SCHUSTER also is bullish about HBC’s longer-term future. Noting the influx of new hires into key positions in the company during the past six months, including some with extensive backgrounds in the automotive industry, Schuster said, “We are a much more talented organization than we were” before the Wichita aircraft manufacturer was purchased a year ago by GS Capital Partners, a partnership between Canadian conglomerate Onex Corp. and investment banker Goldman Sachs (BA, April 2, 2007/159). “This was a good company.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. officials expect to receive final FAA type certification for the long-delayed Hawker 4000 business jet very soon, and are ready to begin delivering the initial aircraft as soon as that FAA approval is received.
BOEING is opening negotiations with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on a three-year contract, proposing a different pay scale for workers at its Wichita Integrated Defense unit in Kansas than those in effect at its Portland, Ore. and Seattle, Wash.-area plants. An official of IAM District 751 in Seattle said the union rejected the same idea in 2005 because it is a “divide and conquer” approach to weaken the union’s bargaining power.
A federal court judge in California ruled last week that two FAA controllers bore complete liability for a Nov. 6, 2003 midair collision in Torrance, Calif. that resulted in the deaths of two men in a Robinson R-44 helicopter and serious injuries to the pilot of an R-22. The ruling comes despite an earlier finding by the National Transportation Safety Board that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the R-22’s student pilot “to comply with an ATC clearance.”
Key senators last week renewed talks on a bill that would extend current aviation excise taxes and the Federal Aviation Administration’s authorization for 15 more months after the Senate Tuesday failed to act on comprehensive, longer-term FAA authorization legislation.
AVIDYNE and Southern Star Avionics were awarded FAA approval for their jointly-developed single primary flight display integrated flight deck system for the King Air 90 series. The companies previously won approval for the dual-PFD system on King Air 90s. The single PFD-system integrates the Envision system with an S-TEC 65X. The dual system integrates a dual PFD, single multifunction Envision configuration with an S-TEC 2100 autopilot.
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A DASSAULT FALCON 7X business jet, S/N 04, has logged more than 1,000 hours since the aircraft was delivered last July, according to the manufacturer. The airplane is operated by Dasnair and based in Geneva, Switzerland. During the nine-month span of service, the aircraft has carried more than 1,000 passengers and made more than 415 stops in 10 countries on five continents. A total of 12 Falcon 7X aircraft are now in service.
OPERATORS of nearly 400 Bell helicopters were ordered to check the tail rotors of their aircraft to detect cracks. In an airworthiness directive issued by FAA, operators of Bell Model 204B, 205A, 205A-1, 205B, 210, 212, 412, 412CF and 412EP helicopters were told to inspect each tail rotor at specific intervals and repair or replace the rotors as necessary. The AD was prompted by three inflight failures of tail-rotor blades and the discovery of a cracked blade during a scheduled visual inspection. FAA estimates the AD applies to 384 helicopters on the U.S.
DAVID HERBST was appointed executive vice president of corporate strategies for Mercury Air Group and will oversee strategic growth of the company. He formerly served as director of corporate relations for Mercury in the early 1990s. He subsequently joined MWW Group, serving as senior vice president and general manager of the public relations firm. Herbst also serves as director of the William H. Hannon Foundation, dedicated to the financial support of schools and nonprofit organizations in Southern California and on the boards of several colleges in California.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-102, -103, -106, -201, -202, -301, -311 and -315 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0179; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-367-AD] – This proposed AD, which would expand the scope of a previous proposal, would reduce the initial compliance times for revision of the “Airworthiness Limitations” section of the “Instructions for Continued Airworthiness” to incorporate new fuel-system limitations and inspection requirements. This proposed AD resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada.
SCHUBACH AVIATION placed a new Cessna Citation Bravo on its charter certificate. The eight-passenger Bravo joins a fleet that also includes two Bombardier Challenger 601s, four King Airs, five other Citations and five Hawkers. Founded in 1992, Schubach employs 66 workers at its base at Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif.
May 20-22 – National Business Aviation Association, European Business Aviation Convention and Exposition (EBACE 2008), Geneva, Switzerland. Contact Kathleen Blouin at NBAA at (202) 783-9000 May 27- June 1 – Berlin International Air Show (ILA2008), Berlin, Germany, sponsored by the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) and managed by Messe Berlin. For more information, call (609) 987-1202; fax (609) 987-0092 or e-mail (www.ila-NA.com)
EXCELAIRE, the Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based charter firm, added a third Embraer Legacy 600 super mid-size business jet to its fleet. The Legacy can carry up to 13 passengers and fly nonstop between New York and London.
FIELD AVIATION of Toronto, Canada delivered the first of three Dash 8 Q300 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft to the Swedish Coast Guard this month. The three-aircraft contract is valued in excess of $80 million. Field, the prime contractor and aircraft integrator for the Swedish Coast Guard, entered into a teaming agreement with Bombardier Aerospace and L-3 Communications-Integrated Systems, which supplied the aircraft and selected sensor systems.
EMBRAER EMB-135, EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP and -145EP airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0483; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-006-AD] – Following the instructions of Embraer Service Bulletin 145-30-0052 (dated Aug. 2, 2007) or 145LEG-30-0019 (dated Aug. 28, 2007), this proposal would require operators to check Pitot 1 and 2 and TAT 1 and 2 current-sensor relays and sockets for damage. As necessary, replace the A1 and C1 electrical contacts of the sockets and re-identify them, and replace both the sockets and the current-sensor relays.
EMBRAER EMB-135BJ airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0416; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-297-AD] – This proposal would require operators to inspect for the possible absence of cable guard pins in the aileron control system and install new ones, if needed, following the instructions of Embraer Service Bulletin 145LEG-27-0023 (dated Jan. 24, 2006).
VIKING AIR LIMITED won a contract valued at $14.3 million from the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team for three DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft. The latest contract brings the number of orders and options to 40 Viking Twin Otters. Viking, which owns type certificates for a number of former de Havilland models, is relaunching production of the Twin Otter. Viking will deliver the first of the Golden Knights aircraft in 2010 and the remaining two in 2011.
CLAY HAMMOND was named aircraft sales representative for SouthEast Piper. Hammond will be responsible for aircraft sales in the Atlanta metro area and surrounding Southeast markets. Hammond is rejoining SouthEast Piper after a two-year stint in aircraft sales for a manufacturer. SouthEast Piper is the authorized Piper dealer serving Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
Very Light Jet air taxi pioneer DayJet is curbing its expansion plans and cutting almost 40 percent of its work force as it struggles to raise the additional funding required for growth, company Founder, President and CEO Ed Iacobucci announced last week. Iacobucci said the decision to curtail expansion plans was “caused by external economic factors and [is] not a reflection of a weakness in the underlying DayJet business model.”
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. reported sales of $576.5 million for the three months ended March 30, but said it recorded an operating loss of $1.5 million for the quarter. “The loss was the consequence of an $18.4 million charge related to early production Hawker 4000 aircraft,” resulting in “an increase in the cost to conform the early aircraft to the final type design.” HBC said delivery of five Hawker 900XPs and one Hawker 850 XP was shifted from the first quarter to the second due to a reorganization of the company’s Little Rock, Ark.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT’S first production model SkyCatcher Light Sport Aircraft made its first flight May 1, just under two months since the first SkyCatcher prototype made its first flight (BA, March 17/119). In addition to now having two aircraft in the test program, Cessna plans to begin static and fatigue testing on a separate airframe in mid-May.
WEST STAR AVIATION expanded its facility at Dallas Love Field (DAL) to accommodate growing demand for maintenance on a number of business jet lines. West Star added a new facility adjacent to its existing 42,000 square feet of hangars, shops and offices located by Runway 31R. The new facility provides an additional 33,000 square feet of shop and office space and includes sheet metal, avionics, and interior refurbishment shop capabilities, along with maintenance and avionics services capabilities.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week proposed to eliminate provisions in the Federal Aviation Regulations that permit certain Part 91, 125 and 135 operators to fly with “polished frost” on the wings of their aircraft. Part 91, 125 and 135 regulations currently allow pilots to take off with frost adhering to wings as long as the frost has been polished to make it smooth, frequently accomplished by vigorously rubbing a rope or similarly rough-textured object across the surface of the wing.
