The European Aviation Safety Agency has set a 2016 goal to rewrite regulations governing small aircraft, with the aim of incorporating many of the recommendations of the internationally-based Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). EASA is one of several international communities working in concert to lay the groundwork for one of the most ambitious overhauls of certification regulations ever undertaken.
Dassault Falcon Jet is planning a $60 million expansion of its completion center in Little Rock, Ark. Already the largest facility in the Dassault company with 1 million sq. ft. under roof, the expansion will add another 250,000 sq. ft. under roof including an additional 300 x 800 sq ft hangar, which will be largely dedicated to a new Falcon model named SMS that is expected to be formally unveiled at the NBAA convention in October.
Beechcraft handed over its 4,000th Model 36 Bonanza single-engine aircraft, pushing the entire fleet of Model 35, 33 and 36 Bonanzas to more than 18,000. The 4,000th Model 36, a G36, was delivered to Segall Group, a retail brokerage firm based in Baltimore, Md. Segall will use the six-seat piston aircraft aircraft for site visits and client meetings for its real-estate deals in the mid-Atlantic region. The Bonanza line in Wichita, Kan., is the longest-running continuous production line of any aircraft, spanning 66 years. Beechcraft delivered its first Bonanzas in 1947.
Pilatus Aircraft sold a special mission PC-12 NG Spectre aircraft to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for use in supporting local agencies along the Texas-Mexico border. The aircraft, which Texas officials dubbed the “Bobby Doherty” after a Texas Ranger who was killed in the line of duty, also will used for disaster relief support, aerial observation and as an aerial command center. The single-engine turboprop, which can carry two pilots and seven passengers, was fitted with specific communications, mapping and surveillance systems for the missions.
DAVE ROSENBERG was appointed vice president of strategic planning and programs for Beechcraft. Rosenberg will oversee commercial product development programs, along with analyzing potential joint ventures and acquisitions. He joined the company in 2000 and since has held positions of increasing responsibility in financial planning, business management, strategic planning and operations. Rosenberg most recently was director of the Hawker 4000 product line and general manager of the piston product line.
TWIN COMMANDER Models 690, 690A,and 690B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0393; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-025-AD; Amendment 39-17446; AD 2013-09-05] — requires inspection for cracking of the outer fuselage attachments, the lower wing main spar, the vertical channels, the upper picture window channels, aft cabin pressure web, external wing to fuselage fillets, and fasteners; repair or replacement of damaged parts as necessary; and modification of the structure with reinforced parts.
TAI EASON has joined TWC Aviation as director of sales and acquisition. Eason, who has 13 years of business aviation experience, founded and was president of Wealth Aviation, which specialized in the sales and acquisition of Gulfstream, Bombardier, Hawker, Cessna and Dassault aircraft. She also managed the West Coast office of Atlanta Jet and began her career at Mirage resorts, where she worked for the CEO as an executive assistant and flight attendant.
SyberJet is making plans to return the SJ30 light jet to production within two years with the selection of Cedar City, Utah, as the location of its headquarters and new assembly plant. MT LLC, which acquired the SJ30 program from bankruptcy in April 2011 and renamed the operation SyberJet, has since been updating and refining the aircraft with the hopes of bringing it back into production as the light business jet market improves.
LARRY PEET was named director of sales for Hangar Ten’s new aircraft sales program that is designed to focus on coaching. Peet, a 30-year aviation veteran, formerly was director of operations and aircraft sales for Port City Air in Portsmouth, N.H. He also has served as vice president of aircraft sales for Carolina Jet in New England, and spent nine years with in sales and marketing at Cessna.
Buoyed by greater-than-anticipated activity in the single-utility turboprop market, Honeywell is supporting a range of additional applications for its TPE331 family, as well as studying potential new engine developments to compete with Pratt & Whitney Canada’s ubiquitous PT6 and its planned successor.
The National Business Aviation Association rolled out a new initiative to encourage operators to file flight plans earlier and with more accurate information. The FileSmart initiative, discussed last week during the association’s regional forum in White Plains, N.Y., is designed to educate operators on the importance of filing early, filing accurately and checking conditions in the National Airspace System.
Fresh off its Wisconsin rally that drew hundreds of attendees, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is orchestrating its next jobs rally in Albuquerque, N.M., as part of its continuing effort to build public and political support for the industry at a grass roots level.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701, & 702) airplanes, Model CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705) airplanes, and Model CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0367; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-177-AD] – proposes to require inspection of the main landing gear (MLG) retraction actuator components; corrective actions if necessary; and, for certain retraction actuators, installation of a new jam nut.
While the fractional market has remained slow throughout the economic downturn, Flexjet is seeing the market strengthen this year—both in terms of sales and flying. Overall, the company reported new business growth of 83% in the first quarter, compared with a year earlier. While jet card sales helped buffer the slow fractional business in recent years, FlexJet’s fractional sales increased 108% in the first quarter.
The French Securite Civile’s aerial firefighting department will evaluate the Air Tractor AT-802 this summer to see if the aircraft could replace the agency’s fleet of Conair-modified Grumman Trackers. Three pilots have been trained to fly the aircraft for this summer’s fire season and the aircraft are due to begin operations later this month, according to Thierry Laurent, the head of aviation bureau at Securite Civile, speaking to Aviation Week in Marseille on June 1.
With the contract air traffic tower program protected in the current fiscal year, aviation groups are now turning their attention to fiscal 2014 to guard against potential cuts that could threaten the program. Leaders from nearly a dozen associations wrote House and Senate appropriators seeking $150 million for the program in the next fiscal year, and a provision that would ensure the continued operation of the towers.
Although the HondaJet is not expected to reach customers’ hands until late 2014, Honda Aircraft is hoping to have the first few customer aircraft completed by the end of this year and at least a half-dozen more of the light jets in process, says President and CEO Michimasa Fujino.
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] – proposes to require inspecting the collective pitch lever for correct locking and unlocking conditions. This proposed AD is prompted by two separate reports of inadvertent collective pitch lever locking and unlocking. The proposed actions are intended to detect an incorrectly adjusted collective pitch lever, which could result in loss of control of the helicopter.
DON ALVORD was appointed vice president of human resources for Beechcraft. Alvord will manage all aspects of human resources, including hiring, management and succession planning, diversity initiatives, employee relations and compensation and benefits management. He has 27 years of aviation industry experience, holding manufacturing, engineering and completions roles with General Dynamics, Gulfstream Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas/Boeing.
MD HELICOPTERS Model 369A, 369D, 369E, 369H, 369HE, 369HM, 369HS, 369F and 369FF helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0401; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-047-AD] – proposes to supersede an AD that currently requires reducing the retirement life of each tail rotor blade, performing a one-time visual inspection of each blade’s pitch horn for a crack or corrosion, and replacing any cracked blade or any blade that has exceeded its retirement life with an airworthy blade. The AD also requires reporting information to the FAA within 24 hours following the one-time inspection.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is hosting a field hearing June 10 to review a new FAA report that suggests a series of voluntary measures to ease helicopter noise over the Los Angeles region, but recommends against mandating those measures through regulation. Schiff is among a number of lawmakers pushing FAA to develop rules to impose helicopter operating restrictions over Los Angeles.
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND Model EC135P1, EC135P2, EC135P2+,EC135T1, EC135T2, and EC135T2+ helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0398; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-065-AD] – proposes to require, for affected helicopters with certain fire extinguishing systems installed, modifying the fire extinguishing system injection tubes. This proposed AD is prompted by a report that the injection tubes are deforming due to heat.
In 2012, there were 11,261 private jets registered for use in the U.S. and 7,997 in the rest of the world. Embraer has produced a significant number of those jets, so I am intimately familiar with the private aviation landscape. Few issues are as important to private jet owners and their pilots as ensuring the ability to safely and efficiently navigate from airport to airport without delay or restriction.
