Charles Keegan, vice president of operations planning for FAA and chairman and director of the agency's Joint Program Development Office (JPDO), is leaving FAA at the end of the month to join Raytheon Company. Raytheon said Keegan will become director of strategic development, Airspace Management and Homeland Security (AMHS). He will report to Andrew Zogg, vice president of AMHS, effective Jan. 30.
Ametek Aerospace & Defense Power and Data Systems Group will provide its AMPHION solid-state power controllers (SSPC) for the Cessna Citation Mustang. The SSPC combines the function of a solid-state circuit breaker and a relay into a single device, eliminating the need for thermal circuit breakers and relays. SSPCs will be integrated into the junction boxes, where they will provide load control from the power bus to critical and non-critical loads such as motors, fans, pumps and various avionics.
Dassault Model Falcon 2000 airplanes equipped with CFE Company CFE738-1-1B turbofan engines [Docket No. FAA-2005-22560; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-061-AD; Amendment 39-14408; AD 2005-25-15] - requires determining the serial number of the engines installed on the airplane, inspecting any affected engine to verify that a spherical bearing is installed on the attachment fitting of the engine mount, and corrective action if necessary.
Douglas Taylor joined Jet Support Services, Inc. as Western region sales manager. Taylor will be responsible for sales and customer relations in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. He will be based in Carlsbad, Calif. He has more than 10 years of aviation experience, previously serving as director of maintenance for Jet Source, Inc. and Aviation Maintenance Group as well as lead maintenance inspector and trainer for SkyWest Airlines.
John De Havilland was appointed regional sales representative for Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI). De Havilland will represent JSSI in the United Kingdom and the Middle East. He has more than two decades of aviation experience, holding positions with Sloane Aviation, Strategic Jet Services and British Aerospace.
Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association has scheduled its 2006 Spring Conference for June 5-7 at the Wichita Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita, Kan. To register, or for conference information, visit the RACCA Web site at www.raccaonline.org.
American Legend Aircraft Company broke ground on a new facility to house aircraft production and a new customer delivery center at Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport in Sulphur Springs, Texas. The new facility will include a 20,000-square-foot hangar for aircraft fabrication, assembly and research and development and a 5,000-square-foot hangar for sales and marketing. The company also will continue to use its 21,000-square-foot hangar space under lease, boosting its total space to more than 45,000 square feet.
The European Civil Aviation Conference formed a task force to develop a series of recommendations on the regulation of fractional aircraft operators from the safety, security and economic standpoints.
EXTEX, a Gilbert, Ariz.-based aviation parts manufacturer, teamed with Helitech to expand its reach in the Australian region. Helitech, a division of Sikorsky Aircraft Australia Limited, will distribute EXTEX parts to helicopter and fixed-wing customers in Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand and parts of Asia. EXTEX produces FAA-approved replacement parts for turbine engines and auxiliary power units.
Gulfstream Aerospace is claiming another city-pair speed record for a Gulfstream 550 flight from Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy to Beijing, China. The Dec. 12 flight covered the 4,550 nautical miles between the two cities in nine hours, 26 minutes. The manufacturer said the aircraft maintained an average airspeed of .85 Mach and enjoyed a 23-knot average tailwind. The aircraft carried eight people: four passengers, three pilots and a flight attendant.
Embraer Model ERJ 170 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-22561; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-136-AD; Amendment 39-14409; AD 2005-25-16] - requires doing a general visual inspection of the passenger seat track attachments to determine if the attachment rod is installed and to check the torque value of the attachment bolts, and doing any corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from discovery of missing rods, which attach the passenger seat tracks to the airplane structure to absorb loads.
January 8-12, 2006 - American Association of Airport Executives Aviation Issues Conference, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Kona, Hawaii, (703) 824-0504, www.airportnet.org January 25-27 - National Business Aviation Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Antonio, Texas, (202) 783-9000 February 26-28 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2006 Annual Convention and Exposition, Dallas, Texas, (703) 683-4646
Delta Airelite added a Bombardier Challenger 300 and a Learjet 45XR to its charter fleet, both of which are 2005 models. The Challenger will be based in Stockton, Calif., while the Learjet will be operating from its base in College Station, Texas.
Hundreds of U.S. runways are susceptible to deadly aircraft overruns, such as the Dec. 8 accident in Chicago in which a Southwest Airlines 737 slid off a runway at Midway Airport and slammed into an automobile on an adjacent road, killing a six-year-old boy, according to an industry analyst. "We know that there are about 600 runway ends in the U.S. today that don't meet FAA standards," according to Joe Del Balzo, president of Washington, D.C.-based JDA Aviation Technology Solutions consultancy and a former FAA acting administrator.
GULFSTREAM Model GV-SP series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-23249; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-219-AD] - proposes to require an inspection to determine the serial number of the anti-skid control unit (ACU) in the right electronics equipment rack, and replacement of the ACU with a new or serviceable ACU if necessary. This proposed AD results from a report that an airplane temporarily lost normal braking function during landing rollout on a pre-delivery flight.
BILL WILLIAMS joined Gulfstream Aerospace as director of initial phase procurement, materials. Williams will be responsible for procurement of materials used in the initial phase of manufacturing large-cabin business-jet aircraft. He formerly was vice president of supply chain at GKN Aerostructures Group in St. Louis. He previously worked for Alladin Industries, TRW Aeronautical Systems, Saturn Manufacturing Corp., Nissan Motoring Manufacturing Corp. and Ingersoll Rand.
Rifle Air, LLC, d/b/a The Rifle Jet Center, recently acquired two existing fixed-base operations, Corporate Aircraft Services and The Rifle Jet Center at the Garfield County Airport (RIL) in Rifle, Colo. The combined operation includes more than 80,000 square feet of heated hangar space. Plans call for remodeling the pilot/passenger terminal in the former Corporate Aircraft Services facility. The airport is within an hour ground travel of the Aspen/Snowmass and Vail/Eagle ski areas.
Airlines are misguided in thinking they would benefit from the introduction of user fees to pay for the U.S. air traffic control system, a new study commissioned by the National Air Traffic Controllers union finds.
ATR received a 10-year global maintenance agreement from Corsican carrier CCM Airlines under a contract valued at $24 million. ATR will prove a range of maintenance and support for CCM's fleet, including spares, a pool service for parts exchange and repair of line replaceable units. ATR also will repair and overhaul engines and propellers. CCM was the launch customer of the ATR 72-200 15 years ago and recently took delivery of its first ATR 72-500.
RAYTHEON Model 390 Premier 1 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20712; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-15-AD; Amendment 39-14400; AD 2005-25-07] - requires replacement of the plastic cover over the air conditioning motor module with a metallic cover and modification of the air conditioning compressor motor module electromagnetic interference-radio frequency interference (EMI-RFI) filter located under the cover and reidentify the module part number.
Herb Elliott, 90, who with his wife, Arlene, ran the Elliott Aviation network of fixed-base operations for decades, died Dec. 10 at North Collier Hospital in Naples, Fla.
Robinson Helicopter Company continues to dominate the U.S. helicopter market in terms of number of aircraft produced. Robinson delivered 224 units in the third quarter, bringing its total for the year to 609, or 87 percent of the 704 civil helicopters delivered by six manufacturers in the first nine months.
CIRRUS Model SR20 and SR22 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-23023; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-49-AD] - proposes to require inspecting the fuel line and wire bundles for any chafing damage; if any chafing damage is found, replace any damaged fuel line and repair any damaged wires or sheathing of the wire harness; and install the forward loop clamp, fuel line shield, aft loop clamp, and anti-chafe tubing. This proposed AD results from reports of fuel line leaks resulting from wire chafing on the fuel lines.
