related equipment for a crack and repairing or replacing them if cracked.
Avflight has increased its chain of fixed-base operations with the acquisition of the fueling and services assets of America Jet at Salina Regional Airport. Avflight will provide the serves out of the existing FBO facilities at the airport. An Avfuel-branded dealer, Avflight operates at eight other locations, including Detroit (DET), Flint (FNT), Lansing (LAN), Saginaw (MBS), and Ypsilanti, Mich. (YIP), along with Durango, Colo. (DRO), Harrisburg, Pa. (MDT) and Roswell, N.M. (ROW).
Eurocopter is requesting operators of all EC135s twin-engine light helicopters to carry out checks on the type’s fuel supply tanks and fuel monitoring systems. The move follows the recent short-term grounding of the U.K.-based fleet of EC135s operated by Bond Air Services after a series of what have been described as “supply-tank fuel-gauging errors on some aircraft.”
Signature Flight Support won San Jose City Council approval for its planned $82 million fixed-base operation complex at Norm Mineta San Jose International Airport. The approval included a 50-year lease and operating agreement to build and operate the FBO on 29 acres on the west side of the airport. The city council in April formally approved Signature’s bid to develop the project. Signature teamed with Blue City Holdings, a San Jose company representing the personal aircraft of the principals at Google, on the project.
Embraer last week celebrated the delivery of the 1,300th Ipanema agricultural airplane. In production for more than 40 years, Embraer says sales remain solid for the aircraft. The company sold 66 Ipanemas to customers in Brazil and the Mercosur community in 2012, a 12% increase over the previous year. Shipments are expected to grow to 70 this year. The 1,300th aircraft went to Brazilian operator Fort Aviaco Agricola, which has accepted eight of the aircraft since 2007, when it was founded.
Keith Plumb, president and COO of regional fractional ownership provider Executive AirShare, is adding the title of CEO effective Jan. 1. Plumb is succeeding Bob Taylor as part of a succession plan that began in early 2013. Taylor, who has been chairman and CEO, will become chairman emeritus, focused on various sales and business development projects in Kansas City and Wichita, and will remain active with the board.
