ROBERT YOUNG was named assistant vice president for civil aviation for the Aerospace Industries Association. Young is joining AIA from BAE Systems in Washington, D.C., where he worked on FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System modernization program. A former pilot for American, TWA and other airlines, Young will be responsible for AIA aviation safety and security policy as well as environmental efforts.
SCALED COMPOSITES and Virgin Galactic successfully flew the SpaceShipTwo mothership WhiteKnightTwo on its first flight from Mojave, Calif. on Dec 21. The aircraft made a 59-minute flight, taking off from Mojave at 08:16 local time and reaching a maximum altitude of 16,000 feet. The twin-boomed aircraft, powered by four Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308A turbofans, had been undergoing a series of high-speed taxi and brake tests in the run-up to the first flight. A second test flight, marking the start of an 18-month long test effort, is expected in early January.
HOUSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CHAIRMAN Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) is urging that Michael Griffin continue as NASA administrator, at least until President-elect Barack Obama sorts out his space policy agenda. “I have recommended that, at a minimum, he be kept during the transition period,” Gordon said, adding that he also was recommending that Griffin “be considered” to be kept on beyond that.
The latest UBS index of business jet market conditions only slightly improved over the all-time low hit in the November index, reflecting a market that continues to rapidly deteriorate (BA, Dec. 22/281). The UBS business Jet Market Index rates market conditions on a scale of zero to 100 with 51-100 representing strengthening market conditions, and below 50 marking weakening conditions. The December Business Jet index was valued at 14, barely better than the 13 in November.
AVFUEL added Avion Flight Centre at Midland International Airport in Texas to its network of branded dealers. Avion will participate in the AVTRIP refueling incentive program, which now has more than 40,000 member pilots. The fixed-base operation, which provides services 24 hours a day, is situated by a 22-acre ramp for accessibility. The 6,000-square-foot facility is equipped with a lounge, snooze rooms, showers, offices, conference rooms and Internet and flight planning tools. Midland has a 9,600-foot runway and onsite U.S. Customs.
DASSAULT AVIATION has struck a deal to buy the 21 percent stake that Alcatel-Lucent holds in French defense and aerospace electronics group Thales. Dassault is paying €1.57 billion for the stake, in a transaction due to close this spring. Dassault Aviation also is taking over the 5.1 percent share in Thales that its parent Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault already held. The deal is intricately linked to discussions with the French government. Together, they control 53 percent of capital and 61 percent of voting shares in Thales.
BOTH House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and aviation subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) are planning to immediately turn their attention to FAA reauthorization once Congress convenes in January. A definitive timetable has not yet been set, but Oberstar said the committee “will be ready to move…very early on.”
Click here to view the pdf Used Business Jets, Turboprop Sales Inside And Outside North America For October Used Business Jets Sales – North America --------------------------------------------------------- Oct. 2005 Oct.
Business aviation leaders were frustrated that they had to continue to battle to improve the industry’s image after the White House resurrected a ban on owning or leasing business jets for automakers that accept federal financial aid (BA, Dec. 22/281). The Bush Administration adopted wholesale many of the restrictions included in the auto industry bailout bill as part of its decision to tap into the Troubled Asset Relief Program to assist the auto industry (BA, Dec. 15/269).
Veteran aviation journalist and public relations manager Benet Wilson was promoted to Aviation Week’s online-managing editor for Business Aviation. In that capacity, Wilson will be responsible for writing and editing for The Weekly of Business Aviation as well as managing the business aviation content, including news, blogs and other features on both the public AviationWeek.com Business Aviation channel and the subscriber-based Aviation Week Intelligence Network.
THE TWIN CITIES AIR SERVICE fixed-base operation at Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport in Maine has announced plans to expand its runway by 1,000 feet to 6,000 feet. The FBO also recently joined the Avfuel network in an effort to boost its visibility and encourage pilots to visit more often and upload larger amounts of fuel. Founded in 1992, Twin Cities provides both Part 135 charter and full FBO services.
DESPITE THE bright spots, business jet flight activity saw its steepest decline so far, with total cycles of takeoffs and landings in November dropping 25 percent year over year, says a UBS report. Analyst David Strauss notes that cycles were 11 percent lower year-to-date. “We expect [this] will negatively impact the service businesses of the manufacturers and suppliers over the near term,” he said.
VIKING AIR LIMITED Model DHC-7 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1330; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-138-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to conduct repetitive inspections to ensure that fluorescent lamps are properly seated in the lamp holder, per the instructions of Viking Air Service Bulletin V7-33-01 (dated Feb. 28, 2008). Any broken or nonfunctioning lamp holders would need to be replaced. Replacing all affected fluorescent lamp ballasts would terminate the repetitive inspection requirement.
HARTZELL PROPELLER won a supplemental type certificate for installation of its Top Prop, three-bladed, scimitar prop on Beech Barons with factory-equipped fluid anti-ice systems. The $25,495 kit includes two factory-booted props, two new spinner assemblies, new slinger rings and stainless-steel travel tubes. Derived from air racing props, the shorter (75-inch diameter) props are more efficient and provide enhanced climb and cruise performance compared with conventional designs, according to the Piqua, Ohio manufacturer.
EMBRAER delivered the 500th E-Jet to France’s Regional – Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, a wholly owned Air France subsidiary. The carrier’s Embraer 170 is configured with 76 seats in a single-class layout. The French airline is Embraer’s largest customer in Europe, with a total of 50 Brazilian-made aircraft in its fleet. Separately, Embraer recently delivered its first E-Jet to a Brazilian operator, Azul Linhas Aereas, which took delivery of a 118-passenger Embraer 195. The carrier began revenue operations on Dec.
BFB AERO SERVICES, LLC acquired APA Services, another aviation and aerospace staffing firm that offers staff augmentation, contract-to-hire and direct-hire opportunities for aircraft technicians. Todd Cole, president of Eau Claire, Wis.-based BFB Aero Services, said, “This is a merger of two highly compatible companies that hold similar values and business philosophies. The merger makes compelling business sense and is simply an excellent fit.” Danny McKee, president of APA Services, added, “Our merger will create a more efficient and responsive service-delivery system.
TWC AVIATION INC. added five new light jets to its charter fleet based in Van Nuys, Calif. The two Cessna Citation Mustangs and three Beechcraft Premiers join TWC Aviation’s fleet of Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Gulfstream and Hawker Beechcraft jets.
WHILE the credit market has tightened, Cirrus Design reports a different situation for customers buying the company’s light single-engine, piston-powered airplanes. Brent Wouters, who will add the title of chief executive officer at Cirrus Feb.1, told BA, “We’re selling airplanes” and lenders have remained active in providing financing for Cirrus airplane buyers. Although lenders are insisting that borrowers have good credit, Wouters said the only loan applicants that are being turned down would have been turned down 12 months ago as well.
AIR ROUTING INTERNATIONAL and Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services (LBA) have signed a deal to offer customers operational services, maintenance and technical support through Air Routing’s Card Services system. The deal gives clients operating Bombardier aircraft access to all technical support services on credit at LBAS’ MRO facility located in Berlin for qualified cardholders.
MOHAMMAD SAIDEH has been appointed executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Dubai-based Palm Aviation. He will be responsible for marketing, including branding, advertising and new business development. He came from SR Technics, where he was Middle East regional sales director for its MRO business, and has served as a consultant to the business jet sector.
EMBRAER President and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado expects the company’s backlog to shrink in the fourth quarter and into 2009 as new sales fail to keep pace with the manufacturer’s recently revised production rate. The airframer also expects the current economic climate will result in some customers deferring current orders, although Embraer is adamant it will not have any cancellations.
CESSNA HAS SHIPPED 1,000 CITATIONS TO EUROPE with the delivery in mid-December of a Citation XLS to Turkish charter operator Bonair. The Wichita-based manufacturer claims it is the first business aircraft manufacturer to achieve a European fleet of 1,000 jets. Bonair, which is based in Florya, Istanbul, has operated Cessna aircraft for 22 years. To date, Cessna has delivered more than 5,400 Citations, making that group of aircraft the largest business jet fleet in the world.
DAVE AMIS III was reappointed by Gov. Brad Henry to serve his third term on the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission through 2014. His current term expires Dec. 31, 2008. A licensed pilot, Amis has been involved in the aviation industry for 20 years and currently runs his own aviation sales and consulting firm, Vector Air, Inc.
GA GROUPS, intensifying their advocacy efforts in light of a rash of negative publicity, have been collaborating on strategies to capture some positive coverage. One possibility, said General Aviation Manufacturers Association President and CEO Pete Bunce, would be to revive the “No Plane, No Gain” program. GAMA and the National Business Aviation Association launched the “No Plane, No Gain” program in 1992 to promote the use of business aviation as a cost-effective tool to increase efficiency, productivity and profitability.
