May 12-14 – European Business Aviation Association Convention and Exposition, Geneva, Switzerland, (202) 783-9000 May 18-21 – Regional Airline Association Annual Convention, Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, (202) 367-2323, www.raa.org/convention May 27-29 – CBAA 2009 – 48th Annual Convention, Trade Show and Static Display, Montreal, www.cbaa.ca May 29 – National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Taxes Seminar, Los Angeles, Calif. For more information, call (202) 783-9000 or visit www.nbaa.org
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and aviation subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) last week encouraged their counterparts on the Ways and Means Committee to resurrect a proposal that would keep the current system of aviation excise taxes intact, but increase the tax rates on jet fuel and aviation gasoline. The T&I leaders also urged the Ways and Means Committee to move forward expeditiously on the taxes portion of FAA reauthorization.
Dassault Falcon Jet has unveiled its “Common Sense” ad campaign as its own OEM-based effort to boost business aviation. The campaign’s centerpiece is a 40-page portable brochure that outlines 14 reasons why companies agree that business jets give them a competitive advantage. It also includes a print ad titled, “What Can Lift The Economy,” along with another ad touting the efficiency of the Falcon 2000LX.
PAUL CLASS was named senior vice president of charter services for ACM Aviation. Class previously spent 10 years with JetDirect Aviation and predecessor companies Sentient Flight Group and Tag Aviation. He will be responsible for ACM’s worldwide charter business.
A drop in business jet deliveries, softening demand for both commercial and defense aircraft, and costs associated with a staff reduction program have resulted in a first-quarter net loss of $23.4 million for Embraer. The Brazilian manufacturer recorded a 13.5 percent year-over-year dip in first-quarter revenue to $1.15 billion, as deliveries dropped by five units to 40 airframes in the quarter.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE (D-Texas), the chair of the House transportation security and infrastructure protection subcommittee, last week promised to hold a hearing on the LASP program. Jackson-Lee made the commitment after Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) had offered an amendment to TSA reauthorization legislation that would have required the agency to include stakeholders in any rulemaking on general aviation. Olson cited the LASP proposal as evidence of the need for the amendment, saying, “I object to such a heavy-handed approach” that TSA had taken in the rulemaking.
THALES won a contract from the German air navigation service provider Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) to supply, install, train and commission the first operational wide multilateration system in Germany. The PAM-FRA1 system will span a 125- by 80-nautical-mile area that includes Frankfurt International Airport.
ANOTHER MILESTONE: Cessna last week delivered the 200th Citation Mustang to Maritime Air Charters. Cessna reached the milestone some two and one-half years after the aircraft first entered service. The Mustang fleet has more than 34,000 flight hours and is certified in 57 countries. Maritime is based in Honolulu, but will use the aircraft for its charter service based outside of Atlanta in Newnan, Ga.
EDMO DISTRIBUTORS in Spokane, Wash., entered an agreement to distribute and market Shadin Avionics products to the retrofit market in the U.S. Shadin will continue to work directly with original equipment manufacturers, the military and major modification centers.
PILATUS AIRCRAFT late last month celebrated the delivery of the 900th PC-12 during a ceremony at its U.S. headquarters in Broomfield, Colo. Epps Aviation President Pat Epps handed over the aircraft to repeat customer Ron Roma. Based in Atlanta, Epps Aviation is the factory-authorized Pilatus center for the Southeast U.S. Roma previously has owned four PC-12s. His newest aircraft was a PC-12NG, incorporating Honeywell Primus Apex avionics, a BMW Group DesignworksUSA-styled cockpit and a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engine.
AIRCRAFT CHARTER SERVICES (ACS), a subsidiary of Goshen Air Center based in Goshen, Ind., added an Enstrom 480B turbine helicopter to its Part 135 certificate. ACS is the first operator in the U.S. to fly the helicopter for Part 135 charter service. Enstrom said a second operator in Texas also is planning to operate the 480B for Part 135 service.
GARMIN INTERNATIONAL was granted the first FAA approved model list-supplemental type certificate (AML-STC) for Wide Area Augmentation System-capable avionics installed in helicopters. The AML-STC covers installation of the Garmin GNS 400W/500W series in a range of helicopter models, including the Bell 206, Enstrom 280FX, Agusta A109, Eurocopter EC135, MD Helicopters 600N-NOTAR, and Robinson R22 and R44, among others. The approval includes IFR flight and step approach lateral-precision with vertical guidance.
Alan Edgar Bristow, the former chief executive of British United Airways who founded Bristow Helicopters, died April 26. He was 85. Helicopter Association International called Bristow “an inventor and an innovator.”
ANNE ELLEFSON was appointed to a four-year term on the South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center (SCTAC) board of directors. Ellefson will help oversee the economic development of SCTAC. She is the daughter of Phil Southerland, the 2009 chairman of The Donaldson Development Commission – now called SCTAC – who passed away on Feb. 28 at the age of 81.
HOUSE and Senate leaders appear motivated to move comprehensive FAA reauthorization legislation within the next few months, industry sources believe. Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) last week appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee to present his recommendations for the taxes portion of the reauthorization legislation, and the Senate this week is scheduled to hold a hearing on reauthorization. Key legislators are indicating a desire to get the bill done before the August recess. See articles on Pages 220 and 226.
BRUCE CARLSON , a retired U.S. Air Force general, was named to the EADS North America board of directors. Carlson spent nearly four decades with the U.S. Air Force, retiring as commander, Air Force Materiel Command, in January.
The new Sacramento Jet Center (SACjet) corporate aviation facility opened last week at Sacramento International Airport. The facility has a 10,000-square-foot building with build-to-suit office space, a 40,000-square-foot hangar, closed-circuit cameras, a kitchen and a prep room. It also features a 5,000-square-foot fixed-base operation terminal with lobby and restrooms, a media-enabled, press-ready conference room, a pilots lounge, snooze rooms and an eight-acre ramp. The facility can handle up to 20 aircraft, depending on the equipment.
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THE HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE has put off action on its cap-and-trade proposal again, apparently over continued debate within the ranks of the Democrats on some of the more controversial items. Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is still indicating a desire to move the legislation through committee by the end of the month. But it is unclear whether the bill would go much further than that because chief lawmakers have set their sights on moving comprehensive healthcare reform first.
PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA has won two Solidaire awards from the charitable organization Centraide of Greater Montreal for raising a record-breaking C$1.13 million during the organization’s 2008 fundraising campaign. These awards recognize the leadership and social dedication demonstrated by the volunteers and agencies that support Centraide of Greater Montreal.
A SENATE CONFIRMATION hearing for FAA Administrator-nominee Randy Babbitt is expected before the end of May, industry observers say. Some sources believe a hearing within the next few weeks is likely, and FAA Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski tells agency employees that confirmation will probably occur in “mid-to-late May” — meaning Babbitt could be in his new office by early June. In the meantime, Babbitt is visiting various members of the House and Senate.
EXECUTIVE AIR TAXI, a Bismarck, N.D. fixed-base operator, acquired M&M Avionics, a Minot, N.D.-based avionics business, from owners John and Kathy Martin. John Martin is joining Executive Air as avionics department manager.
General aviation plane-makers recorded a dismal first quarter, with deliveries plunging 41.1 percent from the same period last year and billings declining 18.2 percent, the General Aviation Manufacturers reported last week. GA manufacturers shipped 462 aircraft in the first three months of the year, the lowest quarterly total in more than a decade. The $4.34 billion in first quarter billings was the lowest total in two years.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS sunk to their lowest level of deliveries since the first quarter of 1998, when 456 units were shipped. Dollar totals, however, are still nearly four times greater this year than in 1998, when manufacturers brought in $1.14 billion in billings. See article on Page 221.
Boeing Business Jets is tapping Steve Taylor, BBJ chief pilot, to succeed Steven Hill as president. The organization is expected to formally announce the new president today (May 11) during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exposition in Geneva, Switzerland.
