The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and Build A Plane named Canby High School in Canby, Minn., and Saline High School in Saline, Mich., as the winners of the first nationwide Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) aviation design challenge competition. GAMA teamed with Build A Plane on the competition to foster interest in aerospace engineering at the high school level.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model AS332C, AS332L, AS332L1, AS332L2, and EC225LP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0353; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-029-AD] – proposes to require inspecting for the presence of blind holes in the tail gearbox (TGB) attachment fittings, and, if they are missing, installing an additional washer under the head of the attachment bolt until the attachment fitting is replaced with an airworthy attachment fitting.
While industry leaders focus on potential aviation tax changes, such as proposals for new business jet depreciation schedules or aviation user fees, one analyst believes a tax change that took effect earlier this year is eroding sales. “We believe the income tax hike at the start of the year was a material driver of the fresh weakness [in the light jet market],” says J.P.Morgan. The analyst calls the latest detractor to the market “another leg down,” but says it is not a sign that the industry is impaired. Some industry indicators are improving.
CESSNA Model 525 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0880; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-004-AD; Amendment 39-17422; AD 2013-08-05] – requires, for airplanes equipped with certain part number (P/N) air conditioning (A/C) compressor motors, inspection of the number of hours on the A/C compressor hour meter, inspection of the logbook, replacement of the brushes on certain P/N A/C compressor motors or deactivation of the A/C system until replacement of the brushes, and reporting of airplane information related to the replacement of the brushes.
London Gatwick Airport has reopened a helicopter landing site after a 12-year absence, enabling helos to land without having to taxi on the runway. Based at the end of taxiway Uniform on the west side of the airport, the helicopter aiming point (HAP) reopens after two years of feasibility discussions and joint planning between Gatwick officials and Signature Flight Support.
Bell Helicopter is finalizing the design of its new Bell 525, a medium-lift helicopter in development that is due for first flight in 2014. The U.S. helicopter maker has completed much of the detailed design, says Bell Helicopter’s chief engineer on the 525 program, David King. “We have been releasing detailed designs for a six-month period now … and this month we are having a batch of critical design reviews (CDR),” he said. CDR is one of the final steps before the program moves into “build phase,” he says.
FAA Flight Standards Director John Allen is continuing his effort to change the agency’s approach to enforcement, but is still receiving pushback from FAA’s general counsel office. Flight Standards officials have hoped to move away from a punitive system to one that enables inspectors to help operators correct minor issues before immediately jumping into an enforcement. Allen sees the change as a necessary step toward a safety management system approach that will help the agency best direct its resources toward the areas of highest risk.
DAVE NEWTON was named regional engine manager for Dallas Airmotive. Newton, based in Tampa, Fla., will represent the company’s services in Central and North Florida. He has more than 30 years of sales, technical, management and customer relations experience, previously spending 24 years in the Southeast U.S. with British Aerospace and Hawker Beechcraft supporting technical services, maintenance, sales and marketing support. He also has served with Gulfstream Aerospace and Atlantic Aviation.
C.Z. SEAN ANTHONY has joined Avantair as vice president of maintenance. Anthony will oversee all Avantair aircraft maintenance activities, including production, planning, quality, reliability and appearance. He has 29 years of industry experience, including 20 years focused on maintenance. Most recently, he was vice president of maintenance development for a Part 135 operation. He previously held maintenance leadership positions with Sentient, JetDirect, Presidential and NetJets.
Honda Aircraft, facing further delays in the certification of the GE Honda HF120 engine, is pushing back its target for certification of the HondaJet until the end of 2014. The program already had encountered delays after problems with the HF120 surfaced during ice testing in 2011, forcing changes in the engine fan design and a delay in engine certification. The company had hoped the redesigned engine would receive certification by mid-2013, clearing the way for certification and the first deliveries of HondaJet later this year.
Atlantic Aviation is suing to halt plans for Signature Flight Support to build an $82 million fixed-base operation (FBO) complex at Mineta San Jose International Airport in California. The San Jose City Council April 16 voted 10-1 to approve a 50-year lease for the FBO, which is to be developed on 29 acres on the west side of the airport. Signature, which hoped to begin construction this year on the project, also has plans to relocate its headquarters from Orlando, Fla. to the new California base.
KELOWNA FLIGHTCRAFT R&D Tracor (Convair) Model 340 and 440 airplanes and certain military Model C-131B, C131D, C-131E and C131F/R4Y-1 airplanes [Docket No.
As NetJets displayed its recently acquired Phenom 300 at the famed Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting May 4, the company has gone from one deemed the “major problem” for its parent company to one that is helping spur increased earnings on the strength of improving fractional sales.
JOHN DAUT was appointed U.S. regional sales director for the Northeast for Nextant Aerospace. Daut has 30 years of business development and sales experience. Most recently he was executive vice president of sales for Marquis Jet and then, after Marquis was acquired by NetJets, senior vice president of sales for NetJets.
The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) added Dennis Fox, senior vice president, operations of Executive Jet Management (EJM), and William Mayo, president and CEO of Mayo Aviation, to the ACSF Executive Committee. Fox, a former officer with the U.S. Army with 24 years of aviation experience, has spent 12 years with EJM. He currently leads a department responsible for the regulatory compliance, safety, training and welfare for more than 540 crewmembers operating more than 180 aircraft.
The aviation industry today hailed a significant development on climate change issues made at a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN specialised agency for aviation. After two weeks of tense negotiations, following many years of discussions, delegates representing 191 countries have agreed a resolution charting the way forward for tackling aviation's climate change impact.
Industry executives are arguing that the FAA moved to eliminate funding for 149 air traffic control towers without conducting proper environmental and safety assessments in violation of federal law, and are asking a U.S. Court of Appeals in California to mandate continued funding for the program.
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), in partnership with MNG Jet and with the support of Gözen Air Services and Honeywell, is hosting business aircraft operators, service providers, financiers and senior transport officials from across Europe for a conference in Istanbul that will explore how to leverage Turkey's yet untapped business aviation market as a growth engine for the country's commercial development.
As the situation worsens in Egypt, UK-based Air Partner has been evacuating personnel from major oil company on a Boeing 757. It is working with other brokerages and organisations to monitor the situation as it continues to escalate.
The FAA says it is “defining the roles and responsibilities” for its human factors specialists in parallel with a new rule that calls for better man-machine interface design requirements to boost flight deck safety. The changes are intended to avoid delays in flight deck certification and retrofit programs requiring “findings of compliance” with the new regulations, while at the same time helping the FAA understand how to delegate the authority.
The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) and the FAA have remained silent, at least publicly, over the fate of 149 contract towers as officials assess the FAA’s new funding flexibility granted by Congress, but aviation executives are hoping to soon receive clarification. And while industry waits on this guidance, Capitol Hill and local officials have begun sending another round of letters urging the government to reverse course on plans to end funding for the towers on June 15 as part of the sequestration mandate.
Pilots and air traffic controllers in the UAE had the chance to become more familiar with the traffic operations in the northern part of the UAE airspace following a workshop organized by the GCAA at the Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre.
To help meet the environmental and energy-saving goals of NextGen, the FAA plans to establish a cost-sharing partnership between academia, industry and the government to advance alternative fuels development and reduce emissions and noise. The university-based Center of Excellence (COE) for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment is planned to be operational by late this year to carry on research conducted by the Partnership for Air Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (Partner), which has run for 10 years.
