THOMAS KENNEDY was appointed regional engine manager for Dallas Airmotive. Kennedy will represent all of the company’s engine and auxiliary power unit services for customers in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. He formerly served with Signature TechnicAir Aircraft Maintenance, where he held the positions of director of maintenance and accountable manager. He also spent seven years as director of maintenance at Jet Aviation in Bedford, Mass., and six years at British Midlands as lead technician.
AGUSTA Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0256; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-01-AD] – proposes to revise an existing AD that currently requires inspecting the fuselage frame to detect fatigue cracks which could lead to structural failure and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. Since FAA issued that AD, Agusta has developed a frame reinforcement modification which supports extending the interval for inspecting the fuselage frame for a fatigue crack.
Beechcraft, which is still hoping to land a launch customer for its AT-6 light attack aircraft this year, remains among the leading Pentagon aviation contractors with its trainer T-6 version, along with its special mission aircraft and support deals, according to an Aviation Week analysis of aviation-related transactions in 2011, the most recent year for which data was available. Beechcraft ranked 10th among all aviation contractors – fixed-wing, rotary wing and unmanned – with $364 million worth of business and 122 contracts or contract modifications in 2011.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a contract tender for the reconstruction of a taxiway at the Cape May County Airport in Southern New Jersey as the site of a new airport technology test bed for the FAA. The FAA plans to use the taxiway as a test location where it will design, install, test, monitor and report on new technologies for signs, lighting and markings, as well as for other airport safety and pavement research. The Cape May airport is 30 nm southwest of the FAA’s primary airport research facility at William J.
It pays to be the new guy, according to data gathered for the 2013 Aviation Week Workforce Study. Pay for new college graduates rose by 3.4% between 2011 and 2012, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). In the aerospace and defense industry, the increase was slightly lower, at 3.2%. Companies with fewer employees worked to retain their workforces, awarding pay increases on average of 4.1%.
Aerospace and defense companies large and small plan to hire in 2013. While much of the hiring will replace workers leaving for retirement or a new opportunity, the numbers also include some all-new jobs and new skills.
As a war-weary nation grapples with how to cut military spending and a dysfunctional Congress allows meat-ax budget cuts to fall on the Defense Department and NASA, one might expect that the U.S. aerospace and defense (A&D) industry's best and brightest talent would be heading for the exits. Indeed, one-in-five A&D professionals under the age of 35 submitted resignations in 2012, up from 12% the year before. The good news: most left to go work for another aerospace company.
ObituarY: Paul Poberezny, the founder of the Oshkosh, Wis.-based Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the creator of the world's largest general aviation air show—AirVenture—died Aug. 22 from cancer at home in Oshkosh. He was 91. A self-taught aviator who began flying at age 16 in a Waco glider he refurbished, Poberezny started EAA in 1953 with his wife Audrey in the couple's basement near Milwaukee. An annual fly-in that would later become AirVenture started in Milwaukee before moving to Rockford, Ill., and ultimately to Wittman Field in Oshkosh.
Long-span wings generate less drag, but design rules limit their slenderness to avoid the potentially catastrophic aeroelastic instability known as flutter. Now, as part of the search for fuel efficiency and long endurance, flexible-wing control technology is being flight-tested to overcome those limits.
Hadid International Services – the Dubai headquartered flight support company - has stepped up its presence and support in Africa having added in-house staff to supervise activities in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Republic of Congo.
Top FAA officials continue to highlight their concerns about general aviation safety. Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker this month called GA safety “one of my pet issues” and turned to the Air Line Pilots Association for help. In his prepared speech before a recent ALPA Flight and Duty Symposium, Whitaker urged ALPA members to “engage fully in this issue – to reach out to your fellow GA pilots and stress the need to pay attention to basics.” He suggested ALPA members sign up for FAA safety seminars or participate in type clubs.
Gulfstream Aerospace last week celebrated two anniversaries for key programs – the 55th anniversary of the first flight of the original Gulfstream I (GI) and the 10th anniversary of the G550. The GI, a twin turboprop among the first aircraft designed specifically for business travel, first flew Aug. 14, 1958 from Bethpage, N.Y., where the headquarters of Gulfstream predecessor company Grumman were located. The aircraft received certification in 1959 and was first delivered to Sinclair Oil. The company delivered 200 GIs over the next decade, ceasing production in 1969.
The National Business Aviation Association praised a recent decision by the Canadian Federal Court to overturn a Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) determination that a U.S. company, Atlantic City, N.J.-based Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, was providing transportation to the public and was subject to compliance and certification requirements of scheduled airlines. The CTA issued the ruling when the company had conducted cross-border flights between the U.S.
DIAMOND Models DA 42, DA 42 NG, and DA 42 M-NG airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0597; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-016-AD] – proposes to require an inspection to identify the affected nose landing gear (NLG) actuators, Part Number P/N X11-0006/2, and, if an affected unit is installed, modification of the actuator. The proposal also would prohibit installation of any affected P/N X11-0006/2 NLG actuators that may be held as spares, unless they are modified.
PETER HOKANSON was appointed chief financial officer for Yankee Pacific Aerospace. Hokanson has 30 years of experience in aerospace manufacturing and MRO companies in senior positions. He formerly has served with Honeywell, Garrett Aviation Services, MD Helicopter and Azmark Aero Systems.
Cessna, which recently completed the fuselage for its first midsize Citation Latitude, has begun production on the first prototype article in preparation for first flight in early 2014. Cessna mated the fuselage and nose sections in July, and recently has begun using the completed article for static tests. Work is well under way on the second test article, which will be used for structural trials. Cessna expects testing to begin on the second article shortly.
NASA has unveiled a new “strategic vision” for aeronautics that focuses civil-aviation research into six themes. But there is no new money, so work that does not align with the main thrusts will be reduced. The strategy is based on understanding emerging global trends, including new competitors for U.S. manufacturers, and focuses research on the drivers of those trends, such as growing worldwide demand for mobility and concerns over climate change, says NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
JERRY KOH was named vice president-flight sciences for Jormac Aerospace, a division of Yankee Pacific Aerospace. Koh has more than 15 years of experience in the design, testing, analysis and certification of Jormac’s cabin liner and bins systems for VIP Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
Five years after DayJet’s on-demand air service using very light jets ceased operations, the dream of air taxis remains alive. But industry is looking at unmanned aircraft technology as a way to reduce or eliminate the pilot costs that contributed to DayJet’s demise. A commercial airline can require up to 19 pilots for every aircraft, says John Langford, CEO of UAV specialist Aurora Flight Sciences. DayJet reduced this to four-five per aircraft, but the need for two pilots in each of its three-passenger Eclipse 500s drove its costs.
PIPER AIRCRAFT Models PA-46-310P, PA-46-350P, PA-46R-350T, and PA-46-500TP airplanes.[Docket No. FAA-2013-0535; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-018-AD; Amendment 39-17489; AD 2013-13-01] – requires inspecting the fuel vent valves to identify if the nitrile parts are installed and modifying and eventually replacing the fuel vent valves if the nitrile parts are installed. This AD was prompted by nitrile fuel vent valves not providing the correct ventilation.
FAA is calling for repetitive inspections and eventual replacement of Engine Components Inc. (ECi) and Airmotive Engineering “Titan” cylinders found on 6,000 Continental 520 and 550 model reciprocating engines at a cost that could reach $82.6 million.
Pricing is showing a mild recovery in the used market, but as prices begin to inch up, the number of transactions are also starting to slow. The number of transactions reached record levels in 2012 as aircraft values plunged. But industry analyst Jetnet reports this trend reverses in the first half.
Amid an increasing number of helicopter crashes, India’s air safety regulator has issued several stringent measures, including instituting a mandatory breathalyzer test for pilots before takeoff. “It will be ensured that doctors are available at the helipads prior to commencement of operations of helicopter services and the doctors shall be fully conversant with the breath analyzer equipment and procedures to be followed,” an official of India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says.
PHILLIP WADE was promoted to vice president of business development in Titeflex Aerospace. Wade will be responsible for identifying new product development opportunities and expanding into new markets. He joined Titeflex in October 2000 and most recently managed the Quality and R&D groups.
