THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION upped the ante in its regulatory battle with AMI Jet Charter, issuing an "Emergency Order of Revocation" of the company's Part 135 operating certificate late Friday afternoon.
Was named director of advanced procurement for Gulfstream Aerospace. Bristol will oversee the procurement activities for all new research and development programs as well as for on-going mid-cabin programs. He has been with Gulfstream for nine years, most recently as director of final phase materials. Before that assignment he held roles as a subcontract administrator, a material senior project manager for the PlaneView flight deck program, purchasing manager for avionics and mechanical systems, and senior manager for propulsion, avionics and structures.
ARINC DIRECT is planning to expand the coverage of its SKYLink in-flight satellite broadband service for business jets to include the entire Caribbean and a substantial portion of Central and South America. Working with its strategic partner and SKYLink investor SES AMERICOM, Arinc expects SKYLink Ku-band coverage to expand during the fourth quarter. SKYLink has been operational over North America since 2005, and ARINC added Europe in September 2006. ARINC also is Beta testing SKYLink in the North Atlantic tracks and hopes to offer that service by yearend.
COMPUTER PROBLEMS slowed progress toward FAA's NextGen air traffic control system program. The agency had been trying to release a report by an Aviation Rulemaking Committee tasked with developing recommendations to provide incentives to operators to equip their aircraft with Advance Dependant Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment ahead of the anticipated 2020 deadline. The ARC report was completed a few weeks ago, and FAA had hoped to release the report either concurrently or shortly after the ADS-B proposal was released (BA, Oct. 8/158).
Joined Gulfstream Aerospace as director of final phase materials. Diez will manage the planning, procurement and control of all materials used during the final phase of business-jet manufacturing. He formerly spent 14 years with Ford Motor Company, where he held various procurement positions, including as a purchasing specialist, core buyer for fuel and brake lines and most recently, material cost manager for global procurement.
JET AVIATION and Jetcraft teamed up to offer aircraft sales and acquisition services under the name Jetcraft Trading. The new strategic alliance between the two companies enables Jet Aviation to round out its service portfolio by adding Jetcraft's aircraft sales and consulting expertise. Jetcraft Trading has offices in Minneapolis; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Redding, Calif; and St. Louis and is adding offices in Teterboro, N.J. and Zurich, Switzerland this month.
Model 2000 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-27595; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-248-AD; Amendment 39-15216; A 2007-20-06] - Requires identification of ailerons that were balanced after July 4, 2005. If balanced incorrectly, they must be rebalanced before further flight in accordance with Saab Service Bulletin 2000-57-040 (dated February 23, 2006).
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE Friday formally filed the paperwork with FAA for approval of its large-cabin aircraft to use Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures to fly into certain airports. RNP allows operators to take better advantage of an aircraft's operating characteristics by flying a more precise flight path into an airport and increases airport access during poor weather conditions. By this month, FAA had approved 74 RNP procedures at 30 airports and plans to add 25 more approach procedures during fiscal 2008.
Aviation's effect on climate change is already an emotional, political issue in Europe and could be the same in the U.S., unless the industry and government take strong measures to address the problem in a very public way, representatives from government, the airline industry and environmental groups say.
THE CITATION MUSTANG is the first Very Light Jet to set a record in the new National Aeronautic Association (NAA) Very Light Jet category. The twinjet set the U.S. national record for speed over a recognized course during a Sept. 22 flight from New York City to Atlanta. That trip, which was flown to commemorate NBAA's 60th anniversary, took 2 hours, 23 minutes and 44 seconds to complete and was flown at an average speed of 318.87 mph. Jim Perry, Cessna's senior demo pilot, and Bob Stangarone, the company's vice president of corporate communications, piloted the aircraft.
Dassault this month received Federal Aviation Administration certification for its new Falcon 2000DX, which is replacing the original Falcon 2000 introduced in 1989. The FAA clearance followed approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency in September. Dassault has sent the first Falcon 2000DX to its Little Rock Completion Center and expects the aircraft will enter service in 2008.
THE SECOND PHENOM 100 flew for the first time on September 26 from Embraer's facility at São José dos Campos, Brazil. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F-powered, four-passenger Very Light Jet is being used to test systems functioning, inflight thrust determination and flutter. Eventually, four aircraft will be involved in the Phenom 100 flight test program.
THAYER-BLUM FUNDING L.L.C., which controls 90 percent of the stock in Suntron Corp., announced plans this month to acquire the remaining 10 percent of the stock and take Suntron public, subject to completion of financing. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Suntron, headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., provides manufacturing services to support the life cycle of products in a number of industries, including aerospace and defense, semiconductor capital equipment and telecommunications.
A Cessna Caravan 208B carrying a parachute jumping team back from a competition crashed last week in the Cascade Mountains, killing all 10 aboard. The aircraft, N430A, went down near White Pass, Wash., on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 7 after departing from Star, Idaho on a flight to Shelton, Wash. with a pilot and nine passengers aboard. The airplane, which was built in 1994, was registered to Kapowsin Air Sports of Shelton, Wash. The aircraft was used for parachute drops.
Model DG-500, DG-500M and DG-500MB gliders [Docket No. FAA-2007-28709; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-062-AD; Amendment 39-15219; AD 2007-21-01] - Requires checking and correcting, if needed, the torque of the nut that attaches bell crank 5St19 to the bolt as specified in DG Flugzeugbau GmbH Technical Note 348/19 and 843/26 (dated June 20, 2007). Also, report to the manufacturer any findings of insufficient torque. This condition, if not corrected, may cause excessive bending loads, leading to premature failure of the bolt and loss of control of the aircraft.
AVJET CORP. started construction of a 63,653-square-foot facility in Burbank, Calif. that it says will be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System-certified private aircraft hangar in the U.S. The building will have a variety of environmentally friendly "green" design elements including photovoltaic power, recycled-content material and resource-efficient systems to reduce energy use and waste.
ATF3-6 and ATF3-6A engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-29092; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-30-AD] - This proposed AD would require removing certain low-pressure compressor aft shafts on ATF3-6 and ATF3-6A engines from service and installing serviceable shafts. This proposal, which resulted from the discovery of eight cracked shafts during fluorescent penetrant inspections, is designed to prevent uncoupling and overspeed of the low-pressure turbine, which could result in uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES will host the AAAE Runway Safety Summit Nov. 14-16 at the Sheraton San Jose Hotel in Milpitas, Calif. The meeting is designed to bring together federal regulators and policy makers, airport operators and managers, aviation safety professionals and consultants to discuss advancements in runway and airport safety including improving runway safety areas, runway friction testing standards and technology. Attendees also will have an opportunity to tour the NASA Ames Research Center.
Was named general manager of SheltAir Aviation Services' new fixed-base operation in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Herrmann has 19 years of aviation industry experience, most recently as general manager of Landmark Aviation in Rochester, N.Y. He also worked as operations manager for Signature Flight Support in Jacksonville, Fla.
Attorneys for AMI Jet Charter filed a detailed response last week to allegations that the Part 135 operator was unable to produce documents requested by FAA inspectors, claiming that most of the requested information was located and made available to the agency before or shortly after FAA issued its emergency suspension of AMIJC's Part 135 operating certificate (BA, Oct. 8/155).
Adam Aircraft has unveiled a new interior for its A700 Very Light Jet. The design, created by the airframe manufacturer in association with Infusion Design, an industrial creative design firm, was built by PCI NewCo, a DeCrane Aerospace company.
