Avionics and head-up guidance system provider Rockwell Collins is developing a passive, uncooled multi-spectral vision aid that will see “first light” by early November, marking a key benchmark in the company’s bid to become an end-to-end enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) provider .
GA 8 AIRVAN (Pty) Models GA8 and GA8-TC320 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0823; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-027-AD; Amendment 39-17594; AD 2013-19-12] – requires modifying the fuel system for ventilation and drainage. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the Civil Aviation Authority for Australia, which found that the fuel system integral sump tank does not meet U.S. FAA regulations.
Mooney Aircraft is slated to become the next general aviation manufacturer to be acquired by Chinese interests, according to Chinese news sources. According to Xinhua, real-estate developer Meijing Group has received U.S. clearance to acquire the Kerrville, Texas manufacturer. The deal is slated to close in November. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Wheels Up, the recently launched membership-based charter and broker company, and SilverStone Group, an insurance and risk management company, have joined the Air Charter Safety Foundation. The foundation membership has grown to nearly 110 members.
Flying Colours has broken ground on an expansion of its facilities in Peterborough, Ontario. The project will enable Flying Colours to increase its large-cabin completion and maintenance capabilities.
GREG KINSELLA , president and CEO of Key Air, has joined the Board of Governors for the Air Charter Safety Foundation. The board establishes the foundation’s strategic goals, policies and programs designed to improve air charter safety. Kinsella brings a background in flight operations and safety management systems to the board, along with expertise in manufacturing, maintenance and aviation law.
While most of the focus on the Oct. 4 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) emissions agreement has centered on market-based measures (MBM), business aviation advocates are pointing to other aspects of the resolution – such as technological improvements – as playing an equally important role in reducing global emissions.
Rockwell Collins opened a new customer support center that will be staffed seven days a week throughout the year to provide a single point of contact for its commercial aviation customers
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC 155B, EC155B1, SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, AS 365 N3, and SA-366G1 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0399; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-064-AD; Amendment 39-17574; AD 2013-18-01] – requires inspecting the collective pitch lever for correct locking and unlocking conditions. This AD was prompted by two separate reports of inadvertent collective pitch lever locking and unlocking. The actions of this AD are intended to detect an incorrectly adjusted collective pitch lever, which could result in loss of control of the helicopter.
REID DENNIS has taken the role of chairman of CTP Aviation, the charter and management firm he founded in 2000. Dennis, who has been a pilot for 50 years and amassed 9,000 hr., is transitioning from the president and CEO role, saying the move positions the company for its next phase of growth.
Redbird Skyport’s fuel-price sensitivity experiment has drawn such an overwhelming response that the San Marcos, Texas-based fixed-base operator is ending its $1-per-gal. offer on Oct. 15 instead of the end of the month as originally planned, saying it simply can’t keep up with demand.
A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, reportedly operating with Shine Aviation, was involved in an accident during takeoff from an airstrip in the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania on Saturday.
The FAA, sticking to the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) plan laid out to cope with a prolonged partial government closure, has called in more than 800 Office of Aviation Safety employees responsible for both field inspections and certification of “critical” products.
By modernizing a component as rudimentary as a mechanical circuit breaker, Albuquerque, N.M.,-based Vertical Power has opened the door to a wealth of new applications and safety features for the experimental market, including an automatic landing system that flies to the threshold. The offering is similar to new systems being developed for high-end business jets, but at a much lower cost.
A light bulb went off in Dan Miller's head several years ago as he struggled to complete the avionics behind the panel of his company's newest light sport aircraft, the Spirit Grand Edition. Miller, sales manager for World Aircraft Co., based in Paris, Texas, had an idea that was so obvious it seemed silly that no one had thought of it before.
Sentient Jet, the Boston-based jet card and charter sales provider, is expanding its product portfolio, a move the company says is a response to sales that have reached levels not seen since before the financial crisis in 2008. “We started to see a sharp increase in jet card sales at the beginning of the year – a trend that continued throughout the summer,” says Sentient Jet President Andrew Collins.
PIAGGIO Model P-180 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0527; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-014-AD; Amendment 39-17577; AD 2013-18-04] – requires inspections of the main landing gear (MLG) lever hinge fitting (LHF) and, depending on findings, replacement of the MLG. This AD stems from reports that during scheduled maintenance, cracks have been detected at the joint between the hinge pin subassembly and the lock pin of the MLG LHF. Subsequent investigation revealed that the cracks were initiated by an unforeseen friction in the MLG wheel lever subassembly.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC 155B, EC155B1, SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-65N2, AS 365 N3, and SA-366G1 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0399; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-064-AD; Amendment 39-17574; AD 2013-18-01] – requires inspecting the collective pitch lever for correct locking and unlocking conditions. This AD was prompted by two separate reports of inadvertent collective pitch lever locking and unlocking. The actions of this AD are intended to detect an incorrectly adjusted collective pitch lever, which could result in loss of control of the helicopter.
Cessna’s new midsized Latitude is continuing to take shape as the company mated the wings late last month, keeping the business jet on pace for first flight in early 2014. The wing-mating took place two years after Cessna unveiled plans to develop the midsize Latitude, a nine-passenger aircraft that is positioned between the company’s Citation XLS+ and Sovereign aircraft.
