Gulfstream matched last year’s green aircraft delivery output in the third quarter, but a more than doubling of completed aircraft shipments helped propel General Dynamics Aerospace Group’s profit to a 41.4% increase. Gulfstream parent GD reported that Gulfstream delivered 34 aircraft in the third quarter, 28 of which were large cabin aircraft (the 650, 550 and 450) while the remaining six were mid-cabins (the 150 and 280). Not only did the total mirror last year’s third quarter, but so did the mix of deliveries.
SIKORSKY [Docket No. FAA-2013-0352; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-063-AD; Amendment 39-17598; AD 2013-19-16] – requires modifying the No. 1 engine forward firewall center fire extinguisher discharge tube (No. 1 engine tube) and inspecting the outboard discharge tube to determine if it is correctly positioned. This AD was prompted by the discovery that the No. 1 engine tube installed on the helicopters is too long to ensure that a fire could be effectively extinguished in the helicopter. The actions are intended to ensure the No.
Embraer Executive Jets President Ernest Edwards is planning to hand over the reins of the organization he helped build into one of the largest business jet manufacturers to longtime employee Marco Tulio Pellegrini. Edwards announced last week that he was planning to retire at the end of the year and put his suitcases in a place where he wouldn’t have to move them for a long time. Pellegrini currently is the senior VP and COO for Executive Jets.
JetSuite, the Irvine, Calif.-based charter, is planning to more than double its fleet of Cessna Citation CJ3s by the end of next year. The company, which currently has six “JetSuite Edition” CJ3s on its certificate, plans to acquire two more this year and build the fleet to 15 by the end of 2014. The six-passenger aircraft will be painted in the JetSuite livery and equipped with WiFi. JetSuite, which also operates a fleet of 13 Embraer Phenom 100s, added the initial CJ3s in 2012. Since then, the light business jets have been accruing about 120 hr.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, AS 365 N3, EC 155B, EC155B1, AS332C, AS332L, AS332L1, AS332L2, and EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0480; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-090-AD; Amendment 39-17589; AD 2013-19-07] – requires for helicopters with certain EADS Sogerma pilot and co-pilot seats installed, inspecting the rear beam of each seat to determine if all of the weld beads are present and replacing the seat if any weld bead is missing.
The FAA’s temporary shutdown combined with sequestration is increasing pressure on the agency to do “more with less” and should jump-start serious conversations about how to establish stable funding for the agency, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta says. The agency is “gearing back up” following the 16-day shutdown, and “it will take time to assess the backlog of work that developed,” Huerta told the Aero Club of Washington last week.
StandardAero is continuing to “pursue [its] own strategies” after talks collapsed over a possible merger with BBA, says new CEO Russell Ford, but it is open to other partnerships.
Signature Flight Support is poised to expand its reach into the Canadian market under a new agreement with Imperial Oil to offer Canadian Esso dealers the option to become either fully licensed Signature locations or participate in the Signature Select affiliate program. Signature entered the Canadian market in 2010 under an original licensing deal with Starlink Aviation in Montreal and later became a majority shareholder. Signature later added a second licensed location in Edmonton with Airside.
PATRICK O’CONNELL was named regional sales director for the Upper Midwest region for Beechcraft. O’Connell has served as a demonstration pilot for Beechcraft for the past six years. He will manage Beechcraft sales for a territory that includes Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
LANCE LAJARA was named regional sales manager for Constant Aviation. Lajara formerly has served as a large fleet account manager for the Cleveland-based maintenance, repair and overhaul company. In his new role, he will be responsible for selling maintenance, avionics, interior modifications/refurbishments, arts and composite/accessory services for customers based in the Central region of the U.S.
Strong growth and renewed confidence in the market for Beechcraft aircraft will allow the Wichita plane maker to bump up its prices in 2014. Boosted by rising orders in several key sectors – and the added lift from its recent $1.4 billion order from Wheels Up – Beechcraft says that an increase in prices is now not a matter of if, but when.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332C, AS332L, AS332L1, AS332L2, and EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0807; Directorate Identifier 2013-SW-035-AD; Amendment 39-17601; AD 2013-19-19] – requires replacing certain serial-numbered main gearbox (MGB) bevel gear vertical shafts because they are no longer airworthy. Also, this AD requires certain inspections of each MGB bevel gear vertical shaft for a crack. Also, this AD requires if there is a crack, replacing the shaft with an airworthy part before further flight.
Nextant Aerospace is returning to Beechcraft products to add a second airframe to its remanufacturing business, this time targeting the King Air C90 twin turboprop. Nextant has teamed with both GE and Garmin to offer the G90XT, an upgraded C90 with GE H80 engines in place of the current Pratt & Whitney PT6As, and a Garmin 1000 avionics suite instead of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21.
Abu Dhabi private aviation company,Royal Jet,has launched a new Fixed-Base Operation (FBO) facility in the Seychelles Islands to cater to rising number of private aviation tourists from the Middle East, Europe and CIS countries.
Initial test results of the Passport turbofan and its unusual one-piece blisked fan are on track and augur well for next year’s fast-paced development and certification phase, says General Electric (GE). The 16,500-pounds-thrust engine is expected to complete certification in 2015 and enter service on Bombardier’s new Global 7000 and 8000 ultra-long-range corporate jets in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
StandardAero is continuing to “pursue [its] own strategies” after talks collapsed over a possible merger with BBA, says new CEO Russell Ford, but it is open to other partnerships.
Jet Aviation is introducing an Airbus ACJ318 to its managed fleet in the U.S. The U.S.-registered aircraft will be operated by Jet Aviation Flight Services’ West Coast team and based at Van Nuys, Calif. When the ACJ is added to Jet Aviation Flight Services’ FAR Part 135 aircraft operator’s certificate (AOC) later this year, or in early 2014, it will become the first ACJ318 in the U.S. and the only VVIP ACJ available in the country for charter.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) and Beechcraft are combining forces to forge a total tip-to-tail airframe and propulsion support package for the potential fleet of up to 100-plus King Air 350i aircraft ordered by start-up charter and business aircraft services company Wheels Up.
Commercial aftermarket growth continues to bolster United Technologies Corp.’s (UTC) business units, boosting the company’s overall commercial results and helping offset its struggling military business across the board, executives say. Pratt & Whitney’s large commercial spares revenues increased 22% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the second straight increase after five quarters of decline. Legacy Pratt engine spares “are recovering” and the V2500 market is growing, helping offset weaker demand for PW2000 parts, says UTC CFO Greg Hayes.
Commercial aftermarket growth continues to bolster United Technologies Corp.’s (UTC) business units, boosting the company’s overall commercial results and helping offset its struggling military business across the board, executives say. Pratt & Whitney’s large commercial spares revenues increased 22% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the second straight increase after five quarters of decline. Legacy Pratt engine spares “are recovering” and the V2500 market is growing, helping offset weaker demand for PW2000 parts, says UTC CFO Greg Hayes.
Embraer is hoping to capture market share in the VVIP category from Boeing and Airbus with the rollout of the Lineage 1000E. The new aircraft is 500 lb. lighter thanks to the removal of a dozen windows and the forward service door, and it sports a redesigned five-zone interior. The new version of Embraer’s top-of-the-line Lineage business jet has an extended range, a redesigned interior, new equipment and other changes.
Bigger is better in the booming large-cabin business aircraft segment, and the debut of Dassault’s $45 million Falcon 5X is the biggest news at this year’s National Business Aviation Association Convention. Formerly known as the Falcon SMS, this newest member of the family will have a cabin cross section that is slightly larger than that of Gulfstream’s G650, but it is considerably shorter, in keeping with its 5,200-nm. maximum range at Mach 0.80.
LONDON — U.K. air accident investigators are examining pilot error as the possible cause of a fatal crash of a CHC helicopter off the Shetland Islands in late August. Four oil workers died when the CHC Scotia-operated Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma, registered G-WNSB, crashed into the sea while on approach to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands on Aug. 23 after a flight from the Borgsten Dolphin drilling platform on behalf of oil company Total.
A softening of purchase expectations in several regions led Honeywell Aerospace to scale back its 10-year forecast for new aircraft deliveries, but the increasing preference for large-cabin, long-range aircraft is keeping the anticipated dollar value of those deliveries at the same level as previous forecasts.
The FAA has given Applied Research Associates Inc.’s (ARA’s) Nighthawk IV micro-unmanned aircraft system (UAS) a special airworthiness certificate, which will allow potential customers to apply for agency approval to operate the 2-lb. aircraft in the national airspace. “This special airworthiness certificate is supported by extensive safety, manufacturing, inspection, maintenance and crew training procedures that were reviewed and accepted by the FAA as part of a recent visit to witness post-certification maiden flights,” ARA says in an announcement.
