Aviation partners Inc., Blended winglets are now flying on more than 230 Dassault Falcons. The high-Mach winglets were first certified on the Falcon 2000 in May 2009, and are now FAA-approved for all Falcon 50, 900 and 2000 series aircraft. EASA STC approval of the winglets for the Falcon 50 is expected soon.
Pilatus believes the aircraft will find a home with cargo, medevac, commuter and even government special missions operators, along with its PC-12's historical customer base.
Dassault Falcon Jet announced a $60 million building and improvement project on May 29 that will expand its Little Rock, Ark., facility by 25%. Housed on 66 acres leased from the recently renamed the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport-Little Rock, the complex comprises a completion center and service facility that together total 1 million sq. ft. under roof, making it the French manufacturer's largest plant. Dassault employs nearly 2,000 people in Little Rock. The addition will add another 250,000 sq. ft. of space including a 300 ft. by 800 ft.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) orchestrated another jobs rally, this one in Appleton, Wis., on May 30, as part of its continuing effort to build public and political support for the industry at a grass roots level. Gov. Scott Walker, U.S.
Odyssey Aeropsace. a VIP cabinetry specialist for Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Gulfstream business jets, reports that its facility in Denton, Texas, is in full production for a VVIP Boeing 747-8 interior. “It's the largest single program Odyssey's completed thus far,” says company President Trey Bryson.
A year after Jet Aviation's completions woes had “blemished” an otherwise strong financial performance at parent company General Dynamics, Jet Aviation President Dan Clare says the business has put new systems and processes in place and that customers have been happy with the results. Jet shifted work from Zurich to Basel, implemented new processes and improved quality and production cycles. The also incorporated new practices based on lessons learned at their St. Louis facility.
Satcom Direct is a value-added reseller for OnAir's GSM mobile phone service, Mobile OnAir, on VIP and business aircraft enabling passengers and crew to use their mobile phone the same way they do on the ground while flying in regions that authorize mobile phone use during flight — although not during takeoff or landing. Satcom Direct also signed an agreement with Honeywell to be a distribution partner for Inmarsat GX Aviation Ka-band service and a distributor of GX avionics equipment.
Christian von Strombeck ( Director of Operations, Susi Air Jakarta, Indonesia )
I am a long time reader of BCA and find it one of the most informative publications on the market. One of the highlights of the year is the May issue with the Purchase Planning Handbook, especially since it provides a very neutral benchmark to compare aircraft performance.
Embraer Executive Jets, Melbourne, Fla., named Brenda K. Paauwe-Navori to the position of regional sale director responsible for the Western regional sales for its Large and Ultra-large Division.
Projet Aviation, Leesburg, Va., was awarded the Small Business “Ambassador” Award. The award celebrates a business or organization that promotes a positive image of Leesburg as a business location and tourist destination. Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was named a 2013 Gold Edison award winner in the Safety category for its synthetic vision on a head-up display, The product is currently incorporated in the company's Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system.
With the right avionics, landing a large turbine helicopter by hand at night or in poor visibility could be as easy as nudging a small green target into the middle of a larger cyan diamond on the primary flight display.
Operators using Dubai International Airport will face an 80-day runway closure next year that looks set to bring major upheaval. The airport operator has asked airlines to reduce operations or move them to World Central/Al Maktoum International Airport. Freight, general aviation and charter carriers will be barred from the airport during the closure period, set to start on May 1, 2014. Runway 12L/30R is nearing the end of its design life.
SyberJet says it plans to return the SJ30 light jet to production within two years and has selected Cedar City, Utah, as its headquarters and assembly plant location. MT LLC, which acquired the program from bankruptcy in April 2011, renamed the operation SyberJet. State and local officials offered MT a $43 million package to locate in Cedar City, as well as expand the facilities of SyberJet's sister company, Metalcraft Technologies, which is also based there. In the works under various owners since 1986, the Ed Swearingen-designed jet was finally certified in 2004.
Aircell announced that it has signed an agreement with P3 Voith Aerospace GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, to develop several new Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for the Aviator 200 inflight connectivity system in the European market. Under the program, Aircell will provide complete, no-cost STCs to operators installing an Aviator 200 system at an authorized Aircell dealer and activating a new SwiftBroadband service plan with Aircell. The company is seeking aircraft to be used as the certification platform for future STCs. Aircell
L-3 Aviation Recorders, Sarasota, Fla., announced the Ed Senen has been named the division's president responsible for managing the daily operations of the division. He reports to Kris Ganase, president. Senen succeeds Michael Smith, who is retiring after 15 yr. with the company.
The FAA is formally soliciting industry to provide it with samples of unleaded fuels for testing as possible replacements to the 100LL avgas. The agency wants to assess the viability of candidate fuels in terms of impact upon the existing piston-engine fleet, production and distribution infrastructure, environment and toxicology, and economic considerations.
Eurocopter reports its X3 hybrid demonstrator reached a speed of 255 kt. (472 km/hr) in level flight on June 7, thus claiming an unofficial speed record for a helicopter. The speed mark was achieved at an altitude of around 10,000 ft. during a 40-minute flight over southern France near the Istres flight test center. The X3 configuration utilizes a pair of RTM 322 turboshaft FADEC-equipped engines to power a five-blade main rotor system with two propellers installed on short-span fixed wings.
During a Little Rock rally at Dassault Falcon Jet's complex, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe noted that some politicians in Washington had been “less than kind to the private aviation industry” in recent years even though it was auto executives who had traveled to the Capitol in business jets in search of federal bailouts that had spurred the finger pointing. “Instead of being mad at the auto industry,” Beebe said, “they got mad at the aviation industry that hadn't done a thing wrong.”
Enstrom Helicopter Corp. is doubling the size of its facility in Menominee, Mich. The helicopter manufacturer last month held a groundbreaking for the project, which will add 77,000 sq. ft. to the current 85,000-sq.-ft. facility. The expansion will enable the installation of new paint, gel coat and sandblast booths for component parts, along with additional space in the manufacturing and flight line areas. The expansion will also include a second floor to house the engineering department, a new training center and space for other manufacturing capabilities.
Sabreliner Corp., delivered two highly modified UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters earlier this year bringing their total number of VVIP helicopter completions to 11. Sabreliner developed a frame-load isolation design that allows the combat-proven Blackhawk to be converted into VVIP aircraft. The company also created clam-shell doors with integrated steps maximizing the space in the cabin. The two Jordanian aircraft incorporate full entertainment systems that display iPad content and DVDs on individual and 17-in. monitors. An Iridium phone system allows conference calling.
Aeroparts de Paris is promoting alternatives to Le Bourget. The organization operates 14 airfields in the Paris area, including Orly and Charles de Gaulle, with four airports described as “major players” in European business aviation. In addition to Le Bourget, which can handle an Airbus A380, Toussus-le-Noble to the south has two paved runways; Pontoise-Cormeilles to the northwest has longer runways and an emphasis on business aviation and training; and the Heliport de Paris, in the city's 15th Arrondissement, which handled 12,222 operations in 2012.
In recent years, the experimental aircraft population has increased notably, growing from an active fleet of more than 20,407 in 2000 to an estimated 24,750 this year — a 20% gain. At the same time, the active certified piston aircraft population declined 12% — from 170,513 in 2000 to 150,535 this year, according to FAA estimates.
