The General Aviation Manufacturers Association said a report Tuesday claiming that users of private jets are getting tax breaks, straining the air traffic control system and causing environmental damage “resurrects the well-worn, and worn-out airline industry claim that GA does not pay its fair share of the costs associated with air traffic control services.”
Piper Aicraft completed the first run of the Williams FJ44-3A engine mounted in the vertical tail of the PiperJet proof-of-concept airplane and began initial taxi tests (BA, June 23/287). “For the first time in Piper’s 71-year history, the sound of a turbofan-powered Piper airplane was heard when the PiperJet’s engine was started and tested on June 19,” Piper officials said.
JETNET Company, which has been providing data on sales of used business jets and turboprops to The Weekly of BUSINESS AVIATION for many years, has expanded the parameters of its coverage to provide a broader picture of used business turbine sales activity.
YINGLING AVIATION, Wichita, Kan., installed a Frasca Mentor flight-training device that is equipped to simulate a Cessna 172/S aircraft with Garmin G1000 avionics and a GFC700 autopilot. The FAA-approved device includes a fully functioning aircraft panel, flight controls, instructor computer control station and a high definition monitor that provides visual terrain, weather and maneuvering references.
CASCADE AEROSPACE USA, INC. signed a 20-year lease this month for more than 350,000 square feet of facilities at the Spokane, Wash. International Airport, effective Feb. 1, 2009. Cascade, headquartered in Abbotsford, British Columbia, specializes in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul for both commercial and military customers. As part of the new lease agreement, the Spokane Airport Board is seeking $2 million in funding from the state government to help pay for an MRO hangar infrastructure expansion and utility systems upgrade.
TRIP LINHAS AEREAS signed an agreement with Brazilian manufacturer Embraer that includes firm orders for five Embraer 175 jets, options for 10 more and purchase rights for another 15. Embraer valued the firm orders at $167.5 million, but said the total value of the contract could top $1 billion after all options and purchase rights are exercised. The aircraft will be configured in a single class for 86 passengers. Aircraft delivery is expected to begin in 2009.
AOPA’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS selected Craig L. Fuller, a Washington, D.C. political veteran with trade association leadership experience and a pilot for nearly four decades, to succeed Phil Boyer as president of the organization at the end of the year. A formal announcement is expected today (June 30). Fuller is currently co-chair of APCO Worldwide’s International Advisory Committee. He came to Washington in 1981, serving as assistant for Cabinet affairs to President Reagan and as chief of staff to Vice President George H.W. Bush.
The pilot and two passengers aboard a Robinson R44 II helicopter escaped serious injury this month when the aircraft made a hard landing after an apparent mechanical failure.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE signed a five-year agreement with LuxairGroup to provide the Component Repair and Exchange program for Luxair Luxembourg Airlines’ fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft. The component pool covers nearly 250 component part numbers and will be based at Bombardier’s parts distribution center located in Frankfurt, Germany. Bombardier also has a parts distribution center in Chicago. Both centers ship components to some 57 facilities in Bombardier’s service network that are located worldwide, including Beijing, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Narita.
THE VH-71 presidential helicopter program “anticipates achieving several more significant milestones this year,” now that all five of the initial aircraft are delivered, program officials said June 25. The program’s future was uncertain early this year after it encountered development, production and so-called concurrency concerns, which led to a dramatic restructuring and much higher cost estimates. Two test helicopters are in flight trials at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
A JPMORGAN report last week predicts the effect of lower U.S. corporate profits on business jet production “will be muted at least in the near term, as the composition of the [business jet] backlog has shifted dramatically toward international customers. We see the business jet market remaining among the strongest in the aerospace industry in 2008 and 2009, although we bear in mind that this industry is cyclical...” the report said.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION this week is expected to sign a comprehensive safety bilateral agreement with the European Aviation Safety Agency during the TransAtlantic Aviation Issues Conference scheduled June 30-July 1 in Brussels, Belgium. The bilateral accord will encompass many of the safety agreements that the U.S. held with individual European states. The long-anticipated agreement had been held up for a number of months in part over concerns the U.S. had with fees and charges for validation of U.S. products (BA, May 21/229).
CASTLE & COOKE AVIATION opened its new fixed-base operation at Honolulu International Airport (HNL) this month. The company acquired the former Circle Rainbow building at HNL and invested more than $5 million for renovations of the aviation lobby, hangar and office space. Castle & Cooke also operates the largest corporate aviation facility at the Van Nuys, Calif. Airport (VNY) and another FBO at Paine Field (PAE) in Everett, Washington.
DASSAULT Falcon 900 and Falcon 900EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0365; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-274-AD; Amendment 39-15563; AD 2008-12-19] – Requires inspection of the feeder cable bundle at the right-side partition wall at Frames 22/23 for damage. If no damage is found, install a protective Teflon tube over the cable bundle in accordance with the instructions of one of the relevant Dassault service bulletins (dated July 19, 2006). If the feeder cable is damaged, repair it and install a protective Teflon tube over the cable bundle.
July 14-20 – Farnborough International Air Show, Farnborough, England. For more information, contact Shirley-Ann Latch at 44 20-7976-3349; www.farnborough.com July 19 – National Aviation Hall of Fame, 47th Annual Enshrinement Ceremony, Dayton, Ohio. Contact Cee John at (937) 256-0944; or fax, (937) 256-8536 July 28-Aug. 3 – Experimental Aircraft Association, 56th AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, Wis. Contact Karen Fenner at (920) 426-4800; fax, (920) 232-7772
CHRIS SHAFFER was promoted to service manager for Elliott Aviation ’s headquarters facility at Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) in Moline, Ill. Shaffer, formerly Hawker team leader for the Moline facility, will oversee maintenance and service programs for all aircraft types. Shaffer, who has 14 years of aviation maintenance and management experience, served as assistant facility manager at Raytheon Aircraft Services in Denver for six years before joining Elliott in 2006. He has also held maintenance and service posts for Air Wisconsin and Gulfstream Aerospace.
Southwest Airlines is making a major commitment to FAA’s Required Navigation Performance program, pledging nearly $200 million over the next six years to develop RNP approaches at all U.S. airports the carrier serves.
The National Transportation Safety Board last week began its investigation into the June 18 fatal crash of a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100 aircraft, N656WA, at Hyannis-Barnstable Airport, Mass. (HYA). The 1967 aircraft, on a cargo mission to Nantucket Memorial Airport, began to roll shortly after takeoff at 1003 and inverted before crashing, said Quincy (Doc) Mosby, manager of HYA.
YINGLING AVIATION completed a 9,000-square-foot expansion of its facilities at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, Kan. The expansion will be used for Yingling’s McCauley propeller overhaul and services as well as line service operations. Yingling also centralized shipping and receiving, the parts inventory and tool crib. The expansion includes a larger paint shop, two battery rooms for testing and charging and a new employee lounge.
AGUSTA S.P.A. A109E, A109S and A119 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0630; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-19-AD; Amendment 39-15554; AD 2008-12-11] – Requires inspection of the pilot and co-pilot doors’ emergency release system. If any interference is found between the lower hinges of the doors and the housing on the helicopter structure, rework the housing slot of the lower hinge in accordance with the instructions of the appropriate Agusta Technical Alert Bulletin for the Model 109E, 109S or 119 helicopter (Alert Bollettino Tecnico No. 109EP-83, No. 109S-18, and No.
Van Nuys, CA VNY CRS #DWHR329D NOW OPEN St. Louis, MO SUS CRS #DELR158D Philadelphia, PA MQS CRS #U7JR551L Dallas, TX DAL COMING SOON Growing in Scope. Keeping our Focus. MAINTENANCE, COMPONENTS, AVIONICS AND INTERIORS AOG 314.602.5366
Mooney Aircraft furloughed 20 percent of its work force and said it is reducing production rates from eight aircraft per month to five per month for the remainder of the year. The Kerrville, Texas manufacturer of single-engine aircraft had approximately 400 employees before the layoffs cut that total to about 320.
THE CITY separately is taking issue with FAA’s view that it must keep the airport running until 2023. FAA contended in an initial “Director’s Determination” that the city accepted a federal grant in 2003, which obligates Santa Monica to keep SMO open until at least 2023. But the city argues that the airport grant it accepted in 2003 was part of a larger grant awarded in 1994. “The city received a payment in 2003 at the conclusion of the projects funded in the 1994 grant,” city officials said.
JETAVIVA, the Van Nuys, Calif.-based company that specializes in sales, acquisitions and other services for Very Light Jet customers, recently performed the acceptance service for the 75th VLJ the company has handled. The service includes a pre-delivery flight-test, an 800-point technical inspection of the aircraft and a cosmetic inspection. The service validates aircraft performance, tests systems and evaluates handling qualities. JetAVIVA has accepted Cessna Citation Mustangs and Eclipse 500s for both individual and fleet owners.
THIELERT AIRCRAFT ENGINES, which entered insolvency in April, says it has now resumed full production following an intense period of negotiations with creditor banks and suppliers (BA, April 28/191). Insolvency administrator Bruno M. Kubler said the German manufacturer is now “able to produce up to 80 engines per month,” nearly as many as before the insolvency filing. In addition, Kubler recently commissioned a report by an international auditing company to detail Thielert’s financial situation and outlook.
