National Transportation Safety Board investigators last week were on scene of the crash of a Mitsubishi MU-2B-25 near Owasso, Okla., that claimed the life of Sen. James Inhofe ’s 52-year-old son, Perry Inhofe.
While the current FAA authorization continues through the end of fiscal 2015, lawmakers and aviation groups are beginning to lay the groundwork for a new FAA reauthorization bill now with the hopes of averting another scenario in which the agency’s spending authority runs on years of short-term extensions, says Tom Hendricks, president and CEO of the National Air Transportation Association.
Constant Aviation has moved its interior operations to a new 30,000-sq.-ft. facility, after quickly outgrowing the existing facility at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The company in 2011 expanded its facilities to accommodate the interior work, but within two years, “our interior business has grown to the point where we needed to relocate the facility to a larger location with a better layout to increase productivity,” says Dave Bowman, vice president of operations at Cleveland.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association elected its next slate of officers for 2014, with Boeing Business Jets President Steve Taylor taking the lead as chairman. Taylor has served as vice chairman and chairman of the association’s Flight Operations Policy Committee. Hartzell Propeller President Joe Brown will fill the role of vice chairman and continue serving as chairman of the Policy & Legal Issues Committee.
The business aviation market is continuing to evolve, but a long-awaited recovery is coming slower than anticipated, according to market experts who spoke at the SpeedNews 18th Annual Regional & Business Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference this month in Phoenix.
BELL Model 407 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0490; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-004-AD; Amendment 39-17611; AD 2013-20-05] – requires installing a placard beneath the NR/NP dual tachometer and revising the limitations section of the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM). This AD was prompted by several incidents of third stage engine turbine wheel failures, which were caused by excessive vibrations at certain engine speeds during steady-state operations.
JASON BERG has joined TWC Aviation as chief aviation officer. In this role, Berg will oversee TWC’s flight operations, safety, and maintenance departments. He will also help implement the company’s new environmental initiative. He formerly spent more than nine years at Sun Air Jets, where he served as chief pilot. He has also served as a lead pilot on a Global Express for an entertainment company.
BELL Model 230 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0492; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-013-AD; Amendment 39-17608; AD 2013-20-02] – requires installing a placard on the instrument panel and revising the limitations section of the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM). This AD was prompted by several incidents of third stage engine turbine wheel failures, which were caused by excessive vibrations at certain engine speeds during steady-state operations.
As budget talks heat up in Washington, so is renewed focus on depreciation schedules for business aircraft. Senate Democrats reportedly are floating a list of a dozen tax loopholes that they are calling most egregious. In an opinion piece published by The Washington Post, Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (Wash.) states, “The U.S. tax code clearly benefits the wealthy and well-connected.
Bombardier received FAA certification on Nov. 14 for the first of the new Learjets, the Learjet 75, clearing the way for deliveries to formally begin. Bombardier on Oct. 17 held a ceremonial celebration for the delivery of the initial Learjet 75s – ceremonial because the aircraft was not yet certified. Bombardier had hoped to arrive at last month’s National Business Aviation Association annual convention with FAA approval in hand, but that was pushed back by the government shutdown.
Flexjet, which every year packages a holiday experience that couples flights with venues typically not readily available to the public, this year has assembled a $1.5 million “Passport to the World” trip with around-the-world experiences. FlexJet worked with Abercrombie & Kent to develop the package, which includes a 14-day journey for up to eight people aboard a Challenger 605 aircraft. The travel, provided by Jet Solutions, includes stops in Anchorage, Kyoto, Japan, Beijing, Hong Kong, Arga, India, Istanbul and Paris.
Air Cote d'Ivoire yesterday signed a conditional purchase agreement at the Dubai Airshow for two Bombardier Q400 NextGen regional turboprops, and took options on a further two.
A full-scale 757 tail, equipped with active flow control, has demonstrated increased rudder effectiveness in wind-tunnel tests by Boeing and NASA that could lead to smaller, lower-drag vertical tails. The four weeks of tests in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Facility at NASA Ames Research Center, Calif., evaluated the use of active flow control (AFC) to increase rudder sideforce on demand by delaying airflow separation over the deflected control surface.
Piaggio investors TATA Group and Mubadala Development Company have increased their shares in the Italian airframer, a move that will hike the equity in the company by €190 million ($256 million) and narrow the Ferrari stake to just 2%. The investment provides capital to further Piaggio’s development of the P.1HH HammerHead and the MPA Multirole Patrol Aircraft.
Europe’s Sesar air traffic management (ATM) modernization program has funded nine projects to demonstrate the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into non-segregated airspace. The projects will support plans to begin integration of UAS into European airspace in 2016. Backed by €4 million ($5.4 million) in funding from the Sesar Joint Undertaking (JU), the demonstrations include integrated pre-operational flight trials and are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.
Europe’s Sesar air traffic management (ATM) modernization program has funded nine projects to demonstrate integration of unmanned aircraft systems into non-segregated airspace. The projects will support plans to begin integration of UAS into European airspace in 2016. Backed by €4 million ($5.4 million) in funding from the Sesar Joint Undertaking (JU), the demonstrations include integrated pre-operational flight trails and are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.
Key documents laying out the path to integration of unmanned aircraft in national airspace have been released by the U.S. government, but achieving the goals will require “predictable and reliable” funding for the NextGen airspace modernization program, cautions FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.
Cessna Aircraft recently confirmed the Mach 0.935 speed of its new Citation X in high-speed certification flights with the FAA, taking a key step toward reclaiming the fastest business jet title. Cessna says it has now completed all testing requirements to validate the Mach 0.935 speed. The original X reigned as the fastest business jet with a top speed of Mach 0.92 until Gulfstream’s Mach 0.925 G650 reached market last year.
The City of Santa Monica, Calif., is claiming that FAA is violating its constitutional rights by insisting that it continue operating Santa Monica Airport (SMO), saying U.S. interests in the airport ended in 1953. The city on Oct. 31 filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in an attempt to gain control over the future of SMO, a step that would allow the city to close the airport.
BELL Model 206L-4 and 407 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0526; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-14-AD; Amendment 39-17633; AD 2013-22-01] – requires replacing or reworking certain aft bearing caps. This AD was prompted by the manufacture of certain freewheel aft bearing caps without a lubrication channel to allow oil flow into the aft bearing support assembly. The actions of this AD are intended to prevent failure of the freewheel unit and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. FAA estimates the AD affects 80 helicopters on the U.S.
Jeppesen successfully completed rapid decompression tests on the new iPad Air, confirming the integrity of the device in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss. Jeppesen, which tested the device to an altitude of 51,000 ft., conducted the trials as part of its program for operators to obtain FAA authorization for inflight use of its mobile app services. Jeppesen has completed similar tests on other iPad products.
Landmark Aviation is increasing its presence at Westchester County Airport (HPN) in New York with the acquisition this month of Panorama Flight Service. The acquisition further consolidates the number of fixed-base operations at the busy New York-area airport from the five that existed just a few months ago to three.
Bombardier Aerospace’s Business Aircraft division is getting a new leader as the Canadian aircraft and train manufacturer manufacturer moves Steve Ridolfi to the new role as senior vice president, strategy and mergers and acquisitions. Eric Martel will succeed Ridolfi as president of Bombardier Business Aircraft. The appointments are effective Jan. 1. Martel is currently president of Bombardier Aerospace’s customer services and specialized and amphibious aircraft.
