Signature Flight Support is adding a fourth London-area fixed-base operation (FBO) with the acquisition of the FBO assets of the JETS facility at London Biggin Hill. Signature announced that acquisition as it was preparing to break ground in San Jose, Calif., Feb. 28 on what will become one of its largest FBO complexes.

Cirrus, coming off its best year since 2008, is optimistic that momentum will continue into 2014 with its piston lines while it prepares for first flight of its SF50 Vision Jet in the next few weeks.

Textron’s proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of Beechcraft could help propel the bottom line of Textron’s Cessna Aircraft unit from a $48 million loss in 2013 to a $480 million profit by 2016, analyst Jeffries believes. Textron announced on Dec. 26 plans to buy Beechcraft by midyear and has since been lining up financing for the deal with the issuance of $600 million in notes in late January and the securing of a $500 million, five-year term loan, also in late January.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s release of two safety alerts covering the importance of helicopter maintenance and simulator training continues a multi-pronged effort by the agency, industry and FAA to spotlight what the safety board believes to be among the most pressing of transportation safety issues. NTSB released the two safety alerts last week as the Helicopter Association International unveiled its “Land & LIVE” campaign to focus operators on decision-making before a flight turns into an emergency.

AgustaWestland has begun the certification test phase for its AW609 commercial tiltrotor. The two AW609 prototypes, AC1 in the U.S. and AC2 in Italy, have flown almost 1,000 hr. between them, a third of which were flown in the last two years since AgustaWestland took full control of the program from Bell Helicopter, which was a partner until 2011. Test pilots completed flight envelope expansion trials in December 2013, and the company plans to increase the flying rate further in 2014.

For Southwest Airlines, there are no replacement plans—at least for now—for the electromechanical cockpits on the 130 Boeing 737-300s and -500s it still flies. “We are always evaluating the future of our 737-300s and -500s, which includes possible cockpit modifications as fleet planning warrants,” says Kent Horton, Southwest's director of engineering.

As more European airlines add Boeing 787s and more foreign carriers deploy them to European airports, small- and medium-sized maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies are seeking to profit by expanding their capabilities to include Dreamliner services.

A European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) draft rule tackles several ambiguities around aircraft technical records, including how long certain records should be kept, and how new technology—such as digitized records—should be accommodated.