JET SUPPORT SERVICES, INC., the Chicago-based indepen dent provider of hourly cost maintenance programs, named a new CEO and strengthened its sales and customer service efforts. The company tapped former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin as chief executive officer. Hagin, a former executive at Federated Department Stores and Chiquita Brands, served with President George W. Bush from his inauguration through mid-July of this year. His duties included overseeing the White House Military Office and the presidential aircraft fleet.
CHICAGO MAYOR RICHARD DALEY, who incurred the ire of the general aviation community five years ago by ordering the destruction of the runway at Meigs Field in an unannounced, dark-of-night backhoe attack (BA, April 7, 2003/153), is now close to finalizing a 99-year lease of the city’s Midway Airport to private investors.
(5,302: A new record for the sale of exhibit booth spaces at the show. The previous record was 5,275 10-foot by 10-foot booth spaces sold for the 2007 NBAA convention. The static display also set a record with 139 piston, turboprop and jet aircraft at Orlando Executive Airport.
BRAD LENNEMANN was appointed Embraer aircraft service sales representative for Duncan Aviation. Lennemann, who has served as a Duncan service sales representative since 2003, has 22 years of aviation experience.
MEANWHILE Gulfstream is working with NASA on a series of flight tests using a modified F-18 to help prove that a camera-equipped aircraft with no forward vision windows could be an option for a supersonic business jet. See article on Page 169.
– Eighteen people died and one was injured Oct. 8, when a Yeti Airlines de Havilland DHC-6/300 Twin Otter carrying tourists crashed on landing at Lukla Tenzing Hillary Airport, in the lap of Mt. Everest. The aircraft, flying from Nepali capital Kathmandu to Lukla, 90 miles away in northeastern Nepal, burst into flames after crash-landing near the sloping runway under heavy cloud.
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CAE was selected by XOJET to provide initial training for the operator’s Challenger 300 pilots. CAE will provide the training at its facility in Morristown, N.J. XOJET, which offers a range of business aviation services, last year placed orders and options for up to 80 Challenger 300s. An authorized Bombardier training center, CAE plans to begin training with a new Challenger 300 full-flight simulator later this year. CAE also provides recurrent training for XOJET Citation X pilots at its SimuFlite facility in Dallas.
KELLY SIMMONS was named chief operating officer/chief financial officer for Jet Support Services Inc. Simmons formerly was president and chief financial officer of GlobalSCAPE, a software company specializing in Internet file transfers. He has a 30-year background in finance and securities, including accounting, mergers and acquisitions, Securities and Exchange Commission reporting, information systems and investor relations. He previously was chief financial officer of Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp.
(38: Italian plane-maker Piaggio continues to ramp up production and plans to deliver 38 of the Avanti II high-speed pusher-props next year. That would be double the number of aircraft the company delivered in 2006. Piaggio recently obtained local clearances to begin construction of a new plant in Villanova D’Albenga that company executives believe will allow them to increase production to between 45 and 50 aircraft a year, a number Piaggio believes will be necessary to keep up with demand. The factory is slated for completion in 2010.
General aviation groups last week began scouring the Transportation Security Administration’s 260-page notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to extend security requirements to non-airline operators of aircraft that weigh more than 12,500 pounds. The long-awaited NPRM received Office of Management and Budget clearance earlier this month, about 11 months after Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff had announced the proposal (BA, Nov. 12/218).
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT BAe 125 series 800A and 800XP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0976; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-145-AD; Amendment 39-15685; AD 2008-21-01] – Requires determining the serial number and part number on the main landing gear upper casing, and replacing the MLG assembly with a serviceable MLG assembly, if necessary, in accordance with the instructions of Hawker Beechcraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 32-3920 (dated Aug. 2008).
ROCKWELL COLLINS received Federal Communications Commission approval and INMARSAT Services limited type approval for its SAT-6100B satellite communications system (SATCOM). The system will be available later this year. The SAT-6100B SATCOM provides SwiftBroadband services, but automatically moves to Swift 64 when out of SwiftBroadband range. The system also has three classic aeronautical channels (two Aero H/H+ voice channels and a low-speed data channel).
CLIFFORD DEVELOPMENT completed FAA testing to install Williams International FJ44-3A engines on the Citation II (C550) business jet. Clifford is offering the upgrade at three Clifford-authorized service centers. The upgrade covers 35 improvements including an Ametek digital engine display, heavy duty BFG brakes, a new LED annunciator panel and a dual FADEC system. The new engines reduce average fuel consumption by 35 percent and bring the aircraft into compliance with Stage 4 noise standards.
EMBRAER EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC and -120RT airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1005; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-119-AD] – This proposal would require operators to revise the “Limitations” section of the Airplane Flight Manual to include a minimum fuel quantity, and add a minimum fuel quantity limitation for operation of the fuel booster pump.
– FAA is preparing to select companies to provide low-cost runway surveillance systems for an extensive test program that could lead to a nationwide deployment. The agency will soon select one or more systems to evaluate at six airport for a trial that will last anywhere from “several months to a year,” an FAA spokesman said. The agency wants to determine which system will satisfy minimum operational and safety requirements, and whether it will be feasible to continue with a procurement.
($6 Billion: Embraer’s backlog for its executive jet line tops $6 billion and now encompasses about one-third of the total company backlog. The backlog includes orders for 800 Phenoms. Embraer executives said the company is investing $100 million to increase its customer support network in preparation for Phenom deliveries, which are slated to begin later this year.
The City of San Diego is soliciting responses to a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) which describes an outstanding aviation development opportunity at Brown Field Airport in the Otay Mesa area of the City of San Diego. The site is approximately 10.7 acres at the west end of the exisiting ramp area. Development proposals may consist of any compatible, aeronautical real estate project on all or a portion of the site. Smaller proposals are welcome.
INTERNATIONAL AVIATION regulators have heard the concerns of business aviation operators regarding their dislike of airspace charges, a top official of the International Civil Aviation Organization told NBAA members last week. Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, president of the ICAO Council, addressed attendees at the opening general session of NBAA’s convention and outlined the importance of a seamless global air traffic management system that applies to all users. He also noted the challenges, including the economics for airports and air navigation systems.
The new owners of the Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation last week promised they are “trying to infuse a new energy” into the long-suffering SJ30 aircraft program, rolling out a new company name but few details about their future plans. Emirates Investment & Development Company acquired an 80 percent share of Sino Swearingen in June, becoming the latest in a string of owners over the past two decades.
STANDARDAERO partnered with Wipaire Inc. and Silverhawk Conversions to collaborate on separate PT-6A upgrade programs. Standard Aero will serve as an approved installation facility for Wipaire’s Cessna Caravan 208-series engine upgrade program. The upgrade replaces 600-shaft horsepower PT6A-114 and 675-shp PT6A-114/A powerplants installed on in-service Caravans with 750-shp PT6A-135A engines. The -135A engine increases power at altitude and improves rate-of-climb performance. The engines will be available for installation early next year.
JIM DEMPSEY was appointed to the newly created position of vice president of sustaining and government programs for Gulfstream Aerospace. Dempsey, who reports to Pres Henne, senior vice president, programs, engineering and test, manages entry-into-service programs, the Reliability Quality and Availability Action Team, Production Change Management Team and all government programs, from bid to post-delivery activities.
DORNIER Model 328-100 Airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-1043; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-036-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to modify the main landing gear main body and trailing arm bushings in accordance with the instructions of Dornier Service Bulletin SB-328-32-245, Rev. 2 (dated Nov. 21, 2007) and Messier-Dowty Service Bulletin 800-32-014, Rev. 1 (dated July 19, 1999).
– Chicago Mayor Richard Daley got one step closer to leasing out Midway Airport last week when the City Council unanimously endorsed the proposed agreement. The council vote came a week after Daley announced a $2.5 billion deal to lease Midway for 99 years to the Midway Investment and Development Company (MIDCo) consortium. MIDCo includes New York’s Citi Infrastructure Investors, Vancouver-based YVR Airport Services Ltd. and Boston-based John Hancock Life Insurance Co.
