Bombardier Aerospace received a contract from an undisclosed European customer for up to 110 Learjet XR aircraft valued at $1.5 billion. The contract includes firm orders for 25 60 XRs valued at $340 million and 85 conditional orders. Deliveries will begin next year. The successor to the Learjet 60, the 60 XR entered service last July with a new Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite and a redesigned cabin.
Fractional aircraft ownership provider NetJets plans to add 40 more Gulfstream aircraft to its fleet under a deal valued at $1.9 billion that the Savannah, Ga. manufacturer announced Friday. The contract calls for four Gulfstream 450s and four G500s to be delivered to NetJets each year from 2012 to 2016. NetJets, which currently operates 110 Gulfstreams, has some 758 aircraft in its fleet and operates 15 different types.
VIKING AIR LIMITED DHC-2 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0393 Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-011-AD; Amendment 39-15533; AD 2008-11-11] – This AD, which supersedes an existing directive, requires operators to conduct a fluorescent-penetrant inspection of the tailplane front-spar web behind the pick-up brackets instead of simply performing a visual inspection of that area, as was mandated by the earlier AD. Operators are required to conduct the inspections in accordance with the instructions of Bombardier de Havilland DHC-2 (Beaver) Service Bulletin 2/47 Rev.
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES elected a new slate of officers, naming Jim Elwood, director of Aspen/Pitkin County, Colo. Airport, as chairman for 2008-2009. Also elected were John Duval, of Beverly, Mass., as first vice chair; Jim Bennett, of Washington, D.C., as second vice chair; and Kelly Johnson, of Bentonville, Ark., as secretary-treasurer. The association added new members to the board of directors, including Tom Rafter, Hammonton, N.J.; Lew Bleiweis, Fletcher, N.C.; and Michael Gobb, Lexington, Ky.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE recently reached two milestones, rolling out the 200th G550/G500 large-cabin business jet and 200th G200 midsize jet. The 200th aircraft in the G550/500 family came off the production line less than five years after Gulfstream unveiled the program at the 2002 National Business Aviation Association annual convention. The Savannah, Ga. plane-maker won type and production certification for the G550 on Aug. 14, 2003 and for the G500 on Dec. 8, 2003. Currently 172 of the aircraft are in service and the fleet has passed 200,000 flight hours.
Corporate Hangar Development for 2 parcels at Deer Valley Airport (DVT) Request for Proposals (RFP) The City is seeking proposals for the lease of two parcels on which limited aeronautical commercial activity will be permitted. The RFP documents are expected to be released by July 1, 2008.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT cut its work force by 20 percent last week and is reducing production rates of its line of single-engine, aircraft – and other manufacturers are keeping a close eye on the low end of the GA market. While not contemplating layoffs, Cessna Chairman Jack Pelton told BA last week “We’re seeing definite softening in the [single-engine] market” and a reduction in flying by current single-engine aircraft operators. See article on Page 282.
The Federal Aviation Administration and Los Angeles officials joined a number of industry leaders expressing opposition to a proposal to impose a mandatory nighttime curfew at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif. (BUR). The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority has undertaken a Part 161 study to impose a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. for all operations except in cases of medical, emergency or military flights (BA, June 2/248). The curfew would provide a one-hour grace period after 10 p.m. for mechanical or weather delays.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE secured an order from Bora Jet Exclusive Charter for an ultra-long range Global Express XRS jet. Istanbul, Turkey-based Bora Jet, an affiliate of Orphan Air A.S., will operate the aircraft from Turkey for charter missions. Bora Jet also has a Challenger 605 on order.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT won certification from the Brazilian aviation certification authority ANAC for Model M20TN Acclaim and Acclaim Type S aircraft. Mooney expects Ovation certification will follow. Mooney said the certification is significant, noting that 30 earlier model Mooney-built aircraft already are based in Brazil.
SCHULER DEVELOPMENT, a North Texas real estate development company, recently restructured its aviation holdings into a newly formed Aviation Group. Kelly Cannell was appointed president of the new group, which includes aviation holdings at both the Collin County Regional Airport (TKI) in McKinney, Texas and the North Texas Regional Airport in Denison (GYI). Cannell joined Schuler Development in 2006 as chief financial officer after serving as controller for Bob Thompson Homes of Dallas, Texas.
PIASECKI AIRCRAFT has turned to Congress for help to push its X-49A SpeedHawk high-speed compound helicopter even faster. The company wants to take over ownership of the aircraft from the government so it can demonstrate its speed potential. Funded by the Army, the X-49 is a Navy Sikorsky SH-60 helo modified with Piasecki’s vectored-thrust ducted propeller. The Pennsylvania-based company believes the X-49 can fly faster than any conventional helicopter, but it is stuck at 177 knots because Navy safety rules require it to stay within the existing SH-60 flight envelope.
When U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) operates unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the national airspace, the enterprise is governed by assessments of risk, retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Kostelnik said. “What you fly, when you fly and where you fly [are] important criteria for determining risk,” Kostelnik told an audience at the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) show June 10. “The last ‘W’, why you fly, has everything to do with how much risk you’re willing to take.”
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT delivered the first Hawker 750 to Jet Asia Limited of Macau. Announced at the National Business Aviation Association annual convention in 2006, the Hawker 750 is a light midsize variant of the Hawker 800 series. The delivery was part of a contract Jet Asia placed in September 2007 for six of Hawker Beechcraft’s newest aircraft – two Hawker 900XP midsize jets and four Hawker 750s. Jet Asia will operate the aircraft to support Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, a casino company owned by Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau.
NATA President James Coyne praised the charter summit keynote speaker, FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicholas Sabatini, for his efforts to defend FAA/industry partnership programs in the face of the “kangaroo court set up in Congress this spring.” Coyne complained that the congressional action opened the door for “disgruntled union” employees to go to Congress as whistleblowers and demand a hearing.
JET AVIATION recently was awarded the Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) “Plus” certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency. The CAMO certificate will enable Jet Aviation to perform annual airworthiness reviews for its aircraft management clients as well as other private operations. Beginning Sept. 28, all EU-registered commercial and private aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight above 5.7 tons must be managed by a CAMO and must receive a renewable Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC).
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SHORT BROTHERS SD3-60 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0135; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-345-AD; Amendment 39-15551; AD 2008-12-08] – This AD requires deactivation of the auxiliary fuel tank system installed in accordance with Supplemental Type Certificate SA00404AT, which was issued to Atlantic Reconnaissance. The FAA issued this AD to eliminate potential ignition sources inside the fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.
AVIONS DE TRANSPORT REGIONAL ATR42-200, -300 and -320 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0636; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-324-AD] – This proposed directive would mandate reinspection of main landing gear side-brace assemblies in accordance with updated ATR and Messier Dowty service bulletins. The proposed rule also would require reducing the inspection intervals to ensure the safety of the landing gear.
MOONEY struck an agreement to endorse a fractional ownership program using Mooney-built single-engine aircraft that was developed by Denton, Texas-based US Aviation Group. Mooney will highlight the program on its Web site, promote the concept at Mooney service centers around the country and provide space for fractional sales representatives at the company’s exhibit at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture. The US Aviation program will sell shares in the Mooney Acclaim Type S IFR-equipped aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration today (June 16) will publish a final rule that attempts to provide some relief from one of the largest concerns surrounding the extended range operations (ETOPS) requirements that are set to take effect this summer. The new rule, which clarifies the qualifications of individuals who certify the ETOPS predeparture check, provides limited relief but does not go as far as Part 135 and commuter operators had recommended.
Honeywell Aerospace plans to get out of the hardware distribution business by selling its Consumable Solutions (HCS) unit to Florida-based B/E Aerospace in a $1.05 billion cash and stock deal unveiled last week.
MCCLELLAN-PALOMAR AIRPORT (CRQ) in Carlsbad, Calif., partnered with the airport’s fixed-base operations to support U.S. Customs Service at CRQ. The airport has opened a VIP phone line to provide information on procedures for aircraft arriving in the U.S. and provide the option to connect to any of the FBOs at the airport for further support. Each FBO will have customs specialists on hand to help operators through the process. Arriving aircraft require an overflight permit from Customs and Border Protection to bypass a normal point of entry.
Very Light Jet air taxi operator DayJet Corp. last week signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Aviation Administration to collaborate on a project that would accelerate use of next generation air traffic control technologies. The agreement forms a partnership between DayJet, FAA, the Florida Department of Transportation Aviation Office and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to phase in the technologies over the next five years.
WAS ROBERT CRANDALL auditioning last week for the position of Transportation Secretary in the next presidential administration? That was the impression some got as they listened to the former American Airlines executive lament the “sad state” of U.S. commercial aviation and the lack of a national transportation plan for this country during a speech at the Wings Club in New York.
