THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION is expanding its "Visible Intermodal Prevention Response" (VIPR) initiative to include general aviation airports. Under VIPR, TSA works with local law enforcement and stakeholders to deploy teams to enhance security in aviation, mass transit, rail and other transportation modes.
EADS SOCATA delivered a TBM 850 aircraft to a customer in Bulgaria. Prima Finance EAD, part of the Bulgarian group Albena Invest Holding Plc, is the first customer in Bulgaria to buy the single-engine turboprop. Albena Invest Holding Plc is one of the five largest holding companies in Bulgaria, managing 15 companies in tourism, transport, furniture manufacturing, and building contracting. The TBM 850, the successor to the TBM 700, cruises at a speed of 320 knots true airspeed at Flight Level 260.
Gulfstream Aerospace reported record results for 2007, and officials of parent company General Dynamics expect even better numbers for the Savannah, Ga. manufacturer this year, with no indication so far that widespread economic worries and a declining U.S. stock market will slow deliveries of the company's line of business jets.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT appointed FR Aviation in Bournemouth, the United Kingdom, as an authorized service center for the Beechcraft line of aircraft. FR Aviation, and its parent company Cobham plc, have experience with a number of Beechcraft King Air platforms through their European operations as a provider of military airborne electronic warfare training and special-mission services. The group is slated to be one of the first users of the new extended-range King Air 350ER.
March 10-11 - Federal Aviation Administration, 33rd Annual Aviation Forecast Conference, Washington, D.C. Contact Linda Baranovics at (202) 267-5370; or e-mail [email protected] March 10-12 - Flight Safety Foundation 20th European Aviation Safety Seminar - EASS, Bucharest, Romania; Contact FSF at (703) 739-6700 March 13-15 - Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Annual Repair Symposium, Washington, D.C.; Contact ARSA at (703) 739-9543
Named general manager of Cessna Aircraft's recently acquired facility in Bend, Ore. Cessna completed the acquisition of the former Columbia Aircraft in November, and renamed the Columbia 350 and 400 to the Cessna 350 and 400 (BA, Dec. 3/251). Withrow will be responsible for integrating the new facility into Cessna and expanding production. A 16-year Cessna veteran, Withrow formerly was senior product director for Citation CJ production and also has served as general manager of Cessna's production facility in Mexico.
ENCORE FBO LLC and its private equity partner are expected to complete their purchase next week of the Landmark Aviation network of fixed-base operations from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (BA, Dec. 17/275).
GMBH MBB BK 117C-2 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0042; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-26-AD] - This proposed AD would require replacement of the current injection-tube clamps with GBS clamps in accordance with the instructions of Eurocopter Service Bulletin MBB BK117 C-2-26A-001 (dated Jan. 22, 2007). This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI originated by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is designed to ensure that the fire extinguishing system is able to function properly when activated.
Named vice president and general manager of Landmark Aviation's Springfield, Ill. operation. Menard formerly was divisional director of engineering, quality and operations for Standard Aero's Enterprise Services business unit in San Antonio, Texas, where he steered the business through ISO9001-2000 certification. Before that, he was vice president of engineering and quality assurance for the Standard Aero Energy Division and also led engineering and quality in Standard Aero's International Division.
A CESSNA 340 CRASH this month in Ohio apparently happened after the pilot slowed the airplane below minimum flying speed, causing it to stall. The aircraft, N2637Y, was being flown by a private pilot and carried three passengers. The pilot was attempting to land at Carl R. Keller Field Airport (PCW) near Port Clinton, Ohio.
The Senate Commerce Committee has rescheduled a hearing for Feb. 7 to discuss the nomination of Bobby Sturgell for a five-year term as FAA administrator. The hearing originally had been set for late December, but the committee postponed the hearing shortly beforehand amid warnings from some senior senators that they would consider holding up the nomination in protest of the Department of Transportation's plan to reconfigure airspace and aircraft traffic patterns over the New York metropolitan area (BA, Jan. 7/2).
Textron's board of directors approved the launch of Cessna Aircraft's Large Cabin Concept (LCC) business jet program last week while announcing that the Wichita aircraft manufacturer's performance over the past year was the major driver in Textron's improved financial results.
CAE plans to establish a Southeast Asian training hub in Kuala Lumpur through an existing partnership with AirAsia. In November CAE received a contract to manage AirAsia's Type Rating Training Organization at the AirAsia Academy. That contract included pilot training for all current and future AirAsia pilots. The new training hub will provide training to pilots, maintenance technicians and cabin crews for airlines throughout Southeast Asia.
SENATE STAFF MEMBERS are beginning to draft a bill to extend aviation excise taxes and FAA authorization for another 12 to 15 months. Staffers from the Senate Commerce and Finance Committees had resumed negotiations over the comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill, and some senators had hoped to move a bill in the Senate before Valentine's Day.
BALLISTIC RECOVERY SYSTEMS said one of its whole aircraft parachute systems saved another life this month, the 208th documented instance of a BRS parachute saving a life, the South St. Paul, Minn. company said. The accident involved a Slipstream Genesis, a fabric and fiberglass homebuilt that was flying near Laurel, Md. when a control surface apparently failed, officials said. "The aircraft rolled over on its back and headed straight down," said pilot Patrick Dean, who deployed the BRS parachute just a few hundred feet above the ground.
Model EA500 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29316; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-078-AD; Amendment 39-15334; AD 2008-02-04] - This directive supersedes AD 2007-13-11, which imposed operational limitations on the aircraft because of reports of loss of primary airspeed indication due to freezing condensation within the pitot system. This new AD requires modification of the angle-of-attack (AOA) system to eliminate the possibility of freezing condensation collecting within the system.
The decision by Textron's board of directors to give Cessna Aircraft the green light to proceed with development of its Large Cabin Concept (LCC) aircraft was hardly a surprise, but it does signal the beginning of a new era for the Wichita plane maker. Cessna has delivered more than 5,000 business jets over the past four decades since the original Citation 500s went into service in the 1970s.
CATHY GEDVILAS is rejoining the Honeywell Aerospace media relations team this week, focusing on the company's Defense and Space business. Gedvilas spent a number of years with Honeywell before accepting a job three years ago doing internal and external media relations for what is now Landmark Aviation/Standard Aero in Tempe, Ariz.
Adam Aircraft senior executives last week were working with potential investors to secure financing as the company is facing two deadlines - one at the end of this month and the other at the end of May - to satisfy debt requirements with key lenders. Adam CEO John Wolf told company stockholders that the company would be forced to liquidate if it did not meet the deadlines, and stockholders would have "little possibility of a recovery" of their investments, according to a letter obtained by The Wichita Eagle.
object debris inside the assembly. The FAA issued this AD to detect and correct defective servo gearbox units, which could jam, requiring pilots to apply substantial control force to override the servo gearbox slip clutch in order to control the airplane. The FAA estimates that this AD affects 900 Cessna, Columbia, Diamond, Hawker Beechcraft and Mooney airplanes on the U.S. Registry and will cost U.S. operators $560 per airplane to perform the inspection. The agency also estimates that replacing the servo gearbox would cost $40 per airplane.
Model 206A, 206B, 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3 and 206L-4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0040; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-13-AD] - This proposed AD, which resulted from an MCAI originated by Transport Canada, is intended to ensure that the tailboom attachment bolt is installed correctly. If not, operators must take remedial actions. This AD was prompted by reports that some helicopters have been fitted with a CRES steel fitting that has resulted in the tailboom attachment bolt not being installed properly.
Model 222, 222B, 222U, 230 and 430 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0039; Directorate Identifier 2006-SW-13-AD] - This proposed AD, which resulted from a Transport Canada AD, would require rewiring and testing the fuel valve switch on each engine, as well as testing the ignitor system. This proposal was prompted by an inflight incident in which a fuel valve switch failed, causing the fuel valve to inadvertently close.
General aviation groups are wary of a new proposal to allow congested airports to increase charges to operators during busier times of the day. The peak-hour pricing concept was included in an airport rates and charges policy proposal the Department of Transportation released this month. DOT also proposed to clarify that airport authorities can impose two-part landing fees combining per-operation and weight-based charges and to allow airport authorities to distribute landing fees among the different facilities that they operate.
Promoted to vice president of engineering for Kelly Aerospace in Montgomery, Ala. Quave joined Kelly in 2001 after 11 years with Teledyne Continental Motors in Mobile, Ala. During the past year, Quave was responsible for combining the company's engineering resources and recruiting new engineering talent.
