LEADERS OF SEVERAL AVIATION ASSOCIATIONS are set to meet today with former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and other members of President-elect Barack Obama’s Transportation Department transition team. The members will have an opportunity to voice their opinions on the most pressing aviation issues confronting the department as the Obama Administration takes office. Garvey’s name, meanwhile, is among those being mentioned for the Transportation Secretary post, and the list of potential candidates for FAA Administrator continues to grow. See article on Page 241.
THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION has postponed its planned town hall meeting in White Plains, N.Y. on the Large Aircraft Security Program proposal. The session had been set for Dec. 3, but now is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 6, according to the National Business Aviation Association.
AVTRAK LLC, the aircraft tracking and maintenance management firm, opened a new office in Massachusetts. The new office, located at 97 Central St., Suite 400, Lowell, Mass. 01852, will be managed by Dan Carroll, regional sales manager.
FIRST FLIGHT OF AN S-92 DERIVATIVE took place Nov. 15 at Sikorsky’s Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. The CH-148 Cyclone, which is being developed for the Canadian government as a replacement for its long-serving Sikorsky Sea King helicopter fleet, hovered and performed several low-speed handling tasks, including forward flight at speeds reaching 30 knots as well as sideward and rearward maneuvers.
Maguire Aviation is in the process of developing hangar and offices for single and multiple tenant occupancy. Please contact Mike McDaniel or Tim Wray for more information at 800-451-7270. Click here to view the pdf
MEANWHILE the Transportation Security Administration’s controversial Large Aircraft Security Proposal is drawing fire from aircraft operators, who have already filed more than 700 comments to the docket.
Thirty-five years of helping companies set a course for success. Randy Groom has helped aviation companies turn around multi-million-dollar losses, and others get off the ground. Ask for a consultation from someone who knows how to set your business on course in these challenging times. 316-708-3381 www.groomaviation.com
HEIDI FEDAK was promoted to manager of corporate communications for Gulfstream Aerospace. Fedak, who reports to Robert Baugniet, director of corporate communications, has been serving as corporate communications officer for Gulfstream since January. Prior to joining the Savannah, Ga. aircraft manufacturing firm, Fedak spent 15 years in the communications business. Before that she worked in the newspaper industry as an advertising writer, military reporter, regional reporter, business editor and editor-in-chief.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE is offering a new BudgetPlus spare parts subscription service for mid-cabin Gulfstream owners and operators. The service, which formally launches a pilot program, is designed to help manage annual maintenance costs for Gulfstream G200, G150, G100 and Astra aircraft. The program assesses flat hourly fees based on the age of the aircraft for exchange and consumable parts as needed.
GKN AEROSPACE delivered the first complete Future Lynx airframe to AgustaWestland. GKN has worked with AgustaWestland to develop new “design-to-cost” methods to reduce parts, create a cost-effect manufacturing cycle and provide an efficient operational airframe. The new airframe has 80 percent fewer parts than the existing Super Lynx. GKN will provide airframes for 70 Future Lynx helicopters for the Royal Navy and Army.
GRETEMAN GROUP, the Wichita, Kan.-based corporate branding firm, was named the agency of record for PIM Aviation Insurance and marketing partner for Jackson, Wade & Blanck LLC. PIM is a Wichita-based aviation insurance brokerage and risk management firm that provides services for business, commercial and leisure aircraft owners, fixed-base operators, aircraft and parts manufacturers, agricultural aviation and airline operations. Greteman will provide a range of marketing services for PIM.
EXCELAIRE received approval for its Legacy 600 fleet to operate into London City Airport (LCY). The approval allows Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based Excelaire to provide charter flights into LCY, which is located near London’s financial centers. To be authorized to fly into LCY, aircraft must be able to comply with the unique operating requirements of the airport, including a steep approach angle of 5.5 degrees. Also, pilots must have completed steep approach training and approval.
General aviation plane makers posted a record $18.2 billion in billings through the first nine months of the year, driven primarily by a 30 percent jump in business jet shipments. But the strong industry performance was quieted as turbulent markets have chipped away at backlogs in recent months, forcing more manufacturers to scale back production plans and lay off workers. Aerospace analysts also predicted that the worst is yet to come.
Dassault Falcon plans to open a new, factory-owned service center at Nevada’s Reno-Tahoe Airport by the end of the first quarter of 2009. The nearly 40,000-square-foot facility, which will support all current production Falcon models as well as the Falcon 50, eventually will be staffed by more than 40 Dassault Falcon personnel who will perform line maintenance up through “C” checks. They also will support an AOG “Go Team” that will provide rapid mobile response to an aircraft anywhere in United States.
DG FLUGZEUGBAU DG-1000S and DG-1000T gliders [Docket No. FAA-2008-0989; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-029-AD; Amendment 39-15727; AD 2008-23-06] – Requires checking the torque of a certain nut that fixes a bellcrank to a bolt, and replacing the bolt if the torque is too low. Also, the AD requires installing an additional bracket to the airbrake control hookups in the wing roots, checking the suspension of that system for any damage, and reinforcing the suspensions of the airbrake control hookups in the wing roots, and repair any damage found.
MERIDIAN AIR CHARTER, a Teterboro, N.J.-based private aviation services company, has earned Transport Security Administration authorization to operate at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
HARTZELL PROPELLER has earned a new FAA supplemental type certificate to install its Scimitar three-bladed props on Beech Baron 58s factory equipped with fluid anti-ice systems. This new STC complements Hartzell’s original approval for these props, which covered only Model 58 and G58 Barons without ice-protection equipment or those aircraft equipped with electro-thermal boots. The new Baron prop kits cost $25,495 and come with a 2,400-hour/six-year time between overhaul and a three-year/1,000-hour warranty.
PILATUS AIRCRAFT PC-6 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0990 Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-060-AD; Amendment 39-15724; AD 2008-23-03] – Requires checking the brake pedals for full and free movement and, if any damage is found, modifying the brake pedals to ensure they move freely, following the instructions of Pilatus PC-6 Service Bulletin No. 32-002, Rev. 2 (dated April 29, 2008).
November 19 – Wings Club Luncheon Featuring Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa German Airlines, Yale Club, New York, N.Y. For reservations call (212) 867-1770 or visit www.wingsclub.org January 11-15, 2009 – American Association of Airport Executives: 23rd Annual Aviation Issues Conference, Kona, Hi. For more information contact AAAE at (703) 824-0500 or go to www.aaae.org/products/allmeetings.html February 11-12 – Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE Forum 2009), Hong Kong
SIKORSKY AEROSPACE SERVICES will open its first S-76 customer support center in the Middle East with the help of Abu Dhabi-based Falcon Aviation Services. Last June, Falcon Aviation Services, a provider of helicopter charter and maintenance services, signed delivery position agreements for four VIP/corporate S-76Ds.
WHILE THE short-term economic outlook for the business aviation market appears gloomy, Brazilian plane maker Embraer remains optimistic for the long term. Embraer, releasing a 10-year business aviation market forecast, noted that deliveries are expected to slow next year “with market adjustments in the 2009-2012” period.
THE RECENTLY formed Wichita Aero Club (WAC) has scheduled its first monthly luncheon Dec. 2 at the Wichita Airport Hilton in Wichita, Kan. Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group is expected to address the group. The second luncheon will be held Jan. 28 with newly elected Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Craig Fuller as the speaker. The club officially launched during the National Business Aviation Association annual meeting and convention last month in Orlando, Fla. WAC established a Web site at www.WichitaAeroClub.org.
THE FIRST PHENOM 100 CUSTOMERS have completed their pilot training, passing the FAA test on the new Embraer entry level jet at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas. James Frost, a real estate and mineral executive who has an ATP certificate and 2,500 hours of flying time, was the first customer to complete the program. Frost’s wife, Elizabeth, who also successfully completed the training, was the first woman to be certified as a Phenom 100 pilot.
