AgustaWestland has flown the first production AW189 helicopter in Italy. The 8-ton aircraft – ultimately destined for launch customer Bristow – took to the air at the company’s Vergiate facility on Oct. 10. The aircraft is still pending type certification, which is expected soon following what the company called a “milestone” AW189 type board meeting held in Germany in late September.
ExcelAire is expanding its presence in New York with the opening of an office and hangar spaces at White Plains Airport. ExcelAire, which is based at Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), says the new facilities will help accommodate a growing demand for management and charter services in the Westchester, N.Y. area. The facility will provide aircraft management and charter services, and currently has a Cessna Citation CJ3 and Falcon 900 based there. ExcelAire’s fleet continues to grow, most recently with the addition of the CJ3.
Bell Helicopter reached agreement on a five-year contract with the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) and UAW Local 218, representing about 2,400 of the company’s production and manufacturing employees. The agreement was ratified on Oct. 13 with 93% of the vote. The previous contract lapsed in June and UAW members had rejected two prior contract offers.
DARIN HOWELL was appointed regional commercial sales manager in North America for Bell Helicopter. Howell, a former CH46 helicopter pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps, has held marketing and business development roles in the aviation and technology industries. In his new role, he will be responsible for sales in the Northeast U.S.
Beechcraft reportedly has instructed Credit Suisse to approach prospective buyers, including Cessna Aircraft, just months after the manufacturer emerged from an extensive Chapter 11 reorganization. Beechcraft is not commenting on the Bloomberg report, but CEO Bill Boisture last summer noted to Aviation Week that three of the company’s major shareholders are those that specialized in distressed properties. In those cases, he said, the question comes up on whether they’re long-term owners. “I wouldn’t think so,” he said.
Jetex Flight Support has collaborated with Honeywell, to launch MyJETEX, an app for Apple platforms created to provide operators with dependable flight support solutions.
As tourism increases across Africa, the demand for sightseeing flights continues to rise and one American company believes a retrofit of the DHC Twin Otter aircraft could be the answer.
Dubai Airshow organisers F&E Aerospace are preparing for next month's event to be the largest in their 26 years of the show and are forecasting a great turnout from the business aviation community.
UVair, the fueling division of Universal Weather and Aviation, announced at NBAA today that it has reached an exclusive agreement with FlightAware to integrate customer-specific UVair jet fuel pricing into flightaware.com.
Embraer Executive Jets will display its complete portfolio of business aircraft at the National Business Aviation Association Convention and Exhibition, in Las Vegas, NV, on October 22-24.
The furloughing of FAA inspectors and technical staff delayed routine approvals for a majority of repair stations surveyed by the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), the trade group reports. Sixty-one percent of respondents to ARSA’s survey report that tasks such as repair station manual approvals were put on hold due to the furloughs. Thirty repair stations participated in ARSA’s survey.
Dassault Aviation has named Frédéric Leboeuf Vice President, Falcon Operational Support. He replaces Gérard Dailloux, who retired after serving with the company for almost 30 years.
Very-light-jet (VLJ) pioneer Vern Raburn has been named CEO and chairman of Titan Aerospace, a New Mexico-based start-up developing solar-powered, high-altitude, ultra-long-endurance unmanned aircraft. Titan is developing the Solara series of “atmospheric satellites,” aiming to fill the gap between conventional aircraft and spacecraft with solar-powered UAVs that can stay aloft at 65,000 ft. for up to five years.
Even as Embraer’s commercial aircraft deliveries decline, new orders continue to help rebuild the manufacturer’s backlog to the highest levels since 2009. Embraer’s backlog had reached $19 billion in 2009, but that dipped to $12.4 billion last year on slow commercial sales and business jet cancellations. But the market has improved for Embraer’s commercial aviation models this year, with an order from SkyWest Inc. for up to 200 of the company’s newly launched E175-E2 airliner.
While leaders from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate yesterday continued to negotiate an agreement to reopen the government, 44 House lawmakers are hoping to increase pressure on the FAA to re-open the U.S. Aircraft Registry. The legislators in a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta say the agency is “inflicting unnecessary hardship on aviation industries in our country” by handling the current shutdown in a different manner than previous shutdowns.
Avincis Group has formally launched its new Australian subsidiary, Bond Helicopters Australia, as an entrant in the highly competitive oil and gas market.
During the third quarter of 2013 Embraer delivered 19 jets to the commercial aviation market and 25 to the executive aviation market, for a total of 44 aircraft.
During a recent visit with a cousin in Greensboro, N.C., the subject of Honda Aircraft came up. He mentioned how important the planemaker was to the community as a source of jobs, tax revenue and pride. Their jets are apparently very popular, he said. To which I responded, “quite possibly.” A comment he found curious. “Well, they haven't actually delivered any yet,” I explained. “None?!” He was surprised, almost flabbergasted.
Meanwhile, at Timco Aviation Services, located next door to Honda, a group of 20 new graduates from Guilford Technical Community College just completed initial training at the heavy jet MRO outfit. Timco regularly hires from the nearby tech college. And with good reason. Pete Laszca, general manager for the MRO operations, cites the high demand for qualified aircraft techs. That situation is getting a lot of industry attention.
