A NEW SURFACE OVERLAY designed to reduce weather-related crashes on roads and bridges was to be installed for the first time at an airport in the Lower 48 states beginning last week. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is testing the overlay on a service ramp and bridge used to transport baggage at Newark Liberty International Airport. Called SafeLane, the overlay acts like a rigid sponge, storing an anti-icing chemical applied during storms. SafeLane automatically releases the chemical as snow and ice develop, thereby helping prevent frost or ice from forming.
Model 172R and 172S airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29138; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-073-AD] - This proposed AD would require operators to inspect the fuel return line assembly for chafing; replace the assembly if chafing is found; and inspect the clearance between the assembly and the right steering tube assembly and the airplane structure, adjusting the fuel return line as necessary.
China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) has selected Sensis Corp. for an important satellite navigation pilot project at two Chinese airports, which could be a precursor to nationwide deployment of an automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast (ADS-B) system.
Bombardier Aerospace will build a new Learjet model for the midsize business jet market, the company announced last week, but officials provided few details about the new airplane.
BRISTOW GROUP, which provides helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, signed a definitive agreement to sell its Grasso Production Management (GPM) business to Production Services Network Limited to $22.5 million. GPM is a contract operator of oil and gas productions facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Bristow said the sale of GPM would make the company "a pure play in helicopter services."
FIRSTFLIGHT expanded its charter fleet in Florida with the addition of a Hawker 800 based in Stuart. The aircraft is configured to seat eight passengers and is equipped with Airshow, CD player, a warming oven and additional baggage space. FirstFlight is based at Elmira/Corning Regional Airport in New York with charter sales offices in Teterboro. "We have targeted the Florida market for expansion," said FirstFlight President John Dow, "and the Hawker meets the needs of a broad range of travelers in the area."
ALONG WITH Chertoff, the NATA Roundtable will include sessions with a number of senior government officials including Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, FAA acting Administrator Robert Sturgell and two members of the National Transportation Safety Board - Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt and Deborah Hersman - among others, although Sumwalt was dispatched Friday to Mississippi to oversee the investigation of a gas pipeline explosion.
SOUTHWEST JET AVIATION added an Astra business jet to its charter fleet. The 2,700-nautical-mile Astra will be based at Southwest Jet Aviation's corporate offices at Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona. The latest addition brings Southwest Jet Aviation's charter fleet to 10 aircraft. The aircraft interior was reconfigured to match those being installed in Gulfstream G150 business jets, a wider-body successor to the Astra. Southwest Jet Aviation's new addition can seat seven passengers, and includes a four-place club seating area, galley area and private lavatory.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. said late Friday it is exploring the possible sale of its U.S. fuel and line service operations and has retained Harris Williams to serve as its financial advisor and assist in the process. HBC recently sold its aircraft management and charter unit to Sentient Flight Group (BA, Oct. 29/191). HBC said it does plan to retain its Hawker Beechcraft Services maintenance and customer support facilities at the seven locations where the fueling operations may be sold.
Was named Six Sigma principal and safety coordinator for The NORDAM Group. Gardner will implement Six Sigma and Lean business initiatives at NORDAM's Transparency Division. He also will serve as safety coordinator for the unit. Gardner previously was operations manager for NORDAM Transparency Europe Ltd. in Manchester, United Kingdom. He joined NORDAM in 2004 as a production supervisor within the Interiors and Structures Division.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. is still waiting for an FAA Production Certificate for the Hawker 4000, nearly a year after the Wichita, Kan. manufacturer won FAA type certification for its top-of-the-line, composite-fuselage aircraft (BA, Nov. 27/241). HBC needs the PC to enable it to ramp up production of the Hawker 4000, which was introduced at the NBAA convention in 1996. A spokesman for the manufacturer told BA last week the company hopes to receive the PC before the end of the year.
Model 205A, 205A-1, 205B, 212, 412, 412CF and 412EP helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2007-27496; Directorate Identifier 2005-SW-37-AD; Amendment 39-15238; AD 2007-22-02] - Inspect each affected tail-rotor blade forward tip weight retention block and the aft tip closure for adhesive bond voids, removing from service any blade with an excessive void. Also, modify certain blades by installing shear pins and tip closure rivets. Finally, re-identify modified blades by adding "FM" after the part number and then dynamically balance the tail rotor.
BELL HELICOPTER officials announced last week that they had frozen the exterior profile of the Model 429, the company's new light twin helicopter. "This is one of the most significant events in the development of an aircraft," said Robert Fitzpatrick, senior vice president of marketing and sales. "This means our design meets the aesthetic and inflight handling specifications we set long ago.
AVIATION FLEET SOLUTIONS installed a QuietEagle Noise Reduction System on a VIP MD-87 for SG Air Leasing Limited. The system brings the aircraft into compliance with FAA Stage 4 and ICAO Chapter 4 noise standards. The installation was the second on a VIP MD-87. The QuietEagle includes a 16-lobe internal mixer, a muffler, a tabbed nozzle and improve front fan case, replacing the original hardware on the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 engine.
Florida's Panama City-Bay County International Airport broke ground Nov. 1 on a new greenfield airport located on 4,000 acres of land donated by the St. Joe Company. Meanwhile, the airport Oct. 26 signed the final contract with Community Airport Redevelopment, LLC to redevelop the existing facility, said Randy Curtis, executive director of the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District.
Was named vice president of sales and marketing for DeCrane Aerospace. She has more than 13 years of aerospace industry experience, including seven years in market planning and strategy for Honeywell Aerospace. While at Honeywell she helped establish strategic direction for the company's air transport sector and also served as head of marketing for Asia Pacific.
THE DIFFICULTY of finding enough skilled labor in the Wichita area is among the reasons cited by Hawker Beechcraft for opening a new sheet metal plant in Mexico (BA, Oct. 29/193). HBC has some 500 unfilled openings in Wichita for jobs ranging from engineers to shop floor production workers.
Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., former chairman of Executive Jet Aviation who was better known as the U.S. Army colonel who piloted the aircraft that dropped the world's first atomic bomb, passed away at his home in Columbus, Ohio, last week.
Raytheon reached a definitive agreement to sell fractional ownership aircraft provider Flight Options LLC to a Miami, Fla.-based private equity firm, H.I.G. Capital, the company announced last week. The decision to sell Flight Options comes as the Cleveland, Ohio-based unit posted an operating loss of $96 million in the third quarter 2007, compared with a $10 million loss in the third quarter of 2006. Raytheon said it "initiated a process to dispose of" the Flight Options business in the third quarter and reached a definitive agreement with H.I.G. Oct. 15.
AVFUEL CORPORATION added Triangle Aviation of Leesburg, Fla. to its network of branded dealers. Triangle Aviation was purchased by Rhett Lawton and Neil Fischer in 2006 and has since been undergoing a series of renovations and expansions, including the scheduled opening of a new facility in early November. The new facility will include a pilot lounge, conference rooms, a kitchen and a large lobby. Triangle Aviation provides fueling, maintenance, aircraft sales and a flight school. Triangle plans to add charter service in 2008.
CARMANAH TECHNOLOGIES appointed Ted Lattimore chief executive, succeeding Art Aylesworth, who is assuming the role of chairman. Lattimore joins Carmanah from mobile telecommunications provider Vodafone Romania (formerly Connex-MobiFon), where he served as president and chief operating officer. While at Connex-MobiFon, he helped grow the company's customer base from 700,000 to 5.5 million subscribers in six years. He also was senior vice president for Western Canada for Bell Mobility and held sales and marketing positions with Xerox Canada.
