In the days when a time clock actually had hands, punching the clock was the universal marker for the beginning or end of the workday. Late arrival or early departure meant a skinny payday; or depending on your boss's mood, an assignment to clean the lav service cart. The time card was all-important and represented the portion of your life you exchanged for a paycheck. When the hangar was busy, overtime meant a sometimes welcome opportunity to earn more cash at the expense of family life.
Scott Ernest, a GE Aviation veteran, is the new president and CEO of Cessna Aircraft. The announcement came less than a month after Textron announced Jack Pelton would step down as Cessna chairman, president and CEO. Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly, who had served as president and CEO of GE Aviation before joining Textron in 2008, led the Wichita manufacturer in the interim.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has opened a new general aviation terminal. The new facility was built to replace the existing facility, says spokeswoman Antoinette Spaans. The GA terminal is located at Schiphol East, about 500 meters (1,640 ft.) away from the existing one, she adds. The current facility handles about 18,000 business aircraft a year. The new terminal will have a gross floor area of 6,500 sq. meters (70,000 sq. ft.), including a 1,000-sq.-meter (10,780-sq.-ft.) terminal and lounge and 3,500 sq. meters (30,670 sq. ft.) of office space.
BAE Systems and U.K. design consultant Design Q recently unveiled the latest interior concept for the Avro Business Jet (ABJ) — the ABJ Eleganté. This new concept is the fourth of five new interiors developed by Design Q for ABJs. The Eleganté interior features a large forward galley, which can be shut off from the main cabin for privacy. The forward lounge has two large sofas, a dining table in the aft section and a 46-in. display. The dining area can be used as a work area.
Gulfstream Aerospace delivered the 500th PlaneView cockpit, just eight years after the system's first delivery. The company also announced that it has delivered 200 synthetic vision systems and more than 100 enhanced navigation systems as of April. Gulfstream reached the 500th PlaneView mark with the delivery of the 209th G450 aircraft.
HeliSAS, Cobham's Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System, has STCs for installation on the Eurocopter AS350 series and EC130 helicopters. Earlier this year, HeliSAS was certificated on the Bell 206B, 206L and 407. The two-axis system is designed to be engaged at all times: “on” before takeoff and “off” after landing.
The Department of Labor has a useful website to help explain the various labor laws. Although they are very complex, and almost every situation has a unique way to interpret the rules, the website has helpful explanatory brochures and regulatory and interpretative materials. It is available on the Wage and Hour Division's website: www.dol.gov/whd/
The FAA will strip privacy protection options from general aviation operators beginning Aug. 2. But business and general aviation groups have banded together to mount a legal challenge to the DOT decision announced by the FAA to end the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, which is administered by the NBAA. The NBAA, along with the AOPA and EAA, said that they would seek a court injunction to prevent the BARR ruling from taking effect, and to invalidate the new policy altogether. Publication of the notice follows the DOT's quiet announcement at 5 p.m.
The Salina Airport Authority's board of directors approved a $218,994 design contract with Wichita-based Howard and Helmer Architecture to handle renovations at the Kansas facility's Hangar 959. Hawker Beechcraft is vacating the hangar, known as Big Bertha. The building can handle narrowbody aircraft and maintenance, repair and overhaul operations.
Safe Flight Instrument Corp.'s Power Line Detection System (PDS) has been certified for installation on the Enstrom 480B helicopter, and the system will soon be available for retrofit on the approximately 90 in-service models of that rotorcraft. The PDS also will be offered as an option on new production models of the light turbine helicopter built by the Menominee, Mich., rotary-wing manufacturer. Enstrom has already delivered PDS-equipped 480B helicopters to the Royal Thai Army as part of a 16-aircraft contract.
Initial testing of GPS receivers confirms aircraft navigation systems will experience significant jamming from thousands of broadband-wireless transmitters planned to be deployed across the U.S. The tests were conducted to determine the susceptibility of GPS receivers to interference from the high-power terrestrial transmitters LightSquared plans to deploy.
The 24th Salon International de l'Aeronautique held in June featured old-fashioned biplanes contrasting with the sleek tailfins of high-speed fighters. This is typical of the Salon's unique blend of serious trade show and old-time aviation country fair — parachute jumps (one with live radio commentary by the free-falling 'chutist), helicopter races and the “baptism of the air” (first airplane ride) for lucky ticket holders. Truly, it's the kind of show only the French could produce.
Air Methods Corp. will acquire OF Air Holdings Corp., parent of Omniflight Helicopters Inc. Omniflight provides air medical transport services throughout the U.S. under community-based and hospital-based service delivery models, utilizing a fleet of approximately 100 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Omniflight is headquartered in Addison, Texas, with operations in 18 states involving over 75 base locations. Air Methods will acquire Omniflight for an aggregate purchase price of $200 million in cash on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
Faced with a ludicrous plan by the FAA to dismantle a well-run joint government/industry program that helps ensure the safety of thousands of aircraft and their occupants, the leaders of the NBAA, AOPA and EAA have joined forces to contest the FAA's misguided efforts.
The FAA, while finalizing its new flight, rest and duty regulations for FAR Part 121, is considering extending that rule to Part 135, says FAA Flight Standards Director John Allen. Speaking during the NATA's Air Charter Summit in early June, Allen did not provide a timeline on a potential proposal for Part 135, and concedes the agency has its hands full with mandates from last summer's Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 that stemmed in part from the 2009 Colgan crash.
FAA corrected a technical error in its regulations governing fractional aircraft ownership programs that were issued in 2003. Specifically, the amendment revises Part 91.1091 (f)(2) to replace the term “check pilot” with “flight instructor.” “Because the section title applies to flight instructors, it is obvious that the use of the term 'check pilot' in (f)(2) should have been 'flight instructor,'” the agency says. The change was effective June 2.
Fokker Aircraft Services recently handed over a converted Airbus A320 airliner to MasterJet, a Geneva, Switzerland-based operator. The makeover — which was done at the company facility in Woensdrecht, Netherlands — included a complete teardown of the airline interior and installation of five separate cabins, including a private suite with bedroom, bathroom and office; a conference and dining area; separate executive lounge; and special first-class seating area.
In the wake of the departure of Brian Delauter, the TSA's general aviation branch general manager, the agency hopes to continue building on its collaborative approach with industry, improving access to Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), moving forward on the proposed Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) and refining temporary flight restrictions (TFRs).
Charles Edelstenne, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, unveiled the Falcon 2000S on the eve of EBACE 2011. In doing so, he dispelled any misconceptions about how and when the French firm would field a super-midsize business jet. Plainly put, it won't. Not now. Not anytime soon.
At a school event last year my bride and I were tasked with leading a team of fellow Connecticut parents in a friendly, multi-state competition. Our first assignment was to come up with a name and slogan that captured our state's spirit and identity. Pens and pads in hand, we looked from one team member to the next, ready to record their suggestions. We waited. And waited. And waited. The essence of Connecticut seems not to fire imaginations.
Honeywell is acquiring EMS Technologies, an Atlanta-based network and satellite communications company, for $491 million, and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter this year. Honeywell is paying $33 per share in cash, or 13 times EMS Technologies' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), the companies said in a statement. EMS will be split between Honeywell's Automation and Control Solutions (ACS) and Aerospace groups.
Investigators from Ireland's Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) are working with their peers from the U.K.'s AAIB, the American NTSB, Spain's CIAIAC and Israel's AIAI to determine the cause of the loss of a Fairchild Aircraft SA-227-BC Metro III on approach to Cork Airport on Feb. 10, 2011. Both pilots were killed as were four of the 10 passengers. The remaining passengers survived, some with serious injuries.
SimCom Training Centers is upgrading one of its two Eclipse 500 simulators in Orlando, Fla., with the Avio Integrated Flight Management System (IFMS), duplicating the most-advanced avionics configuration for the airplane. Avio IFMS includes digital moving map, XM weather integration, electronic charts, flight plan overlay on nav displays and WAAS/LPV capability. The simulator upgrade is expected to be completed by this fall.
Diamond Aircraft is planning to recall furloughed workers and ramp up work on the D-Jet program after receiving a commitment for a “significant investment” targeted for the single-engine jet. Diamond says funding will enable the recall of furloughed engineering and technical staff, the resumption of flight test operations and production of the next test aircraft. The five-seat D-Jet was about two-thirds into the development program and about 22 months from completion when activity halted. Diamond has produced three prototypes.
