VOLATILE FINANCIAL MARKETS and credit crunch concerns don’t seem to be making a dent in record demand for business jets. “The order environment for business jets continues to be robust,” said Jack Pelton, Cessna Aircraft’s chairman, president and CEO, during an appearance at last week’s JP Morgan Aviation and Transportation Conference in New York. “Based on strong order activity to date, we are expecting a very strong new order book in the first quarter and remain confident that we will record over 570 business jet orders this year,” Pelton told attendees.
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The U.S. Navy is considering whether to seek a new engine for the Bell/Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport, program manager Col. Matt Mulhern said last week. The existing Rolls-Royce AE 1107C Liberty engines are demonstrating an unacceptably short life, which has prevented the Navy and Rolls-Royce from reaching a deal on paying for engine support, overhaul and replacement.
SURGING ORDERS for both business jets and commercial airliners have resulted in dramatic revenue growth for aviation industry suppliers. Alcoa said this month that its aerospace revenues have grown from $1.5 billion in 2002 to more than $3.7 billion last year.
Embraer mated the wing and fuselage and installed the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535E engines on the first Phenom 300 this month at the Brazilian airframe manufacturer’s plant in Gaviao Peixoto. In addition, the first electrical power-on test was successfully completed on the nine-place, swept-wing jet.
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP Friends of the Earth (FOTE) urged the Environmental Protection Agency to act on the group’s petition calling for a study of the hazards of lead in aviation gasoline and to consider new emission standards for general aviation (BA, Nov. 19/231).
DASSAULT Falcon 2000 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0272; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-275-AD] – This proposal would require operators to modify the existing engine cowl locking system in accordance with the instructions of Dassault Service Bulletin F2000-298, Rev. 3 (dated Sept. 26, 2007). Also, operators would need to modify the engine cowling attachments in accordance with the instructions of Dassault Service Bulletin F2000-166, Rev. 1 (dated Oct. 24, 2001).
ARINC DIRECT is adding a new service that will measure exposure of business aircraft crews and passengers to radiation. The dosimetry reporting is offered free for customers who elect the option. ARINC retained radiation monitoring specialist IASON of Graz, Austria to archive and forward dosimetry data. ARINC noted that high altitude flight can expose aircraft crews and passengers to variable levels of background radiation, and European regulators have established exposure rules for commercial flight crews.
Alcoa, Inc. completed the acquisition of two California aerospace fastener manufacturers, part of the growth strategy for its Alcoa Fastening System (AFS) business unit.
COMP AIR selected the 1,650-shaft horsepower Honeywell TPE331-14GR turboprop engine to power the Comp Air 12 single-turboprop aircraft. The aircraft also will include a McCauley Propeller Systems five-blade propeller. The startup aircraft manufacturer said it had reached general agreements on components for flight test and initial production. The company also is working with potential investor groups to complete a 36-month certification and production startup program.
The operator of an aircraft based at a small airport in Ohio who felt he was being discriminated against because the airport charged tenants but not transient users got his day in court – but not the decision he was seeking.
DAVE SMITH was named vice president, MRO satellite operations for Midcoast Aviation. Smith formerly was director of quality assurance for MRO satellite operations. He joined Jet Aviation in 1996 as an A&P mechanic at the Teterboro location.
AirSprint, a fractional aircraft operator headquartered in Toronto, Canada, placed orders for 23 new airplanes with an aggregate retail value of $116 million with Cessna Aircraft and Pilatus Aircraft.
DASSAULT Falcon 2000EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0294; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-288-AD] – This proposed AD would mandate modification of the electrical wiring of the wing anti-ice system in accordance with the instructions of Dassault Service Bulletin F2000EX-116 (dated May 31, 2006) and Service Bulletin F2000EX-140 (dated Feb. 28, 2007).
PAM MCALLISTER was named general manager at TAC Air’s facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. A 20-year aviation industry veteran, McAllister joined TAC Air in 2002, and most recently was customer service supervisor for the Chattanooga location. Before joining TAC Air, she held positions with Signal Aviation and Krystal Aviation.
WAYNE BURK was appointed director of sales for materials services for Gulfstream Aerospace. Burk will be responsible for over-the-counter parts sales in Dallas; Long Beach, Calif.; and Appleton, Wis. Based in Lincoln, Calif., he also handles repair/overhaul, provisioning, WECO and parts program sales. An air transport-rated pilot, Burk has 12 years of business development experience, and was a U.S. Army attack helicopter pilot in Vietnam.
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CARI HERMAN joined Shadin Avionics as software engineering manager. Herman will manage the Software Engineering Group, responsible for refining software development processes; ensuring development schedules are maintained, enhancing execution/visibility, and bringing new software tools and capabilities. She has 14 years of avionics experience, previously as product development manager for Medtronic. She also was a product line manager for Goodrich Sensor Systems and a systems test engineer for Northrop Grumman.
AVIONS DE TRANSPORT REGIONAL ATR42-200, -300, -320 and -500; ATR72-101, -201, -102, -202, -211, -212 and -212A airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0293; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-287-AD] – This proposal would require measuring the heating resistance of the three pitot probes per the instructions of Service Bulletin ATR42-30-0074 or ATR72-30-1044 (both dated May 14, 2007). If the resistance of any probe exceeded 50 ohms, the pitot probe would need to be replaced before further flight.
CAE received Federal Aviation Administration and Joint Aviation Authorities certification for two Dassault Falcon 7X full flight simulators. The simulators, built by CAE, are installed at the company’s Burgess Hill training center in the United Kingdom and the North East Training Center near Morristown, N.J. The certification clears the first two Falcon 7Xs for training at the highest operational level. In addition, CAE received a Level D certification for a Gulfstream G450/550 full flight simulator, also located in the North East Training Center.
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY AT SALINA has established an Applied Aviation Research Center that will focus on advancements in aviation technology. A cooperative venture with the Salina Airport Authority and the Salina Chamber of Commerce, the school’s new center will be directed by Kurt Barnhart, the head of the department of aviation for K-State at Salina. The center will research the application and testing of emerging technological improvements in propulsion and airframe systems, avionics and navigation for general aviation aircraft, and unmanned aerial systems.
EXCELAIRE named 30-year aviation veteran Bob Weinwurzel vice president of flight operations. Weinwurzel will oversee all charter and owner operations, including international operations. Before joining ExcelAire, he held senior management posts in the private aviation operations of JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, and Vivendi Universal. He began his aviation career as a senior operations agent at Atlantic Aviation at the Teterboro, N.J. Airport.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association last week urged caution in imposing further restrictions on the use of lead in aviation gasoline, stressing that no simple alternative exists for 100 octane leaded aviation gasoline (100LL). “Any change in the current fuel standard will have a direct impact on the safety of flight,” AOPA told the Environmental Protection Agency.
