Twin Commander Aircraft has introduced a High Intensity Discharge (HID) light system to replace the standard wing-mounted landing lights and, on aircraft so equipped, the nose-mounted recognition lights. The new HID lights will be mounted in the recessed, covered ports used in the nose recognition light kit, and will serve as both landing light and recognition lights. Installation of the HID light and the removal of the standard landing light will remove the airspeed limitation for extension of the standard lights.
A draft NPRM recently circulated by the TSA will likely hinder many general aviation operators and burden airports for the agency’s own convenience. Page 15 of the NPRM baldly admittted that the agency briefly considered “security programs that would apply to large aircraft operators depending on the type of service they provide, [but instead] the TSA is proposing one security program that would apply to all large aircraft operators” — a program that could fundamentally change the way general aviation currently conducts its activities.
Brigitte Vola says she’s just following in her family’s footsteps. Her grandfather and her father were firefighters — her dad was even the chief of his department back when Brigitte was growing up in Florida. When Vola, a registered nurse and certified EMT who works as a medical communications center representative for air ambulance operator AirMed, moved to Alabama to attend nursing school, she found that something was lacking: She missed being an EMT, a role she’d performed in Florida.
Stevens Aviation (Greenville, SC) — Dana R. Arnold has been named president of the aviation service company’s Business Jet Sales division. Arnold joins Stevens after 17 years with Learjet, where he was vice president of U.S. sales. Infinity Aviation Named Russian Sales Rep for EADS Socata
Any temporary dip in the price of jet fuel may tempt some folks to forget that a return to $7 to $10 per gallon Jet-A could follow a recovery from the record world economic slump. Should that happen, the Piaggio P180 Avanti will become even more attractive than it is today.
Two companies developing re-engined Citation IIs have recently achieved milestones in their efforts to retrofit early models of the Cessna light jet with William International FJ44 powerplants.
Sitting in a comfortable chair on the screened porch of a good friend, Memorial Day Weekend Sunday, we were exchanging tales of recent golf conquests, when an odd sensation took me by surprise. An attentive listener, I willed away the queasiness to focus on the story at hand. But later I became keenly aware that an unfamiliar pain behind my left eye was intensifying. Turning to my wife to gain her attention, I noticed that my face was tingling. The look of concern on the faces of those gathered was puzzling.
Universal Avionics Systems Corp. reached a settlement with Optima Technology Group, Inc. Sept. 23 in patent litigation. Universal filed the lawsuit in November 2007 against Optima, a patent holding company, after repeated threats from Optima’s CEO, Robert Adams, to sue for alleged infringements based on Universal’s sale of its Vision-1 synthetic vision product. In the lawsuit, Universal sought a declaration that the patents were invalid and not infringed.
New owners of the former Adam A700 program believe the all-composite VLJ is back on track for certification by mid-2010. Testing has resumed, and the FAA has agreed that tests performed by Adam are still valid, reducing the work remaining, says Jack Braly, the industry veteran installed as president and CEO of Adam’s new owner, AAI Acquisitions, which is backed by Russian private equity firms Industrial Investors and Kaskol. AAI Acquisitions says it has retained more than 50 of the original team from bankrupt Adam as it works to restart the program.
Citing the breathtaking pace of business aircraft deliveries, West Star Aviation of Alton, Ill., just announced it is constructing a $6 million facility at Columbia, S.C., Metropolitan Airport to increase its capacity for maintenance, modifications and avionics upgrades. The Columbia facility along with the company’s site in Grand Junction, Colo., will report as one when it comes to finances. The company also has a repair and service facility in Dallas.
Bell Helicopter parent Textron announced that it will expand its operations in Mexico through an agreement with the state of Chihuahua to develop and build a new manufacturing facility. Textron International Mexico (TIM) is to manufacture “various minor assemblies, structural elements and wire bundles” for the Bell 429 helicopter. Once work is completed in Mexico, the parts will be shipped to Textron’s Quebec helicopter manufacturing operation at Mirabel for final assembly.
West Star Aviation, Inc. , Dallas, announced that Greg Meals and Ron Larson are the new maintenance service managers at the Dallas facility reporting to Susie Corn, operations manager. Al Diaz and Steve Nifong have been promoted to service supervisors. Keith Rash has joined the regional sales team as one of nine regional sales managers and will be responsible for the Texas sales territory. Dave Krogman was named general manager of the company’s Grand Junction, Colo., facility replacing Rick Brainard who vacated the position to become the new vice president of sales.
West Star Aviation, Inc. , Dallas, announced that Greg Meals and Ron Larson are the new maintenance service managers at the Dallas facility reporting to Susie Corn, operations manager. Al Diaz and Steve Nifong have been promoted to service supervisors. Keith Rash has joined the regional sales team as one of nine regional sales managers and will be responsible for the Texas sales territory. Dave Krogman was named general manager of the company’s Grand Junction, Colo., facility replacing Rick Brainard who vacated the position to become the new vice president of sales.
The 4,119-pound-thrust PW545C that powers the Citation XLS+ is a virtual clone of the 3,991-pound-thrust PW545B fitted to the Citation XLS. Both models have the same thermodynamic rating and 3.8:1 bypass ratio. Both feature the same fan powered by a three-stage low-pressure turbine, along with two-stage axial and single-stage centrifugal compressor powered by a single-stage high-pressure turbine, plus a reverse flow annular combustor. The difference in takeoff thrust rating results from a five-degree reduction in flat-rating from 82°F (28°C) to 77°F (25°C).
It had been an emotionally taxing day. When we left our daughter five weeks earlier, we departed worried. It was her first day at art school, her first time living outside the home, and she was clearly feeling intimidated and alone. She was tight lipped all day and her words at parting – “Well, I may crash and burn here” – did nothing to boost the spirits of her debt-laden parents. We fretted day after day.
World Link Jet Charter, a startup charter and management company founded by aviation veterans Steve Zerilli, Ed Carlton and Paul Moore, received its Air Carrier Certificate in late August. The principals of the Teterboro, N.J.-based company have logged a combined flight time in excess of 30,000 hours. The company contact is Steve Zerilli at (866) 594-8877, ext. 3 or [email protected].
*Vulcon Electric Co., Porter, Maine, announced the addition of Michael (Mike) Hanlon to its Thermal Division sales staff as sales development manager of sensor products.
If you are concerned about creating and maintaining your MEL, there is plenty of reading material to keep you informed and up to speed. The FAA has information available through its Web site, and though the material can be difficult to absorb in one sitting, it provides a good foundation for what you need to know. Your best resource is your local FAA principal maintenance inspector at your local FSDO.
Concerned that an FAA/industry Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) is making little headway on new runway landing distance parameters, the National Air Transportation Association in September urged FAA Flight Standards Director James Ballough to intervene. In late 2007, the FAA formed an ARC after receiving substantial opposition to a proposal calling for an additional 15-percent margin in landing distance calculations based on runway conditions at the time the aircraft arrives in the vicinity of the airport.
Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) near the Piedmont Triangle International Airport in North Carolina announced a new training program for avionics technicians established in part with a $243,958 Duke Energy grant. Guilford expects to enroll the first students in fall 2009 and believes the program will accommodate up to 50 students. The school expects to begin some of the avionics training for students enrolled in the HondaJet feeder program this spring, but the avionics program is designed to benefit all of the companies working with GTCC.
In September, UBS Investment Research analysts David E. Strauss and Cristina Fernandez cited declines at the three most active corporate aircraft gateways in the United States -- Teterboro, N.J.; White Plains, N.Y.; and Washington Dulles -- as a sign that the business jet "upcycle" that began in 2004 has peaked, although order activity continues unabated. "We believe the market has come off from its peak and is likely to fall further," they wrote.
