DASSAULT Falcon 900, 900EX and 2000 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0729; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-052-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to inspect the air gasper installation in the third crewmember control panel of the left-hand and right-hand crew closet for interference and damage and, if necessary, replace the flexible hoses and install insulation sleeving to the wires near the rheostat in accordance with the instructions of Dassault Service Bulletins F900-360, F900EX-261 or F2000-316 (all dated July 20, 2005).
BELL HELICOPTER CANADA opened an expanded logistics center at Calgary International Airport’s Global Logistics Parks. The 38,000-square-foot Canadian Supply Center is the primary Canadian distribution facility for the rotorcraft manufacturer.
RED RIVER TURBINES, a turbine engine overhaul facility located at the North Texas Regional Airport in Sherman, Texas, received FAR Part 145 Repair Station certification from FAA. Red River Turbines’ 25,000-square-foot facility specializes in repair and overhaul of GE CJ610 and CF700 engines. The company recently installed a four-story, 66,000 cubic-foot test-cell tower designed to test engines with a maximum of 10,000 pounds thrust.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE AS355E, F, F1, F2, and N helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2007-28691; Directorate Identifier 2006-SW-22-AD] – This proposal would require operators to use new, improved procedures for detecting oil pump wear. Those procedures are outlined in Eurocopter Alert Service Bulletin No. 05.00.51 (dated July 9, 2007). This proposed AD was issued to help prevent failure of the main gearbox pump, seizure of the gearbox, loss of drive to an engine and main rotor, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.
EMBRAER ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28377; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-063-AD] – This revised proposed rule – which adds the Embraer 190-200 STD, -200 LR, and -200 IGW to the list of affected airplanes – would require operators to conduct repetitive operational checks of the firewall hydraulic shutoff valve and, if necessary, replace the valve, per the instructions of Embraer Service Bulletins 170-29-0013, Rev. 1 and 190-29-0008, Rev. 1 (both dated July 24, 2007).
CESSNA AIRCRAFT signed a multiyear contract with the University of North Dakota to supply 25 Model 172 Skyhawk trainer aircraft to the school. The first four aircraft were handed over last week during a ceremony at Cessna’s single-engine aircraft manufacturing facility in Independence, Kan. Earlier this year the school took delivery of a Citation Mustang business jet.
Business aircraft manufacturers have been emphasizing the time savings available to users of private aircraft for decades, but Cessna Aircraft is now taking that message to Times Square in New York City.
Eurocopter will produce EC725 Super Cougar medium helicopters at its Helibras subsidiary in Brazil under an agreement in principle signed on June 30 by the Brazilian and French governments.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE AIR (CEA) said it has partnered with “hip-hop entrepreneur Steve Rifkind and his SRC (Street Records Corp.) label to provide a stable of award-winning artists exclusive access” to CEA’s charter services.
RICK BRAINARD was appointed vice president of sales for West Star Aviation, Inc., Grand Junction, Colo. He will manage all sales operations for the company’s facilities in Grand Junction, East Alton, Ill., Dallas, Texas and Hiawatha, Iowa. Brainard had served as general manager of the Grand Junction facility since September 2005. He previously held posts with McKinney Aerospace, Garrett Aviation and AlliedSignal.
General aviation groups called the Federal Aviation Administration’s proposal to reduce the number of GA slots into New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) discriminatory, saying the restriction would unjustifiably erode access to the New York City area.
CESSNA IS OFFERING FREE FUEL for up to 18 months and a free Garmin synthetic vision upgrade to new buyers of Cessna 182 Skylanes or Turbo Skylanes who take delivery of their aircraft by Sept. 30. Under the incentive program, Cessna will pay for up to $15,000 of fuel between now and the end of 2009, based on average usage and power settings. Cessna also will upgrade the Garmin G1000 avionics package standard on the 182 with Garmin’s soon-to-be-certified synthetic vision technology.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION has established a toll-free hotline for use by Part 135 charter operators to report suspected illegal commercial charter activity. The association said the hotline was established in part with a grant from FAA. The hotline – (888) 759-3581 – is designed to enable FAA track down and take enforcement action against illegal operators and help measure the extent of such illegal activity.
SEVERAL PC-12 COCKPIT UPGRADES are being developed by Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S), including a flat-panel display, wide area augmentation system (WAAS) and a reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) package. The Exton, Pa.-based company says the key enhancement to the flat panel display is the single-sided cockpit option. A WAAS capability for both single-side and full-cockpit display architectures is expected to be available in the fourth quarter, and IS&S is working on RVSM group certification for the Pilatus single-engine turboprop.
TESTING of five candidate coal-to-liquid and gas-to-liquid Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthetic fuels under the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative was scheduled to wrap up last week, FAA said. A report due out at the end of the month should supply the data needed to allow up to a 50 percent blend of generic FT and conventional jet fuel. Approval, which is expected by yearend, is viewed as essential to giving financiers and fuel producers the confidence to commit billions of dollars to building synthetic-fuel plants in the next four to five years.
The National Air Transportation Association Friday announced availability of a toll-free hotline that certificated Part 135 charter operators can use to notify federal officials about suspected illegal charter flights. “Persons illegally conducting commercial flights adversely affect the air charter industry,” said NATA President Jim Coyne. “For years our members, licensed air charter operators, have sought ways to involve the FAA in tracking down and taking enforcement action against illegal operations,” he said. “Now, we believe that we have found a way.”
DAN MCKILLIPS joined West Star Aviation as a regional sales manager responsible for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. McKillips has more than 11 years of experience in the aviation industry, having previously served as director of maintenance for Acxiom.
The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) has chosen the X Prize Foundation to create a competition for jet fuel alternatives, DOT Secretary Mary Peters announced July 10. The aim of the award is to stimulate market competition for the development of alternative fuels. The original X Prize competition awarded a $10 million prize in 2004 to the team behind the world’s first privately developed manned suborbital spacecraft, SpaceShipOne.
CIRRUS DESIGN’S new personal jet, formerly dubbed “The-Jet,” was rechristened last week as the Cirrus Vision SJ50. The new name was announced just in time to prepare the signage for the company’s exhibit at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture at the end of the month – where the SJ50 prototype is expected to be on display. See article on Page 15.
NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION, which has been issuing press releases for months complaining about growing safety concerns because of staffing shortages at FAA facilities, finally got the attention of the National Transportation Safety Board. On July 7, NATCA issued a press release describing “a very scary near mid-air collision” at about 2030 on July 5 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The role of speculative investors on high oil prices is dividing the U.S. airline industry from economists, who say targeting institutional investors is more politically expedient than economically sound.
PLATTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT is exhibiting at this week’s Farnborough International Air Show in England, part of a group of six New York State companies and organizations that will be in the U.S. Pavilion. Plattsburgh officials said their presence in Farnborough is part of the effort to position the airport “as Montreal’s U.S. airport.” Plattsburgh International (PBG) is located in a multipurpose airport and aerospace park created from the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base, located just one hour’s drive south of downtown Montreal.
ADAM KOMACK was hired as chief marketing officer of XOJET, San Carlos, Calif. Most recently Komack served as chief lifestyle officer for Eos Airlines, the premium-class carrier that flew between New York and the U.K. before filing for bankruptcy in April after fuel prices spiked. At XOJET, Komack will “define and drive marketing and customer experience strategies and programs” for the company’s planned global private jet service. Founded in January 2006, XOJET said it expects to be operating a fleet of 127 aircraft valued at $3.1 billion by 2012.
FIRST RATE GROUND SERVICES...SECOND TO NONE FLIGHT SCHOOLS. You’ve heard of flying first class. Why not consider landing first class? Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM) is the most convenient to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center and closest to Orlando/Kissimmee attractions. With full-service FBOs offering a complete range of amenities, Warbird adventure flights, and all-weather approaches—we can help get you where you need to go, faster and easier, while the others are still taxiing. KISSIMMEE GATEWAY AIRPORT
