Embraer has added a fourth test aircraft to the certification program for the Phenom 300 light jet, and the Brazilian plane maker says the aircraft is on track for certification later this year. The four aircraft, operated out of the company’s flight test center at the Gaviao Peixoto plant in Brazil, have accrued more than 300 hours of flight-testing, Embraer said, adding that it expects the certification program to involve a total of 1,400 hours.
DASSAULT FALCON has opened a new Dassault Aircraft Services (DAS) facility at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The new facility is a full-service Falcon Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul location and offers avionics, engine and aircraft support services, including an AOG “Go Team.” The DAS Reno facility received certification from FAA to perform maintenance on the Falcon 50, Falcon 2000, Falcon 900 and Falcon 7X. The nearly 40,000-square-foot facility will eventually be staffed by more than 40 workers.
FAA is planning to withdraw a controversial notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) released in late 2006 that would establish new classifications for repair stations, as well as require quality programs. The proposal generated significant opposition from general aviation groups, which complained that the requirements did not take into account the small repair stations that worked on light aircraft.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CF34-1A, -3A, -3A1, -3A2, -3B and -3B1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-0419; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-52-AD; Amendment 39-15871; AD 2009-07-12] – Remove the four-step seals in the high-pressure (HP) rotor and either modify the seals into eight-step seals or replace them with eight-step seals. This AD resulted from the investigation of an airplane accident in which both engines experienced a high-altitude flameout and, because rotation of the HP rotors was not maintained during the aircraft’s descent, the engines could not be restarted.
THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET has begun reviewing a proposal that would establish standards to ensure timely activation of ice protection systems. The proposal, slated for release this summer, comes as icing has surfaced as a potential factor in the Feb. 12 crash of Continental Flight 3407. The National Transportation Safety Board has listed revised icing requirements in its “Most Wanted List” of transportation safety requirements and late last year issued a safety alert urging pilots to activate deice boots as soon as their aircraft encounters icing (BA, Jan.
FLYING COLOURS CORP., the aircraft completions and maintenance company located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, has acquired the assets of St. Louis-based JetCorp Technical Services, the former MRO subsidiary of JetDirect Aviation. The renamed JetCorp Technical Services Inc. recently won an FAA supplemental type certificate for conversion of Bombardier Regional Jets from a commercial to executive configuration and delivered two of these so-called Renaissance Series CRJ aircraft in February.
GKN AEROSPACE last week broke ground on a new manufacturing facility in Bristol, United Kingdom. The new facility, based in Filton, will house composite manufacturing operations. The facility is slated to open in January 2010 and will manufacture wing spars and trailing edge assemblies for Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. GKN Aerospace has 1,500 employees in Filton and expects the new facility will add up to 250 more jobs.
KOREAN AIR has ordered two Citation CJ1+ aircraft. The two light jets, which will have a special center-mounted instructor/observer seat just behind the two pilot seats, are to be delivered in the third quarter, joining the airline’s existing fleet of Citation Ultras, which have been used for advanced pilot training since 1995.
AVIONS DE TRANSPORT REGIONAL ATR 72 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1081; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-143-AD; Amendment 39-15864; AD 2009-07-05] – Verify installation of the four cotter pins that secure the nuts of the fastener assemblies connecting the elevator control rods to the elevator bellcranks, per the instructions of Avions de Transport Regional Service Bulletin ATR72-27-1059, Rev. 02 (dated May 19, 2008) or Rev. 03 (dated Oct. 3, 2008). If any cotter pin is missing, install a new cotter pin before further flight.
ED BUCKLEY joined FlightSafety International as manager, strategic planning and support for the courseware support department. Buckley has a background in project, supply chain and logistics management. He held management roles in the construction industry, working on projects that included the Millennium Dome in the United Kingdom. Before joining FlightSafety, he served with Blue Ambit, a supply chain management software company, and Capital One in the U.S. and Europe.
Brian Humphries has taken over the dual role of president and chief executive of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) following the departure of Eric Mandemaker, who had served as CEO for the organization.
CITI, which recently began tracking Gulfstream Aerospace parent General Dynamics Corp., issued a “Sell” recommendation for GD at a target price of $34. “While the company possesses a strong track record of program execution, earnings growth, and cash generation, we believe that its high exposure to the U.S. Army/supplementals, government services, and the business jet market places the company’s earnings outlook at a relatively greater risk than other covered defense prime contractors,” the report said.
ROBERT CANDLER joined Dassault Aviation Services as vice president and general manager of the new facility in Reno, Nev. Candler has 30 years of corporate and general aviation experience, most recently serving as vice president for Landmark Aviation and director of operations for Bombardier Aerospace. He also has flight department experience. In his new role, he will oversee operations and develop the new service center’s business.
JET AVIATION is restructuring its EMEA and Asia management organization with the announcement that Andre Wall is stepping down in May. Wall led the organization as chief operating officer. He joined Jet Aviation in February 2007 and helped reorganize and streamline the EMEA and Asia organization, expand the company’s presence to Moscow and Beijing and opened the company’s new completions wide-body hangar in Basel, Jet Aviation said.
Despite the well-publicized crash of a Pilatus PC-12/45 last month that killed all 14 aboard, the number of accidents as well as fatal accidents involving business jet and turboprop aircraft in the U.S. declined in the first quarter of 2009, according to the latest statistics released by Robert E. Breiling Associates, Inc. The number of fatalities from those accidents, however, has been up in 2009.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT and Aero Vodochody have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore aerospace industry cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. The Czech company, a longtime supplier for Sikorsky, recently completed its 250th S-76 helicopter airframe since beginning production of those aero structures in 2000. Aero Vodochody, the largest aerospace manufacturer in the Czech Republic, also produces aircraft structures for Airbus, Alenia, Boeing, Embraer and Saab.
A new UBS report showed a continued slower pace of deterioration in business jet sales in March, while JPMorgan reported that used inventory remained at record levels in March, with no relief in sight.
DOREEN DAZENSKI was named an architectural-civil CAD technician for the Architecture and Building Engineering team of Mead & Hunt. She will prepare architectural and engineering documents, assist with design computations and quantity estimates, and assist with preparation of reports for design projects. She formerly has been involved in airport terminal design and contract administration for airports including Dane County Regional Airport, Wis., Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Nashville Airport, University Park Airport, Pa., and Tunica Airport, Miss.
THE ASA GROUP, a Hong Kong VIP aviation services provider, expanded to the Middle East with a new office in Dubai, where ASA said it has seen continued growth in the market. ASA has appointed Andrea Eden as country manager for Dubai. ASA also recently resumed discussions to develop Thailand’s first VIP terminal at Phuket International Airport. The fixed-base operation and business center will accommodate the growing numbers of VIP visitors to Thailand each year.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT MU-300, MU-300-10, Model 400 and 400A airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1142; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-060-AD; Amendment 39-15861; AD 2009-07-02] – FAA is superseding an existing directive (AD 96-03-07) that applies to certain Beech Model 400, 400A and MU-300-10 airplanes. That AD requires installation of an improved adjustment mechanism on the flightcrew seats and replacement of the existing aluminum seat-reinforcement assemblies with steel assemblies, in accordance with Raytheon Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 25-2536, Rev. 2 (dated March 2002).
A Beech King Air 200 was damaged late last month after a wing struck a tree while taxiing at Henderson Executive Airport. Operated by Southern Nevada Jet Charter, the Beech 200, N257A, had landed on Runway 35 Left at Henderson after a Part 135 flight from Napa County Airport in California. The pilot said he observed a tug waiting for the aircraft as he was taxiing toward the operator’s hangar on the west side of the airport.
BELL HELICOPTER TRAINING ACADEMY recently launched its first online course for Customer Service Facilities (CSFs) that maintain Bell 412s. The 412 CSF Field Maintenance Refresher course, which is available through Bell’s Web-based Learning Management System, is intended to provide refresher training for Bell’s CSF maintenance technicians without requiring them to travel to the Bell Training Academy. Pat Crippen, marketing and sales manager at the academy, said Bell plans to provide additional online training courses in the future.
