HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND Model 247F propellers [Docket No. FAA-2009-0113; Directorate Identifier 2008-NE-25-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to remove from service certain propeller blades used on Avions de Transport Regional ATR 72 aircraft. This proposal, which resulted from reports of blades with corrosion pits in the tulip area of the blades, is designed to prevent cracks from developing in that section of the blade, which could result in separation of the blade and possible loss of airplane control.
A TWO-YEAR WARRANTY ON PARTS is now available from Gulfstream. The program, which went into effect March 1, covers any Gulfstream part purchased by an operator through the company’s Over-the-Counter sales group. Additionally, any Gulfstream component purchased and installed at a Gulfstream or General Dynamics Aviation Services facility will carry a two-year component warranty and a one-year labor warranty.
Lincoln, Neb.-based Duncan Aviation has announced employee layoffs for the first time in its 53-year history. The company is letting go 304 workers, effective immediately, including 170 jobs in Lincoln, 122 in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Mich., and 12 in satellite offices across the country. The company blamed the economy, the credit crisis and the negative media and political campaign against business aviation.
PILATUS AIRCRAFT PC-12, PC-12/45, PC-12/47 and PC-12/47E airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0189; Directorate Identifier 2009-CE-011-AD; Amendment 39-15831; AD 2009-05-07] – Inspect the stick-pusher servo-cables for correct installation, position and tension. If any discrepancy is found, perform, before further flight, all corrective actions in accordance with the instructions of PC-12 Service Bulletin No. 27-020, Rev. 1 (dated Jan. 30, 2009).
BRIAN LAUER was named sales executive for the Southeast for NationAir Aviation Insurance. Lauer, who is based in Chicago, joined NationAir in 2005. Before that he served as a dispatcher for a Part 135 charter operation and as a dispatch supervisor for a Part 121 regional carrier.
CESSNA’S Citation Service Center in Wichita, Kan., will have a team of Dallas Airmotive engine specialists based at the facility to perform hot section inspections on Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D and PWC 500 powerplants beginning in April. All of Cessna’s owned or operated Citation Service Centers will have access to this service in Wichita. Mark Paolucci, Cessna’s senior vice president of customer service, says the arrangement will save time and money by reducing turn times.
FOKKER F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1119; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-112-AD; Amendment 39-15800; AD 2009-02-10] – Conduct a one-time inspection for deviations of the aerodynamic seals of the wing-to-fuselage fairings and apply an improved sealant by means of a fillet seam between the upper left and right fairings and the fuselage skin, per the instructions of Fokker Service Bulletin SBF100-53-101 (dated Sept. 30, 2005) and Service Bulletin SBF100-53-107 (dated Feb. 26, 2008), as applicable.
A group of former JetDirect and Sunset Aviation, Inc. executives have branched off from JetDirect to start a new charter and management company, Sunset Aviation LLC. JetDirect Aviation Holdings LLC had planned on spinning off Sunset Aviation, Inc. back to its founder, Dan Drohan. But the sale back to Drohan was never finalized, prompting Drohan and other executives to build a team to form a separate company.
DASSAULT FALCON JET recently conducted the first “Falcon E-Forum,” an Internet-based, interactive seminar designed to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices with Falcon operators. Some 32 Falcon 7X customers from the U.S., France, Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland and the United Kingdom took part in the first session.
FirstFlight, Inc. sold its Airborne, Inc. charter and management business back to its founder, John Dow. Dow will operate the business as a private company. The Airborne business will operate under the Firstflight brand following a transition period. FirstFlight, Inc., meanwhile, will retain the fixed-base operation portfolio and will take on a new brand and corporate identity.
The Transportation Security Administration has renewed its controversial “Operation Playbook” program that calls for random screening and other security measures at commercial airports. Initially released late last year, the “playbook” was said to have outlined a number of strategies that federal security directors (FSDs) could use to ensure that commercial airport security was random and unpredictable. But TSA temporarily suspended the program after it created an uproar within general aviation circles.
Several House lawmakers have intensified their efforts to convince the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to shelve the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) as proposed.
Wichita, Kan., Mayor Carl Brewer has sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to tone down his criticism of corporate jets. “During a Feb. 24 speech before Congress, you appropriately criticized corporate CEOs who ‘disappear on private jets,’” Brewer told Obama. “I share your concern about the poor public image conveyed by such misuse.
Although bankers, brokers and dealers attending the National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) forum know that there is no “silver bullet” for what ails aircraft sales, they resolved to work together to close transactions. Held late last month in Dallas, NARA’s forum, “Challenges and Opportunities Ahead: The Aircraft Sales Industry in the Next Six Months,” brought together more than 200 brokers, dealers and finance officers in the resale market to discuss the financial markets’ impact on the global economy, and the global economy’s effect on aircraft sales.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE opened an auxiliary power unit test cell at the company’s South Service Center in Savannah, Ga. The new facility establishes Gulfstream as a center of excellence for Honeywell APU testing. In the new facility, technicians can perform overhaul testing on every APU model used on Gulfstream aircraft, as well as those units installed on Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Hawker Beechcraft, Raytheon and Saab airplanes. If an APU repair is needed, it can be done in-house.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CO. is joining the growing fray of corporations attempting to sell their aircraft. In the company’s annual shareholders meeting proxy statement filed last week, the New York Times Co. said, “Beginning in 2009, the company no longer permits any use of the corporate aircraft as it is being marketed for sale.”
AGUSTA AB139 and AW139 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2009-0168; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-33-AD] – This proposal would require operators to determine whether the fire extinguishing bottles for engines No. 1 and No. 2 have the proper outlet end on the electrical receptacle/connector, which attaches the firing cartridge to the bottle. If a bottle has an improper outlet end, replace, before further flight, the bottle with one that has a proper outlet end, per the instructions of Agusta Bollettino Tecnico No. 139-085 (dated May 18, 2007).
HOUSE AVIATION subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) March 13 reiterated opposition to an apparent Obama administration plan to replace “some aviation taxes with direct user charges” beginning in 2011 (BA, March 2/91). “These concepts are stale leftovers from the Bush administration that are not supported in Congress,” said Costello. “We should not be wasting time rehashing bad ideas.
JAMIE ZIGLER was appointed sales executive for Missouri and surrounding states for NationAir Insurance. Zigler, who has served with NationAir since 2003, operates out of the company’s Lincoln, Neb. office.
David Green, president of the Eclipse 500 Owners Club, initiated a conference call last week to as many as 150 Eclipse jet owners during which he and a core group of supporters proposed formation of “NewCo,” a nonprofit cooperative venture that would bid on the intellectual property of Eclipse Aviation at the upcoming Chapter 7 auction sale of the company’s assets.
CESSNA achieved a number of international certifications for its Citation products. The Mustang was certified in China and the Isle of Mann (United Kingdom). The Mustang is now certified in 57 countries, including the U.S. The Citation XLS+, meanwhile, won European Aviation Safety Agency certification, and the Citation X gained Nigerian certification.
XOJet has developed a limited one-way fixed pricing scheme designed to boost utilization of aircraft while providing new value packages for its customers. The newest offer involves fixed-price, one-way coast-to-coast travel starting at $19,000 on its Cessna Citation X fleet. The price covers flights at more than 4,000 airport pairs serving nine major East and West Coast metro areas, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco and San Diego.
